Chapter 5

"I think I want to bake a cake." Peach said, sitting up from lounging on the couch.

"What's up, you stressed?" Daisy asked, looking up from her phone.

Peach nodded. "Who wouldn't be? I think the weirdness of everything is finally settling in." She got up and went to the kitchen, Daisy following after a moment. The kitchen staff, a sweet married couple of French chefs named Jaques and Annette, waved when they went in.

"Hello, Miss Peach and Miss Daisy, are you coming in to request anything before dinner?" Annette grinned. "We were preparing a beef stew, but if you would like something different, we can just have the stew to ourselves."

"Actually, we were just coming in to bake a cake." Peach said, going to the small shelf of cookbooks and grabbing her personalized one. It was a collection of her favorite cake recipes, some sticking to the original and some deviating to her tastes.

"Oh, are you having friends over?" Jaques asked.

Daisy and Peach looked at each other and shrugged. "That's actually a pretty good idea," Daisy said, and Peach agreed. "Who do you want to invite? Let's see, there's Rosalina, Zelda, Marth, Mario, Luigi…"

Peach frowned for a second. She didn't not want to invite Mario and Luigi, but at the same time, she wasn't sure. "Maybe we just put it out on the chatroom and see who bites? It would be a nice way to meet people, yeah? Plus, we could message people who we really want to come."

Daisy grinned. "Alright!"

"Well, if you're going to have quite a few people, we can help you make the cakes," Jaques offered.

"Oh, and we can make some finger sandwiches too!" Annette grinned. "I always love making them, the small bread is so cute!"

"Yeah, that sounds amazing!" Daisy laughed a little.

"Alright! I'll let everyone know." Peach got on her tablet and signed onto the chatroom. A few people were talking about their teachers, but nothing major was going down. After a few minutes of thinking, she typed her message.

Peach T Hey! I know this is a bit short notice, but I'm having a cake party! Light snacks will be provided alongside some super good cake. The cakes will be ready around 6:00, but feel free to stop by a bit early. Message me for the address, plus let me know if you have any requests or allergies!

Axel R shit man free cake i'm down

Stahl B Aww, that's really nice! Messaging you in just a second!
Zelda H Heck yeah I'll come!

Zelda was the first to PM her. [Hey! What's your address?]

Peach smiled. [17 Holly Court, up in Royal Estates in the northern part of town. There is a guard at the gate when you drive up, but just show him your school ID or your tablet and he'll let you in.] She copied the message, figuring she'd need to send it again.

[No way. I live in 13 Holly Court! I think we're next-door neighbors!]

Peach couldn't help but grin. Sweet, Zelda seemed really cool. [Alright. No allergies or anything?]

[Nope! I'll probably be by around 5:30, see you then!]

Axel and Stahl both messaged her too, both saying they may bring a friend. Peach gave them the info and then started to look through and see what kind of cakes she wanted to make. After talking it out with Daisy, Jaques, and Annette, they decided on a white cake with chocolate icing on one half and vanilla on the other, a gluten-free chocolate cake just in case someone couldn't have the normal cake, and her signature Peach cake, made with fresh peaches.

She asked the night cleaning staff to get the main living area ready for a party. It didn't need too much work, mostly just a few candles to make the room smell nice.

By the time Peach had almost finished the cakes, quite a few people were coming. Of course, there was Zelda, Axel and his friend Demyx, Stahl and his friend Paya, and Rosalina, but there was a growing list: Aqua, Terra, Sora, Kairi, Xion, Namine, Yuna, Rikku, Malon, Roy, Ike, Corrin, Aerith, Noelle, Haley, Alex, Pit, Midna, Sidon, and Mipha.

Sadly, no Marth. She'd messaged him personally, but he hadn't even seen it. He was probably busy. Nothing to worry about, right? Right?

The doorbell rang through the house, right at 5:30. "I'll get it!" Peach yelled, trusting that her cakes were safe. Besides, they wouldn't be ready to be frosted for a couple more minutes. She walked to the large front door and opened it. As expected, Zelda was there. "Hey, welcome to my place!" She went in for a hug, and thankfully Zelda accepted.

"It's so nice!" Zelda said as she came in. "Is this a shoes on or shoes off house?"

"Whichever you want, though I usually go shoes off. You wanna help frost the cakes?"

Zelda took off her sandals and smiled. "Sure!"

