a/n: Ha! The closest anyone ever gets to fighting in this fic. also some more Leo-internal-torment. Gotta love him. Very early update, but oh well.

Don't forget to review and let me know if you're confused/see any mistakes;) this is the last "chapter" that's still in-game, so I used a lot game dialogue...

ii.

[I didn't really see you again until the day I was ordered to kill you. I knew it was unavoidable, but it still hurt me…. There were only a few battles before that one, but they never really mattered; I never truly intended to kill you in those.

But this one I did.]

Perhaps the hardest thing about losing Corrin was knowing that she was still there.

It was knowing that he could still have her, that she could be wrapped in his arms at night, they could be fighting together, side by side, never apart, if she had only chosen differently that day. They could have told their family, and in time, they would have accepted it. In another lifetime, maybe, it would have been enough, he would have been enough for her. But not in this one.

Not in this one.

It was in the time that he wasn't helping Xander (plot for her true kingdom's demise) or completing tedious and poorly thought-out missions assigned by his father (which often involved killing her people) that Leo had to come to terms with how he really felt about Corrin.

He loved her, there was no doubt in that.

But war had never been a time for love, and Leo knew he had to accept that, especially if he valued his own life or Elise's or Camilla's. If his father ever caught the slightest thought that his youngest son would turn sides, Leo would be six feet under within the hour and Elise would be forced to take his place. Which meant he and Elise were completely and utterly screwed.

It was a war, a massive, all-out battle, but completely with himself, as Corrin had always made things easier, not harder. She had always made him laugh, made him smile—she was the only person who understood, who listened, and who, in most cases, would let him fall asleep beside her when his dreams were bad and he couldn't sleep.

She was never the elder sister, but the warmest smile, the best hug, the softest voice. He knew she had reasons for choosing against him, that she wouldn't if she didn't know that was the right path, but there was no way to know and no way to ask. Corrin was just so far.

Except in battle.

He had seen her a few times in battle, donning Hoshido armor and bearing the blade Yato in her left hand. Leo had no doubt that Corrin was the bringer of peace—Yato came of no surprise to him. But her determined face, her tactics that often mimicked something that he would have chosen; she was too familiar, too similar—she was pushing herself into every possible place she could and hurting him every time she did.

The attack on Camilla had been child's play; Leo could have taken her entire army then and there, rebels included, but he couldn't bring himself to. When he raised his scroll, he caught sight of her eyes watching him with such an intensity, such a longing, that he had to retreat. She wouldn't do any harm right then. He could stop her later. She was just so heartbroken, her face broken without really showing it.

She looked like a kicked puppy and he hated it.

It was wrong and it was right, the light on her side and the darkness on his. In their time together, they had coexisted, melded into an eclipse of some kind, a darkness infused by the light, but time was up and dues were paid. The light had never belonged with the dark, had it?

Leo supposed that was what he deserved for hating her to begin with, for hating the affection she received from Xander and from Camilla. He figured that this was his fate, his true and absolutely shitty fate that had been forced unto him all because he had been jealous of a beautiful girl locked in a stone tower.

And in all cases, did it not make up for it that he ended up loving her too?

He fell under her spell too, the girl with the dragon blood, and he figured that was enough punishment.

Now he was forced to plot against her, sleep without her, be so far from her, and he was entirely sure that was punishment enough.

But the fires in hell never really cool down.

The day Father ordered Leo to kill Corrin was the day the prince had to kill himself.

Maybe not in a physical way—though he had considered that—but a mental way, a soul sort of way; he couldn't kill her, so maybe he could put himself at ease. Change himself, change his beliefs. Find his solace in the darkness, and forget the light. Forget her.

Forget the way her hands feel across his skin, his face, threaded through his hair.

Forget the taste of her mouth, tea and strawberry and so soft, so gentle.

Forget the rise and fall of her chest when she sleeps, her arms tucked across his, nose pressed into his neck.

He couldn't kill her if he thought like that.

But he couldn't let her live on. She'd kill Father, tear down his people, tear down his entire nation and without hesitation. She had plainly sided and made it clear as to what she had to do find her peace. Nohr meant nothing to her, but it meant everything to him. It was his home, his people; the culture, the life, it was all his and nothing less. He couldn't lose it, not as prince, not to her.

