Author's Notes: Just want to wish everyone a Happy 2009!
Warnings: Yaoi, shounen-ai, slash, whatever you call it. OOC-ness, clichés, un-beta-ed!
Pairing: IkeMarth
Disclaimer: I don't own Super Smash Brothers. Not that I would… seeing as what mess I would make of it…
Summary: As a graduate student, Marth never wondered if there was anything other than academics & work. As a junior working part-time at the coffeeshop, Ike wondered why he kept staring at that student every Friday morning.
Mechanism
By SSBBSwords
Roy liked to think he was smarter than he looked. Not smart like 4.0 GPA smart, not smart like "Research indicates…" smart, but smart like daily-life smart.
It was after dinner and he was playing video games with Ike when a floor-mate dropped by his dorm room to borrow his notes from tutoring. She was a freshman. Blonde, friendly, sorority-girl-in-a-premed-world type of student. She was struggling.
"Thanks a bunch, Roy," she chirped, fingering through the pages as Roy half-heartedly tried to avoid Ike's attack on the television screen. Trying to be polite (i.e. attentive to the guest) was really too much to ask when he was one hit away from being K.O.-ed.
"No problem, Peach." The redhead turned slightly from his seated position on the floor, a wide grin on his face before Ike gave his character a vicious stab.
Player 1 flew off the visible area of the TV with a burst of light. Peach watched in awe as her classmate's smile dropped right off and was replaced with the aura of dark depression.
She giggled and reached down to mess up his ruffled hair. "See you at the review session. Thanks again."
Waiting until she was out of hearing range, Roy turned back to Ike with a glare. "You suck."
"So does your multi-tasking," Ike replied with a knowing smirk.
Roy leaned back against his bed and re-started the game. "Wasn't she pretty?"
Ike looked a little surprised at his question, probably because he had expected some other accusations of winning by cheating rather than questions about a girl.
"She goes to the tutoring session before mine, and I think she's pretty," the redhead elaborated, staring into the Menu screen like it held the explanation to life.
"Is this a crush?" Ike asked once the shock had worn off. "This is… unexpected."
"What do you think?" Roy returned his friend's question with another question. "Of her, I mean."
The junior looked a little skeptical, most likely because the conversation had turned in this direction, but nevertheless, Ike took a minute to consider Roy's question and then simply answered, "Bubbly."
"Bubbly," Roy repeated with a deadpan look. "Why do you make it sound like a bad thing?"
"It's not," Ike defensively argued, as if trying to spare Roy's feelings. "It's great that you like her. She's…" It took a long, awkward pause until Ike found the right word, "… cute. I guess."
The gears were turning in Roy's head, but he could tell Ike was too preoccupied with trying to be supportive of his 'choice' of a crush. "I thought you liked pretty."
"Pretty's fine…" Ike looked a little lost as to how the topic suddenly landed on his preferences, but rolled with the momentum anyway with an uncertain tone. "It's just…
Roy furrowed his brows in a frown, as if angry that Ike just didn't approve. "So cute and bubbly don't do it for you."
Ike couldn't quite figure out why he was starting to feel nervous. Maybe it was the way Roy was attacking his judgment. It was rather out of character for Roy.
"Uh… no?"
"What does?" Roy kept his manner as flat as he could. The hardest thing was to keep the excitement out of his voice.
"I don't know," Ike immediately replied, but rather put off by Roy's condemning look, he hastily filled in, "Calmer?"
His friend sounded so confused, but… but, if Roy knew Ike and he knew him well… it wouldn't be long until he would have a confession out of Ike. No one could closet-sulk like Ike did during a twenty-first birthday party if he wasn't waiting for something in particular. No one.
"I see," Roy said nonchalantly, before finally choosing the character he wanted as Player 1.
"Uh, sorry?" Ike followed his lead, but the hesitation remained in his tone. "You… should ask her out or something."
Roy was inwardly laughing at such advice. He could see it now. The epic one-liner that he would throw in Ike's face when the time came…
"Oh, I don't like her like that," Roy finally declared with an evil smile.
"Huh?" Ike looked completely bewildered. "Wait…"
"Why? You're about to get your ass kicked."
Some deity was laughing when the one place that Link and Marth did not share was their offices. Even more ironic was the fact that the offices were right next to each other.
Link spent a lot more time in Marth's than the other way around, but anything otherwise would be abnormal.
