RE-WRITE ALERT! Ok, so I've rewritten chapter 15 a bit. Thing was, no matter how much I looked at it I still couldn't be satisfied with several areas and in the end decided a partial re-write was the best option. Major sorry to all those who will have to re-read! :-/ I hope it's a bit better now...

A big thank you to XxCapturetheLightxX, AlteaAuroraRia, BunnyFleur, motolokiev, ShaeTheFag and ADashOfInsanity for reviewing Chapter 14 and to Kufuffelupagas, ADashOfInsanity, ShaeTheFag, AlteaAuroraRia, XxCapturetheLightxX and BunnyFleur for reviewing the original Chapter 15.

Back at home later with Ike gone, Marth phoned Elisse. She answered on the first ring.

"Bro?"

"Yeah, it's me."

"I thought you'd never call!"

Marth felt guilty instantly. "I'm so sorry. What did you call the baby in the end? Tell me everything."

"He's called Aaron…" For the next five minutes there was an outpouring of information – baby clothes, baby food, baby everything. Elisse spoke faster than a train, moaning about sleeping hours and the smelly business of nappy changing. Marth offered his consolations until she ran out of steam and asked about him instead.

"Well I haven't really…" Marth began.

"Who is it?" Elisse butted in.

"What?"

"Don't give me that 'I haven't really been doing much' bullshit. I can see right through you even over the phone."

"Er…"

"Spill it."

"Well I have been going out with Roy…"

"Roy?" Oh yeah, the work colleague you had a crush on."

"Yeah."

"How was it?"

Marth hesitated.

"Oh no – what happened?"

"It was nothing. I went out with him for like a week up until yesterday. It was fine."

"Right."

"We went punting one day as well as other stuff."

"Punting, how romantic. Up until yesterday?"

"Yes."

"I wasn't after a confirmation you dork. Why not today?"

Marth hesitated.

"Did something bad happen yesterday?"

Marth hesitated. Elisse waited. "No, I was just busy today."

"Yeah, right."

"Elisse, please…"

"Oh Marth…" Her voice softened. "It's really bad isn't it?"

"No," Marth snapped.

"Well what did you do today?" she asked.

"Oh, um…" He thought of Ike, then something random but niggling occurred to him. "Elisse can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"When I smile do I have dimples?"

"Don't you know?"

"Just answer the question."

"Well…sometimes."

"Huh?"

"Well most of the time you d– Hang on, I got the impression you'd fallen out with Roy."

"What? Finish what you were saying!"

"Haven't you fallen out with him?"

"A bit."

"Then… ooohhhh."

"What?"

"Awww, Marthy!"

"What?"

Elisse just laughed and hung up. Marth tried to call her back but she wouldn't answer. He had no idea what she'd found so funny and he couldn't be bothered to try and work it out himself. He decided to have a hot chocolate and occupy himself watching a film instead.

It was work again the following day. Marth braced himself to meet with Roy. He had to explain that he was sorry and that he wasn't playing hard to get and did want to be with him he just felt a bit awkward sometimes.

The morning passed in silent contemplation of how he was going to approach the issue. As he worked he was acutely aware of Roy's nearby presence and found that his feelings were a mixture of forgiveness and apprehension, the latter of which he tried to ignore. It seemed everything Roy did made his heart skip a beat – from when their arms brushed by the coffee machine to every time Marth heard his voice. He knew it was ridiculous to be so on edge but the tight feeling in his stomach wouldn't leave him alone. It was drawing close to lunch break when he planned to confront Roy, but Roy beat him to it, making Marth jump with just a simple, "Hey Marth."

Marth turned around slowly, his stomach churning. "Hey."

"You look nice today."

"Oh… thanks." Marth got on with the coffee he was making. He knew he should try and say more, smooth things over after the cinema incident, but the words wouldn't come. Roy walked up behind him and pinched his bum.

"No really… you look lovely. Do you want to hang out after work?"

"Um…" His heart was skipping so many beats he felt momentarily light-headed. He took a deep breath and regained focus as Roy began speaking again.

"Marth, I've never liked any one so much as you. The week we spent going out together was one of the best weeks of my life."

Marth was touched, but the effect was spoilt by Roy reaching around to grope him.

"Roy, no!" He wanted to go backwards to the time when they had just chatted as friends with quiet crushes, not forwards to more of this physical stuff… Oh why did this make him feel so nervous? He only wanted to be loved… Roy reached for him again but Marth moved away. Not after the cinema, not straight away, not now! It seemed so much harder to breathe normally with Roy so close like that… Oh dear, he really needed to sit down.

Just then Elise walked in, carrying Aaron with one arm, reaching into her handbag with the other. It was good to see her out with the baby, but Marth was rather too distracted to appreciate the sight. He watched as she strolled up to him smiling, mouthing 'surprise', and knew that no amount of acting skills were going to fool her – trying to smile back would be fruitless. There was no way he could pack his emotions into a comfortable position in the few seconds it would take her to reach him. Sure enough, when she arrived at the counter it took only a matter of moments before her face became a mask of concern. She looked from him over to Roy then back again. For a brief moment her eyes flashed acute sympathy, but then hardened as she took in a deep breath.