Nohr was not her home and she had made her choice.

Leo had to make his.

His Father commanded him to kill her because no one else had managed to, her army too strong, their own tactics too weak. It was pathetic, really, how she was parading across Nohr like it was a playground, slaughtering entire masses of Faceless and, yes, Nohrian soldiers too.

It seemed as if his choice was made for him.

So he obeyed his father's commands and marched across Nohr to the swamps, where he knew he could get the upper hand in the fog and the mess. At night, too, and perhaps the darkness plus the fog would hide her face as he did what he had to. There was no other way, really. Not for him.

They came soon enough, stumbling right across his graveyard just as predictably as they could be, the entire mass of people that his love had found to follow her to her death. It was unsurprising, the amount of people that she had found to love her in his stead. Corrin was so lovable, there was no doubt that she could have the entire nation behind her if she only asked.

The Faceless he had summoned waited on his command, but he hesitated, unsure. It would be best if she saw him, surely. It would be best if she knew how she was going to die.

She wondered aloud as she always did and he answered her, childishly and foolishly, but answered nonetheless.

"Have you really lost your night eyes already, Sister? Hoshido has made you soft."

Leo called her Sister intentionally.

He knew she recognized him immediately, as her eyes widened, her face slacked. Corrin's shoulders tensed, but she reacted to his voice the same as she always had, willingly and openly, taking a step towards where she heard it from, her eyes searching. "Who's there?"

"Quite an attitude to take in the dark," he told her, but he mounted his steed and prepared to move forward, grasping his chosen weapon hard in his hands. His skin was turning colder, his heart beating faster, but he couldn't back away now. He had chosen Nohr. He had chosen the dark. "See for yourself."

When he emerged from the fog, she caught eyes with him instantly and he cursed under his breath, for his initial plan had to been to avoid her gaze at all costs. Her eyes had always been his undoing, their glossy, red shade a wonder to his own.

She watched him without caution, her sword drawn down by her side, and seemed almost at relief, like she knew he wouldn't hurt her. Corrin smiled, her eyes alight, and her face turned up with such a brightness, Leo had to grit his teeth to keep his control.

Don't think.

Don't feel.

Don't remember.

"The Nohrian law is blunt on the subject of traitors," he said, and his horse moved closer. "There is only one punishment."

Corrin flinched back like she had been stabbed, stumbling into the eldest prince from Hoshido, one who's name eluded Leo as he watched his love flinch from him. She trembled for a moment, but stood back to her feet, gripping Yato a bit tighter, her eyes clearly broken, but her teeth set.

Her knees were shaking.

She knew the punishment.

"The sentence is death."

Her siblings intervened at once, of course, and there was shouting and pointed fingers and cursed names. Leo told them all of his plans and his wish to kill them, his wish to put them back where they belong and replace what had been torn. "After all," he said tightly, rigidly, and it felt like acid in his teeth. "the sister that I once loved is dead."

He thought that would be what made her turn away from him.

But Corrin was watching him with a curious face, her head tilted, lip between her teeth. She was doubting him, yes, but she looked as if she knew, like she knew how hard this was for. It shouldn't have been hard. He was the second prince of Nohr. He should have had no hesitation. But the way she watched him…it made his blood burn.

He was determined to prove himself so he continued on, the acid growing in the back of his throat. He was stronger than her. He could do this.

He had to.

"You Hoshidans think you're all a ray of light in this world, but you're hypocritical fools," he spat, gripping harder at his reins, knuckles paled white. "True power comes from a heart forged in darkness."

Corrin's face turned up in a slight smile then, and watched him carefully. She looked like she knew. Like she had caught him red-handed.

Her brother, the one with the long grey hair and the obnoxious yumi, continued on, throwing as many childish insults as he could in one go, but Leo shrugged him off, hitting with what best he could manage in word play before the water of the swamp took its place.

The Hoshidans began to burn beneath the power of the dark, but Corrin stood tall still, her hair framing her face, the same lazy smirk upon her face. Damn it, that girl. She knew all his tricks. And apparently, she was still tied to Nohr somehow.

He didn't want to think about what was holding her down in Nohr.

He knew it was him.