"I want to die," whined Link, his words slurred around the lollipop in his mouth. His laptop rolled unstable on his stomach when he twisted his horizontal position on the too-short couch to shoot pathetic eyes at his roommate.
Marth drew in a slow, frustrated breath, thankful that the graduate student that shared this space with him liked the outside world a lot more (thus was an infrequent occupant). This felt like the calm before a storm. Sitting at a desk with a stack of the last set of quizzes before the final, with the textbook and professor's order to write a question per section for the final. Review session on Saturday, plus he was putting off studying for finals and preparing a presentation due next week, but who was counting?
"Try sucking harder," he muttered back without a tint of humor in his tone.
Sliding the laptop down, Link sat up with admiration and pulled out the sucker out with a damp pop. "I love you."
Marth looked up from a student's quiz and managed a small smile. "I thought you would."
Even though Marth returned his focus to his papers, Link continued to stare at his roommate with a critical eye. After a long minute (and then some), Link turned back to his computer with a low chuckle.
"I see why that boy likes you."
That finally caught Marth's attention. The '3' on the student's paper turned out looking like a '2' when the pen slipped. Shit. Marth began to fix his error with more attention than necessary.
Link tilted his head back to glance at Marth's stooping posture. Trying to hide something? Link smirked to himself and returned to playing Solitaire on his computer screen. What? Expected actual work on there? No way.
"You don't even deny it anymore," Link noted casually, moving a black nine onto a red ten. "Why am I always right?"
Marth looked up with a glare, which was probably ruined by the light pink dusting his cheeks. For once, he was not appreciating that Link was not facing him. Usually people realized their mistakes when he glared. Oh, wait. He forgot that Link was impervious to this look. "I'm not agreeing. He's just really… straightforward."
The blond simply hummed a lethargic note and placed the lollipop back in his mouth.
"Link…" Marth pressed his free hand against his warm face in hopes of getting rid of the extra heat faster. "Why do you bring this up?"
His roommate still kept his uninterested posture on the couch, facing the opposite wall. Several seconds of silence, then Link replied with a short laugh, "Teasing you is fun."
Marth had to wonder if that was it. He could see Link double-click a three of diamonds into the upper right square. He knew Link was more than a sadist for his misery, so he went another route. "But you don't like him."
"I don't have to like him," was the blond's counter to his statement.
"Of course not," Marth said softly as if soothing an irritated child. "Why don't you like him?"
"Why do you like him?"
At that question, Marth's motivation to continue the conversation had come to an end. He resumed writing the '37' on the student's quiz and reached for another from the stack.
Link swirled the sucker in his mouth, and he smirked at his Solitaire game. Oblivious as usual, that boy.
Roy's brain was going to fall out of his head. Hell, he wouldn't be surprised if his calculator exploded from all this goddamn work.
"Bye! Good luck!" Pit waved at the students leaving his review session. Roy simply glared harder at the last problem.
The brunet dropped into a crouch across the table from Roy, who finally looked up from the practice test and locked eyes with the tutor who was peeking over the table like a four-year-old.
"Hello, need help?" Pit asked with a bright smile.
The redhead gave his tutor a pained look. "I'm stuck."
Pit straightened into a hunched position over the table, and Roy mentally noted it was very fortunate his tutor wasn't a girl or else he would be caught in an all-too-revealing situation.
"How are you stuck?"
Roy pushed his paper to the brunet, and Pit scanned his numbers.
"Okay, then..." Pit clicked a pen and circled some numbers. "The question gives you the specific heat, and you just found the heat and mass. What equation do you use to find change in temperature?"
The redhead's jaw dropped comically. "They gave me the specific heat?"
Had Roy looked up, he would have seen Pit trying to hide a wide grin behind his hand, but since he hadn't, Pit managed to cleverly disguise a giggle as a cough. Sort of. "Roy, you're…"
"Go ahead and laugh, genius." The second year waved a hand flippantly while triumphantly scribbling. "YES. We can go home now!"
"Yay!" Pit cheered and began to put away his notes and markers.
Roy carelessly shoved the packet of paper, pencil, and calculator into his backpack in one fluid movement. "Hey, Pit?"
"Hm?" The brunet exited the room last, checking that the door locked when it swung shut. "Something wrong?"