"RIGHT," she yelled, startling everyone. "I WASN'T ABLE TO COMPLAIN BEFORE BECAUSE I WAS IN LABOUR, BUT NOW I'M BACK YOU BASTARD AND YOU'RE NOT GOING TO GO FREE." She pointed an accusing finger at Roy. "YOU SHORT-CHANGED ME! WHEN I WAS PREGNANT. DO YOU RUN SOME SORT OF CLUB HERE FOR TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE VULNERABLE?"

Marth gasped. Roy had gone as white as a sheet. Samus, the café's manager, stepped in. As she sometimes did she had chosen that day to come down from the office where she spent most of her time and help the staff on the café floor. It gave her a chance to observe conditions from a different perspective and ensure there were no tensions or issues that needed resolving. Having witnessed the whole incident, she quickly approached the counter and addressed Elisse.

"I am extremely sorry ma'am for you negative experience here. Please allow me to compensate you with either a full cash refund for whatever you bought on the day of the offense or a free drink, meal and cake of your choice."

Elisse took a deep breath. The whole café was still deadly silent.

"I'll accept the free drink and etc," she said. Samus nodded and then turned to Roy.

"In my office."

"What?"

"In my office. Now." She turned back to Elisse. "What can I get you?"

Conversation slowly filtered its way back in. Marth watched, shocked, as Roy walked away, heading for Samus' office. What had Elisse done that for? He felt worried for Roy and hoped he wouldn't be penalised in any way because of Elisse's impulsive acting. Would Roy suspect Marth had asked Elisse to do that as punishment for his behaviour in the cinema? Worry swept through him. But amidst this turmoil of feeling there was a tiny little part of him that was relieved that at least for now, speaking to Roy was postponed. He attempted to stub it out like a spent cigarette – relief was not appropriate – but it lingered there, stubbornly fuming.

A minute later Marth headed over to Elisse to confront her. Having brought with him no excuse to be at her table, he spoke straight away.

"Elisse! What did you do that for?"

"He was making you unhappy," she replied simply.

"I've had some great times with him! He's…he's nice!" Marth argued.

"Your face said otherwise."

"You can't just go doing that!"

"I just did."

"You didn't have to! Now he's in trouble over nothing!"

"Marth, look me in the eye and tell me he doesn't deserve it."

"He doesn't!"

"If you honestly believe that then you are being deliberately blind to yourself Marth."

Marth turned and walked away. He was furious with Elisse of course. Totally furious. Definitely out of order. Uncalled for.

When work ended Marth still hadn't totally recovered. After Roy had talked to Samus in the office he had simply left the café and Marth was worried about what results the interchange might have produced. Honestly, it was totally unfair of Elisse to have done what she did.

As he had nothing planned that evening, he decided to go over to Roy's house and check that all was ok. Elisse wasn't going to apologise, so he had to do it on her behalf. He knocked twice and waited. After a few minutes when there was still no answer Marth feared the worst. He could hear faint noises inside the house – Roy was definitely in there. He was probably in too foul a mood to open the door – what had Samus said to him? Marth knocked again. This time it was only a short wait before Roy opened the door.

"Oh. Marth." He sounded surprisingly light-hearted, which reassured Marth considerably. He was wearing a dressing gown and appeared to be rather relaxed.

"Hi Roy. I just wanted to say I'm really sorry about Elisse yelling at you. I don't know why she did it and I hope Samus didn't punish you."

Roy just gave a slight nod, not giving away any information. "It's all fine."

Marth took a deep breath. "And as for the cinema trip and everything… I'm sorry for pushing you away, it was just awkw–"

"Oi, Roy! Are you getting back up here or what?" A third voice from behind Roy had interrupted. Before Roy or divine intervention could prevent it Marth saw a naked brunette descending the stairs from behind him. If there was any doubt to the obvious assumption, Roy's guilty expression removed it. The ensuing pause seemed to last a lifetime.

"R-Roy?" Marth croaked eventually. Roy seemed stuck for words, but his lack of explanation was explanation enough. Marth turned and began to walk away numbly, his thoughts catching up with him one by one, in slow motion. His eyes were dry – he felt numb, hollow.

"Marth! MARTH!" Roy, having finally found his voice, caught up with Marth and grabbed his wrist. His tone was unrepentant. "You could have had me Marth! Damnit, I wasn't asking for a miracle, was I? I love you Marth, but I am just so frustrated here!"

Marth stared back at him with empty eyes.

"Come on Marth, it wasn't like you never had the opportunity!"

And then the first tear found its way out. Marth felt so churned up inside he didn't notice it until it was halfway down his cheek, and by the time he did he was already beginning to sob. Roy's tone suddenly changed.

"Marth?" he murmured gently.

"Oh…oh…oh-oh-oh–"

"Marth?"

