Marth gladly took the hand Ike offered him, pulling himself up from the icy snow. The time had passed so quickly as the two of them had been holding each other here, but oddly, he didn't feel cold at all right now as they were walking back to the mansion.
To Marth, it also seemed strange how different the snow felt, now that he was strolling through it with Ike. Together, with Ike. Before, it had given him a feeling of loneliness, of pain and loss, while now, it just seemed like the purest, most serene thing in the entire world.
He carefully peeked over to Ike, who was walking next to him, gaze averted with an awkward blush. Marth's eyes fixed his own feet, studying every little detail of his shoes. What were they supposed to do now? What was different? It felt like...nothing had ever changed. Unpleasant questions like these were floating around in the air, but they both did not dare asking them.
Eventually, though, Marth was the one to break this weird silence. ''I- Ike... I...just wanted to ask you! Are we...you know... together, now? A... couple? I... mean...I love y-''
He couldn't voice the rest of his sentence as he unexpectedly slipped, threatening to crash into the snow. Trying to prevent the fall, he grabbed Ike's collar, pulling the surprised man with him, down into the cold. Marth landed softly on Ike's chest, while the other's head hit the ground harshly. Strange - considering that the prince had spent most of the time awkwardly observing his boots... If he paid THAT much attention to his walk, he shouldn't be slipping so easily.
''Ouch...'', Ike mumbled, rubbing the back of his head with cheeks as red as fire. Seriously - how embarrassing.
At first, Marth had planned to stammer an apology, but as he realized Ike's shyness, and how delicate this entire situation actually was, he changed his mind. The shocked look on his face melted into a mischievous smirk.
''Ikey...!'', he sighed serenely, cuddling Ike forcefully. That made him blush even more, and he eyed Marth with brows knitted in confusion. ''I...key?'', he stuttered disbelievingly. This really sounded like a cat's name. Or a dog's name, since dogs were known to be very faithful.
''Yes! Now that we're lovers, I want to give you a cute nickname!'', Marth smiled, caressing Ikey's cheek with tender affection.
''L- L... Lo..Lovers... I...'', he gasped, nearly fainting from happiness. He was so incredibly lucky... Was this all just a dream? A mirage? It just seemed way too good to be true.
Before he could think or speak any further, he found his lips being covered by Marth's, silencing him with a soft kiss. His mind went completely blank, like an empty, white sheet of paper. The only thing left was this wonderful feeling which needed a thousand, yet no words at all to be described.
''I love you, Ike.''
The melodically spoken words reached Ike's ears like bells ringing somewhere far away, but still, they were so close. Marth embraced his new found love with a long, content sigh. Ike didn't know what to say. It was just so incredibly beautiful. Hesitantly, he wrapped his arms around Marth, pulling him a little closer. So perfect beyond his dreams. Before he knew it, warm tears of bliss started rolling down his face.
''Ooh... Sssh, Ikey, don't cry...'', the prince whispered, quietly kissing the tears away. Letting out a mixture between a chuckle and a sob, Ike reached up his hand to stroke Marth under the chin, causing him to giggle sweetly.
''We should really get inside'', Ike smiled with tears in his eyes, sitting himself up with Marth still pressed against his chest, ''It's way too cold.''
''You're right. I wouldn't want you to catch a cold, Ikey.'', Marth hummed as they stood up together. ''Me?! A cold? I'm not sensitive.'', Ike contradicted joyfully. The prince on the other hand saw that statement as a challenge, so he secretly formed a snowball behind his back. ''Oh, of course you're not, Ikey, but...''
He smacked the snowball right into Ike's face, laughing merrily at that bewildered expression of his.
''Just you wait, my friend!'', Ike growled with faked anger, the smirk plastered on his lips betraying his play. He bent down to form a snowball as well, but when he looked up again, ready to fire it, Marth was already running away like a spooked horse. ''Run, run, as fast as you can!'', he yelled crazily, ''You'll never get me!''
''MARTH! Marth! WAIT! What if you fall down?!'', Ike screamed worriedly, dropping the snow and quickly following Marth.
''Then I'll laugh!''
''You're insane!''
Marth only cackled like a maniac, increasing his speed even more.
~*~*~
Completely out of breath, but happy as can be, they finally arrived at the window again, quickly climbing inside. Once there, they closed it, giggling serenely.
''Uh... I'm tired...'', Marth yawned and threw himself onto his bed contently. ''What? You just woke up'', Ike laughed, but then covered him with the thick, white blanket.
''Doesn't matter...'', Marth pouted, but then smiled at Ike again, ruffling his spiky hair and pulling him down to himself. In the very second Ike's lips touched Marth's, the door knob soundlessly turned, and in walked Roy.
It was a long kiss. Excruciatingly long, for Roy.
He didn't know whether they had noticed him or not, but it didn't matter. The roses in his hand fell to the ground, and he wordlessly turned around, banging the door behind himself.
