Title: Branded

Pairing: Ike x Soren

Summary: Soren finally tells Ike the entire truth about his past. How will Ike react when he hears the truth? I just twisted up that entire part, surprise, surprise! Major spoilers inside, you've been warned. IxS

Warning: Do I have to say that this is Yaoi? Yes, it involves two boys kissing and many other things. If you feel uncomfortable with this sort of thing, then hit that back button right now. Don't expect me to react to flames, I just ignore them, but I welcome those lovely reviews. Enjoy the story.

A small note: If you have not gotten Soren's support level to an A, this will spoil the story for you. You've been properly warned.

Disclaimer: It's obvious that I don't own any of the characters, no matter how much I want to.

Chapter 3: Repayment

Days and nights passed, battles still raged against the Daein army. Solders lost their lives on both sides, but such is war. All of Crimea's army, Begnion's reinforcements, the laguz, and the Greil Mercenaries were all risking their lives for the security and future of Crimea's princess. No one got a chance to have time to themselves, the battles came so frequently now that they were on Crimea's soil. Ike and Soren were no exception. Ever since that night many nights before, neither had a chance to figure things out. Nor did they ever get a chance to be alone, their only chances to actually speak to one another was when Soren would explain current situations and strategies.

The young general always found himself now staring at the young mage in awe. He did have feelings for Soren long before those few nights ago, but now that he revealed them to the other, what he thought was a crush had now bordered onto infatuation. He also became extremely protective of Soren, especially on the battlefield, despite that the mage was able to hold his own. For a strange and unknown reason, Mist, Titania, and probably a few other Greil Mercenaries held no objection nor even shot a few strange glanced whenever they would see Ike drifting off into his own little land, admiring the gentle features of the young tactician. As if…they already knew something happened between the two.

After so many days of endless bloodshed and almost empty victories, Ike decided to go down to Aimee's item shop down on the edge of camp to stock up on vulneraries and elixirs as a precaution. Unfortunately, her borderline stalker behavior got the better of her.

"Ooooh, Ikey-poooooo" Aimee's voice echoed throughout the entire camp. It reached a tent which had a particular young mage, chuckling to himself over the thought of Ike's panic expression that was probably plastered all over his face. Hurried footsteps pounded towards the entrance to his tent, Soren giving a playful sigh to himself, guessing who it might be. The loose fabric that nearly touched the ground covering the entrance to his tent flew open, revealing the blue haired commander, flushed from running and panic. Soren stared at him for a moment before letting out another chuckle.

"Ha…I guess she has yet another gift for you?" He put a pale hand over his mouth, hiding his laughter, but failing miserably. Shocked slightly at seeing Soren laugh, Ike nodded. He immediately put it out of mind when he heard the sound of high heels hurrying across a dusty ground behind him.

He walked up closed to the mage, he whispered. "Y-yeah, she's been chasing me all over camp. Soren, let me hide in here!" Soren gave him a nod, but began to walk towards the exit of his tent when a slender shadow was cast on the other side.

"Oh, darn it. I know he came this way…Ooooh, Ikey-poo!" Her delicate voice rang in their ears.

Soren sighed. "There's only one way I can think of to deal with this." Ike jumped up from behind one of the few chairs in the room, his blue eyes widened. "No! Soren!" But the black mage had already walked outside.

Aimee was pacing frantically when he walked outside, clutching a staff of some sort to her chest. The sheer pink garment, which was normally placed elegantly on top of her hair, was practically falling off her shoulders, and beads of sweat were visible above her brow. Her long hair had random strands sticking up and out the sides, in a desperate need to be brushed. Crossing his arms across his slim chest, Soren huffed to get her attention.

"What're you doing out here?" His voice sounded cold and annoyed. She turned immediately when she heard Soren's voice, but her smooth face scrunched up in disgust when she saw who spoke.

"Soren…ew." Her voice was slick with hatred. It was obvious she had no personal liking to the young mage, but it didn't bother him.

Realizing that she just showed disrespect to the army's tactician, and 'her' Ike's best friend, she put on a smile, which was as phony as Soren's own attempt to show liking towards the crazy item shop owner. Aimee 'sweatdropped' and almost practically bowed in apology. "Oh, I mean…Nothing, I'm doing nothing! I'm just looking for our dashing young leader, I have to give him this!" She held out the staff, her feminine hands cradling it as a piece of art. The black haired mage studied it for a moment before looking back up to meet her eyes.

"That's a Hammerne, correct? It has the ability to repair any item, no matter how damaged, to how it was before. There is supposed to be only one in existence. Why would you want to give such a rare item to Ike?" He raised an eyebrow. Ike was listening to the entire conversation, as far away from the weird item lady. A lot of it sounded like mummers and mumbling, but he had a general idea of what was being said…he hoped. He cringed whenever Aimee would raised her voice to such an ear-piercing level, hoping she would just go away and crawl back to the rest of her merry band of traveling merchants… which she never did. He took a few steps closer when the voices outside sounded as though they had come to an understanding. He smiled when he saw Soren come inside holding onto the staff Aimee had been chasing him with earlier. The young mage smiled when he saw Ike, who gave him a look that asked 'so, how'd it go?'. He mentally chuckled and held up the Hammerne.

"I got a gift from your admirer, Ikey-poo!" The Crimean general scowled as Soren began to laugh, uncharacteristically.

"Hey, wait! Soren!" Ike whined. Regaining his composure, Soren placed the staff down, leaning it against a small table, which held some of his tomes. He gave a slight smile before walking towards his superior.

"What? She just gave it to me as a gift for the tip I gave her. Instead of whining, shouldn't you be thanking me for getting rid of her?" His voice had a hint of amusement from the sound of Ike whining. He never really heard him complain very much, except of those rare occasions. Ike thought for a moment before walking towards the smaller man, wrapping his arms around his slim waist and pulling him into a soft kiss, like he did many nights before. Soren did the only thing he could think of for the situation, which was linking his arms around the back of the blue haired warrior's neck, deepening the kiss. A moment passed and Ike broke the kiss, staring into garnet pools, and smiled.

"I think I know of a way to 'thank' you…" He said slyly, and his gentle smile turned into a smirk. Soren gave him a puzzled look before figuring out what he meant, and blushed. Without a second thought, the older man swooped his arms behind Soren's legs and lifted the blushing mage into his arms without any trouble. He swiftly, yet carefully, carried Soren over to the makeshift bed in the far end of the tent, hopping over the few random books and paper strewn across the floor.

'Where did all of these come from, anyway?' Ike wondered as he made it to the firm bed. He was about to place Soren onto it, but frowned when he saw there weren't any sheets on it, it was just a mattress and a pillow. The young warrior gently placed the other in his arms on the bedding and began to remove his shoulder cover. He tossed it behind him with a soft thud from landing in the dirt. He then began to undo his cape, eyeing Soren the entire time. Once that was taken off, he tossed it next to the mage before climbing on top of him. Ike smiled and kissed Soren again, this time with more passion and lust. Both of his hands were placed on each side of Soren's head, whom had linked his arms around Ike's head. A soft wetness brushed along the younger man's bottom lip, surprising him and causing him to gasp. Ike, in turn, took this opportunity to thrust his tongue deep into the depths of Soren's mouth. His tongue explored the inside of his mouth, lapping at the roof of Soren's mouth and occasionally brushing against the latter's tongue. The mage boldly allowed his own tongue to twine with the other's, battling fiercely. He pressed his body up more towards the hard one on top of his, continuing to lap at Ike's wet tongue.

The older man pulled away, a thin line of saliva still connecting the two together. Butterfly soft kisses and his warm tongue began to trail from Soren's mouth, down to his jawbone and continuing to the small amount of his neck that was visible. Small sharp nips reached under the fabric, causing small whimpers to escape from the black mage's lips. Pulling up, Ike looked down into ruby red eyes. "You're fine with this, right Soren?" He asked, hesitantly, tugging at the overlay of fabric on the black robes Soren wore. Soren nodded.

"Yes, I'm sure, as long as it's with you." The young general smiled and brought his lips down to give him another soft kiss, his hands working tentatively at the buckle that held Soren's cape and hood around his shoulders. His mouth traveled up the slender face and Ike began to suckle on one of Soren's earlobes as he gently lifted the smaller body under him to remove the article of clothing. He tossed the cape and hood off to a random corner in the room and his hand began to unclad Soren's belt and sash, which were easily removed. Ike released the ear as he threw the two items behind him, and ran his gloved hands down the still clothed chest, causing Soren to blush and squirm under the touch. The blue-eyed man slowly peeled away the last bit of the upper part of Soren's robe, revealing creamy white skin. Soren lifted his body up and awkwardly removed the clothing and laid back down, while Ike started again on his neck with soft kisses.

He applied sharp nips and small bites randomly, causing the skin to turn an almost cute pink. His tongue traced Soren's collarbone, lapping at the hollow of his neck. The young mage began making small whimper-like sounds from the teasing tongue's ministrations. Smirking against the skin, Ike continued to travel down Soren's chest, tracing each and every contour. He stopped as soon as he reached one of the hardening nubs on the mage's chest. His lips descended on top of it, letting his tongue play with the tip, and his warm breath trickling to continue his teasing. A short and almost silent moan escaped the younger man's lips, and he grasped Ike's shoulders. Ike chuckled and started suckling the hard nub, his hand reaching up to tend to the neglected other. He gently bit down, sending a small shock up Soren's body and drawing out a slightly louder moan from before. He switched over to the other, giving it identical treatment, and his hand reaching down to the lower regions of the writhing body beneath him.

His fingers began to unclad the remainder of Soren's clothing, as he finished working on his chest, blowing on the nipple he released. His other hand joined the other, quickly undoing the last bit of the robe, a desperate search for skin. Finally, he removed the robe and glided it down Soren's legs, revealing an awakening erection and causing the small mage to shudder at the sudden cool air blowing onto him. Ike settled himself back on top of the shivering body and pressed his own on top, his lips ghosting over the other's. Soren moaned as the rough fabric covering Ike's body pressed against his aching erection, his eye's sliding shut and he gripped the older tightly. The mercenary commander sat himself up, straddling Soren, and began to remove his gloves.

He playfully threw them aside and settled his body back on top, his right hand drifting lower towards the younger man's nether regions. Soren whimpered as he brushed his fingertips along the wet tip, spreading his precum. Hearing such sounds coming from the usually stoic tactician urged Ike to apply more pressure to his touches and coax more noises out. Soren's breathing had quickened and he began to buck his small hips up into the gentle hand. Taking the hint, Ike wrapped his hand around the throbbing organ, squeezing slightly as another moan tore from the small mage's throat. His back arched off of the bed and he clutched onto Ike tighter. Ike smiled and pulled Soren into another kiss before moving down his body, dragging his other hand across the flat planes of his chest along behind him.

When he reached his destination, his hot breath trickled along the tip of Soren's erection, listening to the harsh breathing of his companion. He allowed his tongue to fondle and play with the blunt head, the tip sliding into the slit at the top and tasting the bitter substance.

"Ah…I-Ike…!" Soren moaned from deep within his throat. His red eyes screwed shut, and his bandaged hand finding its way to the messy mop of blue-ish hair. His fingers began burying themselves in as Ike continued licking his way down the length of the shaft in his own hand. Eventually, he wrapped his lips around Soren's manhood, and began to engulf it in his warm, hot mouth. The pale man's eyes shot open, one of his hands moved to his mouth to silence the loud groan that escaped from the sudden feeling.

Ike began to bob his head up and down the shaft, his eyes fixed on the clean lines of Soren's naked body. Soren resisted the temptation of bucking his hips in fear he might hurt his superior, but the want and need for that heat was beginning to cloud his senses.

"A-ah…hah…I…ke…" His body started to tense up. Ike's mouth was now giving him a vacuum effect, and his hand was reaching back to fondle his sensitive balls. The hand still in his hair was pulling rapidly, causing only slight pain. Soren's breathing quickened and he arched his back, screaming out his lover's name as he released himself in Ike's warm mouth. The hand still around his shaft was pumping slightly, almost milking him. Ike swallowed as much as he could, some of the white substance dripping out the corners of his mouth. He pulled himself up, pulling Soren towards him with one hand, while the other reached for his cape that he discarded only earlier. Ike placed it over both of their bodies and smiled when he felt the smaller man curling up against his chest.

"Thank you…Ike" he whispered as he began to fall into a deep sleep. A serene look was on the younger's face, it gave him the look of innocence. Ike mentally chuckled as he kissed the top of his black hair. He examined his face closely before cuddling up against him. '…and I'm the only person who'll ever see him in this state…' Ike smiled at the thought, and noted how Soren looked as though he had no worries about being…a branded. But it didn't bother Ike in the least bit. Soren would always be Soren to him, the only person who he would give this sort of affection to. His eyelids began to feel heavy. Gathering the sleeping Soren into his arms, the young commander slowly started to nod off. Without any worries in his mind about the war, Daein, Crimea's future…nothing, but being with his precious Soren…

Chapter End

A/N: Teehee! I just love Aimee with all my heart, she adds such great humor sometimes. xD Here's chapter 3! I've been thinking of adding a chapter 4, with a little bit of more conflict with another character of who the readers want to see, but I dunno. Like somebody walking in and discovering the two and such? Yay or nay? xD And if so, wh oshould it be? Just a little poll that if I get enough results, I can write a fourth chapter. nn;

KaylaisEvenstar: Glad you like it:D Hope you enjoy this chapter as well!

Ice Prince Marth: S'ankyoop! Nice to know that everything was realistic and believable. :)

Moonlite-leaf: Ooooh, I totally agree! I can't read fics where the two characters hook up in like no time flat. I have a hard time getting into those! Yay for conflict and the sometimes angst! xP

Soriku-video-gamer: Oh, glad you like it! I have been working on another FE fic with a pairing I have yet to see, but kinda interests me. Have it written in my profile, hope you check it out once I have it posted!

Legendary Armor: Oooh, you are too nice! I hope you like this chapter as much as you did the last two! -hides-

Thanks so much for the lovely lovely reviews! I hope this chapter is up to par as the last two! Keep on reviewing, please!