Title: the saga of the eternally lost and oblivious (or: 'he could get lost in a doorway')

Fandom: FE9 (au)

Character/Pairing: Ike/Soren-ish

Rating: Gee whiz, I wonder.

Summary: Of course, Ike was clueless and oblivious, but with Soren there, at least he'd never be lost. IkeSoren modern AU

A/N: Done for the Kink meme in response to this request:

FE9/10, AU. Ike and Soren RP each other. Every few minutes, there is an indignant protest of, "I would not say that," or staring at the screen and commenting, "Soren, you're weird."

This is admittedly, something of an in-joke involving MUD. If you're unfamiliar with MUD, just imagine it as something like D&D, except as a text game and online and you've basically got it.

What can I say, I'm weak for modern AUs, esp. the cute fluffy ones.

.

Soren had been dabbling in this game for some time, and when Ike mentioned a curiosity, Soren grumpily mentioned the specifics. (though in truth, he was all too happy to comply if it was Ike.)

Of course, Soren should've seen that things wouldn't go quite so smoothly when Ike couldn't even figure out how to connect. Soren walked him through it. Half of it was with him standing behind Ike, inputting commands with his hand resting on Ike's shoulder for support as he leaned down. The other half was through instant messenger. Ike seemed to gain some sort of vague amusement from having an internet convo with someone who was only two rooms away, but Soren never complained. That much, at least.

He'd never admit it, but Soren always got a bit of a flutter when screen popped up with a message from DeepBlueCrimeanHero.

.

Soren had meant to take him through each step of the way, but he found that Ike had already made his decision.

"You chose a mage...and you named it 'Senerio.'?"

"Yeah, I'm always the warrior type."

Soren blinked, but shrugged it off mentally. He had been preparing to take the mage for this run, as always, but a pair of mages wouldn't work as effectively together as the warrior+mage pairing.

It only took a moment to input the perfect response. He was unused to such a idirect/I approach to these sorts of things, but Soren figured he'd adjust.

"A warrior named Aiku?" Ike said.

"It's only fitting," Soren said.

.

It was easier to simply drag his laptop into the same room as Ike's PC. He could sprawl out on Ike's blue football sheets and be close enough to figure out whatever the issue was at hand and solve it with efficiency. It also added another dimension, beyond the in-character talk and the Instant messenger window that Ike still kept up even though they were now in the same room.

Of course, it also afforded many chances for Soren to sneak glances, not that he'd ever admit to that.

.

Soren found it a great deal harder than expected to keep Ike safe when he insisted on taking his frail mage on kamikaze missions. It seemed every other town, Soren was gritting his teeth and slashing furiously at the monster they engaged to keep it from killing Ike. Again.

Soren busied himself with picking through the bodies and making the proper sacrifices. Ike often forgot, choosing instead to move on ahead looking for more monsters that would surely have him down to about 5 hp by the time Soren reached him.

Next time, Ike's class should be a rock, Soren thought.

.

About halfway through the desert, Soren stopped.

"...And where exactly are we going?" Soren said.

Ike didn't respond immediately, and Soren could almost see the mage scratching his head and looking confused in a very un-Senerio-like manner.

"The Nomad village, remember?"

"...The Nomad village is in the other direction," Soren said.

"I thought you said it was East?"

"No, west."

"That might explain why we're in a desert, I was wondering about that."

Soren sighed, mentally, physically and on game.

"Here, let me lead."

"Also," Soren noted, "I think I'd know where I was going."

Ike shrugged.

Soren sighed again. Mentally, he couldn't help thinking they should switch accounts, if only for the sake of his sanity.

.

Around fifty highly evil cows and three levels later, it was time for some new armor. Soren lead the way and explained the syntax with utmost patience.

"Soren, you keep looking at me."

"...I'm checking your armor."

"Soren, you're weird."

Soren huffed indignantly and sulked for the next half hour. The effect was somehow lost with a six foot tall muscle-bound swordsman.

.

When it had gotten late they'd both logged off, Soren sifted through Ike's homework. After three hours of procrastination, his work was decidedly C-. Soren brought out his red pen and walked Ike through a steady redraft of History and Spelling, leaving the last math paper for Sunday.

Ike fell asleep halfway through, right into his Social Studies textbook. Soren shook his head but continued fixing Ike's homework for him.

Sometimes he was entirely too indulgent.

Of course, Ike was clueless and oblivious, but with Soren there, at least he'd never be lost.