Finally, the time for the ski trip has come. The cold winter air combined with the early hours of morning made it the perfect setting to sleep while on the way there. And that's exactly what Zelda was planning to do, especially since she had been oh so unlucky to be put in a bus that was different from the rest of her friends. A shame, really, but she didn't fully mind. She had been feeling pretty awful lately- and it didn't help that her brother was nagging her about whatever she had in her bag- so she wouldn't mind some time alone. Still, it would've been nice to have at least one person there. Ugh.

After another fifteen-ish minutes of going through some checklist of materials, Sheik finally let her be on her merry way and even offered to take her suitcase to her bus. What a kind brother. As she walked up to her assigned bus, she could already hear the screaming of the little freshman boys that thought it would be funny to be loud at seven in the morning. Uuugh. She waved goodbye to Sheik and slowly entered the bus, taking a moment to admire the chaos lying ahead. As expected, the freshies were out of their seats, moving around, throwing stuff, the usual. Meanwhile, the upperclassmen in the back glared at them, but did nothing more than that. And she was more than happy to join that group.

That is, until a little funny guy decided to stick his goddamn foot out, making her trip and almost slam her head on the ground, though thankfully, she only ended up falling on her knees. She glared up at the kid, who was laughing along with his funny little friends and giving her funny little fake apologies. Her eye twitched. She stood up, walked towards the kid, who was backing up towards the window, then slammed her hand right next to his face. She leaned towards him, eyes wide, enjoying every second as his face turned from laughter to fear. She didn't say anything, she didn't need to, and just smiled and left. The freshies got quiet after that.

She spotted a three-seater in the back and figured that'd be the perfect spot for sleeping, until, yet again, she was interrupted. This time, someone grabbed her wrist and pulled her down. She landed on a seat this time (thankfully), and was about to slap the person who did it because at this point she was over it, but then she noticed it was Ike. He was wearing a black hoodie and some gray sweats, and goddamn what a smirk. Hot. She still slapped him, though lighter than she initially intended.

"Owww," he fake whined, rubbing his cheek with a smile as Zelda leaned back on her chair while putting on headphones. "That hurt..."

"Sorry, needed to let off some steam and your face just so happened to be the unintended receiver of that steam," Zelda said with a humorless smile.

"I would've punched that guy if I were you," Ike said.

"You saw that?! Why didn't you help?!"

"Knowing your temper, I figured you could take care of it yourself."

"Are you implying I have a short temper?"

"You and your brother are more alike than you realize."

She pouted and turned up the volume of the music she was playing, crossing her arms over her chest. Then she realized. "Wait, why are you on this bus?! I thought you were on the same bus as Sheik?"

Ike blinked. Now how was he supposed to tell her he asked to switch buses because he didn't want her to be lonely? And because he wanted to be around her? Simple: he didn't. "Some guy showed up last minute and wanted to sit with his friends even though there was no more space on the bus, so they asked if anyone from my bus wanted to go to this one, and I volunteered."

"I see," Zelda said, narrowing her eyes. That felt awfully convenient, but whatever. She didn't mind, after all she got a friend, just like she wanted. Though, the fact it was Ike did make her the slightest bit nervous, but she didn't care enough to act on that nervousness. She was so exhausted, so she decided to end the conversation there and close her eyes, feeling as the bus started moving, finally slipping into the beyond...

"Zel? Are you okay?"

Goddamnit. "No, to be perfectly honest, I don't," she groaned, taking her headphones off. "I've barely been able to sleep the past couple of days and I fell asleep at like three AM last night and fucking Sheik wouldn't leave me alone and kept nagging me all fucking morning and honestly the only good thing about today so far was Robin hitting Claude with a snowball on the face while we were making our way here and also you being on the bus with me and I think I am going insane."

"I can tell," he chuckled, feeling his heart skip a beat when she said him being with her made her happy. "I know what could help you feel better. How about I tell you a story?"

She kinda wanted to say no and just try to fall asleep again, but that would make her feel bad. Plus, she enjoyed hearing him talk, his voice was deep yet soothing, calming. "Alright, tell me."

"Well, do you know why they changed the dorming setup?" Ike asked, his smile growing by the second.

"No, no one knows, they never said why," Zelda hummed. Then she gasped as a realization hit her, covering her mouth with her hand. "No way, are you the reason why?"

"Nah, it was my roommates," he grinned. He leaned in closer to her, his lips nearly touching her ear. Zelda found herself getting more nervous by the second, and with every word he spoke, she felt herself shake and shake until she finally exploded with laughter, looking at him with a bewildered face.

"You're lying," she scoffed, smiling.

"I'm not! That's what really happened! After that, they figured it'd be too chaotic to have so many people in one dorm so they changed it to two," Ike said.

"And you're sure you weren't a part of this? Because I have trouble believing you weren't," she said.

"Would I ever lie to you, Zel?" he said, a smile on his face. She wasn't sure why, but that comment made her feel all tingly inside. Gods, she was really in love with him.

"Okay, fine, I believe you," she chuckled. She leaned back on her seat and let out a long, relaxed sigh as she put her headphones back on. She looked at Ike, eyes half closed with a flirty smile on her face, one she wasn't even aware of. As much as she loved the story, she loved sleep more, and it was getting to her. Even Ike could tell. She wasn't really thinking about anything other than comfort when she said, "Now, do you mind if I lean on you while I sleep?"

A blush tinted Ike's cheeks. "Of course, make yourself comfortable." And so she did. She uttered a quiet thank you and gently leaned her head against his shoulder. The top of her touched his neck, her hair tickling the skin that it touched. Ike tried his best not to squirm so as to not disturb her, but it was quite hard not to when her hair was so soft and silky, and moved with the slightest twitch. He noticed she was asleep within seconds, and a slight warmth filled his heart at the thought that she could fall asleep so easily around him. It almost made him think she felt safe around him, then he recalled how exhausted she was, and he figured this probably would've happened even if he wasn't here. Well, regardless of what the actual case was, he was still happy. Really happy.  

