If you were to meet Princess Peach by chance, you would get the feeling that she was just your typical upbeat, and cheery Princess. However, deep down behind that bright smile she puts on every day, she is a very broken person. For most of her life, she'd been kidnapped, witnessed her people being transformed to varying beings, and subjected to Bowser's torment and games. Even through the toughest of times, there was always someone who came to her rescue. Her beloved prince always came to her aid no matter how hard or dangerous the mission was; he would always come to save her. Only he was no prince at all, but a common, honest, working man-this was part of the reason she treasured him so. She was able to smile today because of him; she was able to live because of him. At the same time, as wonderful and as loving as someone is, it is a double-edged sword that can destroy you just as much as it can build you- and it did. When Princess Peach stumbled on her beloved Mario kissing Rosalina while she was taking a stroll in the forest, her world came crashing. For Peach, her life ended right there.

Running as hard as she could, she didn't even stop to notice she had lost her shoes, or the rain that poured all around her. All she knew was that she needed to be far, far away. When her legs gave out, she collapsed to her knees. Her heart hurt. She gripped her chest like her heart had just been torn out, and all that was left was a bleeding hole. There were plenty of cuts and scrapes on her feet and legs, but none compared to the pain she felt in her chest. She didn't know what came down harder- her tears or the rain. To her, it was all her tears. She always thought love would be enough. That it would pull through if you were patient, that no matter what as long as you tried, it would work. Now she knew love could not only bring you happiness; it could easily take it away as well. She let out a cry, screaming with all the strength she had left.

Ike quickly made his way through the forest to get out of the rain. He had been practicing his skills and decided to try a new move out but was afraid he would make too much noise or hurt someone in the process. He concluded that going deep into the forest was a good idea. He left early in the morning, and he found himself caught in an unexpected downpour without an umbrella. Peaches' loud scream made him stop in his tracks. His instincts kicked in and he quickly searched for the direction of the scream. Without a second thought, he was already running towards Peach. He soon found the drenched princess staring up at the sky. He quickly came towards her and got on one knee in front of her. He gripped her shoulders tightly. "Princess, are you alright?" He was concerned seeing her drenched clothes and hair dripping with water. He could see with the look of despair across her face and in her eyes that she had been crying.

Peach closed her eyes, letting a few more tears escape, trickling down her face following the same path previous tears had taken. "Just leave me." Ike knew that something big must have happened if the princess was this way. He thought for a moment about leaving her be. He knew everyone deals with pain differently, but he couldn't let her just stay in the rain by herself. "Princess, let's go back. At least let's get out of the rain." "Please, just leave me alone..." He was conflicted on what to do. Should he respect her wishes and leave? He noticed the cuts on her foot as the blood leaked onto the leaves below her feet. How could he let her walk back with her feet like that? He stood up and shook his head. No, he couldn't leave her like this. Even if she hated him later, he could deal with that. If he left, leaving her like this, he wouldn't be able to live with himself.

"Sorry princess."

She let out a small yelp as he picked her up princess style. He held her sturdy in his strong arms as he started making his way out of the forest. Maybe it was some sort of magic or spell, but in that moment, all the sadness Peach felt seemed to disappear. Her heart was racing in a way she hadn't felt before. Maybe it was because Ike didn't notice how close he held her in his arms, or that she could feel the warmth of his body. Perhaps it was his strong arms carrying her body in a way that made her feel safe and protected. In all her life as a princess, no one had ever carried her like this, let alone so close and sturdy. She rarely was around anything more than the average man. No, Ike was a hero after all. She looked up at him. She could see all the details of his face. In her world, most of men were a lot shorter than her. She never thought about the appearance of a man before. As long as he loved her, that would be enough. However, looking at Ike's face closely, she realized he was quite handsome and very masculine. Just by the way he held her, she could feel the strength he possessed. For once, she felt like she was completely safe.

