Ike stared intently at the people departing from the plane. Every person who passed him was under his critical eye until he saw the telltale blue hair of his mother. Tears stung his eyes and clogged his throat as he moved forward and wrapped both his mother and sister in his arms. The second they returned the embrace he vowed to never be so selfish again. How could he have ever justified leaving them?

"I'm so sorry," he whispered into his mom's hair. "I never should have left you there."

"If you never left we would all be there now," she told him in her no nonsense tone that he knew better than to argue with. She pulled back and he met the kind eyes he had missed more than anything in the world. "You have done nothing wrong by leaving. You provided for us over there and brought us here the moment trouble arose. Your father would have been so proud." Ike blinked back the tears at that and cleared his throat. His eyes fell to his sister and he chuckled at her uncomfortable face.

"What's the matter? Too cool to hug your big brother?" he teased and she rolled her eyes.

"You're squishing me with your stupid muscles," she grumbled and Ike laughed as he kissed her cheek.

"I've missed you both, more than I can say. Come on, let's grab your bags." Together again at last, the family of three moved towards the baggage claim as Ike filled them in on the living situation. He explained that his apartment was small, but they were welcome there for the time being until he got the house set up, or he would more than happily pay for them to get a hotel if they preferred.

"Well I don't want to encroach upon your space my boy... I'm sure your girlfriend won't like that." Ike tensed at his mother's assumption. Elena noticed his silence and stopped dead in her tracks. "Ike you are not still living like a damn monk are you?"

"Mom I've been-"

"Ike! Don't you dare tell me that you've not been on one date since you've been over here!" Ike blushed, happy that they weren't speaking any form of Hylian otherwise his embarrassment would have been through the roof.

"I've been on a few Mom, nothing ever works out for me," he lied smoothly while his mind flashed to Zelda. "Currently there are no women who are more important in my life than you two. Once everything settles down then," he shrugged, "I'll have to see."

"Well what about that friend of yours that made all of this possible? She has to care to drop everything to help you." Ike felt something suspiciously like his heart skip a beat at that and tried to ignore it.

"Her best friend is dating my best friend. We're not exactly close friends but we sort of revolve in the same system," he tried to explain as he spied his mom's old beat up luggage coming towards them on the slow moving conveyor belt. "Whatever bothers one of us has a domino effect on the whole group."

"Mhmm," Elena replied, obviously not believing him and he scoffed lightly.

"Meet her, you'll see she doesn't really care about me." He grabbed the bag and found Mist already holding hers. He held out an empty hand and she set it there.

"She's on a rant, nothing you say will get her to stop," Mist whispered and Ike chuckled. It felt good to have them with him once more. Together they walked towards the exit and Ike could honestly say he felt happier in that moment than he had in a long time.

XxX

Zelda stared at the stack of mail delivered to her office that morning by the usual little old man she wished would just retire. He was as sweet as could be, but by his age he should have been living the life of a retiree instead of going up and down the halls of the company all morning. Usually he brought her mail and told her the word of the day he learned from the crossword in his paper, but today he had told her of the two new employees down in the mailroom. Yes, Ike's mother and sister had been in town less than two days and were already at work.

She was tempted to venture down to the mailroom to meet them, to see who such a confusing and frustrating person such as Ike could come from, but the very notion made her nervous. What if Ike had told her about their random kisses? How could she look her in the eye and what would she even say? Zelda rolled her eyes and plucked the zip bag off the top of the pile. On it a small notecard had been taped, and the handwritten message on it made her smile with an odd rush of emotions.

'Thank you for everything. Elena and Mist'

Curious, she opened the package and the tantalizing sight and smell of homemade cookies made a happy sigh escape her lips. After pulling one of the tantalizing treats from the bag she bit into it and felt her tastebuds rejoice. Sweet, cinnamon, and flecked with chocolate and nuts, whatever these were Zelda could eat a dozen without stopping.

