It was the final day of the Brawl tournament.
The winner had been declared and a celebration had been thrown the previous night. Now was the time that everyone would say their goodbyes to their fellow competitors and return to their own worlds. For many, it was an easy exchange.
For others, however, it was quite difficult to say goodbye. Two fighters in particular were an example of that.
Samus Aran and Solid Snake.
From the moment they met, they had a connection. At first, they couldn't really explain why. But as they got to know and spent more time with each other, it became clear.
They shared many similar experiences to one another, they saw each other not just as soldiers, but as people too. When they were together, their respective titles did not matter. The legendary mercenary, Solid Snake, was just David and the galactically renowned bounty hunter, Samus Aran, was just Samus. They found solace and understanding in one another that neither had felt before.
Indeed, what had began as a simple competitor relationship, turned to friendship, which soon turned into love.
But the day they had deeply dreaded was finally here.
They both stood on the teleport platform, waiting for the teleport beam that would return Snake to his world. The bright morning sun a stark contrast to how they both felt inside.
They stood facing one another, and although Samus kept her eyes locked onto the ground, she was the first to speak.
"I-I'm going to miss you Snake." Her words came out soft and quiet.
"I'm gonna miss you too Sam."
Samus looked up at him and smiled a bit at the use of the nickname. They locked eyes and it suddenly became all too real for her, tears began welling up in her eyes. She wrapped her arms around his midsection in a tight embrace as she buried her face into his chest, the sound of her sobbing muffled by the fabric of his coat. Snake simply held onto her, stroking her long, blonde hair with his free hand.
They stood like that for a few minutes, but to them it seemed much longer, the only sound to be heard was of Samus' soft crying. Snake broke the silence.
"Samus, it's gonna be okay."
"N-no it's not," Samus replied, pulling herself away from Snake's arms, "Everyone I ever care about always get taken away from me!", Her mind raced of thoughts of her parents, the Chozo, and the baby Metroid, "I don't wanna lose anyone else."
Snake pulled her close to him again. "Sam, look at me." Samus complied, her teal eyes looking into his stormy gray ones, his look a softened one, a look he reserved for only her, "You're not going to lose me."
"But we're going back to our own worlds." Samus said.
"I know, but we have to. You have your bounties and I have to keep an eye out for Metal Gears back home."
"Then how am I not losing you?"
"Because I'm gonna come back for the next tournament." Snake said with a confident smirk.
"Snake I-really?" Samus wanted to believe him so much.
"I promise. Even if I have to sneak in, I'm coming back for you."
"...But what if you don't?" Samus said, her mind teeming with all the scenarios that could prevent him from returning.
"...If I don't, just know that I love you so much and I have cherished every moment we have spent together."
"I love you too Snake." Samus said softly as she felt her chin being lifted up by one of Snake's fingers as his lips met hers. It was not a kiss of lust, but of love. It was gentle and compassionate. Both of them trying to imprint the feeling into their memory.
They finally pulled apart when they heard the teleport beam spring to life behind them.
"..Guess it's time to go." Snake said.
"...Goodbye Snake."
"This isn't goodbye Sam. Let's say...see you later."
"You promise?"
"You trust me right?"
"More than anything."
"Then please…trust me on this."
"...Ok." Samus said as she pulled him into a swift kiss. Snake then grabbed his bag and headed towards the teleport. He turned his head.
"I love you Sam. I'll see you later." He smiled.
"See you later then, I love you too David."
Snake beamed at her as he stepped on the teleport, and in a flash, he was gone.
—-
The fourth Smash Brothers tournament had come and gone. Several new faces came into the fight and some old ones made long awaited returns...but none of them were who Samus had hoped for.
When she got her invitation to the fourth tournament, while it was expected, she felt excited about this one. She was going to see Snake again.
Or so she had thought.
Samus stood on the teleport platform watching many of the previous fighters be welcomed back to the familiar mansion. One by one they came via teleport, spaceship, or other means of travel. Samus couldn't wait to see him, to be in his arms again, to make fun of his haircut, to laugh at his ridiculous pick-up lines.
She waited the whole day, until everyone that was coming back had arrived. No Snake in sight.
The next day, the newcomers to the tournament arrived. Once again, Samus waited the whole day. She had a slight hope that there had been a mix up and that he would arrive with the newcomers. Still no Snake.
As far as she knew, that was the last batch of fighters coming into the tournament. Samus felt a whirlwind of emotions. Sadness, confusion, anger, and worry.
Snake had told her he'd come back, so why wasn't he here?
Maybe he didn't see the invitation? Did he not get invited at all? Did he not love her anymore? Was he hurt? The worst question of all: was he dead?
She tried asking around the roster if they knew anything, they had no idea. She tried going to the Hands for answers. Crazy Hand, unsurprisingly, was of no help. So she went to the highest power in the tournament: Master Hand.
