Author's Notes:
SHIT shit shit shit...how long have I been putting this fanfiction off for? Congrats TG, you've done it now. But, as mad as you most likely are at me, you know you're happy I'm alive and still writing right? (no that wasn't a cocky statement either :P)
So anyway, lemme let you all know what's been going on with me lately and what's happening as far as my fanfiction:
If memory serves me correctly, the last update was right around the time of my birthday or somewhere close. Anyway, I've since graduated High School, gotten a job, and enrolled in college. I'm currently a student in college during the day with a night shift every day at a nearby Subway. Yah, and anyone who comments with a 'eat fresh!' slogan will be given the death glare. Now, let me tell you the horrible news of what's happened to my computer. Prepare yourself, though, because it's a long story.
I had an accident with it and unfortunately my old laptop had a fatal fall that resulted in the total destruction of my screen. Yah, unfortunate indeed. Good news is, my mother is a mechanical genius and managed to hook up the broken laptop to an unused desktop monitor around the house so I could go in with a USB and take all of my files off there. Then, I got a new Macbook Pro for graduation with which I am now using to write this. But of course, something else had to happen in the midst of all this awesome. My USB with ALL OF MY FANFICTIONS ON IT went missing. That's right, the previous chapter I was writing for 'Pick Your Battles' had completely disappeared. Thank goodness for the numerous paper copies of all my chapter outlines. Now, remember that I told you I would never give up on this fanfiction right? (Unlike other authors who discontinue when they lose the file...) Well, I decided 'what the hell?' and began writing a new chapter 10 FROM SCRATCH until my USB magically appeared again a few days later. And because of all this, I've taken both the new and old versions of this chapter and combined them for an even better one. From here on out I'll do my absolute best to keep an eye on the date and on my chapters so this huge gap in update time NEVER happens again. Now on with the warnings.
Warnings: READ THIS! If you all can vaguely recall, my last chapter warned you about the impending female/female lemon for this chapter. Well, here it is. I will warn you ahead of time and will make sure to include TWO PAGE BREAKS WHERE THE LEMON BEGINS AND ENDS. If you are skipping the lemon, look for those page breaks. There is nothing important in this scene that has to do with the plotline, so fear not. THERE WILL ALSO BE THE BEGINNINGS OF A SECOND LEMON (MALE/MALE) COMING UP IN THIS CHAPTER, SO KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN EVERYONE!
And now, for an inconsistency. Since it's been so long since I've been able to write this story, I've had to reread all of my previous chapters for reference. Upon my observation, I realized that the section explaining Roy and Ike being forced to share the same bedroom is completely missing from the story. I apologize for this and since I've pointed it out here, I'm hoping everyone will be able to see past it.
LASTLY, I got a review about mah POV's from last time. I enjoy my POV's, but I assure you that only Marth's POV is important to this set of fanfiction. After all, he's the one that started this fanfiction! The other character POV's are purely experimental.
'Phase Four: Fireworks at Night'
The next morning came way too slowly. Ike wasn't set to battle today, but he wasn't sleeping properly like he should have been either. He sighed gratefully when he noticed the sunlight shining through the nearby window. Feeling fully awake now, he sat up and flexed his arms to stretch them out before hopping out of bed and into the shower.
As he stood there, soaking up the warmth of the water, he began to go back to his previous thoughts that had plagued him all night long. 'When we got back to the mansion, Link didn't seem to be acting like himself.' he restated for the hundredth time that morning. It had truly baffled him how lost and cold Link looked when they'd gotten back. But despite Ike's effort spent thinking about what to do and what had caused the sudden rift between Link and everyone else the day before, he couldn't come up with a decent thing to say or do. Instead, Ike stepped out of the shower and ran his hand through his soaked hair as he looked around for the towel.
He dried himself off and pulled on his tunic and pants before walking out of the bathroom and looked across the bedroom. Roy was no longer in bed where Ike remembered he'd been just before he'd gotten into the shower, so the mercenary had to assume that the fiery redhead had left for 'greener pastures'...that or something else to tear up downstairs. Ike chuckled at the thought.
He yawned and stretched again as he walked out the door and towards the general direction of the dining area. On his way he continued his previous musings about Link and his troubling behavior, and didn't even notice when another swordsman walked out from around the corner.
"Whoa!" Ike shouted as he nearly toppled over in surprise. The other man's eyes widened and he stumbled back, then collapsed on the floor and winced as Ike placed a hand over his mouth and scrambled to lift up his fallen comrade. "Oh geez, Marth I wasn't paying attention. Sorry buddy." Ike apologized automatically as he lifted Marth by his arm. The prince was, of course, noticeably lighter. It actually made Ike want to laugh at how dainty Marth was.
"It's fine." Marth said back in mild acceptance. Ike's original amusement disappeared as he noticed the tired look on Marth's face.
"Er, you okay Marth?" Ike asked, concern washing over his face. Marth smiled a bit.
"Yah I'm fine, just a little tired is all. I was...well I was preoccupied last night." Marth said, choosing his words carefully. He knew his face probably gave away his worry, and waited anxiously for the questions. Ike frowned deeply.
"Link?" he guessed. He knew he was correct when Marth's expression confirmed it.
Warily, Marth turned over his shoulder and made sure the two were completely alone before deciding to motion for Ike to follow him. The mercenary quietly did so, and waited once they'd stopped for Marth to explain.
"Look, you saw how distressed Link was after we got back from the trip to town right?" Marth said. Ike nodded, still wondering what could have caused it. Marth took a deep breath. "It happened right around the time we were leaving and when we got back Link just became this..." Marth waited a moment before continuing in a hurried whisper. "He just became this sobbing mess. I have no idea what happened to him Ike, but...it's starting to bother me. He won't talk to me about it and I haven't pushed the subject, but he's just...he's so depressed."
Ike nodded as he let Marth's words sink in. Briefly he wondered if maybe something had triggered it while they were out. He voiced his worry. "Marth, did anything strange go on with the two of you while you were out?" Ike asked cautiously. Marth frowned and shook his head.
"No, not with us anyway. Just...there was this lost girl and we took her with us to find her mother. When we gave her back he seemed okay, but after she left he just...he changed." Marth said. Ike raised an eyebrow.
"Alright, clearly this has to do with the kid. Has he ever told you anything about kids before?"
"Kids? No. Honestly he's never mentioned anything even closely related to that to me. I have no idea." Marth answered. Ike made a 'hmm' sound and averted his eyes to watch for anyone down the hallway. Finally, after some afterthought, Ike once again voiced what he was thinking to his fellow swordsman.
"We don't know anything about Link's past Marth, or at least, not enough for it to tell us why he's acting like this. Now think, who here knows the most about Link than anyone else at the Smash House?" Ike asked. Marth nodded in realization.
"Zelda." he said, smiling. Ike nodded back.
"Alright, then let's get her." he said. Marth hesitated a moment before groaning and smacking his forehead as something crossed his mind.
"I have to report down to the battle arena today though so I can't come with you. Fine then, Ike I want you to find Zelda and talk to her for me. If she tells you anything crucial, let me know after the battles okay?" Marth pleaded. Ike grinned.
"Yah, you got it." he said. Marth thanked him quickly and took off down the hallway, Ike watching him before deciding to continue to the kitchen. He figured if Zelda wasn't battling either, she'd be in the kitchen eating breakfast at the very least. He knew enough about the Hylians to remember that breakfast was important to them. After all, Link and Zelda were very health conscientious.
Just as he turning to finish his morning trek, though, he stopped dead in his tracks to see Roy standing in the middle of the hallway under the arch of another room, holding the teddy bear Ike had given him, and a bag of potato chips. Ike once again raised his eyebrow as Roy continued standing there, eating his chips and staring back at Ike with a rather disinterested look on his face.
"Um, morning." Ike said uncharacteristically softly. Roy kept chewing his chips and then looked to the side down the hall where Marth had ran, then returned his gaze to the mercenary. Ike then thought of how strange it was for Roy to be so strangely silent and calm. Usually his belligerent and hot-headed attitude would have surfaced by now and he'd be yelling his head off at Ike for the greeting. Instead, the redhead was acting like Ike was barely even there.
Then, that's when Ike noticed the bear in Roy's arms. He cracked a small smile that turned into a chuckle. He tried desperately to stifle his laughter, especially when Roy looked at him again and stopped mid-chew. Ike felt himself losing the battle with his self-control, and figured that he might as well ask. If Roy was offended and yelled at him, Ike felt like he deserved it anyhow.
"Roy, that bear..." Ike started, then let out a burst of laughter. Roy began chewing again as he waited for Ike to pull himself together.
"What? You wanted it back already? I'm aloud to carry whatever I want to." Roy shot back. His usual venom was rather lacking today, though, and Ike wondered what was causing Roy to rein in his temper. Before he could say anything back though, Roy averted his eyes once more and swallowed before nodding in the direction Marth had run in. "What's going on?"
Ike sighed. Should he tell Roy too? Surely Marth would have said something to Roy too though, right? After all, the notebook Marth had written in was always addressed to Roy...so why wouldn't Marth mention this to Roy? Ike decided to go ahead and say something, but only because as loud as Roy was, Ike knew Roy would never breach Marth's trust and tell anyone else about it. Ike vowed silently, though, to not let it go any further beyond Roy and Zelda.
"Link's not acting right. Marth's worried." Ike said. "We think it has something to do with a kid they saw on the trip to town." Ike continued as he tried very hard not to look at the bear Roy was still clutching against his chest. Roy popped an inquisitive brow as he looked back at Ike.
"A kid?" Roy asked curiously. Ike frowned and nodded, realizing that Roy's reaction meant he knew nothing either.
"Anyway, I'm going to get Zelda and ask her about it, then head down to the battle arena." Ike said. He paused before asking, "Want to come?"
Roy scoffed as his eyes went back to the hallway. "Not a chance." he said. Ike had to grin solemnly at the answer. He was hopeful that Roy would come, but was glad none-the-less that Roy's attitude was resurfacing. Clearly he was still normal Roy, just a little quirkier.