As she happily munched on a few she responded to work emails and arranged the next few meetings. Things had to be moved around constantly and usually this bothered her but, aided by the cookies, she found her annoyance held at bay.

XxX

Ike was bored out of his mind but hiding it well. After his mom got out of work he had picked her up and taken both her and Mist furniture shopping. He had enough saved to get them modestly set up in their new house and was happy to do so. As his mother fussed about the way a certain table would look he let his mind wander.

They had left everything behind. The end table his dad had carved from hand to hold her favorite photos, the obnoxiously large stuffed animal collection that belonged to Mist, and even his mom's favorite dishes. They only had time to pack the essential clothing items and Ike vowed to make sure they felt as at home in the new house as they could.

"What's wrong with this one Mom?" he asked as he approached a dining set that could seat four. His mom looked at it and frowned.

"Well it only seats four."

"There's only two of you, three if I'm stopping by." He looked at his mom then back to the table. The dark red stain on the wood reminded him of the table she had squeezed into the corner of the house in Crimea.

"I'd like to have room for my family to grow," she explained and Ike narrowed his eyes. "Don't give me that look young man," she chastised with a smile. "You may have stopped looking but I know you'll find someone someday and I'd like to be able to sit at the table with them. Besides it's not just you I have to consider. Mist is grown up now and has the right to bring someone over just as you do." Ike nodded and motioned to a bigger version. "Huh," she walked over to it and Ike grinned when she ran her hand across it. He could already see her visualizing a meal on it and he knew that she liked it.

XxX

Zelda stared at the texts going back and forth in the group chat. Ike was asking if anyone knew the best place to take his sister shopping for new clothes. They apparently had a meeting with the college and she was wanting an appropriate outfit. Peach immediately responded that he should bring her by the blonde's boutique and Zelda resisted the urge to offer to take the young woman to some of her favorite places. It would be inappropriate for her to say and she was not sure what put the idea in her head.

The door to her office opened and Zelda looked up to see a head of long blue hair walk in. Her breath stopped as she came face to face with Ike's mother. She was beautiful and youthful, a kind smile on her lips as she walked forward. "You must be Miss Nohansen," she said as she approached and Zelda could only nod. "I'm delivering the mail this morning, poor Thomas is out sick." She set a small bundle of envelopes on the desk and Zelda felt like she had to say something.

"I've told him to take it easy," she said with a shake of her head, "but he hardly listens to me."

"Old men are like that... come to think of it so are young men." Zelda laughed at that.

"Is Ike so stubborn?" she asked curiously and Elena laughed softly.

"He's as stubborn as his father and just like my husband he always means well by it. You know... he can come across as cold and mean but you're hard pressed to find someone half as caring as my boy."

"Well," Zelda shifted awkwardly in her seat, "he's certainly cared for you and his sister quite well."

"That he has, to the degree of screwing up what should be the prime time of his life," she frowned and Zelda raised an eyebrow. "Do you know if he's happy?" Elena asked and Zelda felt herself tense up.

"I think..." she fiddled with the edge of her tablet," that he is happy you're finally over here."

"That's not what I mean," Elena shook here head. "I've watched that boy break himself to take care of us. He's worked so much it's a wonder he's still sane! I just want him to be happy... I don't think he's had any sort of woman in his life since his girlfriend in high school!" Zelda bit her lips together at that. She had never heard of Ike having any sort of date or any kind of sexual relationship with anyone since he had been in Hyrule. Was that what fueled him kissing her? She ignored the slight feeling of disappointment that the notion brought on and shook her head.

"I don't really know if he's had a girlfriend or not, we don't talk too much."

"You helped him when he needed it... I don't mean to sound unappreciative but why? If you're not close friends then why bother? I know bringing us over wasn't cheap and you've given both of us a job to boot."

"Well I like to think of myself as a nice person," Zelda said with an uncomfortable laugh. "Even if we aren't close I'd like to think he would have done the same for me."