"Master Hand, why isn't Snake in the tournament?" Samus said.
Master Hand turned to her. "What do you mean?"
"You know damn well what I mean. Snake's not in the tournament. You have to know something!" Samus exclaimed. "Did you even invite him at all? Did that ever occur to you?!"
"My dear Samus, while I may be the creator of these tournaments, I do not decide on who is invited and who is not."
Samus was puzzled at the floating hand's statement. "Then who does? I've got some choice words for them!"
"My brother and I are the only ones who can contact them, and it is in very rare circumstances. I wish I was able to give you the answers you seek. But alas, it is out of our hands, so to speak."
With that, Samus retreated back to the mansion. She went back to her room and fell into the familiar bed she had once shared with the mercenary. Without him at her side, the bed, no matter how many blankets were on it, felt cold. She tried her best to fall asleep, but sometimes even when she did, her nightmares would wake her up.
There'd be the ones she'd usually get from time to time, reliving her parents' deaths, Ridley, the SA-X. But she found her subconscious had conjured new ones as well. Namely, Snake lying lifeless on the ground or him being ripped away from her, with Samus powerless to stop it. She'd wake up in a cold sweat, tears running down her face. Whenever she woke up due to something like this, Snake would hold her in his arms and say that everything was going to be alright. But this time, she was alone.
When the tournament was actively going on, Samus invested her time on purely her matches, it wasn't about wanting to win, but it was something to distract her. A way to get her frustrations out and to push her emotions to the back of her mind, at least for a bit.
She had never been the most extroverted person out of the roster, but during the previous tournament, she had gotten out of her shell more and had become better friends with a good amount of the roster. Princess Peach, Princess Zelda, and Pikachu in particular. Instead of being open to her friends' invitations to spend time together, like she was last time, Samus spent most of her time either in the training area or her room.
The princesses tried to talk to her, but were declined. They knew how much Snake meant to her and understood that Samus needed her space, so after much debate between the two, they decided to let her be.
It was like Samus had reverted to what she was like in the first two tournaments, only caring for the fights, never getting significantly close to anyone. This cycle continued throughout the tournament.
Why did I even bother?, Samus thought, Everyone always leaves me, one way or the other.
About halfway through the tournament, Master Hand had a big announcement to share with the fighters. He announced that a group of new fighters would be inducted into the roster as the tournament went on. Along with them, a few fighters missing from this tournament would be inducted as well.
At this news, Samus felt a renewed sense of hope in her heart. This was it, she thought, this was how Snake's gonna come back.
With every fighter announcement, Samus was excited. As the roster expanded, so did her hopefulness. Fighters that many had thought wouldn't be in the tournament made a grand return, Mewtwo and Lucas. Finally, the day came when Master Hand announced the final returning fighter. Samus waited anxiously, fingers crossed. Master Hand opened the envelope…
"Roy!"
Samus was crushed. She didn't stay for the celebration for the returning members of the roster. She went straight to the training area, where she punched and kicked the sandbag into oblivion to let off steam.
I'm such a fool. He told me...he promised me that he would come back. Now there's nothing to show for it! I just want to see him again. I want to know if he's okay…is that too much to ask?!
The tournament ended some time later. Samus was the first to leave, without a word.
—
Ten. Years.
It had been ten years since they were separated.
The invitation with the famous red wax seal had made its way to Samus once again. She initially hesitated on opening it, knowing how badly the last tournament was for her. But her curiosity compelled her to open it the longer she had it. She opened it and started to read..
"You are cordially invited to the fifth Super Smash Brothers tournament, which I have dubbed the Ultimate tournament! This is going to be the best one we've had to date. I've even thrown in a few...special surprises. Sincerely, M.H."
Samus almost tore the letter up. After what she had to go through last time, she wasn't sure if she wanted to go to this one. But she couldn't deny that her curiosity was certainly peaked by the "special surprises" Master Hand had in store. After much thought and deliberation, she had decided. Something in her heart urged her to go. So she packed up her things and set the coordinates for the Smash Mansion into her gunship.
When Samus arrived at the Smash mansion, she noticed the teleport platform was buzzing with activity. Princess Peach noticed Samus across the way and called out to her.
"Samus! Come over here!"
Samus obliged and was immediately brought into a hug from the cheerful princess. "It's so good to see you, it's been too long."
"Yeah, it's good to see you too Peach," Samus said as the princess released her from their hug, "About the last tournament...I'm sorry that I was so aloof."
Peach put a hand on the taller woman's shoulder. "It's okay, I could tell how heartbroken you were after Snake didn't show up to the tournament."
"...He told me that he would come back. But he never did. Maybe I shouldn't have gotten my hopes so high." Samus said, her eyes cast down to the concrete ground.
