Hey everyone! Thank you for stopping by the factory. Welcome to a new story I've written for all of you! I really hope you like it!

Here's some info on this story:

AU (present day)

Pairings: Ike/Soren mainly

The idea had been in my head for some time now after I played PoR about a month ago, and I just had to write it! Also, um, Azalea is a town I made up for this story. I wanted to set it wherever the Greil mercenaries' fort was in the game, but they never mentioned the name or gave me much info about it (other than it was on the countryside), so… I created my own.

Canteus is a fort (or a castle, if I recall correctly) that is mentioned in the game, so I turned it into a city. And of course, Melior is part of the game as well as it is the capital of Crimea.

Without further ado, here it is! Enjoy!

DOPAMINIC

1

GOOD OL' YAHTZEE NIGHTS

There's something about summer that everyone seems to love. To some, it means more parties at the pretty, rich girl's house, to others is showing off how much you've been working out through your new bright colored swimsuit, and to others is catching up on those video games you like to play all night with some pizza. But most people agree that the best part of summer are the vacations.

. . . But certainly not Soren.

Actually, being out of school and coming back to Azalea, a suburb at least thirty miles outside of Canteus on western Crimea, was certainly ruining his whole summer.

It had been a year since he left to study at Melior, yet things looked just the same; plain and un-amusing as always. Azalea was a nice town (at least it wasn't as crowded as Melior), but it certainly never fully appealed to Soren.

The town's characteristic maple trees looked as tall as ever, the cars from the residents where as shiny as usual, and even the air smelled faintly of vanilla sugar buns-Azalea's practically trademark food-as it always had. Definitely, it was as if he had never left.

He sighed.

The car pulled up in front of his family's well-kept villa. It was unreasonably big, and Soren honestly wasn't one particularly keen on luxury, but what could he do?

"Do you need any help with your luggage, Soren?" One of his family's employees, Ena-who also happened to be his mother's sister in law-, had asked once he got out of the gray Bentley's back seat.

"That won't be necessary" He replied simply without even faking a polite smile. He didn't have much luggage anyways; he preferred to travel light.

…

"Ike! Ike!" Mist came into her brother's room yelling excitedly "I've got to tell you something! Listen to this!" She found Ike lying on his bed still asleep. He groaned and put his pillow on top of his head.

"Come on, Ike! Wake up already!" She shook him hurriedly, even jumping on the bed with him, trying to roll him to the floor; a task truly impossible for a petite girl like Mist.

Ike groaned again, but finally sat up and looked at his sister with weary eyes and distressed hair.

"Mist, it's too early for you to be yelling like that" What time was it anyway? He was so not a morning person. "What's going on?" He tried to rub the sleep out of his eyes.

Mist smiled widely "Soren's back from boarding school!" She said enthusiastically (even if Soren was really Ike's friend not hers, but whatever) "He just arrived"

Ike's eyes widened "Really?" A smile tugged at his lips "So, he is already at his house?"

"I think he is. Mister Tauroneo called dad earlier this morning and said he was going to pick him up at the train station. I'm not sure, though" She twisted a lock of light brown hair with her finger.

"Alright, I'll go check" He stood up and reached for the door.

"Um, Ike?"

He turned around "Yeah?"

"You probably want to shower and get dressed first" Mist pointed at the army green sweatpants he wore as pajamas.

". . . Right"

He went straight to his bathroom.

…

Soren unpacked his books and placed them neatly on his mahogany desk by the window: The Unbearable Lightness of Being sat at the top of the pile. His room had thankfully not been entered while he was gone; perhaps only to be cleaned, but other than that it looked the same as he had left it. It was a surprise, really, since his mother had been pestering him before he left about how much she wanted to re-furnish his room and make it look more . . . what was the word she used? That's right, lively. She had miraculously and thankfully allowed him to keep his privacy, and had kept the room as simple and gloomy as Soren liked it.

Come to think of it, where was his mother now? He had expected her to be right at the door to greet him with her happy-and-perfect-family façade. Soren knew she loved him, of course, but sometimes . . . it was all too much. Fortunately for him, she had an incredibly busy social life to keep her occupied: whether it was the usual Wednesday meetings with her book club to discuss that God wears lipstick book (and all of that Kabbalah for beginners his mother was into at the moment), or another charity ball; she was always busy.

