Sideline Gambling

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"Five coins. I say he's going to deck him."

Link pondered at Pit's bid. The two were seated in the lounge of the manor, enjoying a comfortable day of rest on the couches available. Or at least, it was comfortable until two popular swordsmen barged in through the door.

"Hm. I'll give you ten. I say he's going to get slapped; it just fits the prince more, somehow." Of course, he was basing this on Zelda. The royal princess would always give him a hurting on his cheek during the matches.

Marth was stalking forward toward the fireplace; Ike trailing behind him by half a step. The prince had his face away from the mercenary, obviously trying hard to ignore the other swordsman's pleas.

"I didn't mean to! Honest!" Pit laughed at the stereotypical 'apology'. Link continued to observe.

"You say that every time! What made you think it was a good idea, anyway?" Marth still refused to look Ike in the eye as he made his statement.

"B-but the books say-"

"What, Ike. What do the books say." Ike almost took a step back at the sharp tone of the dialogue. It wasn't every day he saw Marth this mad. Maybe every other day.

"...T-that I probably should have prepared more." Pit made a pained expression, as if to sympathize with Marth. But he'd likely never experience the same thing (thank Palutena that he won't).

"Probably? Ike, you were at it for ten minutes while I was screaming at you to stop!" Link's cheeks heated up a little. He wondered if the swordsmen were even aware of their audience, but it was no big secret as to what relationship his two friends had.

"I lost control!" Pit sat up straighter on the couch upon Ike's line.

"Fifteen coins. Marth's going to say something along the lines of banning sex for a month." Link laughed. Why didn't he think of that one?

"That's still no excuse for what you did! I-I had to send in a request to Master Hand to be out of the competition for a week!" Marth may be talking to the fireplace, but Ike could still feel the force of his yelling.

"But he accepted, right?"

"That's beside the point..." Link could see the prince's face become a darker shade of red. He was really angry.

"Twenty coins. He's going ban sex for TWO months." Pit pouted at Link's bid while muttering a 'Not fair, it was my idea', but he accepted anyways.

"I really didn't mean to hurt you, Marth. You know that's the last thing I'd want to do! I'd even give up the competition for you!" Marth perked up a bit at Ike's bold claim. Link and Pit continued to watch. This surely put a twist to things.

"...I know. But you could be more considerate at times..." Pit tried to assess the situation as best he could, trying to come up with a new bid.

"I really do try. Why do you think my room's actually clean before you come in?" Ike's room was often littered with rags and equipment. He was a fighter, and his room proved his time was taken up by polishing his swords and guards. The prince however, made it public (very public, as he practically announced it in the cafeteria during one lunch break) that if Ike was going to keep smelling like metal and sweat all the time, he'd never see the mercenary again. He may love the man, but there were still pet peeves to deal with.

"...I suppose... But Ike. Your actions cannot go without punishment." The royal finally turned to face his companion; anger still evident on his features. Pit whispered a quick 'Here it comes' to Link as they both leaned forward to make sure they could hear Marth.

Ike gulped as Marth moved closer.

Link and Pit were about to fall off the couch from the anticipation.

"Fifty coins. They're going to make up and make sweet love tonight."

The angel and elf both jumped at the voice that breathed next to their ears. The Hylian princess decided to make a bid late in the game, having caught on to the two's strange observations of their swordsmen friends. Both shrugged it off, almost as if to say Zelda's bid was implausible at this point. The three concentrated on the actions of the prince once more.

Marth gave Ike a light kiss on the lips and whispered something that made Ike swallow, and the two left the room together, just walking side by side with shoulders barely brushing.

"...That's it?" Pit's eyes were wide. Well, that was certainly unsatisfying.

"I... didn't hear what he said." Link, even with his slightly advanced hearing thanks to his elf ears, could not make out a single word that the prince said.

"Don't worry, boys. We'll know the answer by tonight. Ike's room is just between yours and Pit's, correct, Link?" The green clad swordsman nodded. Zelda smiled and headed towards the door, but when she was just passed the door frame, she decided to give her fellow players some advice. "You may want to make sure you have fifty coins on you. There's a new dress on the market this week so I'll be collecting as soon as possible."

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That night, both Link and Pit cursed to their ceilings as they tried to fall asleep, but the men in the next room over would not let them.

Muffled as the sounds were, they could still hear exactly what was said in the other quarters.

"Ah..."

"Marth... You're so..."

"This type of punishment... suits you, Ike."

Not only were they not going to get any sleep, but tomorrow they'd be short fifty coins each.

END.

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I figure women usually have the upper hand if a gamble involves romance.

~Fhal