A/N: I'm back.

I'm so, so sorry that I vanished. I stopped doing everything that I loved doing for a while, but I've snapped out of my slump and I'm doing stuff again. Loads of people have emailed me and sent me messages to make sure I'm okay, and I really, really appreciate all the love I've been given. Nothing really terrible happened to me; I just got all my priorities bargled up and it took me a long time to get back into the swing of things. I've got a sort-of explanation in my profile, for anyone who is really wondering. Thanks for the love and your patience, guys.

CHAPTER ONE

In which Edward sorts out his feelings

Just tell him.

The mantra had been repeating itself for hours, maybe days. The stupid little voice had started up in Edward's head the night that he and Leonardo had bunked together and it hadn't shut up since. It left him avoiding the archer's gaze at meals and staring when he knew Leonardo wasn't paying attention. It had him watching the way he strung his bow, fired his arrows. The careful way he fixed his hair in the mornings, or the way that he would check his reflection in passing shop windows when they weren't hurried. It wasn't that Leonardo was vain, exactly; he just took pride in his appearance. He kept his skin clean and bathed regularly and he always carried a vial of something-or-other that he used to keep his skin from cracking open in the cold winter months (Edward had laughed at him for it up until this past winter, when it had been so cold and dry that he'd gotten a terrible rash all over his arms and back). And when Leonardo would look over, Edward's eyes would shoot to the sky, or the floor, or anything else, anything to keep the blonde from suspecting that something was different.

It wasn't his fault, not really. He was young, and it wasn't as though he'd ever been in a proper relationship before, and the only girl around was Micaiah, and Sothe had given him a very pointed glare and told him that he had no chance, ever, not in a thousand years. And who was he to argue with Sothe, second-in-command of the Dawn Brigade, one of the heroes of the Mad King's War, etcetera, etcetera?

But the issue of what exactly to tell Leonardo remained. Simply mentioning that he had a pretty face out of the blue would almost certainly cause warning bells to go off in the archer's head, and Edward was sure that if the rest of the Dawn Brigade caught wind of his attraction to Leo's (soft delicate gentle touchable) looks he would never hear the end of it. And to make things even more complicated was—

"Come on, Edward."

He was wrenched from his thoughts rather abruptly. Micaiah was giving him The Look and he avoided her gaze.

"I'm thinking."

She was tense and gripped her Light tome so hard he could see her fingers turning white. Whiter, really. "About what?"

"…how to get out of this alive." He looked around. They couldn't very well go back the way they'd come and now there were seven men between them and their exit. "We'll have to tear straight through, won't we?"

"Mm." Micaiah nodded. They were running out of time; the men were headed straight for them. A fence on one side and crates stacked high on the other. The passage was narrow and her lips curved upwards. "Edward. You can handle them one at a time, can't you?"

He fixed her with a look. "Of course. I'm not that new at fighting."

"Good. Stay in front of me and make them angry."

"I can do that."

He ducked as the blade of an axe flew towards his head. A quick upward thrust had his sword lodged in the stomach, buried half to the hilt. Hot blood flowed down the blade and over his hands. He ignored it and shut his eyes. Behind him he heard Micaiah say something in Ancient and the telltale sound of a Light being used surrounded him. The bandit collapsed and Edward stepped over his corpse, Micaiah following.

"Come on, then," he spat at the next in line. "Let's see if you're more of a challenge."

They managed to cut down three more men before Edward was finally hit. A hand axe, flung hard enough to knock his sword from his hands, slicing cleanly into his left side. Micaiah screamed from behind him. A bandit cackled in the background and he felt Micaiah's hands on him, the gathering of magics around her.

"No," he breathed, but it was too late. She pulled the wound from him onto her own body and staggered, falling. Edward caught her with one hand and cursed. There wasn't time for all of this. Yet another bandit was headed towards them and his sword lay far out of reach, having fallen when he was struck. Dammit. If Micaiah hadn't healed him she might have been able to deal with the bandit instead. Now they were going to die. What a stupid way to go.

There was the telltale snap of a bowstring. Not a second later the bandit howled in pain, the shaft of an arrow protruding from his stomach. Another two shots were fired in quick succession and the bandit fell. Edward looked up and saw blonde hair and a gentle grin. Micaiah shifted in his arms.

"Leonardo." Her brow twitched with pain and the archer knelt next to them. "How did you find us?"

He smiled and pulled a vulnerary from the pouch at his waist. "A little bird told me. Yours, in fact." His eyes darted up to Edward's. "What were you thinking, taking on these bandits alone? That's beyond reckless."

"We had no choice," Micaiah said before Edward had a chance to answer. "We couldn't just leave the villagers to these monsters."

"Mm." Leonardo smiled and helped her to her feet. "Well, come on, then."

It was easier with three of them. Edward was still on the front line, but Leonardo was always behind him, not once missing a step and shooting arrows through every opening he could find. Micaiah could relax somewhat and instead focused her attention on healing them. When they reached the leader, she finally stepped forward.

"These people work hard to feed their families mere scraps." Her eyes narrowed and she scowled at him. "Then you come along and steal what little they've earned."

"Hey! I work hard too!" The leader grinned. "You want honest? Once I've caught and sold you, I'll have earned an honest penny!"

He lunged forward, but Edward was quicker, blocking the attack with his blade. Leonardo released, sending an arrow flying into the man's lower ribs. Micaiah was angry; Edward could feel her power crackling in the air and he was sure that Leonardo could too. The air around her hummed with energy and she lashed out. Edward didn't manage to close his eyes in time and all he saw was a sheer, brilliant white light before everything went black. He wasn't unconscious; he could still hear everything and feel the pressure of the axe on his blade slowly easing off. But his legs were starting to give out.

