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English
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Published:
2018-06-16
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1,441
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1/1
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Knots

Summary:

Among the residents of the Greil Boarding House, it was common knowledge that Ike’s brow furrows when he’s tired, his left eye twitches when he’s exhausted and when he’s stressed…
…he ties knots.

Notes:

I’m dedicating this to the Ike/Soren discord because this entire fic is their fault.

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Work Text:

Among the residents of the Greil Boarding House, it was common knowledge that Ike’s brow furrows when he’s tired, his left eye twitches when he’s exhausted and when he’s stressed…

…he ties knots.

It’s a compulsion. Anything he can twist, tie or wrap he fiddles with idly with his thick fingers. He twists the ends of his rope wristband, fiddles with the tattered edges of the holes in his jeans. He ties knots in the cord for the window blinds, makes tiny chains out of blades of grass, ties long receipts into bows and braids the tassels on the throw pillows in the living room.

His housemates avoid him when they start seeing knots cropping up all over the house. Ike has never been the most talkative or expressive person, but he’s approachable and friendly. Stressed Ike, on the other hand, is irritable and intimidating. Just sitting next to him is enough to make one jumpy.

In such times, the only people who could stand being near Ike were Soren and Ranulf – though Ranulf usually chose to let Ike work it out himself. Soren opted to stay nearby, never speaking and usually with something to read close at hand, but still offering a silent sort of support.

It was during one of Ike’s more stressful weeks that Soren began to notice Ike exhibiting a rather… curious behavior in addition to his knot tying. He wasn’t certain of it at first, only catching a glimpse here and there out of the corner of his eye, but it didn’t long before he lifted his gaze from his book completely only to meet Ike’s eyes dead on.

He was definitely staring at Soren, his gaze direct, unashamed and without any discernible intention. It was extremely unusual, and while Soren tried and failed several times to ask him why he was staring so intently, he found himself unable to voice a single word.

Deciding to ignore it, Soren would return to his reading, every now and then flicking his gaze back to Ike if only to confirm that he was in fact, still staring.

This behavior continued for the better part of a week before Soren finally snapped at him from his seat on the couch they were both sitting on.

“Will you please do something about that staring?!” He had growled. Ike had looked surprised but only for a moment. He seemed to be considering his options.

Slowly, he reached towards Soren like he wasn’t quite sure what he wanted to do. Eye contact remained unbroken, but Soren could feel his resolve wavering and his earlier irritation fading.

And then Ike’s fingers slipped into his hair and Soren could have sworn his heart stopped beating.

He remained more or less frozen in place as Ike turn him around and scooted close to his back, one broad hand still tangled in his hair. It took a full minute before Soren realized exactly what Ike was trying to do.

He was braiding Soren’s hair.

Of course he was braiding Soren’s hair. It was probably the most perfect stress reliever for someone like Ike who liked to tie knots in everything when he got stressed. It was two feet of thin black silk that could be twisted and wrapped into any number of configurations.

But also… why was he braiding Soren’s hair? Surly Mist or Titania’s hair would have been a better choice? Why not a wig or some rope or string or… anything, really.

Not that Soren was complaining. If he could be of assistance in helping Ike burn off some of his anxious energy, then he would gladly let his muscles seize up and spend the inevitable hour combing the braids out of his hair.

But of course as soon as that thought entered his mind, Mist entered the living room and stopped dead in her tracks at the sight of them. Soren met her confused (but most certainly amused) stare with a pleading look of his own; what he was pleading for he wasn’t quite sure. On the one hand he wanted Ike to stop because this was embarrassing as hell and Soren was fairly certain his heart shouldn’t be beating this quickly, and on the other he was elated because his crush was playing with his hair and holy shit did those fingers feel amazing against his scalp.

Quickly realizing that neither boy was going to give her any explanation at all, she left, only to return a few minutes later with a plastic basket full of hair accessories. Barrettes of all sizes with butterflies, bows, flowers and seashells dozens of colorful scrunchies and ornate hairpins – each item considered carefully by Ike’s thick fingers as he broke out of his braiding trance long enough to select a few.

Soren could hear Mist’s poorly concealed laughter from the kitchen and covered his face with his hands to hide the deep flush of his cheeks. He wanted to hide in his bed for a week, but until Ike was finished, he was stuck on the living room couch waiting for the inevitable moment where the rest of the housemates stumbled upon them.

Which didn’t take long at all, and of course Greil had to get the camera...

Ike finally finished braiding only a few minutes before Titania called them for dinner. Soren reached to untie his hair only to find his hand caught in Ike’s. He shook his head, and tugged Soren towards the kitchen where they faced the rest of their rather stunned (and definitely amused) family around the dinner table.

Soren was pretty sure that his face would be as red as his brand for the rest of his life.

He suffered through the snickers, chuckles and whispers and violently chewed through his meal, barely tasting a thing. He had a vague idea of what he looked like judging by the accessories Ike had selected from Mist’s basket. There were at least three flowers and two butterfly barrettes littered about his head and he knew the braids to be narrow and tight. Ike had tied them together with a length of green ribbon. He probably looked ridiculous.

…but Ike kept reaching out and twirling a stray braid around his fingertips before turning his focus back to his meal and every time Soren swore his food bypassed his throat and dropped right into the bottom of his stomach before bursting into a swarm of evil butterflies. How was he supposed to eat when he could barely keep his hands from shaking.

It was an awful mix of embarrassment and bliss every time Ike idly spun Soren’s hair around his fingers and Soren desperately wanted to bolt from his chair… But Ike seemed so relaxed. It was certainly a drastic shift from the mood that had lingered with him for most of the week. It almost made suffering through those not-so-sneaky glances and giggles from his housemates bearable.

Almost.

After dinner and several forced photo ops, Soren finally managed to sneak off to the upstairs bathroom to detangle the mess of barrettes and braids. He’s surprised, however, when he looks in the mirror.

Ike had somehow managed to spin dozens of small braids through Soren’s hair, some smaller braids then braided again into larger braids and set with a barrette. They were surprisingly precise and clean and Soren had to wonder where he had picked up such a skill. Compulsive knot tying wasn’t quite the same as braiding after all.

He ran his hand along the length of his hair. It was pretty good look for him, he had to admin. It would almost be a shame to take them out, if not for the possibility that un-braided hair stood the chance of getting braided again.

…And though his chest was still tight his embarrassment, having Ike card his fingers through his hair for hours was too amazing an experience to pass up.

That and the tighter braids where starting to give him a headache.

He sighed, and got to work.

Soren emerged from the bathroom about an hour later, his hair loose, crimped and wavy from the braids. He startled when he noticed Ike leaning casually against the railing, staring at Soren a bit like he head earlier in the day. Soren narrowed his eyes and made to ask Ike if he needed something when Ike moved towards him, reached out, and tucked a long lock of curled hair behind Soren’s ear.

“Cute.” He said with a small smile.

He shoved both hands in his pockets and wandered back to his room, humming quietly.

Soren dropped to his knees and waited to spontaneously combust.

Notes:

So there's art now. That's a thing. XD