AN: I'm writing this after I finished. Heh. This was meant to be for Valentine's Day but...erm...it's late. Sorry.
Ehm, this is just a li'l romance fic. I've been working on this for about a week, so...meh.
Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own any of these dudes, places, things... yeah. They belong to Ninty.
---Chapter 1 Ike---
How dare she? How dare she! That Apostle girl we saved on the boat heading to Begnion. She disgusts me already and I've known her for not much more than a day!
Yesterday, when we got to the court, she humiliated Elincia by going on about people "vouching" for her and claiming that we were lying about her identity and our cause! Then, and I could see the hurt in Elincia's eyes at that point, she said that Sephiran had already vouched for her and that she was "so very bored". She thought she could have a go at us after everything we'd been through trying to get here, and there was no apology from her either! How she could possibly have the motive to-
I have to stop writing, there's a knock at the door. There it is again... I don't recognise it though. Must be a servant of some sort.
I grunted just loud enough for the person on the other side to hear. Yeah, so maybe I'm being impolite. Get off my back; I'm in a ranting mood.
The door opens, and I find out it's not a servant. It isn't one of the mercenaries either; it's much, much worse. It's Sanaki. I watch her, and she looks uncomfortable.
"Ike... may I come in? I would speak with you..." she says. Why on earth is she asking permission? It's her palace.
"Hn. Whatever." What I really want to say is some kind of retort, something that'll really hurt, but maybe that's a bad idea. She looks kind of... sad. Not that I care, of course. I close my journal, and stare again while she hovers by the door.
"I... I want to... I mean I'd..." she stops. What is she trying to say? I want to tell her to spit it out, but I don't. "This is a... little awkward to say, but... I wanted to say that I'm sorry. For... for everything that I said yesterday." What? She thinks I'll accept an apology! Why didn't she apologise earlier? Instead of doing that, she comes here and tells me in private! Didn't want to apologise in front of the Senate, did you Sanaki? Didn't want to embarrass yourself...?
"Why are you apologising to me? If you want to apologise, go see Elincia."
I wish I hadn't said that now. She looks like she's about to cry. Wait , what! Why am I regretting saying that? A moment ago I wanted to upset her... oh Ashera. She is going to cry, and it's all my fault. She leaves the room, and I watch her go.
---Chapter 2 Sanaki---
I thought he'd forgive me. I really did. Maybe I was wrong about him, maybe he doesn't protect Elincia out of the kindness of his heart... maybe he is just doing it for the money...
I shake the thoughts out of my head. Don't think like that. You did earlier and look where it got you.
I honestly don't know what I'm feeling...I write in my journal. It helps, sometimes, to get it down on paper. I felt really and truly guilty about what I said... there isn't much I feel guilty for. I guess this is one of the few things. And it's serious, because I know that Ike is very different than other mercenaries. He cares for Elincia, I can tell, but... I didn't really mean to hurt her yesterday. And it seems that... maybe I hurt Ike too. And I regret that even more. I do not know why, because there's nothing likeable about him- he's uncouth, crude, and violent... and yet... I stop. There's nothing I can write. I don't know how to describe it but... I know he's not like the others.
...there are positive things about him too, there must be. He's...He's what?...kind. To defend Elincia like that. Well, it's a start. That can't be his only attribute. But why am I trying to find his good points? I don't understand... he's cute too. In a confident, rugged way... I stare at the words on the page. What in Ashera's name am I thinking? I cross out the mutinous words, closing the book angrily. The ink will smear the adjacent page now, but I don't care. The less recognisable the text is the better, as far as I'm concerned.
I storm out of the room, stalk down the corridor...and slam right into someone coming down the hall. It's one of those clumsy servants isn't it!
"Would you watch where you-" Oh Goddess. It's Ike! He's glaring down at me... and suddenly I can't breathe.
"I think you'll find it was you who walked into me, not the other way round." He's being so cold... I can't stand it. I have to say something... but he's walking away.
"Ike!" I cry, before I can stop myself. He turns. "Ike, please... I've apologised. I really didn't mean to hurt Elincia... or you."
"You never hurt me" he replies "But I won't have you insulting Princess Elincia like that. I trust you took my advice and apologised to her, too?"
"I..." I can't understand this. He's being so cold..."Ike, I saw her before I saw you. I apologised to her first..."
"Good." He's turning again. I don't want him to leave. I'll admit it, I want to stay with him for a while longer.
"Ike, can you forgive me?" I call. Maybe I should run after him...but what would I say? I give up, and turn back to head to where I was heading before.
---Chapter 3 Ike---
I need to talk to someone, I've decided. Elincia being my first choice, she's a good listener, plus what I have to say concerns her too. I'm heading over there, staring into space, when I walk into somebody significantly smaller than me. I'm about to apologise, but when I look down I find it's Sanaki. She doesn't look like she's been crying, which is...good, I suppose, but at the sight of her I feel myself starting to lose my temper.
"Would you watch where you-" she stops. That's it. She's so rude!
"I think you'll find it was you who walked into me, not the other way round" I say, perhaps a little too sharply. But, I can't apologise now, so I carry on where I was going.
"Ike!" I hear her cry. I turn, about to tell her to leave me alone, but she speaks first. "Ike, please... I've apologised. I really didn't mean to hurt Elincia... or you." What does she mean? She's got it all wrong...
"You never hurt me" I reply. "But I won't have you insulting Princess Elincia like that. I trust you took my advice and apologised to her, too?" I don't know why I'm saying this, I can see I'm hurting her...but I can't understand why I care, either. It's as if...it's as if I'm not myself, as if something has taken me over...
"I..." she stammers. I want to come right out and apologise, but I don't. It's not that I can't, it's not that I won't... I just don't. "Ike, I saw her before I saw you. I apologised to her first..." I can't take this anymore.
"Good." That's all I say before I walk away. I don't want to leave. I'll admit it, I want to stay with her for a while longer, but I can't permit myself to.
I hear her cry after me "Ike, can you forgive me?" I've already forgiven you, I want to say, but I don't.
I think she's given up. I can't hear her coming after me. Good, is my first thought, but then I wonder why I automatically assume that it is. No, I think then, I want to be in her company, I want to stay and talk things over...if just to be with her. These new thoughts send a tingle down my spine. Sanaki...
I knock at Elincia's door.
"Come in!" I hear her call. So I do, slipping round the door into her room, closing it behind me. She's sitting on the bed, writing what looks like a letter. The room, a lot like the others, is largish, light and airy, with white furnishings.
"Sorry, Ike, I'll be with you in a minute, I need to finish writing this letter." She looks back down at her parchment, dipping a blue-black quill into the dark ink before continuing.
I can see we're rubbing off on her a bit. She sits there, back straight, head slightly tilted, with her legs folded to one side, the way a princess should sit. But her speech is different, more functional and simple. I listen to the steady scritch-scratch of the quill against the parchment, and I feel myself lull, my eyelids growing heavy.
"All done, Ike. Now, you looked disturbed when you came in, is there a problem?" I look up and she's stowing away the quill, ink, and spare parchment in a box on the desk. I glance at the letter she's written and get the impression of a smooth, neat, italic hand.
"Elincia...I need to talk to you. It's about Sanaki." I say awkwardly.
---Chapter 4 Elincia---
"Elincia...I need to talk to you. It's about Sanaki." About Sanaki? I'm about to admonish him about calling her by her name, but decide against it. I wait for him to carry on, but he doesn't.
"...Yes?" I ask carefully. I don't want to push him.
"Look, I...she came to apologise to me earlier on. For upsetting you. I can't understand why."
"She came and apologised to me, too. Isn't it obvious? She just didn't want to cause offence."
"But why to me, Elincia? She didn't cause any offence towards me. And now I've gone and ruined it by upsetting her again, and I said a load of things that I didn't really mean, and a lot of things that I didn't even want to say. I'm torn, because one side of me keeps asking why I should care about her feelings, and the other side wants me to stop upsetting her...and there's something else too..." I wait again. It seems to be quite hard for him to say this, so I encourage him again.
"Ike...?" He looks down at his feet. He looks pretty tense, too. And...I can spot the tiniest hint of a blush on his face. He's trying to hide it, rather unsuccessfully.
"Elincia..." he murmurs, his voice almost inaudible. "I...want to be near her. I want to be around her...and I don't know what it is that I'm feeling, but..." I know what it is. Everything becomes clear.
"Ike. Go and find her."
"Are you insane! I don't-"
"Go and talk to her! Trust me." I want him to leave, and I want him to talk to her. I know that his problems will solve themselves if he does.
"...What shall I say?" He asks, unsure of himself. I want to take him by the shoulders and give him a good shake, but I don't. Violence is not the answer.
"Say anything! Say what you feel you should say!" He looks like he's going to reply, but he doesn't and leaves, muttering a thank you. He'll thank me properly later, I know he will.
---Chapter 5 Ike and Sanaki---
Ike made his way out to the beautifully tended, extensive gardens. If she was out here, she'd be by the fountain. And sure enough, she was.
The fountain was surrounded by four tall hedges set in a square, with archways in the corners. The archways themselves were metal curves set from one hedge to the other, with branches twisting out of the hedges and twining their way up the curve. It really was beautifully tranquil back here, and Ike almost felt calm again...until he set eyes on Sanaki.
She sat on the edge of the fountain, drawing patterns in the water with her fingers. She had her back to him, which made it all the harder for him. He was just considering turning back when his boot crunched on a loose stone from a nearby flowerbed. She turned, and paralyzed him with those large amber eyes. He felt his heart thump against his ribcage, and suddenly he got that sensation of not being able to breathe again.
"Ike...?" she murmured, as more of an inquiry than a statement. When he didn't answer her, she got up and walked toward him. "Is there something you wanted to talk to me about?"
"Y-yeah" He stammered "I...wanted to talk to you about...well...I wanted to say, before...that you're already forgiven. I'm sorry, I may have overreacted" suddenly the words he had searched so hard to find were rushing out of his mouth "...and...Elincia told me to talk to you about...about what I feel and-"
"Ike! You're burbling! Start again, slowly."
"Okay." Ike ran a hand through his hair, "Okay. Firstly, you're forgiven. Truth is, I'd forgiven you the minute you came in to apologise, and I don't know what drove me to say all those things, but I'm sorry, too." Sanaki beamed.
"Ah, Ike. I-"
"I'm not finished, I have to say this before I chicken out. Sanaki...I don't know what it is about you, but I feel like I...need to be close to you. Need to be around you. You're...really beautiful, you know that?" He knelt down before her and placed a hand on her jawbone. "And I'm so sorry I ever hurt you."
Sanaki was stunned. She stared into his azure eyes, those orbs that sparkled so beautifully in the sunlight. Slowly, cautiously, she stepped forward, her face mere inches from his. The two pairs of eyes stayed locked for a while, both sharing that same look of adoration.
"Ike...I'm so glad you feel the same way. You...must think I'm acting a bit stupidly, seeing as I'm only young, but I can't...reason out any other explanation for what I'm feeling..."
"Of course not. You...you're not stupid" He replied, running his rough hand through her hair, gently. Then he heard someone calling his name- his little sister, Mist. He straightened up, looking over his shoulder towards the sound.
"Don't go..." Sanaki said quietly, and he turned back to look into her eyes again. "Not yet..."
Ike bent down then, placing a gentle kiss against her lips. "I'll be back soon, I promise." And with that, he turned and left.
Sanaki watched him leave, her lips tingling slightly, her hands against her heart.
And nothing could make her happier that day.
AN: Gaaaaawwd...the fluffy romancy-ness-ness-ness...(claws at eyes) Make it stop...
So, erm, reviews? Pleeeease?