Merry Christmas! (if you're not into Christmas then insert the holiday of your choice here). I finally got something else done so think of it as a present...or don't! Whatever floats your boat. More IkexLethe because I like it and the idea came to me.

"Lethe? Are you here?" Ike had been walking the halls of the Crimean castle trying to find his lover for the past few hours. So far, he'd had absolutely no luck and had only succeeded in getting himself lost. Damn, he thought, Why do nobles need all this space? How do they avoid getting lost? He huffed in exasperation only to turn around at the sound of his sister's voice.

"Ike? Are you lost again?" Mist grinned up at him slyly. "Honestly, what am I supposed to do with you? I'm don't know how you got Lethe to agree to be with you when you can't even find your way around a castle."

Ike just huffed again. "Have you seen her? I've been trying to find her all day. I like Elincia and all, but I'm tired of dealing with these nobles again. It's time we left."

"Oh honestly Ike. Can't you just relax for once?" Mist shook her head. "You two will be able to leave for Gallia soon so calm down." Ike still looked irritated so Mist continued. "I saw Lethe in the courtyard earlier. Can you get there by yourself?"

"Thanks Mist, I'll be fine." Ike walked off past his sister to go find his new love but Mist wouldn't let him go that easily.

"Behave yourself Ike. I'm not ready to be an aunt yet!" She laughed as Ike just shook his head and kept walking.

The mercenary lengthened his stride as he walked through the wide halls of the palace. After several minutes he made it to the courtyard to see an orange-haired cat sitting on a low wall with a knife in one hand and a half-eaten apple in the other. She flicked her ears at him as he called out a greeting. "Do you always get up this late?" she asked, slicing off a bite of fruit.

"I would have found you sooner if it weren't for all these blasted hallways," he answered with a grimace. He snatched the fruit from her and put it in her mouth before she could retaliate.

"Honestly," she snorted, "if you're going to live in Gallia you're going to have to learn how to navigate."

"I know to how get around outside," he said, feigning indignation. "I just can't tell one hall from another in this place." Lethe shook her head in exasperation but said nothing. They sat together for a time as Lethe finished eating. "Have you heard anything from Caineghis yet?" he asked after she'd cleaned and put away her knife.

Lethe nodded. "He said he would set aside a house near the border if we wanted, or one more near the palace. Whichever we preferred, we would get." Ike grunted in acknowledgement. "Do you have anything you need to do today?" she asked.

"Not really. Why, what'd you have in mind?" Ike looked at her curiously.

"All this sitting around has made me restless. Would you like to spar?"

Ike grinned. "By spar, do you mean fighting practice or something else?"

Lethe's ears went back but she mostly kept calm as she answered. "Of course I mean fighting practice, idiot." Her tail flicked in irritation.

Ike just laughed. "Are you sure?" he asked. "Apparently Yune was able to talk some sense into Ashera since you can still shift after the other night. And besides, when you shift, you are a big-." A hand hitting the side of his head made him stop.

"Idiot!" Lethe hissed, jumping up. Her red face and the way her ears were laid back betrayed her embarrassment. "If someone hears you-"

"Nobody's around," Ike said as he wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her close. "Besides, I was just teasing you."

"Well next time, don't," she spat as she shrugged him off. She stepped away a few paces before turning her head back to look at him out of the corner of her eye. "Although if you beat me," she said slyly, "perhaps we could figure something out."

Ike was shocked at her sudden change in behavior but shrugged it off quickly and grinned at her. "Well I've never been one to turn down a challenge," he stated boldly. "I won't be holding back though."

"Oh don't worry," the cat girl said as her form began to elongate into that of her beast form. "I won't be either."

Ike drew his sword. "I guess we have a deal then." He assumed a ready stance and squared off against his lover.

Later that night, Queen Elincia held a small dinner with the members of the Greil Mercenaries, Lethe, and Mordecai, who would be returning to Gallia the next day. Boyd, who was sitting next to his new wife, was the first to notice when Ike and Lethe appeared at the table. "Hey, Boss! What took you…" He trailed off. "Geez, what happened to you? You look like you've both been through another war!" Ike grinned sheepishly while Lethe's tail flicked irritably.

"We decided to spar a little bit and lost track of time," he said.

"So you two had to beat yourselves up in the process?" Titania scolded. "Honestly, Ike. The queen is giving us a place to stay for the time being. You could at least try to be on time."

"Please, Titania; it's fine. They meant no harm and they're here now," she said gently. "Please, eat." She smiled at Ike and Lethe. "You must be starving."

They thanked her and moved to sit down; Ike at the opposite end from Elincia and Lethe to his right. They sat gingerly and didn't speak much except when spoken to. Eventually, the meal ended and they moved to leave. Mist caught up to them as they were walking out.

"Lethe, can I speak to Ike please?" she asked. Lethe consented and allowed her to pull Ike to the side. "Are you two alright?" Worry was evident in her voice. "Were you attacked by someone? You look like you're in pain."

"I'm fine. I just forgot how hard Lethe could hit when she wants to. We made a bet and our match might have gotten out of hand." His tone was light but did little to ease his sister's fears.

"Will you two please be more careful? I don't want you to hurt yourselves when I'm not there to fix you up."

Ike put his arm around her shoulders. "Sure Mist. She is a laguz though. They're a tough group."

"I know," she said with a small smile. "Just make sure you two don't kill each other. It was bad enough watching you and Mia spar."

"I know, we'll be fine. Now I'm going to bed." They said their farewells and Ike made his way to his room to find a cat girl standing outside his door. "So have you realized I won yet?" he asked with a grin.

"Hardly," she snorted. She folded her arms looked around to make sure nobody was around before looking at the ground. "I just thought I should tell you to…sleep well."

Ike gently pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her. "Thanks. You sleep well too." He let her go and started into his room before turning back to her. "Do you want to sleep with me tonight?" Even after having slept together before, it was still hard for Lethe to stay with him all night. She seemed to think it would make her seem weak, although she was slowly changing that stance.

"I suppose that would be fine," she said blushing slightly. "If you try anything tonight-"

"Don't worry about that," Ike said with a quiet laugh. "I'm still to sore from earlier to do anything but sleep." Lethe nodded curtly before following him into the room. Lethe waited as Ike took off his day-clothes and got into bed before curling up next to him. They both rolled over so they could face each other.

"Well…goodnight." Lethe's face was still red but she managed to meet his eyes.

"Heh. Goodnight Lethe." He brushed her hair back a bit. "I love you."

"I…love you too." The two of them stayed like that, Lethe curled up against Ike with one of his arms draped over her, until they finally fell asleep.

You know the drill; review, suggest, you get the idea. Hope you liked it.