Summary: Relationships can be complicated, some more so than others. But for Ike and Corrin, well, some things are worth fighting for. And maybe, just maybe, worth surrendering for.
Pairings: Ike/Corrin (F) romance. Ike and Marth friendship. Link/Samus romance. brief one sided Ike/Samus romance.
Ike was happy to admit that, when he first came to Smash Bros that he had had a massive crush on Samus Aran. He'd always had a thing for girls who could snap a bone if they wanted to. That she was pretty was also a bonus. But that had gotten shut down pretty quickly when he saw that she and Link were together. Ike wasn't the type of guy who stepped on other people's relationships. But while he hadn't pursued any romantic feelings, he had become friends with the two blondes, and was glad for that.
Ike loved Smash Bros. It was filled with people like him, people who didn't belong anywhere so they ended up being together. It was a large, bizarre, and screwed up little family. And now it had grown bigger with the fourth tournament. Some old faces were coming back, Mewtwo and Roy for two, and a bunch of new ones as well like Megaman and Bowser Jr.
Ike had met Corrin when he/she was in his/her male form, and the two had hit it off immediately. Ike's strong and relatively silent strength complimented Corrin's speed and unstoppable ferocity. The two made a pretty good team, and Ike had appreciated having another friend in the Smash Mansion.
But when he had seen Corrin as a female, he had felt the breath knocked right out of his lungs. Gods above, he'd never seen anyone so goddamn beautiful in his life. Her strength and valor filled him with admiration, and her beauty made his heart beat fast. Ike had felt a deep infatuation for Corrin as a female, which just made his interactions with male Corrin all the weirder. Damn it, he had gone and done it again. Fallen for someone near-impossible to be with.
And Corrin was by no means stupid. He/she noticed very much the way Ike conducted himself around him/her. Things were mostly fine when Corrin was a female, they enjoyed themselves in battles and were generally jolly together. But still, Corrin noticed that whenever he/she was a female Ike always seemed to hold himself back. Like he was trying not to have fun or enjoy himself too much. And things were even worse when Corrin was a guy. Ike refused to meet Corrin's eyes. He barely spoke to him/her when Corrin was a male. It was starting to get of the half-dragon's nerves.
Things came to a head after a battle between the Ike and Corrin against Luigi and Ness at Miiverse. It had gone splendidly, Luigi and Ness had been soundly beaten. Corrin, who had been in his/her female form, laughed and clapped Ike on his massive bicep. "Kick-ass Ike! That was INTENSE!" she cried.
Ike smiled and looked like he wanted to say something, but quickly shut his mouth. "Oh, uh, yeah. Yeah it was." He said quickly with a nod.
Corrin frowned. "Why do you keep doing that?" she asked sternly of him. At his questioning glance she continued. "Pulling back. It's like you're trying not to have fun."
Ike shook his head. "I- I'm not sure what you're talking about Corrin." He said nervously, rubbing the back of his neck.
She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at the mercenary. "You're a terrible liar Ike." She said slowly. "Now what's up? This has been going on for a while, and you flat out ignore me when I'm a male. Spill it." She said
Ike looked like he'd rather be anywhere else right now. "Look Corrin, can we please just drop it?" he asked, starting to sweat. "This… please." He said looking for a way out.
"No Ike." She snapped. "Now. We're talking, now." When Ike said nothing the half-dragon's already frayed temper began to strain further. "For the love of the Gods Ike! Just freaking talk to me! Half the time you look like you want to puke and the other half you look like I'm a freaking gorgon. What's your deal?!" she exclaimed.
Ike shifted uncomfortably. There was a long, pregnant pause as he seemed to consider his words. Ike knew the power of words, and knew that the wrong ones could do more harm than any sword. "Corrin… you're amazing." He said quietly, his voice thick with emotion. "You're one of the most incredible people I've ever met. But… I've got some things… I need to think about some stuff." He said quietly. "Could we please talk about this tomorrow? Just… just give me some time to straighten things out.