"In a heartbeat," Elena smiled and moved back to the door. "It was lovely to meet you, but I better get back to work."

XxX

Ike was nervous. It was his first time out with the whole group of friends since his family was in town and the first time he was going to see Zelda since that morning. He tried to keep his expression neutral as he walked into the dimly lit restaurant and ran a hand through his hair. Why was he nervous? He could not exactly pinpoint the cause of the nerves, but felt the way his gut twisted and knew it had to be seeing Zelda again.

As he approached the table full of familiar faces he realized that there were only two chairs open. One for himself and one for a certain brunette who was absent. Ike sighed heavily and took the seat beside Marth, already trying to brace himself. What sort of mood would she be in that night? Were they just going to pretend once more that nothing had happened between them?

As if thinking about her had made her appear, Zelda walked up to the table. Ike felt his hands twitch as she hugged Link and glanced around the table. Her eyes met his and quickly moved away, making Ike wonder. The only free seat at the table was next to him and he pretended to be interested in the menu as she got settled. Once she stopped shifting Ike dared to raise his eyes to her and she met his gaze with a look of annoyance. That stirred up his own annoyance and he braced himself for the inevitable words that she was obviously going to say.

"I spoke to your mother today," she commented in an offhanded tone. A spike of fear ran down Ike's spine and he carefully schooled his expression to one of indifference.

"I'm surprised you deemed the mailroom worthy of your presence."

"She delivered my morning mail. She's very sweet but it makes me curious how you could possibly be her son. Obviously the agreeable gene skipped you." Across from them sat Robin and Ike was not fond of his interested watching of them.

"I'm plenty agreeable," Ike responded as he looked back at his menu, "but only to those who are deserving of it."

"And I don't deserve it?" she asked in an incredulous tone and he met her gaze with a raised eyebrow.

"You helped me bring my family here and for that I owe you, but you're still insufferable." Her eyes narrowed and Ike felt a small smile tug at his lips that he quickly hid.

"You're the insufferable one! All you do is taunt and mock me," she grumbled as she flung open her menu. Ike looked at the red tipped ear and cheek he could see from her profile and found it to be quite sexy. The thought made his eyes widen and he quickly looked away.

"You started this tonight, not me." He let his eyes roam over the other occupants of their table and decided to focus on someone else. Bayonetta gave him a wink from her spot near Peach and he kept looking. She had hinted before that she would not be opposed to something between them, but the thought did nothing for him.

XxX

Zelda felt a jolt of jealousy shoot through her system when she noticed Bayonetta had winked at Ike. He had looked away quickly, but the mere thought of him being affected by her attentions made Zelda's insides squirm uncomfortably. She glared at the side of his head and opened her mouth, only to be cut off by a smiling waitress. As everyone placed their orders Zelda could not help but notice the way the woman eyed Ike and it made her irritation grow. Was no woman capable of controlling themselves near him?! It did not dawn on her that it was odd to feel such emotions over Ike for a long moment and when it did she tried to ignore the voice in the back of her head that tried to tell her why she felt that way.

When the food arrived Zelda mournfully looked at Ike's plate with a delicious looking pile of fries. Her salad was pretty, with plenty of healthy greens and vegetables, but damn did she want some of his fries. Ike seemed to feel her stare and turned his head her way. "Food envy?" His correct guess made her scoff.

"Just wondering how you haven't had a heart attack yet," she commented with a shrug. "All I've ever seen you eat is fried food." Ike huffed and she stared, perhaps a bit longingly, as he popped a fry in his mouth.

"You don't need to shovel down salad after salad you know," he said as he casually shook the ketchup bottle. "You can actually enjoy what you eat from time to time." She glared and tried to prove a point by jabbing her fork into her salad. Her aim was a bit off and the force she applied made the tomato she pierced explode in a spray of juice. Ike beside her got some of the seeds and juice on his cheek and she could not help the laugh that bubbled out of her throat.

"Goddesses!" She tried to gulp down a breath only to have a fry hit her in the nose. She looked to see Ike being far too innocent looking as he wiped the tomato off his cheek. When he glanced her way she just picked up the offending food and popped it in her mouth.

XxX

They bickered over whether or not cheesecake was from the Mushroom Kingdom or had origins in Altea that night. As they bickered Zelda stole some of his fries and he took a crouton or two from her salad. The duo did not consciously notice the ease in which they argued, nor did they seem to realize how close they drew to one another. Across from them Robin could hardly believe his eyes. He had always suspected that their fights were a sign of repressed attraction but he felt this confirmed it. Ike was a man with morals and would never have acted on his attraction with Zelda engaged. It was not surprising that the emotions came out in such a negative manner. Zelda was a very committed person and he had known she would never have gone for any sort of advances made by Ike while engaged. Perhaps her own attraction had come out in the same way.

Robin watched them intently as he nibbled on his dinner. The two were well matched in every way and obviously aware of it on some level. They had always gravitated towards each other before but this was completely different. Now the boundaries of a relationship had been removed. He doubted it would take much more for them to go from bickering to dating, if they both were brave enough to take the plunge.

Robin was not the only one who noticed the change in their fighting. Bayonetta cursed herself for not saving Ike a seat by her as she watched the way they turned towards each other with their impassioned words. It seemed to her that there was a mutual attraction there and it bothered her enough that she barely touched her food.

XxX

As they left that evening Ike found himself somehow walking behind Marth, Link, and Zelda with his own trio that included himself, Snake, and Robin. Peach was rambling behind him excitedly to Mario, and Bayonetta had clicked away in her heels to her car already. He had noticed she seemed bugged about something, but he felt it would be too awkward if he asked.

Before he wanted to Robin and Snake broke off to go towards their separate vehicles and he caught up to the others. He threw an arm around Marth's shoulders and felt a pair of eyes on him. One quick glance confirmed that Zelda was indeed watching him and he carefully focused on keeping his eyes forward.

They neared Marth's car and Ike hugged his best friend. When they parted he shook Link's hand and turned to go to his truck. The click of heels behind him made a smirk come to his lips. He slowed his steps enough and soon found her beside him. They walked the short distance to her car in silence. When he was in front of it he stopped and turned to face her. In the near dark Zelda looked beautiful and he found a nervous feeling taking over his body.

"Look uh," she said with an obvious level of discomfort and Ike tilted his head.

"Is this where we don't talk about what happened and go on pretending it didn't?" he asked and she let out a shaky breath. Ike shook his head in defeat. "You got it. Goodnight Zelda." He turned to leave and felt her hand brush his arm. It would have been easy to ignore if the touch did not send the jolt of electricity through his system.

"I-I don't know what happened at your apartment-"

"We kissed," he said as he turned back to face her. "Once I initiated and the next was all you." She was blushing by that point and Ike hated to admit that he loved it. He took a step closer and saw the way she almost seemed to lean into his space. Her eyes finally truly met his and he saw the unspoken question in them. Would it happen again? Ike had the answer as soon as he thought it himself. He leaned his head down and she tilted her lips up to meet his.

XxX

Zelda sat in her office the next day, confused by the turn her life had taken. The phantom sensation of his lips and hands still lingered from the night before. They had shared the longest kiss between them yet and she could already feel the need for another growing. The thought terrified her. She had been so convinced that he hated her, and that she despised him. Now though? Now she was not so sure.

Her heart still ached from Vaati's betrayal. The wound was still fresh in her mind and heart, but something about the way Ike made her feel when she was in his arms... it was electric. He made the pain stop. As she thought about the way he made her feel her assistant came in.

"Zelda?" the soft voice pulled her from her musings and she looked up.

"What is it Ilia?"

