A/N: Urgh, it's 2 AM and I just got home from a trip. Wind Ensemble is slowly killing meeee.

It was nearly noon when Sothe and Tormod woke up and even then they didn't bother leaving their tent. Ike had designated today an 'every-man-for-himself' sort of day while he and Soren and the rest of their war council tried to sort out exactly what to do about Daein. So as long as they played their cards right, nobody would have to know that they'd spent the entire morning in bed. If worse came to worse they could always say that they'd taken a page out of Haar's book.

So far it was working exceptionally well. They hadn't even bothered to get dressed yet, instead choosing to remain wrapped in each other's arms, kissing, talking, drifting in and out of sleep. Calill had stuck her head in once, on the verge of ordering Tormod to get out of bed for a magic lesson but she'd left as quickly as she'd appeared. Astrid came in looking for Sothe to spar with but upon seeing them she had turned several different shades of red and gone back the way she'd come. Tormod had chuckled at that one, dropping a kiss to Sothe's already-marked neck. Then Ranulf had poked his head in, flushed and out of breath.

"Muarim's headed this way and he doesn't look happy," he panted. "I'll stall him as best I can but you need to get dressed and make sure he doesn't see your necks."

They had panicked at that point. Rather, Sothe had. Tormod's brow had furrowed and he had tugged his clothing on half-heartedly. There was concern written on his face but not panic. Finally he clapped his hands onto a fully-dressed Sothe's shoulders.

"I'm telling him that I'm queer."

"Get your cloak on or you won't be around to tell him." Sothe threw the heavy fabric onto Tormod's shoulders.

"Sothe, he'll be able to—"

"Smell it."

The words were growled from between clenched teeth. They both flinched. Sothe's hand caught Tormod's and squeezed. Muarim was certainly angry. Behind him, Ranulf was making a flailing gesture that Tormod guessed was supposed to be some sort of apology. He gritted his teeth and stood.

"So I'm queer. So what?"

"I have told you that men are supposed to be with women. And here you are, fucking the thief behind my back." The tiger's hands were balled into fists. That couldn't be good.

"And you've also told me that one day I would meet and fall in love with some pretty beorc. It's been done. So why are you so angry with me?"

"A pretty female beorc. You've been misleading me. Saying that you're only friends even though you stink of him constantly. Men are not permitted to be with men. You have committed an unspeakable sin."

It was Sothe's turn to stand and he drew himself up to his full height. He still barely reached Muarim's shoulder. "Don't you dare speak of your son this way."

Muarim aimed his fist and landed a blow on his jaw. Sothe hit the ground, dazed. Blood dripped from his lower lip but he staggered to his feet and wiped it away. The tiger took a step toward him and Tormod stepped between them, glaring defiantly at his caregiver. Gold eyes bored into his but he didn't move.

"How can you do this to your own son?" Sothe asked. He was swaying in place and Tormod reached out to steady him. The motion made Muarim visibly flinch and he gritted his teeth.

"I have no son."

"How can you say that!?" Tormod shouted, tears coming to his eyes. "How can you raise someone and call them your son for their whole life and then rip that away from them the moment that something you didn't have planned happens?! How can you look at us and say that this is unspeakable?! I'm so in love with him that I don't know what to do half the time! And having to keep it from you makes things worse! Why does it matter that we're both boys!?"

"Because it's unnatural!" the tiger roared. "What makes you think that having another male as a lover is normal!?"

Sothe's eyes narrowed. "What makes you think it isn't?"

"Sothe…" Tormod frowned; this was taking things too far. There was a point where Muarim would be too angry to care about whether or not they came out unharmed. They were toeing the line. The thief was ignoring him though, speaking his mind as he always did, making Muarim angrier and angrier.

Tormod caught the thief's hand. Sothe gave him a confused look but it was too late; Muarim was past anger at this point and had transformed.

That was their cue to run, slashing through the back of their tent and barrelling through it, nearly knocking down Boyd as they went. The warrior shouted something rude after them but was silenced as Muarim leaped over him.

"We're going to die," were Sothe's words. His grip tightened on Tormod's hand. The sage raised an eyebrow.

"You've spent your whole life in the slums, running from the authorities, but now that we're being chased by my father you're convinced we're going to die?" He let go as they ran around either side of a tree. "What kind of thief are you?"

That set the spark back in Sothe's eyes. He grinned. "Head for General Ike's tent. We're about to destroy a war meeting."

"We're—"

"Going to get the General's attention. If two teenagers come barrelling through—" he paused as they weaved between tents. Muarim was falling behind only slightly. "—followed by an angry tiger he's bound to notice that there's a threat."

"Muarim isn't—"

"Tormod, he's trying to kill us right fucking now. Or at least me. That's a threat if I ever saw one." Ike's tent was in view now. He reached out a hand and Tormod caught it. "In for one gold, in for a hundred. I love you."

"I love you too."

