a/n: hey there. uh, i don't really like doing these, but this is kinda important. i'd appreciate it if you guys toned down the character bullying a bit. i'm aware that it's mostly jokes, but it's kinda tough to see nothing but comments bashing all the characters. 

however, marth, zelda, and lucina are exempt from this. if you'd like to know why, just ask. (though please don't do it in this chapter, it's supposed to be kinda serious so yeah.) thanks in advance :)

It was a remarkably beautiful day. The sun shone, and not a cloud could be seen in the sky.

The irony was not lost on Sheik.

Overall, the mood of the cemetery was even more somber than usual. The joint funeral honoring Dimitri and Corrine had concluded roughly fifteen minutes ago, and most of the average funeral guests had left by now.

All that was left was Byleth and her brother, some of Dimitri's friends, and Sheik's friends.

Two simple graves stood side by side. There was little rhyme or reason to the way the cemetery was organized, a fact which Sheik knew must bother Corrin. Surprisingly, he hadn't said a word about it. Of course, he hadn't spoken at all since he woke up this morning, but still.

Ever since the news about his sister's death had come back a week ago, Corrin had been virtually silent. His gaze was vacant, and he hadn't bothered to even try to get out of bed most mornings. Sheik was doing his best to help him, but the total lack of emotion his boyfriend was displaying concerned him. A lot. He would've expected something, but so far... nothing.

A sharp sob dragged him out of his thoughts, and he turned his head away from Corrine's headstone and the crouched figure of his boyfriend to try and figure out where the noise had come from.

Byleth knelt before Dimitri's grave, her head bowed and her shoulders shaking as she finally broke down. Her brother stood behind her, his usual impassive expression gone and replaced by a pained look of helplessness. Close to Seth stood Dedue, his own usually blank expression replaced by a deep scowl.

"Dimitri..." Byleth choked out. "Why'd you go and throw your life away like that?"

"If only I'd have been there..." Dedue whispered. "I could've stopped him from doing this."

"You couldn't have stopped this." Seth muttered numbly. He stared fixedly at the headstone of his dead friend with his hands clenched into fists at his sides.

"I refuse to believe what Felix says." Dedue's voice sounded dangerously close to snapping. "He wasn't too far gone yet."

"This shouldn't have happened at all." Byleth whispered brokenly. "I'm a fool for not noticing how bad he was getting."

"Byleth, this isn't your fault." Dedue said. "The blame is mine. I should've fought harder against getting transferred."

"No. That wasn't your fault. Orders are hard to work around." Seth replied. 

"It's hard to believe he's dead." Link remarked softly. Sheik directed his attention away from the conversation he'd been quietly listening in on and focused on Link. The subtle downward twist of his mouth and the uncertainty in his eyes spoke volumes about his emotions, more than anything he could possibly say would.

"I agree."

"Moments like these... I can't even begin to understand how Byleth must be feeling now." Link's gaze was fixed on her now, sympathy flashing in his expression.

"Losing someone you care about is never easy. Dimitri was a good man. Good men always leave behind the most scars." Sheik sighed.

"You're certainly poetic today." Link laughed ever so slightly, then looked almost guilty for daring to express a positive emotion in the midst of all this grief. "But, yes. You're right."

"It makes me wonder what the point of this war is. What's the point of all this suffering and bloodshed? Why do so many people have to die in order to bring change?" Sheik studied his hands. "Those who live get to enjoy a peace built on blood. And peace never lasts forever, so the cycle begins again."

Link was about to respond, but he was cut off by a familiar voice.

"It's not fair." Corrin whispered, his voice gravelly from disuse. "It's not fair and it never will be." He stood up and turned to face both blondes, grief evident in his eyes.

Oh, his eyes. They were so dull and listless. 

Sheik stayed quiet, not exactly trusting himself to respond. He knew what Corrin needed to hear right now, but he didn't know how to say it. Feelings had never been his strong suit- whether it be his own or someone else's. So instead of using words, he stepped forward so he was standing beside Corrin and took his hand. Almost immediately, some of the tension went out of his shoulders and he moved a little closer to him.

