Later that night I went upstairs to check on her, knocking on her door.

"Samus, it's me…"

Receiving no response, I let myself in. There upon her bed she sat cross-legged, clad in a nightshirt and hair undone. She was tinkering with a miniature model of her gunship. I sat beside her, and after some silence I spoke.

"What you did earlier… You didn't have to do that."

"Who'd they get to replace me?" She refused to meet my gaze.

"Bayonetta."

She quietly scoffed. "Figures…"

"I know how important that Squad Strike match was to you."

"Yeah, well, there are more important things to me…"

"What do you mean?"

Samus was about to say something, but she hesitated, pausing from her work. It was difficult for her to talk about her feelings, but when she did try, I really valued that, because I wanted to be the one there to listen, no matter what it was.

She gathered some courage at last, looking at me. "It's just… Seeing you being treated that way, I… I don't know, something came over me, I guess…"

I couldn't help but blush a little. "Can you believe what that King K. Rool said? You know, about you and I being…"

"Oh…" she was blushing, too. "About that… I, um… No, it's nothing. Never mind."

No matter how long, I would wait. For now, a smile will have to do. "Anyway, thank you."

She smiled back, and I took my leave, having feelings of my own I need to consider.