Title: A New Friend

Fandom: Super Smash Bros.

Rating: K

Genre: Friendship/Romance

Summary: Shulk was the shy kid with no friends in Smash Elementary. When some bullies were harassing him, a little girl stood up for him. Thus, a friendship…and love, was born that day. Kid!Smashers. Elementary school AU. Shulk x Lucina.

Pairings: Shulk x Lucina

A/N: Hey guys! This is just a practice oneshot. I REALLY appreciate bladewielder05's amazing criticism on my other story, From Enemies to Lovers, so I decided to practice on descriptions of the scenes and the characters as much as I can. :) And if you see something wrong, please, give me critiques! :D

Disclaimer: I don't own anyone in SSB.

ENJOY!

A New Friend

Recess was every child's favorite time at Smash Elementary. The sun was high in the sky, shining its golden rays down at the children, but the cool, spring breeze kept them comfortable. The sounds of joyful laughter could be heard as some of the children played on the swings, slides, and monkey bars. It seemed like the kids were having a great time.

However, there was one boy who dreaded recess. He walked towards a large tree that towered above him, and its green leaves swayed in the breeze. The breeze ruffled the boy's short, blond hair, and he clutched a colorful book tightly to his chest. The boy, named Shulk, wore a red shirt with a sword-like item on the front, and his shorts were colored an odd mixture of red and brown. His tennis sneakers were also brown, with some of the laces hanging from the empty holes.

The boy looked around at his surroundings, sweat dripping down his face as his heart pounded in his chest. He saw the children playing, but not them. Sighing in relief as his sweat cooled off on his skin, he sat down in front of the tree. The large curtain of shade that the branches offered made the boy feel safe and cool.

He looked down at his book, which was titled "When You Give a Mouse Cake". On the cover was a mouse holding a piece of strawberry shortcake, which appeared to be bitten out of already.

Shulk opened the book and began reading. The words, along with the illustrations, fascinated him. How these words could hook him in, he did not know. Reading was a big part of his life, and to Shulk, it was his only friend.

Shulk had grown up with no friends. He was a very shy boy, and whenever someone attempted to speak to him, he looked away, unable to respond. Because of this, some of the bigger boys bullied him; they spit at his face, and often it escalated to them throwing him on the ground, and beating him up. Shulk shook his head, sighing as he continued to read his book. He was so into reading the story that he did not notice three larger boys walking towards him.

"Hey squirt!" one of them called.

Shulk jumped, and he looked up. Sweat formed on his face again, and his heart began to beat quickly. As soon as he saw who it was that had spoken to him, he looked away, gulping down a lump in his throat.

"Awww," another boy taunted. "Shy, aren't you?"

Shulk did not say anything. He remembered all the lessons his parents had taught him to combat bullying: ignore them. He slowly got up from the ground, and without a word, attempted to walk away.

However, the bullies were not going to let their prey leave. The largest one, the leader of the three, grabbed Shulk by the collar of his shirt. Shulk gasped as he was thrown to the ground, a sharp spike of pain lancing through his back from the contact.

"You're weak!" the leader snickered.

Shulk tried to get up, but the other bully grabbed him by the throat and turned him around, forcing his face into the dirt. Shulk coughed and gagged as the taste of the disgusting ground hit his mouth.

He did not notice that his book was left on the ground, unattended. The boys turned their heads to see the book and they laughed.

"'When You Give a Mouse Cake?'" the leader laughed. "That's for babies!"

Shulk managed to lift his head off of the ground and he spat out dirt, gasping upon seeing one of the bullies picking up his favorite book. "Please! Don't!" he cried, tears streaming down his face.

The bullies sneered at Shulk's pathetic crying. "Aww, is the baby gonna cry?" the leader mocked. He then threw the book on the ground, and began stomping it with his foot. Dust came up from each stomp, and eventually, Shulk's book turned into a muddy mess.

Shulk's eyes widened, and he cried. "I love that book!"

The bullies laughed at their victim. "Who cares? It's for babies anyway!" one of them gave a toothy grin.

"Hey!"

The bullies turned to see a little girl with long, blue hair tied up in a ponytail. She wore a white dress that came down to her knees. As she approached the large boys, her dress bounced, and when she was close enough, she stood on her toes to add more height to herself. "Leave him alone!" she growled.

The boys stared down at her, and large grins formed on their faces. "Are you kidding me? A little girl's gonna stop us?"

"Go back to playing with your dolls!"

The girl glared up at the tormentors, her eyes as fierce as a wolf about to pounce on its prey. Before the boys knew it, she'd pushed the leader down on the ground. The leader cried out as he felt his back hitting the ground, a throbbing pain spreading out from the point of impact.

"HEY!" the other bully cried. "That wasn't nice!"

"Neither is bullying!" the girl cried as she lunged at him, knocking him down. The boy screamed as she began to punch him continuously. The leader and the other bully attempted to get her off of their friend, but the girl turned and kicked them away.

Shulk watched the fight, his eyes wide and his mouth gaping open. When the girl was about to punch the bully one more time, she was grabbed by stronger hands and pulled away from the bully.

"What is the meaning of this?!" a voice boomed.

The girl looked up to see Principal Mario, who was scanning the three boys. The bullies got up from the ground, and they turned to face each other. With grins, they faced Mario and the girl and cried. "Sh-she was bullying us!" they sobbed.

"No!" the girl cried out. "They were bullying that boy! Bullying's bad!"

Mario sighed. "You three, come with me. We need to talk."

The boys looked down at the ground as they muttered simultaneously, "Yes, sir." They then walked away from the battered Shulk. Shulk watched them go, and he shakily got up to dust himself off. He turned to see his now-ruined book, which was dirty, its pages ripped. He frowned.

"This was my favorite book…" he muttered as he picked it up. Sighing, he attempted to walk out of the tree's shade when the thought of the girl hit him. He began to question: why did she stand up for him? He had no idea who she was!

The Next Day…

Recess time today was a little gloomier than yesterday. The clouds kept the sun from being visible, but by the looks of it, it would not rain. Shulk looked around the playground, searching for the same girl who had defended him yesterday. He still remembered the fight clearly; the girl clearly knew how to punch! When he came across a table, he saw her sitting in a chair beside it, appearing to be coloring something.

With a shy smile, he approached her. However, when he was finally close enough, he neither said nor did anything. The girl took notice and she turned to see him.

"Oh!" she spoke with a smile. "Hi!"

Shulk gulped, and his shoe dug into the dirt in a timid manner. "Uh…hi."

"Are those mean bullies hurting you again?" she asked.

Shulk shook his head. "N-no…I just wanted to say…thank you for helping me."

The girl smiled widely, her white teeth showing. "It's okay. I don't like bullies. They're mean and ugly."

"Y-yeah!" Shulk agreed with a nod.

The girl giggled. "I'm Lucina, by the way. What's your name?" she asked.

"Shulk," he stated.

"Nice to meet you, Shulk!" Lucina said cheerfully. "Hey, let's be friends! I can show you my collection of drawings!"

Shulk smiled at her kindness and offer of friendship. He nodded in acceptance. "Okay!"

Shulk knew, from that point on, that he and Lucina would become good friends.

Years later…

Eighteen-year-old Shulk took out a large, chocolate cake from the white oven and placed it on the circular table, off on the opposite end of the room. The rich, sweet smell of the cake wafted throughout his apartment. He smiled with determination, deciding that he'd let the cake cool off for a bit. While he waited, he opened the red refrigerator and pulled out a cup of chocolate icing.

Shulk lived in a small apartment with a bathroom just as small, a kitchen, a living room, and his room. Green tiles lined the kitchen floor and the walls were covered with white stucco. On the other end of the room, Shulk kept his cooking utensils and most of the appliances were there as well.

Shulk smiled as he slathered chocolate icing on the cake. Humming a tune, he placed some candles on top of the highest layer, completing the cake. As soon as he was done, he heard a knock on the door.

Shulk's smile grew wider as he walked towards the front door in the living room and opened it. Standing there was his girlfriend, Lucina. The young woman smiled, holding a gift box in her hands.

"Happy birthday, Shulk!" Lucina cried with a wide smile.

Shulk chuckled. "Thanks Lucy," he said as he kissed her on the cheek. Lucina entered the apartment, and the first thing she smelt was the cake.

"Ooooh," she gasped. "Something smells good."

Shulk smiled at her comment. "Yeah. Made a cake by myself."

"Oh Shulk," Lucina said with a chuckle. "You should've let me make a cake for you."

Shulk laughed. "Hey, I need to learn how to cook sometime." He brought her to the kitchen, and her eyes lit up upon seeing the scrumptious cake.

"Wow, it looks delicious!" she commented.

"Thanks. I hope it tastes as good as it looks," Shulk joked.

Lucina laughed. "Well…I got a present for you." She handed him the gift box. Shulk looked down at it. The box was wrapped in pink gift wrap, and it was tied with a large, red bow on the top. Untying the bow and ripping off the gift wrap, his eyes widened upon seeing what was inside.

"Lucina…" Shulk gasped as he pulled out a book. The book had a mouse who was holding a piece of strawberry shortcake on the cover. "This is...I used to have this book—the one that got ruined, when I was a kid. I didn't realize they still printed it. Where did you find this?"

Lucina rubbed the back of her head. "Well, I searched the bookstore and found it. I thought about the first time we met, back at Smash Elementary."

Shulk stared down at the book, a small smile forming on his face. "Lucina…thank you. It definitely brings back memories to when we first met. We were good friends then, and look at us now! We're dating, and we're living a great life together."

Lucina chuckled as she hugged Shulk tightly. "You're welcome, Shulk. Happy birthday."

Shulk held her back, the book still in his hand as he wrapped his arms around her. "Thank you, Lucy. Love you." He kissed her on the cheek.

"I love you too, Shulk."

Constructive criticism is welcomed! I hope I did okay when it comes to descriptions!

Beta readers: h34rt1lly, StarryNight101