Chapter Text
Soulmates. What a silly thing. Leo thought to himself. Nevertheless, he opened yet another book on the study of them. He was practically an expert in the field. His sixteenth birthday was fast approaching, and he wanted to know everything possible about the little group of words that would appear on his right arm in a few days, the first words he would hear his soulmate say. Although he would never admit it, knowing his siblings would tease him for a lifetime, he felt positively giddy.
He spent hours imagining who it would be, and what they would be like. They probably would be a man, he reasoned. He didn’t find women unpleasant, but something about men simply captivated him. He hoped they would be a sincere person, someone who laughed loudly, and was loyal. He hoped they gave gentle hugs, and were able to make him smile. Above all however, he hoped he wasn’t put in a position like his brother, Xander, who could never wear anything that could expose the words he was cursed with; block capitals that read− Nohrian general, you face the high prince of Hoshido, Ryoma! I challenge you to single combat!
Leo knew that Xander had spent years trying to settle with the fact that his soulmate was the enemy. That for the sake of Nohr, and his father, he would die alone, or worse, in some sort of arrangement with someone else, another person who wouldn’t be able be with their soulmate, this time because of him. He had to face that for all intents and purposes, he had no soulmate.
Camilla had fared better. Her arm was marked with a single word− Meow. A bit eccentric, sure, but whoever it was, they certainly had personality. The handwriting had typically male angles, but had enough flourishes that it was impossible to guess the gender of her suitor.
Corrin’s inscription was more frustrating. Her arm read Pardon me, milady, a phrase that as a Nohrian royal, she had already heard dozens of times from the various staff that had served her, and really, just about everyone she would bump into for the rest of her life. Nevertheless, it was written in a very masculine script, so that gave her some clue. Still, she hoped that her soulmate had something more identifiable on their arm.
And that’s what drove Leo to research. He read stories of people who had known their soulmates since before they got their inscription, making it almost useless. He read stories of people who met their soulmates, only for them to die soon after. He read stories of people who had inscriptions in languages unknown to them, making everything extremely confusing. But mostly, he read about people who met their soulmates, and despite any initial complications, found happiness. What else could anybody ask for? Leo mused to himself.
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And then the day came. June 29th, the day before his birthday. At midnight he would turn sixteen, and it would appear. He passed the day nervously, training with Xander in the morning, reading a history book that he couldn’t concentrate on in the afternoon, and all day long being followed around by his siblings, who took no small pleasure at how easily flustered he could get.
Dinner lasted even longer than usual. The typical air of tension and malevolence that normally radiated out of King Garon felt stronger than usual. He had no interest in silly things like soulmates, and didn’t speak about the topic. Leo reasoned that his own excitement was making him imagine things, though the looks on his siblings’ faces disproved that. The meal passed in near silence.
Leo as very glad to be rid of that silence, however, it was now evening, and if Leo thought that time passed slowly before, he was a fool. Everything felt positively glacial. Despite Camilla and Elise’s efforts to distract him, he checked the time about every thirty seconds. He even considered riding all the way out to the Northern Fortress, to pass the time, and allow Corrin to take part in the events. Unfortunately, it was far too dark for that to be a possibility, so time marched slowly on.
When the time finally came for Camilla to stuff him in his room so he could have a moment to himself with his inscription before he shared it with everyone, Leo was immensely relieved. The wait would finally be over. He sat cross-legged on his bed, and prepared himself for whatever he might see. He could hear his siblings shuffling around outside his door. Even Xander, who normally kept a firm distance between himself and the very idea of soulmates, was there to take part in his younger brother’s special day. Leo smiled, he knew it couldn’t be easy for him to be there.
Leo closed his eyes and cleared his mind, appreciating his last moments of ignorance, while still eagerly awaiting what came next. His mind drifted off, imagining all the different types of people in the world, and who he would end up with. When he finally was jolted out of his dreamworld by the twelve solemn bongs of the large hallway clock, he immediately looked at his arm.
What are you looking at, Nohrian scum? In plain print.
Leo’s heart sank. He stared at his inscription in dumb shock.
“Well, Leo, are you going to let us in?” Camilla asked.
Elise giggled and practically shouted, “Yeah Leo! We wanna see!”
“Calm down Elise, he might need some time” came Xander’s reply.
Leo swallowed nervously. It wasn’t as direct as Xander’s inscription, but still, it could only mean one thing. His soulmate was a Hoshidian. He sighed painfully. His siblings had to find out eventually. He slowly and silently opened the door, and held his arm close to his chest. He looked into Xander’s eyes pleadingly as he revealed his inscription to him alone.
Xander read it, and nodded, before entering Leo’s room to help him through what only the two of them understood, leaving Camilla and Elise to stand confused in the hall for a few moments, until the sound of Leo’s quiet crying told them everything they needed to know.