A/N: Yes, this is my first SSB fic. And yes, I did just create this pairing. Ike/Lucas. Nwehehehe. I am so bad.

So, just as a small note, I kind of edited the ages a bit. Lucas is supposed to be thirteen or so, but here he's fifteen-ish. And I have no idea how old Ike is, so I just assumed seventeen. ...yeah. And sorry about the lame title. I couldn't think of anything else.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Super Smash Bros. (Melee/Brawl) at all. It's just not mine.

s—t—a—r—t—f—i—c—t—i —o—n—

He couldn't take it anymore.

In all the years he'd been living his short life, he'd never been faced with a dilemma such as this. He hadn't really had the time for it, what with traumatic childhood experiences and a race against his own brother to save the entire freakin' world from certain destruction. No, he definitely knew whatit was, to be sure, but he had no idea how to go about dealing with it.

He'd been thinking about someone lately. A lot. As in, he couldn't get the person out of his head, and he got butterflies in his stomach whenever he saw them, which was quite a lot, considering they were very good pals. They'd all told him to stay away from him at first. Toon Link, Popo and Nana, Ness and Red. They said he was a really brute person, and that his own meek, passive personality would clash with his and they'd get into some nasty kind of fight or something. And for a while, he'd believed them.

But then came that faithful day. He had wandered into the training room to practice his moves for the upcoming tournament, not wanting to let his randomly-chosen partner, Pit, down. He'd wanted to use the Sandbag, but to his shock, the very person he'd been advised to avoid was using it already. His attacks looked very harmful; each time he hit the poor bag with his fists and big sword he himself flinched. He was thinking about slowly inching away and coming back later, but the person using the Sandbag turned to look at him. He froze when their eyes met.

When the person spoke, it wasn't at all harsh or malevolent like he'd been brainwashed into expecting. Sure, it was rather deep, but not mean. He politely gave the sandbag up, moving to leave. In actuality, the person had stood to the side to watch and wait, presumably so he could use the Sandbag again afterwards, but when he saw how measly the other's attacks were on the bag, he'd come back up, much to the shorter's alarm. He then went on about proper stances and how to channel your power in order to put maximum damage on your foe, going out of his way to teach the boy different techniques and about using his size to his advantage. When he'd left that day, he was much better, and astounded at how nice that guy had been after all he'd been told about his brutality.

After that, they just naturally got to know each other, whether it was in the refectory for lunch, back in the training room for practice, or just simply hanging out in the rec room, watching T.V. or playing pool. Proving his friends wrong in every way possible, he was promoted from acquaintance to friend in a fairly short time, and soon they could usually be found with the other, doing something or another. He got to know the gentle, caring side of the admittedly brazen-looking person, a side that he himself had claimed very few people knew. His friends had been surprised at his new pal, but nonetheless got used to his presence and vice versa.

It was around then that he'd begun to feel this way about him. All the butterflies and avoiding physical contact because it made him flush like mad and having strange dreams and waking up in very uncomfortable conditions. And it made him worry, because he knew it was wrong, what he felt for the other. Guys were supposed to feel this way about the fairer sex, not other guys. But he just felt no attraction to anyone else. Even Samus in her Zero Suit failed to stir anything inside him.

He needed to talk to someone about it. He debated on whether to tell his friends, but Ness and Toon Link could keep secrets to save their lives, and he wasn't close enough to Red, Nana or Popo to even consider telling them. Peach was another option, for she was like the mother he'd lost, sweet and caring (at least to him), but she was also very gossipy and she would probably try and hook them up herself, like she had with Marth and Link. He didn't need the embarrassment.

The only person he did feel like he could open up to and not have to worry about harsh judgement or secrecy with was the very same person he felt this way for. So he'd kept his secret private for a good three or so weeks now, and dealt with it pretty well, if you'd consider completely ignoring it to be dealing with it. He'd even begun to avoid him in hopes of his problem sorting itself out somehow. But instead of going away like he'd assumed it would, it got even worse. He could barely meet his eyes now without feeling a strange warmth pool just below his stomach, could barely think about him without his face turning red. And now, he couldn't take it anymore.

