I'm back! And with a Secret Santa gift!

Okay, so this had a crazy story. I was hoping to get the guy I knew best, and I did, but...I had no idea what to do. Then one day, I 'brain barfed' into most of a good story. Then the day after, my flashdrive got stolen. So I had to try and rewrite this from scratch, and...it's probably not as good as the original, but...oh well.

Regarding that stolen flashdrive, though...I still have copies of everything except the original of this, so...if I see my stuff, I won't hesitate to report it. You have been warned.

A-Anyways, Thinkaman, Merry Christmas! I'm hoping I made this to your satisfaction. And with two pairings instead of one; one of them I think you'll be proud of.

Disclaimer: I don't own the FE cast. Unfortunately.

Love was so confusing.

What was it, exactly? Something...spiritual, emotional...physical? She honestly didn't know. But what she did know was that something was going on, and she wanted to know what it meant.

She thought all it was was finding her eternal rival. But...then she started wondering if it was more than that. Because she wouldn't be thinking about things regarding him otherwise. Well, aside from the idea of finally beating him in a match, that is.

But that's exactly the point. She was thinking about things she would never even consider thinking about with anyone else. And she had no idea as to how she was supposed to react.

Nor did she know how he would react. And that was exactly why she decided she would go to the one person who knew him best, so she could finally put this case to rest.

*Page Break*

"Soreeeeeeeeeeen...c'mon, help me out."

Soren let out a soft, frustrated groan as he gave her a hard, exasperated glare from behind the desk of his room. "Mia, how many times must I tell you? When I am working...Leave. Me. Alone."

"But you're always working!"

"Exactly." He waved his hand as if he were shooing off a child, the other going back to writing. "Now leave me be. Unless someone is dying, I don't care. And even then, I'd tell you to go to Rhys about it."

"Well..." Mia thought for a moment, then came up with a brilliant idea and put her hands behind her back, a devious smile on her face, "what if I told you it had to do with Ike?"

At the mention of the commander's name, Soren froze for a few seconds, staring down at the paper, then slowly put the quill down and folded his hands together, staring at the blunette with an expectant but neutral gaze. "...I'm listening."

"Soooooo...what if...I said that someone might be...interested, in him?"

"..." The look became pointed. "You're really trying to fool me." It wasn't even a question. It was a statement, lined with a tone saying, 'You're seriously an idiot to think that would work on me.' "Why are you bothering me with this? I'm not about to help you with earning Ike's affections."

"That's..." Mia groaned and held a hand to her head. "That's not actually what I'm trying to do."

"Then what ARE you trying to do?"

"I'm trying to figure out if this whole 'affection' thing is even a thing."

Soren raised an eyebrow at her. "And you're asking me of all people because...?"

"Because you're the smart one! You know everything there is to know about everything! So how could you NOT know what it is?"

He closed his eyes and sighed. "...As much as it may disappoint you, I'm...not so smart when it comes to mortal emotions. I can't always tell what I'M feeling, let alone what others are, Mia."

"But...But you always seem to know Ike better than you do yourself..."

He sat silent for a few long moments. Mia thought it meant the conversation was over, so she took it upon herself to start moving towards the door. It was only once she was about to reach the handle when he spoke, softly.

"Mia...wait."

She turned back around to stare at him. "What...?"

He sighed. "I...didn't really like the thought of him being with someone because...I thought he would then care less for me. But...if it would make him happy, then..."

"Soren...?"

"He...has expressed a feeling of...attraction, towards you. He...was much in the state you are now. Not exactly knowing if that's what it meant. But...I can tell. You two...you were practically made for each other. And I should not be so selfish as to keep away the happiness that would come should you both admit it to one another."

"Soren..." Mia gave a wide smile and went around Soren's desk to give him a tight hug, much to his annoyance. "Thank you."

Soren was tempted to say something about crushing him, but decided against it at the last second. Instead, he said, "Yes...you're...welcome."

She released him and practically bounded for the door. "I'll go find him and tell him! Thanks again!"

The sage let out a deep breath and smoothed his hair back down, picking up his quill. He muttered, "I can still never understand you beorc sometimes..."

*Page Break*

Ike loudly cleared his throat, then let out a breath. "Listen..." he started, "there's...something I've been meaning to tell you. And...just let me talk, alright?" He rubbed his hand against his pants to remove the sweat. "Well, uh...I've...come to realize something that...I wouldn't have thought would happen." He ended up sighing and shaking his head. "I'm terrible at using honeyed words or anything like that, so let me just say it." He looked straight forward. "I think I love you." To prove his point, he leaned forward, lips puckered, until-

"Ike? Ike?" Mia stopped short at the scene in front of her, giving the hero a very, VERY concerned look. "Is...Is that a turkey leg?"

"What?" Ike quickly threw down the meat he was holding and shot up from his seat, scratching his head and finding a very interesting spot on the ceiling to stare at. "O-Oh, I was, um...just practicing." He cleared his throat again. "Y-Yeah. Just...practicing."

"Oh. Well, if that's all." She skipped over to him and stood staring at him expectantly. "Who were you practicing for...?"

"Oh, well..." He glanced down at her, then looked back to the spot on the ceiling. "That's...a very good question...and the answer...um..."

She leaned forward. "Yes...?"

He sighed. "Ah, screw it." He looked down, grabbed her arms, and pulled her to him, kissing her deeply.

Mia, who had returned the kiss wholeheartedly about half way through, stared at him with amazement once they parted. "...Wow."

"Mia, I..." Ike released her and took a step back, then proceeded to return to scratching the back of his head and staring anywhere but at her. "Well, uh..." He closed his eyes and slowly moved his head to face her before reopening them. "I..." He sighed and shook his head. "Goddess, this was so much easier with the turkey leg."

"Ike..." Mia took a deep breath, then pretty much blurted out, "I think I love you."

"What?"

"...Did I say the wrong thing?"

"No! No." He walked back up to her, and took her back into the hold he had on her right before he kissed her. "Never. I...love you too."

"Really?"

"...Really."

"That's...amazing!" She hugged him, then said, "Now, we're way more than eternal rivals, you and me! I hope you're prepared for more than just a spar at sunup!"

Ike chuckled, taking her words a far different way than she had. "Oh, trust me, there will definitely be more in store than just a simple spar..."

"Oh, and Ike?"

"Yeah?"

"You're gonna have to break up with that turkey leg."

"...Oh."