It all started during dinner one evening, when Elise told Xander that she wanted to travel to Hoshido to visit Sakura. "We're going to play music together!" the blonde princess gushed excitedly, clasping her hands together.

Leo noticed a twinge of discomfort on Xander's face. "Of course, Elise," the crown prince said. "But… I do have to warn you. I know Nohr is officially allied with Hoshido now, but it's only been five months since we were at war. There may still be many Hoshidans who are out for your blood. That goes for all of you," he added, glancing pointedly at Leo and Camilla. "For your own safety, try not to get too attached to the Hoshidan royals."

Leo set down his fork, his stomach twisting into knots. So maybe it wasn't the best time to tell his siblings that he was dating Prince Takumi of Hoshido. In fact, Takumi was coming to visit him that night. As far as the other Hoshidan royals knew, he was off on a hunting trip.

"Not hungry, Leo?" Camilla asked, startling Leo out of his reverie.

"Hm? Oh… no, not really," replied Leo, nudging his plate away from him. "I had a late lunch, I suppose. In fact… I think I'd like to head back to my room now. I have a lot of reading to catch up on."

He stood up, pushing his chair out as he did so. Xander, Camilla, and Elise all watched him with concerned eyes. "Are you feeling unwell?" Xander inquired.

"I'm fine, Xander. Just tired." With that, Leo headed out of the dining hall, painfully aware of his siblings' gazes boring into him as he went.

As Leo lay in bed, reading, he found himself skimming the same paragraph over and over again until his churning thoughts finally overtook it. The Nohrian prince tossed his book aside with a sigh. He and Takumi had only been dating for four months, but they'd been friends since they became allies in the war against Anankos. There was no doubt in Leo's mind that he was in love with the other prince. They had been planning to announce the fact that they were dating at the next peace conference between the two families, but now Leo wasn't so sure. Xander's words ran endlessly through the young prince's mind: For your own safety, try not to get too attached to the Hoshidan royals. Leo groaned, rolling onto his stomach and mashing his face into the pillow. Although sneaking around with Takumi had been a turn on at the beginning, it had grown stressful and tiring. All Leo wanted was to sit and hold hands with Takumi in public, to laugh with Elise about something Takumi had said… The thought of keeping their relationship secret much longer made Leo's heart ache.

Just then, there was a deliberate knocking at the window. Leo looked up from his pillow. "It's me, Leo," Takumi's muffled voice came from outside.

Leo headed over to the window and pulled it open. Takumi poked his head inside, smiling. Immediately, some of the anxiety that had been wracking Leo dissipated. "Hey there," he said. "You're early."

"I hope that's okay," Takumi responded. "Are your siblings around?"

Leo shook his head, and offered Takumi a hand. The Hoshidan prince took it, and threw a leg over the windowsill. Leo pulled him inside, reached back out, and reeled in the rope that Takumi had used to climb up.

"I hate climbing up this damn castle wall," Takumi grumbled, brushing dirt off of his knees. "Next time, you're coming to Hoshido."

Leo chuckled, but Takumi's words only punctuated exactly what he had been feeling before. Evidently Takumi could tell that something was off, because he frowned. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Oh… it's nothing, Takumi. Don't worry."

Takumi crossed his arms. "I'm your boyfriend, aren't I? It's my job to worry about you."

Leo sighed, and sat down on the edge of his bed. "Well, I… I'm just sick of sneaking around, that's all."

"Oh. Me too," Takumi said, sitting down beside him. "There's a Hoshidan festival coming up soon… I had really hoped to take you. But my siblings are going to be there." He looked over at Leo, and their eyes met. "Sometimes I daydream about when we used to travel together, during the war. I mean, don't get me wrong, I would never want to go back to war. But… we were always together…" He trailed off for a moment, frowning. "I miss you when I'm in Hoshido."

"I miss you too," Leo replied. "I think we have to tell them. Soon."

"Okay. We'll tell them. But for right now…" Takumi put a hand on Leo's leg, leaning in toward the other prince. "…Let's take advantage of the time we have together."
Leo nodded. The two boys moved in close with the air of something they had done a thousand times; Takumi placed a hand on the back of Leo's neck, pressing his lips to his. As they kissed, Leo reached up and pulled the ribbon loose from Takumi's hair, letting his high ponytail collapse and fall around his shoulders. He then ran his fingers through the thick tresses of silver, resting his free hand on Takumi's side. Takumi's hands ended up at Leo's chest, unbuttoning his nightshirt. Leo shrugged the shirt off, and reached in to tug Takumi's shirt off as well.

