This was the end. The next tournament was beginning, but only one of them had been invited back. And it wasn't the soldier. He'd heard the news from Master Hand that he wasn't invited to enter the next tournament, but his love was. It hit him hard, but he didn't want to tell his love. He wouldn't want to stay. It would break him. That wasn't what Snake wanted.

"Snake? Is...everything alright?" Master Hand asked. Snake didn't answer. He was just staring, hoping to God that Master Hand was joking or he was dreaming this whole situation.

"Snake." the giant, gloved hand said, a little bit louder this time. Stumbling backwards, Snake put his head in his hand and began breathing irregularly. Not knowing what to think. Not knowing how to feel. He was just completely numb, head to toe.

"I'm...fine..." he trailed off, before turning around and walking out of the big boss' office. Stumbling into the wall, he started shaking violently. What was he going to tell Link? He slid down the wall until he was sitting on the ground. Tears streamed down his face and into his hands, but he made no sound. He couldn't. He wanted to, but he couldn't. All he could do was allow the cascade of bitter tears slide down his stubbled face.

"No, no no no no..." he trailed off, headbutting his hands. The tears didn't stop. The tears weren't going to stop any time soon. And, truth be told, he didn't want them to. He needed to let it all out.

"This can't be happening. This isn't real. This is all just one big, sick nightmare." Snake said aloud, desperately trying to convince himself of something he knew wasn't true. Slowly and steadily, Snake rose to his feet. His legs felt weak, almost like they couldn't support his weight. His head was spinning, and his vision was blurred by the waterfall of tears, which were now stinging his face.

"This isn't fair. How is any of this fair?" he asked himself. Stomping his feet angrily, he didn't know what to think. He didn't know what to do. He just wanted to stand still all day, and let the world pass him by. Anything would be better than this. Separated from the one he called his own.

"Mr. Snakey, are you ok?" a small, soft voice asked. Snake looked down to see the tiny frame of one Lucas, the timid boy with the destructive power of a tank. As soon as his eyes fell onto Lucas' innocent face, he smiled. He cared a lot for Lucas, almost like he was the little brother Snake always wanted.

"Yeah, I'm fine. How are you?" he asked the tiny boy. Lucas' eyes fell to the ground.

"I went to see Master Hand earlier, and he said I'm not invited back for the next tournament." Lucas groaned. With a sympathetic look, Snake dropped down onto his knee, opening out his arms.

"Come here." he offered. A small smile appeared on Lucas' face as he charged at Snake and tackled him to the ground. Snake let out a startled laugh as he was taken to the ground by a mere child. Destructive power of a tank.

"Hey, easy!" Snake chuckled. Lucas giggled as he got back to his feet.

"Sorry, Mr. Snakey." the peroxide-blonde boy laughed. With a grin, Snake sat back up, and looked at Lucas.

"Don't get too upset about it, ok? I'm sure Master Hand will still let you see Ness, Toon Link and the others. Just keep your chin up, ok kid?" Snake reassured. Lucas smiled faintly, and then hugged Snake again.

"Thanks, Mr. Snakey! You're the best!" Lucas stated enthusiastically. Snake giggled as Lucas ran in the opposite direction, assumedly back to his room. Lucas had an infectious energy about him; when you were near him, you couldn't help but be happy. Now that he was gone, however, reality sunk in again. It cut deep, like a knife through butter. Slowly, Snake began to walk.

"I have to tell him. I can't keep it from him. Not something this big. It wouldn't be fair on him." Snake explained to himself. Suddenly, an anthropomorphic bird turn the corner. His feathers were blue, and he wore a tiny screen over one of his eyes.

"Excited for the next tournament, Snake?" he chirped gleefully.

With fake enthusiasm, Snake responded, "Of course. I'm super hyped to beat your ass to the ground again." Falco just laughed as the pair walked past each other. Snake's lips curled into a half-smile. As he reached the tall, sturdy door to his room, his hand fell on the door-knob and turned it lightly. Pushing the door open, all of the emotions hit him at once. This was the last time he was gonna see this room. The grey wallpaper. The oak wood chest of drawers. And the bed. The bed where he and Link spent many a night together, cuddling up in front of a movie.

Snake walked over to the bed and grabbed the pillow on the top. He sniffed it. It smelled like Link. It smelled like the apple shampoo the Hylian used to wash his hair. Snake buried his head in it, and started to cry again. Link wouldn't be popping in any time soon; he and Toon Link were having a little match before the beginning of the next tournament. Snake fell back on the bed and started crying even louder.

He laid there and cried for about 30 minutes, until he was all cried out. Sitting back up, the tears stung his face, and his eyes looked like he'd gone five rounds with Little Mac. He reached around to the back of his head, untied his headband and allowed his brown hair to roam freely. It was quite long - long enough to cover his eyes - so he normally only wore the headband when he was fighting.

Snake walked into the en-suite bathroom and turned on the cold tap, splashing some water on his face. He rubbed it over his eyes to make them look slightly more normal, and then turned off the tap. After opening up his door again, he stepped outside to see a few of the fighters outside the main entrance to the mansion chatting. Pit was talking with Mario and Sheik, while Ness and Sonic were conversing with Captain Falcon, Samus and Ike. Snake made his way outside to see them.

"What's going on, guys?" Snake asked.

"The new guys are on their way. Rumour has it, Lucina from Ylisse and Dark Pit from Pit's world are coming, as well as the return of Dr Mario!" Sonic exclaimed.

"I heard that Bowser Jr. and Pac-Man are coming too!" Ness chimed in.

"Fox told me that Shulk from Colony 9 and Greninja from the Kalos region are on their way as well." Captain Falcon added. Snake felt really angry and pissed off. Master Hand had already replaced him, and he wasn't even gone yet.

"Sounds awesome. I look forward to meeting them. Has anyone seen Link? Or is he still in his match with Toon Link?" Snake asked. Pit shrugged.

"I saw him and Toon Link finish their match about 15 minutes ago, but I don't know where he is now. Maybe try the Break the Targets arena?" Pit offered. With a smile and a nod, Snake turned in the direction of the arena.

"Why the hell do Lucina and fucking Dr. Mario get to come here, but I'm being carted off like I'm fucking nothing?!" Snake whispered furiously. However, when he reached the Break the Targets arena, he saw the petite figure of Link Hyrule step out. All of Snake's worries and fears washed away when his eyes fell on that beautiful face.

"Hey." he smiled.

"Hey." Link responded with a grin. Snake walked over to him and wrapped his arms around Link's waist. Link responded by putting his own around Snake's neck. The pair embraced for a moment, before separating.

"Did you hear about the new fighters?" Snake asked.

"No, what about them?" Link asked, surprised.

"They're on their way. A few of the other guys said they're nearly here." Snake explained.

Grabbing Snake's hand, Link exclaimed, "Then let's go and wait for them to arrive, so we can greet them!" Link dragged Snake along with him as he reached the outside of the building.

"Hey guys!" he grinned.

"Hey, Link!" Samus replied. The group had expanded now; Jigglypuff, Yoshi, Diddy Kong and King Dedede were all waiting for the new combatants to arrive.

"Are they here yet?" he asked them all.

"Not yet, but we think they're nearly here." Ike explained. Link nodded, and excitement took hold of him.

"I hope the new fighters are strong, so I can fight them all!" Link declared eagerly. Suddenly, a portal opened up in front of the group. Out of it stepped a black angel, a white mannequin wearing skin-tight gym pants and a blue vest, a blue frog with a long tongue tied around his neck for a scarf, a duo of a dog and a duck, a small Koopa in a car with a big smile on the front, a blue robot with a gun mounted on his left arm, a tall woman with green, flowing hair and a heavenly aura about her, a short, black-haired man with green boxing gloves on his hands, a mid-height man and woman with the same colour hair, same tomes and same sword in hand, a very short, yellow sphere with arms and legs and a huge grin on his face, a tiny boy with brown hair, a red t-shirt and black shorts on, a very tall woman with a blue dress on and accompanied by a little, yellow star, a tall boy with blonde hair and a red, interesting looking sword in hand, a trio of short people, one with a sword, one with a cannon mounted to her hand and one with just his fists, and a woman with a shining sword and blue hair.

"Lady Palutena!" Pit exclaimed, running over to the goddess.

"My my, Pit, I didn't realise you were in the Smash Brothers tournament as well!" she said, astonished.

"I was in the last one, and it was lots of fun! I'm sure you'll enjoy yourself." he grinned. He then turned his head to see a carbon copy of himself, only his outfit and wings were black.

"Dark Pit." he grimaced, before turning to Palutena again.

"Is that Lucina, princess of Ylisse? She's really here!" Ike exclaimed, walking over to her.

"The Radiant Hero of Legend..." she trailed off, as Ike walked over to greet her.

"Pleased to meet you! I've heard so much about you." he stated.

"I've heard plenty about you, too!" she smiled.

Link turned to look at Snake, who looked sad. He was suddenly very concerned.

"What's up with you?" he asked, squeezing his boyfriend's hand. Snake's looked to the ground, not being able to bring himself to face Link.

"Can we go to your room? I need to talk to you." he stated simply, before turning to walk into the building. Link followed behind quickly, until they reached the door to Link's room. Snake stepped aside so Link could go in first. Link sat down on the bed, and Snake grabbed the wooden chair in front of Link's desk to sit on.

"What's going on, David?" Link asked.

Taking a deep breath, Snake began, "Earlier, while you were fighting Toon Link, Master Hand called me in to see him. He explained that a few fighters needed to be let go to make room for the new ones and..."

"And...?" Link asked cautiously, although he knew what was coming.

"He...he told me that I haven't been invited to participate in the next tournament." he finished off, a tear rolling down his cheek. Link started crying immediately. Snake walked across to the bed and sat on it, wrapping his arm around Link. Link buried his face in Snake's chest and wept. Running his fingers through Link's hair, Snake started crying again.

"I'll quit. I'd rather be with you than fight in this tournament. You're more important." Link stated boldly.

"No, you won't. This tournament is a big deal, and I won't have you quitting just for me." Snake replied. He grabbed Link's face and pushed their foreheads together, kissing him passionately on his soft lips.

"I'll wait for you. You'll be invited back, I'm sure. And I'll wait." Link told Snake. With a smile, Snake kissed him again.

"And if I am invited back-"

"When!"

"If, I'm never leaving your side again. Trust me. You wait for me, I'll wait for you. You and me against the world, remember?" Snake said. A tear rolled down Link's cheek as he nodded. Snake then grabbed hold of Link's face and kissed his lips again.

oOoOo

"May I ask the following people to meet at the entrance to the Mansion?: Pokemon Trainer Red, with Ivysaur and Squirtle, the Ice Climbers, Wolf, Lucas and Solid Snake." Master Hand announced over the speakers. Link and Snake had been led on Link's bed, just cuddling and talking, for the past 25 minutes, after Snake had finished packing his belongings. However, it was the time. With a heavy heart and a wave of nausea sweeping over his body, Snake broke away from Link's embrace and stood to his feet. Link stood up as well.

"Do you have everything?" Link asked. Snake used picking up his bag from the floor as his answer. He then grabbed Link's hand, and they both stepped outside. Everyone was in the corridors, looking. Just staring in disbelief.

"Don't say..."

"This can't be happening..."

"Tell me Master Hand is joking..."

"What the hell is going on?!"

"Are you alright, Snake?" a voice cut in, over everyone else. It was Zelda, one of his good friends. Everyone went dead silent.

"I...I don't know." came his answer. It was simple and concise, because he couldn't really think right now. Everyone looked over at Link, who was desperately trying to hold back a flood of tears. The pair began to walk down the corridor, and everyone followed behind. It was obvious that the fighters being kicked out had made a huge impact on them all. When they reached the double doors to the Mansion, Snake closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Then, he slowly pushed them open. Master Hand turned to see everyone standing in the doorway.

"I only requested to see Snake and this group here." he stated, gesturing to the other fighters.

"And we don't give a flying fuck what you said. We came to see them off. You have a problem with that, then that's your problem." Fox said bitterly. It was very unlike Fox to swear. Master Hand was taken aback by Fox's outburst.

"Very well." he responded. Snake then walked over to join the other combatants being made to leave, still clutching onto Link's hand.

"I'll see you very soon, ok?" Snake told his love. Link nodded, cupped his stubbled face in his hand and kissed his soft lips tenderly.

"Wait for me." Link said, repeating it from earlier.

"Always." Snake replied, kissing him again. A few of the remaining fighters - Zelda, Samus, Ness, Pikachu, Pit and Peach - were crying at this point, and the rest were just filled with sadness. Even the evil ones - Ganondorf, Bowser and Wario - couldn't quite wrap their heads around what was happening. Snake looked Link dead in the eyes.

"Always." he repeated.

Le feels xD Hey there, my name is Aaron. This is my first venture into Smash Bros. fanfics for a long time. I had an old account on here, which I won't tell you the name of the because the fics are awful, but I made a new one and started posting in the Mortal Kombat section. If you lurk there, you might recognise me xD This is a fic I wrote because there's a Smash Bros. Direct in two days and I'm lowkey hoping for Snake. Plus SnakeXLink is my favourite Smash pairing and I love it lots xD If you want me to write more SnakeXLink stuff, or any other pairings, you're more than welcome to hit me up on PM and tell me what you want to see, and I'll write. Thanks for reading~

~Aaron