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Forever With You

Chapter Seven

***

Over the next two weeks, Soren spent a lot of his free time with his mother and Dheginsea and hardly any time at all with Ike. The only time that they got together was at night, but Ike would always be too tired to do anything because he had spent all day training. So Soren would crawl quietly into bed, kiss Ike's sleeping head, and reminisce about his day with his newfound family.

The mercenaries adjusted to their vacation at Goldoa quite nicely. Spending time with the Goldoan Dragons was easier than expected, and they all soon came to find friends among the laguz.

Micaiah was the only one not enjoying herself. Sothe continued to ignore her, taking the opportunities that Soren was away to spend just a bit more time with Ike, who strangely didn't mind. After a chance meeting with the Begnion General Zelgius in the hall one day, she began to put together a plan that would ultimately bring Ike down to size as punishment for putting her through what she had been through. Zelgius agreed to meet with her in private, for he had his own reasons for a grudge against Ike.

"I'll have Sothe back," Micaiah murmured to herself after her short first meeting with Zelgius. "And you'll be all alone, Commander Ike."

*********

Soren hated his new Goldoan royal attire, with its green silk robes, soft stockings and leather boots, but Almedha had insisted on it for his party. He knew he could only bear his new, temporary lifestyle with Ike at his side, and the bluenette never failed to be there. Ike had stood tall beside him when Dheginsea made his announcement before the nation.

"Thank you, Ike," he whispered once the party had fully begun and all of the attention was finally pulled from the Branded. "I don't know where I'd be without you." Ike smiled affectionately at the boy, wishing only to hold him in his arms and kiss him, but in that setting, it was out of the question.

"You don't have to thank me."

At that moment, strangely, Micaiah approached the two of them. She was wearing one of Mist's nicer outfits and she held an elegant glass cup. She offered it to Soren. "A toast." She said with her best smile, avoiding any and all eye contact with Ike. "It's not everyday you find your long lost family. Live a little." Soren raised a hand and she pushed the glass in to fill it. "Good night!" She said quickly, before turning and rushing away.

Soren gave Ike a weird look, who returned it, and shrugged and sniffed at the drink. He was so unused to the overpowering smell of alcohol, that whatever Micaiah had done to it went undetected. "Ugh."

Ike grabbed the glass and took a giant gulp, though there was plenty left. "Not bad." He said, wiping his mouth and giving it back. "Have some, you've earned it."

"Ike," the spell caster pleaded, not very fond of the effects of alcohol.

The commander smiled. "C'mon, I don't want to be buzzed by myself," he pouted, leaning down and eyeing his spell caster cutely. Soren relented and gradually through the night, sipped from the glass until it was empty.

Ike did not handle drunkenness very well. While Soren sipped three glasses of what Micaiah had given him, Ike had demanded multiple glasses and refills. The silver haired maiden had supplied him each time he asked. While the mercenary drank much more than Soren, the spell caster did find himself a little off track.

Micaiah, after serving Ike's seventh glass, found Zelgius, and they set their plan into motion.

The dark haired general made sure to catch a moment that Soren and Ike were separated. He quietly made his way up behind the sage. Strong fingers covered Soren's eyes and his other hand tugged at the sage's clothes.

"Come on..." he whispered, so low that the tipsy Soren mistook him for his beloved bluenette. The spell caster was so lost that he didn't notice that Zelgius felt differently as well. Zelgius led Soren out of the dying party and down the many halls to his and Ike's room. If all went accordingly, Ike should catch them.

Soren entered the room with an uncharacteristic giggle, staggered over to the bed and collapsed on his back, doing his best to work off his pants and royal robes. He hated how long it took for his eyes to adjust, but he felt a heavy pair of hands trying to undo his shirt. He grabbed the face of his believed lover and kissed him deeply.

Ike wandered through the remaining guests of the party, with no luck in locating his lover. Since the rest of the royal family was still present, the bluenette assumed that the spell caster was having a hard time holding his liquor. He decided to check their room to see if he could aid the sage through his first hangover.

As the door opened, the light from the hall broke through the dimness of the room and illuminated Zelgius's large form, bearing down on his spell caster, who was intimately kissing him.