"Well, I tried. I'll see you around Roy." Ike said. He waved lazily before making his way toward the kitchen for the third time that morning, Roy's eyes falling on Ike's back as the older man's form retreated down the hall. Roy sighed deeply and rolled up his now empty potato chip bag, and threw it away. He walked in the opposite direction that Ike had gone, and stared at the floor while trying to go easy on his still sore leg. Usually he was lost in thought about Ike, but today he too was thinking about everyone's favorite Hero of Time.
"I guess I could spare a minute." Roy said aloud to himself, and set his sights on Link and Marth's bedroom.
Ike entered the kitchen and shook his head at the mess everywhere. Food was sitting around either burnt or spoiled from the lack of cooking skills that the majority of the smashers had. Mario was doing his best to make breakfast under Peach's strict teaching, but was of course failing miserably. Ike simply stood there, watching as Mario almost tore his pancakes completely in two before jumping as he heard Falco's distinct voice call out to him from the dining hall.
"Yo Ike! Come 'ere for a sec!" Falco called out. Ike looked at him warily for a moment, remembering the night he'd been conned into watching over Roy's drunken self by Falco and Link. He caved, however, and trudged over to the bird as he ignored his stomach's urgent rumbling. He'd have to wait to get his meal a little later.
"What is it Falco?" Ike asked as he approached the other. Falco motioned toward the seat next to him with food waiting. Ike smiled a bit and greeted the other smashers already gathered around with a nod. Fox and Falco sat opposite each other with Zelda, Sonic, and Snake next to Fox, and Pit and Ness on the other side of Falco. Ike quickly shot Zelda a slight hand gesture to tell her that he needed to talk to her in private. She nodded carefully as she looked away to avoid directing attention toward herself and Ike. Ike sighed, relieved, and ate in silence as he listened to the other smashers chatting with each other animatedly.
What bothered Ike the most was that Link hadn't come downstairs yet. He knew for a fact that Link wasn't battling today, so he should have been eating with everyone else already. Ike sighed inwardly again. This was only further proof that Link was not at all well.
But he knew to keep his mouth shut and his thoughts to himself, even when he heard the occasional question about Link's whereabouts. Ike refused to let them know that anything was wrong with the Hylian, and instead offered a shrug when he was asked if he knew where Link was and why he wasn't eating.
"He's probably busy or something." Ike said simply, glancing secretively at Zelda who returned his gaze with another understanding nod. He smiled only slightly. She knew what Ike was getting at, and continued with the charade with ease. She was great at fooling others; Ganondorf was an extremely good example of this alone, and Ike found comfort in that.
As soon as the meal was over, Ike bumped elbows with Zelda while the others put their dishes away. She turned to him and he inconspicuously motioned for her to come with him into the room across the hall. She nodded and Ike quickly sped off, running down the hallway and into the room by another door just as Zelda entered from the closer entrance. she immediately turned to shut the door with Ike doing the same to the other one. Zelda then set her attention on Ike as he walked over to her.
"Okay, so I talked to Marth this morning about Link's behavior after the trip. I'm sure you saw how he left without saying anything and then again this morning when he didn't show up for breakfast. Marth told me that he started acting strange right after they helped a little girl find her mother. Now, Marth wanted me to ask you if you knew why Link might act like that because of a kid. Did he have a bad experience or something?" Ike asked hopefully. He felt on edge and didn't know why. Maybe it was the look in Zelda's eyes that told him nothing. His fears were confirmed with her answer.
"No. Sorry, I can't think of a time when Link's ever had a problem with kids. No, to my knowledge, Ike, Link's always been fond of kids." Zelda said, complete and honest confusion lacing her voice. Ike screwed up his face at this. Concerned further, Ike opened his mouth to say something. But the voice they heard next, wasn't Ike's.
"I know what's wrong with Link."
No matter how hard he tried to shake it, the dread in the pit of his stomach wouldn't go away. Distraught, he snatched the hat off his head and raked a bare hand through his gold hair as he sighed deeply. It was so exhausting to feel the way he did and keep quiet for so long. He wouldn't dare tell Marth what was bothering him, for fear that it would upset him. No, the last thing he wanted was to hurt Marth again. Never would he wish that pain on Marth after all they'd been through.
A knock sounded at the door and he jumped, jerking his head violently in the direction of the intruder in panic only to find Roy standing at the door, which was open already, and leaning against the frame with a stoic expression on his face. He hadn't noticed the tears on his cheeks and his eyes widened in realization before he quickly wiped them off, Roy coming in and shutting the door while the other man cleaned up his face.
"Hey." he said solemnly. "I see you aren't feeling well."
"No, nice observation Roy." he said as he chuckled bitterly. Another tear fell down his cheek and he savagely wiped it away. Roy watched him carefully.
"Link." he said evenly. "I want you to tell me what's going on. Whatever it is, it's not worth worrying Marth over or driving yourself completely mad about." Roy finished. Link rolled his eyes and sniffed as he struggled to keep the rest of the tears away.
"I'm so afraid." Link whispered. Roy frowned at this. It was so quiet and urgent, that it sent shivers down Roy's spine.
"Afraid of what, Link?" Roy asked, his heart beating rapidly. He wondered just what the hell Link was keeping from Marth that was so absolutely horrible. The suspense was killing him.
