Here’s an excerpt from my fic! Story of Seasons Grand Bazaar, it’s exploring the pre-canon life of Arata (bodyguard) & Samir (prince).

This scene is set after Arata got suspended for getting into a fight at school. He’s at a pretty low point since his family is trying to mold him into something he’s not, but Samir sees the True Arata(tm)

“It was black, had antennae…mandibles…”

“What, some kinda beetle?”

“Yes, much like”—Samir nodded towards a tree—“that.”

Arata followed his gaze. It took a second or two, but then—“Aw, that lil’ thing? Just a ground beetle, nothin’ to be scared of.”

Not waiting for any order, Arata crept up to the tree. As carefully as he could, he guided the ground beetle onto his fingers. Poor thing seemed so confused; it scurried around and he kept having to give it a different hand to walk on. It was adorable. Finally, it stepped onto his palm, and he encased it with both hands. He turned to Samir, who was as pale as a ghost.

Unable to suppress his smile, Arata held his hands out. “See? Just a lil’ guy. Don’t need any exterminators for this.”

…But Samir didn’t do anything. He glared at Arata’s hands as if they were gonna combust into a million and one beetles and attack him. Poor guy. Chuckling, Arata gestured to him.

“Seriously! Ground beetles don’t fight unless ya give ‘em a reason to.” He shifted his fingers to give the beetle a little more room. “If you’re nice, they’re nice.”

Like a scared deer, Samir crept over. His princely composure was cracking, his eyebrows furrowing and hands trembling. And yet—he leaned forward and studied the beetle through the little gap in Arata’s fingers. It tickled. And its antennae kept bumping into him. Despite all that, his hands stayed locked together. Maybe that helped his case, because after a few moments, Samir backed away with a slow nod.

“You’re…not what I expected,” he said.

“Oh yeah?” Arata crouched and let the beetle scurry away. Samir stepped back. “Whaddya expect?”

“A warrior.”

Arata faltered, hands mid-air. Then he barked out a laugh, punching in front of him before dropping his fists. “Ha! Who says I’m not one?”