Author's note: Here it is, the serious chapter that I have been promising. I know some of my readers were wondering what happened to Niles and Corrin - fear not! they're back now and still in love.

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Fire Emblem.

Chapter fifteen: "I Love You"

Corrin was in bed, but not asleep. She couldn't close her eyes; her chest was aching, her lungs gasping, as though she had just run a marathon through the mud. Though all she had really done was try to process what had happened with Xander.

To begin with, she had tried to understand Xander's "lecture". She didn't dwell on it too long, though. She was a grown woman, a mature adult with a sensible love for Niles. However, her new knowledge of relationships did not fill her with any sense of adult love or even adolescent lust. Honestly, she was in the pre-pubescent stage of disgust.

Quickly, her thoughts had moved on to Xander's warning. "Niles will love you and leave you," he had said. Corrin still wouldn't believe it and refused to be comforted; Xander had crossed a line when he had accused Niles of not caring for Corrin, of only using her. Corrin didn't see herself forever being angry at her brother, but she couldn't imagine ever forgetting this feeling of pain that accusation had caused her.

Eventually, the only emotions left to Corrin were pain and anger. She had stopped crying some time ago, but she still felt sick and weak. I wish I could sleep and escape this mess for a little while, she thought. Time passed and the moon rose higher outside, but still her eyes would not stay shut.

Corrin had no idea how long she laid there. When Xander had stood in the doorway to throw one last warning over his shoulder at her, the cold night wind had blown out Corrin's time-keeping candle. She had not bothered to re-light it, and it was obviously too late now.

Corrin knew it must have been very late, for the moon was so high; thus, she was startled when someone knocked on her door. They tapped quickly yet softly — an odd combination, she thought. She heard murmuring, as though they were calling out, but the voice was too low to be distinct.

Corrin tiptoed to the door, hesitating to open it. Could it be Xander? she thought. Would he really come back after so many hours to apologize? No. He would wait until morning, because that's the sensible thing to do, and he's always sensible. But… maybe he can't sleep when there's bad blood between us, either.

Not able to wait any longer, Corrin opened the door. Standing pale and short of breath beneath the light of a full moon was Niles.

"Niles?" she gasped. "What are you doing here?"

"Corrin!" he exclaimed, and stepped inside the house. "Finally you open the door. I thought you were ignoring me."

"Why would I do that?"

Niles scowled. "I heard what happened with Lord Xander."

Corrin's cheeks burned. "What? But, how?"

"That's not important," he said. He leaned close to her face, struggling to see in the milky light. "Corrin, what Xander thinks is not true!"

"You know even that?" Corrin asked cautiously, afraid to overestimate Niles' knowledge. "You know everything — what Xander told me, what he suspects?"

"Yes!" Niles barked impatiently. "I've heard it all — I don't need to review. Corrin, please, just say whether you trust me."

"I do," she said immediately. "I trust you with all my heart, Niles! And I told Xander the same."

Niles breathed a heavy sigh. Slowly, he smirked. "Then I'm relieved. I really thought… heh. Never mind."

"What?" pressed Corrin.

Niles' expression softened. "I thought I might lose you."

"And that's why you ran over here at this hour?"

"Obviously! I'm not going to lose my girl to some idiot's lewd fiction. And I say that with the utmost respect in mind for Lord Xander."

He was afraid of losing me. Corrin suddenly felt relaxed. All the tension, all the pain she had been feeling, was washed away by Niles' soothing words. She wrapped her arms around him, resting her head on his shoulder. He put his own arms around her and held her tight; she closed her eyes and sighed. I feel safe, she wanted to say.

"Niles," she whispered, "why does Xander think you don't love me?"

"He said that?" Niles asked.

"He said you were only using me for — well, you know." Corrin blushed. "That means you must not love me, right?"

"Yeah. It must." Anger leaked from Niles' voice.

Corrin tried to bury her head further into Niles' shoulder. "Niles," she said in an even softer voice, "is… is it so wonderful that anyone could lie to another person, pretend to love them, just to experience it?"

Niles was silent for some time. Corrin felt his fingers tighten on her back.

Eventually, he asnwered, "Yes." But he didn't say more.

Corrin lifted her head to look at him. "Why?" she asked.

Niles wouldn't meet her gaze. "Because when you're that lonely, and no one in the world gives a damn whether you're alive or dead, you'll do anything — risk everything — to fool yourself into believing even just for a moment that someone actually cares for you. But when that moment ends, you're left feeling more like trash than before."

Corrin took a quick breath. "Did you ever feel so lonely?"

Niles pushed his forehead against Corrin's. "I love you," he said instead. "I swear it's true. And I'll do anything, and risk everything, to prove that to you."

An arrow of pain pierced Corrin's chest. She understood; Niles had lived a long, terrible life before her. She wished he hadn't, she wished she could have been his first and only woman, just as he was her first and only man. For the little princess who had been locked away in a tower all her life, this was her first experience with love. For the thief who had been tossed out into the streets, this was only his first experience with true love.

Niles had a past full of broken memories. He had lived through so much already, Corrin was far too late to give him his first of anything. His past is partly why Xander, Camilla, Leo, and Elise judge him, Corrin thought.

"Corrin?" Niles asked.

"He'll love you and leave you." Did Niles love and leave other women?

"Corrin," Niles whispered, stepping back, now clutching her hands. "Corrin, I'm sorry."

But he's sorry! Corrin pulled closer to him, wrapping herself more tightly in Niles' warmth. "Your past is over!" she exclaimed. "Things will get better now. You'll never need anyone else. You'll never be so lonely again — I promise!"

Niles laughed, slowly, deeply. Corrin smiled at its pleasant ring. She raised her head and Niles kissed her lips. Corrin finally said, "I love you, too."

"Good. Now that that's been established," Niles said with a grin, "we can discuss how we will convince your siblings that we love each other."

"Okay." Corrin agreed. "But, I don't have any ideas other than saying 'I love him' over and over again."

Niles scoffed. "Your perseverance is incredible, but wasted on your stubborn brother. I think we need to challenge his conjecture head-on."

"How?"

Niles never answered. For at that moment, the door slammed open.

Ending note: There is a certain paragraph in this chapter that I absolutely love for the depth it adds to one of these two characters. If you feel the same way, then you will know to which piece of dialogue I am referring.