When they got to the kitchen, they gossiped a bit as they frosted the cakes. Zelda had a nice eye for detail, which Peach could hella appreciate. Just as they were ready, the doorbell rang again. This time, it was Stahl and a white-haired girl, probably Paya. She greeted them, and they end up helping out by setting drinks out on one of the tables in the living room.

Soon, more and more people were arriving, and Peach was excited. The cakes all went over well with everyone, and they were all having a good time. She was glad that such an impromptu party was successful. As she talked with people, she learned how much people appreciated having a place to go and be normal people, not whatever weird species they were.

There was one problem. Marth wasn't there. He hadn't even responded to her message yet.

The doorbell rang. Was it him? She got up from her seat on the couch with Zelda, Mipha, and Sidon. It could have been him. When she opened the door, though, she was… disappointed.

"Hey, it's the Fvck God!" Axel laughed, slinging his arm around the blonde… (wait, were they a boy or a girl? Shit.) next to him.

"Welcome, come on in!" Peach immediately smiled. Sure, they weren't Marth, but at least they were fun.

"We probably won't be here long. Me and this boy Demyx here-" Oh, good, they were a boy. Good to know. "-are gonna get drunk with a couple friends later, and we figured cake is a great warm-up." The two walked in, black boots loud against the hardwood floors. Upon noticing the (mostly) organized pile of shoes off to the side, they kicked them off.

"Damn, this place is nice," Demyx said, looking around.

"Well, thank you!" Peach laughed. "I can't take much credit, since my mom was in charge of the interior design."

"Oh, by the way, if after this, you wanna come drinking with us, you can," Axel said as they all walked into the kitchen. Thank God Annette and Jaques were already gone.

Peach froze for a second. Sure, the offer was nice, but… "Dude, it's a Wednesday night. I don't drink on school nights." She especially didn't want to have a hangover on her second day. She did laugh a little though. "I appreciate the offer, so hit me up on the weekend, maybe?"

"Tis a shame, we could always use more pretty ladies." Axel laughed.

"Yeah, considering that the only girl there is Larxene, and her and Marluxia are all…" He made kissing motions with his hands, and Peach's face fell.

"Marluxia? The big pink hair dude who was bullying that girl?" She sighed. "Yeah, I'd rather not hang out with him. He sounds like an asshole."

"Yeah, well, he's our asshole, apparently." Axel rolled his eyes. "He's not that bad if he thinks you're worthy."

Peach pursed her lips. "Yeah, I don't think I'd want to get drunk with him."

"Fair enough. I'll let you know if we end up hanging out without him." Axel leaned forward on the counter and gave her a look. "It would be nice to have some time alone with you, you know?"

Peach bit her lip a bit in her smile. "What, you, me, and Demyx, or were you just talking you and me?"

"Depends on how adventurous you are." God, that smirk could melt hearts.

"Oh my fucking God, this cake is so good!" The moment was ruined by Demyx shouting, apparently really loving the peach cake. "Like, seriously, what's the secret?"

Peach laughed. "Wouldn't be much of a secret if I told you, now would it?" She stood up straighter. "I'm gonna go be a good host and talk to everyone, but it's nice seeing you. Have fun!"

"Will do."

She left the kitchen and looked around. Still no Marth. Eventually, she noticed Ike, Roy, and a girl (Marin? Malin? Something like that.) all talking on one of the sleek white couches. They were his friends, right? Maybe they'd know. She walked up to them. "Hey, mind if I join you guys?"

"Sure! I was just telling Malon about this time I won against the best player on our rival school's fencing team!" Roy grinned. He scooted over, closer to Malon, so that she could sit between him and Ike. Peach sat down and listened (though, not as intently as Malon, who seemed to hang onto every word), and after a bit, Marth's name came up.

"Oh, Marth! Hey, do you think he's gonna come? I haven't heard from him."

"Nah," Ike said, drinking from his can of Cherry Lime La Croix before continuing. "His family went out to celebrate their first day at school."

Peach was relieved. Yeah, she was bummed he wasn't coming, but she was glad it wasn't necessarily because he didn't want to. "I see. He seems really nice."

Ike smiled, just a bit. "Yeah, I like him. We didn't really talk back in Seattle, but he seemed pretty cool."

"It's nice having someone you know here." Peach sighed. "It must be hard for the ones who didn't know anybody before… everything."

