A/N: Bit later than I planned on posting this, but I got it up here! I want to thank all reviewers for their support thus far, you guys kept me going ^^ This chapter doesn't have any real yaoi you guys would be expecting from a rated-M fanfic, but it starts in the next chapter, I swear. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own Super Smash Bros and the Nintendo characters along with their respective games about as much as I own David Tennant. In other words, All characters and games owned by Nintendo. Not me.

Link was bored out of his mind.

Peach had invited him, Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Yoshi, Zelda, Samus, Pit, the Ice Climbers, Kirby, Meta Knight, Captain Olimar, Fox, Falco, Captain Falcon, Pikachu, the Pokémon Trainer, Lucario, Marth, Ike, Lucas, and Snake for a dinner party at the main hall in the Smash Mansion. There had been games, food, music, dancing, and of course, drinks.

The fact that everyone seemed to be occupied, even Zelda who was clearly having the time of her life whispering to Peach, glancing around the room (her gaze falling on Ike several times) and sniggering whenever Peach said something in return, bothered Link. He was standing alone in one corner. He chatted with Mario for a bit since the two had always gotten along, but Mario was suddenly dragged to the dance floor by Luigi. He sighed and stuck his hands into his pockets.

"Hey, Link!" Link turned around upon hearing his name. Samus stood there with her arms crossed over her chest and was frowning. "You've been standing there the whole time. Get active and start dancing or something or you'll get even more unfit than you are now!"

Link blushed. "I am so fit!" he exclaimed. Samus walked over and pinched his cheek.

"Oh, really? What's all this extra fat on this chubby face of yours?" She pulled on the skin, stretching it out.

"Ow ow ow ow OW!" Link rubbed his cheek when Samus finally let go. "I don't see how dancing would make my cheeks less chubbier, anyways," Link muttered.

Samus pretended not to hear him and grabbed his wrist. Link found himself being dragged onto the dance floor, where he refused to dance no matter how much Samus urged him on.

"Dance, goddammit or I will tell the entire population of the Smash mansion, including the Master Hand and Tabuu that the Hero of Time is afraid of moving his body to a little music," Samus said, leaning in and narrowing her eyes so that even Link was frightened of her at that moment.

"I get it, I get it," Link muttered. Suddenly Zelda popped up behind Samus.

"Hey, Samus, if Link is giving you a hard time, let me handle him," the princess said with an evil glint in her eye. Samus grinned at her.

"He's all yours." Link groaned. Great. Dancing with Zelda. This could get really ugly.

Zelda moved to place her arms around Link and began swaying to the music. He recognized the melody; it was the Ballad of the Goddess. It started out very slow and calm, and Link just stood there awkwardly until Zelda grabbed Link's hands and put them on her waist. "Just dance!" she hissed. "It gets better!"

"I know," Link whispered back. Then he decided to get sarcastic. "Oh right, I wouldn't know because you didn't play this during the Wing Ceremony when Ghriahim kidnapped you nor did Impa teach me this song back in the Sealed Grounds in Faron, noooo. Because wittle Rinku-chan is just a little boy who knows nothing about music…"

"Shut it!" Zelda snapped. "Okay, here it comes!" Suddenly the soft harp music went silent, and several more instruments joined in to create a magnificent tone. Zelda surprised Link by beaming at him. Link suddenly felt much better and remembered why he became friends with the princess in the first place: she could easily make anyone happier with a big grin and those twinkling eyes of hers.

Pit stood by the punch bowl as he watched the Samshers on the dance floor. Link was dancing with Princess Zelda laughing as he twirled her around and as she swung her hips in rhythm with the music. When the song ended, she gave Link a peck on the cheek before she left to walk over to Samus and whispered in her ear. Whatever she said made Samus laugh and gaze at Link.

Pit suddenly wanted to hit both of them.

Wait. What?

He felt something heavy in his chest, a pang of pain. What was it?

"Getting jealous?" Pit whipped his head around to see Princess Peach smiling at Pit. "You like Link, don't you?" she asked, smiling at him.

"What? N-n-no! Of course not! We're just friends. I was just… uh…"

"Oh! Of course!" Peach smacked her forehead. "You wanted to dance! Oh, silly me! Come, Pit! We'll dance together!"

"Huh? Ah, no, Princess. I just... uh…"

"Pit, call me Peach! And you know you want to dance! Why wouldn't you? It's so fun, so musical, so sweet!" Peach grabbed Pit's hand and began pulling him to the dance floor. All of the Smashers were dancing to the Cha Cha Slide and it looked ridiculous. Pit saw Link approaching. They made eye contact and Pit made a pouty face, begging Link to help him. The blonde raised his eyebrows and then grinned when he realized what was happening.