Sothe shouted a warning as they were within earshot of Ike's tent but didn't slow down even in the slightest. He seemed to gain speed at this point, if that was at all possible. Muarim was closing in one them; on flat ground and in a straight line it was easy to catch prey. Something came to mind about being able to run faster scared than angry but it was thrown from his head as they burst through the tent, dodging around people and finally slowing to a stop, collapsing on the ground. Ike already had his sword out and Soren had a Tornado in his hands immediately. Elincia's retainers stepped in front of her and Tibarn's hand caught Reyson's.

Seconds later Muarim appeared. Tormod tensed and Sothe gathered the sage in his arms, shielding him from what was inevitable. He pressed his forehead against the redhead's and squeezed him tightly. A moment later they heard the grunt of Ike swinging his blade and the singing of steel as it cut. A surprised roar and then the thud as the tiger hit the table, sending papers and books flying. It was finished as quickly as it had started. Ike was giving orders and from somewhere nearby there was the glow of a Heal staff being used. Tormod's shoulders were shaking and Sothe looped one arm under his knees and the other under his shoulder and picked him up. From somewhere behind them Ike said something about an explanation later and Sothe nodded in acknowledgement.

Minutes later they were out of camp and Sothe collapsed on the ground in a grove of trees. The adrenaline rush was gone and now he was just tired. For Tormod's sake he had to stay strong.

It wasn't that hard. Tormod curled up against him and cried into his shirt and he held the sage close, whispering that everything would be alright, Muarim would be fine, he'll come around, don't worry. Countless times he said 'I love you'. Finally Tormod's breathing evened out and he stopped sniffling. Sothe leaned down and buried his nose in Tormod's hair. Ash and desert flowers. He kissed the sage's hair but Tormod didn't look at him, simply burrowed further into his chest and let out a sigh.

The crunch of a boot on the ground was what finally brought them back to the real world. Sothe turned and Tormod looked up briefly. Ike smiled at them.

"Can I sit with you or is now not the time?"

Sothe shrugged. "I don't mind. Tormod?"

The sage let out a grunt and shook his head. Ike sat down next to them and placed a hand on Tormod's shoulder. "You're insanely brave, you know that? The both of you, but Tormod in particular. We managed to get out of him that you told him you're gay. That takes an amazing amount of courage. It's something that I never managed to do."

"You never told your father?" Sothe asked. Ike shrugged.

"There was never a good time to do it. Although traditionally it is something that's not exactly smiled upon." Ike shrugged. "And Father was…he was Father. Terrifying might have been a good word for him. He was a good man and accepting of everyone but this just seemed like something he wouldn't like, so I never told him. And now it's too late to tell him anything. Besides," he sighed, "nobody here really gives two figs whether or not you're straight or queer or whatever you call it. Half this camp fights for the other army." At their look he chuckled. "We're all queer. I am and all but four of the mercenaries are. And why does it matter? I'm still capable of doing my job. They're all capable of doing theirs. My friends don't care and almost all of the soldiers who know don't care either."

"Muarim does," Tormod muttered. Ike sighed again.

"Look…I'm not trying to say that he's wrong. But…he's unjustified in attacking you over something so trivial, and in the middle of camp, no less. I don't mind that you two were sleeping in." He grinned. "After last night you deserve to."

Sothe turned an unhealthy shade of red. "So…you heard…?"

Ike chuckled. "It was either you two or Reyson. He and Tibarn…or maybe Naesala…" he frowned. "I don't even know what's going on between the three of them."

Tormod sat up, wiping his eyes. Then he smiled. "You probably don't want to know. Crows are…promiscuous? I think that's the right word. They don't care about having one or two or whether they're men or women." He shrugged when Ike gave him a questioning look. "We had a lot of crows in the desert. I think maybe it's why Muarim's…the way he is. But I figured that after living with it for so long, it might soften the blow when I told him."

"Do you know why he's so…homophobic?"

"I don't know what that means."

Ike chuckled. "Soren made it up on the spot. 'Phobic' is the word his teacher used for being afraid of something; 'homosexual' is what queers are called. He's talking about the irrational fear of people like us."

"I don't know why," Tormod murmured. "I think it might have something to do with when he was a slave, though I couldn't say for sure. He's just…always been that way. When he was raising me he made sure to tell me exactly how things would turn out for me. A future with a girl and a bunch of kids. There was no other option in his eyes."

"And then you fell in love with Sothe."

A smile broke onto the sage's face. "And then I fell in love with Sothe. And that really messed things up."

"Do you regret it?"

Tormod shook his head. "No. How could I?"

"Even with your father angry at you, you don't regret falling in love and being happy?" Ike smiled. "That's exactly right. Whatever happened to him is his own business and his own burden to bear. That shouldn't keep you from being happy. While you should respect him as your father, if he's going to tear you away from what you hold dear then don't hesitate to defy him." He shrugged. "Maybe I'm just saying this because I'm young and stupid and don't have my own children. But that's what I truly believe. That everyone deserves to be happy no matter who they are or what race they are and that you shouldn't let anyone keep you from being happy."

"Thank you," Tormod murmured. "I've been so confused about all of this but I think that I'm okay now." He paused. "Is Muarim going to be okay?"