"You know, you're helping those people with stuff like this." Ike took another sip. "Helping people feel welcome."

She was glad people understood what this party was for. "I'm trying, yeah."

"It's working."

Peach turned towards him more and smiled. You know, he was really cute too. Like, really cute.

Maybe it wasn't so bad that Marth couldn't make it.

0-0-0-0-0

The moment Link flopped down on his bed, he was out. Zelda had offered him a ride home, but he figured the skateboarding trip home would be nice, right? No, no, it was way hotter than he was used to, and he was drenched in sweat when he arrived home. It took him all his effort to wait until he was in his bathroom to strip down. After he got in the shower, he realized he didn't have to worry about wearing clothes in his apartment, assuming he kept his blinds closed. So, as soon as he dried off, he flopped down on his bed.

He had always been a light sleeper. His life had always required it.

So, when the noises started from above him, he woke up an instant.

Fuck.

It sounded like whoever was living above him was having a party. Loud music, lots of footsteps. There was no way he was going to sleep through it. He tried playing on his phone for a bit, but no dice. Only a couple people were on the school's chatroom, and honestly, he didn't want to join. Zelda had invited him to something earlier, presumably while he slept, but that was a few hours ago and he didn't want to go out.

He tried hitting the ceiling with a broom. Nope, no response.

He needed to sleep. He was going to have to confront them, wasn't he?

Fuck it. He put on some pants and went out the door into the hot summer air. He knocked on the door of the apartment above him, and…

Double fuck. It was that Marluxia dude. "Can I help you?"

"You're being loud. I can hear you."

Marluxia gave him a sneer. "Good to know."

"I can't sleep."

Before Marluxia could respond, some guy with bright red hair came to the door to join him. "Hey, who's this and where are his nipples?"

Link crossed his arms over his chest, insecure about his birth defect. God, these people were rude. Though, he was the one who'd gone up without a shirt.

"He was just leaving. Unless you wanted to join us, of course?"

Link knew he wasn't invited, so he just left. This was going to be hell, wasn't it? He sighed when he walked back into his apartment. Somehow, he managed to sleep through it, albeit in small chunks. In the times where he could sleep, dreams of faraway lands filled his head. Were these his imagination or memories?

And before he knew it, it was time to get to school. He made himself a peanut butter sandwich and scarfed it down before getting dressed. He supposed it didn't really matter what he wore since it would all change when he got to school, so he put on his cargo shorts and blue shirt. His skateboard glided smoothly down the roads as he went, following the same path as yesterday. Maybe sometime he'd explore the city, but for now, he just had to get back to school.

When he arrived at Homeroom, Zelda was waiting for him at her seat. And something was very different.

"Your hair." Link said as he sat down.

"Oh, you like it? I figured since we're going to be fighting and stuff, it would be smarter to have it shorter, yeah?" Zelda grinned, running her hand through it. Instead of going to her mid-back, it hit her jawline and framed her face perfectly. "Plus, it looks good, don't you think?"

Link nearly choked, only able to force a nod. He wasn't going to scare her off by telling her how fucking adorable it was.

She smiled back at him. "Speaking of battling, I can tell you about the stuff I learned, if that's alright."

Link nodded again, and she started talking about the spells she could do. The main one she was focusing on was Din's Fire, which lead her to tell him about this girl Lulu and her fire spell, and then it led to talking about the other people in her group. Honestly, Link didn't mind watching her ramble, seeing her adorable facial expressions and wild hand movements was well enough. She'd occasionally glance over to him to make sure he was listening (And hey, he was, even though he wouldn't remember most of these people) and then continue.

It sounded like she'd met some really cool people. He was happy for her.

Just so long as all of them didn't mob him at lunch, of course.

0-0-0-0-0

Aqua Conway was so happy to know her purpose. She'd always been a wild child growing up, and even though she'd calmed down before her senior year, she'd never known her place. She was aimless, wandering around in a field of darkness.

A fitting comparison, given her backstory.

Now, she was a protector. She was here to save the world.

Unfortunately, her companions were so dumb. She would never say it out loud, but… man. Neither of them was very smart.

Ventus Arra wasn't that bad, really. Sure, he didn't seem particularly intelligent, nor did he make great decisions, but at least he could function. They sat next to each other in Mr. Lowell's history class, and he didn't seem to pay attention, instead getting distracted by every bird that flew by the window. His twin brother Roxas must have gotten most of the brain cells, she thought.