"Peach! Mario was looking for you! He seemed to have flowers in his hand…" Link said.

"What? Mario? Flowers for me?" Peach notably brightened at the mention of her beloved boyfriend. Link brushed by and grabbed Pit's wrist as he did so, freeing him from the Princess who was glancing around for Mario. Then she suddenly remembered Pit and looked down at her now empty hand. Link pushed Pit behind one of the tables and dove behind it after him before Peach could spot the two of them.

She was going to give Pit hell for that later.

Pit glanced sideways at Link, who was peering over the table to see if Peach was gone. He had very pretty blonde hair that brushed his forehead and long sidelocks that seemed to enunciate his fine features. His eyes were a striking blue that seemed to pierce through anything. His fingers were long and calloused, a combination of a warrior and a skilled musician.

Wait, why the fuck was Pit checking Link out?

Eventually he realized that Link was calling his name.

"Huh? Oh, uh… Hello there," Pit said awkwardly. Link gazed at him and then chuckled.

"Wanna grab something to eat? Peach found Mario, and let's just say he looks very confused," Link said with a smile. He got up and held his hand out to help Pit up. They made their way over to the snack table where Marth had brought foods from Akaneia. Pit was instantly amazed by how much Link could eat. He gobbled plateful after plateful of foods from different tables. Pit was stuffed to the brim when Link's stomach growled.

"What?" Link asked when Pit remarked on his enormous appetite.

"I just don't see how a single teenager can eat so much food!" Pit said. Link's stomach rumbled. "And you're still hungry!"

"Hey, my stomach doesn't care that we're trying to hang out! It just wants to be fed!"

Pit quickly found that he had found a true friend at the Smash Mansion. Link was funny, tough, smart, clever, attractive… Wait. Attractive? He shook his head.

Link adjusted his three-point belt and arm guards as he stepped into the fighting ring. Today's rules were decided by Tabuu, meaning they were not a simple set of rules. He had no clue who he was up against (just don't let it be Ganondorf) so he was anxious at the least. Normally the Smashers would have been notified of their opponents ahead of time, but thanks to Tabuu, that was not possible.

Suddenly his chain-mail armor felt heavier than usual, for Link saw who his opponent was: Bowser. This giant turtle was one of the strongest Smashers in the mansion. He even rivaled Ganondorf in terms of villainy, what with constantly kidnapping Princess Peach.

Slowly, he stepped into the ring. Lights flashed on and Link winced, shielding his eyes with his arm. Bowser stood there grinning wildly.

"I ain't gon' lose," he growled. "I'm gon' win and you'll be feelin' terrible about lettin' yah princess down. Link glanced up to see Zelda watching from the stands. Her eyes were fixated on the large screen, upon which Link was being projected. He turned back to Bowser knowing all too well that if he was defeated by this Koopa, it wouldn't just be defeat and a few bruises that he'd walk away with. It would be much, much more.

"3…" the announcer began the countdown. "2…"Bowser cracked his knuckles. "1…" Link put a hand on the Master Sword. "GO!"

Bowser advanced towards Link, getting ready to throw a punch at him. Link jumped around him and slashed at his leg with the sword.

Bowser grunted as he turned to glare at Link. He reared his leg back and sent it out at Link's abdomen. Crap, I can't dodge this, he's too big. Link felt the wind being knocked out of him as he was sent flying. Struggling, he managed to stay inside of the ring and shakily got to his feet.

Link gasped when he saw Bowser had found a hammer and had gone into his swinging frenzy. Link tried to jump over Bowser, but the Koopa King seemed to have the same idea. Leaping up, Bowser clobbered Link with the hammer for 5 seconds straight. Every hit was direct and it HURT!

Link knew this wasn't good. He was already at 102% damage, Bowser was at a mere 20%. Panting hard, Link tossed his bombs at Bowser, who easily jumped over them. He glanced around… There had to be something to help him like the hammer helped Bowser. Then he spotted a round object with a wide crevice in it. Could it be…?

Link snatched up the Deku Nut and tossed it at Bowser, jumping back at the same time. He didn't need any more damage. Bowser looked confused, and then saw the nut a second too late. He was stunned causing Link to pull out his bow and send seven arrows flying into Bowser, skewering him in all the right places.

Bowser moaned out with pain when he felt the arrows pierce his tough exterior. Link grinned triumphantly as he put his bow away. Dashing forward Link jumped over Bowser as he threw a punch at him and tossed some bombs in his direction. He landed some feet away from the giant turtle and listened to the sweet sound of the Goron special crop exploding. He grinned to himself as he got up and turned to look at Bowser who was covered in scratches and his flaming orange locks were slightly singed. The explosion had done its job.