Consequences be damned, he was going to get this off his chest once and for all.

He and Ness sat on the small couch in their own room, playing Marvel v. Capcom 3 on the latter's PlayStation 3. Lucas had never been very good at it, what with all the buttons and fancy combo moves he could never remember, but Ness was flat out destroying the blonde without even trying. What? His mind was on other things. Other things being secret language for Ike. Like it was all the time.

Ness finally set the controller down after the umpteenth time he'd knocked the other boy out thrice. "Dude, you're not even trying!" he whined, almost pouting at him. "It's not fun when I can kick your butt just by pushing the X button."

Lucas didn't look at all sorry as he also set his controller down. "Sorry. My mind was on other things."

Ness raised an eyebrow. "That's what you always say. I'm starting to think that it's just an excuse. You must like someone, huh?"

That made Lucas suddenly snap to attention, eyes widening. "W-what? What are you talking about, who would I like?" Oh, dear God, he hasn't figured it out, has he?

Ness grinned, laughing and pointing at him like a child. "Hah, knew it! You're probably crushing on Peach, she's pretty hot. Or Samus," he said in awe. Pretty much everyone worshipped Samus and her busty-ness, even her friends. "But I heard that she's a lesbian. Sucks, am I right? Seems like all the good chicks are lesbos!"

Oh. It was just a shot in the dark."Yeah, right. I'm not a completely tactless perv like yourself, thank you very much." Though that was debatable; if wet dreams about Ike counted, he was a filthy liar.

"Oh, Lucas," Ness shook his head. "All guys are. It's a built-in trait, man."

"I'm sure." Lucas stood up, not interested in his roommate's company any longer. He had something he needed to do right now, anyway. "I'll be back later," he said as he walked toward the door.

"Afraid of getting your ass kicked once again? I understand," he mocked playfully as the blonde opened the door. "See you at dinner, noob!"

Lucas shut the door a little more forcefully than was really necessary, and he frowned at the laugh Ness let out afterwards.

Taking a deep breath to soothe his already anxious nerves, he set off for the set of stairs at the end of the Smasher's Rooms hallway. At this time of day, Ike was usually on the roof. Since he was always alone up there, it would be the perfect spot to chat about his little predicament. He ascended the stairs three at a time, not to be delayed now that he was determined to see this plan through.

At the very top of the stairwell, in front of the door that would put him on the roof, he hesitated, pausing to gather his bearings once more. He'd come all the way here, so there was no way he'd just chicken out now! Though the passive part of his subconscious screamed at him that this was a bad idea, he shoved it to the side, at least for the time being. This was something he had to do. Lucas thrust the door open before he could change his mind.

The wind hit his face suddenly, a bit chilly but refreshing to he who had been cooped up in the mansion all day. He savored the feeling for a moment before returning to the task at hand; locating his buddy. He approached the roof's one chimney, knowing that said buddy would be just on the other side of it. His feet made him falter for a moment. Last chance to turn around.Absolutely not. He stepped forward with feeling, as mentally prepared as he'd ever be to face the bluenette.

But to his surprise, relief, and disappointment, said guy was nowhere to be seen. Lucas looked around, and walked to the opposite side of the roof, scanning the area for any signs of life other than himself, unable to find any. The blonde sighed. That made his job a bit harder. Now he actually had to locatehis obsession.

He trudged back down the stairs, not sure where to start. Thinking the rec room would be his best guess, he got off on the appropriate floor, walking rather fast. This probably wasn't the best idea, as when he turned the nearest corner, he was bowled over by Peach's cleavage as he wasn't paying attention, and they both fell to the ground with a FLUMP.