"It's just..." Link started, his hands beginning to tremble. He shut his eyes tightly. "You have to promise not to tell Marth." he blurted. Roy stiffened.
Roy was not an emotional or affectionate person by any means. If he was, it was purely an act to get other riled up. No, the emotion thing never worked well with him. But alternatively, Roy had one person he knew he could trust to the ends of the earth. The closest he'd ever felt on an emotional level with anyone, and that was with Marth of all people. The thought of keeping a secret from someone he could easily call a brother, was a mind-numbing one.
But he had to know. He nodded thickly before uttering a, "I promise." He dreaded it, but felt relieved at the same time. Link smiled gratefully before leaning toward Roy to whisper his answer. What he said shocked Roy to his core.
Immediately afterward, Link got up and disappeared into the bathroom, shutting the door to end the conversation. Hurriedly, Roy got up and shook his head as he let what Link told him set in. He sighed and left, his head and leg hurting at once to add to his misfortune, almost like it was a way of letting him know how screwed he was. But he had to tell the others, just make sure Marth didn't know. His objective: find Ike. He'd be with Zelda, and Zelda would know what to do. She knew Link best out of everyone after all. If anyone would know what to do, it'd most definitely be his childhood friend, his confidante, and his crowned princess.
As quickly as a man with one injured leg could, Roy made his way down to the kitchen where he figured the rest of the smashers eating breakfast would be, but halted upon seeing the door to a room adjacent to the kitchen shut when it had always been open before. He walked in hesitantly and without making a sound so as not to disturb the occupants, before finally speaking up once he realized it was Ike and Zelda speaking in there. He knew they wouldn't like what he had to say, but they needed to know anyway.
"I know what's wrong with Link." he said shakily. Ike and Zelda snapped their heads in Roy's direction. They were ready to question him, and Roy to give answers, but were interrupted yet again when the opposite door opened to reveal Fox.
"Hey guys, the battles are about to start. Master Hand said to get everyone downstairs in their seats for the battles." Fox said. Roy grit his teeth as Ike looked desperately from Fox to Roy, but gave up when he noticed Fox wasn't leaving.
"Alright. Let's go then." he said, feeling crushed. He, Zelda, and Roy followed Fox to the nearest stairwell and down the hallways to the arena, feeling a sickness in each of their stomachs but all for different reasons.
As they took their places, the three continued to worry amongst themselves, but knowing better than to speak their minds aloud. Ike was furious at the fact that he was so close to knowing what was wrong. Marth was counting on him.
Zelda on the other hand was more worried about why in the world Link would choose to tell Roy what was wrong rather than Marth. It was more than a little unnerving. It was downright terrifying. Wasn't Link in love with Marth? Why wouldn't he let his own partner know what was hurting him especially when he more than likely saw how worried Marth was.
Roy himself didn't even know what was worse, keeping the secret or telling Marth and crossing Link's trust. Did he even have a choice? He shook his head at the thought, feeling his head throbbing from all the wondering he'd been doing all day. He wished he could just go back up to his bedroom and curl up to get some rest and away from all the dramatic events unfolding around him...and of course inside him as well.
He looked up when he heard someone plop down in the seat next to him, and was surprised to see a rather cheerful Link sitting next to him. Link smiled briefly at Roy before turning his attention to the arena as the lights shifted to darkness. The only ones left on were directly above the platform where the four smashers of the day stood waiting.
One one side of the platform were Marth and Bowser, waiting for the other two smashers to begin their battle. The current fighters were Samus and Wolf, ready to start throwing punches and kicks. Roy felt anxious as he looked at Marth, who stood stiffly with a faraway gaze in his eyes. For now, though, he had to wait patiently for the battles to end so he could tell Ike and Zelda what Link had said.
Throughout Samus and Wolf's battle, Roy felt himself grow more and more uncomfortable. But Link seemed content with where he was. He definitely cleaned himself up well, and was far from tears. When Marth was up to battle, a genuine smile made its way to Link's face, making Roy smile as well. As long as Link was staring at Marth like that, Roy knew that whatever problem was going on with Link could be solved or at least have nothing to do with Marth.
Ike, too, was watching Link from the corner of his eyes. It wasn't as if Link didn't know that he was being stared at, though, it was just that he had decided to ignore it. His eyes were glued to Marth's performance with clear interest, his heart swelling with pride every time Marth landed a direct hit.
The bells sounded at last as the match ended. The battles had been fairly short and uneventful for the others, but Link and his three friends beside him felt like it had taken forever to wait for these two 5 minute battles to be over. It was certainly one of the longest 10 minute sessions ever, and they were ready to get up to get ready for the fireworks show for the night. There were no winners since it was a practice run for the day, but the real deal was coming up in a few days and the four combatants had to be ready.
Even so, after the battles had ended, Link flew down the stairs of the seating area around the arena and waited for Marth. The prince stumbled off the platform and looked up to see Link waiting. At that moment, all his previous worry and concern died and he extended his arms as Link raced over to him, hugging him hard.
"You did great Marth. I didn't know you'd improved so much!" Link said as he lifted his face to look Marth in the eyes. Marth almost forgot the other three who had meekly followed Link down the stairs, and chuckled as he wrapped his arms a little tighter around Link's body.
