The cafeteria is unusually quiet for six o'clock in the evening.
Usually at this time it is bursting with all the Brawlers piling in at once after a long day of training. Kirby would be rushing from pot to pan to plate, serving up the choice meal of the day in plentiful amounts to satisfy thirty hungry tummies. The Captain would be beside him, tending to the needs of the assist Brawlers coming in at the same time in his own unique, eccentric way, and the Princess would be waiting by the desserts ready to offer blancmange, custard tarts or just some plain old vanilla ice cream to anyone who asked with a smile and a please.
Today, however, there is but a single soul sitting in the large food hall, and only one person serving. Kirby and Falcon were unfortunately scheduled to fight together this evening, leaving Peach alone to serve up dinner. She was happy to fulfil the chef's position, if it meant she got to experiment a little in the kitchen, albeit disappointed to find people had been coming in only intermittently. Really, she'd been looking forward to the challenging rush of multitasking dinner, but it just wasn't meant to be, tonight.
It was eerily quiet in a place which should be noisy, full of boisterous laughter, Wario's cackling, the clatter of cutlery on plates and voices of at least ten people at once having a conversation between mouthfuls.
For once, though, Pit finds himself rather glad for the silence. While normally he prefers the constant company of his fellow Brawlers and a cheerful conversation to accompany his meal, he is instead content to sit alone in front of his dinner tray and look down, sadly, at the steaming curry waiting to be eaten.
It wasn't that it didn't look appetising. If anything, Peach's take on the usual golden curry recipe smelled even better than usual- floral, almost, as though she'd added an exotic flower to the mix which blended well with the spice. Pit just couldn't bring himself to eat just yet, too busy digesting the day he'd finally finished but couldn't stop reliving.
It had been an exceptionally bad day. Training had recently progressed from sandbag smacking to singles and targets, which had been fine. But then unexpectedly Mario had announced that the plan for this week was to go onto doubles training. In other words, team battles. The training event Pit had looked forward to the most, and it turned out to be his worst experience yet at the tournament.
He'd somehow been partnered with Link, who lived in the room opposite him. Link, who he'd been trying so hard to befriend and impress over the last month, who he had managed to constantly, spectacularly let down today.
The luck of the draw meant Pit had in fact been the only newbie to the Smash tournament who had been partnered with one of the longest playing veterans. Initially, he'd been over the moon at the idea of getting to fight with the Hylian boy. Link had been so helpful during those first few days of moving into the dormitory, always happy to answer Pit's many questions and guide him through the facilities, explain the schedule Pit would be expected to follow, sit through Pit's favourite Let's Play videos on the internet.
The angel had had high expectations when he'd imagined meeting Link, and Link had gone above and beyond them. He was the same strong, quiet and independent figure Pit had pictured him to be, and when brawling he fought with the finesse and expertise Pit had always admired about him, since the very first Smash tournament was aired.
To an extent, Pit idolised Link as the sort of fighter he wanted to become, and had been nothing short of delighted to find himself partnered with him. Link had, of course, been quiet when his teammate was announced, but he at least hadn't looked disappointed. Pit, so desperate to show the Hylian he was a capable fighter and partner-worthy, had dashed into the stadium for their first match, absolutely brimming with enthusiasm.
Unfortunately it all went very wrong, very quickly. First they had faced Fox and Ness in a timed KO fest, and Pit had been so overwhelmed by fighting THREE veterans that he'd spent a lot of the match tripping up, much to his own humiliation, and pausing to watch and admire Link heroically take them on alone before realising that oh, darn it, he was supposed to be fighting them too. Fox and Ness had taken the victory by miles but they were great sports, the match had been fun, and Link just shook his head with a smile when Pit had tried to apologise for being so star-struck.
Princess Zelda had been their support for the day, and when Link had carried straight on to prepare for the next match, she had taken Pit aside, held his hand, and smiled gently at him. "Please don't worry," she'd said kindly. "That was a tough draw for your first time. Focus for the next match, and I'm sure you'll be fine." She then added as an afterthought just as Pit went to leave, "I can see that Link enjoys fighting with you, too. Try to have fun with him."