Lucas sprang back up, embarrassed but eager to help the woman up, as it had been pretty much his fault. "Ah, Peach! I'm so sorry, I didn't see you! Was walking too fast..." he trailed off as he held a hand down to the fellow blonde, looking sheepish.

Peach looked rather taken aback, but she smiled nonetheless and took his hand gratefully. "Oh, Lucas," she acknowledged him cheerily as she stood up with his help and dusted her dress off. "Funny I'd bump into you here. Where are you off to in such a hurry?"

Lucas rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm actually looking for Ike. He wasn't on the roof, like he usually is."

Peach put a hand to her cheek, hmming and thinking. "Is that so? Hm. Well, I haven't seen him," she said apologetically, "but if I had to take a guess, I'd say he was in the training room! You know how he is about that kind of thing."

Lucas nodded, deciding he would look there next. "Alright, thanks," he said, bidding her goodbye before setting off once more.

All the way down the hall sat the rec room, where everyone pretty much sat around and watched T.V. or played one of the table games the place had to offer. When he stepped inside, he peered around for his tall friend, but couldn't find him. Once his gaze caught sight of blue, but upon closer inspection it was just Marth, sitting on the couch and watching T.V. with Link.

"Hey Lucas!" Nana called to him from a little ways across the room; she was playing foosball with her big brother, Popo. This caused Popo to turn around to look at Lucas and smile, but his smile instantly turned back into a frown when he heard the sound of Nana scoring a point. He whirled back around, fuming.

"That's not fair! You distracted me!" the blue ice climber whined at his sister.

"Then pay attention next time! It's not my fault you got all excitedwhen I mentioned Lucas' name..." she grinned, making it perfectly clear what she was implying.

Popo threw his hands into the air. "Oh, shuddap! You're just jealous you couldn't win in a fair game if your tried!"

Nana suddenly stopped laughing at herself. "What was that? You must be mistaken. You'rethe one who sucks at this game!"

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"Do not!"

As Lucas watched the two argue pointlessly with an exasperated expression, Toon Link approached him, pool cue in hand. "Hey, man, what's up?" he greeted the other blonde before he shot the ice climbers annoyed glances. "They just don't know when to shut up, do they?"

"We heard that!" Popo paused his arguing to yell at the small swordsman.

"Good! Maybe you'll take a hint!" Toon Link retorts, effectively shutting the two up. After a shake of his head, he turns his gaze back up to Lucas. "So, wanna play pool? I'll play you as soon as I send Red here packing."

Red stood at the pool table, setting up his next shot. "Might I remind you that you're losing, Toon?" he states smugly, striking the white ball expertly and sending a ball into a hole successfully. "Yes!"

Toon Link waved a hand nonchalantly. "Whatever, I've got the goddesses on my side, man."

Lucas chuckled at his friends' antics, almost wishing he could join them. "Sorry, but I'm looking foe Ike at the moment. I can't seem to find him."

Toon link waited as Red thought out his next shot, mock-gasping at this news. "What? I thought you two were attached at the hip?"

Lucas face turned sour. "Yeah. We even sleep together too, mind you." The mere thought of this actually happening sent shivers up his spine and his head spinning.

Toon Link grinned. "Heh. Well, I haven't seen him since breakfast." He also chuckled when Red cursed as he missed his shot by a mere centimeter. "That's what happens when you get cocky, smart one!"

Red waved a hand similar to how the shorter blonde had just done. "Whatever, I have Arceus on my side, man," he smirked, walking around the table and towards the duo.

Toon Link faked a laugh. "Oh hurr, so funny," he said as he approached the table and assessed the situation, seeking a shot he could take. Red leaned on his cue lazily, continuing where Toon Link had left off.

"Well, I'd check in the kitchen. I just saw him like fifteen minutes ago, and his stomach was growling. He might've gone there for a little snack or something."

Lucas stored this in his memory; he'd check there after the training room. "Hm. Okay, thanks, Red."

Red tipped his hat. "Anytime."

Lucas addressed everyone else, too. "See you guys."

