To put it politely, Ike wasn't fond of his employer. She was rude, snappy, and just generally a bitch overall. He drove her everywhere, did the groundwork at her ungodly massive mansion, and pretty much whatever else she asked. She was easy on the eyes, that couldn't be denied. With pale skin, long flowing brown hair that hung down to the middle of her back, cerulean eyes if he stared too long into he was pretty sure he'd drown in, and a body like a goddess... it made the job a bit more doable. She was gorgeous, but he was painfully aware that nothing went beyond that.

XxX

An alert sounded on his phone and he sat back from weeding the flowerbeds by her bedroom window with a groan, belatedly remembering he had to drive her to a meeting with someone or other too important for his lowly position. He stood up, his knees popping in protest from being on them for so long, and futilely tried to brush his dark slacks free of dirt and grass bits. He grumbled under his breath about his tight cut slacks being ill fitting as he moved back onto the patio that led back into her room. He didn't hesitate before he opened the door, thinking she'd still be in her office.

One step into her bedroom and he came to a halt. Zelda Nohansen, the woman he dreaded to run into even when she was in a rare good mood, was sitting on her bed. She had her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking with silent tears. "Miss Nohansen?" His voice was hesitant as he called her name, not liking the idea of the ice queen being able to do something so human as to cry. She jerked upright, not looking at him as she wiped the tears from her cheeks.

"What do you need Ike?" she asked in her usual tone, Ike not oblivious to the waver at his name.

"Well you've got your meeting soon, I'm supposed to drive you downtown and-"

"Okay," she said with a slow nod of her head, looking down at the floor again. Ike swallowed hard. This was freaking him out. He didn't know what to do, Zelda always kept such a mask of indifference on her face that this was completely unexpected.

He approached her cautiously, stopping a few feet away. "Are you okay?" he asked softly, tensing up as he expected her explosion of anger.

"No," she admitted sadly and he felt his heart break at her broken tone. He stepped a half step closer, not sure if putting a hand on her shoulder would result in his beheading or not.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" he ventured quietly and she sighed heavily, finally looking up at him. Her eyes were red and puffy, tears staining her cheeks and for the first time Ike felt like he was seeing the real Zelda he worked for. The need to comfort took over and without thinking he was on his knees, a hand resting on top of hers in her lap. She stared at his hand on top of hers and he removed it quickly, and after a leap to his feet a gymnast would be proud of he mumbled a quick apology. "Sorry ma'am it's not my place to-"

"Do I just not deserve anything Ike?" she asked in a broken voice and his brow furrowed. "Am I just destined to be alone and miserable? Why doesn't anything work for me?"

"Is this about-"

"Yes," she laid back on her bed with a huff. Ike scowled at the thought of the idiot millionaire she'd been dating for the last month. Zelda might've been a bitch, but that guy was a grade A asshole he didn't like from the start. Smarmy and slimy, that's what Ike always thought.

"What happened?" Ike asked, feeling awkward just standing there in her room but knowing he wasn't welcome to sit.

"What do you think? The same thing that always happens. He found some model bitch and fucked her, after fucking his bimbo secretary," she groaned as she sat up and motioned to her body. "Am I just not attractive enough? Is that it? I know I'm icy-"

"Putting it mildly," he mumbled and she gave him a glare that slowly turned into a loud, body shaking laugh that really scared him. She laughed and laughed, falling back onto her bed, Ike watching what he was pretty sure was a mental breakdown.

"Goddesses Ike!" she gasped as she looked over at him, a smile on her lips that made Ike relax a bit. He'd never seen her smile before, nothing like that. The best he'd seen in the past was her fake smile she used with photographers and television interviews. This... this was beautiful. "I love when you're blunt like that. You should do it more often."

"I'm usually afraid you're going to fire me," he pointed out and she shook her head.

"How could I get rid of you? You're the only person that can stand me." He opened his mouth to deny it, but she was already waving off his words. "Seriously, almost a year under my employ and you've yet to run for the hills? You're either crazy or the most patient man I've ever met." Ike felt a smirk tug up the corner of his lips at that and she regarded him for a moment. The moment stretched out and Ike found himself having to look away.

"I don't think I'm crazy, but I do think your ex is," he said, quickly looking to her. She stood up and Ike felt his heart jackhammer in his chest as she stood toe to toe with him, commanding him to look her in the eye without saying a word. He obliged, staring down at the intense light blue unwaveringly as she returned the gesture. He wasn't sure how long they stood there, eyes boring into each other, but after what felt like an awkward eternity she blinked and looked down, a scowl creasing her forehead.