Shifting his backpack as they started walking back toward the dorms, Roy was impressed by how the other sophomore noticed the change of focus. "You know that… age-thing that I was worried about?" The redhead hesitated and then hastily added, "I ask you 'cause you're smart and objective and pretty cool, you know?"
Pit cast a quick sidelong glance at him, and looked fully embarrassed at the slew of compliments. "Thanks? I'm really not. I mean, I remember…did you ever tell… your friend?"
"Actually…no…" Roy mumbled, suddenly recalling that if his suspicions were right (and they were!), there was still the 'age-thing'… right? He would have to worry about that later. The issue now was the denial.
"Funny thing… but I never told him 'cause he said he didn't like… uh… her." The redhead's words took a stumble when he, at last second, decided it was less complicated if he used a pronoun substitution. He mentally apologized to the very much male, albeit very pretty, teacher's assistant.
Pit pursed his lips and his eyebrows furrowed in concentration. "Maybe he really doesn't like her."
Roy stubbornly shook his head. "He's in denial!" However, he noticed the other's dubious expression and tried to rephrase himself. "I mean, okay… assume he's stupid and really, truly doesn't know how he feels. I have evidence! He stares at…uh, her. Only her and all the time. Mopes. Kind of zones out when you ask him what kind of person he likes…" Roy inhaled and heavily sighed. "How do I—his best friend in the whole world—get him to see the light?"
The brunet's eyes widened. "That is… rather obvious." Suddenly, the shorter sophomore softly laughed. "I'm relieved this is an easy problem."
"How's this easy?" Roy challenged with an indignant huff. "It's more frustrating than chemistry!"
Pit hugged his books closer to his chest and responded with a cheesy grin, "You aren't an applicable catalyst."
"What?" Roy's expression blanked. Huh? Catalyst?
The brunet turned and snickered at how Roy had stopped all movement, now seemingly cemented to the ground. With a reassuring smile, Pit carefully began his explanation, "Roy, let me put it this way. Your friend's probably the RDS."
"RDS?" Roy automatically repeated, looking completely baffled.
"The rate-determining step, remember?" Pit defined, looking very pleased with himself. "And…?" The smaller student raised an eyebrow, silently prompting the redhead to come to his own conclusion.
Roy slowly realized where Pit was going with this. "—The reaction only goes as fast as the slowest step… and I don't… shouldn't… apply."
Friday, 6:09 am.
Ike was sitting in the dim coffeehouse at a small table. He hadn't even bothered to turn on the lights. The most that he did was start the water boiler.
He was staring at the door when he noticed the shift of shadows, and his ears picked up the sound of the handle turning even before he saw the door open.
"I can not believe you are here this early," Marth said, while blinking and waiting for his eyes to adjust to the lack of lighting.
Ike had never come to work this early. Ever. Of course, he wouldn't admit aloud that he had been here since six in the morning. It also wasn't worth mentioning that he just wanted to be there when the other student arrived.
And if Marth was such an early riser, well, Ike could match that.
"Was bored." Ike almost winced at his own words. Well, that sounded like a perfect excuse for a college student. Sleep was for the weak. Right. "What's your excuse?"
Before the other could sit down across from him, Ike jumped from his seat and went behind the counter.
"Work," the smaller student answered simply. "Since finals are next week, I need to get a lot done before break."
"Cramming?" Ike asked as he tossed in the square tea packet and began filling the cup with hot water.
"Exactly," Marth agreed noncommittally, eying the clear display, still empty because Ike had yet to put in the breakfast pastries. "When are your finals?"
Ike capped the drink and frowned. Should he be worried that he hadn't memorized his final schedule? "Monday, Tuesday, Thursday… or something like that. Yours?"
Their hands brushed when Marth reached out to take the cup. Ike usually carefully slid the drink over, but either he had become careless, or Marth was becoming less reserved.
"I had one last week. Something this weekend… it's a mess. Don't ask." Marth brushed it off.
Ike returned to the table he had previously occupied and the other student followed. Dropping back into his chair, Ike scanned Marth from head to foot. "Damn, you're stressed. Did you sleep?"
"No," Marth replied with a low groan as he rubbed an eye with his palm and pushed back his bangs, mussing his hair more. "I hate… no, I mean whatever. I'm positive every graduate student feels like this now."
First, the junior thought the other student was denying the stress. Then the oddity of the other's words dawned. What kind of student?