The other one, Terra Buckley… oh god, how did he exist? He was naive and air-headed and… geez. They were in a group in Lady Palutena's general science class, along with Ike Gawain, this tall blue-haired kid with a prominent hickey on his neck, and Alex Mulner, another brainless jock who Terra talked football with constantly.

She felt bad, honestly. They were both nice, sure, but she didn't want to feel like she was babysitting constantly.

When it was time for Advanced Math, she was relieved. She hadn't always loved school, but math was always her strong suit. Plus, the girls who sat at her table were really cool.

Especially Samus. Aqua had always had a thing for her fellow tall girls, and Samus was insanely tall. Over six feet for sure.

"Hey, Aqua!" Zelda grinned whenever Aqua walked to their table. Zelda was cool too, peppy without being an airhead.

"Hey, Zel, How's it going?"

"It's going alright. How did your battle class go yesterday? I saw you over there with the swordsmen."

Aqua leaned forward a bit, resting her arms on her desk. "It went super well! I'm actually really good at it. We did a couple of practice moves on each other, and I kicked my friend Terra's ass at it."

"That's super cool! Noelle and I are both Magicians, so we learned some cool stuff." Zelda looked over at Noelle, who smiled a bit before going back to the book she was reading.

"Apparently I know some magic too, so I might end up training with you guys some." Aqua smiled.

"Oh, that would be neat!" She exclaimed before hearing the classroom door open again. Upon noticing who it was, she said: "Hey, Samus!"

Oh shit, it was her. A good kind of 'oh shit', though. She hoped Samus wouldn't notice her slight blush.

Evidently not, because Samus just gave everyone a curt nod. Before much conversation could happen, Mr. Mewtwo called attention to the class. The class went smoothly, with more of a review of concepts they already knew than anything. It was nice to have the reminders. When it was time to work on their assignment, they talked more about their battle stuff. However, she noticed Samus seemed tense. She had yesterday, too, but figured it was just because of all the new changes. Aqua didn't want to pry, but she wanted to pry, you know?

After their table was done with their work, they turned it in, and yet again, Mr. Mewtwo let them go early. Zelda and Noelle talked about magic some more, leaving Samus and Aqua to talk.

"Hey, you doing alright?" Aqua asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"Like, really?"

Samus sighed. "At least I'm training to get revenge."

Oh. Aqua didn't pry any further, but could put together that someone in her other life had been killed. Reading your backstory wasn't just like reading a book, it was more like a memory. You felt it, and she was sure that something really bad had happened to Samus.

Aqua's wasn't happy either.

"Hey, if you need to talk, I'm here." She gave a half smile.

"You're the Mom friend in your friend groups, aren't you?" Samus asked after a moment.

"Yeah, I guess so." Aqua laughed a little.

"I thought so. Look, I don't need a mom." She seemed to choke a bit. "I don't need someone worrying constantly. I can handle myself."

"Oh…"

Samus stopped. "Sorry, that sounded rude. I'm trying to say I want a friend, not a mom. I appreciate the concern, but please, don't feel the need to constantly make sure I'm okay."

Aqua sighed. "Sorry."

"It's sweet, but it's not what I need." Samus sighed. "Thanks for understanding."

Aqua sighed too. "It's no problem."

Damn. Samus was a hard nut to crack.

0-0-0-0-0

When Ike Gawain woke up that morning, he knew he fucked up. He stumbled into the bathroom, and yep, there it was. A hickey. While it wasn't the worst, it was still clearly visible.

His little sister Mist refused to help him cover it, instead finding it hilarious that he'd already gotten a hickey after school going for only a day. Thank God she hadn't come to the party, otherwise it would have been a nightmare.

She was sweet, but… man, she was overbearing. He was secretly glad they didn't share any classes, and that thankfully, she'd found other friends at lunch.

Everyone noticed, because of course they did. How could you not? It was right there, for all to see. Ike had made out with someone. Someone he barely knew, at that.

Peach Toadstool. He'd made out with Peach Toadstool.

He wasn't normally like this. He'd normally get to know someone first, but somehow, after having a single one on one conversation, Ike knew her well enough to end up in her bedroom, making out and listening to Halsey. Thank God he didn't have a curfew.