"No matter," he said heavily, twisting so he could return to his pedestal above his tireless creatures. "There won't be an escape today. In the dark forest where even the moon and the stars dare not shine, all sources of light shall be swallowed up in my darkness...because I will it so."

Corrin froze and her smirk dropped. She tilted her head again, but this time it was a look of sadness, not play.

He turned his back on her and the battle began.

They bested him somehow and damn it, was he confused.

He was beaten, completely and totally beaten, his Faceless gone, his own strength depleted. There was nothing left for him to do but fall at her feet and beg for her not to kill him. Leo had done all he could for his nation and for his people.

He fought for Nohr, and by the gods, did he lose everything by trying.

"Well," he said, and it was through gasps as he held a hand to his chest, staunching the blood of a light wound that was deeper than the rest. "Do what you must."

Corrin's face was grim and her eyes were dark. "No. Accept your defeat, Leo, and we can end this together."

"But we can't!" Leo gasped, and he grit his teeth again. He watched her with stars in his eyes, and she was still shining. Somehow she was still a light in the darkest place he could find. He had tried to extinguish her and she was only brighter than ever. "Don't you see? This can't ever end."

"It can—"

"No! Not until one of us is dead, Corrin."

Her light dimmed. She drooped under the weight of his words.

"I—I can't accept that. No, I won't. There was no need for us to be at war in the first pl—"

"You always have been naïve," he said, and he shook his head. "This is war! This is life or death! Only the strong can survive now. If…If Nohr bows down, we'll lose everything. Our land and our people, our culture, our legacy, our family…our entire lives."

Corrin grew much dimmer after that. "I—I…"

"Face it, darling. This was your choice."

"Why are you doing this?" She whispered, shrinking, shaking.

"Because I have to. I can't back down, Corrin, not even for you. Not even for the love that means the most to me. Nohr is counting on me. Xander, Camilla, Elise…They're all counting on me."

"Leo…"

"Don't," he said, and his voice had gone. "Please. I don't want to hear it. Not like that."

She tightened her shoulders and took a deep breath. In that moment, Corrin had to grow into herself and into the choice that fate had brought her to. She knew he was right. Only the strong survive wars.

"Okay, t-then don't move, Leo, o—or I'll have no choice."

"I've already made mine," he said softly.

Corrin shook her head, and he knew she was crying. She had to wipe her tears on the back of her arm, and if Leo could name the moment that was most painful for him, it was likely that one, the one where she was crying because of him and he couldn't take her into his arms unless it was to snap her neck.

"I won't give up on you," she told him and he knew she was true. "If you didn't love me, I'd already be dead six times over by now. I—I believe in our love, Leo, and I believe you won't kill me. I don't want to fight you—you or Camilla or Elise, not anymore.

"I…I'll always love you, Leo," she finished, and her eyes glistened. "That will never change."

And by then, how could he tell her no?

She asked him to join her, but that he did say no to.

"You're asking me to betray my father and Xander. And everyone else. I—I can't do that, Corrin. I've already betrayed you."

She understood him then, when he wouldn't take their side.

He, however, wouldn't fight against it.

In that case, he had to warn them about Xander, who, in all ways, had become more powerful than anything Leo had ever read about. He was strong, but also skilled in other things now, things of ancient and old power. It was something that was unheard of, and yet, sane in all ways it shouldn't be.

The warp book to Notre Sagesse was probably a flourish of damage that Leo could have avoided, but the look in Corrin's eyes wasn't one of games, not anymore. She was so determined now, so bright in her light of hope, she had to be right. What she was fighting for was peace, not death. She didn't mean to destroy Nohr, she meant to free it.

That had to mean something.

Her party settled in at the graveyard once he assured her there would be no more Faceless. Then they slipped off before she warped them all away, off into the trees and the dark to stand close and unseen.

He didn't even know where to begin.

"Corrin, I—"

"Stop," she said, and her voice was sad. "I don't want an apology. Your heart is good, Leo. You wouldn't do this unless you had absolutely no other way."

"Father, he—he threatened Elise, told me if I didn't kill you, he'd make her pay for it, and I couldn't—"

"And I don't blame you. There is nothing stronger than true love besides a brother's protection. I know that better than anyone."

He was quiet a moment. "Are you okay?"

"Honestly?" Corrin sighed, before her hand caught up in her hair, ruffling through it. It was her way of signaling how exhausted she was, a habit she had picked up when she was young and alone. "I don't know. I just want to be finished. The fighting isn't the worst of it. It's seeing the faces, especially the ones I grew up beside, and realizing they're only fighting because I willed it."

"I can't tell you you're wrong," he said. "But I can tell you I believe you're doing it right. So long as you leave Nohr's people alone, I—I won't stop you. Not again."

"You'll have to forgive yourself for that," she whispered.

"For what?"

"Trying to kill me." She gave him a hesitant smile.

"I can't," he sighed, his eyes dark. "I won't. Not ever."

Corrin shook her head. "You will. When this is all over and I'm safe in your arms, you will."

Leo looked at her, his eyes blown wide, mouth dropped, and his heart sped up. "You mean…"

"I'll come back to you," she said, and her face was confused. She tilted her head. "Did you ever doubt that I would?"

"Well I did just try to kill you…"

"To save Elise. Not just to kill me."

The prince scowled, but he gave in, gave in to her infectious nativity and hope, smiling just a bit at the way she was looking at him. He had missed her so, her skin and her face and her eyes. Looking at him like he belonged instead of like he was dying.

"I will come back to you," she promised, and her hand found his along his chest, her chin tilted up. "I'll always come back to you, Leo."

"Love is strange," he admitted, and she laughed, the first laugh in months that filled his ears, filled his soul. "Moments ago, you were threatening to kill me."

"But I love you still. War just screws everything up."

"War is an absolute bastard, Corrin."

She smiled. "But love is strong. That's how it survives."

Leo gave in, throwing all his caution to the wind and pulling her closer to him, catching her between his arms and resting his chin atop her head. He didn't say anything and she didn't need him to, the sound of his heart doing enough.

"I forgive you," she murmured, her cheek pressed to his heart. "Let's just…not do it again."

"I don't think I was ever really going to," he whispered. "To kill you. But it felt like it."

"Love does what it has to," she said. Corrin ran a hand across his chest and then pulled away to look him in the eye, quietly, just enough to get him to give himself away completely.

She didn't know it then, but he was already so lost.

He was lost in her, if it wasn't so obvious, the way he loved her was bearing down on him harder than he realized. He had just given in, given up; all of his work for Nohr gone, shattered like glass, heavy as rain but soft as silk. If his father found out, he was dead. If his brother found out, he was dead. If he ever really came to his senses…well, perhaps he would be alright.

It wasn't ever really his choice to begin with.

It had always been hers.

His fate would always follow hers.

Damn Fate.

Then they were quiet, lost in their own world if only for a bit, like a moment back in the fortress where they could pretend and forget, no death and no war and no worries. Corrin was the one who broke it.

"You're different now," she blurted, and her face was still bright—it obviously wasn't something she was worried too much about. "The way you walk and the way you stand. It's like you're not sure about anything. You've always been so sure…"

"Everything is so uncertain now," he told her. "I don't have you to go back to, in the fortress. You're what I had to cope. Now I have to cope without you and that's harder than anything I had before."

She sighed and her breath was warm on his skin. "I can't apologize for leaving Nohr, Leo, but I can tell you I've never been sorrier than when I left you."

He held her tighter.

"Corrin?"

"Mhm?"

"How did you know?"

She raised an eyebrow.

"That I wasn't going to kill you."

"What you said in the beginning," she admitted. Corrin traced a pattern across his chest as she spoke, but she refused to look away from him, her fingers slowly tracing closer to the light stubble that crossed his chin. "About darkness being where true strength is forged. That gave you away. I should have just stopped the entire battle then."

"But—"

"You didn't mean that," she said. "I know because you told me once that I so often was your light you wouldn't know what to do in the dark. And the way you looked at me then, right before the battle…I knew you still loved me. That I was still your light. So there was no way you believed that."

Leo didn't have a response, so he pressed her closer to him and breathed in the smell of her hair.

And when he had to say goodbye, he kissed her once and looked her in the eye. "Come back to me," he told her, sternly, but she knew and she nodded.

Leo disappeared over the trees and was gone before she could tell him yes.