"I didn't aim to kill. Only to stun. Soren healed him and he's in his tent. Largo's talking to him right now." Ike smiled. "It's all going to be fine."

"I don't—"

"Tormod." Ike smiled and placed his hands on the redhead's shoulders. "He's your father."

"We're not actually—"

"He raised you as his own and time and time again he's proven that he loves you. Your family is not your blood but who you are dedicated to and who will love you no matter what." He stretched and stood, cracking his neck. "I'm heading back to camp. I'll see you both later. Get some rest when you can and get some sparring practice if you can. We're marching tomorrow morning so don't get too tired."

"Sir." Tormod saluted. "Thank you."

Ike tipped his fingers back at the sage. "Any time."

())CRAYOLA))

"That was harsh."

Muarim's tail twitched only slightly. Aside from that, there was no sign that he'd heard the berserker. Largo sighed and sat down a ways away from the laguz.

"Well? Don't you think you were hard on him? From what I've heard, you raised him for nearly his whole life. Don't you think that all of this was too much?"

The tiger growled. "Who are you to question me?"

Largo made a face. "You shouted at him about how he's committing an unspeakable act by falling in love with another boy and then chasing them both through camp with what looks like intent to kill. They were right to go to the General and he was right to attack you. You're completely beyond reasoning with about this for reasons that nobody can discern. At the very least you should apologize to both Ike and your son."

Muarim's gaze hardened. "You should be minding your own business."

"What kind of role model do you think you're being? You need to behave like a reasonable adult."

"I am far older than you, human."

"You're not acting like it."

"And what do you know?!" Muarim's fists were clenching. Largo tensed, prepared to dodge should the laguz come for him. The tiger continued. "Have you raised any children yourself, much less a child from the opposite race?! Have you ever been a slave?! Tell me, what hardships have you have to take upon yourself?"

"Abuse. Physical. Sexual. All of it by my father. Years' worth. I still wake up in a cold sweat some nights." Largo said it all nonchalantly but his eyes didn't meet Muarim's. "But I opened up to someone instead of hiding it away from the world. I let myself be comforted instead of letting it eat away at me." His eyes met the tiger's and he extended a hand. "I want to help you."

"Why would a human want to aid a laguz?"

"Because I see in front of me a good person. Not someone that is below me. I fight alongside you, not against you. And I think we could be friends, given time."

"You are…very strange." Muarim sighed and looked at Largo's extended hand. Carefully he let his fingers brush the other man's palm. "I…I was a slave. Taken from my parents when I was very young. They worked me out in the fields, in the home. Cleaning or harvesting or simply moving furniture. They made me do degrading things." His hand started shaking and he began to pull away but Largo caught it and squeezed gently. "I…he forced me, when I turned forty—perhaps thirteen in beorc years—to…" Muarim's brow furrowed. Clearly it was hard for him to say it.

"I get it," Largo murmured. "He was…a disgusting man, I'm sure. To do that to a child…is despicable. It certainly brings your phobia into clearer focus."

"I—"

"Correct me if I'm wrong. You were forced into a situation where being queer was a bad thing. Completely unspeakable. I'm sure that your view of it that way was reinforced by the sick fuck that owned you. So when released, you didn't get a chance to see it any differently." He squeezed Muarim's hand gently. "So this morning, when you discovered that your son had been with another man, you assumed that his experience had been similar because you were never given the chance to see it any other way. And because of that you lashed out in the way that you never were able to do as a slave. Is that about right?"

Muarim nodded numbly. "You are…strangely intuitive."

Largo smiled. "I think that you need to take some time to think. I won't stay here if you don't want me to, but I'd like it if you at least considered talking to Tormod. Tell him what you just told me. It'll give each of you a sense of understanding about each other. And maybe you should ask him what it was like for him."

"I couldn't—"

"I don't mean right away. Take some time. Maybe one day he'll be comfortable telling you. And besides, didn't he tell you himself that he was in love? I don't know if it's the same, but…when I met Calill, everything was suddenly alright. I was with someone I loved and that made it different somehow. It's probably the same for Tormod. He's given himself completely to someone he's in love with and I think that that's what's important."

Muarim let out a great sigh. "Thank you."

"Anytime you need it, I'm here to listen. Or to spar, or anything." Largo chuckled. "Ten gold says I could pin you with my bare hands."

The tiger cocked an eyebrow. Then his lips curved upward in a crooked grin, revealing one fang. "Twenty says that I could lift more than you."

"Thirty says I can eat more than you."

"Now you're just being ridiculous."

Largo chuckled at that and stood. "Come on, then. We'll spar first. Get rid of some of your energy. You still seem tense."

"A bit." Muarim caught the hand offered to him and let the other man pull him up. Then he cursed. Largo cocked an eyebrow. The laguz chuckled. "You were right."

"About what?"

"I feel better."

"Enough to hunt down Tormod and apologize?"

"Perhaps." His eyes narrowed. "But I believe we've got a wager first."

"And you don't feel like facing him right now."

"That too."

They laughed at that and headed for the sparring grounds.