Masquerade
A borrowed dress, a borrowed mask with borrowed makeup, and what she felt was a borrowed smile. If anyone she knew saw her, they wouldn't recognize her. Sans armor, the only familiar thing she had with her, was the plasma gun strapped to her thigh, which almost didn't happen, as with the comfortable ballet flats she wore. The host princess was very particular about what she wanted her guests to wear, and Samus managed to get two of the three things she wanted. (The third was a dress more akin to her zero suit, than Peach's usual attire. -"Everyone would recognize you then! Where's the point of going to a masquerade?" She recalled Peach saying as she pulled out a dress that had been 'specially made' with Samus in mind. - At least it wasn't bubblegum pink)
Her height of 6'3" made the heels Peach had originally picked out useless, but left her plenty of room to search for some familiar features. A beard or a mustache, a hairstyle, a tattoo or scar, anything. All she saw was a man, making his way towards her. A recognizable aura shrouded him, but she couldn't place it. His voice was softer than she expected, it flowed like maple syrup over warm pancakes.
"Hey there, care to dance?" She looked him up and down. She had definitely met him before, but no man she knew was capable of cleaning up this nice.
'Sure, it's just a suit. Hardly anything special.' She told herself, but maybe it was the added allure from the mystery surrounding him, but Samus thought he was the best dressed man there.
"Sounds lovely." Internally, Samus cringed. Borrowed expression, borrowed voice. She sounded much more airy than usual. Had Peach filled the place with helium, or was it just the atmosphere of the Mushroom Kingdom?
As they swayed, they made idle chatter about the party going on around them. Looking into his eyes, through the Phantom of the Opera style mask, Samus noted a scar above his left eye. This confirmed it. She had never met this man before, despite her gut feeling. They stopped talking and swayed for a bit longer , slowly making their way back to the bar table she had been stand near when they had begun.
"Do you want anything to drink?" The man asked, gesturing towards the bar.
"Rum and coke?" He nodded, as she handed over her drink ticket, and began to weave through the other guests, who chatted amongst themselves.
The bounty hunter wondered how such a wonderful match had been made.
Muttering 'excuse me's to other party goers, Falcon made his way to the bar, unable to get the woman piercing eyes of his head. But, it wasn't the wonderful shade of green that caught his eye. (Pardon the pun.) It was the deep, dark bags underneath. Ones that shouldn't belong on a girl as young as he thought her to be. (Early 30s, he had guessed. She seemed too wise, and too hardened to the world to be any younger. This put her at least 4 years, at most 8, younger than him.) Flagging down the bartender, he made the order. They were familiar too, but it was as if he'd never gotten such a clear view of them before. He wondered if it could be a fellow bounty hunter he had met before, but decided against that once deciding she would never wear a dress quite like that. It looked too much like a traditional princess gown. Something Peach would wear, if she had Rosalina's dress colour.
Dropping a few coins into a nearby tip glass, he took the drinks with a nod of thanks. He set them down on the table.
"Rum and coke for the lady and a scotch for the gentleman." With a small flourish, he pushed her drink towards her.
He may have come to the dance looking for another bombshell blonde, but he felt like he really connected with this girl. Straightening the tie he used to wear to old racing galas, he cleared his throat; the blonde brought her glass down from her lips, with an arched eyebrow. Shit. Now he had to say something.
"So how did you met the hostess?" He stiffened. Not his best line.
"Oh… We shared a living space at a… competition… with some other girls a few years back. And yourself?" She took another sip.
"A similar situation, actually. We were pit against each other in something, once upon a time. More so her plumber boyfriend, to be particularly honest." The two fell into a comfortable silence. Falcon had enough sense not to break it this time.
Soon after, Peach got up on the small stage where the band had been playing. A Toad with a guitar stood to one side.
"Hello! I hope everyone had a lovely time! The night's almost over, so you can either guess who you've been chatting with, or just tell one another. I hope to see you all again sometime soon. Don't be strangers, the kingdom gates are always open to friends!" Slowly she descended the side stairs, leaving the band to play the last bit of their set.
He turned to his companion.
"I guess I'll go first." He took off his mask, revealing the slight tan line from his helmet. He held out his hand. "Captain Douglas J. Falcon, and you are?" The blonde looked at him, shocked. A few beats later, she smirked, and reached for her own mask strings with one hand, taking his with the other.
"Samus Aran. But I believe we've already met. I hadn't realized it was you. I never noticed the scar before…" Falcon was dumbfounded. He got the girl he was after.
"Amazing... You know, I've been meaning to mention, but never got the chance during the Smash competitions. We should go on a hunt together sometime." He watched as Samus threw her head back as she finished her drink.
"How about tomorrow? Unless you have plans, of course."
"Sounds great, where are you staying? I could pick you up, or drive you there now, if necessary." She shook her head, and raised her hand to decline.
"I've seen your ride, Cap. She's still a racer, primarily, or at least, a one-man car. We'll use my ship. And I'm staying here tonight, so I'll pick you up, on our way out of town. My gunship probably has enough cargo space for the Blue Falcon, or we could stop in Mute City first."
"We should stop in Mute. Why bother weighing down the ship and risk wrecking both our rides?" Samus nodded as she helped a Toad clear a nearby table. Falcon grabbed an extra tray and joined the cleaning effort.
"What's gotten into you, Cap? You don't seem like yourself." He raised his eyebrows to silently question her logic. "I noticed you voice seems less gruff, and you're being a lot more of a gentleman than usual. You also seemed to have a loner vibe, so I wasn't expecting the invite."
"I'm here as Douglas J. Falcon, not Captain Falcon. No reason to keep up the persona at personal events. I don't exactly have the personality to push merchandise apparently." He threw his hand around, either for emphasis or to show that he thought it was ridiculous, Samus wasn't sure.
"You know what, I'm interested to see this true you. So, you staying or headed back to Mute for the night?" Samus laid her tray on the bar counter, Falcon followed suit as she began to make their way back to the main hall.
"I believe her Highness offered me a room here. Third floor, left wing, fourth door on the right." The blonde bounty hunter raised her eyebrows.
"Very specific, I'll come get you at 8:30, no later." She led him to the stairs. "Sleep tight Cap." She gave him a small salute and jogged towards her own room on the second floor.
"I've told you, no need to salute me. I'm Captain in title only now." He called after her as he climbed the stairs, stopping at the landing to watch her, as she slowed her jog. Turning around, she nodded and saluted him once more, before disappearing behind one of the many doors. He smiled and shook his head, continuing towards his room.
"What a woman…" He murmured to himself as he climbed the final flight.
AN: Of course, I do not own these characters, or any other pieces of media mentioned/alluded to in this fanfic.
There may be a second chapter/sequel to this, but I make no promises, and since this can stand alone, I'm marking it complete. I did my best to keep them in character, but it does deviate. Constructive criticism welcome, and I really hope my thoughts on their characterization comes across right.
Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it. c: