Wow. I am just churning chapters out for this story, huh? I won't lie, I really look forward to telling and completing this story as I feel that it's pretty good. Also, it was a bit of a relaxing activity for me as I plow through school. Trust me, kiddies. You don't want to grow up. There's nothing good coming out of it! Anyways...Again, I'm glad that you love this, Paradigm. It is for you after all. And thanks to them faceless people who read this story. I really appreciate it.

Where we last left off...welp! Somebody finally calls Marth out for standing in front of a house not of his own! Let's watch what happens, shall we? Hope you guys enjoy!

London Dispersion Force

"What are you doing here, kid?"

Marth blinked rapidly in confusion as the man continued to glare at him. Though he was tempted to look away from the man's accusing expression, Marth knew that it would be a mistake to do so. The college student continued to eye down the green-dressed man, still wondering what he should say though his blank expression showed little signs of the rapid thinking going on behind the scenes. He wasn't at all sure how the man would react to the truth of how the bubbles and the bubble blower wouldn't leave his mind. After all, Marth was quite sure that the stranger was no stranger to the bubble blower considering how he saw the two interacting a few days ago. He tossed around the idea of telling the normal excuse of simply taking a walk, yet he dismissed it almost immediately. Marth was disconnected, not stupid. There had to be a different reason for his standing just a few feet away from the man's door and pointedly looking up at the second-story window, not because of a simple walk when the surrounding houses posed more interest than this one. Besides the man's tone indicated that he was more than familiar with Marth standing outside his home every day. In his case it was just a formality of asking what the hell the blunette was doing.

After what seemed like hours when in reality it was a few seconds, Marth finally decided on what to say. The college student pointed towards the object of his interest currently. "I see somebody blowing bubbles from that window almost every evening. I was intrigued about the identity of the person. That's why I'm standing here. I'm wondering who could be blowing those bubbles." The look of disbelief on the man's face was one that Marth was familiar with. People gave him that same look most of the time. Yet for some reason when this man looked at him like that, Marth felt slightly ashamed, like a kid being scolded by a parent. He shuffled his feet awkwardly with his hands behind his back.

The man hesitated at the answer. As strange as it sounded, the man was certain that Marth told the truth. Something about his manner or his tone didn't mark his words as a lie. Still, the older of the two didn't like the way the boy stood in front of his house. Annoyance replaced disbelief as he jerked a thumb behind him. "Well, I'm sorry to say that you're going to have to keep wondering. I don't want to see you outside my house anymore, got it?"

"Unfortunately sir, I don't think that's possible," Marth said quietly. A blonde eyebrow rose at that statement.

"It's simple really. You just walk away and never come back," the man retorted. He felt his impatience rising when he saw the blunette shake his head.

"Those bubbles have been on my mind for the past week. I can't stop thinking about them, nor can I stop thinking about who's blowing them," Marth said vehemently. "I know that it's weird, but I can't help myself. I have to know, sir!" He stared resolutely into the man's eyes. All signs of hesitation and blankness before disappeared to reveal a determined young man. His eyes told the older person loud and clear that Marth would not give up. Truth to be told, Marth was surprised at his own perseverance and forthrightness. He usually didn't say this much, even when he was conversing with his friends. Thinking that the bubbles were the reason for this change, the student wasn't sure whether this was good or bad. Was he weird that he was influenced by such a small thing as a bubble but not something catastrophic like the death of a president? Truthfully though he didn't care about that answer. He cared more about the man's answer to his plea. The green-clad man leaned in close to Marth. The blunette almost took a step back, but he quickly regained his wits and stood his ground. He kept his expression blank despite the sickly smoke the man smelt of. The two stared each other down, one coolly, the other irritated. After the longest silence the man finally spoke again.

"Leave…" he enunciated.

The college student simply shook his head, ignoring how red the man's ears were getting. "No."

"Do I have to call the police?"

"Sir, I'm only standing here, wondering and wanting."

"You're a nuisance."

"Technically, I'm not bothering anybody."

"You're bothering me."

"That is not enough have me detained by the police, sir."

The man scowled as he let go of his cigarette. Stifling and crushing it underfoot, he walked past Marth towards the door. The college student silently watched him reach his destination. He grabbed his keys, fumbled with them, and unlocked the door. The man paused at the door for a brief moment. He looked over his shoulder, the scowl still on his face. "You're really not going to leave this alone, are you?"

Marth shook his head.

The man breathed out a sigh of frustration, his effort of holding in his anger obvious. "Do you promise to leave us alone once you know who's been blowing the bubbles?"

