He I'm sorry that my first chapter was so short. I'll try to make them longer, and update more quickly. I think this chapter is pretty good, considering it was like 1 in the morning when I wrote it XD
Later, at the locker room, Ike was still shaken by his suddenly searing attraction to Marth. He had always found the man beautiful, but, not thinking himself gay, had always thought that it didn't affect him. Marth came into the room with the slam of the door. Now his face was deeply introspective, a small frown on his face.
"You okay , Marth?" Ike asked, concern in his voice, finally articulate now that Marth's face was out of view as he faced his locker.
"Just tired of people paying attention to me."
"What do you mean?" asked Ike, confused at his bitter voice.
"Ever since I got here people have been talking about me. For a few months they even thought I was a girl! Some people still call me 'princess Marth'!"
"Oh. Yeah, we did. Sorry about that, but you really are pretty and your clothes make you look like really pretty. So you really can't blame them." Ike suddenly realized what he had said, and blushed a brilliant red. Marth turned rather pink too.
" T..thank you, I guess?" he stuttered out, turning his face away slightly, not meeting Ike's eyes. Ike's mind flashed through his options: he could stand there, comatose, kiss Marth like he truly wanted to, or he could run. He chose the third option, slamming his locker shut, grabbing his bag, and fleeing to the blessed silence of the hallway outside, his heart pounding wildly.
Unfortunately, this tactic of avoidance wouldn't work for long, as they were roommates. The very thought of being enclosed in a small place with Marth for a long period of time could prove to be disastrous. He leaned against a wall, controlling his breathing with difficulty, thinking about how to avoid Marth for the rest of the day. Well, at least there was the ball later that night. Ike loved parties, and Peach had made sure that this was going to be a fun one. Marth would never go to something like that, so he could go and have fun. In the meantime he might as well go to the training room and figure out how exactly he had lost.
A few hours later found Ike practicing hard, sweat dripping down his face, to fall onto his already soaked tunic, as he beat the shit out of one of the dummies with his sword, developing complex series of attacks, formulating different techniques for different types of opponents. He knew that there were few people he really had to worry about beating him, but now he was scared, because Marth had never made it onto his list of worthy opponents. Come to think of it, he had never actually seen Marth fight before. Not that he went to ever match, but still. He'd never heard anyone talk about him fighting, so he'd assumed that there wasn't much to say. But now he knew that Marth was more than a good fighter. He was phenomenal. Otherworldly. Brilliant. He was…. Indescribably perfect.
Ike stopped himself there. He was getting way too mushy for his liking. He turned to get some water, when he saw Marth enter the training room, followed closely by Link. Shit. He quickly hid inside the weight room, peeking his head out to watch Marth. God, the man was just too perfect. Soft, ashen skin, glowing luminously in the glow of the lights. Blue hair falling into his cerulean eyes, which were large and fringed with thick, dark lashes. Long, lissome limbs, moving gracefully, almost dancing as he walked. A slim, fragile frame, with misleading curves. That, in addition to his long hair, had made everyone mistake him for girl in the beginning of the competition. Ike listened in to meth and Links conversation, to intrigued to feel ashamed.
"Yeah man, that was a great battle." Said link, staring down at Marth, who was so short that almost everyone, even princess Peach, was taller than him. He smiled at him way to warmly for Ike liking, and he scowled when Marth put his arms around Link, hugging him tightly. Why was the usually reserved Marth acting so friendly to that stupid hero? Didn't everyone know that he was gay, even though he kept saving Zelda? Shouldn't Marth be more careful? And why was link being so receptive to the PDA? Unless…
Almost one cue, Link ducked down and kissed Marth on top if his head, so softly that Marth didn't even feel it. The blood drained form Ike's face. Marth pulled away, seemingly unaware of the kiss, and charged off in a surprisingly childish way to attack a dummy next to then one Ike had just been using. Ike glared as link laughed and followed Marth, and they attacked the dummy for a while before sparring with each other, smiling gleefully the whole time. The whole while, Link took every opportunity to touch Marth in ways that bordered on sexual harassment, even stroking his leg as they sat and rested. Marth took no notice, and Ike surmised that this was an often occurrence, and that Marth had no idea of the connotations.
He felt his hatred for the blonde man grow with each passing second, and has to force himself to not come charging out and attack the man that dared to touch his love. It took an inordinate amount of time for them to finish up, and he began to grow sore from keeping his position at the doorway. They finally left, talking about getting some dinner, and he walked off to his room, grumbling to himself the whole way.
When he reached the door, he paused, making sure Marth hadn't come back. When he heard nothing but silence, he entered, stripped, and hopped into the shower, and let it wash away his sweat and anxiety. Then he began to get ready for the ball, donning a stylishly cut tuxedo that showed off his well-muscled frame.