A/N: OH MY GOODNESS! So many awesome stories going on all at the same time! How ever will I manage? Well, I got the idea for this one a little while ago, and I knew I had to write it because otherwise I'd forget about it! And besides, there really aren't that many Tellius stories in the FE section of this site, which kinda surprised me. I hope all you Tellius fans enjoy this one! And before you even say anything or flame and whatnot, I know that Ike left at the end of Radiant Dawn and never returned. I know that! But for the sake of this story, he and Soren come back, okay? This is supposed to be kind of a continuation of Radiant Dawn, so Ike needs to be here! :P Also, Ike and Soren are NOT gay! Sorry, but I really can't stand that pairing. Since when is it gay for two guys to be close friends, anyway? So also no flaming about that please! :P Okay, I've babbled enough. I'll let you read this first chapter now. Remember, if you like it, follow, favorite, and review! I'm not exactly sure how fast I'll be updating due to the fact I'm now writing three stories all at the same time. :P Please enjoy! :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem. All characters you recognize belong to Nintendo/Intelligent Systems.

The land of Tellius did not seem any different than it had been the day they left. The grass was still very green, which meant rain had been plentiful and the land did not suffer any droughts. The trees were still tall and strong. It was nearly nightfall, and the crickets were singing happily. The air felt so pristine and light. It seemed that peace had finally been restored for a long period of time. But as they traveled to the fort of the Greil Mercenaries, one of them couldn't help but be nervous.

The raven-haired boy known as Soren stopped in his tracks, conjuring deep thoughts in his tactful mind. His long-time friend and the commander of the Greil Mercenaries, Ike, immediately came to stand by his side.

"Soren, what's wrong?" he asked, running a hand through his blue hair. "Why did you stop? We can make it back to the fort before it gets dark if we hurry."

"Why are you so eager, anyway?" Soren hissed. His mouth was a thin line, and his red eyes burned through Ike's mind. "You were the one who wanted to leave in the first place!"

"Yes," Ike responded slowly. "And now we're back." He reached to put a hand on the boy's shoulder, but Soren quickly turned away from him.

Soren sighed then. "What makes you think we'll be welcomed back with open arms?" he asked. "We left without telling a single soul." He sat down on a nearby boulder, putting his face in his hands. "Well, maybe you will."

"What are you talking about, Soren?" Ike inquired, also taking a seat on the boulder. He moved his hand again, but this time, Soren slapped it. "Ouch!" Ike yelped. "No need to get violent, now!"

"Sorry," Soren apologized flatly. He was always known for his cold personality, and almost never meant what he said. "I was just thinking," he began to speak again. "You're the commander, and they have to welcome you back. But me..." his voice trailed off. Ike noticed a tear was beginning to form in his eye.

"Soren," he said, a little astounded. "You're crying."

Soren looked up at Ike abruptly, quickly rubbing at his eye. "No I'm not," he lied. Ike saw right through him, however.

"Soren," he said. "Tell me what's the matter." It was an order.

Soren sighed, and more tears threatened to drip from his eyes. "Ike," he whimpered after a while. "Nobody ever liked me. Nobody except for you." The tears flooded down his face now, and he had no control over his emotions. "They will cast me aside," he said 'they' like it was the plague he was speaking about. "Just like they did before."

Ike couldn't help but feel immense pity for his dear friend. "Soren, no one hated you," he said. He once again reached for Soren's shoulder, and Soren finally let it rest there. "Your talents are very helpful to our army-"

"And that's all you need me for!" Soren spat, getting up from the boulder and walking a fair distance from Ike. He leaned up against a tree and bowed his head slightly. "I thought you cared about me, Ike," he said softly.

"Soren, of course I care about you!" Ike insisted, walking over towards Soren. "You're my best friend." He sighed then. "I've tried to make the others understand you, but you also need to try and understand them."

Soren hesitated before speaking again. "They don't understand me, Ike. No one understands me but you." He inhaled deeply. "I'll try to be more...how you say...open?"