"I was just going to check... I hate to do this but your previous wedding date would have been in a few weeks and I was wondering if you still wanted to take the time off?"

"Oh," Zelda gulped back an unexpected wave of emotion. "Uh, I want to take the wedding day off. Obviously not the week for the honeymoon-"

"How about the day of and the day after?" Ilia offered and Zelda gave her a smile.

"You're the best."

"Oh I know," Ilia beamed and left the office. As the door shut behind her Zelda felt her eyes burn.

"Dammit Vaati," she whispered as she gently wiped her eyes.

XxX

Ike was swamped with work. He had barely gotten home well past the normal time when his phone rang and he felt like collapsing. The sun was starting to set, he was starving, and he smelled like he had rolled around in dirty gym clothes all day. With a defeated sigh he pulled his phone from his pocket and answered it without looking.

"This is Ike."

"Where are you?" The voice on the other end of the line surprised him and he checked the name of the call before responding.

"Zelda? Did you mean to call me?"

"Yeah, where are you?"

"I'm at my place, I just got in from work. Why?"

"Everyone's here at that new restaurant I just..." she trailed off and Ike gave himself a tired smirk.

"Why Zelda are you trying to say that you miss me?" She scoffed in response and he heard the sound of the call disconnecting. Ike chuckled and shook his head as he walked to his bathroom.

XxX

Mortification filled Zelda to the core and she purposefully skipped the next few outings. Before she realized it three weeks had passed and she was a day away from what would have been her wedding day. Work did not make sense that day, nothing did. She was a ball of emotions and stress. Questions plagued her and refused to leave her alone.

Did she do something to push Vaati away?

Why had he cheated on her?

Was she not loveable?

It was barely past two in the afternoon and she decided to call it quits. She told Ilia she was leaving and went straight home.

Her pristine and beautiful home was on the top floor of one of the most expensive apartment buildings in the city. She had the entire top floor to herself and the big open floor plan really showed off just how massive the place was. The marble topped kitchen counters gave way to the white walls of the main area where she had purchased the finest living room set and decorations that money could buy. Black leather couches sat on top of a plush white faux fur rug, softening the look and feel of the pricey wooden flooring. One wall held a massive fireplace and the other the biggest television she was able to find. All of the obvious opulence was lost on her as she collapsed onto the leather couch and finally let the tears fall.

When her phone rang she ignored it, along with the chimes of texts. Nothing was going to make her leave her apartment that night or the next day. She was dead set on not doing a damn thing other than letting herself have a good cry over her failed relationship.

XxX

It was supposed to be Zelda's wedding day. Ike had been dreading the date for almost the entire year. He had hated the idea of Zelda marrying that prick but knew that she had been hopelessly in love. It had radiated off of her in sickening waves that angered him. Now she was no longer going to get married, but he knew she was far from over the relationship. He could see it when she panicked after kissing him.

A ding on his phone made him growl in annoyance. Marth had not shut up since about nine that morning. Ike had had the day scheduled off and had never changed it, so the alerts were all Marth in a tizzy about what she might be doing. Apparently she was not answering Link. Then her phone had turned off. Marth wondered if they should go over there. Blah blah blah.

As the minutes ticked on Ike grew restless and jumped up from his couch. He grabbed his keys and shoved his feet into his work boots. As he walked to his truck he tried to lie to himself. He said it was not him that wanted to make sure she was okay. He was doing this for Link, and for Marth to finally leave him alone about it. As he stuck his key in the ignition and drove towards Zelda's home he finally let the little voice in the back of his head speak. He wanted to know if she was okay. He cared. He worried.

Why? That little question scared him. Why did he care? Because their best friends were dating? Because whatever affected her had a shockwave big enough to effect his life? No, that was not the reason and he knew it. The real reason was simple. He cared about her and had finally come to accept that. Ike liked Zelda.

