Authoresses Note: Does anyone read fanfiction for this fandom anymore? Oh well. Even if no one does, I had an urge to write something for these two, so there's my reasoning.
Warning: Shounen-ai. Note:
Training gone Wrong
It was a training session that malfunctioned and hurt his best friend. That was the one thing that Marth Lowell never, ever wanted to do.
It was standard training. There had been nothing out of the ordinary. Neither of them had pressed any buttons that would have turned their damage to injuries in real life. There was next to no logical explanation as to how or why it happened. No matter how many times the young prince of the fallen kingdom of Altea ran their training through his mind, he could not come up with any explanation as to how the damage they sustained became injuries in real life. It would have not been a huge deal if their injuries were minor. The prince's injuries were the minor ones. His training partner, the Hero of Time, Link of Hyrule, had given him a few scratches to his face. He had also managed to bruise his arm and knock the wind out of him with the hilt of the Master Sword, yet even though he was told to go to the infirmary, Marth Lowell never did.
Math's fingers grasped the thin but strong cloth of his tunic as he let a slight wheeze. The prince was sure that he had sustained a bruise from the jab in the stomach, but it was the least of his problems. The stars twinkled overhead as he lifted his head up to stare at the never ending, picturesque midnight sky. The moon was casting its glow on the ground, illuminating it enough to see the trees and paths that many Smashers had walked through the years. The wind was not strong, but it was enough to make the leaves rustle on the hundreds of trees that lined the beaten paths. Marth ran a hand through his hair as he stared at the scene before him. Altea never had woods this dense or scenes this picturesque. The man could stare out at the scenery for hours on end and he knew that he would be content.
A quiet sigh passed through his dry lips. His tongue darted out to moisten the dry flesh before he turned to leave the breathtaking scene behind him. The scene had helped him take his mind off his troubles, but now it was time to face them. It was his own idiocy, his own mistakes, which had caused what was swimming through his mind. There was no logical explanation as to how it happened. No matter how many times Marth ran the scenario through his head, there was no explanations that awaited him at the end of his thoughts, just more worries.
His fist clenched at his side as he made his way through the manor. The infirmary was two floors above him, and the prince wanted to subject himself to his thoughts, to figure out how what had transpired in training happened in the first place. He decided against taking the elevator in the manor for the stairs because of that. He wanted, no, needed to figure out how he had given his training partner the injuries that he did.
Most of the Smashers had gone to bed besides the night owls. As he made his way up the stairs, Marth could see light protruding from Solid Snake, Ike, Fox, Red, and Zelda's respective rooms. A delicate eyebrow rose in confusion when the prince passed Ness' room and light was coming out from under the door, but it he decided that it would not be in his best interest to figure out why the young boy was still awake at midnight, or was it later? The man shrugged his shoulders. What time of night it was held no importance to him. He knew that the infirmary was open at all hours.
It was many minutes later that Marth had finished his trudge up the stairs. It was dark on the infirmary floor save for the soft light on the walls, so the prince made his way to the door. He knocked a couple of times before he heard the voice of Dr. Mario saying that he would be there in a minute.
True to his word, the Italian doctor was there within a minute. He was no longer a Smasher at the manor, but he had volunteered to stay and be the physician for them. Master Hand had been quick to agree as no one could deny that the doctor was well trained and a great physician in his own right. "Aha, Marth! What-a brings you here? It would-a not be-a to see Link-a, would it?"
"Yes, I am here to see Link." the prince answered in a cool tone. He had nothing against the doctor, but his accent was something that aggravated his nerves. It was nothing that the doctor could help, so Marth would grit his teeth and try to ignore it; that, or pretend that the physician spoke in a different accent.
"Aha, yes! Link-a is doing fine-a. His-a vitals are going back-a to normal, although-a his injuries are healing-a slower than we-a would like." The doctor moved out of the way so Marth could come in, and when he did, he shut the door to the infirmary behind him. "Do not-a feel bad, Marth. Master Hand-a said that-a the equipment malfunctioned while-a you were training. It was-a nothing to do with-a you."
"That was how I injured Link?" The prince let this digest in his mind. "What you're saying is that his flawless equipment MALFUNCTIONED?!"
Dr. Mario knew how much Link meant to the prince of Altea. Heck, everyone in the smash manor knew how much Link meant to the man. His fellow swordsman had been the first one to approach Marth when he had arrived at the manor. Despite the fact the prince had pushed him away several times, the Hylian had persisted until he had broken through Marth's shield made of ice and disdain for the world. Most of the Smashers had made bets with each other about how long it would take until they had gotten together, except Ike and Snake who took little interest in those types of things.