Ike laughed heartily upon hearing this. "Alright then, let's keep moving."


The Greil Mercenaries sat around a small fire that night outside Fort Pinell, one of Crimea's defenses that Queen Elincia had graciously donated to them. They all silently ate their meal of chicken and rice that Oscar prepared for them. Ilyana, the bottomless pit of the group, was asking around to see if anyone was going to finish their food. Zihark, who secretly loved Ilyana, agreed to give her the last of his meal. The silence had become quite customary, ever since their leader and tactician left them. Ike's younger sister, Mist, sat beside the new chief commander, Titania. She had been second in command prior to Ike's vacating, but had since moved up in the ranks. The Greil Mercenaries needed a commander, after all, and she was the only one qualified for the job.

"The fire's going out," Mist spoke up suddenly, and they all looked at the dying flames. For a while, no one moved.

"I'll go get some more wood," Rolf, one of the mercenaries' skilled archers, offered. Boyd, his older brother, went with him. Mist bowed her head then, and began to weep softly. The others noticed this, and they all looked at each other sadly. Mist had a way of making others feel her emotions as well, even if they had no clue what she was sad about. But they all knew why she cried. The same reason she had cried for the past two years. She cried for her brother and Soren.

"Shhhh, Mist. It's okay," Titania comforted, wrapping her arms around the girl. She was like a mother to the group. "Maybe it's time to accept the fact that they're gone?"

Mist pulled away from Titania's grasp. "How can you say that?" she asked, shocked at what she was hearing. "Any moment now, they could come back!"

"Hello?" A familiar voice called to the group. They all spun their heads around to see where the voice came from.

"Ike?!" Mist clucked. "Is it really you?" She took a little time to discern if what she was seeing was real. Upon realizing the two men standing in front of them weren't a facade, she jumped up from the log she was sitting on and bolted towards her big brother. She jumped into his arms once she reached him.

Ike grunted a little at the impact. "It's good to see you too, little sister," he chuckled. "You've grown."

Mist smiled up at Ike, then noticed Soren out of the corner of her eye. "Soren!" she exclaimed, loosening herself from Ike's hug. She dropped to the ground and ran towards Soren. She took his narrow face in her hands and gently kissed the Brand mark in the middle of his forehead. Soren just stared at her with an astonished expression on his face. Had she really just done that? Then she smiled at him, her giant blue orbs looking directly into his ruby red ones. "Welcome home," she whispered. She quickly and without warning threw her arms around him. Soren's own arms hung stiffly at his sides, not quite sure what they were supposed to do. Eventually, the look on his face turned from surprise to acceptance, and he embraced her as well, holding on tight. He breathed in deeply with his nose, catching her scent. She smelled like apple blossoms.

"Oh my goddess!" Titania gasped. "It's really them." She and the rest of the mercenaries then flooded towards Ike and Soren. They all asked a million questions. The two travelers were a little taken-a-back by this, and tried to calm them down.

"Why don't we sit by the fire and Soren and I will tell you all about our journey?" Ike suggested. The mercenaries agreed to this, and they all took their places by the fire again. By this time, Rolf and Boyd had returned with wood.

"Ike?" Rolf asked. "Is that you?" He and Boyd looked at each other with disbelief.

"Yes, it's me," Ike answered with a smile. Rolf approached him slowly, as if a sudden movement would wake him up from the dream he was almost certain he was having.

"Permission to hug the commander?" he asked, after pinching himself several times.

"Permission granted, Rolf," Ike answered with a laugh. Rolf didn't waste any time after he said this. He squeezed Ike so hard, the commander found that it was almost difficult to breathe. "Okay, kid," he croaked.

"Oh! Sorry!" Rolf apologized and quickly pulled away from the hug. "It's just so great to see you!"

Ike smiled at the young archer and ruffled his bright green hair. Boyd placed the extra wood on the fire, and it immediately roared back to life. The mercenaries cheered upon seeing it, something they hadn't done in a long time.

