Ike hums faintly, gently nodding his head to the beat of the music blaring in his headphones. Familiar faces pass by - an economics classmate here, some guy from the party there - and each one greets him with wide grins and enthusiastic high fives. Soon, he manages to push through the bustling halls and chattering students, before spying an all too familiar figure in the distance. That casual gait, the worn key chain on a faded white backpack from all those years ago... Ike grins wide, tugging his headphones down and already formulating another cheeky idea in his head. Sliding his backpack off, he rolls his shoulders... before bursting into a full on sprint, barrelling towards the figure from behind. In one swift motion, he wraps his arms around the figure, spinning them around with delighted laughter. "Gotcha!"

At your laughter, Ike's own giggle spills out, his entire body shaking with amusement as he holds you in his embrace. He presses a swift kiss to the crown of your head before drawing back to look at you properly. His grin widens as he takes in the sight of your familiar features: the messy bun and fluffy ears, the bright eyes that always sparkle with mirth... everything about you just feels like home.

"Hey there, Ruby," he says softly, voice warm and smooth like honey. He bites his lower lip before adding quickly, "How's my favorite human been?"

A pink hue tints Ike's cheeks as he notices your blush. He smiles warmly down at you, wanting nothing more than to press a kiss right onto that spot of color. But for now, he contents himself with merely tracing the shell of your ear with his fingertip before bringing it up to whisper against. "You're so cute when you blush."

With another gentle squeeze, he releases you and steps back, looking you over from head to toe like he's never seen you before. But the familiarity in his gaze speaks volumes: of late-night pillow fights, of weekends spent binge-watching anime, and all those shared secrets they've sworn not to repeat. As he admires you, a lump forms in his throat, making it hard to breathe. It's been so long since they've been this close, really close...

"So," *he finally manages to croak out, clearing his throat, "you wanted to show me something?"

Ike blinks, confusion flitting across his features. "You mean besides the fact that you just ran into me? Or that you've gotten even more beautiful over the years?" He hesitates, brow furrowing in thought. "...Did you forget we made plans to grab dinner tonight or something?"

His voice is light, teasing... but there's a note of uncertainty beneath it all. Just like when he was younger and would ask if they were still friends after an argument, even though he knew the answer deep down. It's that nagging fear that maybe things have changed since he last saw her, and that thought terrifies him more than anything else.

As the dress comes into view, Ike's jaw drops open. His eyes widen in shock and then slowly flutter shut as his breath hitches in his throat. It takes him a moment to find his voice again, but when he does... it's barely more than a hoarse whisper:

"Oh... Oh wow." He clears his throat awkwardly, hands shoved into the pockets of his hoodie as he tries to regain his composure. Taking a deep breath, he forces himself to meet your eyes again, still unable to stop staring at you in disbelief. You've grown up so much since highschool... but somehow this outfit just brings that all home even more clearly. It reminds him of the girl who used to tease him and make fun of his anime obsession; the one who always insisted on picking up the pieces whenever he had a fight with his parents, and vice versa. The girl who was there for him when nobody else was... but whom he never dared to ask if she felt the same way about him.

"You look..." He trails off, searching for the right words, feeling more tongue-tied than ever before. There are so many things he wants to say - how beautiful you are; that you should wear this dress out tonight because it'd be a shame not to show it off; that he's always been in love with you even if he never told you... But all of those thoughts get jumbled together and muddy, making it hard for him to form a coherent sentence. So instead, he simply says:

"Awesome."

"H-heh," Ike sputters, eyes fixed on your finger as it trails up and down his chest, just inches from where he knows you want it to be: his heart. He wants nothing more than to reach out, take your hand, and pull you closer... but that would risk revealing too much of how he really feels. So instead, he settles for ducking his head and grinning sheepishly at the ground as he says:

"It's not like I've never seen you in a dress before or anything," he adds with a chuckle, trying to make light of things. Even though it's mostly just for your benefit; inside, he feels like his heart is racing a mile a minute. It's been so long since they've had a moment like this... and he doesn't want the time alone together to end quite yet.

"You should wear something more comfortable next time, though," *he teases, reaching out to smooth down your hair. His touch is gentle but firm, and despite his attempt at playfulness, there's a vulnerability in his eyes that doesn't go unnoticed by either of you.

Ike laughs lightly, shaking his head as if to clear it. "Oh, haha... me? Nah, totally fine here," he mumbles, his cheeks still flushed with emotion. "It's just that..." He trails off for a moment, taking a deep breath before continuing in a rush:

"Well, ever since we were little, you always knew how to make me feel better when I was down... and even now, seeing you in this dress..." He gestures vaguely at your body, his words tumbling out in a mix of English and Japanese. "It's just... really special." There's silence between them for a moment as he tries to find the right words; as if saying everything that's on his mind might finally make things clear. But even then, there are still so many things left unsaid.

Eventually, he gives up and simply takes your hand in his, squeezing it gently. "So thanks," he says with a sheepish grin, tilting his head to look at you from underneath long eyelashes. "For showing me that."

Ike can feel himself growing harder the moment you twirl around, your dress flaring out gracefully before swirling back in towards your body. He tries to ignore the embarrassing bulge pressing against his pants, focusing instead on the sight of you as you stand there before him. His hand tightens a little on yours, fingers digging into your skin in an effort to ground himself.

It's hard not to stare at how perfectly you've grown up over the years, even though he hates admitting it; everyone always used to comment on your innocent beauty when you were younger... but now that you're older, there's something else there as well. An allure that goes beyond mere physical attraction. Maybe it's the way your hair spills over your shoulders or how those freckles dot your nose... perhaps it's even just the memory of all those times he used to watch you sleep, safe and secure in his embrace.

"So," he finally says, voice slightly hoarse, "are we going to get something to eat now?" It's meant as a light-hearted change of topic... but there's an undercurrent of hope beneath the words, an unspoken desire for things between them to go back to how they used to be. Back before everything got so complicated and awkward.