The two lovers winced, automatically turning their gazes towards the door.
When Marth discovered the red flowers lying abandonedly on the floor, he instantly knew what was going on.
''Roy'', he whispered, exchanging flustered glances with Ike, ''I'm sorry, Ike, but I need to talk to him!'' Stating this, he quickly jumped up from the bed, stumbling out of the room.
He saw Roy leaning against the corridor wall, staring into nothingness.
''Well... Now I know how it feels. Thanks.'', Roy uttered sarcastically, breaking the ugly silence between them.
Marth turned away to hide the guilt in his eyes.
''Look at me! Am I not even worth seeing your face now anymore!?'', Roy screamed, feeling like a wild animal caught in a destructive trap. ''Look at me please. Look at me...'' His voice turned quiet, almost pleading.
Silently, Marth raised his head as he noticed the desperation in his former lover's words. He felt so cruel... so heartless.
''I always knew you'd leave me for him someday. I just couldn't accept it.''
Marth's eyelids started fluttering down to the ground again, but he resisted the urge to avoid Roy's reproachful gaze. He owed him that. No, more than that.
''You're so blind, Marth. Ike does not deserve you. He lied to you, more than I ever did. He deceived you, pretending that he was your friend, but in fact, he always had ulterior motives. He just wanted you. HE was the reason I broke up with you. HE was the reason you left me, right now, and... you lost.''
Marth's expression became distorted with rage. How dare he insult Ike?!
''LOST?! It's not some game, Roy! When will you ever understand that we're not your toys?! You're a LIAR. A selfish, pathetic, little liar. Ike never deceived me! He'd never hurt me, YOU did!
And yes, I WAS blind, I was blinded by your lies. I thought you were wonderful. Now I see that you're not.'' He paused to pant for breath.
''If anyone ever lost in your stupid game, it was YOU. You lost yourself. You're hiding behind that pathetic mask of lies, but you know that no one will ever love you. You lie to everyone... but you fail to understand that you're mostly lying to yourself. YOU lost.'' The end. Now the words only needed to sink in.
Roy stared at Marth disbelievingly. No way. He couldn't believe what he had just heard. It was...pure ignorance. What did that naive prince even know about him?! Nothing. Indeed, he was blind. So blinded by his new found 'love'. Brainwashed.
''I'm only human. I admit I made mistakes. I was jealous, but... no one can blame me for being jealous of HIM. I saw the way you looked at him. The shimmer in your eyes when you talked to him. And when you said his name, I could hear it. I knew that you loved him.''
''Like I said, selfish.'', Marth interrupted without any emotion.
''Not anymore. I love you.''
''It's too late.''
''I love you.'', Roy repeated weakly, taking a small step towards the one he cared about the most, ''I love you with all my heart, ever since I made that horrible mistake. If I could only turn back the time...''
''You can't.''
Heavy silence.
''...I never did anything like this to you'', Roy whispered, suddenly looking incredibly pale and mature for his age, ''You never had to see me in the arms of another. You were always the only one for me.''
Marth snorted snidely. ''How moving! But, let me tell you a secret...'', he spoke, turning down the volume of his snarky voice, just to make him listen.
''...I don't care.''
Looking at the sadistic grin on the face of his love, Roy's previously disgusted expression turned into a soft smile. ''You really became an awesome liar.''
''Keep dreaming.'' Marth turned around and started walking away to leave him with that. It's only fair, right? There was nothing to feel guilty about. They were even now. Roy had left him, and he would have seriously needed him back then. Now he was in love with someone else, and he'd leave him, too. Deal.
''I didn't know it was vengeance you were after.''
Marth stopped as he heard this sentence, so quietly spoken he would have almost missed it.
''I thought you forgave me. Now I see that you never did. Oh, and now that Ike confessed to you, too, oh yes, that was the perfect opportunity to get back at me. But, maybe that just came along with the fact that you fell in love with him. You think it's fine to leave me, after what I did to you. Sorry to burst your bubble, but... it's not that simple.'', Roy bitterly analyzed the situation, fixing Marth's back without even blinking once until he finally decided to turn around and face him again.
Too smart. Roy was just too smart, it should be illegal to be so cunning. He was right... it really wasn't that simple... What was he doing? How could he be so... cruel? How could he have said such terrible things to... Roy? The one he had once loved...
''I'm sorry'', Marth murmured with disbelief, hesitantly approaching him. Roy wordlessly took a step back with every inch that Marth came closer. It really didn't bother him to show weakness anymore. Seriously, it was better to seem weak than being so close to the one he could not have.
''...You should be.'', Roy said firmly, before his expression turned warm and pleading. ''Just like me. I'm so terribly sorry, Marth.'' All that he could do right now was hoping, praying that Marth would forgive him, for that was the only thing he needed right now. Mercy.
