Le baiser
Night hat already hit the camp since a few hours when the door of Soren's tent lifted up to let a large silhouette enter it. Midnight was right about to hit, and yet, Greil Mercenaries' staff officer still was not asleep.
"What do you want?" said Soren, not even bothering to lift his eyes from the reports he was filling, as he knew who was the only person that would dare invade his private space at such an hour.
Ike did not answer, and walked quietly to his friend, who still kept looking at his reports, assuming that the lord would explain the reason of his presence, like he usually did without even being asked. However, Ike said nothing, and worry forced the grouchy – because he was a little bit late in his work – strategist to leave his sheets, in order to understand why his commander had suddenly decided to pay him a visit in the middle of the night. When his eyes finally met the blue-haired man's, he saw embarrassment filling them.
"What is it?"
Ike took a moment before beginning to answer, in an extremely shy manner that Soren had never seen before.
"Well... There is something I would like to ask you to do... I need your help for something... But before, let me explain it to you a little bit... You see... There is this girl I like a lot...
– Yeah, I know it already. You told me about it, remember?
– Well.. Figures... She seems to like me too... And she tried to kiss me, but I declined...
– Are you dumb? said Soren, as he nearly facepalmed from discouragement as his commander's reaction.
– I was afraid of...kissing in a bad way, you see? I have no experience...
– Neither do I. So if you have come to ask me advice concerning that, I am afraid I have none to give to you, and so, you're only wasting my time. I do aspire to sleep as well as you do, even if it may surprise you.
– Well, I heard Mia saying that she had..."
Soren sent him a deadly glare, to make him understand that he had not been willing to do it, but also because he saw it coming... The question. The request.
"There is absolutely no way I am doing that, Ike. Sorry."
And with that, Soren sent a look that showed well how he was not sorry to say commander of Greil Mercenaries gave him a "the world is gonna end because you refuse to understand how important this is" look. He seemed like a child to whom his parents had refused to buy the sweets they had promised him.
"But! You cannot let me down that way!
– You will manage very well on your own. You're always good at everything.
– Soren!
– No!
– Soren...
– NO! I'm already having a hard time with some people here, if that ever comes to their ears, I think that I will either die or kill one of them, if I don't kill them all!
– But nobody will ever know!
– My answer doesn't change.
– I'll tell them you kissed me, then. Unless you accept to help me.
– Screw you, Ike."
Soren couldn't hold himself from swearing, unable to contain his growing anger. Once again, Ike would get what he wanted...
"Since you leave me no choice... But I cannot do that when being in such a foul mood.
– It's now or never.
– All I ask for is a few minutes to calm down!"
The staff officer's glare grew more venomous as a smile appeared on his friend's face.
"Thank you, Soren. You're a great friend."
Chasing his thoughts of the most violent ways of avenging that humiliation he was certain he would live subsequently, Soren shut his eyes and tried to focus on thoughts of something that pleased him. And finding such a thing to think about was, obviously, extremely hard at that moment. And yet, our young genius somehow achieved that feat.
After taking a few minutes to clear his thoughts, Soren stood up to face Ike, who was now taller than him by a feet approximately. He looked up at him, clearly discouraged.
"I can't believe I am about to do this... " mumbled he, clenching his teeth and clearly unhappy, but resigned, and still calmer than earlier.
Then, he made one more step to get closer to Ike, who looked down on him in a clearly nervous way.
"First, you catch up her attention with your eyes meeting hers..."
He locked his red pupils on the lord's, who couldn't look away, charmed by the sudden mildness he saw in the sage's look.
"Then, you gently seize her cheek..." whispered the strategist, as his moves mimicked what he said.
"Slowly, you approach your lips..."
And when their faces were a few centimeters away from each other, Soren's eyes went from Ike's eyes to Ike's lips, truly looking like he was about to kiss him. But at the last moment, he quickly pushed his friend away from him.
"The rest is up to you."
It took Ike a few seconds before getting out of the strange hypnotic trance he had been put into, but he quickly let out a loud cry that startled his friend into coming back to him with a deadly glare in the eyes.
"Soren! Come back here! You haven't honored our deal yet!
– Shut up, or you'll wake up the whole camp!"
The strategist's response had been nothing but a furious whisper, and Ike knew well how the young branded hated when people were being very loud, even more when it could possibly embarrass him. And so, he was about to keep on talking that way in order to make him react...
"And what if I do? Who cares! It's not like anythin..."
He was interrupted by the lips of his friend that were slammed against his in a brutal, yet somehow passionate way. But passion, there was none, except that made of a deep anger, and that ignited the mage's scarlet eyes with threatening sparks. However, as Ike had shut his eyes, he never saw them until all was done, and he responded to the kiss as if it had been the one he cherished in front of him. He squeezed the young man in his arms while enjoying the strange moment he was living without realizing it. But his staff officer had kept his feet on the ground – or his mind's feet, since he was being lifted in the airs by the young warrior – and quickly began to wriggle against the strong embrace that held him tight.
After a whole thirty seconds that seemed like an eternity to Soren, his struggle finally allowed him to free one of his arms and hit the warrior's shoulder, as well as his arm, while trying to get his head to be freed. The thought of biting had come across his mind, but he had quickly discarded it : it would have left embarrassing and obvious marks... Moreover, Ike would probably have cried out in pain and surprise... It was definitely not the good way for the mercenaries' staff officer to free himself.
A good hit on the knee and a well-deserved whack behind the head finally brought the young commander back on Tellius, and he finally let go of the strategist's lips. Soren immediately let out another furious whisper, while continuing to hit his friend's shoulder and arm as he did not let him go.
"Ike! Let me go, by all the abominations! Do you want to kill me? I don't know how I've been able to breathe with you squeezing me that way! Let me go! Let me go or I'll rip your head off!"
When his feet finally touched the ground, Soren sent Ike a deadly glare, while he was looking down, unable to face his strategist's anger in that awkward moment. The scarled pupils were filled with a dangerous flame that engulfed any kindness that could normally have been found in his eyes when he was in a bad mood.
"Happy?" grumbled the grouchy mage, obviously holding himself from giving his friend another good whack behind the head. When he got tired of waiting for the warrior to find the courage to speak up to defend himself against the venomous daggers that were pointed at him and that seeked to meet his dark blue eyes, the mercenaries' staff officer turned his back on the suddenly shy war hero and made his way to the tent's exit. However, he stopped right before it, suddenly realizing something.
"Hey, wait a minute... It's my tent." reflected he out aloud – well, as loud as he allowed himself to speak at such an hour – before turning back to come and plant himself in front of Ike, arms crossed. He silently pointed the exit to his friend, but seeing that it would not do, he, accordingly to what his foul mood commanded him to, made an exception to his own discipline ; his voice rose aloud and startled out of sleep the few figures in the camp that were not deeply asleep at that time.
"GET OUT OF HERE!"