Nana, Popo, and Toon Link all answered in near perfect unison. "Bye Lucas!"

With that, he left his buddies and the rec room behind, wandering back down the hall in an effort to reach the training room. It was located in the next hallway down, so all he had to do was turn the corner and walk down that hall some to reach it. He went slowly now, so as not to run into anyone else in his hurry. Thought he wasn't really in a hurry anymore, now that he wasn't sure that Ike would even be there.

Entering the room after a few minutes' trek, he discovered that the bluenette wasn't there, either. He walked around inside a bit too, just to make sure he really wasn't there. But he definitely wasn't, much to Lucas' frustration. Where was that guy?

As he was making his way back out of the room, he was spotted by one of two people that still managed to scare him after two and a half months of living here at the manor. You couldn't really blame him, though. Where else could you find a huge, talking horny toad thing that kidnapped princesses and picked on little kids for fun? "Well, if it isn't our resident pussy, Lucas," Bowser sneered, baring his teeth to the poor boy. "What's a delicate little boy doing in the big kid's room by himself?"

And as his luck would have it, the other person was also here at the same exact time, though it did make sense; they were the only ones they'd hang our with, as no one else could stand their crudeness. Ganondorf paused his use of the Sandbag to grin evilly at the blonde. "Ohoho! I see you're without your big bad buddy Ike," he cracked his knuckles, advancing on the boy with a smirk. "I think I've found a much better sandbag, wouldn't you say, Bowser?"

Bowser growled in a way that told Lucas he definitely agreed.

He slowly backed away from the advancing villains, knowing that if worst came to worst, he could simply run from the two horridly slow brawlers. He tried his best not to let on how unnerved the two made him, but by the way they snickered again, he had botched it.

Their progression became faster which in turn made Lucas' retreat faster, until he bumped into someone behind him with his back. He sure didn't want to lose eye contact with the duo in case they tried to jump him while his guard was down, but his polite side went and overrode this premonition. He turned his head slightly to apologize. "I-I'm sorry!" he managed before he even saw who it was.

It wasn't too surprising to find out it was Snake. The man had a way of intimidating him, but he'd never been cruel to him like the two in front of him had. The mercenary shot the two villains an annoyed look. "Don't you two bozos have anything else to do? Leave the kid alone."

Ganondorf glared at the man, crossing his arms. "Mind your own business, Snake. This doesn't concern you."

Snake's eyes narrowed and he crushed the cigarette he had been smoking in his hand. "I'm not just going to sit around and pretend I didn't see anything. Only cowards do that." He paused, crossing his own arms. "And only cowards pick fights with those who can't defend themselves because they know they'd lose a fight with someone of equal strength."

Bowser growled again, this time at the mercenary.

Snake merely rolled his eyes. "C'mon, Lucas," he grunted, beckoning the blonde to follow behind him. The boy did so gladly, ignoring Ganondorf's nasty jeers behind him.

He suddenly blurted out his thanks once they were successfully out of the room. "Thanks, Snake," he said, guilty that the man had to go out of his way to rescue him.

He just grunted in response. He had always been a man of few words.

Lucas saw that he was heading in the direction opposite of that which he needed to go. "Well, I guess I'll see you later," he looked toward the man, as if looking for approval to leave. Snake just held up a casual hand in response.

"Just don't get into anymore trouble," the man responded, but Lucas was already jogging down the hall. He sighed and went his way, leaving him to fend for himself.

The boy was busy scanning the rooms as he hurried down the hall. It was a long shot, but he could be there, right? As he made his way down, he found the large double door leading to the kitchen wide open, and stepped inside, hoping to see his tall friend somewhere inside.

Again, though. Nothing. But he did see Kirby standing on a big step stool and messing with some pots and pans, looking to be making some kind of dish. King Dedede was behind him, watching the pink puffball cook with a drooling beak and trying to swipe little tastes of this and that without him noticing. The big guy yelled when Kirby smacked his invading hand with a hot spatula. "Ouch! Kirby, I only want a taste! Let me have a taste."