"You're right. It's not." Link said, breaking the silence that had settled over the trio. "Knowing people you care about aren't guaranteed to see the future we're fighting for..."

"Almost makes me wonder why we even fight in the first place." Samus commented wryly. She had walked up beside Link in time to catch his last sentence. Ike, of course, was at her side.

"We fight to spare the people we love from this heartbreak." Ike replied simply. 

"Sometimes that's not enough." Sheik pointed out. "Sometimes, no matter how hard you fight, it's just not enough."

Ike regarded him with a thoughtful expression. "Having something to fight for is a good motivator."

"Yes, but a man with nothing left to lose is probably the deadliest of them all." Link said. "When someone has their back to the wall and no regard for their own safety... " He didn't need to finish his sentence to communicate his point. The glance he sent towards Dimitri's grave spoke for him. 

A long silence followed Link's words. Nobody really seemed willing to speak more after that. As the awkward quiet stretched on, growing longer and longer, Sheik was tempted to try and change the subject, if only so the terrible tension in the air would be alleviated. In an attempt to distract himself a bit, he studied one of the headstones near the row the small group was standing in. The one that caught his attention enough to read the name was labeled "Peach Toadstool" with the caption "Her light will be missed."

That exact caption was engraved on many of the headstones, so she must've been one of the many war orphans who was later conscripted and then killed at a young age. At least she was lucky enough to have a named grave. Many soldiers in general who died like that never got that much.

"This war almost didn't feel real until now." Corrin finally whispered. He looked up from the ground, where he had previously been staring. "The ones who died before now... they were strangers. Obviously not to everyone- they had someone to mourn them, I'm sure, but Dimitri and-" he stopped himself and inhaled sharply. 

"Yeah. I get it." Ike nodded. "They were our friends. Or in Corrine's case, a sibling. That loss won't be easy to forget."

"Neither of them should have died." Corrin stated flatly. "And I won't sit by and watch another person I care about get killed. I can't- I don't think I can do this again." His voice nearly broke as he spoke the last sentence, but somehow he managed to recover.

"None of us will need to do this again." Ike said, confidence edging his voice. 

"You can't be sure of that." Link responded.

"I know battle is uncertain. But I truly do believe that knowing you have someone counting on your return is more powerful than fear."

"That might be the end of you." Link sighed. "Look, all I'm saying is that you shouldn't underestimate just how far desperation will make someone go."

Before Ike could respond, Samus cleared her throat. "You both have different ideas about motivation and which is the more powerful of the two. Now is not the time to argue over something so... trivial."

As he looked at her, Ike's gaze softened ever so slightly and a small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Samus is right. Now is not the best time to argue."

"Of course." Link nodded. He paused for a moment, then added "I'd better go see if Zelda's about ready to leave."

The mention of his sister's name hit Sheik over the head like a ton of bricks. Suddenly he felt completely stupid for managing to forget about her- seriously, how the hell had he managed that? It's not like she was basically the only blood-related member of his family that he felt comfortable talking to. His parents didn't count in the slightest, as something about both of them just didn't... feel right. And Sheikah genealogy was a whole mess by itself, leading to a whole bunch of awkward introductions usually conducted by his mother. The usual "look, this is your third cousin twice removed" or "this is your half cousin" and so on. 

In any case, Sheik had been so consumed with his worry for Corrin and the harsh realities he was having to face in the wake of the deaths of two people he was familiar with that he'd completely forgotten to worry about Zelda. 

"Is, uh, is she doing okay?" Sheik asked Link before he could turn away. "I haven't really spoken to her about all this."

And of course his sister chose that moment to come looking for Link, just in time to hear his last sentence. She poked her head over Link's shoulder and slipped her arms around his waist, a slightly strained smile on her face. "That's very true. I feel like it's been a while since I last spoke to you for more than thirty seconds."