Reassured, flattered, and just a little red-faced from that little tidbit, Pit went into the next match with a new burst of energy. But then it'd been Lucario and Marth. Two blue and cool-headed opponents who fought without the same polish of the veterans but, especially on Lucario's part, a red raw desire to win. Pit had partaken more in the actual fighting this time, which had been an improvement, but an ill-timed edgegrabbing incident early on had left him flailing on the edge, Link falling to a swift and unfair defeat, and the two on team blue pulverizing Pit clean out of their stock match.
And just like that, it kept on happening, for hours and hours right through to their final match. Pit, constantly humiliated by his stupid errors and obvious inexperience, could hardly bring himself to look at Link, let alone talk to him, as they waited in standby for their next match. Link occupied himself with a couple of snacks, a nap or two, and some basic routines to keep him ready for fighting. All without saying a single word to his partner, or even so much as looking in his direction. Link not talking to him was not necessarily a sign that he was angry, Pit knew that much. But Zelda, who watched over every match, had looked increasingly worried as the day went on and their losing streak lengthened. Yet no matter how badly they lost, how much damage he took, Link just... soldiered on, effortlessly professional, and unintentionally putting Pit further to shame.
Diddy Kong and R.O.B apparently made a fantastic match up, thoroughly showing up the tired angel in the last battle of the day by instead beating him out early and leaving Link to fight them alone. He had lasted for a long time and it was a close match, but by the end of it, the absolute newbies had been victorious, and a battered Link practically fell off the Final Destination platform and into Zelda's healing hands. An entire day of making up for the angel's mishaps had caught up with him, and the Princess whisked him away before Pit, more than a little roughed up himself, had a chance to say anything.
Peach had taken pity on the poor boy when he'd then come into the cafeteria looking exhausted, upset and utterly defeated, and instantly placed all three of the daily desserts on his tray along with his main meal. In her flawlessly serene manner, she offered him a few delicate words of encouragement in a genuine attempt to help him feel better, too. "I understand what it is like to have a bad day out there, surrounded by new and unfamiliar faces, under pressure to perform to the standards expected of veterans. And," she couldn't help but add with a smile, "I do think you make a very cute team. I am just sure next time will be much better for you both."
Had he been of the right mind, Pit would've laughed at that, blushed and rejected the idea of them being 'cute' while secretly being happy about it. But through all of the stress and backtracking on where he should've guarded, rolled or meteor smash'd, and ultimately failed to help his teammate, the words simply trickled over Pit like tepid water in a weak shower. Polite as ever, he of course thanked her, and did honestly appreciate her sentiment. But sitting alone now, thinking back on the day, Pit just wishes he hadn't made such a darned fool of himself. Of all the people, he'd had to prove himself a failure, a moron, a complete dweeb... to Link.
In that moment of recollection it's almost too much to bear, and Pit has to stop himself from dunking his face straight down into his curry. The last thing he needs is to offend the Princess as well.
Link will never wanna talk to me now, he thinks sadly to himself, poking at a bit of carrot with his fork and turning it over into the sauce. It's bad enough that he'll eventually, inevitably run into Link when he returns to the boy's dormitory. Won't even be able to just avoid him from now on and hide my embarrassment until it's safe to come out- not with more team battles tomorrow. Ugh, I don't even wanna THINK about going out there again...
Peach, always empathetic, can only stand watching Pit looking so thoroughly depressed for so long. There's nobody else in the cafeteria for the moment, so she goes over to him, pulls up a seat beside him, and laces a dainty hand on his bare shoulder.
It's a wordless invitation for Pit to unload a bit, he can sense that. And while she is not quite Lady Palutena, he finds that it is remarkably easy to chat with the Princess once he opens up. Trying hard not to let his emotions get the better of him, Pit calmly explains to her what happened throughout the day, and why he's so upset about it all.
