It's Pix again. Didja miss me? No? Right then.
Lotsa dialogue in this chapter, but I felt I needed to work on it. Plus, I'm pretty sure it isn't too horrendous.
Disclaimer - I do not own Marth, Zelda, or Link. Or Peach. I do, however, own the bad Italian restaurant in the first chapter, although it is currently out for loan.
Zelda's world was nothing more than a blur of brightly shining spots as she spun on one foot, convinced that she'd just seen a streak of white in the sky just out of sight. She searched the constellations hawkishly, focusing on Orion and daring his belt to fall from the sky; willing Leo's tail to drip from his body in a splash of silver... for at this point, even a dull, dwarfish star would be sufficient - she'd been out here for too long, trying too hard to see a shooting star on a night that was supposed to be full of them.
Another flash of white seared the side of her eyelid, and she spun again, nearly reaching out with her hands as if she could grasp one with her fingers and hold it poised in the sky.
It was gone before she got there, and for a moment she just stood, staring into the sky, wondering why, on a night like this - during a meteor shower, nonetheless - she was unable to pick out a single shooting star.
Millions of stars in the sky, and they all decide to fall when I'm not -
"There's one!"
Instinctually she whirled again, her hand flying to her hair to keep it from blowing into her face. Her eyes jerked about the sky, searching the sky to which Marth had pointed…
"It's gone, damn it," she sighed in frustration, and had almost begun to contemplate dropping to the ground and giving up hope when she caught sight of a small white streak in the sky.
"There!" she screamed overzealously, and there was one, not just a fluke but right there before her eyes, blazing through the sky as if it were tearing a hole in the universe. She nearly counted the seconds before it disappeared - one and a half, and even that was generous - and eagerly turned to Marth, on whose face she bleakly recognized the same aggravated, searching expression.
Then it happened again - wildly he turned to indicate another plot in the sky, but without even turning, Zelda knew what would happen: she would witness another non-star in a patch of blank sky, the remaining stars still and winking as if they were mocking her for being so slow, and then she would grow ridiculously angry over such a trivial matter…
She looked anyway, and saw nothing.
A drawn-out, long-suffering groan escaped her lips, and with an overly dramatic flourish, she let her legs buckle under her and fell heavily to the ground, laying flat on her back and spreading her arms as if she were being crucified by the cruel custodians of fortune who had so conveniently orchestrated a comet shower during which she was simply unable to make a simple wish with her boyfriend.
"The fates are a nasty bunch," she muttered.
"Looks that way," Marth smirked, and then plopped down beside her. "You're trying too hard to see them."
"I know," she complained, crossing her arms over her eyes, "but all I want to do is make a wish! Can't God just stop spiting me for once, that smug, vindictive – "
"Careful," Marth warned with a grin, "He may smite you."
"Sacrilegious thug," she retorted.
Zelda punctuated the sentence with a punch to his arm, difficult to execute while lying on the ground at her trajectory, but still fathomably painful. As far as she was concerned, she could drop the Peach-famous 'O-M-G' once in a long while without committing herself to the Holy Ghost and company. In response to her violent action, the blue-haired prince feigned a look of hurt, and turned away muttering something about the abusive nature of their relationship.
The blonde princess spotted a glisten of silver above, and was sorely tempted to look up, but decided that it could wait. "Oh, well, fine, if you're going to get like that…"
She thought that if she were lying just a little more to the side, she might see the smile dawning on Marth's lips as she fell straight into his trap – she'd done so too many times in the past not to recognize it. Nevertheless, she lifted herself into a sitting position, and on the way, stopped only a fraction of a second to wince at the ache of her lately unused abdominal muscles… but, as always, that was enough, and yet another time Zelda had let her guard down for a moment too many: something years of the Tournament should have taught her, but also one of the warning signs that magically disappeared whenever she was with Marth.
A shriek of surprise split the air as something hit her from the front, and she felt the muscles give way as she flew backwards to the sand, laden with something heavy as the uneven weight sent them rolling over and over in the grass, her vision spinning and her knowledge of what had happened somehow making her laugh giddily and dizzily as she finally came to a halt looking into Marth's eyes. They were close; so much so that their noses were all but touching, and yet she couldn't bring herself to move.
Before she knew it, they were kissing, shooting stars of her own blasting through her eyelids as she scolded herself for melting like a giddy schoolgirl whenever it happened. That didn't stop her from reciprocating as best she could – an alarming prospect when one was acquainted with exactly how passionate she was about the things – or people – she loved. But Marth had unwillingly committed to it the moment he'd first asked her out, and, in some immortal words of her own, hell if she'd ever let him go.
'Hell if I'll ever let you go'also happened to be an accurate summation of Zelda's thoughts at the time. This was one of the moments she often bragged to Peach about – a moment where nothing else in the world was relevant, and all that was important was that she felt completely loved; adored and cherished by single person until she could also fairly say 'screw the rest of the world'. The earth could have melted below them, or a misguided falling star could have incinerated them where they lay, but all that mattered was that she was kissing him, he was kissing her back, and it would take a cataclysm of epic proportions to separate them.
Zelda only realized that she needed oxygen when they broke away, and she was left gulping great breaths of air, Marth's breath on her face warm and comforting, her smile so wide that her cheeks hurt.
"Call it payback," he informed her with a smirk as he rolled off of her to lie on his back by her side.
"Call what payback?" she breathed, and then, grinning, "Oh, the tackle."
The grin grew wider. "Apologies for that not being the first thing on my mind."
.
And, apologies for the chapter ending so abruptly. It is now in three parts.
Opus Triumphant - Quite the flatterer, are we? Heh, not to say I don't appreciate it... you have a way with words as well, may I say. Translation: Publish something!
PirateGoddess - Thank you for the compliments! As for school, I can only express the same sentiments, as the very same thing has been keeping me from updating.
razzkat - Yes, another Marth/Zelda. What can I say:)
Nox - And he said, "if there is to be another chapter, then let there be so..." and lo and behold, there was. Undeniable proof that Equinox Reaper is God in disguise. (AKA Yay, I have achieved vividness, commence worshipping) Thank you!
Next chapter - more flirty goodness and more heavily concealed similes.