Sleep did not come easily to Roy. As the hours slowly ticked by on the clock on the wall, Roy watched as the other Fire Emblem fighters slept, listening to the peaceful sound of their breathing as he lay awake, trapping in the waking world by a cage made of his own thoughts.

Thoughts that were entirely occupied by Zelda's smiling face.

Groaning, Roy covered his face and tossed to the other side of his bed.

From what his friends back in his world had told him, it was easy to miss when girls flirted with him. He didn't think he could be blamed for that, was with focusing on the war looming over their heads.

But he was just at bad when it came to his love, too. He'd never courted a girl before. How was he supposed to know what to do? If he was still back in his world, he could have asked his father for help, but Master Hand surely would not be pleased were he to depart from the Smash Mall and leave his station unattended.

And she has a boyfriend, Roy's mind added cruelly. You have no chance.

Were he to tell her how he thought of her, like an angel from the heavens, she would surely disagree with him. She was much too humble to think of herself anything but a girl, and here he was chasing after a woman who was as kind and beautiful as she was his better in every way. In what world could he even dream of keeping such a wonderful woman to himself?

But she's my friend, a small voice in his head cried out. Maybe she'll understand. Surely she'll understand!

Understand what? How wonderful she was? How much he looked up to her? How much he loved her?

And what did he hope would happen? That she would leave her boyfriend for him?

Zelda was the kindest, most selfless person he knew. To even think he could ask for something so selfish from her...

It made him sick.

Roy pulled his covers tighter over his bed, hoping the others sleeping in their shop would not notice. He wanted sleep to take him, to distract him from these thoughts, but the longer he waited, the more it looked like he would be waiting the entire night for that to happen.


Roy looked up at the rotting sign of the soup kitchen above him. The O was falling off, and somehow the Byleths had missed repairing the I as well.

The last time he had been here, Zelda had convinced him to sign up for another day. It would be good experience, she had said. It would help him to get to know the other people living in the mall.

He hadn't wanted to come here, especially so close to noon. The other Fire Emblem fighters were having lunch now, and he had wanted to be there with them. A selfish thought, he knew, but it would have been better than coming here and meeting her.

A part of him wished she wouldn't show. A part of her wished she did. And why wouldn't she? Zelda didn't have selfish thoughts like that. She would show, rain or shine.

"Hello, Roy. Have I kept you waiting?"

And like an angel to the choir, she was here. Rising with the escalator leading to the floor below, Zelda smiled as soon as she saw him. That beautiful, beautiful smile that shone like the jewels a crown.

As soon as he saw her, any hopes he might have had were immediately dashed.

What had he been thinking, falling in love? He couldn't bring himself to ruin her smile, to ruin her life like that. Zelda was happy with the life she had, and she showed it by sharing her happiness with others. Who was he to think so selfishly that he could take that away from her?

But Gods, that was a beautiful smile.

Roy turned away, hiding his face as his cheeks burned red. "No," he mumbled. "I just got here."

Behind him, he heard Zelda step closer, her footfalls echoing loudly in the nearly silent din of the empty hallway. His blush only grew, and Roy fought down the urge to look over his shoulder to meet her gaze.

"Oh. That's a relief," she said. "I'm sorry for being a little late. I was... busy last night."

Busy with her boyfriend, probably. Roy winced, and he reached out to open the door. "That must have been nice," he said as he pushed the door open.

Zelda hummed. "Are you ready to get to work?"

"I'll be fine."

"You don't sound fine."

Roy froze. He glanced down at the floor guiltily, but he pressed on into the kitchen. "I didn't get much sleep last night. Ike snores loudly."

"Does he?" Zelda walked in behind him, lightly tracing her fingers over the wooden surface of the tables. "I know they must sell medicine for that in Banjo's Medicine Shop."

"I'll tell him. I'm sure he'll be grateful for the help."

"And what about you? Do you need more rest?"

Roy shook his head. "Like I said before, I'll be fine."

Maybe Zelda would push. Maybe she would insist and send him home. That would be a relief, having a day to himself to get over how she glowed gold in the dim morning light.