Takumi's skin was still cool to the touch from being outside, and although he smelled like trees and smoke, there was still a touch of his own scent. It was hard to describe, but it made Leo feel as if he were walking along Hoshidan plains.

For the first time that evening, he was at peace.

Leo was awoken by the sound of footsteps. Blearily, he opened his eyes, pushing Takumi's hair out of his face. His door was closed, but there was light outside, filtering through the crack at the bottom. Someone was definitely out there.

"Takumi," he hissed, shaking the Hoshidan prince awake. Takumi rolled over, groaning and rubbing his eyes.

"Leo, what the hell? It's the middle of the night."

"Someone's coming," whispered Leo. "One of my siblings, maybe. Or one of the servants. Get under the covers."

Suddenly alert, Takumi did what he was told. Leo quickly bunched up one of his blankets to make it look like the lump in the bed was just part of a rolled up blanket. He closed his eyes. In case one of his siblings came in to check on him, he wanted them to think he was asleep.

A few long moments later, he heard the door creak open, almost inaudibly. Takumi shifted a bit under the blankets; his long hair tickled Leo's exposed stomach. He gave Takumi a gentle kick.

Leo was very aware that whoever had just come in was standing very still next to his bed. However, they weren't saying anything, which he found suspicious. Carefully, he opened one of his eyes a crack. At first, he couldn't see anything except a pale face; the person was wearing black clothes. By the time Leo realized that the person standing by his bed was not one of his siblings, it was too late. And by the time he realized that the person was pointing a Hoshidan bow right at him, the arrow was already flying through the air.

It made contact; seeing the arrow sticking out of his body, Leo braced himself for the pain, but felt nothing. Instead, he heard a howl of pain from under the covers. With a sharp breath and a pang of fear so palpable he almost choked on it, Leo realized that the arrow had hit Takumi instead.

He jumped to his feet, heart banging painfully against his ribs. The assassin looked momentarily shocked that he was unharmed; that was all the time Leo needed. He grabbed Brynhildr from his bedside table and felt the familiar power of magic surging through his veins. A tree burst through the ground, sending the assassin flying. He slammed against the wall opposite Leo's door and landed with a thud. By the dim light of Brynhildr's fading magic, Leo could see a long smear of blood where the assassin had hit the wall.

For a few moments, Leo just stood there, chest heaving, watching for any movement from the assassin. Fear and adrenaline were surging through his veins and settling between his temples. It wasn't the first time a Nohr-hating mercenary had come to try and kill him or his siblings, but it had been years since the last attempt. His heart was drumming restlessly in his chest. In an attempt to calm himself down, Leo took a deep, tremulous breath- just as Takumi let out a choked whimper of pain. Leo whirled around, panic leaping back into his throat. For one, blissful minute, he had forgotten that Takumi had been shot.

"Takumi!" he exclaimed, diving back onto the bed and throwing the covers off. Takumi was lying there, both hands clasped around his stomach, right under his solar plexus. The arrow had pierced both him and the covers, so Leo had to rip the bloodstained blankets away before getting a good look at the injury. There was blood splattered across Takumi's bare torso, and it was welling up around the shaft of the arrow.

"Oh, gods," Leo breathed, his voice shaking. He wanted to scream, and he wanted to cry, but Takumi was looking up at him with wide, pained eyes, and Leo knew that he had to be strong. He reached down and gripped one of Takumi's bloody hands in his own.

"Leo, I… I'm okay," Takumi said. "D-Don't worry, it-" His voice faltered, and he coughed, blood welling up at his lips. Dread rose in Leo's chest.

"Like hell you are," he hissed. "Look, you need a healer. I need to find Elise."

Takumi shook his head. His face was contorted with pain. "No, you… you can't. Elise… Camilla… Xander… they can't know about us."

"So you expect me to just let you die here!?" snapped Leo. He could feel tears, hot and prickly, forming in the corners of his eyes. So much for being strong.

"I'm not… not dying, Leo," Takumi panted. "Just… stay here… okay?"

"I can't do that," Leo cried out. "You know I can't! You're hurt. Badly. I need to find Elise!"

Takumi shook his head again, squeezing Leo's hand. "No… no, Leo… please don't leave me. Please."