Again, Leonardo saved him. Another arrow whizzed past his head and Edward felt the spray of blood as it buried itself in the bandit's throat. The axe clattered to the paving stones. Edward turned to what he hoped was Leonardo and grinned. Hands fell on his shoulders, squeezing slightly.

"I'm sorry I blinded you." That was Micaiah on his right, her magic almost lazily drawing the ache from his sword arm. "You'll be alright in a few minutes."

"He'll never be alright. He's an idiot, remember?" There was Leonardo on his left. Edward took a breath to shout at him and the archer's hand slid into his. Leonardo chuckled. "Don't make that face. I know you can't see."

There was the sound of shouts coming from above them. Leonardo cursed softly. His grip tightened. "We mustn't be caught. Make a break for it. Run."

He let himself be pulled through the streets.

())CRAYOLA))

Say something.

But he couldn't, not while Leonardo was so carefully bandaging his scraped arm and still gently scolding him for letting them get dragged into a fight. Instead, Edward gritted his teeth, said nothing, and pointedly did not notice that Leonardo had three tiny freckles dotting his right temple.

())CRAYOLA))

You like him.

The thought came so abruptly, so out of the blue that Edward briefly wondered if he had even been the one to have it. Leonardo didn't seem to take notice and continued speaking, this time commending him for a job well done even as he applied a vulnerary to Edward's bruised ribs. The swordsman bit his lip hard and did not notice how gentle Leonardo's fingers were, how carefully the other teen worked, how sweetly the archer spoke to him when they were words of praise.

())CRAYOLA))

Tell him.

But he couldn't do it now either, especially not now that Leonardo was lying next to him on the cold ground. Briefly Edward lamented that he wasn't as tall as Sothe or as small as Micaiah—the mage was curled up in her brother's arms, his scarf looped around her shoulders and their legs entangled. Their blankets had been halfway kicked aside as they slept, but the cold night air clearly wasn't bothering them in the least. Edward sighed. At least he'd be able to share some warmth that way, instead of back-to-back with the archer and trying very hard to come up with some reason that they should get closer.

He nearly jumped out of his skin when the blonde shook his shoulder. Leonardo chuckled softly.

"Didn't mean to scare you," he murmured. "I'm frozen through, Edward. And I am not going to ask Nolan to help improve my situation."

And Leonardo was wrapping his arms around him suddenly, nestling under his chin just as Micaiah was a few feet away with Sothe. Edward nearly forgot to breathe.

"I'm cold, Edward," Leonardo repeated, and then the archer's chin dug into his chest and Edward bit his lip, tugging their blankets up and carefully, carefully letting his arms settle around the other teen. The blonde was shivering and the archer burrowed ever further into his chest, nuzzling into the warmth of his neck and yawning. "There's no shame in keeping warm."

He let himself admit that Leonardo's hands were bigger than he'd thought they would be, pressed against his back and spreading warmth and comfort.

())CRAYOLA))

He's hurt.

And that had been enough to send Edward flying into the group of soldiers who surrounded his archer, completely oblivious to everyone's warnings. Leonardo was pale, hands unsteady on his bow as he aimed. An arrow struck the soldier nearest Edward but it hadn't been a clean shot. Edward's sword found the gap in the man's armor. He fell. A lance grazed his ribs and he twisted away, swinging haphazardly and somehow hitting his mark. Micaiah was screaming at him to stop, to get away and let Nolan handle things. Leonardo fell and Edward ignored Micaiah's warnings, standing over the archer defiantly even as reinforcements surrounded them.

Leonardo's clothing was streaked with blood, and at that moment Edward hated every one of Begnion's soldiers, every person who would dare strike the archer of the Dawn Brigade.

())CRAYOLA))

"You've been looking at me recently."

Edward nearly choked on his dinner, and in the background he heard Nolan laughing. "I'm sorry?"

Leonardo shrugged. "You've been looking at me recently. And you're talking to me less and less. Has something happened? Did I make you angry? Is there sand in my hair or some scar on my face I'm not aware of?" His fingertips traced over his left cheek as though he were checking for a mark.

"I haven't been looking at you."

"You're lying."

He could tell that Leonardo was grinning, even without looking. "I've just…"

"You've just what? I know you're staring, Edward. You think I haven't noticed, but I have. I want to know why you keep looking at me."

"See, I'm secretly planning to make a jacket from your skin and I think—"

"Edward."

The swordsman let out frustrated growl and leaned in close enough that the others wouldn't hear. "Because you're pretty, alright? Prettier than Micaiah. People like to look a pretty things." He could feel himself turning red. "And you're really, really pretty. Like…like really, really."

"Like beautiful?" Leonardo was grinning. His cheeks were tinged red, but he was still grinning. How was he still grinning?

"L-like—"

"So does that mean that you like me, then, or do you just need something pretty to look at because Sothe would kill you if you looked at Micaiah?"

And then Edward was silent because the truth was that maybe, just maybe, he did sort of like Leonardo, just a little bit. And as the silence wore on, the blonde seemed to realize. He turned a spectacular shade of red and stared at the sky, absently twirling his fork from finger to finger. "You…you don't, do you?"

"I don't know. I…maybe?" Edward groaned and slumped onto the table. "I don't understand it myself."

"…you realize that I'm man."

"Mm."

"And that you are too."

"Mm."

The blonde sighed and finally looked at him. "Well, whatever, then. If you want to look at me I guess it can't be helped. But I can't really say that the feeling is mutual, y'know? You're like…you're a good friend. Not really someone I'd want to…to court, necessarily."

"I understand." He had to fight to keep his voice steady. "I—"

"Don't think about it too hard." Leonardo downed the last of his stew and stood, grinning. "You might hurt yourself."

"Mm."

He decided that it was alright to notice that Leonardo's ears were still bright red.