They made it out of the forest, but Ike didn't stop. He continued to hold her until they found an old wooden bus stop. "Where are we?" Peach wondered as Ike gently let her down to sit. "Your feet look pretty banged up. Let's treat it first." He knelt in front of her as gently held her foot in his hands. She didn't know if it was because she finally noticed how cold she was or the sudden skin to skin contact, but it caused her to shiver involuntarily. She flinched as he examined her foot. He ripped the driest part of his cap and started bandaging her feet. She couldn't help but stare at him for what seemed like forever as he finished wrapping her feet. "All better?" He asked, offering her a small smile. She returned his smile and nodded. "Good, now let's get you back home." Without any warning, he picked he her up and her body rested in his embrace again as he walked out of the shelter. The rain had stopped, and the sky seemed to be clearing up. "Ike?" "Hmm?" He continued to walk. "Thank you." He stopped and looked at her. She started blushing a little under his gaze when he smiled at her. The sun came out, his armor was still wet, and the sunlight radiated off it. It was like he was shining. Peach was used to being rescued by a hero; but she felt like this was the first time being rescued by a knight. "Yes, a knight in shining armor", Peach thought.


To say Samus was conflicted was an understatement. For the last few days, she spent most of her nights with Ike. They would just talk but in her heart, she felt like it was a time she was could just be herself. She knew not to get too involved with a man, to not give any man that kind of power over her again. She couldn't help it though. The more time she spent with him, the more she opened up to him. He made it easy to talk about herself. He could relate. He understood her, but that made her even more nervous because it reminded her of Roy. Though she knew not to let him in too deep, to never let someone get so close to her heart again, a part of her missed this feeling. The feeling of having someone to lean on. Now, she found herself lying next to him in the middle of the night. They laid on a side of a hill, side by side staring up at the stars.

"What's space like?"

His sudden question caught her by surprises. "Space?" She thought about how to explain it. "I guess you could say it's another world, one that never ends." He was quiet for a moment, seeming to let the idea sink in. "Doesn't that scare you? That you travel so many different places and see so many different things?" "Not really, I was taught not to be afraid of the unknown. Why, is that something that scares you hero?" She couldn't help but joke with him as she looked over to him with a teasing look. He thought about it. "No, what scares me the most is that one day, I won't be able to protect the people I care about." She only meant to joke about it, but she knew he was trying to open up to her. She knew what he meant. Being helpless when a loved one passes, she knew the feeling all too well. He turned on his head towards her. "What do you fear the most?" She knew that question was coming, the question that haunted her for all of her life. She knew the answer well, she just never said it out loud. He saw that she was having a hard time with the question, and he turned completely on his side, using his elbow to prop himself up. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked that."

"Being left behind again." He looked at her face. He could tell that the answer was hard for her to say aloud, let alone for her to admit, but what happened next surprised him the most. For the first time, he witnessed Samus shed tears. Everyone knew how strong Samus was, and no one ever saw her cry. A shadow seemed to have passed over her face. "I don't want to ever be abandoned again." Through all of the time he spent with Samus, in this very moment, she seemed the most beautiful to him. Not because she was the great bounty hunter, or the stunning blonde that she was. This was the real Samus Aran who was pouring her heart out to him. He knew now, that he had fallen completely and utterly in love with her. He wanted nothing more than to stay by her side for as long as he could.

Right now, he wanted her to know that, and more importantly, to show her. As a light breeze grazed her face, he placed his hand on her cheek, wiping away her tears with his thumb. Ike was never a selfish man, but he wanted nothing more than to have her. He rose higher on his side that he could look her in the eyes. She looked down, afraid to look at him directly, in fear he would know exactly what she was thinking. He took his finger under her chin and rose her head. He leaned in to kiss her softly, and for once in his life, he wished to be able to spend the rest of his days, side by side with this extraordinary woman. His kiss caught her off guard, but she didn't mind. His kiss was warm, and gentle. Though she had only kissed a few people in her life, this one was different. It was slow and gentle, but firm. She felt his passion as it attacked her whole body as he kissed her lips. His desire threatened to take her breath away as she felt her entire existence floating away. He slowly broke the kiss, still only inches away from her lips and looked into her eyes with sincerity and softly said, "I'll never abandon you. This I promise you." Tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear, he leaned down to kiss her again.

If time could stop for Samus, she would choose this very moment. How she longed to hear those words, how desperately she needed someone to tell her that. She closed her eyes and responded to the kiss as she wrapped her hand behind his back. Even if it was just for tonight, even if didn't last, right then and there, she remembered what it was like to be truly happy.