A few more books set on his desk and he was finally done unpacking. His clothes were already in his closet and his laptop was already plugged near his bed. He then quickly changed into a pair of loose jeans, vintage black converse and an eggplant colored fitted hoodie.

He felt tired from the trip back but he obviously wasn't just going to take a nap. There was a person he definitely was eager to see after all these months; the only person worth coming back for (and not taking extracurricular summer activities at his school in Melior) So, not wanting to waste any more precious time, he exited his room to go to the Gawain residence.

…

"Oh! Hello, Jill!" Mist talked cheerfully through her pink Nokia "Do you happen to be at the villa right now?" She tried to speak extra-loudly so that her brother could hear her from the shower.

Jill Fizzart was a close friend of Mist's. Her father worked as part of Soren's family guard-they were that loved-and thus spent most of her time at the villa.

"We were wondering if you by any chance knew if Mister Tauroneo had already picked up Soren from the station?"

"What did she say?" Came the muffled voice of Ike through the bathroom's thick wooden door.

"Shh!" Mist kicked the door and then pressed her back against it "Uh-huh. Oh! Really?" She asked excitedly "Aw. So sweet! And what did you tell him?"

"Mist!"

"Oh, Right, right" Mist giggled "Sorry, Jill, but could you please check if Soren's home? My brother here is driving me crazy" She made a pause as Ike came out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist. "Alright" he heard her say.

"What did she say?" Ike crossed his arms and frowned looking at his sister expectantly.

"Wait" Mist raised her forefinger.

There was a long pause in which Mist just looked at the tan colored carpet of the floor and Ike kept his gaze fixed on his sister.

"He is?" Mist chirped with enthusiasm.

"Ok, Jill. Thank you so much. Can you tell him Ike is coming to see him?" Mist winked at her brother who quickly went to the closet to grab his clothes "Yeah. See you tonight, thank you so much! Bye!"

She slid her phone back in her small apple-green purse and turned to Ike.

"Come on, brother! Soren's already there" Ike replied but it didn't sound much like anything since he was putting on a t-shirt "By the way, Jill said there was going to be a party or something tonight to welcome him. So you might want to dress a bit more appropriate"

And with that she left to get ready herself. She intended to look extra pretty for that party Jill mentioned, and maybe ask Boyd-another one of Ike's friends and also their neighbor to the left- to come with her . . .

…

He found his mother at her garden. More likely, his mother found him when he went outside.

"My son, we've missed you so much!" Almedha gave him a tight hug before clasping his face with long, well-manicured nails. She was wearing one of her expensive Chanel black dresses and a matching, huge sun hat. She smelled strongly of that Nina Ricci powdery floral perfume she always wore.

Soren stepped away from her clasp.

"Glad to see you as well, mother" He said detachedly. "Have you by any chance heard from Ike?"

Almedha wrinkled her nose in distaste "Instead of asking about your father, or me, you inquire about that . . . friend of yours right away" The way she had said 'friend', revealed instantly that that wasn't the noun she had in mind. Soren resisted the urge of rolling his eyes.

". . . Fine" He said "How have you been doing, mother?"

"Much better, actually" She squinted "I haven't had as many migraines as before, thank you for asking"

Soren nodded.

"Your father has been doing well, too" She added.

Soren pursed his lips. There was a reason he didn't ask about Ashnard (he preferred to call him by his name rather than father), but his mother simply kept trying . . .

"Alright" He replied simply with a voice colder than before. He didn't get along with his father at all, so he didn't particularly care if he was doing good or not. He shifted from one foot to the other.

Almedha sighed, closing her eyes briefly "Very, well. You may go visit the Gawains. Just make sure to come back before dinner"

Soren nodded "I will" He quickly walked back to the house.

"And Soren," His mother's voice stopped him "We'll be holding a party tonight to celebrate you are back. So make sure you look presentable for the guests"

Soren walked to the glass door, suppressing a growl.

…

"Should I wear the yellow one?" Mist asked her brother, holding a flowy, short, canary color dress in front of her "Or should I wear the cream one?" She held another, even shorter, dress against her body "And maybe I could add my orange vest to this one . . ." She mumbled mostly to herself.