Ike's bones seemed to freeze, though his very blood felt the temperature of molten lava. His eyes were beyond wide, staring on in shock for only one second, though it felt he stood there for an hour, watching such an act. But one clear thought swam in Ike's head, bringing forth a fury he didn't know he was capable of.

There was another man... with Soren.

His body moved on its own. His fist balled in such hopeless anger that it hurt, and with one step forward, the commander hurled it directly at Zelgius' face. It made crushing contact with the man's jaw, sending him flying from his position over Soren to against the nearest wall, where he slammed into it and fell to the floor. Soren gasped and sat up wildly from his place on the bed. He looked dazedly from Zelgius to Ike in one quick motion, confusion flooding his entire body.

"What..." He panicked as he realized that Ike was not the one he had been kissing. He looked just as Ike dove for Zelgius again and he shouted, "Ike, wait!"

The bluenette stopped and whirled to glare at Soren, eyes wide and mouth hung open. He knew that he didn't just hear Soren say that. Like... Don't try to kill the man who was just kissing you?

"Are you defending him?!" Ike roared angrily at the man he loved, and felt nothing when Soren flinched back. They stared each other down for one long, painful second before Ike shook his head, covered his eyes, and left the room in a hurry.

Soren sat on the bed for a full minute after his lover left him. His thoughts were swimming and his head hurt. What had he just done? Was Ike leaving him? Zelgius, who had been quiet since his humiliating punch, moved to get up. Soren's thoughts stirred and his head jerked to the general; brutal anger came to the surface above all else.

"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" The sage shrieked, slapping the general across the face with a sharp and delicate wind spell. Blood oozed from Zelgius's cheek, but it wasn't enough. "Ike is everything to me! Look what you've done!" The youth cried, stepping back from Zelgius and leaving to try to find Ike. Zelgius didn't stop him. He wiped the blood from his cheek and looked down at his hand.

He saw nothing there but crimson regret.

*********

Ike had hid himself well, though he didn't know where he was going. Blinded by shock and heartbreak, he ran and ran, turning unknown corners and going through doors he didn't know were there. Finally, he burst into the nearest room after storming the halls for fifteen minutes. He slammed the door with enough force to break a hinge, and he rested against it to catch his breath. A choked sob escaped his throat, but he held it in.

"Ike?" The room's other occupant had sat upright in his bed; Sothe's voice was quiet, like he couldn't believe his own bad luck that the man he pined for had just stormed into his room. Ike whirled around, tears in his eyes. Sothe tilted his head, leaning toward him. "What's wrong...?"

Ike took a moment to recognize the boy in his compromised state, but finally he asked, "Sothe? Sothe, Sothe, I need someone. Please," he whispered, making his way over to the bed. "Please, help me, Sothe." He clambered onto the bed and reached for the emeralde. Sothe's heart began to pound and his blood heated considerably as Ike reached him. He was confused, but he raised his hands to the man's shoulders as the mercenary collapsed into his waiting arms.

"Ike, what--"

"It's Soren," Ike's voice quivered and he grasped at Sothe's clothes. "Ngh..." Ike grit his teeth as Soren's actions raced through his mind and he bit back tears. Sothe stared down at him, wondering what in the world Soren could have done. He stroked the man's hair.

"...Ike... It'll be okay. Everything is going to be okay. I'm here, you can talk to me." He said what he was sure would cheer Ike up, but he had never been in this kind of situation. Ike relaxed into Sothe, comforted by the similarity in size to the man he loved, but thankful that size was the only resemblance. He wanted Soren more than anything, but at that moment, that was out of the question.

"He's betrayed me!" the bluenette finally forced out. "I thought he loved me... all these years, but now... I... he-"

"No."

The emeralde allowed the finality of the word to hang in the air, and ring in both of their ears, giving Ike the time he needed to accept it before confessing, "Ike, I would never do that..." Sothe urged the bluenette's face up to meet his eyes. "I've always loved you, Ike, but... I just didn't know how to tell you until now. But I need you and you need me. We can be there for each other."