Marth nodded his head. He noted how the stranger had used a plural word instead of a singular word. That sent the gears in his brain whirling. His curiosity simply burnt him alive as the time for him to finally see who had been blowing the bubbles finally arrived. He was so close, so close to finally knowing the identity of that shadow.

The man shook his head, muttering to himself. He held the door a bit wider and gestured for Marth to come inside. The college student quietly followed the man. Both took off their shoes at the front, the man putting his on a rack while Marth left it near the mat. The blunette noticed a few other pairs of shoes on the rack. All on the large side, the shoes signaled that they belonged to the homeowner. The shoes didn't really tell Marth about anything other than the shadow in the second-story shared the same shoe size as the man before him.

"Hurry up, kid," called an aggravated voice. Marth looked up to see the man tapping his foot impatiently. The student muttered an apology as he stepped onto the wooden floor lightly. The man gave him no more attention when he whisked away into the kitchen to put away his bag. As one would in a new house, Marth examined his surroundings.

Unlike most houses, this one's white walls were clear of family photos and portraits. In fact the house was quite barren compared to what Marth was used to seeing. The living room contained a set of two couches along with a lamp stand, a lamp, and a television set. To the left of the entrance way and in front of the living room entrance stood the kitchen. The blunette saw the man storing away the supplies he must have bought from the super market. The sickly, sunny yellow on the walls was almost too blinding to the naked eye. At least the kitchen retained signs that it functioned as a cooking setting as well as a dining setting. The living room, ironically, seemed a bit dead to Marth. Perhaps it was the lighting? Despite how the lamp shone brightly from its stand, the room lacked the cheerful atmosphere that usually accompanied the white lights. Perhaps it was because nothing stirred in the area that it seemed so dead to the college student. Yet Marth wasn't so sure about that answer. Even his own, small living room offered more activity than this one. And he was the sole occupant of his apartment.

He snapped out of his thoughts when the man peeked from the kitchen. "You can just sit there for now," he pointed towards the couch in front of the TV before returning to the kitchen. Marth nodded in response despite the man being unable to see. He treaded lightly over the wooden floor as if it was lava. The floor panels squeaked slightly in protest at the weight on them. After a few more strides, Marth finally reached the couch. The moment he sat down on it, his ears perked up at the sound of footsteps in sandals rushing down the stairs.

Whenever Marth thought back to that moment, he always felt like time had slowed down. And for him time never really sped up or slowed down not once in his life, except for that bubble-less night and this instance. Other people would comment on how time flew by so fast or complain about how time was too damn slow, but it always felt the same to Marth. With infinite deliberateness, he turned around to see a boy leap from the last step. "Dad, you're hom-," the boy stopped short when he saw a stranger in his house. His sapphire eyes grew wide with surprise as he stood rooted to the spot. Marth's own cerulean eyes stared back at the boy.

Truth to be told, Marth went into this blind. He absolutely had no expectation of how the bubble blower would look like. Every time he thought about the shadow, that was all he could see: a shadow with a bubble wand sending those soapy spheres into the world. If asked before he laid eyes on the boy, Marth would simply shrug in response. When the college student saw the boy, he instinctively knew that this boy standing at the stairs was his mysterious bubble blower. His burning curiosity smothered slightly but it was by no means extinguished. He wanted to know more. Marth noted how much shorter the newcomer was compared to him. His messy hair's color likened to a chocolate's hue while his smooth skin paled without a touch of sun. The boy was slender, the oversized white T-shirt hanging from his body to slight cover up his navy shorts. And when Marth looked into the boy's eyes, dear good God, he was at a lost. They enraptured him so, shaming his own orbs of blue. Marth knew from experience that people loved his azure hue, but this boy's…it had something else. Something that Marth's eyes lacked.

It had something else mixed into that mystery as well. Fear. Marth blinked in surprise as the boy backed away, his hands clasped together tightly, his shoulders trembling slightly. Yet his wide eyes wouldn't stop staring at Marth. The college student resisted the urge to stand up and walk over to the terrified child in an effort to comfort him. He only continued to stare at the bubble blower, making sure to not make any sudden movements to scare the boy even more.

Under his close scrutiny, Marth saw the boy's eyes flicker behind him. Only then was the college student aware of footsteps stopping a few feet away from him.

"Pit, come over here," the man called.

Pit…so that was the bubble blower's name. Marth's face showed no signs of his satisfaction of not only finally seeing the shadow's true appearance but also for learning the name. He watched the boy hesitate, his eyes still trained on the stranger in his house. After what seemed like months to only two people in that room, Pit scurried over to the man. He took the shortest and farthest route from Marth possible. The blunette swiveled his head just in time to see Pit leap into the man's arms. The boy gave him a quick hug before hiding behind him, his tousled hair and wide eyes peering from behind.