It was hard choosing the perfect outfit. It was even harder, when you only had your brother's opinion on the matter (especially if that brother is Ike).

"Both look nice" Ike shrugged.

Mist rolled her eyes "But which looks nicer?" She lifted both dresses -side by side- in front of Ike who was sitting on her lavender zebra comforter.

"Uh, which one you like better?"

"Oh, Forget it" She playfully punched Ike in the arm "Just go to Soren's house already!"

Ike stood up. He was wearing his usual jeans, worn-out brown work boots, and a pale blue plain cotton t-shirt. 'So much for dressing up for a party' Mist thought, but didn't say anything. That was just how her brother was.

"Okay" Ike smiled "I'll see you there?"

"Of course" She nodded "Tell Soren I say hi!" She waved her hand and her bangles chinked like bells.

Ike nodded and went to the door.

…

"Soren! Wait!" He turned around as he heard his name being called just as he was opening the door of his navy blue Audi. It wasn't really his, but it was his family's and the one car he found himself driving the most whenever he was in Azalea (Whenever he didn't feel like walking, that is).

"Do you need something?" He arched an eyebrow as the redhead girl stopped before him. Her name was Jill, if he recalled correctly. She was wearing gray, faded skinny jeans, cognac riding boots, and a white short-sleeved top. She had her hair tied in her usual high ponytail. Seriously, had a thing actually changed in the year he had been gone? He wondered.

"Well," She looked slightly nervous and cleared her throat "I received a call from Mist. She said Ike is on his way here"

Soren's eyes looked slightly surprised. He quickly closed the Audi's door "I see, thank you" He nodded "Is that all?"

"Ah, yes" She replied "That's it. I'll be going now, excuse me"

She left the garage hurriedly. Soren was plain scary to her, honestly; she mostly preferred to stay out of his way.

…

Ike drove his brown 1965 ford galaxy to Soren's home. It didn't look sleek or neat like the ones in the magazines. Somehow, it didn't look classic, it just looked old; but it was alright.

He had the car windows down, allowing the warm summer breeze to hit his skin. He hadn't seen Soren in a year. He had parted early last summer, after some fight he had with his dad (or disagreement. Or whatever Soren had called it back then); and didn't even come back for the holidays or spring break. He said he needed some space from Azalea and his parents, and thought going to that elite school at Melior was just what he needed.

It turned out it wasn't what Ike needed. They had known each other since kindergarten, and having your best friend leave for so long, wouldn't be easy for anyone. True, they had kept in touch, but it wasn't the same. . .

He couldn't help but wonder: now that Soren was back, would things go back to the way they used to be? Having Yahtzee nights on Fridays, sleepovers on week days, and breaking their record on call of duty? (Fine. Ike's record, since Soren just sat by him with a book).

He had a small smile plastered on his face as the villa finally came into view.

…

Soren was in his room sitting on the windowsill, looking down at the cerulean, clear water of the swimming pool outside. He was griping his Sony Ericsson with a paranoid grasp. His heart was beating fast and he tried to calm himself with slow, deep breaths. There was nothing to be nervous about, but his heart didn't get it. This was Ike! His best friend, Ike! Everything was okay; he was just coming to say hi . . . it hadn't been that long, had it? Perhaps he wasn't nervous, but excited . . .?

Knock, Knock

Soren jumped in surprise, clutching his chest with one hand. He stood up quickly and went to the door (almost tripping as he lost his balance).

He opened the door.

His heart gave a jolt; there, in front of him was Ike. And for all the things that hadn't changed in Azalea, Ike most definitely had. His blue hair was shorter, he was taller (much taller), his arms were beefier, his neck was thicker and his face looked more angular and defined. He looked very attractive.

. . . Wait, what?

"Soren!" Ike smiled.

"Hello, Ike" He kept himself composed despite his earlier reaction "Long time, no see"

They both stood there not so sure about how to continue. Was it okay if they hugged, or would it be awkward?

Ike slouched slightly since he towered over Soren. His neck was glazed with sweat and he smelt of aftershave and some light, woody cologne his sister had probably bought for him.

"I'm happy to see you're back" Ike said. His eyes traveled down to Soren's phone still in his hand "Sorry I didn't call first" He smiled apologetically, hoping he hadn't interrupted anything his friend had been doing.