Kirby waved the spatula warningly in his face. "No! I might let you have some when I'm done, but only if you stop putting your filthy hands in my food!"

King Dedede pouted. "Aw, come on! The germs will cook away anyway."

"That's not the point, fatass! The point is, quit stealingmy freakin' food!"

Lucas would have laughed at the two's antics if he hadn't been so disappointed at the lack of Ike in the room. Sighing, he left the two and slowly walked back down the hall. He could be anywhere, really. Hell, he could be back in one of the places he'd already checked by now! Who knew it would be so hard to find him once he genuinely needed him? He supposed that that was just how it worked.

But a sudden thought hit him as he walked back up the stairs in an attempt to give up and go back to Ness. What if the guy was in his own room? He hadn't even thought about that before. That was actually pretty plausible, more so than the kitchen had been. Since he was already headed that way regardless, it was worth a shot.

So he hopped onto the third floor, strolling down the hall with purpose. He passed his own room, where he could still hear the faint sounds of Ness playing his game, and continued to Ike's room, two doors down from his own. His stomach clenched when he went to knock on the door, but he did so anyway. Screw his nerves, he'd been through too much already to give up now! His fit rapped on the door lightly. Knock knock knock.

Then it was silent again. Lucas waited there, anxiety ready to mentally drown him as he forced himself to stand there and take it like a man. This was something he wouldn't run away from. At least, not anymore.

But after a minute, just when Lucas had supposed that no one was there, the door opened slowly, and the blonde looked up to meet dark blue eyes staring back down at him. His breath caught in his throat. Even though he knew what Ike looked like by heart now, seeing him in his dreams and seeing him in real life was completely different. His dark blue hair looked unruly as ever, held back by the piece of cloth he wore tied to his forehead. His nose, his perfectly-sized nose lay in the middle of his face as always, thin lips in a loose neutral position. And he was just as tall as he was, a whole head taller than Lucas. He looked a little surprised to see the blonde, but not in a bad way. "Lucas."

Lucas had to struggle to keep eye contact, and he knew his face was red; not much he could do about that. Damn hormones. "H-hi, Ike," he said, cursing himself for sounding like such an idiot. He decided to get on with it. "Can I t-talk to you about something?"

Ike looked a bit taken aback, but took it in stride. "Sure," he affirmed, standing aside to allow the blonde entry. He scurried inside before his feet could demand that he run away.

The room was pretty big. It was laid out similarly to his, with a small kitchenette, living room-ish area, a bedroom and a small hallway to the side containing a closet, bathroom and another bedroom. It was pretty plain compared to theirs, though, since Ness had put up posters of every band known to man up in their living area, much to Lucas' chagrin. ("Ness, take them down! Yes, I'm serious! It looks tacky!") Ike went to sit on their sofa, and Lucas followed, sitting as close as he dared to the mighty swordsman. He noticed that the other smelled good, like he always did, unless he had just worked out.

Ike reclined, crossing his arms and listening. "So? What did you want to talk about?"

Lucas looked down at his hands, twiddling his thumbs and trying to figure out how to word this. "Well...okay, let's say that I like someone."

A look of realization crossed the bluenette's face. "Oh, I see. Go on."

Lucas flushed and went on as ordered. "Well, I really like this someone. But I'm pretty sure they don't know, and I'm not sure if they'll even return my feelings..." he mumbled, careful to keep the gender of his description ambiguous. "How do I go about telling them how I feel? I'm no good at stuff like this..."

Ike hmm'd and closed his eyes, obviously thinking. "Well, I've never really been all that great at it either, but let's see. I would just...tell them. Honestly, tell them how you feel. As long as it sounds thoughtful and comes from the heart, you should be good. Your looks are in your favor too," he gave the blonde a small smile when he blushed furiously at his comment. "She'll definitely go for you."