"What did you do to your suit?" she demanded and he chuckled.

"You fired the gardener, remember?"

"And you've been doing all the work?" she looked up at him again, curiosity in her eyes. Ike gave her a shrug in response and she shook her head.

"Go wash your face Miss Nohansen," he reminded gently, "otherwise you're going to be late for your meeting."

"Fuck the board and their meetings," she said with a sneer and Ike chuckled. "I think I deserve a break from everything. Can you see how long it would take the jet to be fueled and ready?"

"I can but I don't think you should," he responded carefully, watching her eyes darken slightly.

"And why not?"

"Because you'd kinda be a bitch to miss your own brother's birthday tomorrow," he said and she shut her eyes in a slow blink.

"Fuck I forgot," she groaned and to Ike's stunned surprise leaned her head against his chest, burying her face in the white fabric that he knew was damp with sweat. "I didn't get him anything."

"A single malt whiskey, aged to perfection," he said and she narrowed her eyes at him when she looked up from his shirt. "I took care of it, I knew you forgot."

"I could kiss you," she said and Ike shook his head.

"Please don't," he said and she snorted. "Go get ready for your meeting, I'll be out front in the car."

XxX

Ike stood by the door of the sports car, watching Zelda walk down the front steps of her mansion looking every bit the powerful woman she was. He shook his head slowly as she approached him, a smirk on his lips. "Now there's a bitch I wouldn't mess with," he said and she spared him a small smile as he opened the door. She paused before she got in, seeming to contemplate something before she shook her head and got in. Ike closed the door and moved to the driver's side quickly, knowing they were already running late.

XxX

A week passed, neither one of them mentioning her breakdown. He didn't ask how she was doing, and he could feel her silent gratitude for it. They went about their days, him driving and fixing things, her wrestling with amounts of money he couldn't begin to fathom. They fell back into an almost normal routine, the only thing that even felt remotely different where the times Ike could swear up and down she was watching him, a tiny smile on her lips when she looked away.

XxX

Ike toiled under the sun, sweating like crazy in the unseasonably warm weather. Long ago he discarded his white shirt and the undershirt beneath it, them folded along with his suit jacket on the back of the patio furniture he was pretty sure cost more than his entire living room did, if not all the furniture he owned. There were deer coming in, nibbling on the green plants by the pool at night and he was inspecting the damage.

He heard the sound of her sliding door opening and didn't bother to turn around. He kept poking and prodding at the little plants, trying to see which ones they avoided. He heard the gentle sound of footfalls on the path to the pool, feeling her eyes on his bare back. When the steps stopped he turned, not expecting Zelda to be in nothing but a black bikini. He quirked up an eyebrow but remained silent. After a long moment of staring she sighed and held out a bottle of sun tan lotion.

"Could you put this on my back? I want to tan but I burn really bad," she said and he eyed the bottle for a beat longer before letting his eyes travel over the body holding it.

"Don't tan," he said as he turned around. "You'd look weird and I like your pale skin." He went back to the plants and felt her kneel beside him.

"What's eating them?" she asked as a careful hand caressed a green leaf.

"Deer," he said with a shrug. "If we put in some poisonous plants around here they'll stay away." Ike turned his eyes to her, slightly startled to see her looking at him.

"It's hot today," she remarked and he gave her a look.

"I hadn't noticed," he replied sarcastically and her eyes narrowed.

"I'm going in the pool," she said as she stood up. "Join me." It wasn't a question, it was a command and Ike swallowed hard.

"I should really-"

"Come on Ike," she cooed, stepping into the water with a gentle foot, "or I'll have to threaten you."

"With what?" he asked as he stood up, watching her take another cautious step into the pool.

"Maybe I'll fire you," she taunted, a smile on her lips as she splashed water at him.

"Fire me?" he asked with a laugh. "You couldn't live without me." He paused by the edge of the pool, eyes looking down at her as she swam to the center of the blue water. "I don't have a swimsuit!" he called to her and she turned to him, the look in her eyes screaming that she knew that.

"Swim in your boxers," she said with a shrug instead of what her eyes said and Ike chuckled.

"How do you know I wear boxers?" he asked as he undid his black leather belt slowly, feeling her eyes on him.

"Don't you?" she countered, the sound of her gliding closer pulling his eyes from his belt to her.