Instead, she sighed in relief. "Oh, thank the Goddess. For a moment, I feared I would have to do it alone."

"Oh." Roy glanced up at her, before returning his eyes to the floor. "Thank you."

As Zelda stepped over to flick on the lights, she smiled at him and said, "I truly am grateful for all your help. Really, I am." A frown flickered over her face. "Is that not clear?"

"No, it's fine," Roy said, making his way over to the kitchen. By now, his cheeks had begun to cool. Perhaps now it would be safe to look again?

He stole another look at her just as she reached into her bag, searched a bit, and groaned. "Curses. I seem to have left your present back at the Mattress Store. I may not be able to give it to you until tomorrow. Unless, you would like another favor instead?"

Roy looked away, and his blush quickly returned. "No. You are enough."


Roy was acting strange. He seemed a lot less eager than he had the last time they had come here, and every time she turned to speak to him, he always seemed to turn away.

Had she done something wrong? Was he angry at her?

But he had seemed fine last night. Happy, even. She couldn't think of a single chance she had to ruin this relationship, just as she had ruined her and Link's relationship.

What had happened? Did he know of what she had done? Would he leave her just like everyone else had?

Zelda shook her head. No. She must compose herself. She would get nothing done if she panicked.

Nothing had happened. Nothing could have happened. After they parted, Roy had said he had gone straight to bed. He could not know.

But after the events of last night, the worries would not stop circling her head. With Link gone, Roy was the only friend she had left. Would he leave her? What if he left her?

Zelda shook her head again. I must remain calm. If he did not know, then he never will. And even if he did, Roy is a steadfast and loyal friend. But...

She glanced to the side, where Roy was pouring a spoonful of soup into a bowl. He glanced over at her, but the moment he saw her looking, he pretended she wasn't there, looking anywhere but her.

Zelda knew how people acted. They had things they believed in, things they thought were right and things they thought were wrong. To challenge their beliefs was to challenge their very character.

Roy had expressed his distaste for killing before. He was steadfast. He was loyal. But in the face of such an affront to his sense of justice, would he remain true?

Perhaps. But... it was better to be safe than sorry, wasn't it?

"Roy," she said, softly, as soon as he was finished. She watched him stop. Were she not so close to him, she would have certainly missed the slight way he tilted his head to hear her.

Letting out a breath of relief, Zelda said, "It is such a lovely day, isn't it?"

"It is," Roy replied.

"It would be a waste of sunny weather, were we to spend the day inside. The last time we had such a nice day was..." Zelda frowned. She reached up to brush a strand of hair behind her ear, swallowed a nervous breath, and said, "What I mean to say is... would you perhaps join me for a stroll through Palutena's Temple after lunch? There are a few things I wish to discuss with you."

Roy's shoulders shot up, before they slowly relaxed. Zelda could not tell if that was a good sign or not. She opened her mouth to ask, before Roy glanced her way, then looked away.

"I'm busy today," he said.

Zelda waved a hand aside. "Of course. I can't expect you to be available at all times. You have already dedicated enough time to be with me." And yet, somehow, Zelda still could not feel it was enough. Suppressing the urge to insist, she said, "Will you be available later this week, then?"

Roy's eyes flickered over to her for a second. The third time that day. It was starting to get on her nerves. Was there something wrong with how she looked? Could he not stand to look at her? Was it because of something he knew?

After a moment, he said, "I don't know. Do you have anything planned this week?"

"Nothing aside from attending the Mall Santa Claus post later today."

She did not miss how his fist tightened, or how he winced at that.

Had he forgotten about that? Had he not wanted to go? But he had seemed so fond of the children before. What had changed?

Her. It had to be her.

It wasn't my fault! she wanted to tell him. I had no choice!

"Please don't miss it," she said. "The children are looking forward to it."


What a weird time to upload a chapter, huh?

Originally, I was planning on working on it next week, because I was busy Monday-Tuesday this week, but then the other fic I was working on for the tail end had to be re-planned, so I decided to write this up instead, as finishing that other mess would've taken more time.

Here's to hoping I'm a little more timely next time around. Until then, remember to take care of yourselves, and stay safe!