The first thing that Peach noticed when she got out of her cart was the noise. Pulling off her helmet and letting her long blond hair free, she winced at the sudden noise against her ears. It wasn't that the race track itself wasn't noisy - the exact opposite in fact. It was just easier to ignore the steady sounds of motors, rubber wheels against the road, and the yells of angry teammate. That was to be expected.
The cheers of the audience was not.
How long had it been since she had last won first place? Pausing for a moment, she looked back and reflected before finally just shrugging. Right then, she didn't have a calendar on her.
Walking forward, away from her parked scooter, she looked up to the audience. Even among the crowd of faces, Peach still recognized Zelda instantly.
If a picture was worth a thousand words, then she wanted the image of Zelda in the stands engraved in her mind forever.
Later, once the last racers had crossed the finish lines and scores had been announced, Peach collected her trophy. It shown brightly, a golden mushroom. It was a bit heavy, but nothing that Peach herself couldn't carry.
"Congratulations," Zelda said. She was smiling from one pointed ear to the other. "You did wonderful."
"Thank you." Peach looked down to her trophy. The girl staring back in her reflection on the shiny gold metal was blushing. "I really won."
"I'm not surprised." The Hylian princess beamed. She leaned forward and placed a quick kiss on Peach's lips. It was soft and gentle, and Zelda took it slowly. For once, things didn't need to go fast.
When she pulled away, Peach clutched her trophy tighter. "You know, I could start teaching you how to drive again. I can certainly see you as a racer, Zelda."
She chuckled. "You just want to give Link even more competition for first place."
The two left the race track, their shoulders brushing against the other every once in a while. They were on the way to Peach's house, where they really could slow down and enjoy themselves (and some tea and cookies).
"You might even be faster than me, Zelda."
She grinned. "You're right. I just might."