Shallow, jagged breaths caught in his throat. "Oh…oh God…"

Roy said something else but Marth wasn't listening. Tears blurred his vision over and over, no blinking could clear it. At some point unknown to him he began running. His legs automatically took him home, but as for his mind he might as well have been running anywhere. He had gone to see if Roy was ok, but the only one upset now was him. How could he have misjudged Roy so utterly? He had thought Roy would wait for him, woo him… The thought that he would find someone else instead had never crossed his mind. Could Roy ever reverse his choice? Was there no chance now for them at all? The tears kept falling in a steady stream.

After an immeasurable amount of time his front door came into sight. Ike was standing in front of it. An unexpected sight, but Marth didn't think about it then – couldn't – and simply threw himself at Ike, sobbing. Ike hugged him back without a word. Roy's words rang in his head round and round… Roy had loved him but Marth had blown his chance. Why hadn't he returned Roy's affections? They might already have been a couple by now… Roy who had been his friend for years finally showing an interest in him just to have himself pushed away… He'd missed his chance and now Roy had moved on. All he could think of were Roy's words repeating over and over like a broken record… You could have had me Marth!

At length the flow of tears slowed, replaced by an emptiness that slowly delivered him back to the present. There was some sort of soft material against his cheek – he used it as a tissue whilst he let more practical thoughts intrude over his feelings for Roy. Ike – he was hugging Ike. Seeing him at the front door seemed like a distant memory now. Oh dear – what would Ike think of him? He straightened up and gently pulled away from their embrace, marginally embarrassed. After a few moments he managed to find something to say.

"Why didn't you let yourself in?"

"I gave you back your spare key," Ike reminded him gently.

"Oh yeah." Come on Marth, collect your thoughts. There was something else obvious he hadn't noticed, what was it? He felt like it was staring him in the face…

"You're wearing a top."

"A bit of a jokey gift before I go abroad."

Marth managed a weak smile.

"Anyway," Ike continued, "I got you something serious as well." He held out a brown package. "But, um… don't open it now. I think I've picked the wrong moment to turn up."

Marth took the package silently.

"Shall I go?" Ike offered.

"No, it's okay, you can stay."

"Shall I go?" Ike repeated.

"It's okay, you can stay," Marth repeated, confused. Ike gave a small smile.

"It's okay, I can go," he said. Marth finally got what he was getting at. He wanted to know what Marth wanted.

"Stay," he replied quietly. Ike gave a slight nod.

"Shall we go inside and have a drink?"

The hot drinks made they sat in the lounge and discussed the weather, Ike's latest paintings, things on television and other avoiding-the-Roy-topic topics. Marth, still a little numb from shock, let Ike do most of the talking, just nodding or adding in a small comment here and there. But still the conversation managed to continue from one casual discussion to the next. Time passed. More hot drinks were made and drunk. Topics became more abstract and playful. As Marth cheered up a little Ike turned the radio up and began to dance, making a fool of himself. Marth had a sudden flashback of Ike's great dancing on that first karaoke night and realised he was dancing badly just for Marth's entertainment. Something like a ghost of gratitude flowed over him, smoothing the edges of his sadness. And after much hesitation, Marth joined him. It was easier not to think of Roy if he thought of Ike, and Ike helped distract him with random comments. It was somehow odd seeing him in a top. Marth knew what was underneath – it wasn't a matter of curiosity – but it was strange not to see his chest all the same, just a thin sheet of cotton stopping him from being able to look at the toning underneath. It was still there of course, if Marth lifted up the base of the top just a bit…

It took him a moment to register they'd stopped dancing. He jerked his hand away, mildly embarrassed and finding it impossible to explain himself.

"You're going abroad," he blurted out.

"Yes, I said," Ike confirmed.

"Why?" The word escaped him almost by reflex. And the tone – the tone was completely wrong, spoke volumes of meaning that just weren't meant to be there. Marth clapped a hand over his mouth. Where had that come from? He fumbled for an apology, a quick change of topic, anything, but the words jammed in his throat. Luckily Ike replied fairly quickly.

"Just for a taste of different scenery and culture."

"When do you leave?" Marth asked.

"Soon I think. Probably tomorrow or the day after. I'm planning to just take my van and go."

Marth nodded, not knowing what to say. Ike looked at him intensely. Marth, quiet, looked at his feet, but whenever he let their eyes meet he felt a hot flush inside of him. The silence seemed to stretch on forever. Ike shrugged.

"Anyway, best be off."

Marth let out a shaky laugh. "Yeah – maybe you can catch some sleep for a change tonight."

Ike grinned. "Maybe."

"See you then."

"See ya." Ike left the lounge and a moment later Marth heard him let himself out the front door.

Marth slumped onto the sofa. There was too much to think about – first Roy and the incident at the café, then when Marth had visited him and seen… well. And now Ike was leaving to go abroad. He had hoped at least now that he had lost Roy he would still have Ike as a friend to help stopper his sense of loss. But now there was only one person left he could turn to. He vowed to himself to visit Elisse the next day.