Deny
- One -
Most people have a harder time letting themselves love than finding someone to love them. --Author unknown
-x-
Oh lovely, Samus thought as she passed by the calendar hanging on the wall underneath the kitchen cupboard, coffee in hand; she had snuck a glance at it, just to see whether it was Saturday or Sunday or even Tuesday - the Academy had off the past week, and she had lost track of the days. Peach twirled past her and into the pantry, looking for ingredients to make more of her delicious cooking, maybe even bake a cake or three.
Valentine's Day is this week. Just what I always wanted. She took a sip of her coffee - black, the way she always liked it - and exited the kitchen stage left.
The grandiose hallway with its myriad of stain glass windows looked like something out of a cathedral from the Medieval era, or something in Italy, maybe. She took another sip as she passed through it and took a left at the front door. The room next to it was a recreational room of sorts - one could play billiards, watch television, play video games, read a book, or relax in one of the many squishy couches lining the long walls. Crashing on one of the nearest chairs, she situated her coffee mug on one of the drink coasters lining the tables. Unlike Falcon or some of the other men, Samus didn't like to muck up the woodwork. Especially not when everything was finely crafted and probably very expensive - Master Hand liked nice things.
Stationed in front of the telly were Link, Young Link, Fox, and Roy, each with a game controller in their hands. From what Samus gleaned from the action on the screen, they were playing some sort of racing game, with Fox in the lead and Roy not far behind.
"Older self," Young Link said, his brow furrowed and with a sheen of sweat as he frantically punched the shoulder buttons. "GET OUT OF MY WAY."
Link's car retaliated by crashing into Young Link's, a grin of satisfaction plastered on the older Hero of Time's face.
"That's it, you're going down!" Young Link cried, his eyes filled with a lust for revenge.
"Not like it matters or nothin' since you both pretty much lost," Fox interjected, giving his two cents to the conversation. "We're so far ahead'a you guys, there'd need to be a miracle for you to catch up."
Samus rolled her eyes and got up from her seat. She would show them how it was done, how one could emerge from the ashes and grab that must-have victory...
Approaching the group, Samus said, "Give me the controller, YL." She held out her hand and gestured with her fingers for him to cough it up.
Young Link would have glared at her had he not been busy. "Wait until this is over, Sam."
Fox paused the game and nudged the younger Hero of Time. "Give up the controller or else she'll kick your ass, dude."
Young Link sighed loudly and smacked the thing into the bounty hunter's expectant hand.
"I've had enough of that game, anyway. Do what you want." He scootched over so Samus could join them on the floor.
Samus sat down on the now-available bean-bag chair, her fingers curled over the back of the controller, the shoulder buttons, and the "A" button - who used the brake in a racing game, anyway? Samus had her game face on, the same face she had on when she had a match, the same face she had on when she was kicking metroid and Space Pirate arse and taking their names and mounting their heads over the mantle in her private quarters.
"Let's go already, Fox," she ordered, tapping her fingers against the back of the controller now. "I want to have time to savour the look of defeat on your face." She smirked.
Fox snorted but said nothing, instead pressing the 'Start' button to unpause the game. Samus immediately accelerated and left Link's sorry arse behind in the blink of an eye.
"See, YL, this was the problem you had," Samus explained, gesturing to the screen with a nod of her head. "You have booster power and you never used it. This is the key to victory right here." She did it again and again, quickly swallowing up the huge gap between her and Roy.
"Pull over, Roy, I'm arresting you for being too slow."
Roy used his boosters now, speeding up more to try and increase the distance. "Can you even do that?"
Samus guffawed. "Not unless you have a bounty on your head, kid. And I pray you don't, because I might accidentally break you. Ah! Too slow there!"
And Roy's car was not only totaled by a sneak attack Samus pulled, but he was also left in her dust.
"That...that was dirty, Sammy."
"Nothin's dirty in a game, Roy. Like real life. You do whatever you have to to win. That's your objective. If you're weak, you'll be left behind and forgotten about as the strong triumph. Well whaddya know, Fox? YL caught up to you with a minute left on the clock."