XxX

The knock on her door made Zelda groan. She had turned off her phone earlier in the day and had refused to even check it. Why bother? She was going to cry her eyes out and mourn the loss of love. She did not want to hang out with Link, who would look at her with his sad blue eyes. He meant well but she needed space today of all days. So, content to just ignore the knock, she shifted on the cushion and turned up her television.

The knocking turned into banging and she leapt up from her couch. Angry tears coursed down her cheeks as she marched over to the door. If Link wanted to butt in where he was not wanted then she would give him a piece of her mind. As she turned the deadbolt she started to lay into him.

"Link I swear to Nayru go away! I don't want-"

"I'm not Link." Ike's voice startled her and she squeaked as she looked up at him. He shifted his weight and she felt her throat go dry.

"What are you doing here?" she asked in a quieter tone.

"I'm checking on you. Apparently you're not answering Link and Marth has been texting me nonstop since this morning about how worried they are." Something about that made her sadness grow and she bit her lips together to hold back a fresh wave of tears. "Even if he wasn't texting me like a maniac," Ike continued and touched her cheek gently with his rough hand, "I would have come by."

"Why?" she asked as she looked up at him. She knew that she must have looked terrible. The couch had been her bed the night before, her sleep had been nonexistent, and somehow the tears had kept falling. He did not say anything at first, just stroked her cheek with his thumb. "Why Ike?" she asked again in a stronger voice.

"You know why." It left his lips a whisper and she felt confused and shook her head.

"No I don't. I don't know anything! I thought I knew so much but I didn't even know my fiance-"

"Vaati made the worst mistake of his life by cheating on you. He's a piece of trash that doesn't deserve a single tear from you." Ike raised her head to make sure she was looking him in the eye and she gulped. "You deserve better than him, so stop crying over him. I know it hurts, I know that doesn't heal overnight but Zelda," his tongue darted out to lick his lips and she lost it. She gripped his shirt and pulled his lips down to hers. As his arms went around her she felt her sadness melt away.

He pulled back briefly and she whined. It sounded pathetic but in that moment she could not have cared less. "Ike please," she begged, "you're the only person that takes the pain away." He stared at her for a brief moment, his mouth slightly ajar as if she had surprised him. Then his lips were on hers once more and everything felt right.

They stumbled backwards together, until her body pressed into the solid form of her marble island in the kitchen. Ike picked her up with ease and set her on the countertop, somehow not breaking the contact of their lips. She ran her hands through his dark blue hair as he kissed down her neck. He bit down ever so slightly at the junction between neck and shoulder and she let out a soft moan.

Her fingers slipped down his shirt to the hem and she began to tug it up. He pulled back and she saw the want in his eyes, the unasked question of did she want this. Did she? She responded with a silent but emphatic nod and he grinned as he pressed a swift kiss to her lips. She watched in anticipation and fascination as he pulled his shirt from his body and dropped it carelessly on the floor. His body was perfectly toned and muscular. She knew his work was very physical but damn, she had no idea just how good it was for his body. He moved to kiss her again and she let her hands wander the warm skin he had exposed.

When his hands gripped the hem of her shirt she felt a spike of nerves. He pulled back and the look in his eyes sold her. She nodded again and he tugged her shirt over her head. His eyes ran down her torso and she blushed under the scrutiny. Then his rough hands gently gripped her hips, the skin burned with want, and she realized that this was really about to happen. There was no way she had the self control to back away from him and the way he made her feel. And for the first time in her life, Zelda realized that what she felt for Ike was more than she had ever let herself admit. Vaati doing what he did was hurtful, but had led her to discover the truth. She did not just find Ike attractive and a nice distraction, a fact she would have to mention to him. Zelda realized that she did indeed like Ike.

XXX

I had issues with this chapter and had to rewrite it a few times. This made me happy so I hope it makes you happy as well. That being said thanks to everyone for putting up with the pauses between chapters I promise I haven't stopped. Thank you to everyone for reviewing and please let me know what you think. Much love, Leigh