"Marth-a, it was-a mistake. Master Hand-a has taken-a extra precautions to-a make sure that it-a never happens again. It-a appeared to be-a overuse that-a caused it-a to malfunction." The physician put a hand on the prince's arm and gave it a gentle pat. "Come-a see Link. I'm-a sure that he-a will be happy to-a see you."
The prince followed with quiet rage building in his being. He knew that if he trained with the Hylian hero again, he would go easy on him and not treat him like an enemy. It was obvious how his fellow swordsman would react to such treatment, but Marth didn't care. He could not; he would not hurt Link again. The Hero of Time meant too damn much to the prince for him to risk hurting the Hylian over stupid training sessions.
Marth played the training session over again in his mind, trying to figure out when it would have been obvious that the equipment would have been malfunctioning.
"Come, Marth. We can't be losing our edge now to these newcomers, can we?" the Hylian joked, getting to his battle stance and pointing the Master Sword at his temporary enemy. "Fight me with all of your might!"
The prince of Altea let a smirk pass over his features as he unsheathed his own sword, the Falchion. "You may regret those words, Link!"
The two swordsmen battled each other ferociously for several minutes. They blocked their blows with expert dodges and slashes, the sound of metal hitting metal common throughout the area. Sparks flew as their swords fought with each other, but Link managed to push Falchion back for a split second to deliver the hilt of the Master Sword to Marth's stomach.
The taller man was sent back reeling and a cooper taste was invading his mouth within seconds. His brows creased in confusion when the bitter taste was on his tongue. 'Strange. That hurt more than it usually did and I've never bled before. Ah, these injuries do not pass to the real world, so nothing to worry about.'
Their training session continued.
Marth grit his teeth as he clenched the fabric over his stomach so hard that his knuckles turned white. "I knew." he muttered aloud, causing the Italian doctor to stare in his direction. "I knew that I was hurt when he hit me with the Master Sword, but I continued to train! Gods damn me, why was I so stupid!? I should have stopped the training session! I should have—"
"…Shhhh, Marth. These injuries are…are nothing. Please d-don't…beat yourself up over it."
The prince felt his eyes widen. Sitting up in bed, with a bandage around his head, torso, and arm was his fellow swordsman, his best friend in the manor. The Hylian hero blinked sleep out of his eyes before averting his piercing sapphire gaze to stare into Marth's own cerulean depths. They continued their staring match for several seconds before Link beckoned over the taller man over with his hand. The prince made his way over and when he was close enough, he buried his face in the Hylian's shoulder, breathing in the scent of the woods.
Link moved his hand to rest on Marth's blue hair, but surprise coursed through him when he noticed that the prince's shoulders were shaking with quiet, but powerful sobs. It took a bit of strength, but the Hylian wrapped his arms around his best friend as he began singing one of his favorite lullabies as a child to try and soothe the prince.
It took a few minutes, but Marth's shoulders stopped shaking and his cerulean eyes stared into Link's sapphire ones. "Gods, Link, I'm so sorry. I never meant to hurt you the way I did. I should have told you when you hit me with your sword that hurt more than it normally did and—"
"Shhh, Marth." Link whispered as gently brushed his lips against the prince's own to silence him. His tongue darted out and licked Marth's dry, cracked lips, soothing the pain that they must have been in. The prince was unmoving throughout this, but his eyes were closed and his hands were gripping on the Hylian's side, so the shorter man knew that his best friend wasn't disgusted with what he did. After a few more seconds, he pulled his lips away, reaching forward and stroking the prince's face with the back of his hand. "I know that you never intended to hurt me. I hurt you as well, and you are the last person in this world that I would ever want to put in any harm. Forgive me."
"Dummy." Marth mumbled as his face tinted with a light blush. "I hurt you more than you hurt me. I should be the one apologizing."
Link pulled Marth towards him so that the prince was on his bed, and he cuddled his fellow swordsman, feeling more content that he was close to him. The Hylian hero felt uneasy when the prince wasn't by his side, so he was thankful when the taller man nuzzled his face to his neck and let out a slight puff of air. His small, delicate arms found their way around Link's more muscular frame. The Hero of Time breathed a sigh of relief. This, he knew, was where Marth belonged, and he would do his utmost to keep him here, forever.
Fin.