Disclaimer: This is my very first attempt at writing and publishing a fic dedicated to Samus and Zelda, and Samus and Zelda as a pair. And I am just finding my footing with it. Hope you all enjoy it and happy reading!
UNIVERSAL
Chapter I: Mismatched
Subjects: Samus Aran, (Twilight Princess) Zelda.
Summary: They were odd yet, not. They made no sense and yet they made all kinds of sense. They were not supposed to fit together, but at the same time they very much do.
Initially, Samus would have kept a distance from other people in general. And in a way, she still did. Her life was too chaotic and dangerous for anyone to stick around, let alone live through it with her. And yet here she was, with a companion at her side; one that was the sort that many would least expect from a powerful, technologically advanced bounty hunter like Samus Aran.
The armored hunter glanced towards her said companion and a small smile graced her lips, though her expression remained hidden behind her helmet and visor. Samus reached her left hand over then paused for a moment.
Princess Zelda of Hyrule looked over at the bounty hunter and gave her a warm smile, having noticed Samus' indecision to actually hold hands or not. Not wanting the bounty hunter to feel tensed or insecure, the fair Hylian pulled one of her gloves off and took hold of the armored hand.
Samus' eyes widened behind her visor but she relaxed and gave Zelda's hand a gentle squeeze. The princess's gentleness and genuine compassion was one of the many things that drew the lone bounty hunter to her. The way Zelda did not judge her at first glance, the way she would easily approach Samus without a hint of hesitation or distrust had caught her off guard, and as somebody who had been traveling the stars and living in her ship in isolation, Samus never saw reason to verbally communicate with anyone unless she absolutely needed due to urgency or when it comes to discussing her payment. And so, she always opted to stay silent, to the point that many assumed she just did not have the ability to speak at all.
But Zelda never seemed the least bit bothered by Samus' silence. In fact, and much to Samus' surprise yet again, she seemed to have been able to understand the bounty hunter's gestures, nods and head-shakes without needing the use of words.
It was because of this that Samus always felt comfortable around Zelda and never had to push herself to speak out loud. But at the same time she always felt compelled to actually speak to Zelda, to actually say the words she wanted to say out loud even though the princess made it clear she did not mind the silence.
As if reading the hunter's mind, Zelda leaned her head against Samus' arm. "It is as if I can hear you thinking at times. Please, do not force yourself to speak if you do not feel the need to. I am also content this way."
Samus leaned down to rest her head on top of Zelda's before letting go of the princess's hand and point a finger at herself, right at the spot where her heart was.
"I know. And I would do anything for you as well, Samus. I would protect you, even if you may think it laughable." Zelda said softly, reaching up to caress the side of Samus' helmet tenderly. The hunter placed her hand over the monarch's and pressed it to the bottom of her helmet, where her lips would have been, kissing the princess's knuckles through her helmet.
It was a strange sight, especially to those not at all familiar with the princess of Hyrule and the legendary bounty hunter.
Yet, they were content this way. Even when her beloved was mostly dressed in armor and despite how hard and cold it was at times, Zelda enjoyed the physical closeness she had with Samus; and when the silent hunter did decide to be without armor it always felt wonderful and special as it usually meant Samus was comfortable enough to take off the one thing she always used as protection and possibly even a comfort in a world that seemed to be constantly under threat.
Zelda herself had a mask of her own. Sheik; the form she took to evade detection and an alter ego that was more suited to intense combat. While the Hylian monarch was more than capable of fighting foes with magic, her rapier and her bow, Sheik was her wild card and more fitting for close quarters or swift maneuvers. However, Zelda always wished to improve herself and so she made sure to train without having to depend on Sheik all the time. According to Samus, she was steadily improving. Yes, the hunter's word always meant a lot to her, for Samus Aran was always honest and never gave away compliments so freely to gain her favor like many others Zelda encountered.
While it seemed like she did not think anything of it, Samus had been quite surprised and slightly on guard whenever Sheik showed up; her eyes were an intense red instead of Zelda's gentle and bright blue ones. Sheik was stealthy, silent and swift. She was able to move with the grace of the shadows themselves. But eventually, the bounty hunter had grown used to Sheik especially after seeing that she was still very much Zelda despite the change of form.
Noticing her companion seemed to be lost in thought, Zelda squeezed the armored hand and the hunter looked at her.
Samus titled her head slightly before leaning down towards the princess, pressing her armored forehead against hers apologetically. "Sorry."
Zelda shook her head. "No need for apologies." She pressed her lips against the side of the helmet and giggled a bit when Samus drew back in surprise and touched the spot where the princess's lips at been.
Despite being covered in armor for most of the time, Samus could swear she somehow felt as if the princess's lips touched her actual skin. A blush made its way to her cheeks and she was thankful her helmet hid it so well.
They made a strange pair, but it did not matter to them. They felt comfortable, and content whenever they were each other. To many others they would seem very mismatched, and perhaps they were. But at the end of the day, they were more than happy to be where they were as they were.
Samus offered her hand to Zelda and the princess took it without hesitation and the lovers turned back to return to Samus' ship; perhaps a nice relaxing flight above it all would be good for them on this clear day.
Zelda smiled when she noticed the subtle change in Samus' demeanor. "Feel like going for a flight?"
The hunter nodded, though she tried her best to hide her eagerness to get her ship into the sky but as usual, her princess could always see that bit of giddiness the hunter always tried to hide whenever she felt excited about something; which was not very often.
"I would love to see the skies again with you, Samus." Zelda said leaning her head against the bounty hunter's arm.
Samus's heart jumped inside of her chest as she pulled her companion close. "And…I'm always happy to have you onboard with me, Zelda."
These are drabbles that contain scenarios which I imagined the two would get into and the chapters do not really have anything to do with one another. Also you may consider these chapters as sort of blueprints; if any of the scenarios and ideas stick, perhaps it might turn into a full story than just simple drabbles.
Some scenarios may be very different altogether but I hope that I will be able to do them some justice. And some chapters may contain more mature themes which is why the fic is rated the way it is.
Either way, I hope you all enjoyed this first chapter of "Universal"! I've been having fun writing out some of the thoughts that come into my head for Samus and Zelda!
Until then…