Summary: He wasn't that worried about Ashe until he heard a bunch of jerks shouting nasty things at him. Then, he was willing to risk his life for him.
Takes place during Ashe, Yuri, and Catherine's paralogue only with an alternate turn.
He wasn't that worried about Ashe, really. Ashe was a soft idealistic fool, but he was no weakling. He'd trained as a knight under King Dimitri, for crying out loud. Still, they had to find him as soon as possible. Even a knight could only hold out for so long.
When they learned it was remnants of House Gaspard, Yuri was pissed. They sat on their hands all that time after Lord Lonato died, and now they're lashing out? Shez and Catherine hurried in one direction, while Yuri made a beeline for where he could hear Ashe's horse in the distance. Breaking through the strongholds was nothing, and he could unlock any gates he had to.
When he finally caught up to him, Ashe was surrounded.
"Lord Lonato would never have died if it wasn't for you!"
"His bad luck started the moment he took you in!"
"If I were him, I'd have had you clapped in irons the moment I caught you even if you were just a child!"
"You call yourself a knight? You couldn't even-"
The latest one to spew such bullshit hit the ground dead before he could finish his sentence. Bastards, you know nothing, you don't know anything about the kind of person Ashe is! Where were you when the Kingdom got the order to put Lonato down, huh? Sure, Yuri hadn't been there either, but he wasn't a member of House Gaspard, was he?
"Yuri! You-"
"Not now," Yuri said, making short work of the other shit-talkers. "Shez and Catherine aren't far behind me, I'm glad we found you."
"You okay, Ashe?" Shez asked. Ashe nodded, and for the moment they focused on taking out as many enemies as they could. But they weren't done blaming Ashe for everything, and the leader decided it wasn't enough to simply yell at him.
"You deserve to die for betraying Lord Lonato after all he did for you." He knocked Ashe off his horse and whipped out a dagger, and without thinking Yuri shoved Ashe out of the way and leapt forward, biting back a his as the blade met his chest.
"Yuri!" Luckily, Thunderbrand cut the bastard's head off before Ashe could risk his own neck. Yuri yanked the knife out of himself and flung it aside, ignoring the pain. And when the real leader showed his ugly face, Yuri charged ahead and made quick work of him before he could even get near Ashe. It was just a slash, he wasn't even bleeding that heavily.
Of course, even slow bleeding was still bleeding. Nobody nobody knew any healing spells, and he'd stupidly used up his elixirs charging through the strongholds. And Pallardo was a lot stronger than he looked, even with four people beating down on him at once.
Still, Yuri managed to land the blow that sent the bastard packing. By the time the dust settled he realized he might have been a bit reckless; his shirt was soaked in blood and he'd gained more cuts along his arms and legs, plus a few bruises. He swayed a bit, falling to his knees as Ashe ran to his side.
"Yuri..."
Yuri smiled weakly, ignoring the blood splattered across his hand as he coughed.
"You're safe now."
He heard Ashe choking back tears as he blacked out.
He woke up with every healer in the camp standing over him, much to his humiliation. He tried not to look any of them in the eye, especially Linhardt who looked like he was about to pass out himself. He braced himself for the usual blather about how badly he was hurt, how afraid they were, how he almost didn't make it.
"Other than that nasty blow to your chest, they were mostly just surface wounds. We worried when Ashe told us you coughed up blood, but we didn't find any damage to your heart or lungs," Mercedes said. "Your collapse was mainly from the exhaustion, so you'll be okay after some rest."
Once she and the others left (Linhardt running out of the tent like it was on fire), Ashe came in. His steps were slow, almost timid, and he looked like he'd been crying.
"You didn't need to do that, you know," he said. "I had a shield."
"I know." A knight never went anywhere without a shield, after all. "But he was out for blood, I could see it. He and those others, blaming you for Lonato's own choices, like the guy couldn't think for himself."
"The Western Church manipulated him, though," Ashe said. "And...I didn't realize what was going on until-"
"Still not your fault." Yuri longed to sit up and reach out to him, but Mercedes had told him to lie still and not jar his wound. "I couldn't let them treat you like that, you know?"
Ashe sat down on the small stool beside the bed, smoothing Yuri's hair.
"It's okay. It bothered me, but Lonato always told me to stay true to my beliefs. If he'd been there, he would've read them the riot act for coming down on me like that," he said. "I'll be okay, though. I'm more upset that you got hurt." Typical Ashe, always wearing his heart on his sleeve but covering it with a bigger sleeve anytime he thought someone else was worse off.
"Wasn't as bad as it looked, really." Ashe's brow furrowed.
"You took a knife to the chest and kept fighting! You coughed up blood!" he protested. "And...you did it for me." He sighed, reaching for Yuri's hand. "I could've lost you." His voice shook, and while he didn't start crying again it was still enough to make Yuri feel guilty.
"I'm really that important to you, huh." Ashe stroked his face, leaning down to rest his forehead against Yuri's. Not even a kiss, not even a brush of noses, but somehow this soft and way too wholesome gesture was enough to make his heart pound and his cheeks flush. "Ashe..."
"You always have been," Ashe whispered. "I'm glad you wanted to look out for me. But if you ever scare me like that again I'll tie you to a chair and lecture you until my throat gives out."
Why did Ashe have to be so damned cute? It wasn't fair.
"Guess I'll have to be extra careful, then."