There are particular moments in a lifetime that one never truly lets go on, leaving those memories always vivid in the mind.
Link and Samus Aran had quite a few of those. The most poignant of which had began with their very first meeting.
It had been two weeks into their time at Smash Mansion...
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"You know, I don't get you."
Link looked up from sharpening his sword to see a woman standing in the doorway to his room at Smash Mansion. Judging by the sound of her voice, it was very clearly Samus. But nobody at the mansion had ever seen Samus out of her armor before, and Link had to admit, the blonde hair, blue eyes, and clean cat-suit weren't exactly what he was expecting.
"I've been keeping observations for two weeks." Samus continued. "Everyone here seems to have some sort of ulterior motive. Fame. Glory. Power. Or in some cases, food."
Link couldn't help but chuckle at that last part.
"Everyone is here for something." She finished, all the while staring intently at Link, as if he were some great enigma to her. "Everyone but you. No secret plots. No struggle for personal gain. Nothing. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were a legitimately good guy."
Link put down his sword and focused all of his attention on Samus and her analysis. "It seems you've got me pretty well figured out, Miss Aran. You want to know why I'm here?"
He paused before answering, as I'd he himself was trying to get his own story straight. "I'm here because I have to be. And I'm going to do anything I can to get out of here with my honor."
Samus scoffed at his seemingly apparent honesty in disbelief. "Honor? Cute. I learned a long time ago, the hard way, that there's no such thing as honor. And there's certainly no such thing as legitimately good guys."
Link approached Samus, genuine honesty and caring in his eyes. "You think yourself to be so cynical. So heartless. No different than Ganon or Bowser, or any of the villains for that matter. But do you know what I think? I think you're simply broken. That armor, it's imprisoning the real you. And deep down, you're a hero just like the rest of us. Maybe even better."
Before Samus knew it, her and Link were mere inches apart from one another, staring deep into each other's eyes. This moment had clearly become very intimate. Too intimate for her tastes.
So with little more than a blush, Samus wordlessly left Link's doorway and made her way down the empty hallway. But as she left, Link yelled a few final words for her:
"You said everyone had an ulterior motive for being here, Miss Aran. Then tell me, what is yours?"
Years later, after everything they would go through together, Samus never gave Link an answer.