As usual, Marth was popping off the cap, and Ike had to focus all his wits on just breathing. This… this… was a graduate student? As in… way older than Ike had thought? As in… completely out of his league…?
Marth finally noticed Ike's sudden uneasy expression, and the older student looked all too concerned as he reached out to wave a hand in front of the undergraduate's unblinking eyes.
Holy fuck. Seriously? Ike swallowed nervously. Yes, Ike reiterated to himself, this guy was older, albeit way cuter, and probably had three times his IQ and twice his life experience.
"Ike…?"
He wanted to crawl into a hole and die… to like someone like this… really like. Always anticipating their next meeting. Always trying to be… likable. To charm, to impress, to make him smile… really smile, not that fake, polite stuff…
And to admit it now… Ike mentally groaned. What now? What was he supposed to do? What could he do?
"Are you okay?" Marth leaned over the small table and gently placed a palm on Ike's cheek. "You're too warm," he concluded with a scolding tone. "Is it too late to call in sick?"
He thought he couldn't move, so Ike was rather surprised at himself when he regained enough brain cells to pull away from the other's touch. He was burning, and Marth was probably too well-mannered to point out that he was caught in one of the most embarrassing moments of his life (never mind that most frequented after he met Marth).
"I'm just… uhm… " Ike grimaced. Oh, shit… you would think at such a cliché moment, he could think of a proper line to say, but he couldn't. Or was that the cliché? "I just realized… uh… something that's kind of… awkward?"
"Oh?" Marth looked a little skeptical, but nonetheless sat back and turned his gaze toward the tea, as if not wanting to disconcert Ike by more staring, "Something you want to keep a secret?"
Ike couldn't stop the abrupt laugh that escaped. Even something like this, and the guy subtly (quite graciously actually) gave him a way out. Not out, per se. More like… it was a nice thing to do. Wow. He sure knew how to pick them. Really.
As if sharing his sudden amusement, Marth gave him a small smile over the cup's brim. Ike's blush remained, but the junior managed to answer coherently, "Yeah, I guess. It was stupid."
The other student simply murmured quietly in response and seemed content with sipping the steaming tea.
When his heart had finally slowed to a safer rate, Ike ventured to ask something that he had wanted to ask since last week. "Hey, Marth… can I ask you something?"
"Always," Marth replied pleasantly, after swallowing and instinctively wetting his bottom lip.
Somewhere in the back of his mind, Ike worried that this was a very odd question to be asking another guy, especially one that evoked such volatile feelings, but in his defense, he had been planning this question for a whole six days…
"Are you free this afternoon?"
If Marth was surprised at Ike's delivery, he didn't show it. Considering the question, Marth candidly answered, "I have time after three."
"Can you… uhm… help me get a thank-you gift? For Sheik's sister?" Ike asked hopefully.
The junior was relieved to see the other smile.
"Of course."
"Hey, I thought I heard you running off."
Marth turned around slowly like he had been caught red-handed with something stolen. He had gotten five steps away from the room in which their offices were. He had quickly dropped off some papers before leaving, but his neighbor apparently had very good hearing.
Standing in the doorway with eyes narrowed, Link glared suspiciously at his roommate. "Where are you going?" Translation: I can't get away from this misery, so you can't either.
"Ah… shopping?" Marth was being truthful, but under his friend's gaze, he felt guilty. For no practical reason!
"Oh." The blond seemed to deflate and nodded approvingly. "You have the grocery list with you?" Food was very important.
Wordlessly, Marth pulled out a folded piece of paper that had been stuck to their refrigerator for the past, who knew, two weeks? Using the pen that he had stuck behind his ear, Link used the wall as a hard surface and proceeded to add about ten more items.
"I think you'll need the car," Link informed thoughtfully, pulling out his keys. "Think you'll be joining me tonight in lab?"
"Might as well," Marth answered after a few seconds of consideration. "See you later."
"Bring food, yeah?" Link called at his retreating back.
Marth scanned the list as he exited the building. The grocery store trip might take longer than he thought, and he had wanted to drop whatever Ike bought off at Zelda's.
Entering the student store on first floor, he scanned the area for Ike, and quickly found the junior perusing the books.
When he sidled up beside the younger man, Marth idly commented, "I'm glad you're so tall."
"Oh, shit!" Ike slammed the book shut in response to the unexpected presence.