Peach nods, comforts and listens to every word the angel says, occasionally squeezing his shoulder, and meeting his moistened eyes with a delicate smile whenever he manages to look up at her. It sounds like he has been through a truly horrendous day and through no real fault of his own. But out of the corner of her eye, Peach notices someone appearing at the entrance to the cafeteria, on the other side of the room. When Pit looks down into his lap again, now onto the part where he'd so stupidly repelled a bomb with his shield right back into Link, the Princess ever so slightly tilts her head to see who is standing in the doorway. "It didn't even occur to me that he was throwing the bomb toward me because Kirby was inhaling behind! I thought he'd—y'know— on purpose because of- and then it went back at him and I just—"
Pointed ears, tousled blond hair and in desperate need of a new tunic, in the corner of the room stands a windswept and exhausted Link. But he does not look angry, or annoyed, and stands completely straight as he observes them. The boy is upset, and Peach, being Peach, is taking care of him. Why is Pit in there all by himself? Why hasn't he eaten yet? It doesn't even look like he's changed out of his clothes.
Realising he has been acknowledged, slowly Link lifts a finger to his lips and takes quiet step back. Peach replies with a subtle nod, and after a moment of hesitance as he watches them, the Hylian turns and leaves.
There was slight worry along his brow which had not missed the Princess, and it was strange to see that Link had come all the way over to the cafeteria when Zelda had likely given him some food already. Smiling to herself, and calculating for just a second, Peach leans close into Pit and gives his shoulder another squeeze.
"—just knocked me off like that, as though I was nothing, and then y'know ONCE AGAIN he has to come along and-"
"You know, Pit," Peach ever so softly interjects, gazing at him. Halted, he quietens. Peach's eyes sure are pretty. "Link has fought with many people over the years. When he first started playing, he was just like you. Young and inexperienced, and wanting to impress. Mario told me all about it. For someone so brave, Link has not been unfaltering since his time at the tournament. I have seen it for myself."
"But… but, Princess Peach, I was useless. I was useless."
An amused smile tugs at the corners of Peach's glossy lips. "I am sure you were not useless. You are learning. It is Link's job to help you, not you, him."
Pit considers this. And then he considers her. Princess Toadstool, in his opinion, is the nicest and most perfect person here. Why couldn't he have been partnered with her instead? Softly spoken, eloquent and articulate, with perfectly combed blonde hair and divine perfume, lovely blue eyes the shape of perfect pearls, and her lips the perfect shade of pink… It's almost hard to listen to her because he is focussed so much on her, but finally, Peach's kind words ease Pit, and he is able to give her his first smile in hours. He tries to say something else, but she lifts her palm a little and continues.
"I am also sure that somewhere, right now, Link is probably worried about you."
The angel's eyes widen at this. He sits back slightly in disbelief. "Worried about me?"
"Yes." Peach reaches out to tuck a stray lock of hair behind Pit's ear. "In fact… knowing Link, he may be feeling bad that he wasn't able to protect you today." She withdraws, and can't help a giggle at how the angel is now blushing. "It works both ways, don't you think?"
Pit hadn't thought about it like that. Stunned to silence, he manages a nod.
"You may think he is, but Link is not perfect, Pit. Nobody is. I promise." Deciding it best to let Pit think over this, the Princess gracefully stands. "If you ever would like to talk with me again, you are always welcome."
"Thank you.. thank you so, so much, Princess," Pit says softly, surprisingly alleviated and thankful to have found a true friend in her.
She shakes her head and begins to walk away, only to suddenly stop and address him from over her shoulder. "Ah, do not forget also that Princess Zelda is the tournament counsellor, and knows Link better than any of us. Though… I can understand if maybe you would be too shy, chatting with her is always an option too." Peach giggles and smiles knowingly to herself, heading back over to the food counter and leaving a somewhat bewildered and flustered Pit at his table.
"Oh… well… thank you again."
Calling them cute, saying he'd be too shy to talk to Zelda… true or not, Pit can't help thinking suddenly that Peach may have figured out a little too much. Blushing, but in any case feeling a little better about himself, Pit finally pulls the dinner tray close and tentatively begins to eat, mulling over what he has been told and allowing himself top enjoy what is, indeed, a very tasty curry.
Link… worried about him? He finds that too difficult to believe. Pit would be lying if he said he wasn't happy about it, though. Resolving to leave it for today while at the same time hoping he does not run into him back at the dorm, Pit finishes his dinner, thanks the Princess as he deposits his plate and tiredly heads out. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day.