"I'm sorry." Sheik mumbled, feeling his whole face flush with embarrassment.

Zelda laughed quietly. "It's fine. I know you've got a lot on your mind. I'm okay with taking a backseat every once in a while. Though this better not become a regular occurrence, alright?"

"Of course not." Sheik replied quickly. He ran his free hand through his hair in an attempt to cover up how embarrassed he was, and he heard Corrin laugh quietly at his side. The sound of his laugh lifted Sheik's spirits almost immediately, and a relieved smile crossed his face. 

She watched the two of them for a moment, then shook her head slightly. "You two are adorable. Anyways, I'm doing as well as can be expected. This was... shocking, to say the least." Her gaze was focused on Byleth, who had since stood up and was now being hugged by Dedue. Link picked up on her concern and turned his head to kiss her cheek, which only added to Sheik's embarrassment. He wasn't too keen on watching public displays of affection like that in general, but the awkwardness was only increased when it was his own sister and her boyfriend doing the... showing off, for lack of a better word.

"That's a bit of an understatement." Sheik remarked quietly. He wasn't surprised that Zelda had answered his question without him even needing to ask it again, really. They were both fairly good at reading the other's body language and guessing what they wanted to say. Perks of being twins and all that. Sometimes the others thought they could read each other's minds, but that wasn't the case. Made for some fun pranks, though. 

The lighthearted mood that had begun to settle over the quartet quickly vanished again. Zelda nodded in agreement, but she didn't say anything else. After yet another long pause, Link was the one to break the silence.

"Are you ready to leave, Zelda?" Link asked quietly.

"Yes." Zelda stopped hugging him and straightened up a bit. "Sorry to leave so quickly."

"It's alright. Don't worry about it." Sheik responded. He was beginning to think that he'd like to do the same, but he would wait until Corrin indicated that he was ready to leave.

With that, Zelda and Link said brief goodbyes and turned to leave the cemetery, their hands clasped together as they walked side by side. During the short conversation he'd had with his sister, it looked like the majority of the stragglers had also left. Now it was just Byleth, Dedue, Seth, and the two of them.

"Sheik, can we..." Corrin's voice trailed off. "I'd like to go home."

"Of course." Sheik smiled softly at him, though it felt like someone had decided to grab his heart and do their best to crush it. Gods. He'd never heard Corrin sound so... defeated. 

Corrin cast one last glance back at his sister's grave, then looked right at Sheik and nodded. He hadn't let go of Sheik's hand yet, and Sheik certainly wasn't going to let go any time soon. 

He stayed silent for their entire walk home. His silence was downright unnatural, because Corrin was never this quiet. Sheik was definitely going to have to talk to him about this when they got home.

Almost as soon as they arrived at the apartment they were now sharing, Corrin disappeared into their bedroom and closed the door. Sheik stared after him for a moment, wondering if he should talk to him now or wait a little while longer.

Of course, he knew that if he didn't do it now, he'd probably either forget or just straight up chicken out. So, with a sigh, Sheik walked forward and knocked softly on the closed door. 

"Hey, Corrin? Can I talk to you?"

There was no response, so Sheik took a deep breath and opened the door.

Corrin was sitting on the bed with his head in his hands. From this angle, Sheik couldn't really see his face, but he wasn't a fool. He didn't need to see his expression to know what he was feeling. Hesitantly, Sheik sat down next to him.

"Is there something wrong with me?" Corrin whispered. He didn't move, aside from dropping his hands from over his ears to his lap.

Sheik didn't respond right away. He didn't trust himself to speak, because the tone of his voice... gods. When he'd managed to get his emotions under control enough to reply, he said "No. Whatever you're feeling isn't wrong."

"But that's the thing." Corrin replied, his voice breaking. "I don't feel anything. I should feel something but I don't and it's terrifying me."

"It's okay. There's nothing wrong with you." Sheik said. He put his hand on Corrin's back to reassure him, hoping that the physical contact would help him in some way.