Surprised by Ike's sudden straightforwardness and surprisingly emotional response Corrin found herself speechless for a few moments. Finally she said. "Ike…" but the mercenary cut her off.
"One day, then we'll talk. I promise."
"Reload." Said Ike to the Mii manning the bar in the Smash Lounge. It was late at night, and Ike had been consuming whiskey for quite a long length of time. Due to his power as a Smasher, it was difficult for Ike to get drunk. However, three hours of whiskey, straight with no chasers, tended to push the envelope of Smasher alcohol tolerance.
'Coward' Ike thought bitterly to himself. What was he thinking? Why did he have to be so stupid? And most importantly, what the hell was he going to say to Corrin tomorrow?! Gods above, how did he manage to get himself into these situations? Give him a monster or a demon any day, anything but expressing his feelings to his crush who happened to be a male some of the time.
Only in Nintendo could this weird ass shit happen to someone.
"Ah, the smell of stale beer and defeat. I hate to say I told you so Ike, but I warned you that this infatuation of yours with Corrin could only end poorly for both of you." Said Marth in his typical aristocratic drawl as he sat down beside the mercenary. Ike groaned and rubbed his forehead as Marth ordered a scotch on the rocks. "Now would you like to discuss how we're to get you out of this with your head in tact or simply send you off to die." Said the Hero King.
Ike glared at the legendary hero he had heard about as a child. He had been ecstatic to meet the living legend in Smash, but had been rapidly disappointed to find that not only was the Hero King a complete girly man, but also a sassy lady-killer. Far flung from the badass hero he had imagined in his youth.
"Could you do me a favor and buzz off?" he said, slightly drunk. "I'm really not in the mood for your crap today Marth."
Marth sighed as he picked up his scotch. "Well I merely thought you might desire a sounding board for ideas for dealing with your dear Corrin. In reality I don't even understand the problem. You like her, it is fairly obvious to everyone that she reciprocates those feelings, so-"
"Woah, woah, woah. What was that last part?" said Ike, turning to Marth with an incredulous look on his face. "What are you saying, that Corrin likes me or something?" he said, glaring at Marth who was looking more and more amused by the second.
"Ike my boy, you're as dense as a harem anime protagonist." Said the Hero King taking a sip of his scotch. "Corrin likes you very much. Everyone can see it. Hell, Game&Watch can see it and he is literally two dimensional." Now Marth seemed truly puzzled. "You're saying you truly had no idea? By the Gods man, go out and get her, she's head over heels for you!"
"It's not HER I'm worried about." Said Ike glumly, taking another shot of whiskey.
Marth nodded. "Ah. The male aspect of her." He said with a sigh. "Indeed that is a hurdle for the two of you. But I don't see it as insurmountable." Marth gave a questioning look at Ike. "Unless you have a particular distaste for homosexuality?" he questioned.
Ike rapidly shook his head. "No, no. I got nothing against it, but I'm straight. I mean, I like guy-Corrin and all, but I REALLY like girl-Corrin. How the hell am I supposed to be with her, when she's a him half the time?" asked Ike. "What does that make us? Does she still like me when she's a guy? Are we just friends then? Gods this place is screwed up." Said Ike, rubbing his forehead. This was starting to give him a massive headache. He cursed his own Gods and Shigeru Miyamoto for getting him into a situation like this. "And I can't just ask her to not be a guy too, the male is part of who she is. I can't ask her to give that up."
Marth gazed at his friend with genuine sympathy in his eyes. "Ike." He said, laying a hand on his friend's shoulder. "If I may give you some advice?" he asked.
Ike sighed. "At this point Marth I'll take anything I can get." Said the mercenary.
Marth nodded. "Ike, love doesn't make sense." He said quietly. "Link and Samus, two people separated by technology and time, but they still made it work. Ganondorf and Bayonetta, while I don't want to think about what goes on with them they seem to have a pretty strong relationship. Hell, I think Jigglypuff and Kirby have something going on." Before Ike could ask his inevitable question Marth shook his head. "No, you do not want to know about that one."
"Not to get us back on track, but can we get back on track?" asked Ike.