"Wait," Titania said suddenly, causing everyone to look in her direction. "I'm going to get Mia." The mercenaries all turned to Ike then, and nodded. Their faces told Ike that they knew something he didn't. Soren also looked at Ike, sensing something was up.

Mia? Ike asked himself, as if not remembering the name. But of course, he had not forgotten about the spunky swordswoman. Memories of her instantly came flooding back to him. Her brilliant smile, her bright personality, her adept skill with the blade. He'd told Soren that no one knew they were leaving, but he had, in fact, told one person of their plans.

"You're leaving, aren't you?" Mia asked, knowing all too well of his and Soren's idea. She had followed him to the river that night, sensing something was wrong. The goddess Ashera had been defeated, and the soldiers were returned to their former selves after being turned into stone statues. All seemed right with the world, but something was troubling Ike, and Mia knew it.

Ike sat by the bank of the river, washing his face with the cool water. "How do you always know, Mia?" he asked, and smiled a little despite himself.

Mia sat down beside him then, putting her hand on his shoulder. "You don't have to go," she said. "You can stay here. With Mist, and Titania, and..." her voice became softer. "And me."

Ike looked into her green eyes and knew immediately how she felt about him."You and I," he began, still gazing into her eyes. "We're very much alike, you know."

Mia smiled a little. "Yes, I do know that." Then she took her hand off his shoulder. "I always thought I was being foolish to-" she cut herself off and turned away.

Ike was still looking at her, not wanting to take his gaze away. "To what?" he asked, though he had a feeling he knew what she was going to say.

Mia sighed and looked back at Ike. "To fall for my commander," she whispered.

"That's funny," Ike said. "I thought it would be foolish to fall in love with one of my recruits." With this being said, they both wrapped their arms around each other at the exact same time, their lips crashing together. It was only a matter of time before they had both taken off their clothes...

Ike was drawn out of his flashback by Soren waving his hand in front of his face. "Ike?" the tactician asked. "Are you okay?"

"Hmm? Yeah, I'm fine," Ike replied, bringing himself back to the real world. Needless to say, he and Mia had 'explored each other' that night. Ike felt his face getting very hot, as the mercenaries were still staring at him. He felt ashamed of his actions that night. How could he lead such a sweet girl like Mia on like that? To make love to her, only to leave the next day. He hated himself at the moment. Now it made perfect sense why everyone was staring. Mia had obviously told them what he did to her, and must've despised him for it now.

Titania returned to the group with the young woman just a moment later. Mia took one look at Ike, and her eyes grew wide. She approached the log he and Soren were sitting on, but not fast. Ike wasn't quite sure what she was feeling at the moment. From the outside, it looked like disbelief, but on the inside, it could've been anything. "Ike?" she asked softly once she was only a short distance away. "Is-is that you?"

Ike swallowed a large lump in his throat. "Yes," he answered cautiously. From her quiet tone, he discerned that she wasn't angry with him. "I'm sorry," he apologized then, hanging his head in shame. "For what I did. I shouldn't have."

"I was at fault, too," Mia said, taking Ike's hand. He looked around and saw everyone still gawking.

"Does everyone know?" he asked, scanning the crowd of mercenaries. Some of them caught on and turned away, while others couldn't help but watch the scene that had unfolded.

"Well, it was pretty obvious when I got-" she stopped and cleared her throat. "Here, I'll just show you." Then she walked back into the large fort Titania had brought her out of.

"Ike?" Soren asked nervously, thinking he knew where this was going. "What did you do?"

"I guess I'll find out in a moment," Ike said, a new, larger lump returning to his throat. Surely that didn't happen. He tried to calm himself. It couldn't have happened. It was only one time! Mia came out of the fort then, holding a bundle of blankets in her arms. Soren sucked in a huge breath of air, for he knew now, his assumptions were correct. The mercenaries all watched Mia as she carefully walked back over to Ike, occasionally looking down at the bundle in her arms.

"Ike," she said once she stood near him again. "I think it's time you met your daughter, Erin."

A/N: Thanks for reading chapter 1! Hopefully, chapter 2 will be up soon! Hopefully! :)