A couple of minutes went by, or at least that's what it felt like to him, and they arrived at the ski resort. It was big, it resembled a cabin more than it did a regular resort. People began gathering their belongings that they brought and exiting the bus. Now, Ike could be doing the same, in fact, he should be. But Zelda was still sleeping, and he didn't want to wake her up. But he had to. But she looked so peaceful. And pretty. Gods she was really pretty.

He sighed and gave in, poking her cheeks multiple times in an attempt to wake her up. "Zel," he said quietly, "we're here."

She made a little noise and her face scrunched up as she began to stretch, seemingly forgetting she wasn't in her bed. Once she opened her eyes and realized her hand was covering Ike's face, she gasped and moved away quickly, blushing, "I-I'm sorry! I didn't realize I-"

Ike laughed, taking her hands into his. "It's okay, don't worry. My shoulder must've been pretty comfortable, huh?"

"M-maybe."

He laughed again as he stood up, still holding her hands. He nudged them up a little, indicating to her to get up, which she quickly did, moving to the aisle so he would have enough space to get out. He let go of one of her hands and used it to grab his backpack and her own, then threw them over his shoulder.

"I can carry my own bag, you don't have to-"

"I'll carry it, I have a feeling that if you carry it in your current state, you might just fall over straight into the snow," Ike said. Eh, he had a point. She did feel a little delirious after sleeping for however long that trip was. "Plus, it's not heavy. I'll take you to your room and drop this off there."

"O-okay," she said. She couldn't find anything to say, not when he was still holding her hand. Despite her wearing a pair of gloves, she could still feel the warmth coming from his hand. It was a comforting warmth, she dared say she wanted more of it. She wanted him to hug her, hold her, share his warmth with the rest of her body to combat the cold swirling outside. Gods, she was getting embarrassed from her own thoughts. This must be the leftover sleepiness talking, there was no way she would be thinking this while sane, right? Right. Right...

As soon as they stepped out of the bus, she almost regretted coming on this trip. It was freezing, and while she likes the cold, this was way too cold. Ike held her hand extra tightly as she stepped down the steps of the bus and onto the snow, just in case she slipped. She carefully jumped down the last step and looked up at Ike, slightly horrified. He could read her thoughts, they were written all over her face, and it made him burst out laughing. He pulled her in closer to him, putting an arm around her, then led her to the compartment on the bus that held their suitcases. She tensed up as soon his arm went around her, but she didn't complain. She liked it, a lot, actually.

He did, sadly, let go of her in order to take out their suitcases from the compartment. And before he got any ideas, she took her suitcase and held it close to her, tightly. Ike looked at her with wide eyes, but he already knew what she was going to say: "I'm not letting you carry my suitcase."

"It's not that much trouble, really-"

"No."

"Fine, fine," he smiled. "As you wish, my lady." She felt her heart flutter at his words, but she tried not to let it show. Much.

"Zelda!" The pair turned to their right and saw as Claude and Robin ran up to them. They were both holding a pair of envelopes, presumably with keys to their rooms. "How are you feeling?" Robin asked. "Were you able to get some sleep?"

"Yep! I'd probably still be asleep if it wasn't thanks to Ike," Zelda said, sneaking a glance at him. He was talking to Chrom, probably asking him about room numbers. He glanced at her, their eyes meeting, and gave her a sweet smile and a quick wave before turning back to Chrom. Zelda's heart skipped a beat at the action, a blush tinting her cheeks, then looked back at Robin and Claude. She frowned. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"No reason~" Claude grinned, "Only that you can't hide how much you like him."

"Shhhh!" Zelda said, covering Claude's mouth with her hands. She took a peak behind them and noticed Ike was walking back towards them, a pair of envelopes in his hands. She held back a smile as she looked at Claude and Robin with full seriousness. "Mention anything about my crush on him and I kill you, got it?" The two boys nodded slowly, and Zelda moved her hands away from Claude's mouth. The three stared at each other for a moment.

"So Ike there's this thing about Zelda you should know, she really really likes-"

Zelda threw a snowball at Claude, knocking him out cold. Robin caught him before he slammed his face on the snow.

"You really, really like what?" Ike asked as he walked up to Zelda.

"Uh," she smiled awkwardly, rummaging through her brain for anything she could possibly like. "Um, cheesecake?"

"Cheesecake, hm" Ike hummed. "Good to know. Oh, and here's the key to your room. We're on different floors but I'll still carry your stuff."

"You really don't have to-"

"Too late. I may or may not have taken a peek at your envelope and seen where your room is, so if you'll excuse me..." Before Zelda could say anything, he took both her suitcase and his own then dashed inside of the resort, leaving behind the others, speechless.

"And what do you know, he likes you too," Robin chuckled. He threw Claude over his shoulder with surprising ease, then adjusted his backpack. "I'll go take this guy to our room, meanwhile, you should go tell the Big Man just how much you like him."

"Shut up," Zelda huffed. Robin smiled and waved her goodbye, entering the resort. She crossed her arms over her chest and furrowed her brows. There was no way Ike liked her. Shit, he was the most popular guy in school while she was one of the least, she was sure he has seen plenty of other people that are far more interesting than her. Well, if he did somehow like her, it's not like she would complain. She would love that, in fact.

Ah, she must still be a little delirious from all that sleep. She decided then that in order to fix that, she would sleep for the rest of the afternoon. She did feel quite shitty still, that was probably a sign that it will happen soon. Hopefully not in a crowded space.