Ike stared into Sothe's eyes in the dim light of the bedroom. The alcohol still clouded his thoughts, but Sothe's words in this situation comforted him. He put a hand on Sothe's cheek and straightened his back, so that he looked down at the thief.

He angled Sothe's head, his hand traveling down his neck and onto his shoulder. Ike's gaze traveled to his lips before he leaned in slowly, both of their eyes closing. Sothe couldn't hold back the purr in his throat when Ike's lips met his. He had dreamed of this moment for so long and it was happening.

It was happening.

Ike pushed the youth back onto the bed, his hands traveling upwards to roam Sothe's bare torso.

"Thank you," the words were mumbled against Sothe's lips before they meshed together once more.

Soren had wandered the halls for nearly an hour, his walking pattern erratic since he had consumed so much alcohol. He finally gave up trying to concentrate on walking and he fell to his knees in a heap. "Oh, Ike..." Tears flooded his cheeks as he hugged himself. "Please let me find you," He whispered. He gasped as his body was jerked upwards and two strong arms wrapped around him. "What?!"

"You need to go back to your room, Prince Soren." Zelgius' voice disgusted him.

"Let me go!" Soren protested as the dark haired man pulled him to his feet and up against him. He kicked his feet, for his arms were restrained. "Put me down, you bastard! You've ruined everything!"

Zelgius held tightly, but even he was no match for a determined dragon prince. Soren broke free of his grasp and fell to the side, crashing into the teetering door that lay conveniently in the hall beside them . The added weight of the sage broke the door's remaining hinge free and sent it crashing into the thief's room, Soren a dusty heap on top of it.

Light from the hallway flooded inside, spilling over the two occupants during their act. They halted, going mute, Ike's form towering over Sothe's submissive body. The spell caster pulled himself to his feet with the bedpost as a balance and upon raising his head, got a full view of the sinful act taking place only a few feet in front of him.

Not even the alcohol could take the edge off of the mental anguish he received from seeing Ike bed another. He rocked, gripping the bedpost like a life preserver. His eyes travelled over their forms in one quick shocking swipe, finally locking with Sothe's. Ike had his back to the sage, thankfully. The thief saw immeasurable pain in the crimson orbs as they overflowed with tears. In under a second the sage had covered his mouth to hold back his anguish and retreated out of the room. His footsteps echoed, eventually coming to a slim silence.

Sothe stared ahead. The look on Soren's face touched him deeply, so much that he didn't feel Ike remove himself from his body. Without a word, Ike sat on the side of the bed and pulled the blankets around him. He knew that Soren had just seen them. And even though he was still convinced that Soren had been about to engage in the same act with Zelgius, his heart was still breaking. Sothe hugged himself and scooted away from Ike, holding back the sobs that wanted to rip out of him.

Even though he once knew Soren as his rival, he felt nothing but sorrow and regret for the spell caster now.

*********

Ike found out that although tired and drunk from the night before, nothing could have felt worse than waking in Sothe's bed the next morning. The youth had shied away from him, and neither could look the other in the eyes. After a long and awkward silence, Ike mumbled, "By your leave," and gathered his discarded clothes. He dressed overly quickly and stepped over the broken door to took a deep breath and sighed heavily. Whatever this was, could it be fixed?

*********

Ike returned to his room apprehensively, thinking over what he would say to Soren if he were in there, but he was instead shocked to find an entire trove of dragon laguz inside, searching. Almedha was at their lead, a tissue clutched to her breast. As Ike staggered in, half dressed, she turned and unleashed her full fury on him, "What did you do?!"

The commander flinched away from the princess, unsure of what she meant, and holding a hand to his head as her voice irritated his already pounding headache. "Your highness, I... What's going on?"

"My son is missing and I know you're the root cause of it," she snarled, lip curling in a tight scowl. Ike's back hit the door frame as Almedha cornered him, but Kurthnaga placed a hand on her shoulder to try and calm her.

"Sister, please calm down. At least hear Ike out," he said, looking to Ike for an excuse. Ike swallowed, holding his crumpled tunic against him. He was filled with sudden worry for Soren, but in his hungover state, that feeling was temporarily covered with fear of the dragons.