"I'm glad you think so!" he said back, and then looked up to greet his friends as Samus stepped out behind him. Link pulled back from Marth slightly to nod in greeting, Zelda squealing as she ran over to Samus to complete the set. Roy pouted and averted his eyes while Ike merely laughed at the two cute and happy couples before them.
"So, ready for the fireworks tonight?" Samus asked. Zelda swooned for a moment as the thought crossed her mind.
"Oh, am I ever! It'll be the best night in the whole world I just know it!" she squealed excitedly. All the attention had now been lifted off of Link and onto the remainder of the evening. Everyone was ready to watch the fireworks and celebrate their battles.
Marth had to feel grateful for that though. He knew that since Link had arrived, the tension had probably been quite high. He was still happy that Link was there, he just wondered if Link's upsetting condition had left him for good.
Still smiling, Link laced his fingers around Marth's and led him away. The other watched the two leave, overhearing Link's shouts about missing breakfast and being extremely hungry.
The others began to file out of the room and towards their bedrooms to prepare for the show later or find something constructive to do until then. Even after all of the concern that the three smashers had shared about Link, Roy felt like he was the only one who could truly be upset about it. The other two didn't know. They probably wouldn't even be able to comprehend what was going on inside Link's head. Hell, even Link himself didn't know what to do or how to handle the situation. In Roy's point of view, all his shrugging off the bad stuff and keeping Marth out of the truth was a horrible mistake.
'Damnit, I can't keep this from Marth for very long. He needs to know what upset Link. I've got to figure out a way to convince Link to tell him...or else they'll end up hating each other. But gods...what do I do?' thought Roy to himself in torment. He couldn't believe he'd put himself in this position. And with the way he felt about Marth and how they were like brothers to each other and therefore depended on one another, Roy knew he'd just dug himself a grave out of obligation to help them.
He began to trudge away when he felt a strong hand on his shoulder. He stopped promptly, turned to see Ike staring at him with a look of worry on his face.
"Tell me what's going on after the fireworks ok? They look happy so I don't want to bother them, but after the fireworks...we need to fix this as soon as possible." Ike said. Roy nodded and Ike inhaled deeply as Roy bit his lip. He was too cute, but Ike couldn't think about that right now. "I'm right to think it's big, aren't I?"
Roy stared at him solemnly. Ike was hoping more than anything that he was wrong, but with the look Roy was giving him, his heart began to sink as he realized that it really was as big as he thought.
"I won't let them fall apart. They can't give up now." Roy said, determination crossing his features. Ike pulled his hand away and Roy turned, walking away to the stairs and leaving Ike staring after him, distraught.
'I won't give up on you either...Roy.' he thought to himself. He had let his feelings consume him as time went on, and now he knew he'd come to a decision: he was going to have Roy, no matter how long it took to get him to claim the redhead. He wasn't going to stand there broken hearted any more. Nodding, he turned on his heel and went outside for some fresh air while he waited.
PAGE BREAK
Samus sighed as she wandered down the hallway. Since her kiss with Zelda and the ensuing madness in town afterwards, she'd become quite fond of her princess. She stopped walking now, and bit the inside of her cheek as she stared down the hall. Where was she going?
'I...I can't do this anymore. I have to know...I have to know now!' Samus thought to herself. She'd been abandoned her whole life with no real shoulder to lean on. And now, now she had a beautiful woman to care for. To love. To accept her and every fault Samus had brought with her. Samus had never promised to be kind and caring or even give the young Hylian princess the time of day...but nonetheless she had done so. Now, she wanted something else in return, even though she would freely and openly admit that her Zelda owed her nothing at all.
"I want to hear her say she loves me." she murmured to herself out loud. She nodded, she would go to Zelda to find out exactly how the woman felt. She hadn't mentioned a word about it to Zelda in person for fear it would scare her off and that it might be too soon for such declarations. But...Samus knew in her heart that she had to know now. She hadn't even thought about it until the dream she'd had the night before, when Zelda had left for Hyrule again and never returned. It felt like a thousand years had gone by and yet the princess had never come to Samus again.
"I can't feel alone again." she continued as she began to walk toward the hallway that led to Zelda's room. When she saw Zelda run up to her like that after the battle practice, and felt her princess's arms fold around her, she knew what her heart needed to tell her. She had had her time to be with Zelda, but that was it. Now she needed to actually be with Zelda.
She reached the bedroom easily enough, and knocked softly, then waited for the princess to open the door. Samus' breath caught in her throat when she saw her princess. Zelda had pulled her hair back and exposed her long, elf-like ears. Her amythest eyes were so bright and shining that they made Samus' heart stop right then and there. She smiled happily.
"Come in Sam. I was just about to get ready to go for the fireworks show. I heard the other smashers are preparing for a cookout for a couple of hours before sundown and was going to ask if you would go with me." Zelda said sweetly as she turned and went to sit on her bed as she laced her calf-high boots up and let her dress fall over it. Hylian style clothing had always been so strange to Samus. She shrugged it off though.
"Zelda, there's something...important, that I need to ask you." Samus began, her voice heavy with feeling. Zelda's sensitive hearing picked up the subtle change automatically and she lifted her head to stare at her in concern.