Link smiled to himself and got a bit too cocky. He hadn't noticed that Bowser had run up behind him and now had one of his fat arms wrapped around Link's neck. Sucking in a breath, the green-clad boy turned his head to see what the Koopa was about to do. He met his eyes, piercing and full of a desire to win.

Wait. A desire to win. Link had a desire to win… right? No, that wasn't it. Link did not have a desire to win. He had a desire to beat Bowser. He froze, realizing how much of a predicament he was in. He was supposed to be kind, understanding, a role model for kids across the world, to only fight if necessary, not out of a desire to beat another individual. But here he was, wanting to beat someone who hadn't really done anything to him. Bowser wanted to win. Link wanted to beat Bowser.

While he was distracted, Bowser punched his back, causing Link to suck in a breath. Using his other arm, Bowser whirled Link around and grabbed the front of his tunic. Lifting him up by a handful of clothing, Bowser used his now free hand to repeatedly punch Link in the abdomen. The blonde winced with every blow, attempting to catch his breath only to have it knocked out with another punch from the Koopa.

Bowser seemed to get bored for he threw Link against the floor of the ring. He could hear the crowd gasp as Link lay on the ground.

Groaning, the Hero of Time struggled to come back to his senses. He glanced up. His eyes fell on a spherical object hovering about two feet above him. A Smash Ball! Bowser saw it too, but Link was far more close to the ball than Bowser was. He leapt into the air and swung his sword at it, kicking his legs out and destroying it with a few hits. Link glanced down and confirmed, to his delight, that he was covered in a rainbow aurora. Bowser noticed this and growled, crouching down to advance towards Link and steal the Smash Ball from him. Link narrowed his eyes and spread his legs out more to give him better stability. He bent his knees and unleashed his Final Smash, the Triforce Slash. It fully trapped Bowser and allowed Link to get a few kicks in before the slash ended. Bowser's eyes widened when he began to fly back, instantly KO'd. Link stood there, breathing heavily for a second before collapsing to the ground. He sat on his legs and took deep breaths as he attempted to regain himself.

The crowd burst out cheering and rushing into the ring, patting him on the back and chanting his name. Link knew he had won, but it felt like a false victory.

Pit stared at the ring in astonishment. Link had beat Bowser, Mario's arch nemesis, who was twice his size (well, that's considering how short Link is for his age).

Everyone was crowding around Link, cheering him on, patting him on the back, chanting his name. Some overzealous Smashers even attempted to lift Link up and have him crowd surf but Link was obviously shaken. Pit frowned. That wasn't like Link.

That evening, once the remaining battles had ended (Zelda vs. Kirby in which Kirby had amazingly won, the Ice Climbers vs. Snake in which Snake naturally came out victorious, and Fox vs. Pikachu, which ended in a tie) Pit trudged up the steps to the residential quarters. He was tired from walking around and congratulating the winners, introducing himself to the Smashers that hadn't met him yet, and searching for Link everywhere. He hadn't had any battles that day, but felt as worn out as he did the day he brawled against Link.

Link.

Where was he?

Pit slipped into the crowd as the other Smashers went into their rooms to retire for the day. Pit walked past his room and knocked on Princess Zelda's door. Maybe she'd know where her companion had gone off to.

Zelda opened the door and Pit immediately staggered back. "What?" Zelda asked when Pit looked at her as if she had grown another head. "Have I got something on my face?" she asked looking quizzically at Pit, who was probably as red as a tomato.

"Uhh… clothes…" Pit muttered. Zelda glanced down. She was wearing nothing but her bra and panties.

"Oh," she said, completely unaffected. "Hang on a second." The door closed and Pit nearly collapsed with relief. He heard a low, flirty whistle behind him and turned to see a red headband and blue hair disappear into one of the rooms.

Zelda opened the door, this time clad in a pair of gold silk pajamas. "Did you just whistle at me?" she asked Pit, placing a hand on her waist.

"Huh? Ah, no… Someone was walking by and they did that," Pit murmured.

"Did he have blue hair?" she asked.

"Yeah... and a red headband," Pit replied. "I think it was Ike…"

Zelda beamed. Then she remembered herself and quickly took on her passive expression. "So what did you want, Pit?"

"I was wondering where Link was," Pit replied. "I figured you might know."

"He's in his room, been there since his brawl with Bowser. Don't know why, but he's been acting weird ever since. Got himself drunk after that and even got me drinking with him for a bit." Ah. That explained her strange behavior. "He kept on rambling on about winning versus beating the crap out of someone."

"Thanks," Pit said as he turned to knock on Link's room.