Leo chewed on the inside of his lip. His mind was a jumbled mess. I have to get help, he thought. But Takumi… I can't leave him alone like this. "All right," he said finally. "I'm not going to go anywhere. But I do have to get help." He turned toward the door and, cupping his bloodied hands around his mouth, yelled, "Xander! Camilla! Elise! Gods, somebody, please help!"

"What are you doing!?" Takumi hissed. "If they come in here… and see us together, at this h-hour of night… Leo, we're in our undergarments!"

"Don't try to talk," Leo said. He leaned forward and planted a soft kiss on Takumi's cheek, to try and calm him down. The Hoshidan prince's cheek was wet.

Within seconds, Leo heard a door bang open in the distance and the sound of footsteps thundering toward his bedroom. "Leo!" It was Xander's voice. "Leo, I'm coming!"

"Big brother! What's happening!?" This was Elise.

Leo knew exactly when his siblings reached his door, because both sets of footsteps stopped abruptly at the same time- right in front of the assassin's body. "Oh, gods," Xander gasped, and Elise cried out. Within seconds, they were running into his room, both in their pyjamas. Elise was carrying a lantern, as well as her healing staff. A bit of pressure eased off of Leo when he saw it.

"Big brother Leo!" Elise exclaimed. "What happened?"

Xander raced over to Leo. He saw his younger brother's bloodstained sheets and hands, and his eyes widened. Then he saw Takumi, and they widened even more. "Prince Takumi," he gasped.

Takumi coughed in response. Leo looked plaintively up at his brother. "Xander… I can explain," he said.

"Yes. But later," Xander replied. "Elise, come here. And bring your staff."

Elise's hands flew to her mouth when she saw Takumi. "Oh my gods!" she wailed. "What happened to him?"

"That doesn't matter right now, Elise," Xander told her. "Can you heal him?"

"O-Of course," the blonde princess said hurriedly. "Um, we'll have to remove the arrow first, though."

Leo nodded. "Okay. Okay…" He reached toward the shaft of the arrow, but to his dismay, found that his hand was trembling too badly to get a good grip on it. He tried again, but only ended up jostling the arrow and making Takumi whimper in pain. All eyes were on Leo; the Nohrian prince felt a drip of sweat roll down his temple. "I…" he began. What's happening!? he thought. I've dealt with death before. I've killed people before. Why can't I pull out this arrow?

Xander watched Leo for a moment, and then sighed, his tone tinged with understanding. "All right," he said, rolling up his sleeves. "Let go, Leo." He placed one hand on Takumi's bare stomach and grasped the arrow with the other. "Are you ready, Prince Takumi?" he asked.

Takumi nodded, and reached for Leo's hand again. As soon as their hands were entwined, Xander gave the arrow a sharp tug. Instantly, Takumi screamed with pain, his grip on Leo's hand becoming bone-crushingly tight. Leo felt as if his heart was being torn apart on the bed in front of him. Xander pulled on the arrow again, and with a spurt of blood, it came out. He tossed it aside, pressing his other hand to the wound to staunch the blood flow. Elise stepped forward then, touching her staff gently to Takumi's stomach. It began to glow, casting odd shadows over the royals. Takumi was panting with pain, tears streaking down his face. He coughed again, making more blood well up under Elise's staff.

"It's going to be okay," Leo whispered, squeezing his boyfriend's hand. "Just breathe."

After a few long moments, Elise pulled away her staff. Takumi's wound was closing up, turning into a thin scar. His heavy breathing slowed until it turned into a sigh of relief, his face relaxing somewhat. Seeing this made relief settle over Leo as well. He threw his arms around Takumi, feeling the lively warmth flow back into the Hoshidan prince. However, Takumi jerked away as if he'd been burned.

"What?" asked Leo, confused. "Did I hurt you?"

Takumi was looking over Leo's shoulder. Leo turned to see Xander and Elise, still standing there. All eyes were on the two young princes. Dread settled back over Leo like a cold blanket; he had been so overwhelmed by the fact that Takumi was going to be all right that he had completely forgotten that his siblings were still there. His mind flicked back to what Xander had said the previous night. For your own safety, try not to get too attached to the Hoshidan royals. Heat rose in Leo's cheeks. "This… this isn't what it looks like," he stammered.

Xander opened his mouth to speak, and Leo braced himself for the reprimanding that he was about to get, but his older brother turned to Elise instead. "Elise, why don't you go get someone to send word to Hoshido about what has happened? Ryoma and the others must be worried sick."