"Dad, who is that?" came the softest voice Marth ever heard. It was almost too angelic to be of this world as it touched his heart. The man patted Pit's head before looking at Marth. He considered telling the college student to get out and finally leave him and his son alone, but he didn't want Pit to see that side of him.

"He's…" the man hesitated.

"Marth," the blunette finally introduced himself to the two family members. "My name is Marth. I'm a friend of your father. It's very nice to finally meet you, Pit." He ignored the slight scowl on the man's face. Pit tilted his head to the side.

"That voice…" he muttered. Both the man and Marth frowned at that strange statement. Pit continued, "You're the one that said "hey" to me some nights ago." Marth's heart leaped in surprise at the boy's recognition. He almost couldn't believe that Pit would remember something like that from so long ago. Surely he should have forgotten about it a few days prior to today with all the things that must have been going on in the boy's life. He felt a small warmth that the boy would actually remember that small incident, yet he felt awkward when he realized how much he must have scared the boy.

"Oh…I'm sorry I startled you that night," Marth scratched his head uncomfortably. "I was just excited to see the bubbles, and I wanted to know who was blowing them."

"…You…like my bubbles?" Pit asked tentatively. The blunette nodded in response. The shorter boy revealed more of his face from behind his dad. Now Marth could see a bit more of Pit's shy mouth and little nose. "Why?"

"I just really liked them. I came back every time you blew them just so I could see them."

"You…you did?" Pit finally broke clear of his dad's back. His sapphire eyes looked at Marth up and down again. Though the man seemed nice enough, the boy still wasn't sure about him. He never really met anybody else from the outside before besides his father and brother. And his dad never brought home any friends, so this was quite new to him. Still the change was slightly nice despite his nervousness around the newcomer of their house. He looked at his dad when said man patted his head.

"Get cleaned up. Dinner's almost ready," he smiled slightly. Pit nodded obediently. This time, when he went back to the stairs, he didn't avoid Marth as much. The two males exchanged a quick look. Pit lowered his eyes then looked up and waved shyly to Marth with a small smile before he disappeared upwards. Once the footsteps quieted down, the father crossed his arms and glowered at Marth.

"You're my friend?" he asked pointedly.

Marth simply shrugged in response, "That was the only thing I could really think of."

The man shook his head before sighing. He massaged the temples of his head as he leaned backwards against the wall. It was obvious that he was stressing over this. He knew that Marth originally promised to leave them alone and he had hoped that he would show the student a picture of his son before driving him away. However now that he had sparked an interest in his son, it would be near impossible for the dad to forbid Marth from coming back here. Pit would constantly ask questions about Marth and want him to visit all the time, unlike his older brother. That was something the man did not want at all. He had absolute no idea what this person in front of him was like, but if he had to judge from the short time he spent with the student, he wouldn't want his son hanging around with this type of person.

"May I ask your name?" Marth questioned, partly to be polite, partly to have a reference, and partly to break the awkward silence between them. The man looked up from where he was burning a hole through his floor.

"…It's Link," he finally muttered. The moment he uttered his name, Link immediately regretted it. Granted he knew Marth's name but for some reason it felt strange telling this person his name. It was like he was committing himself into something that would lead to his downfall. And Link didn't like the tone of that. It was too late to take it back, of course. But it wasn't too late to regret it. Before he could say anything else, Pit had bounced down the stairs once again. He didn't look any different but Link knew that his son did as he asked.

"Is Marth joining us for dinner?" Pit asked softly, his eyes shining. At that question, Link gave Marth a look. Hopefully the young man would get the hint and remember his promise. Unfortunately for the father Marth shrugged in response. Link ran a hand through his blonde hair, his mind racing for an answer. Pit stared brightly at his dad, the hope clear in his eyes. When he looked at his son, Link found his urge to say no drain away. He never should have done that and now he couldn't regain the strength to even shake his head. The older man finally gave a defeated sigh.

"Only if he's not busy."

"No, not really. I'll be happy to join you for dinner," Marth smiled in response. Pit grinned joyfully as he headed into the kitchen. Marth followed afterwards. When he crossed Link's path, he turned to him with an apologetic look. He mouthed a sorry, but the older man didn't want to hear that. He simply scowled slightly before heading towards stove where a pot of spaghetti sauce bubbled.

Link grabbed the ladle and gestured with it towards Pit, "Can you set another place at the table for Marth, please?" His son nodded as he rushed to the cupboard for the utensils needed for the meal. Link jerked his head at one spot at the table, which was across the stove, "You can sit there, Marth." The college student nodded his gratitude as he moved towards that spot. When he sat down, Pit placed a fork and slip of napkin in front of the young man. Again Marth nodded his thanks. However, unlike Link, Pit responded. He flushed with satisfaction as he bounced over to his dad. Three bowls stood waiting near Link's hand, each filled with some noodles. The green-clad man took one of the bowls and scooped the tomato sauce over the spaghetti. When he was done with that, he handed the bowl to Pit to grab the second bowl. The boy then placed the meal in front of Marth. Another nod, another flush, and Pit returned to Link. The son delivered the next bowl to the seat besides Marth, leaving only the seat opposite of Marth empty but not for long. When Pit returned with the last bowl, Link also came to the table. He sat to Marth's left while his son sat down in front of Marth with the bowl. The man noted in satisfaction that his guest waited for his hosts to sit down before eating.

The meal was strangely silent as they slurped up the delicious spaghetti. Though Pit seemed to have accepted Marth, the boy was still noticeably nervous around him as he kept his eyes on his own bowl. Link outright made it clear to the college student that he initially wasn't welcome here. As he continued to eat Link's spaghetti, Marth's mind raced for some type of subject for them to talk about and finally dissipate this awkward muteness. However only the bubbles came to his mind. After a few more moments of looking a different subject to talk about, he shrugged philosophically. Since they were the things that brought him here in the first place, he could stand to talk about them.

"So, Pit…did your father get you those bubbles?" Marth finally asked as he tried to make eye contact with the boy. Said boy jumped slightly like Marth had shattered something fragile, its pieces falling to the ground in millions of pieces. He looked up for a moment before his eyes slid away to look at his spaghetti again.

"He did," Pit said quietly, rolling a meatball over his noodles. "But he told me that I can't blow them inside because the soap would get on the floor. That's why I blow them out the window."

"Ah, I see. Well, I'm very glad you decided to do that," Marth said sincerely. Pit looked up in surprise. His eyes searched the older male's face for something. When he couldn't find what he sought and saw only honesty in Marth's eyes, the boy relaxed a bit. He even cracked a small smile before shyly turning back to his food. He swirled his fork to scoop up some noodles but looked back up again.

"Do you really like them?"

Marth nodded, "They're very pretty. And peaceful."

"Peaceful?" Pit asked. "What do you mean by that? How are they peaceful?"

The college student paused. He was aware that Link's eyes were also staring curiously at him, waiting for his answer. Marth wiped some of the tomato sauce from his mouth as he pursed his lips in thought. "They're simply flying with the wind without a care in the world. Even though they're short-lived, they still continue to float freely. They don't care so long as they can fly. I think that's why I found them so peaceful and pretty," he finally answered. He looked at Pit, who stared back his eyes wide in awe. Even Link was in thought about what Marth just said.

"I never thought about it that way…" Pit muttered. "The bubbles being free…"

"Pit, they're inanimate objects."

"In…inanimate?"

"Not alive, Pit. They don't feel like we do," Link chuckled lightly. "I have to admit, that's an interesting way of looking at that, Marth. But please don't fill Pit's head with foolish ideas."

"Are they really foolish, Dad?" the son looked to his father now. Link grinned a bit before reaching over to wipe away a bit of sauce from the boy's mouth. Though the boy initially leaned away in reflex, Link's firm look made Pit sit still while his dad cleaned him slightly.

"Depends on who's thinking it. Marth and I…see things a bit differently. So while he finds those bubbles of yours fascinating…I'm a bit more on the dubious side. But that doesn't mean that you should stop, all right?" Link returned to his original position, satisfied that Pit looked a bit cleaner.

"What does 'dubious' mean?" the boy asked.

"It means that he doesn't really believe it," Marth explained. At the definition of the word, Pit recoiled as if he had been struck. He glanced at Marth briefly before turning those innocent blue eyes at his father.

"Why not, Dad?"

At that question, Link simply sighed, "I just don't. Finish your spaghetti, son."

Pit pouted but despite his want to have his question answered, he followed his dad's order. When Link said things in that tone of his, it was in Pit's best interest to listen. Though Marth wasn't aware of it, he knew better than to continue that conversation. He actually finished his meal first. Though he knew it was impolite for him to leave first, he felt that he had to. It was getting late, and as much as he wanted to stick around, Marth remembered Link's accusing eyes about breaking his initial promise. His companions looked up in surprise as Marth gestured to his empty bowl.