Lucas' face immediately fell. He looked down at his lap again, hands balled into fists on his thighs. "Yeah...only, it's not a girl."

Now this surprised Ike, whose eyes actually widened in a rare show of expression. He quickly tried to redeem himself. But a small "Eh?" was all he could come up with.

And in an even rarer show of courage and resolve, Lucas scooted himself closer to the tall boy next to him. I'm going to hell anyway, might as well make the most of this. "Ike, I...I think about you. All the time. And whenever I do, I feel weird, a good kind of weird, and sometimes it's so much I can hardly bear it." He leaned closer. "I know it isn't...I know it's not right, but I can't help it. I can't imagine feeling this way for anyone else, and it scares me, because I know it's wrong. B-but, even so..." Lucas was so close now, so close to his chest and wrapping his arms around the guy and savoring the feeling and the intoxicating smell of him because it would be the only chance he ever got to do so, but his sudden rush of outwardness left him and he froze. He froze, damn him, he froze up right there, mere centimeters away from him, arms half-up in an attempt to hug him, but he couldn't do it, damn him, he couldn't. He didn't know why he felt like crying now, but he did, and as much as he didn't want to meet Ike's eyes he did, tilting his head up to see his crush's eyes trained on him, watching him with an expression Lucas couldn't decipher. His heart suddenly lurched now and he opened his mouth and said the only thing his dumb mind could think of.

"I love you," he whispered, so low he wasn't even sure if Ike had heard.

For a long time, they stared at one another, neither daring to move at all. Ike's face stayed unreadable and Lucas' grew more frantic by the second. He waited for him to say or do something, anything, pull him into a warm embrace or throw him off the couch and call him a fag or something. He couldn't bear the silence anymore; it was tearing him apart.

Then, Ike spoke.

"Well?"

Lucas had no idea what he meant by that. "H-huh?"

His expression was neutral once more. "Weren't you going to hug me?"

Lucas was completely dumbfounded by his nonchalance, but he managed to regain control on his limbs and put tentative arms around Ike's middle, pulling himself close enough so that they just barely brushed against each other's clothing.

Then, like a flash of lightning, they were pressed tightly together, one of Ike's arms circling his waist and pulling him closer. The blonde gasped at the sudden movement, shocked but not at all displeased with the action. The shorter of the two took a chance and nuzzled his face into Ike's chest, adoring the scent he found. It was kind of...spicy, like it tickled his nose, and musky, and veryattractive. Lucas briefly wondered if it was some kind of cologne.

Ike then put a hand in his thick blonde hair, massaging his scalp with his own thumb, an action which sent an electric shock of delirious joy through his body and making Lucas emit a small, whine-like sound. The taller boy chuckled. "You're so cute."

This made Lucas blush like mad again and squirm a little bit, not fully believing what he'd heard. "Wh-what?" he asked, his voice all but muffled by Ike's clothing.

Ike smiled his rare, genuine smile, though the blonde couldn't see it. "Don't worry," he said, resting a chin on Lucas' head casually, still stroking his head and rubbing his side with his other hand. "I've liked you for a while too."

And with that, Lucas' mind was virtually blown. He actually felt he same way? Woah. Not that that was a badthing; no, that was a very, very good thing. It just astounded him, that he would choose him of all people over the females in the Smash Manor. He suddenly remembered that Nana had a not-so-small crush on Ike herself, and wondered what she'd do to him when and if she found out about this. But right now, as he and Ike cuddled against each other and enjoyed the proximity and quality time alone, he could honestly say he didn't give a damn.

They stayed like that for a very long time, until Ness came knocking obnoxiously at the door asking why they hadn't come down to dinner that night.

e—n—d—c—h—a—p—t—e—r—

A/N: I am so hooked on this pairing now. You can't tell me that they wouldn't be freaking adorable together! -fangasm-

Even so, that's the end. Leave a review telling me whatcha liked, didn't like, things I can improve on, etc. etc., pretty please!

Thanks for reading and stuff. C: