OK, so I'm aware that during the last chapter, I fell into the cliche of using Soren's Japanese name as a second name for him. But, just so you know - rather than using one name for each parent, I'm using it as though Senerio was his original name (which I guess it was, technically) and Soren was one he came up with himself. Just explaining that before I get flames about it, because it won't be explained this chapter.

Just a quick shout-out to the people from Spain, who have joined the ever-increasing number of countries reading this story. We just need one more to break the 30 mark! Oh, and last night we reached the 2000-hit mark for Ellipsis alone, and I have a very nice picture for you all, to thank you. To view it, please visit me on Facebook, under the name Flinch Hayward. In the meantime, please keep reading, and reviewing, and recommending to friends!

Once again, I'm blowing off my schoolwork to write this. I'm such a bad student. XD

The song to listen to for this one is Too Many Words by Sick Puppies. And I cried while writing it, emotional wreck that I am.

Soren hastily scribbled away, quill scratching across the parchment as ferociously as though he were trying to tear it. Surprisingly, his penmanship was still as legible as ever, every curlicue still perfectly intact. The dull scritching noise was...not comforting, exactly. It was more that it gave him some necessary awareness that he still connected with the world around him, despite his wish to immerse himself utterly in work. Without any warning, a large hand enveloped his own. Soren jumped. After falling back into his seat, he turned to see Ike looking at him in concern. "What are you working on?"

"I've been calculating the level of supplies we'll need now that the laguz have joined us. We're also low on weaponry; Oscar's lance broke in the last battle, and Boyd has been going through axes at the speed of--" He trailed off, trying to conceal a yawn.

Ike pulled him from the chair. "Get to bed, Soren. You need sleep."

Soren shook his head. "I need to finish--"

"No." Ike's voice was gentle but firm, as was his gaze. "Sleep. Now."

Soren glared up at him with all the dignity of a pouting child. "I hate you, Commander," he murmured, the hint of a smile playing on his lips.

Ike returned the smile. "I know. Now get to bed," he repeated, removing the quill clasped in Soren's fingers. "And sleep. Don't think I don't know about all the papers stashed under your mattress." Soren grumbled, making his way to the bed and falling in, fully-clothed. Ike pulled the blankets over him. "Covering up your problems won't make them go away, Soren. Hiding from them will only make them worse."

Suddenly Soren was upright in bed, supported by his palms. "What makes you think I'm hiding something?"

"You're Soren. You're always hiding something." Ike smiled again, but there was no such expression on Soren's face. "You always bury yourself in work when you're upset or worried about something. I do it sometimes, too. I throw myself into training when I'm worried about the next battle. But even though you make yourself too busy to worry, it only catches up with you later."

"You don't have any right to tell me not to hide things." Soren's eyes were deadly narrow. "I find it rather hypocritical, considering. You expect me to tell you everything, but you never do the same. I might not have firsthand experience of friendship, Commander, but I know that this isn't it. Friends don't give orders. Friends wait until they're ready to talk and ready to listen. You...aren't interested in being friends. I know that."

It was Ike who was starting to look furious now. "What? When have I ever hidden anything from you?"

"You never talk," Soren said quietly, his eyes focused on the blankets in front of him. "Your mother's death, your father's death, the Black Knight... I know you think that as commander, you shouldn't show emotions like that. But if you can't trust me enough to show them in front of me, then how can you expect me to trust you? Because I don't have anyone else? That's not enough, Commander."

"It's not anything like that! I..." Ike broke off, looking troubled and confused. "I don't talk about those things because I don't know how to. And...and OK, yeah. I don't think that I ought to seem that helpless in front of everyone. So I hide it. I don't want to seem like a weak commander."

"Then why can't you understand that I have things I need to hide, too?"

"Because you don't have to stay strong."

Soren looked up in anger. "What, I don't have responsibilities? I'm not a child, Commander!" A long stretch of silence punctuated their argument. "...Everyone feels like they have to stay strong, Commander. Everyone has someone else that they want to hide themselves from. It just so happens that for me, I am that person. Don't ever convince yourself that you have it worse. You've done things you're not proud of - that's human. I am things I'm not proud of. Nothing I do can ever compensate that. So yes, Commander...I hide. I hide because it's easier and because I don't know how to do anything else. That's the way I am."

The silence that followed this was longer than any that had passed between the two before. Before it ended, Soren had fallen asleep, oblivious to how Ike watched him, or for how long. He knew only how empty and light it felt waking in a darkened room alone, without his friend and commander leaning against his chest, and the familiar tickle of blue hair.