"I'm sorry, but I really have to get going. Where would you like me to leave this?"

Link pointed to the sink, "Just put it in there, thank you." He paused. His mouth twitched slightly as his throat swallowed. It looked like he wanted to say something else but another thing stopped him from doing so. Marth didn't notice. He was too busy placing his bowl and fork quietly in the gray sink.

"Do you have to go?" Pit asked, the sorrow obvious in his voice. The boy's tone was almost enough to stop Marth from leaving. He turned to look at the boy and regretted his decision immediately. If the boy's tone alone was enough to stop him, his eyes were more than satisfactory in trapping Marth here. Yet the student quickly steeled his resolve. He nodded in reply. The son released his grasp on his fork and twiddled his thumbs. His gaze slid away from Marth's. "C…come back soon, please?" The boy then felt something pat his head. He looked up in surprise to see Marth smiling slightly.

"Yeah. I'll be back," Marth said. He ruffled Pit's hair, earning a slightly cry of indignation before a small giggle. The blunette then turned to Link, who still looked like he wanted to say something. "See you around, Link." Marth almost couldn't contain the amused snicker that threatened to break free. Were they still pretending to be friends? It was hard to tell. Marth didn't mind actually being friends with the older man. Link, on the other hand…it was difficult to say. His voice seemed to jolt the green-clad person out of his thoughts.

"Huh? Oh…yeah…see you around, Marth…" Link muttered. The college student nodded once more, waving to Pit. It warmed him to see Pit wave back.

"Bye, Marth!"

"Good-bye, Pit." The taste of those words made Marth want to rinse his mouth as soon as he got home. Marth went for his shoes near the entrance to the exit. Each movement made to leave the place screamed for the student to stop, yet he ignored them. It was late. He had to get home. He had promised Link that he would leave them alone. Marth had given his word.

When Marth straightened up after putting on his shoes, he saw Link standing at the entrance of the kitchen a bit awkwardly. The man shuffled his feet, his eyes sliding away from Marth's gaze. His hands twitched slightly, and Marth noticed how crumpled the box of cigarettes looked in Link's tight grasp. Although the blunette was curious as to why Link seemed so hesitant all of sudden when he clearly showed him the door, he said nothing to let the man take the first step. Like everything else, he didn't mind waiting. He gave the dad some time to collect himself before he drew breath to say:

"Um, Marth…I'm working late tomorrow and won't be home long after Pit's bedtime. He's a good boy and does as he's told. Still, I'm a bit worried. I know I've been rude, but I would appreciate it if you could watch Pit tomorrow, if you're not busy. I usually ask his brother, but I can't reach him for some reason. And I really don't have anybody else on the line. Besides…Pit seems to be comfortable with you, and I know how difficult it is for him to open up to strangers. I don't want to call on somebody he doesn't know. Will you do it?"

Link's request had a slight pleading tone at the end that Marth couldn't help noticing. The college student blinked in reply. If he wasn't busy? What did he have on his to-do list for tomorrow? At the current moment, he couldn't remember. Maybe there was something important. Maybe there wasn't. He didn't care. Marth nodded, making sure to keep his expression constant as to not let Link know about the growing warmth the young man felt from the older man's request.

"I can do that, Link."

Link released a pent-up sigh of relief. "Thank you. I really appreciate it. Can you come tomorrow around seven?"

The college student nodded his agreement. "I'll see you tomorrow then," Marth said as he turned away to open the door. Thankfully he turned away quickly enough to prevent the older man from seeing the soft smile spread slowly on Marth's face. He didn't exactly know how to describe the sensation he was feeling as he left that house with the bubbles, but it was all right with him. As long as he knew it felt good and where to get it, he was content. And he was glad that he would still have more chances to experience that sensation.

And we finally meet our mysterious bubble blower, Pit, and his father, Link! Although you guys probably already guessed that from...my 1st AN, so...yeah...no signs of the Troublesome Quartet in this chapter, but they will make appearances. Especially one of them considering the big role he plays later on...hehehe...anyways, the title...don't ask. I was in the chemistry zone. Anyways, questions!

1) Even though you dislike a person, if the need rose, would you still ask that person for help like Link did with Marth?

2) Why do you think Pit's brother couldn't watch Pit for the next day and where do you think his brother is? (I'm not going to ask who you think his brother is...actually...yeah, let's do that too. Who do you think his brother is? Let's add that into the mix-up.)

3) One of my friends told me that I should have made Link an alcoholic instead of a smoker because potions (and she likes Link). What do you guys think?

Hoped you guys enjoyed! See you next time!