Fox punched the "X" button over and over in an attempt to widen the shrinking gap, but he ended up being left with little booster power and almost overheat his car.
"Dammit," he cursed under his breath. Samus was still on his arse. The front of her car tapped his rear and suddenly, without warning, Fox's car stopped and spontaneously combusted. Grinning now, Samus crossed the finish line and set down the controller.
"You just got schooled by Samus Aran, bounty hunter extraordinaire and queen of racing games," she said, and then got up, walked back to her previous perch, and took a gulp of coffee.
Making a face, she said, "Shit, this was left too long."
Young Link gloated in Fox's face all the while Fox was banging his head against the controller, Link had left the room to grab some Vanilla Mountain Coke Dew (he was still tinkering with the name of his latest experiment), and Roy saw a familiar blue cape whoosh past the doorway and followed it.
"I find it kinda sad that you had to have someone grab the victory for you, though, YL," Samus said, more to her coffee mug than to the miniature Hero of Time. "I think it's safe to say Hyrule's screwed." She chugged her disgusting and cold coffee, trying to not taste it so much as draw all the caffeine into her veins. She was unused to bitter and cold and gross tasting coffee on all her missions, as it was all she had in her ship.
"Anyway, if you guys need me to kick more ass in a game I've barely played, you can find me in the training arena with Falcon." With that last word in, Samus left the room, coffee mug still in her hand. She'd have another quick cup before heading to the arena. Falcon could wait - he wasn't even there yet, probably.
He's always late to our practises, she thought. Either that or I'm always early. Maybe I should remind him... Lord knows he could've easily forgotten.
Fox was the one laughing at Young Link now, the younger Link none too pleased with the tide turning.
"You...you needed a girl to help you in a video game! That's...that's sad!" Tears of mirth escaped from Fox's eyes as he doubled over again.
"S-Shut up, Fox!"
-x-
Punch, kick, grab, missile.
Samus, now in her suit, rolled away from Falcon just as he was about to grapple her, and retaliated by shooting another missile at him. Falcon was quick, as always, to run away from it, and Samus sat there, her arms crossed, as she waited for him to run on back to the battle at hand.
He's always like this. She stood there and watched his finely worked muscles help him do all sorts of flips in the air, a few arm flexes, as if he was warming up in the middle of the fight.
Always showing off. She chuckled to herself, knowing it wouldn't be audible to him. That's probably why all those girls at all of his matches hoot and holler loudly and pull their shirts off for him. To show off to him.
As Falcon showed off even more, flexing each and every last muscle in preparation for God only knew, Samus remembered when she first met Falcon. She didn't like him at first, if only because of the shock he received after their first match of the very first tournament. Up until that point, she had never taken her helmet off for everyone else in the Manse - only when she was alone. To her, it was her protective shell, a second skin. She fought and bit tooth and nail in it, struggled and climbed to the top. She was secretive, extremely introverted, antisocial. Why get close to anyone when they would probably be taken away from her?
"That was a great match!" Captain Falcon exclaimed as he offered his hand. Samus awkwardly took it and shook it. He had a strong handshake - a good sign, an attest to his loyalty. If it was one thing Samus hated, it was people who had two faces. Who would use a tournament match as practise? she thought as they began walking together to the changing rooms. At that time, there were no separate locker rooms, as Samus was the only girl - or so Falcon would find out. And then, without realising it, she released the air locks on her helmet - usually she was the only one in the room and forgot Falcon was there - and took it off, letting her blonde hair cascade down her shoulders. What made it worse was the fact that Falcon had heard of Samus (as all bounty hunters across the galaxy had), the most feared bounty hunter in the galaxies. And that Samus was a 'she'.
"...But you lost," Samus said after making sure voice communication was on. "How can it be a great match if you lost?" It didn't add up, didn't make sense.
Falcon shrugged and let their hands fall back to their sides. "Because I know I tried my damnedest to best you and I couldn't. It was great practise for my skills, an assessment to see where I need improvement."
"What kind of name is Samus Aran, anyway? It doesn't sound like any sort of name I've heard of."