"She was my sister and I just feel numb. Like I can't even bring myself to care that she's-" Corrin cut himself off and took a shaky breath.

"Gone?"

Corrin nodded. "I didn't even have that long to get to know her again and now I'll never get to talk with her. And that hurts, but I can't really feel it." He paused for a moment, and then whispered "There has to be something wrong with me." in a choked voice.

"Look at me." Sheik whispered.

Somewhat reluctantly, Corrin sat up and looked at him. The sheer anguish in his eyes... Sheik really should have talked to him sooner. Curse him for being so uncertain around upset people.

"There is nothing wrong with you. Everybody grieves in different ways."

He dropped his gaze from Sheik's again. Gently, Sheik put his hand under his chin and tilted his head back up, then moved his hand so that it was cradling his jaw. Corrin put his hand over his and closed his eyes, then whispered something that Sheik couldn't quite catch. He didn't bother asking him to repeat what he'd said, as he had a pretty good idea of what it was.  

"I can imagine what it's like to lose your twin. And I'm so sorry you had to go through this. Feeling numb is normal. It's okay." Sheik murmured, lightly brushing his thumb across Corrin's cheek. 

"I don't..." Corrin took a shaky breath before continuing what he was trying to say. "Why'd she have to die?"

Sheik pulled Corrin into a hug instead of responding. He'd started to get the feeling that nothing he could say would be good enough, so he would let his actions do the talking.

The effect it had on Corrin was almost immediate. He tucked his head into the crook of Sheik's neck and gripped the back of his shirt. Shortly afterwards, his shoulders began to shake, and he started sobbing quietly. The sound tore at Sheik's heart, and he wished he could do something- anything- to make this easier for him, but there really was nothing more he could do. 

"She promised..." Corrin choked out.

"I'm so sorry." Sheik whispered. But, of course, that couldn't even begin to cover it. Corrin must have received countless apologies today, but not a single one of them was more than just a hollow consolation. Because how were you supposed to express your sympathy for someone's loss? Most people ended up apologizing.

Apologies would never begin to cover it. Sheik might not have experienced a loss like this himself, but he wasn't stupid. He could tell that simple words weren't even going to begin to help Corrin.

While he sat there, he was struck by just how odd it was that he was the one doing the comforting. Usually, it was the other way around: him sitting there and trying so hard not to fall apart, with Corrin holding him and talking quietly to him about completely unrelated things in an attempt to get his mind off of the sheer terror the nightmares always brought. Sheik wasn't quite sure if that would help Corrin, but it usually did help him. The reassuring sound of his voice was usually enough to cut through the panic.  

So, slightly awkwardly, Sheik began rambling about fairly light-hearted topics, such as the antics that Kohga, a member of his squad, would get into seemingly on a daily basis. Little by little, Corrin's breathing evened out and he began to calm down.

Right as he was about to break the hug to check if Corrin was still awake, he sat up and took a deep breath. For a moment, Sheik thought he was going to apologize, so he prepared to go on the whole "you have nothing to apologize for" speech.

Instead, he just wiped his eyes and whispered "Thank you." 

Completely caught off guard, Sheik stared at him for a moment before clearing his throat. "Of course." He was suddenly very aware that he was still wearing the suit he'd worn to the funeral, which was an odd thing to notice. It was probably just him trying to recover from the way he'd been taken off guard. Yeah. That's it.

"What do you do when..." Corrin's voice trailed off, but Sheik knew what he was asking.

"Well, you've seen most of my coping methods by now." Sheik laughed softly. "I think it would be best for you to get some sleep."

Corrin nodded. A small smile touched his face, which lifted Sheik's own spirits considerably. He stood up and moved to grab his favorite hoodie and a pair of pajama pants. Right as he slipped off his suit jacket and moved to unbutton his white dress shirt, he hesitated.