"Samus, I'm sure that Snake would have showed if he was able to. That man is head over heels in love with you. You two are perfect together. He wouldn't have not shown up if he didn't have a good reason. Besides, you never know what might happen, if Mewtwo, Lucas, and Roy could come back, then who's to say Snake won't this time around?"
"...You think so?" Samus said.
"Of course I do! If you want, we can wait for everyone else to show up together. All the newcomers and us veterans who got invited back are arriving today."
"...Yeah, I'd like that. Thanks Peach." Samus said, the last shred of hope in her growing slightly at the princess's kind offer.
The two of them stood on the platform as they watched many fighters arrive. Even some that had not been seen in quite a while, like Young Link, the Ice Climbers, even the young Pokémon trainer, Red, had come back with his Squirtle and Ivysaur.
"It seems like most everyone has returned, this is so exciting!" Peach said enthusiastically. Samus began to tense up, it had been about ten minutes and the influx of fighters had ceased. Samus balled her hand into a tight fist so as to keep her emotions from coming to the surface. She stepped away from Peach.
"Peach, I think I'll just go unpack in my room. I think everyone who's going to show up, has." Samus said, tearing up, the sound of the teleport beam materializing several feet away behind her going unnoticed by her.
Peach gasped at what she saw. "S-Samus, look!" Peach pointed in the direction of the teleport beam, catching the attention of the bounty hunter beside her.
"What is it Peac-" Samus cut herself off as she saw what, or rather who, had came through the teleporter as she turned around.
Is that…?
Solid Snake stood right in front of the teleporter, bag in hand, looking just the same as he did when she saw him last. Samus couldn't believe what she was seeing. Before she really thought about what she was doing, Samus started running as fast as she could towards the man.
"Snake, Snake!" Samus cried, causing the mercenary to look up and see her. Snake dropped his bag to the ground and started running towards her too.
"Samus!"
Everything felt like it was going in slow motion the closer they got to each other. As they got close enough to each other, Samus wrapped her arms around his neck while Snake held onto her in a tight embrace, spinning her around a bit before setting her feet back on the ground.
Is this really happening? Samus thought, still clinging onto the man, trying to make sure if her mind was playing tricks on her or not. She could smell the familiar scent that came with him, a mix of cigarette smoke, the Earth, and Huskies. She looked up at his face, everything was just how she remembered it. His messy brown hair, his signature bandana across his forehead, his strong jawline framed by stubble. She could hear his gravelly voice as he breathed a sigh of relief.
"D-David, it's really you?" Samus said, tears of joy streaming down her face.
"It's me Sam. Sorry to have kept you waiting so long. I told you I'd be back, it just took...a lot longer than I had hoped." There was no mistaking it, he was real.
"W-where were you during the last tournament?"
"...I didn't get an invitation. I tried everything I could to come back here. Otacon and I even tried to get into contact with Master Hand ourselves, but nothing ended up working."
"...I was so worried, I was afraid that...maybe you no longer cared for me or worse, something might have happened to you." Samus said in a voice that to most would sound like a whisper, but Snake heard it loud and clear.
"I would never stop loving you Sam, you are the most amazing woman I've ever met. You make me feel so alive. You make me feel whole." Snake said, that softened look in his eyes returning.
"I've missed you so much."
"I've missed you too, more than you'll ever know. But what matters now is that we're together again...and I don't intend on that changing anytime soon." Snake said, continuing to hold the woman.
They were like that for a few minutes, simply taking the time to enjoy each other's presence, until Samus spoke up.
"...Snake, now that we're together again, there's something I've been meaning to do for a long time." Samus said.
"Oh really? What's that gorgeous?" Snake said, a hint of playfulness in his voice.
"This." Samus said before capturing her lips with his. It was a deep and passionate kiss, what they both wanted so badly for the past ten years, both of them putting all their love they had for each other into it. The whole world melted away around them, they didn't care about the rest of the roster possibly seeing them. They were in their own little world, just the two of them.
When they finally parted and had caught their breath, Samus leaped into his arms yet again, wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist, planting kisses all over his face. The words "I love you." tumbling out of her mouth on repeat.
Snake chucked as she did this. He felt so happy, warm, and fulfilled when he was with her. He was overjoyed to have his lover back in his arms after so much time apart.
"I heard there's gonna be a party that's being held for all the fighters tonight. You wanna go?" Samus asked.
"Nah," Snake replied, a mischievous glint in his eyes, "it seems like we have a lot of catching up to do, wouldn't you agree?"
"Oh definitely," Samus said with a smirk, catching the meaning behind his words, "besides, I'm sure everyone wouldn't mind us missing one party."
With that approval, Snake changed Samus' position so that he could carry her bridal style back to the room which was theirs once again.
For the two of them, they were safe, they were happy, and they were home at last.