"Oh, Pit, one more thing." Pit turned to look at the Princess again. "I know Link trusts you. Talk to him and figure out why he's acting this way. There is something wrong, I can tell."

Pit nearly exploded with happiness. Link trusts him! The boy this now extremely happy angel had always looked up to trusted him to the point that his Princess even asked Pit to go and talk to him.

Again today I will go skipping down the hall,

My enemies I will destroy them in the brawl,

Gracious Hero of Time, the wonderful man called Link,

At dinner time, we always share a sweet fruit drink!

Pit sang to himself quietly as he knocked on Link's door.

"The door's open," came a low voice. Pit frowned. That was Link? He sounded so… different. Pit opened the door and peeped inside. Link was lying in his bed with loud music pounding through a set of speakers on his nightstand. Pit quickly closed the door behind him.

So these rooms are sound proof too? Seriously, we get too much luxury, Pit thought as he walked up to Link. He noticed he wasn't wearing a shirt.

"Hey, it's me," Pit muttered. Link rolled over to look at Pit, who instantly noticed the empty green bottles on the ground next to the bed and Link's flushed face. "So Zelda told the truth. You were drinking. A lot at that. I've never seen you even look twice at alcohol before," Pit said as he leaned against the wall next to the bed.

Link slowly sat up, exposing more of his chest. "Well, I've been havin' a bad day." Link groaned as he ran a hand through his very messy golden hair.

"Why? You won against Bowser," Pit said.

"Correction, I beat Bowser."

"What's the difference?"

"The difference," Link began as he got up off the bed, "is that I wanted to beat Bowser while Bowser wanted to win." Pit stared. He didn't know if Link realized it but he was not wearing any clothes. Pit felt himself blushing wildly. That makes it twice in less than 10 minutes.

"It sounds like the exact same thing to me," Pit breathed. He felt all of the blood in his body rush to his gentiles. What is wrong with me? He thought to himself as he watching Link run a hand through his hair again and frown at Pit's words.

Suddenly, Link placed both hands on either side of his head and leaned in. Pit could practically taste the liquor, that's how strong the smell was.

And how close Link was.

That didn't matter, pretend you never read that.

"It's not the exact same thing," Link said. His blue eyes were even more piercing than ever. "Bowser just wanted to win. I dunno why but I just wanted to pound the living hell out of him. Maybe it had somethin' to do with my bein' so close to Mario, but I just wanted to destroy 'im."

Pit stared back at Link. What was going on?

"Bowser," Link continued, "just wanted to win because he had a rep to keep up. I didn't think about winnin' I just thought about how awesome it would have been to defeat Bowser, someone even Mario has difficulty beating.

"I'm supposed to be a hero, someone others look up to. I won the last tournament fair and square because I had the prize in my eyes. This time, I had the image of Bowser begging for mercy. Even that filth Ganondorf probably has better intentions than I did in that moment."

Pit stared at Link. He didn't know that those thoughts he had affected him so much. Sure, it was slightly unethical to be drawing happiness from others' pain, intentionally or not, but Pit hadn't even thought of things in the way that Link was thinking and experiencing them.

Link groaned as he thunked his head against Pit's shoulder and let his forehead rest there for a while before speaking, not moving his head. "I guess I need to stop overreactin', but, well, I'm drunk. And I'm spewing nonsense."

"It's not nonsense," Pit whispered, but Link was already asleep, snoring softly.

This kid fell asleep standing.

Pit took a deep breath and grunted as he tried to get Link back into his bed. The 19-year-old was heavier than he looked. He awkwardly dropped Link on his mattress, his hand brushing against Link's erection. Pit felt himself blushing madly and quickly yanked the blanket over Link's naked figure.

The next morning, Link had a massive headache.

Ugh, the hangover is the worst part of drinking, Link thought, instantly reminded of why he chose not to drink often.

He groaned as he pushed himself up on his forearms and glanced around. He was in his bedroom lying on his bed. He groaned when he realized he probably had taken off all of his clothes the night before.

Quickly he ransacked his head, trying to remember what he did the night before. He fought Bowser (didn't want to think about that again), managed to free himself from the crowd, and went straight to the gym to try to distract himself by working out. When that didn't help, he went to the bar and began ordering pints of beer, one after the other. Zelda was there, but she had been Link's drinking buddy on more than one occasion. She wouldn't be an issue. He remembered going back into his room and falling asleep.

Maybe that was it. Link couldn't recall having spoken to anyone after that. Ike on his way back from the gym, Lucario when he accidentally walked into his room, but no one else.

Link got up and dug around in his bedside drawer for some pain relievers. It was going to be a long day.