"I didn't... do anything!" he lied shakily. He looked to Kurthnaga. "Does the King know?"

"Of course he knows!" Almedha shrieked as if Ike were the dumbest creature in the world. "His only grandchild is gone!"

"Sister, please!" Kurthnaga pleaded, guiding his unruly sibling out of the room. He gave Ike a sympathetic look as the other dragons followed them outside.

Ike waited until he was sure the dragons had gone to toss his tunic onto the bed and bring both fists down on the mattress, hard. He stood straight, holding his face in his hands.

"Are you sober now?" Zelgius asked calmly from the doorway.

In the flicker of half a second, the mercenary's anger flared. "Asshole!" He shouted, whirling around. "You've got some nerve showing your face in here!"

"Soren was innocent," Zelgius interrupted, eyes locked on the bluenette's face. Ike's eyes immediately widened and became softer. Zelgius continued. "I came on to him. In his… drunken state, he thought I was you." the general said, his marked face clear evidence of the spell caster's fury.

"Yeah?" Ike said through gritted teeth. "And why would you do that? You knew Soren and I were together." Ike said hastily, at that moment not caring who he revealed the relationship to. Zelgius attempted to feign ignorance.

"What? You... and Sor--?"

"Don't shit with me, Zelgius!" Ike seethed, fists clenching. He glared at the soldier and it helped that they were the same height, so they could be eye to eye. "It's obvious how much I love and care about Soren. If what you say is true, why did you…?" The bluenette tried to lower his voice and for the most part, he was successful.

Zelgius' gaze hit the floor. He sighed deeply. "I was put up to it. By someone that clearly hates you, to not care that they're putting you through this." Zelgius waved his hand in an up and down motion to size up Ike's form. Ike's expression morphed from anger to irritated confusion.

"Who?" He demanded.

"Yeah, who?" The sudden addition to the conversation caused Zelgius to turn and come chest to face with Sothe, who had obviously come to share words with Ike. Ike immediately quieted, shamed to the core from the actions he committed with the emeralde youth. Zelgius rubbed his arm and cleared his throat.

"It was Micaiah. You know, the little silver-haired mage. She spiked your drinks and asked me to ... seduce Soren once he was intoxicated." Zelgius explained and Ike and Sothe both exchanged looks of mortification, their mistake the night prior temporarily forgotten.

"Micaiah?!" They exclaimed in unison.

"Are you saying that because of some prissy ass little girl, I may have just lost the one person in my life that I care about more than anything?" Ike shouted and Sothe felt a twinge of hatred for the maiden. He no longer felt used by Ike, simply that he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, definitely in the wrong situation. He now felt obligated to defend the bluenette commander from Micaiah.

He didn't have to be Ike's lover to care about him. To worry about him.

Sothe was jerked from his thoughts as Ike stumbled past him, the mercenary splitting into a dead run once his feet hit the hall. An awkward silence ensued between the thief and Zelgius.

"I just... want you to know that I deeply regret causing all of this." Zelgius murmured after a moment. He felt redemption for that particular incident was what he needed. "Right now, I can't even remember why I agreed to it." Zelgius politely strode past Sothe into the hallway. "I will be returning to Begnion. I do pray that Ike and Soren are able to move past this. It was very evident that they have a love unmatched to anything that I've ever seen. It would be such… a waste.

"Once again, I'm sorry." And with that, Zelgius took his leave.

Sothe stood in stunned silence by the soldier's proclamation. He too gave a silent prayer for Ike and Soren; if their love was as strong as was evident, then they had to overcome this. They had to.

Ike escaped the Goldoan castle without a problem and he ran blindly into the wilderness until he was sure his feet were bleeding. He had no idea where Soren may have gone, but he didn't care. He would run to the other side of Tellius just to be able to explain to his beloved what had gone wrong. Why this was nothing but a misunderstanding.

That he loved him more than anything in the world and that he would rather die than end what they had over this.

Soren... dammit, wherever you are, please wait for me. His mind raced and he grit his teeth and pushed his exhausted legs even harder.