It didn't go any further than making. Peach had offered, if he wanted to, of course, but he didn't want to go any further. Thank God she didn't push it, because with the way she looked, he may have said yes.

She wasn't easy. That made it sound bad. No, she was effortless. Talking to her made it seem like he was exactly where he needed to be. Kissing her felt like everything was right in the world.

He passed her in the hall between classes, and she gave him a sweet, knowing smile. Upon noticing the hickey she'd left, her face flushed. Man, she was adorable.

At his locker, Roy asked who'd done it. Ike wasn't going to tell. He wanted to keep her all to himself, even though he knew next to nothing about her. It wasn't like she was secretive, he just hadn't bothered to ask much.

This wasn't like him. He was better than this.

At lunch, Peach seemed to pay him only a slight bit of extra attention. Daisy smirked at him, obviously knowing what happened but keeping it to herself. Zelda ignored it, while Link didn't even seem to notice. Roy, Marth, and Lucina seemed eager to know, but didn't bring it up at the lunch table. Samus glared daggers right at the damn thing. Was she into him or something? Honestly, he thought she was gay at first. He still wasn't entirely convinced she wasn't.

It wasn't until Aerobics class that Marth finally brought it up.

"How about we play a game?" Marth asked as they did their stretches.

"What kind?"

"I ask you questions, you can only answer yes or no. Sound fun?"

It sounded like a trap, and Ike wondered why he didn't just ask directly. "Sure."

"So, the hickey. Guy or girl?"

Ike just looked at him for a moment. "Yes?"

"Sorry. Was it a guy?"

"No!" He was a bit loud in saying that, so he quieted down when he followed up with. "Uh, I'm straight."

"So a girl then. Do I know her?"

"Yes."

Marth thought for a second. "Was it Lucina?"

"No? I thought she was out with your family for dinner." Ike said, moving on to his next stretch.

"Good. Cause if it was, I'd have to kill you." Marth chuckled a little. "You know that, right?"

"Yes."

"Do I know her?"

"Yeah."

"Does she sit with us at lunch?"

Fuck. "Yeah."

"Is it Peach?"

Ike stayed silent for a moment, but he knew he'd have to answer. "Yes."

Marth sighed. "Are you two, like, together?"

"Can we stop playing the damn game so I can talk like a normal person?"

He laughed a tiny bit. "Sure."

"No, we aren't. She doesn't seem like that kind of girl. Dating, I mean."

Marth looked down to the ground. "Oh."

Oh, shit, Marth had a crush on her. Probably a small one. Ike didn't blame him. She had the cutest little lips that he could watch (and taste) all night.

"She asked about you though. Before, uh, things happened." Ike cleared his throat. "Asked if you were coming to the party."

Marth finished up the last stretch and stood up. "I wish I could have. Maybe I could have been the one she kissed."

"I'm sure if you asked nicely." Ike chuckled a bit as he got up. He had no doubt that that would work, with what he knew about the girl in question. "Don't give up hope."

"One last question?"

"Sure."

"Was she a good kisser?"

"Yes."

0-0-0-0-0

A/N: Holy shit, I wrote most of this in the middle of the night. I ended up switching Link and Peach's slots in the order for this, since hers happened first. I'll likely end up changing the order again next time, because, well, Link isn't super involved in the current plot thread. Admittedly, Peach is getting a bit more attention because she's a bit more… dramatic? She causes more drama, even though it's not direct.

Link and Peach both have aspects of me in this. Link is my more wallflower side, just observing the world, while Peach is my more, well, promiscuous side. Half the things Ike thinks about her are things my hurricane of a friend has said about me. Zelda kind of has a bit of me too, with the talkativeness. I suppose, in a way, Link is like the hurricane, listening and waiting for me to be done before kissing me at the next red light we hit.

I suppose the hurricane is having more of an impact on my writing than I thought.

Last Name Explanations:

Terra Buckley (Kingdom Hearts): Says it means wood. Idk, it sounds… jockish.

Ventus Arra (Kingdom Hearts): I literally cannot find what it means. I came up with it a long time ago. Oh god, did I just rip off air and make it sound pretty?

Alex Mulner (Stardew Valley): Canon. And yes, I'm including Stardew Valley. It's a good game. I wanna marry Shane or Sebastian in my main playthrough.