"Yes?"
Samus sighed. She decided to just blurt it out. "Do you love me Zelda?" Samus asked. Her heartbeat quickened in embarrassment and jumped as Zelda rose from her seat on the bed. She looked down in shame as she continued, "I know it's sudden but I guess I just wanted to-"
She stopped as she felt a bare finger against her lips. Zelda stared deeply into Samus' eyes as the bounty hunter stifled a growl of frustration when the princess pulled it away straight after.
"Yes. I do love you Samus. I just didn't know how to say it until now. Forgive me." Zelda said, the last words she spoke falling barely above a whisper. Samus shook as she struggled for control; but all she could think about was crushing her lips against Zelda's once more. They were so close now, and both seemed to lean forward unconsciously. Samus blinked.
'You are forgiven.' she thought gratefully, and made her final move.
Time seemed to grind to a halt as Samus leaned in toward the princess, but Zelda welcomed it readily and closed her eyes as soft, perfect lips pressed themselves against hers. She had to admit, she never imagined that Samus would be so bold as to initiate the kiss, but it wasn't like she was complaining. She felt her heart speed up quite a bit as Samus started moving her lips slowly against hers to fully explore the younger woman's. Samus herself couldn't believe she was doing this either; but as long as Zelda was enjoying it, she herself wasn't planning on stopping.
The two women sped up their kiss, deepening it and making it more passionate while simultaneously pulling each other toward the bed until the backs of Zelda's knees ran into it. Zelda felt herself losing her balance and the kiss broke as she began to fall backwards. She gasped, but never felt the bed hit her and opened her eyes that she'd previously shut waiting for the impact to see Samus pressed up against her, one hand wrapped securely around her princess's waist and the other wrapped around Zelda's thigh. It was hiked all the way up until Zelda's knee rested above Samus' voluptuous hip. Zelda blushed at the position they found themselves in and used Samus' shoulders to hold onto, further pressing their bodies together. Samus felt warmth escaping and running wild inside her as desire nestled itself deep within the bounty hunter's heart.
She gently pressed her forehead against Zelda's shoulder as she slowly laid her princess down onto the bed. Zelda let her thin fingers run through Samus' long blond locks and easily removed the ponytail holder to let Samus' hair fall about her back and shoulders in neat little golden rivers. She quickly bent her head down to tenderly kiss Samus' temple as the warrior lost herself in the princess' sweet scent.
"I love you princess." Samus began with difficulty. It was completely unlike her to open up to this degree to anyone, but… "You make me feel things that I've always been scared of."
"Are you still afraid now?" Zelda asked warily. She certainly didn't want to make Samus feel uncomfortable.
"No. It's okay to let myself go with you because, well, I trust you never to judge me princess." Samus answered carefully. Over the past two seasons here at the Smash House, Samus had really become truly at home with her feelings enough to let her princess know exactly how she felt.
Sighing, she pressed her lips to Zelda's smooth neck and sucked at it softly. Zelda's breathing hitched and she let out a whimper as she struggled with her now very alert senses.
"I-I love you t-too, Sam." Zelda stuttered as her eyes fluttered closed. The heat stirring from between her legs crept up to her stomach and made her shiver. The feelings didn't grow weaker either, but, instead, became impossibly stronger as Samus began to trail her deliberately passionate kisses down Zelda's neck to her chest and finally the very edge of her collar on her dress. It drove Zelda wild that Samus could do such hopelessly tender actions and yet awaken Zelda's body into oblivion with need. She was pretty positive that had she been standing, her knees would have buckled and she'd have come crashing down to the floor. How grateful she felt that she was lying on a bed at that point.
A smile found it's way to the Hylian woman's lips as her eyes met Samus' while she pulled down the top half of her dress to give Samus better access; her cheeks burned at her own sexual actions, but she knew she wasn't alone there.
Eagerly, Samus lowered her mouth back to the very spot on her princess's chest that she'd stopped at and continued her trail downward to stop and playfully lick at Zelda's erected and bare breast. It sent warm sparks of fire raging down Zelda's spine and she closed her eyes, fully surrendering herself to her sense of touch as her breathing became increasingly erratic. Samus could tell her princess was getting excited, and decided to keep going downwards to see what other desperate actions she could illicit from Zelda.
Zelda groaned as she felt Samus' tongue continuing downwards. Thinking fast as she didn't want Samus to stop again, she pulled down her dress more to expose her now flattened stomach. Samus looked up briefly to take in the sight of her soon-to-be lover's beautiful body, before diving back in and removing the rest of Zelda's dress. She was both surprised and relieved to see that, tonight at least, Zelda wore no undergarments. Samus' lips found their way down to zelda's hip before placing a firm and loving kiss to it. She pulled up finally, much to Zelda's chagrin, but made up for it by removing her suit and quickly laying herself down on top of Zelda.
"Are you sure you're okay with this?" Samus asked, more than ready to forget the world outside Zelda's door and ravish her perfect princess. Zelda simply smiled and leaned up to kiss Samus as an answer to her question. Samus smiled back and continued the kiss as her free hand found it's way down between Zelda's full thighs to nestle there. Her fingers gently reached up and entered the opening of Zelda's increasingly wet vagina. Zelda gasped and let her eyes roll to the back of her head as she felt Samus reaching in as deeply as possible. Zelda did, however, manage to stay coherent enough to return the favor, gently pushing her fingers into Samus' own opening. The girls both shivered as they sped up their actions, their fingers massaging the other's womanhood as their lips met once again in fiery heat. Zelda let out another strangled and shaky cry into Samus' mouth, louder this time, as her body twitched at the insane pleasure pulsing through her from such simple ministrations. She reveled in it, though, and kept her focus and her and Samus' hands.
Finally, a last pulse of explosive pleasure left Zelda as she reached the peak of her own orgasm, and she let out one more cry before arching her body into Samus' hand, her bounty hunter following almost immediately after.
Breathless, the women collapsed against each other and Samus nestled herself, satisfied, between Zelda's ample, full breasts.
"Wake me up when the fireworks are starting." Samus whispered tiredly. Zelda let out a girlish giggle as she ran her fingers, now wiped clean of course, through her Samus' hair.
"Whatever you say love." Zelda whispered back, and closed her violet eyes as she felt Samus wrapping a blanket around them both.
They'd never felt more blissful in their lives.
PAGE BREAK
"Ugh, stupid stupid stupid!" Roy growled to himself. He was angry, depressed, scared, and lovesick all at once. Grumbling madly to himself, he grasped his little teddy bear and held it against his chest as he steadied his breathing. Many thoughts roamed ravenously throughout his mind and he couldn't shake the awful feeling that he was just making things harder on himself on purpose.
He shook his head at the notion. Since when had he become a masochist? No, he was just tired. Tired of his emotions and of the fear. But even so, he knew that he couldn't just walk out now. No, he wouldn't be able to leave so long as his heart had such over powering control over him. At this, he slammed his back down on the bed and smiled to himself.
He'd begun to accept his feelings for Ike slowly but surely. Even though it hurt to keep the gap between them for fear of rejection, he was still able to go to sleep without worrying about the taunting dreams. At first they had scared and hurt him, but now they were his salvation. His way of living heaven outside of hell. Out here, Ike was a smiling brute who seemed to have no intention of doing anything but mocking Roy for his attitude. In his dreams, however, he was the man who put his heart at ease. He closed his eyes and sighed as he remembered, vaguely, the events that had unfolded in his sleeping state.
He had been walking down the hallways of his old home, but it was different somehow. It was like a piece of the smash house instead of the real thing. He could just keep walking and the corridor would never, ever end.
He heard a chuckle from behind and smiled warmly as he turned to see Ike standing there, his eyes never leaving Roy's. Roy then ran to him and fell against the mercenary's chest as Ike buried his face in Roy's hair.
'Roy' he whispered to the redhead. Roy looked up and locked gazes with the indigo haired man for the second time before leaning up to finally taste those lips he'd longed to press his own against.
And that was always where his dreams would end. He'd open his eyes to the empty world around him to find things exactly as he'd left it before he'd gone to sleep, and would sulk sadly as he tried willing himself to get up.
Now as he sat with the bear on his bed, waiting for the fireworks event outside, he realized that with his increasingly strong feelings for Ike came loss as well. His will to stay angry and standoffish of the older man had become weaker and weaker until Roy actually found himself smiling at Ike. Being nice to him. He wondered if maybe it was all part of Ike's trick to get back at him. Or was it?
"No, don't be ridiculous Roy. You can't get your hopes up for that...that idiot. No, I can't let myself fall completely just yet." he mused aloud. He pressed a trembling hand to his hearts as it ached and shut his eyes tightly as he continued to clutch the bear.
'Please, my heart, wait just a little while longer.' he pleaded silently to himself.
He hopped up from his bed, then, and made his way out the door to find the library and wait there instead.
At around sundown, the smashers all gathered together on a nearby hill adjacent to the mansion. It was quaint and sweet, with a few trees around and a large clearing in the background where all of the smashers presumed the fireworks would be. A few had brought blankets with them and had thrown them out so that they could sit on them. The majority sat in the middle of the hilltop, while a few scattered around the edges of the large group. Samus and Zelda sat cuddled together next to a tree, and so were left alone.
Ike on the other hand sat on the opposite end with the majority, not wanting anyone, including the one in question, to get suspicious when Roy showed up, but at the same time wanting to have privacy to talk about Link and what was going so wrong with him and Marth. Ike had to admit to himself that he would absolutely hate it if the two of them broke up. He remembered the suffering that Marth had gone through before when he thought Link didn't want him, and didn't want Marth to have to go have it happen again after all he'd done to keep Link happy.
He smiled wearily as Roy showed up, a stoic expression on his face. It had become chilly outside fast, and so Roy's nose was slightly pink on the tip. Ike almost laughed. Roy was so cute, and yet so frustrated all the time. But Ike wanted that to end. He hoped, really hoped, that it would end soon.
"So, about Link." Ike began. He looked at Roy's profile and waited for the General to speak.