End Chapter Seven

Description
Forever With You

Chapter Seven

***

Over the next two weeks, Soren spent a lot of his free time with his mother and Dheginsea and hardly any time at all with Ike. The only time that they got together was at night, but Ike would always be too tired to do anything because he had spent all day training. So Soren would crawl quietly into bed, kiss Ike's sleeping head, and reminisce about his day with his newfound family.

The mercenaries adjusted to their vacation at Goldoa quite nicely. Spending time with the Goldoan Dragons was easier than expected, and they all soon came to find friends among the laguz.

Micaiah was the only one not enjoying herself. Sothe continued to ignore her, taking the opportunities that Soren was away to spend just a bit more time with Ike, who strangely didn't mind. After a chance meeting with the Begnion General Zelgius in the hall one day, she began to put together a plan that would ultimately bring Ike down to size as punishment for putting her through what she had been through. Zelgius agreed to meet with her in private, for he had his own reasons for a grudge against Ike.

"I'll have Sothe back," Micaiah murmured to herself after her short first meeting with Zelgius. "And you'll be all alone, Commander Ike."

*********

Soren hated his new Goldoan royal attire, with its green silk robes, soft stockings and leather boots, but Almedha had insisted on it for his party. He knew he could only bear his new, temporary lifestyle with Ike at his side, and the bluenette never failed to be there. Ike had stood tall beside him when Dheginsea made his announcement before the nation.

"Thank you, Ike," he whispered once the party had fully begun and all of the attention was finally pulled from the Branded. "I don't know where I'd be without you." Ike smiled affectionately at the boy, wishing only to hold him in his arms and kiss him, but in that setting, it was out of the question.

"You don't have to thank me."

At that moment, strangely, Micaiah approached the two of them. She was wearing one of Mist's nicer outfits and she held an elegant glass cup. She offered it to Soren. "A toast." She said with her best smile, avoiding any and all eye contact with Ike. "It's not everyday you find your long lost family. Live a little." Soren raised a hand and she pushed the glass in to fill it. "Good night!" She said quickly, before turning and rushing away.

Soren gave Ike a weird look, who returned it, and shrugged and sniffed at the drink. He was so unused to the overpowering smell of alcohol, that whatever Micaiah had done to it went undetected. "Ugh."

Ike grabbed the glass and took a giant gulp, though there was plenty left. "Not bad." He said, wiping his mouth and giving it back. "Have some, you've earned it."

"Ike," the spell caster pleaded, not very fond of the effects of alcohol.

The commander smiled. "C'mon, I don't want to be buzzed by myself," he pouted, leaning down and eyeing his spell caster cutely. Soren relented and gradually through the night, sipped from the glass until it was empty.

Ike did not handle drunkenness very well. While Soren sipped three glasses of what Micaiah had given him, Ike had demanded multiple glasses and refills. The silver haired maiden had supplied him each time he asked. While the mercenary drank much more than Soren, the spell caster did find himself a little off track.

Micaiah, after serving Ike's seventh glass, found Zelgius, and they set their plan into motion.

The dark haired general made sure to catch a moment that Soren and Ike were separated. He quietly made his way up behind the sage. Strong fingers covered Soren's eyes and his other hand tugged at the sage's clothes.

"Come on..." he whispered, so low that the tipsy Soren mistook him for his beloved bluenette. The spell caster was so lost that he didn't notice that Zelgius felt differently as well. Zelgius led Soren out of the dying party and down the many halls to his and Ike's room. If all went accordingly, Ike should catch them.

Soren entered the room with an uncharacteristic giggle, staggered over to the bed and collapsed on his back, doing his best to work off his pants and royal robes. He hated how long it took for his eyes to adjust, but he felt a heavy pair of hands trying to undo his shirt. He grabbed the face of his believed lover and kissed him deeply.

Ike wandered through the remaining guests of the party, with no luck in locating his lover. Since the rest of the royal family was still present, the bluenette assumed that the spell caster was having a hard time holding his liquor. He decided to check their room to see if he could aid the sage through his first hangover.

As the door opened, the light from the hall broke through the dimness of the room and illuminated Zelgius's large form, bearing down on his spell caster, who was intimately kissing him.