Elise nodded. "Of… of course, big brother." With one last glance at Leo and Takumi, she turned around and raced out. As soon as she was gone, a silence fell over the room. Xander crossed his arms, looking pointedly at the ground; Takumi studied the scar on his stomach with feigned interest; Leo put his head in his hands. His whole body burned with embarrassment.

Finally, Takumi broke the silence. "Listen, I… I should go," he said, and made to stand up. However, he let out a gasp of pain and sat back down on the edge of the bed, clutching his stomach. Every muscle in Leo's body urged him to reach out to the Hoshidan prince, but he held back. Instead, Xander was the one to put a hand on Takumi's shoulder.

"Don't push yourself," he told him. "Elise is a very capable healer, but no one can completely fix an injury that severe in one night. If you really wanted, we could arrange to have you brought back to Hoshido, but I would recommend staying here for a couple of days to recover."

Takumi blushed, glancing sidelong at Leo. "I wouldn't want to impose."

"It's no problem, Prince Takumi," Xander responded. "Now, if you don't mind me prying… I'm hoping you can explain to me how you were able to get into this castle without anyone noticing."

Leo looked up at his older brother, eyes wide. "Xander…" he began. "Please don't blame him. I asked Takumi to come here, so if you're going to punish anyone, it should be me."

"Leo, stop," Takumi hissed. "I came here myself. You didn't do anything." He turned to Xander. "Prince Xander, punish me instead."

Leo opened his mouth to retort, but before he could, Xander exclaimed, "Both of you, stop! Just listen to me, okay? No one is getting punished here! I'm not angry at either of you. I just need to know where our castle's defences are lacking so I can prevent anything like this from happening again."

"Oh," Takumi mumbled. "In that case, I climbed in through the window using a rope."

"Thank you," said Xander. "Well, the next time you come, please just use the front gates, okay? We can even give you a Nohrian escort if it would make you more comfortable."

"The next time?" echoed Leo, sounding lost.

"Yes, the next time. You and Prince Takumi are dating, yes? I assume he'll be back to visit you."

At the mention of the word 'dating', Leo's heart leapt into his throat. He opened his mouth, and closed it again. Beside him, Takumi took a deep breath. It was exactly what they had both been dreading for months.

Leo tore his eyes away from his brother and turned to Takumi. The Hoshidan prince blinked back at him. Looking into those caramel brown eyes made Leo's heart ache. He was in love with Takumi, and that secret pulsed inside of him, hard and heavy and dark. Like a tumour, it was growing, twisting around his organs and strangling him from the inside out. Just one word, Leo, he thought. Just tell him.

"Leo?" Xander asked.

Leo reached down and took Takumi's hand in his. "Yes, we're dating," he declared.

A small smile spread across Xander face. "Damn it all," he sighed. "Looks like I owe Camilla fifty gold now."

For a few moments, both Leo and Takumi just sat there, blinking up at Xander. And then realization hit, like a punch to the stomach. Leo's jaw dropped. "What… what are you saying?" he stammered. "You and Camilla have a bet on whether or not Takumi and I are dating!?"

Xander nodded, and let out a burst of laughter. "We did, yes. The bet is over now, though. I suppose Camilla really does know everything."

Leo's mind was reeling. "So you aren't angry?" he asked.

"Of course not, Leo," Xander replied. "Nohr and Hoshido are at peace now. I'm glad you are bonding with the Hoshidan royals… in, um, all ways possible." As soon as the word 'bonding' had escaped his lips, Xander's face had turned scarlet. So had Leo's.

"Then what was all that at dinner last night?" he sputtered. "About how dangerous it would be to get too close to the Hoshidan royals?"

Xander chuckled. "That was Elise's idea, actually," he explained. "She told me what I should say. Apparently, she thought it was a surefire way to get you to confess your feelings."

"What!?" Leo gasped. "Elise was in on this, too?"

"Of course she was," said Xander. "In fact, she'll be disappointed that she missed this."

"So… you don't really believe what you said last night?" Leo asked.

Xander shook his head. "I don't, Leo. As a prince of Nohr, you know that there are Hoshidans who are out for your blood… like the man who came after you tonight. But I do not think Prince Takumi is one of those. Or any of the Hoshidan royals, for that matter. So as long as you're happy, I am too." He turned to Takumi. "Treat my brother right, won't you, Prince Takumi?"

Takumi looked stunned, but he nodded. "I-I will, Prince Xander. Thank you."

Xander smiled. "All right. Well, now that all that's over with… you boys need to clean yourselves up. Leo, why don't you help Prince Takumi wash off all of that blood? I'll get a maid to deal with these sheets."

Blush crept up Takumi's neck and into his face. "I don't need anyone to bathe me," he grumbled. "Just help me get on my feet. I'll be fine."

Leo sighed. He had known Takumi long enough to know that he hated to show weakness; the thought of having someone take care of him when he was injured or sick was mortifying to him. The Nohrian prince stood up and offered a hand to Takumi, who took it. Leo pulled him gently to his feet. "You okay?" he asked.

Takumi nodded. "I'm fine, Leo. You can let go now," he said.

"Xander knows about us now," responded Leo. "I don't think I'm ever going to let go again."

Takumi looked away, embarrassed, but Leo could see that he was smiling. The Nohrian prince laughed softly and began to lead his boyfriend out of the room. Their bare feet squelched through the pool of blood that had formed around the dead assassin's body just outside the doorway; neither prince said anything, but both tightened their grip on the other's hand.

Leo brought Takumi down the torch-lit hallway and into his own personal bathroom, to ensure that they would be alone. Once they were inside, he shut the door and, looking down at the bloody footprints they had tracked in, locked it as well. Takumi was sitting on the edge of the bathtub, studying it with critical eyes. "It's small," he remarked.

"Small?" repeated Leo incredulously. "This is one of the biggest bathtubs in the castle."

Takumi shrugged. "In Hoshido, we have hot springs. Those are much bigger."

"That's because those are meant for many people to bathe together," Leo replied, sitting down beside Takumi and turning the faucets on. "But I think we'll both be able to fit into this bathtub quite easily."

"B-Both of us?" Takumi stammered, pink spreading across his cheeks.

Leo frowned. "Yes, both of us. Aren't you used to bathing with other people, Takumi? In the hot springs in Hoshido?"

"Yeah, but… this is a bathtub, not a hot spring!" By this point, Takumi's face was bright red. "The only people I've bathed with in such close quarters are my sisters. We were young, okay? And it hasn't happened since!"

The image of a tiny Takumi in the bathtub with Hinoka and Sakura made a laugh escape from Leo's lips. Takumi blinked incredulously at him for a second before laughing as well.

For a few moments, the two princes just sat there, laughing, fuelled by excess adrenaline and exhaustion. Then, Takumi clutched at the scar on his stomach. "Damn," he hissed. "Don't make me laugh, Leo. It hurts."

"Sorry," sighed Leo. "You should be getting into the bath, anyway. If it makes you feel more comfortable… you can bathe by yourself."

"No, it's all right," Takumi responded. "I almost died tonight because I wanted to be with you. We're getting in this bathtub."

Leo chuckled. "Suit yourself," he said, and turned off the faucets. Takumi shrugged off his underwear and stepped into the tub. "How's the temperature?" Leo asked.

Takumi smiled, and held out a hand to Leo. "It's perfect," he told him.

Despite the blood that was splashed across the Hoshidan prince's skin, and the tangled wave of silver hair behind his shoulders, Leo was struck by how handsome Takumi looked. The Nohrian prince smiled back, and removed his underwear as well. Taking Takumi's hand, he got into the tub. The two princes sat down in the water, which was tinged pink by the blood that was washing off of them.

Leo picked up two bars of soap from the edge of the tub and passed one to Takumi. He then began scrubbing at his skin. Both princes had blood on their hands, feet, and stomachs, although Takumi had significantly more. The Hoshidan prince also had blood smeared below his lips from coughing it up. Leo quickly cleaned himself off, and leaned forward to wipe Takumi's chin. His finger brushed over Takumi's bottom lip, sending a shiver of contentment through Leo's body. He moved his hand up to brush a soapy strand of hair from Takumi's face.

"They know now, Takumi," he whispered. "My siblings… they know about us now. And we're okay."

"We're okay," echoed Takumi softly, and leaned in to press his lips to Leo's. This kiss was different from the ones they had shared earlier in the night; those had been heated, passionate, the kisses of two lovers who had not seen each other in weeks. This kiss was gentler, slower, the kiss of two lovers who thought that they would never see each other again.

And it would take a hell of a lot to separate them now.