Leo climbs into Sasha's pocket. 

He has learned that when Marlo is upset he should Just Not Say Anything, because anything he says would probably make it worse.

He holds onto Marlo's hand and keeps one hand on Leo's back and when they get to his house he takes ice and water and cherry Kool-aid powder and a ridiculous amount of sugar and makes the same drink he used to make when they were in middle school and cuddles his Marlo. 

"...well, I don't think the stories about goring hunters until we're tamed by being in the presence of someone in particular are medieval nonsense anymore." 

"...you didn't actually kill anyone." 

"Generally I hold myself to a higher standard than not literally committing murder." 

Sasha... is just going to cuddle him some more, then. 

Leo curls up on Marlo.

"I think the ethics of killing vampires might be different? Like, Asher has definitely killed dozens of people, maybe more, depending on how old he is, and he's going to keep doing it."

"And if I had been considering that at all, we would be having a very different conversation right now. I wasn't." 

Leo wants to say "I think it's a good thing to want to protect Sasha and keep him safe" but that seems like the sort of thing that might make people upset so instead he curls in a ball and thumps his tail sadly against the bedspread.

Sasha collects Leo into his lap and folds himself into Marlo's lap. 

"I love you. And I don't think it's wrong to do things to keep people you love safe, especially when you don't know what's going on and you're panicking." 

"I shouldn't have —" 

"I am pretty sure that no system of ethics requires you to keep a clear head and not panic when someone walks up to you out of the blue and announces that they almost killed someone you love." 

".....you aren't wrong," he says, and curls around Sasha. 

Leo nuzzles him. "I would have bit him except that it's probably better for Asher not to know I'm a person."

"Yeah." He runs his fingers down Leo's spine. "You probably aren't wrong about that." 

"I don't have an ethics. I just want to protect Sasha because he's my master. So I'm glad you burned him. But I really don't know how people who aren't fairies work."

Leo tucks his tail between his legs and braces himself for Marlo to stalk off into a different room because he said something wrong.

"....I feel like that probably shouldn't be comforting." 

"There's no should, love." 

He... said something right?

Leo bounces before he remembers that that is probably socially inappropriate and then he tries to look sympathetic.

"There should be a way to mark Sasha. Like, 'there are two different very magically powerful people who love this person, don't fuck with him, it is a bad idea.'"

"Yeah. I can't think of anything but there should be." 

"...Try it?"

He pauses, then pulls Sasha forward and kisses his forehead. 

It's nothing he hasn't done a thousand times before, but — it's amazing how desperate a forehead kiss can be. 

"...It doesn't look like anything happened," Leo says dubiously.

"It's what I've got." 

"Well. Maybe one of us can be near him most of the time?"