Ike's bones seemed to freeze, though his very blood felt the temperature of molten lava. His eyes were beyond wide, staring on in shock for only one second, though it felt he stood there for an hour, watching such an act. But one clear thought swam in Ike's head, bringing forth a fury he didn't know he was capable of.

There was another man... with Soren.

His body moved on its own. His fist balled in such hopeless anger that it hurt, and with one step forward, the commander hurled it directly at Zelgius' face. It made crushing contact with the man's jaw, sending him flying from his position over Soren to against the nearest wall, where he slammed into it and fell to the floor. Soren gasped and sat up wildly from his place on the bed. He looked dazedly from Zelgius to Ike in one quick motion, confusion flooding his entire body.

"What..." He panicked as he realized that Ike was not the one he had been kissing. He looked just as Ike dove for Zelgius again and he shouted, "Ike, wait!"

The bluenette stopped and whirled to glare at Soren, eyes wide and mouth hung open. He knew that he didn't just hear Soren say that. Like... Don't try to kill the man who was just kissing you?

"Are you defending him?!" Ike roared angrily at the man he loved, and felt nothing when Soren flinched back. They stared each other down for one long, painful second before Ike shook his head, covered his eyes, and left the room in a hurry.

Soren sat on the bed for a full minute after his lover left him. His thoughts were swimming and his head hurt. What had he just done? Was Ike leaving him? Zelgius, who had been quiet since his humiliating punch, moved to get up. Soren's thoughts stirred and his head jerked to the general; brutal anger came to the surface above all else.

"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" The sage shrieked, slapping the general across the face with a sharp and delicate wind spell. Blood oozed from Zelgius's cheek, but it wasn't enough. "Ike is everything to me! Look what you've done!" The youth cried, stepping back from Zelgius and leaving to try to find Ike. Zelgius didn't stop him. He wiped the blood from his cheek and looked down at his hand.

He saw nothing there but crimson regret.

*********

Ike had hid himself well, though he didn't know where he was going. Blinded by shock and heartbreak, he ran and ran, turning unknown corners and going through doors he didn't know were there. Finally, he burst into the nearest room after storming the halls for fifteen minutes. He slammed the door with enough force to break a hinge, and he rested against it to catch his breath. A choked sob escaped his throat, but he held it in.

"Ike?" The room's other occupant had sat upright in his bed; Sothe's voice was quiet, like he couldn't believe his own bad luck that the man he pined for had just stormed into his room. Ike whirled around, tears in his eyes. Sothe tilted his head, leaning toward him. "What's wrong...?"

Ike took a moment to recognize the boy in his compromised state, but finally he asked, "Sothe? Sothe, Sothe, I need someone. Please," he whispered, making his way over to the bed. "Please, help me, Sothe." He clambered onto the bed and reached for the emeralde. Sothe's heart began to pound and his blood heated considerably as Ike reached him. He was confused, but he raised his hands to the man's shoulders as the mercenary collapsed into his waiting arms.

"Ike, what--"

"It's Soren," Ike's voice quivered and he grasped at Sothe's clothes. "Ngh..." Ike grit his teeth as Soren's actions raced through his mind and he bit back tears. Sothe stared down at him, wondering what in the world Soren could have done. He stroked the man's hair.

"...Ike... It'll be okay. Everything is going to be okay. I'm here, you can talk to me." He said what he was sure would cheer Ike up, but he had never been in this kind of situation. Ike relaxed into Sothe, comforted by the similarity in size to the man he loved, but thankful that size was the only resemblance. He wanted Soren more than anything, but at that moment, that was out of the question.

"He's betrayed me!" the bluenette finally forced out. "I thought he loved me... all these years, but now... I... he-"

"No."

The emeralde allowed the finality of the word to hang in the air, and ring in both of their ears, giving Ike the time he needed to accept it before confessing, "Ike, I would never do that..." Sothe urged the bluenette's face up to meet his eyes. "I've always loved you, Ike, but... I just didn't know how to tell you until now. But I need you and you need me. We can be there for each other."