"Right." Said Marth, setting down his drink. "The point is Ike, if you really want to start something with Corrin, you find a way to make it work." Said Marth. "So she's a guy sometimes, it just means that you have a friend who understands how your girlfriend's mind works. A man on the inside per se." said the Hero King with a smile, glad he had actually gotten a chuckle out of his melancholy friend.
Ike nodded, allowing Marth's words to sink in. "I… I think I get it." He said quietly. Then a slow smile spread across the mercenary's face. "Yeah… I think I know what I'm gonna do." He said, looking up.
Marth grinned. "Good. And remember, if you screw up it's only the rest of your life and potential happiness that will go down the toilet." He said with a chuckle. In Ike's defense, Marth kind of deserved that punch to the face.
Corrin and Ike met up in the Mario Galaxy stage. On reflection it might have been a bit corny, but Ike liked corny sometimes. Corrin was in his/her female form when she came up to Ike who was sitting down in the grass looking up at the stars. When the mercenary heard the half-dragon coming towards he looked up at her with a nervous grin. "Hey." He said lamely.
Corrin smiled. "Hey yourself." She seemed to have cooled down since yesterday, but she still had a suspicious look in her eyes. "Mind if I sit?" she asked, gesturing at the ground beside Ike.
"Sure." Said Ike. Corrin obliged and sat beside her friend. For a moment neither said anything, simply contemplating the stars, as well as Bowser's airship which sailed amongst them. It was after the long silence that Ike finally spoke. "Corrin… I want to… apologize for the way I've been acting." He said quietly. "Truth is… I was feeling… I was trying to work through some stuff and I took it out on you. I'm sorry." He said, not meeting her gaze.
Gods this was hard. It was so much easier just talking with your buddy about it. But that was the nature of what he was trying to do. Ike was a warrior, plain and simple. And telling someone what he was planning on telling Corrin was surrender in the truest sense of the word. And for a warrior like Ike, surrender was the hardest thing he could do. But sometimes, it was the right thing to do.
Corrin shrugged. "It's okay, I get it. But… what had you so you so wound up?" she asked in a concerned tone. Right now she was glad that Ike was being honest with her. Partly because she was his friend and it hurt when friends lied to her, and partly because Ike was such a terrible liar it was physically painful to watch him try.
Ike said nothing for a moment as he struggled to find the right words. "Corrin… I… I like you." He said, finally managing to get the words out. "I like you." He repeated. "You know… romantically." He said finally.
Corrin was surprised at this sudden admission, and in addition felt a very girlish glee at it. Honestly, it was hard for Corrin to reconcile both the male and female parts of his/herself. He/she was certain that the female part of him/herself was attracted to Ike, but the male part was a bit more ambiguous. It was awkward for Corrin.
"R-really." She asked. "I mean… which one." She said, feeling like an ass for asking. She knew that her double gender could sometimes be an annoyance to her friends. But now that she knew that Ike had… feelings for her she knew just how confusing for Ike it must have been.
Ike blushed fiercely. "This one. Oh- Uh- I mean- you're boy-form is cool too… but I don't want to be… romantic with it- him- you know what I mean." He said, feeling like a complete idiot. "I mean… Corrin… I'd like to be with you." He said. "All of you. Whether it's as a friend, a boyfriend, I want to be with you." He said, finding a strange relief in the confession. If this was surrender, then he liked it.
Corrin blinked at the emotion in Ike's voice. "Well Ike… I don't want you to be unhappy with my… condition." She settled on.
Ike shook his head. "I want you to be happy Corrin. And if you want me, I'm yours. But… I'm not sure if you're getting much." He said nervously.
Corrin smiled and cupped his chin. "Let's find out." She said softly, and kissed him.
It lasted a few seconds, and when she pulled away Ike was looking at her like he was… like he was really seeing her for the first time. "Wow. You're… you're really good at this." Said Ike with a dopey grin.
Corrin smiled. "So… willing to give this a chance?" she asked a little nervously.
"Yeah." Said Ike, grasping her hand. "I think that this is worth surrendering for."