"He..." Roy stopped abruptly as Falco sat down next to him. He gave Ike a wary look before looking at his best friend and sighing. Ike decided it best to wait until the next day to bring it up again. Clearly whatever it was had only served to further frustrate his redheaded love, and that last thing Ike wanted was to stress out Roy more by forcing a confession out of him, even in the midst of Roy's friends such as Falco and now Fox and others who had begun to gather around. Instead, Ike kept his mouth shut bitterly.
He wished they could just be alone and that he'd have the strength to put a stop to all of this once and for all. Neither of those things, though, looked to be accomplishable anytime soon.
"Oh look at how beautiful they are!" Peach exclaimed as she pointed to the fireworks that had started to shoot into the sky. Ike's eyes sparkled with wonder as he stared at them. His eyes settled briefly, however, upon Zelda and Samus sitting next to the tree. His face brightened slightly in the darkness, and he quickly averted his eyes back to the sky as his thoughts continued to terrorize the mercenary.
'I wish I could hold Roy like that.' Ike thought madly to himself. It was tearing him apart inside to hold back like this, but he knew better than to do something like that unless he was absolutely sure that Roy liked him too. He smiled inwardly. Roy had to love him. There would be no doubt about that once the term was over and the answer would soon be clear before Roy left for Pherae again.
'I'm lucky he hasn't left already.' he thought to himself, and started chuckling as the other smashers pointed at the fireworks in awe.
A little ways away, still, were Marth and Link. Marth was staring up at the fireworks with a look of contentment on his face. He sat with his ankles crossed and his hands in his lap, Link leaning on his shoulder with his right hand on top of Marth's.
He felt regret after telling Roy. It wasn't the act of telling him that had Link feeling this way, but his one condition: not to tell Marth. Link spared a moment to gaze up at Marth, the only person who could make Link fall to his knees, and felt heartache eating away at him. He loved Marth more than anything...but he knew inside he wouldn't be able to keep up the charade for very much longer. He smiled sadly and reached up to caress Marth's cheek. The prince instantly looked down at Link, making Link's smile grow only wider.
"C'mon, follow me." Link whispered. Marth raised an eyebrow and opened to his mouth to question his Hylian love, but stopped at the look in Link's eyes and shivered. He recognized that look all to well. Before he could resist, though, his body acted instead and he nodded thickly. Link then stood and offered a hand to his prince, who promptly stood and followed the Hero of Time back to the mansion, not glancing back at the fireworks or anything else as he did so.
Ike watched them leave, as did Roy. When Ike noticed that the other smashers were preoccupied, decided now to at least cast hope upon the fire.
"You think they'll be ok for now?" Ike asked hopefully. Roy shrugged.
"I don't know, but let's hope they can work this out."
Marth turned to Link just as the other slammed the door shut, locking it for good measure. Marth opened his mouth again, his logic attempting to fight back this time, but all the words he'd hoped to say died the moment he felt Link's lips pressed firmly against his. His body reacted to the touch and he closed his eyes and his arms circled around Link instinctively, his breathing hitched and his tongue exploring familiar crevices in his lover's mouth.
They both let out an aching groan simultaneously as they fell together on top of the bed, Link straddling Marth's hips dominantly, a trait very uncharacteristic of him.
"Link, wait, are you..." but once again he was stopped as Link trailed kisses, hot and desperate with need, down the side of Marth's face and along his jaw. Marth closed his eyes and let his head fall back as the blonde pulled apart the front of Marth's tunic and continued his ministrations against Marth's exposed collarbone.
"Marth I'm ok I promise." he said. It wasn't technically a lie, but neither was it the truth. Yet when Marth lifted his head to look into Link's eyes, he knew better than to think that Link was using him at this moment. He smiled a genuine smile and let his worries disappear for the time being. He could see that Link obviously needed him, and he admittedly needed Link too. Tossing his previous concern to the wayside, Marth lifted himself up completely with his elbows and locked lips with Link again as the blonde tangled his fingers through Marth's soft, dark blue hair, a groan escaping between both of their lips as they lost themselves just like they'd done countless times before. If only every night could end like this, then maybe they'd never get a chance to think about the hurt again.
Author's Note:
How dare you leave people on a cliffhanger after such a long wait TG? lol
AGHH! So you can probably tell that the length of this chapter was inspired primarily out of my own self hatred for not updating sooner. Anyway, like I've mentioned before, this chapter contains a lot of passionate scenes that ultimately mean my ratings HAVE to go up. I know, I know, it's probably not anything to concern yourself with. But remember, THIS WILL JUST GET HEAVIER FROM HERE ON OUT. By no means was this the last lemon chapter of the series, and CERTAINLY not the last of the romance. So, if you can't deal or are not quite ready for that kind of read just yet, I'm sorry. I hope you've enjoyed my works thus far.
And if you are keeping an eye on the chapter titles then I hope you've noticed with this chapter that the titles are not actually following Marth and his plans. They've taken on the course of Roy and Ike's relationship (or lack thereof) instead. Hope this clears up some things.
NOW ON TO WRITE THE NEXT CHAPTER! Hopefully with no more excuses :D
REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! EVEN IF IT'S TO TELL ME YOU HATE ME FOR THE WAIT! JUST REVIEW! No really I hope you guys don't actually hate me XD