It wasn't like he didn't trust Corrin, but he could hardly handle Zelda looking at his bare back, and that had only been because she had usually treated the injuries he got at the hands of the Caretakers or the Headmaster. Sheik had never seen the scars for himself, as he couldn't rotate his head like an owl, but he knew they were bad.

Taking a deep breath to steady himself, Sheik finished undoing the buttons of his dress shirt and slipped it off. He could feel Corrin's eyes on his back, and he almost felt more vulnerable than he'd ever had before.

Almost.

Sheik pulled his sweatshirt on, thankful for the black fabric that hid the scars from view. He quickly changed into his pajama pants, hating how flustered he felt. Once he turned around, Corrin looked back at him from where he'd fixed his gaze on the floor. 

The expression on his face was almost unreadable due to the mixture of emotions he displayed. Shock. Lingering grief over his sister. A trace of anger. Concern.

And for some odd reason, it gave Sheik a rare burst of confidence. He smiled slightly and said "I never change in front of people. The scars make it a little weird."

Corrin stayed quiet, though for a second he looked like he was going to say something. Thankfully, he didn't, otherwise Sheik might not have been able to continue. He could already feel his confidence fading away. 

"Zelda knows about them, of course, but you're the first person who I've trusted enough to willingly show them off." Sheik continued. "They're reminders of what's happened to me, and they're not even good looking. Hell, they're downright ugly. Honestly, I hate them."

Silence followed his words until Corrin finally whispered "Nothing about you could be ugly." He stood up and walked over to him, hesitantly placing his hands on Sheik's. His eyes asked a silent question: Is this okay?

Sheik nodded.

"Those scars do not define you. Just because some people might cringe away from the sight of them doesn't mean you're ugly. Far from it, actually." Corrin whispered. "I think you're the most beautiful person I've ever met, inside and out."

When Sheik didn't respond, Corrin smiled hesitantly at him and then continued speaking. He still looked exhausted, and a shadow of grief still clouded his eyes, but it was a smile nonetheless. "For starters, you've got the patience to put up with me. I know I'm difficult to deal with sometimes. But you're always there, even when you're not feeling great. All of us carry scars, and it just so happens that some of yours are more visible."

"I don't think you're difficult to deal with." Sheik whispered.

Corrin looked a little surprised. "Really?"

"Yeah. Maybe I'm just blind, but you're nowhere near as difficult as I'd imagine I am."

"You're not difficult." Corrin replied. "There are times where you don't speak up when you're upset, but you aren't difficult to deal with by any means."

"I love you."

"I love you too." Corrin leaned forward and kissed him briefly.

Sheik very nearly kissed him again, but he stepped back and said "You need to sleep. I can tell you're tired." Before Corrin could protest, he added "You're not going to convince me otherwise."

With a soft laugh, he walked back over to the bed and sat down again. "I know better than to argue with you."

"Good." Sheik paused for a moment before lying down next to him, trying to gather his thoughts. Was he tired enough to fall asleep right now? Actually, that was a trick question. The events of the day had actually exhausted him, and now it was catching up. 

Almost without thinking, he wrapped his arms around Corrin and closed his eyes. Thankfully, he felt sleep pulling him under nearly immediately. However, right as he was about to fall asleep completely, he heard Corrin say his name.

"Sheik?"

"Yes?"

"The other day, my sister told me something about my Gift."

"And?"

"She told me about its side effects."

That couldn't be good. "I thought your Gift was relatively safe?"

"Turns out, the dragon's blood that allows me to transform enhances negative emotions. It makes them... worse, I guess is the right way to describe it." Corrin's voice wavered ever so slightly. "And I'd never really experienced that until now. If you hadn't been here, I..."

Sheik's breath caught in his throat and any thought of sleep vanished as he realized exactly what Corrin meant. "It's going to be alright. There's got to be ways to counter it."

"...Hopefully."

As he laid there, listening to Corrin's soft breathing as he fell asleep, Sheik couldn't help but feel that the effect of Corrin's dragon blood was a path to something much darker than he could ever imagine.