"Usually," he said and paused for a moment before adding, "sometimes I don't wear anything." He kicked off his pants and shoes, pulling off his socks with a sigh. The sun was hot on his bare skin, but judging by the look in her eyes it wasn't a problem.

He jumped in the pool, earning a squeal from her he heard under the water. He came up laughing as he shook the excess water from his hair. They stayed in the pool for an hour, and if her hand brushed his in the water, or he gripped her hip to help her to the side, the other didn't remark. Finally Ike scooped her up in his arms and carried her out of the pool, her laughing as they moved back into her mansion.

Ike carried Zelda straight to her bathroom, only setting her down when he made it to the big open area in the corner that served as her shower. He eased her down, not remarking when her hands remained on his chest. "Shower off," he commanded lightly, looking down at her to see her eyes locked on his bare chest. He shuddered as her fingertips ghosted along his skin, unsure how to get out of whatever this was turning into. Her fingers tracked his chest and dipped, her nails lightly scratching at his abs. Normally he would have melted into the touch, but this was his boss and he had no idea what was going through her mind. Her fingertip dipped down to the band of his boxers and that kickstarted his frozen brain. He grabbed her hand and pulled it to his lips, kissing her knuckles before stepping out of the bathroom, her disappointed sigh haunting him all the way to the guest house where he kept a change of clothes.

XxX

They didn't speak of the incident after the pool, neither one of them capable of forgetting, but Ike found Zelda warming up to him. She told him tales of her childhood, which he found rather dull and depressing. She was raised to run the company, her parents almost forgetting that she was a child. Suddenly he understood why she was so icy to him from the beginning. So Ike spent more time with her, making her break her rigorous routine of work work work. He made her watch a movie on the gigantic tv she had never even turned on, both of them watching intently. By the end of the movie, Zelda was laying against Ike, his arm around her shoulder. She looked up at him and he smiled down at her.

"Wanna watch another?" he asked and she nodded excitedly. He got up, picking another movie at random and putting it on. He hesitated before sitting down, wondering if sitting back where he was was an acceptable thing to do. She slapped the black leather couch and he chuckled as he sat. She laid her head against his chest, Ike relaxing even as her arm wrapped around his waist.

"You'll love this one," he mumbled, wrapping his arm around her shoulders tightly. He held her against him, his thumb rubbing against her skin softly, and soon felt her droop. He looked down at her, shaking his head to see her passed out. As gently as he could he stood up, scooping her into his arms and carried her to her bed.

He eased her down on the sheets, a fond smile on his lips as she reached blindly for him. "Ike?" his name came out a whine and he sat beside her. "Don't go," she begged as she wrapped her arms around him. Ike relaxed against the mountain of pillows with a sigh. He would just stay there until she fell asleep and didn't move when he got up. Yeah, he nodded to himself, just get to when she was in deep slumber...

XxX

They woke up together the next morning, wrapped in each other's arms. They untangled, Zelda quickly getting up and running to her bathroom. Ike laid there for a moment, wrapping his brain around the idea that he had spent all evening with his boss. In her bed. And woke up... in her arms. He groaned and got up quickly.

Heavy steps took him into the kitchen, coming face to face with the old lady who cleaned the entire mansion. "You're here early Ike," she said with a suspicious tone and mischief shining in her grey eyes. Ike smiled at her and nodded back to the bedroom.

"She's in the bathroom, I'll bring her car around," he said and the woman caught his arm.

"Ike," she said in a gentle tone, "she's a good woman under the ice... She needs you." Ike smiled at her as she released his arm, finding himself oddly wishing she was right in her assumptions.

XxX

Ike watched Zelda come down the steps, her suit making her look as powerful as he knew her to be. She stopped before him, her eyes meeting his defiantly, daring him to say something. "You ready?" he asked, keeping his voice neutral.

"Yes. Ike... about last night I-"

"If we don't leave now Miss Nohansen," he cut her off, "you're going to be late for your first meeting." She gave him a small smile of relief, and Ike felt her hand take his. He pulled her to him, hugging her tightly. Zelda relaxed into him, putting her arms around him gently. "Let's get going," he said and she pulled back with a nod.

XXX

No no no, I'm not making this a crazy long other story... This just popped in my head and I couldn't shake it until I wrote it. This would be a long one shot but my phone panics and won't upload long chapters so... A 2-3 chapter fic is what you get! Yay! Let me know what you think. Much love, Leigh.