Samus shrugged. "It's native to my home planet. It means 'strong willed'. My mother knew what she was doing." And that was all she was going to say. If it was one thing Samus hated, it was talking about her past. It wasn't worth remembering the devastation on her face, the feeling of such intense loathing and loneliness, the cruelty the universe bestowed upon her.
"God is it ever hot in there. I think my built-in cooling system's on the fritz. I'll have to have a look at it..." And as soon as she turned around, helmet in her hands, she saw the look of shock on Falcon's face.
"What?" she inquired as she disengaged the rest of her power suit. "Haven't you ever seen a girl before?"
"Oh! Oh yes, of course I have!" Falcon sputtered, still a little off guard. "I just... Everyone's said you were a man and--"
Samus shrugged it off. "Don't worry, you're not the first, second, or even fiftieth person who's made that mistake."
And Samus knew what he was thinking. "I can kick ass just as good as the next guy, so don't think I don't know what I'm doing. Gender has nothing to do with anything."
"Sammy? Are you okay? Do you need to stop or--"
"Falcon," Samus said, keeping her demeanor cool, neutral.
"Yes?"
Samus had just realised she was on the floor and that he was on top of her in a rather compromising position. She had often seen Marth and Roy in this position, but they usually had their teeth grit and their blades at each other's throats, the other always resisting. There was no teeth gritting, no resistance, no weapons pointed in the other's face.
"What in the name of the Chozo are you doing on top of me?" Her voice was firm with an edge of danger intermingled. Falcon quickly pushed himself off and backed a good three feet away.
Samus sighed and said absolutely nothing; she instead focused on getting herself up and back in a fighter's stance.
"I overdid it with the kicking, I think," he said, his hand rubbing the back of his neck. Samus couldn't help but crack a smile at the nervous quirk he had. It was somewhat cute.
Wait. Cute? Did I just say something about that disgusting and crude man of an F-Zero racer was cute? Perhaps her cooling system was on the fritz again, for it felt a little stuffy and uncomfortable in her suit. Checking it on her screen, she saw everything was working normal.
If my suit's not the thing malfunctioning, than my brain sure as hell is.
"Well if you didn't show off so much," Samus said after a slight pause, "you wouldn't have overdone it."
"Y-Yes, sir - I mean, ma'am - you're absolutely right!"
Why is he treating me like a military commander suddenly? "Falcon."
His head snapped up, along with the rest of his body. He had the urge to salute her, but he fought back that urge. She was his equal, and she always was and she always would be. But even though she was his equal, she commanded such respect.
"Yes?"
Samus took off her helmet, her faced flushed and she wasn't sure whether it was from their work out or from her earlier thoughts - she hoped it was the former.
"I think that's enough for today. I'm a little beat - I don't think I had enough coffee before, and this thing's malfunctioning."
Falcon nodded. "Of course, Sammy." And then he muttered something she couldn't make out.
"What was that?" She was just about to turn away, too, and return to the women's locker facilities.
(She had to beg Master Hand for them, too. "Master Hand, we can't have the women changing with the men! That's just asking for a sexual harassment suit being filed against you!" She also threatened to kick his arse to "Zebes and back", even though she had full knowledge that Zebes was no longer there. She would kick his ass to where it used to be, then.)
"I just said...you should wear your hair clipped up like that more often. It...looks nice." And then he winced, as if preparing for a smackdown of some sort.
Samus shrugged. "If that's what you think. I kinda like it this way myself. It doesn't get as stuffy in my suit with it up like this."
And with that she left, quickly. She didn't know why she was so flushed, but she was. And it would kill her if he saw her like this. She had an image to uphold, after all.
Falcon watched her go and sighed. "Someday, Samus... I'm gonna get you to open up to me."
When will you consider me more than a fighting partner, Samus?
He already knew the answer, though: never. He had a vague knowledge of her past concerning all of the people she ever cared about, why she was so distant.
I'll crack that hardened shell if it's the last thing I ever do.
-x-
Author's notes: Oh yes, I revised this again. I'm rather happy with how it's turned out, even! I've wanted to do something like this for a while now, and this was the perfect opportunity. Feedback is welcome, so tell me what you think!