Ike stared into Sothe's eyes in the dim light of the bedroom. The alcohol still clouded his thoughts, but Sothe's words in this situation comforted him. He put a hand on Sothe's cheek and straightened his back, so that he looked down at the thief.

He angled Sothe's head, his hand traveling down his neck and onto his shoulder. Ike's gaze traveled to his lips before he leaned in slowly, both of their eyes closing. Sothe couldn't hold back the purr in his throat when Ike's lips met his. He had dreamed of this moment for so long and it was happening.

It was happening.

Ike pushed the youth back onto the bed, his hands traveling upwards to roam Sothe's bare torso.

"Thank you," the words were mumbled against Sothe's lips before they meshed together once more.

Soren had wandered the halls for nearly an hour, his walking pattern erratic since he had consumed so much alcohol. He finally gave up trying to concentrate on walking and he fell to his knees in a heap. "Oh, Ike..." Tears flooded his cheeks as he hugged himself. "Please let me find you," He whispered. He gasped as his body was jerked upwards and two strong arms wrapped around him. "What?!"

"You need to go back to your room, Prince Soren." Zelgius' voice disgusted him.

"Let me go!" Soren protested as the dark haired man pulled him to his feet and up against him. He kicked his feet, for his arms were restrained. "Put me down, you bastard! You've ruined everything!"

Zelgius held tightly, but even he was no match for a determined dragon prince. Soren broke free of his grasp and fell to the side, crashing into the teetering door that lay conveniently in the hall beside them . The added weight of the sage broke the door's remaining hinge free and sent it crashing into the thief's room, Soren a dusty heap on top of it.

Light from the hallway flooded inside, spilling over the two occupants during their act. They halted, going mute, Ike's form towering over Sothe's submissive body. The spell caster pulled himself to his feet with the bedpost as a balance and upon raising his head, got a full view of the sinful act taking place only a few feet in front of him.

Not even the alcohol could take the edge off of the mental anguish he received from seeing Ike bed another. He rocked, gripping the bedpost like a life preserver. His eyes travelled over their forms in one quick shocking swipe, finally locking with Sothe's. Ike had his back to the sage, thankfully. The thief saw immeasurable pain in the crimson orbs as they overflowed with tears. In under a second the sage had covered his mouth to hold back his anguish and retreated out of the room. His footsteps echoed, eventually coming to a slim silence.

Sothe stared ahead. The look on Soren's face touched him deeply, so much that he didn't feel Ike remove himself from his body. Without a word, Ike sat on the side of the bed and pulled the blankets around him. He knew that Soren had just seen them. And even though he was still convinced that Soren had been about to engage in the same act with Zelgius, his heart was still breaking. Sothe hugged himself and scooted away from Ike, holding back the sobs that wanted to rip out of him.

Even though he once knew Soren as his rival, he felt nothing but sorrow and regret for the spell caster now.

*********

Ike found out that although tired and drunk from the night before, nothing could have felt worse than waking in Sothe's bed the next morning. The youth had shied away from him, and neither could look the other in the eyes. After a long and awkward silence, Ike mumbled, "By your leave," and gathered his discarded clothes. He dressed overly quickly and stepped over the broken door to took a deep breath and sighed heavily. Whatever this was, could it be fixed?

*********

Ike returned to his room apprehensively, thinking over what he would say to Soren if he were in there, but he was instead shocked to find an entire trove of dragon laguz inside, searching. Almedha was at their lead, a tissue clutched to her breast. As Ike staggered in, half dressed, she turned and unleashed her full fury on him, "What did you do?!"

The commander flinched away from the princess, unsure of what she meant, and holding a hand to his head as her voice irritated his already pounding headache. "Your highness, I... What's going on?"

"My son is missing and I know you're the root cause of it," she snarled, lip curling in a tight scowl. Ike's back hit the door frame as Almedha cornered him, but Kurthnaga placed a hand on her shoulder to try and calm her.

"Sister, please calm down. At least hear Ike out," he said, looking to Ike for an excuse. Ike swallowed, holding his crumpled tunic against him. He was filled with sudden worry for Soren, but in his hungover state, that feeling was temporarily covered with fear of the dragons.

