Title: Mercenary Tales

Author: shadowcat15

Pairings/ Characters: Ike/Soren friendship (more if you squint)

Warnings: None for this chapter.

Notes: This is going to be a collection of ten drabble-like things based on ten prompts. Each part exists separate from the others unless mentioned otherwise.

01. Tidings

Ike understood why Soren left to study in Melior, he really did. Being a simple band of muscle-for-hire the Greil Mercenaries rarely carried books that didn't relate to their job or have some purpose in battle. Quite often, Soren would buy a book in one town, read it along the journey to the next and then sell it when they arrived, usually for a higher price than he'd originally purchased it for. Ike noticed that Soren always had a relatively stable amount of money, so he suspected the money Soren received in return for the sold book went towards his next one.

See? Ike acknowledged, if not understood, the strange love affair his best friend had with bound pieces of paper, and he was content in his knowledge that once Soren had exhausted the libraries of Melior he would return. But that in no way meant that he didn't miss the closeness the two had.

So when Soren returned ahead of schedule Ike was slightly miffed that Soren's first words were of Death and Destruction rather than "Hello, Ike, I've missed you. Let me tell you every detail of my trip." Okay, fine. Death and Destruction were fairly important things, but still -- friendship was important too, right?

(Soren redeemed himself in Ike's mind by making it only as far as the tent they shared before falling asleep from sheer exhaustion during a hug and muttering sounds of protest whenever Ike tried to loosen his arms, leaving Ike no choice but to stay next to his friend all night.

Soren was rather embarrassed in the morning, though.)