''No, don't be sorry... Please...'', the prince spoke, slowly shaking his head.
''I wish you'd never have fallen in love with me! I wish you would have loved Ike from the beginning!'', Roy spoke quietly, now seeing the truth so clearly, ''I was just a mistake, an accident. I should have never happened... I should have never existed... I'm so cruel, so horrible! You never deserved someone like me. You deserve all the love of the world, and I, I deserve...torture, pain, death-''
''SHUT UP'', Marth screamed, pressing his hands against his ears, refusing to listen to any of this.
''Shut up... please...'', he sank to the ground, leaning himself against the cold wall. ''No one deserves death. No one except for me. I deserve everything that happened to me. It's me who's cruel and heartless. Luckily I'll die soon...'' Burying his head in his hands, he sobbed desperately.
Roy stared at Marth with shock. He felt his heart break, and the pain was worse than anything he'd ever experienced. ''No... NO!'' He rushed over to Marth, grabbed him by his shoulders and pulled him up again, pressing him against the wall. ''No, don't speak!''
''I want to die...let me die, please...'', Marth cried loudly, grasping the arms that supported him with trembling hands, ''How long... how long will I have to suffer...please...''
''Don't speak... I beg you, don't speak...'', Roy whimpered, but no words could stop the other from uttering his death wishes.
''Marth, I don't care if you love Ike. That will never change my feelings for you. I love you'', he whispered quietly, sealing Marth's lips with a bittersweet kiss. That was all it took to make him stop talking.
''You changed me. You turned me into a better person. Thank you'', Roy smiled, trying hard to hold back the tears. He had to be strong now, for Marth.
''I wish you two all the luck of the world. I want you to be happy, Marth, more than anything. I love you so much...'' Roy gently pulled him into a warm embrace as he saw Marth's legs give in.
''I wish I could give you my health, but I can't'', he sobbed, shakily kissing Marth's forehead. ''I wish I could transfer you my life, but that's not possible'', he gasped for air as he realized how useless he actually was. ''And I wish I could at least make you happy, but I'm not Ike''
There was nothing he could do, nothing. He was of absolutely no use for Marth. All he ever did was making him feel bad, and that wasn't fair. It wasn't fair at all.
''I hope that you can forgive me, someday. I hope that you'll have mercy with a lost soul. Even if I don't deserve it'' The oxygen almost didn't make its way into his lungs anymore now. It was so hard to breathe... There were so many things he still had to tell Marth, but he had almost no strength left.
''...I love you, Marth. I will always love you, don't you ever forget that.'' Roy's features turned mild and loving as he looked into Marth's eyes.
''Roy...'', he breathed, now going completely limp in Roy's arms. It seemed so unreal. Was that really Roy? He didn't know this person. So kind and tender...so wonderful...
Still, he knew that Roy could also be fierce and full of passion. That was what fascinated him so much about Roy. To him, he was just perfect. And their love, it was perfect, too.
Fire and ice, day and night, they completed each other. What they had was irreplaceable, and it would be beyond stupid to throw it all away right now. Ike would understand. He'd always be there for him as a friend, and he'd be happy for him.
''Kiss...me...'', Marth demanded, closing his tired eyes. He felt so weak... so exhausted. It'd be truly beautiful to fall asleep in Roy's arms, to feel his warmth, the protection and love he gave him. But what would be even more beautiful, it'd be telling Roy about his true feelings for him once he woke up again. There was so much to say, but right now, he was way too tired to speak.
Roy hesitated. It seemed like Marth had understood what he'd been trying to say. Still, was it alright to kiss him, even if he belonged to Ike? They'd both feel guilty towards Ike, but... a last kiss... It was so tempting.
Shutting his eyes tightly, he gave Marth a kiss full of love and passion. One last time, he'd show him how much he loved him. Why couldn't he keep on kissing him forever? Wasn't it possible to freeze this moment, and just keep it that way?
As he noticed Marth gasp for air, he knew that it was impossible. He slowly broke the kiss. ''Roy, you're...an angel'', Marth whispered silently, apparently already in the realm of dreams, ''My...angel.''
Then, his eyes stopped their frantic movements, their futile attempts to resist the fatigue, and his breathing became slow and steady. He had blacked out from the emotional stress.
A sad smile made its way upon Roy's lips as the teardrops started raining down on the innocent, sleeping face of his love. His heart's desire was to keep holding him like this forever, but he knew that it would not work. Marth loved Ike. There was no room for him. He'd have to disappear to make Marth happy. Like this, he'd be nothing but a memory. Sooner or later, Marth would forget about him, and then there would be only Ike.
Roy sobbed as he held him close for the last time. Nevertheless, he had to let him go now. Cautiously, he sat him against the wall and stood up again.
''Sleep well, my little Marthy.''
With that, he left for an unknown place.