"I didn't... do anything!" he lied shakily. He looked to Kurthnaga. "Does the King know?"

"Of course he knows!" Almedha shrieked as if Ike were the dumbest creature in the world. "His only grandchild is gone!"

"Sister, please!" Kurthnaga pleaded, guiding his unruly sibling out of the room. He gave Ike a sympathetic look as the other dragons followed them outside.

Ike waited until he was sure the dragons had gone to toss his tunic onto the bed and bring both fists down on the mattress, hard. He stood straight, holding his face in his hands.

"Are you sober now?" Zelgius asked calmly from the doorway.

In the flicker of half a second, the mercenary's anger flared. "Asshole!" He shouted, whirling around. "You've got some nerve showing your face in here!"

"Soren was innocent," Zelgius interrupted, eyes locked on the bluenette's face. Ike's eyes immediately widened and became softer. Zelgius continued. "I came on to him. In his… drunken state, he thought I was you." the general said, his marked face clear evidence of the spell caster's fury.

"Yeah?" Ike said through gritted teeth. "And why would you do that? You knew Soren and I were together." Ike said hastily, at that moment not caring who he revealed the relationship to. Zelgius attempted to feign ignorance.

"What? You... and Sor--?"

"Don't shit with me, Zelgius!" Ike seethed, fists clenching. He glared at the soldier and it helped that they were the same height, so they could be eye to eye. "It's obvious how much I love and care about Soren. If what you say is true, why did you…?" The bluenette tried to lower his voice and for the most part, he was successful.

Zelgius' gaze hit the floor. He sighed deeply. "I was put up to it. By someone that clearly hates you, to not care that they're putting you through this." Zelgius waved his hand in an up and down motion to size up Ike's form. Ike's expression morphed from anger to irritated confusion.

"Who?" He demanded.

"Yeah, who?" The sudden addition to the conversation caused Zelgius to turn and come chest to face with Sothe, who had obviously come to share words with Ike. Ike immediately quieted, shamed to the core from the actions he committed with the emeralde youth. Zelgius rubbed his arm and cleared his throat.

"It was Micaiah. You know, the little silver-haired mage. She spiked your drinks and asked me to ... seduce Soren once he was intoxicated." Zelgius explained and Ike and Sothe both exchanged looks of mortification, their mistake the night prior temporarily forgotten.

"Micaiah?!" They exclaimed in unison.

"Are you saying that because of some prissy ass little girl, I may have just lost the one person in my life that I care about more than anything?" Ike shouted and Sothe felt a twinge of hatred for the maiden. He no longer felt used by Ike, simply that he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, definitely in the wrong situation. He now felt obligated to defend the bluenette commander from Micaiah.

He didn't have to be Ike's lover to care about him. To worry about him.

Sothe was jerked from his thoughts as Ike stumbled past him, the mercenary splitting into a dead run once his feet hit the hall. An awkward silence ensued between the thief and Zelgius.

"I just... want you to know that I deeply regret causing all of this." Zelgius murmured after a moment. He felt redemption for that particular incident was what he needed. "Right now, I can't even remember why I agreed to it." Zelgius politely strode past Sothe into the hallway. "I will be returning to Begnion. I do pray that Ike and Soren are able to move past this. It was very evident that they have a love unmatched to anything that I've ever seen. It would be such… a waste.

"Once again, I'm sorry." And with that, Zelgius took his leave.

Sothe stood in stunned silence by the soldier's proclamation. He too gave a silent prayer for Ike and Soren; if their love was as strong as was evident, then they had to overcome this. They had to.

Ike escaped the Goldoan castle without a problem and he ran blindly into the wilderness until he was sure his feet were bleeding. He had no idea where Soren may have gone, but he didn't care. He would run to the other side of Tellius just to be able to explain to his beloved what had gone wrong. Why this was nothing but a misunderstanding.

That he loved him more than anything in the world and that he would rather die than end what they had over this.

Soren... dammit, wherever you are, please wait for me. His mind raced and he grit his teeth and pushed his exhausted legs even harder.

End Chapter Seven