"It doesn't matter" Soren shook his head and moved from the door "Come on in" he gave Ike a tiny, pearl white smile.

Soren's room smelled like . . . well, paper. Oddly enough, but it did. It was that same scent he caught whenever he opened a book-not that Ike did it often-or when the teachers handed them warm, new copies of their biology review. Just like that.

The room was twice the size of Ike's but had at least half the amount of stuff in it (if you didn't count book by book, of course). And if he didn't know Soren actually slept there (or at least until a year ago), he would have thought they had this room for real estate display; but with even less human feel.

It did, however, have small Soren touches here and there. Like this weird phrenological head on his nightstand, or the elementary spelling bee first place diplomas on the walls; he had plenty of other academic prizes, but his mother kept them on the 'trophy room', against Soren's protests.

"I haven't been here in forever" Ike admitted, sitting down on Soren's queen-size bed "So, how was Melior? Did you like studying there?" Soren pulled his desk's wooden chair closer to his bed and sat down.

"School has been passable. But I certainly expected more of an intellectual challenge"

Ike chuckled "I don't think there's a school on the entire world that could be a challenge for you" 'us mortals aren't worthy' He added humorously as a mental note.

Soren smiled without even noticing "Hm. I was hoping this one would be" He ran his tongue over the back of his teeth "Do you want something to drink?" He asked suddenly.

"Yeah, thanks" Ike said as Soren stood up and went to the stainless steel mini-bar at one of the corners in his room.

"I've got . . . diet coke, regular coke, water, iced tea, and . . . orange juice" He turned to look at Ike.

"Since when do you like soda?" Ike raised an eyebrow.

Soren shrugged and grabbed one of the bottles of water for himself "I just got here, remember? I don't know who filled the mini-bar" He opened his bottle of water and turned back to Ike "what would you like?"

"Coke's fine" Ike said.

Soren nodded and grabbed the ice-cold, red can. He closed the mini-bar's door with his foot and went to Ike.

"Here," He handed Ike the soda and sat back on his chair.

"Thanks" Ike took a hearty sip of his drink.

"You're staying here the whole summer, right?" Ike asked out of the blue.

"That's the plan" Soren nodded. "I'm not leaving until late August"

"August . . ." Ike repeated.

"Is something the matter?" Soren furrowed his eyebrows.

"I was sorta expecting you to stay here. You know, after summer. Come back to school here and all" Ike gave him a sad half-smile. "This town hasn't been the same without you"

Soren's throat suddenly felt cotton dry. Heat rose to his cheeks for some reason. He drank some more water to quell the sensation.

". . . I . . . promise to think about it" He said finally. It was nothing clear, and nothing definite. He wasn't promising Ike to help him with math every day after school, like he used to. Or even promising to be his best-friend-forever-and-ever like he did in preschool. He wasn't telling him he would transfer from boarding school back to King Ramon Academy here in Azalea. But the possibility most definitely made Ike happy, since his lips instantly curved upwards.

"Alright" Ike nodded.

They spent a few moments in a comfortable silence. Just sipping on their drinks and enjoying each other's company. That was one of the many things that made their friendship special; they could just sit and relax and not force conversations.

"Mother's having a party tonight" Soren said, looking at his black converse.

"Yeah, I've heard. A welcome-back-party, right?" Ike asked.

Soren nodded, toying with the bottle in his hands "I'm not going"

"You're not going to your own party? At your own house?" Ike asked.

Soren raised his chin just slightly "I refuse to be a pawn on my mother's constant pursuit of socialite attention" . . . And he didn't like people, anyways. Especially not their rich neighbors and family friends, who would be all over his outfit and how nicely his tie matched his ruby eyes, or how he should absolutely date their daughters, since they were 'possibly soul mates'. His skin prickled at the thought.

"Okay. Since you're not going, I'm not going either" Ike stood up and stretched "So, want to do something else?" He turned to Soren.

"What did you have in mind?" Soren tilted his head to the side.

"What about some Yahtzee?"

And that's the very first chapter! I really hope you enjoyed it! I'll try to update as soon as I can! Oh, and YES: Ashnard is alive here. I think he'll be a bit of a challenge to write, but I'll try my best.

Thank you so much for reading this!

Hope we read from each other soon!

~MonaLisa