Leo looked up from his paper and watched Corrin scribble furiously at the latest piece of work he made for her. To say he was surprised that his adopted sister came to him during war-time to get educated was an understatement, but he is infinitely grateful she did. He has come to appreciate her more, as well as notice several things that he hadn't before. Like the way her tongue just barely pushes her cheek out when she is working on a particularly difficult problem, or when she has this huge smile on her face whenever she passes one of his tests.

Or when she smiles at him when she thanks him for the lesson. Gods, her very smile is so alluring and Leo has found himself trying very hard to keep a student-teacher relationship during their sessions lately. Now, while he won't outright admit it, he has been developing some rather intense feelings for Corrin and the main way he deals with it is by stacking more work on her, so he can have an excuse to not get lost in her eyes, the smile and… The Dark Knight takes a breath, student-teacher, he tries in vain to remind himself, even as the area heats up whenever Corrin is around him.

And of course, the biggest concern that nags him… does she feel the same? It is honestly hard to tell, since everyone nearly always sees the caring side of her, she always finds time to help someone out. He turns his attention back to the sheet of paper in his grasp, it is a double-encoded message, that has been translated to an older version of written Nohrian… that has also been encoded. It has been incredibly taxing to make it properly, but it is required, since he cannot seem to bring himself to tell her directly.

"Big brother!" He is snapped out of his thoughts as the radiant Corrin approaches him, the way she walks, her hips and…

"Finished already?" He smirks as he tries to break himself of such thoughts.

"Yup!" She flashes that smile and the room feels so much hotter. "How'd I do?" She eagerly hands him the paper.

He rips his eyes off of her and focuses on the sheet she finished, "Very well, as always, mathematics is starting to stick, isn't it?"

"All thanks to you!" She nods. "Anything else?"

And gods, her enthusiasm to learn more, "It is, and this will be the toughest one yet…"

"You said that about the last two tests…" She pouts.

"Well, it isn't a lie." He smiles and hands her the paper, "This will take a while, and you'll have three days to finish it."

She raises an eyebrow, "Three days? Jeez, just how tough is this one?" She looks at the paper, with her tongue barely poking the inside of her cheek again, her eyes are scrunched and it all comes out so cute. "I can do this." She proclaims, then smiles at him, "I'll finish whatever you throw at me!"

"Think of this one as a final exam," He words carefully, "Pass it, and we can start a… new course. Something more advanced."

"Really?" He can see her eyes just light up at the prospect of something new, "Then I'll ace this, no problem." She cheerfully skips back, her hips swaying in such a way that…

Gods, he hopes she feels the same.

The Dark Knight idly takes a bite out of one of his tomatoes as he sits in the lunch area along with the rest of his family, eyes glancing over at Corrin every few minutes or so. She is still a late sleeper, and has recently been woken by her maids, maybe if she had someone that would lie with her and gently wake her up, then she…

"Leo, dear? Are you paying attention?" He is startled out of his thoughts by Camilla, who has a knowing smile on her face. "There has been something eating your attention for the last week, do you need to talk about it?"

Gods, it was that obvious? "I gave Corrin a final exam, and I'm worried I might have made it too difficult." Considering it took him three tries to get it done correctly.

She tilts her head, "Final? Surely there is more you can teach her… you are the smartest man alive, after all."

His cheeks have a slight shade of red from the praise, "I am not that smart…" He starts off, "And this exam will be more of ending the current year and graduating to something more."

Her eyes are studying him so intently that he thinks she can see right through him, "And what is this 'something more'?" Her tone is innocent enough, but he can see the knowing glint in her eyes.

He sighs and takes one more glance at Corrin, who is taking small sips of her coffee while Elise is giddily chatting about something or other. He turns his attention back to the doting sister, "I have become more… caring for her over the weeks." He admits.

"As in?" She smiles, clearly already knowing the answer.

"Sister… you know exactly what I mean."

She hums and glances at Corrin, then giggles, "You're right, I do. And you are worried if she feels the same?"

"Exactly." As she somehow manages to do, Camilla has figured it out just from one sitting.

"Let me assure you, brother. I am certain the moment you let her know how you truly feel, she will return it."

His voice gets caught in his throat, "You… are you sure?" His face heats up.

"Absolutely."

"Th-thank you, sister… I really needed to hear that."

"Anytime."

It has been three days and both he and Corrin has met up in their little classroom. And it is as Leo feared, she arrives with a frown, "I'm sorry, but I couldn't…" She hands him a partially completed paper, "This is really tough… I guess I'm not ready for…"

"I'll assist you." He interrupts her, "I was actually worried I had made it too difficult, so… let's finish this together, and I can draw up something more appropriate later."

She smiles and the light in her eyes return, "Are you sure?" She is still hesitant, however, "I thought…?"

"Together." He repeats, before taking her to her desk and pulling up another chair, "Now, starting here…" Minutes pass by and Leo is doing everything he can to not wrap an arm around her, or get lost in her eyes. Yet it gets seemingly more difficult by the second, and his heart certainly isn't helping his case, especially since her own face has started flushing… could she hear his heart? The slip-ups in his voice?

"We did it!" She exclaims as the final section is completed, "Oh, right. One more thing." On another sheet, she starts to write down the letters that will form the statement that he has had so much trouble getting out himself, one sentence that will forever change their lives. "Let's see here, the translation is… 'I… hive thee?'"

'Wait, what?' He didn't mess it up, did he? No, he triple checked his work, and another four times to make absolutely sure that it came out perfectly. "That… shouldn't have been the message." He looks over it and by the gods… and sure enough, that is how it was decoded, he did it wrong… "Pardon, let me..." Her hand grabs his before he could make a change and he starts to feel tingly from the sudden contact.

"Leo…" She starts, "You've been acting weird lately." Ah, so she has noticed. "You've been piling so much work on me lately, then turning around and leaving… and now you gave me an incorrectly done exam… do you not want me around? Am I not doing something right?" Gods, she looks so hurt.

"How could you…? No! Of course not! You are progressing very well and I have every intention of being around you…" He stops himself as a flush forms.

"Then what is it?"

He takes a breath, "Corrin, I have been experiencing some rather large… changes over the weeks we have spent together… and as of recently, I have pinpointed the reason why." He gently takes her other hand and stares right into her gorgeous red eyes, her gentle face, "Corrin, I need to tell you something very important, okay?"

She has a small smile, "If it means you will start acting like 'Leo' again, then please, continue."

He gulps and nods, "Corrin, I have been developing feelings for you for weeks now, and I have been too worried to admit them directly." He tilts his head towards the paper, "That message? It was supposed to say… No. I will say it, from me to you, not from paper to you… Corrin, I love you. Not as a brother to a sister, but as a man to a woman. I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

A silence reigns afterwards as he can all but see the information being processed through her, the way her face shifts, curiosity, happiness, curious again, then… "Leo." She finally speaks and her expression lands on something sorrowful… remorseful. The Dark Knight's heart drops before she even continues. "I've known you and the others as family for so long now that… I can't think of you all as anything but family." Her hands move away and he suddenly feels so much colder, empty. "I'm sorry, big brother, but that is how you and the others will always remain. Family, and I will always love and cherish all of you, but it will be as family."

"...of course." He hangs his head, he should have known… he should have told her earlier about her being adopted, then maybe… her hand guides his head back up to meet her eyes, but instead of being lost in their gaze, he looks away, not wanting to fall back into the pit.

"I'm sure you will find someone else, big brother. You are smart, caring, talented… you will find a woman who will make you the happiest you've ever been, and I will support you every step of the way."

...But she is the only one who can, "I understand." He concedes to prevent any more negativity from pushing them apart. "Thank you for being honest." Even as his heart shatters.

She pulls him into a hug, "I love you, big brother."

"I love you too… little sister."