The prince awoke with a heart as heavy as his dropping lids.

He wasn't entirely sure where he was, but he felt his head on a pillow, and there was someone pulling his bright turquoise hair out of his face and setting it behind his ear in a way that deeply relaxed him. He heard a sigh, and perked his ears up slightly. It was just enough to hear a feminine whisper.

"What do you think is going on?"

It must have been Zelda who was talking. She sounded far away, and there was a hint of worry, even in her hushed tone. Marth felt something very close to him shift.

"I don't know," a rumbling voice replied. The prince felt, rather than heard, the person talk. Then he remembered where he was and how whoever he was close to was far too close to him. But he was just so comfortable. He burrowed his face further into the warm pillow, and heard a chuckle from behind him. Tiredly, he cracked one of his sky-blue eyes open, only to tear it open so fast he thought it was going to go bouncing out of his eyelid. A matching blue gaze stared directly down at him from his face-up position on his pillow.

He took a few moments to take in his surroundings.

He was in Zelda's room, and she was sitting casually in a cushioned chair that usually pushed under her desk. Now it was facing to the side wall, with the princess sitting on it sideways to face Marth, legs crossed. He himself appeared to be laying on Zelda's floor. He tentatively stared up once again, and noted a tangle of blue-violet hair framed the face of the person staring down at him.

"Ike..." he murmured, and smiled, completely at ease. Ike chuckled again, and turned to Zelda.

"I think he's fine." The mercenary spoke quickly, but softly. He turned back down to Marth. "Princess, your hair tickles." he stated simply.

That was all it took for Marth to open both of his eyes as wide as they would go and stare down. He got an eyeful of Ike's legs and immediately clamped his lids shut. He flushed, and tried not to remember what he had been doing to what he originally thought was an absurdly warm pillow. He had the sense to look abashed.

"Ike, I'm sorry!" he fidgeted some more, lifting his aching head from his friend's lap. As comfortable as he was, he felt that the mercenary's thigh wasn't exactly the best place to keep resting. "I would have gotten up earlier if I'd known where I was!" The prince seemed genuinely apologetic, and he stood up awkwardly, gazing down at his friend with humiliation as more of what he could've done in his sleep came back to him. Ike stood up also, stretching a little, but he didn't look mad. He pulled the prince into an awkward, one-armed hug that shoved Marth right into his chest.

"Don't worry about it, Marth." he said, pulling away and grinning. The prince hugged him back with both arms, perfectly content for Ike to stay where he was. It didn't last too long, however, as he felt Ike tense beside him. He stared up to find the taller swordsman staring levelly over his head at Zelda, who was staring right back.

"Ike?" he asked softly, nudging his chest with one of his palms.

The mercenary sighed. "Sorry Marth, I have to go." His voice was dripping with icicles, but Zelda seemed unfazed. Before Marth could interject, Zelda rose from her chair at about the same time Ike pulled away and started for the door.

"Don't worry, Marth. I want to talk to you." she said, her voice calm but her eyes glaring at Ike. The mercenary shrugged, and with one last wave to the monarchs, he departed out the door. Zelda shut it behind him and turned to face the other royal, whose face was a mask of pouting suspicion.

Zelda sighed, and sat back in her chair, gesturing for Marth to sit somewhere. He plopped down on the edge of her plush comforter with a little squeak from the mattress springs.

"What is it?" It had come out a bit more irritably than the prince had intended, but not that much more.

Zelda stared at him square in the face, her gaze searching his eyes for answers to her unasked questions. "I want to know what on earth is going on with you, Prince Marth." Marth made a noise that could've been called a snort if not from the mouth of someone of his status.

"There's nothing going on with me," he snapped, "I'm fine! What do you care anyway?"

Maybe he had been a bit too defensive.

"Well, Prince. It's not every morning you come down to breakfast looking like your best friend got run over by a raging bull and you fall asleep on the tables, now is it?" Zelda was equally as harsh as the prince had been.

Said prince was about to scream at her. The judgemental little princess would be no match for him. He stood up, with all intentions of letting her have it, and opened his mouth to start his monologue.

He stood there for a little while, barely blinking, and he shut his mouth.

And opened it again.

And shut it for the last time, flopping back down on the edge of the bed in dismay and letting out a loaded sigh.
He didn't say anything, but the princess opposite him muttered "I thought so..."

Author's Sentiments:

Man, I'm feeling awkward just thinking about that whole lap ordeal.Oogh.

In any case, I know these chapters are really short, but I've been grounded lately, with only the weekends as reprieve. As such, I've been writing a lot, but don't really have the time to transcribe and proofread and all the other important stuff. So the chapters are short. Sorry guys!

Reviews:

PoisonedxHearts: Thanks much! -hugs- I do hope I don't disappoint. c:

Yu-poo-san: Thank you very much. :D I know their personalities aren't really canon buuuuuut I can see them acting this way, so I write them this way. Ahaha.

Cherry Maiden: Hohoho, oh you. -handflip- I'M SURE YOU KNOW TOO.

Lady Emmerich: Oogh. Thanks so much for the kind words--Glad to hear them. :D

Next chapter:

Zelda plays a bit of psychiatrist as Marth attempts to explain why he hasn't been sleeping, and why he's so distracted all the time. Then we switch protragonists and see what Ike makes of all this. I've got news, folks. It ain't pretty.