Not bothering to contain his amusement, Marth laughed and tried to be apologetic. "Sorry! Hey, do you need to go grocery shopping too?"
Chuckling almost nervously, the junior ran a hand through blue spikes. "Why not?"
Ike was pushing the shopping cart for him. Marth was about a quarter way through the list.
"That is the longest grocery list I have ever seen," the undergraduate said with a deadpan expression.
Marth transferred a loaf of bread and bagels into the cart and gently tugged the cart into following as he stopped in front of the cereal display. "I've done longer."
Two boxes of cereal, oatmeal, and then some dried pack of noodles. Strawberry jam, peanut butter, raisins, some random red sauce… Ike ogled at the amount of food being unceremoniously dumped into the cart.
"… Is your fridge empty?" the junior asked as they moved onto the dairy, lunchmeat, juices sections.
"Empty?" Marth repeated as he heaved two gallons of milk into the cart and then added yogurt to the list. He marked these off with a pen. "Hmm… maybe. I've been in the lab and office so much, I haven't noticed." Halfway there or something like that.
Ike watched the smaller student study the products of each section with focus undeserving to merely consumable objects.
"I was thinking..." the junior began as they rolled into the fruit and vegetable area. "Is it stupid if I got her flowers?"
Marth's shopping momentum was finally broken, and the graduate student paused in the middle of apple-picking. "How is that stupid?" When he knotted the plastic bag and carefully placed the fruit into the cart, Marth grabbed another plastic bag. "That's really sweet. Let's get some here and then we'll go arrange it in her apartment."
"You have the key?" Ike's eyes widened.
"She has mine," Marth responded easily with a short laugh. "What else is new?"
"You three really are that close," the junior murmured, almost to himself, as he maneuvered the cart around the displays that Marth kept circling.
Marth knotted another plastic bag, and made the last check on the list. "Disturbingly so." The list was complete, so all that was left was the checkout. "Let's go."
As they passed the frozen food aisle, Ike stopped and pivoted the cart. "Marth, can we get ice cream?"
Marth turned and the junior looked cheerful. It didn't seem all that appropriate to laugh (he didn't want to seem patronizing) but… it was almost cute.
"I forgot… what else did you need?"
They had stopped by Ike's apartment to drop off the junior's groceries (plus the melting ice cream) before they headed for Zelda's place.
"So where do you live?" Ike asked as he cradled the bouquet of flowers.
Marth knocked on his friend's door before unlocking the door. "In the next building."
The two stepped into a very clean apartment. Marth stepped into the kitchen and ducked down to search the cabinets for a vase.
"Oh… right. Grad apartments." Ike shifted uncomfortably in the living room, looking around and wondering what he should be doing.
Marth straightened with a vase and a smile. Leave it to Zelda to be prepared for flowers. After filling it with water, he set it on the dining table. Ike looked a little confused.
"Take it out of the plastic," Marth informed helpfully.
The junior bit his bottom lip and removed the large bundle from the plastic confines. Loose greens scattered, and Marth removed some extra leaves before putting the flowers in the water.
As he fussed around with the balance of it, Ike was leaning over the thank-you card like it was an exam.
"I don't know what to write. 'Thank you for making sure my friend was okay' doesn't sound that good."
"Sounds fine to me," Marth reassured, sweeping the leaves into the plastic and discarding them into the trash.
The undergraduate student pondered for a minute and then scribbled a message in the card, then leaving it propped beside the vase with Zelda's name scrawled on the front cover.
"Hey…"
Marth caught the other's gaze, "Hm?"
"Thanks." Ike glanced down, awkwardly avoiding looking at the older student. "I… really appreciate this."
"You're welcome, but…" Marth wasn't sure it was he should bring this up, but it was occurring enough to be a cause for concern. "Is something wrong?"
Ike's eyes darted to the side, and skirted even more when Marth moved closer to try to hold his wavering attention. "No… anyway, can we go?"
What issue was he pushing? Assume it was… well, Marth himself had admitted Ike was a straightforward person… so if he was going to be forward about it…?
"Ike." Marth firmly took the other's face between his hands, as to bring the junior meet his gaze. "Why are you acting like this?"
The younger man was turning pink. He really was. When Ike grasped his wrist, Marth didn't know whether to let go or not, just as Ike didn't seem to know what to do.
"It's… I'm not—this is…"
"Is this because you like me?"
Author's Notes: Comments if you're still reading, please?
