Okay! My first SSBM fanfic! (Or at least the first I've put up…) First, I must explain something. Then I'll tell the story, I promise ;;

The character Zelda Janzzen is NOT Princess Zelda, and I'll try to differentiate between them as much as I can. So far, Princess Zelda has not made an appearance, but she does in the second chapter. Zelda J. is a character made by Zelda's Fox 38, who has an account here on Anyways, I have her permission to use Zelda J. And yes, Mewtwo paints. I think his fingers are opposable enough, though he could also just use his powers to do it. Whatever floats your boat.

--Chapter One--

--Painting is just another way of keeping a diary.—Pablo Picasso

"This is fun," said Link, carefully picking out a yellow bead and slipping it onto the growing string of beads he was making.

"This is weird," replied Falco Lombardi, squinting at his lanyard.

"Falco," said Fox McCloud. To me he said, "Don't worry about him, Mewtwo."

I raised an eyebrow at Falco. "I'm always worried about Falco, Fox."

Fox, Link, and Samus all dissolved into chuckles, while Falco pretended to give me the evil eye. Zelda Janzzen giggled a little, then looked at me out of the corner of her eye. I pretended not to see her and continued to slide beads onto the bracelet I was making, hearing them click as they bumped into each other.

"So, Mewtwo," said Fox once he'd calmed down, "When's the art fair, again?"

"Two weeks from now."

"And you have a booth, right?" said Link.

I nodded.

"And what…" said Zelda haltingly, "er, art things are you going to show? Just the bead art?"

I shook my head. "No. Mostly I'll be showing my paintings, but I thought beadwork would be a good thing to sell."

"I'll bet they'll be," said Samus, leaning over to look at the bracelets I had already finished. "They're really pretty."

"Maybe you can buy one, Samus," said Falco snidely.

"Maybe you can buy one for Kaa-aat," replied Samus in a sing-song voice. They started teasing each other.

I tuned the other Smashers out, finishing my bracelet and tying the ends together. As I moved to put it in the pile with the other bracelets, I looked up and saw Zelda's icy eyes looking at me before she glanced away. Link put down his beads and announced, "I'm done!"

"My sentiments exactly," I said, leaning back in my chair.

Samus had finished her lanyard, but Falco was still struggling with his. Fox hadn't finished his beads, but he put them down anyway. "Let's eat something," he said.

"I vote for Link's cookies," cried Zelda, grinning and slapping her beads down on the table.

"I second the motion!"

"Well, let's go get some, then!"

They all started away from the table. They expected me to follow them, I think. When I didn't, Zelda turned around, paused, and then said, "you coming, Mewtwo?"

Apparently she had decided to be my friend and stop giving me odd looks all the time. I got up, even though I wasn't hungry. Satisfied, Zelda turned back toward the door, where Fox was waiting for us. The three of us made our way to the kitchen, where Falco and Samus were already snarfing down cookies. Alright, Falco was snarfing. Samus was just eating. Link was bustling around the fridge. He turned and said, "Juice, anyone?"

"Way too healthy," said Zelda, taking a bottle of Coke from the box on the floor and plopping down at the table.

Fox smiled. "I'll have some, Link."

Link looked at me. "I think I'll have tea," I said. Immediately Link turned to the stove and clicked the back burner on, where we always put the tea kettle. A few minutes later, the kettle began to sing, and I put some of the hot water into a cup. I chose a tea bag and sat down with the others, waiting for it to steep.

"So," Zelda said, "what kind of art do you like, MT?"

After a moment of silence I realized that she was addressing me. "Oh," I stuttered, "all kinds of art. Paintings, photographs, statues…"

"Modern art?" asked Falco, making a face.

"Yes," I said. "Some of it, at least…"

"Who's your favorite artist?"

I smiled a little. "Oh, I couldn't choose just one…but I enjoy Georgia O'Keefe's work."

"Skulls?"

"Yes, Link, she's the one with the skulls."

"Creepy."

"She's cool," said Fox, surprising me.

"You think so?"

"Sure!" said Fox, grinning. "I like the skulls. And the flowers and desert paintings—those are great."

"I guess the skulls are okay," Link consented. "In a creepy way."

"Da Vinci," said Samus.

"He's the genius, isn't he?"

"Yes, Link, that's right." Apparently Link can spew random facts about artists.

"Mewtwo?" said Link, sipping his juice. "There's a picture I like, but I don't know who it's by. It's all swirly and blue and—"

"Starry Night," I said immediately. "Vincent van Gogh."

"Really?" said Falco. "I thought he painted stuff like…people or something."

"He cut his ear off, didn't he?"

"Yes, Link."

"He painted irises, too," said Zelda. "He saw them, from, like, the window of the asylums or something."

"That's right."

The conversation stalled. Link bit into a cookie, Zelda stared at the wall, Falco stared at Fox, Samus fiddled with her hair, Fox made a face at Falco, Falco made a face back. We all traded glances and twiddled our thumbs.

My throat grew tight and my muscles tense. The silence came on again. This happened anytime I spent an extended period of time with anyone. They wanted to talk, but thought they might offend me. Or they wanted to do something that they knew I didn't want to do.

I finished my tea and stood up, and Link jumped up too. "I'm going to go paint," I said. "I'm not quite finished with all my paintings."

Link sunk back down. "Oh. Okay."

I escaped back to my room and closed the door behind me. Link and the others to wanted to be with me so much. It was part of Mario's idea to bring all the Smashers together in a happy little collective. But did they really have to try so hard? They were tolerable for a while, but then we ran out of things to say. And then came the awkward silences, the dragged out fiddling with other things, the staring at walls. I can't imagine that anyone else liked it any more than I did.

I plopped down on my bed. Just a small nap, I said to myself. And then I'll paint.

I stared up at my ceiling.

Then I heard music. At first I thought it was in my head, but when I realized it was Mario Cart: Double Dash theme music, I realized that they were playing it downstairs.

I eyed my easel. An unfinished portrait of a woman was propped up on it, but I didn't feel like painting. I felt more like sketching something. Perhaps….perhaps I could go downstairs. If the others were busy with their game, I could sit with them. It would make them happy, I suppose. But what if Link wanted to know why I wasn't painting?

I looked at my sketchpad. Well, I might as well be entertained while sketching. I grabbed the sketchpad and a pencil and headed downstairs. While the others played (Link and Zelda v. Fox and Falco, then Samus and Zelda v. Link and Fox, then Falco and Zelda v. Fox and Samus while Link sat next to me on the couch), my pencil flew over my paper. An image began to form: A television, four people sitting in front of it, staring at it. One of them laughing and grinning, holding a controller in his furry hands. The girl next to him with a smug smile on her face. The other two swearing and smashing the buttons on the controllers. When I was finished, I sat back, looking at it. It was nice. The expressions were very…colorful.

"Best five out of seven!"

"We've already beat you four times!"

"Five out of seven!"

"I play winners," said Link. He looked at me out of the corner of his eye. "Mewtwo?" he asked.

I held up my hand. "I only have three fingers."

Link grinned. "Okay," he said. "You can just watch."

"Why, thank you, kind sir."

He chuckled, grinning at me.

…Perhaps it isn't that hard.