Chapter 11: Excuse Me for Being Me

As soon as Captain Falcon had parked his beloved F-Zero machine he rushed inside through the kitchen entrance so that he could take place among the rest of the Smashers, with the exception of Marth, by the windows. Outside Link and Zelda was just about to end their 'date'. They were at home and there was nothing left to do than step inside and say goodnight.

"So…" Link began as he tried to think of something proper to say.

"Here we are," said Zelda with well practiced chirpiness. They both averted their eyes since it was impossible to look at each other, both knowing that they were not acting like when they usually were together.

The awkward silence which ensued was not all too surprising because both of them knew what was usually expected in a situation like this. It was the moment of a confession, or at least a kiss. If Link ever was to make Zelda realize that she was more than a friend to him, and always had been, this was the time to tell her.

He inhaled and took a glance at the mark of the Triforce of Courage on the back of his left hand. He would need it to be able to tell her.

"Zelda."

His voice quivered slightly and she noticed. Sensing that he had something important to say she fixed her gaze on him, unfortunately only making it worse for poor Link. The feeling of falling forwards into the depth of her eyes came over him as usual. How could he think of what to say when drowning in her eyes made him unable to breathe?

Swallowing and closing his eyes he scraped the ground to feel that he was safely standing on his own two feet before he made a new try.

"I have something I want to tell you."

She nodded considerately and waited for him to go on.

The Smashers all held their breath, but the children quickly lost interest and went to play instead. The exception was young Link who stood as if glued to the window. After twenty minutes however most of them had lost their interest. The only reason they stayed was to be sure they had not waited for naught.

"I… uhm… I" Link stammered as he thought fervently of what to say. This would not do, keeping her waiting like this. He was so ashamed he could barely stand to exist. Zelda shuddered, it was rather cold and they had not had dinner yet.

"I can't say it," Link let out in despair.

"You know I'll be here when you want to tell me, so don't worry," Zelda told him reassuringly and pulled off a smile despite the cold. Because it was Link who was there with her she felt no motivation to put on a brave façade and allowed herself to wrap her arms around herself to be protected from the cold. Link suddenly became aware of the jacket Captain Falcon had given him in the last minute. With a tender expression on his face he wrapped it around her shoulders, glad that he for once could keep her warm.

"I'll tell you later then," he said softly. "We better get you inside."

During the next few chaotic seconds the Smashers ran away from the windows and quickly found something to do so that it would not look suspicious when Zelda and Link entered.

They were thankfully not found out and the Hylians went to sleep without questioning why the young boys were watching a romantic comedy, if Fox was supposed to hold his magazine upside-down or if Samus could stand playing a full round of poker with Captain Falcon.

Zelda ran her hands through her loose hair when she woke up early in the morning. The early rays of the sun tickled her skin and she almost felt like staying in bed for a few minutes. That was when the sunrays brought her notice to a letter on the floor by her door.

"Someone must have stuck it in from underneath the door," she thought aloud and left the warmth of her bed. She picked up the letter and saw her name on it with neat handwriting.

Dear Princess Zelda, Maiden of Hyrule,

I would like to bring forth my deepest apologies. If I in any way have insulted you, my misdemeanor deserves no forgiveness. Albeit I am aware of the impropriety of my demands I still ask of it.

Marth of Altea

It was short and to say the least she was surprised. She recalled their last meeting when her outburst had made him leave in a hurry, and he asked for her forgiveness? If anything she, who had tried to befriend him, should not have acted upon her feelings and pushed him away.

When she sat down for breakfast her surprise increased when Marth had filled his usually empty seat. He glanced at her as she sat down and although she neither smile nor frowned it was as though he could sense she held no grudge against him. Or at least that was how Zelda interpreted it.

Link came rushing when people were already passing bread and butter to right and left. Not that it was anything surprising about that.

"Why do we have to eat this early?" he said with a yawn.

"Dawn has since long been gone," Zelda replied as she took another bite of her sandwich. Then Link noticed Marth and frowned before he quickly looked away from the prince.

"A bit crowded today, don't you agree Zelda?" he muttered.

"What do you mean?"

Suddenly the temperature seemed to sink below zero when Marth threw a glare in Link's direction. The prince had not paid Link a thought before. Link had barely existed in his mind for longer than five seconds at a time. When Roy had told him about Zelda going out with 'Link' it had taken him seven minutes to figure out who it was.

The only one who seemed unaffected by the chilliness around the table was Zelda who was eating her sandwich while pondering Link's last statement.

"But surely we have all eaten together before," the princess said thoughtfully and waited for the reply that never came. Then she noticed Marth frowning to her left and turned to him with bewilderment on her face.

"Is something the matter, Marth?"

The unexplainable cold had brought most of the Smashers' attention to the trio and every one of them held their breath while they wondered if they were to hear Marth's voice. Their excitement grew by the way Marth's coldness seemed to disappear into thin air, although he still looked as grave as always.

They should not have gotten their hopes up. Marth merely shook his head and went back to his breakfast. Then Zelda noticed Link fuming to her right and turned to him instead.

"Is something wrong?"

The incensed heat disappeared and Link smiled at her.

"Nothing is wrong."

"I'm glad," Zelda said and smiled in return.

"Would you perhaps like to take a stroll through the garden later?" Link asked, urged on by her smile and the, do we dare call it, date.

Samus and Captain Falcon grinned at each other, well, not that Samus could be seen grinning due to her helmet, but at least they in unison turned to face each other, happy for their friend's sake. They both knew what progress this meant for Link.

"Oh, yes, the weather is quite lovely today if I do dare say so," Zelda said. Marth silently cursed Link. He had gone down for breakfast so that he could, possibly, converse with Zelda. Even though he might not have said a word he still did not enjoy his chance being ripped out of his hands. Not in the least. The fact that Zelda was about to take a romantic little stroll with her… whatever he was, did not bother Marth. Still, he had lost his focus waiting for her answer to Link's question and he had found himself staring at her. Fortunately, she had not noticed and no one else's opinion mattered.

Maybe there was one exception. Marth caught sight of Roy smirking at him, and he could swear his red-headed friend then gave Peach a wink. Not that it had to be anything strange about that, if Roy wanted to flirt with a taken woman that was his business. Marth turned his attention back to what mattered.

Link suddenly noticed that Marth was staring at the back of Zelda's head.

"Are you done?" Link asked Zelda, trying his best not to give Marth any suspicious looks. Zelda finished the last bite of her sandwich and nodded.

"Good," Link said happily and grabbed her hand as he rose. "How about we go to the garden now?"

"That sounds lovely," Zelda said, ignoring the look Peach just gave her behind Link's back.

Marth just saw the world turn grey as he found himself among the Smashers which he had nothing in common with, and the reason he had agreed to endure it all had just left after only a brief moment in his presence.

Zelda grabbed Link's arm to make him stay as he hurriedly crossed the living room to reach the glass doors leading to the garden.

"Can I just go and grab a book?" she asked. It took a few seconds for her words to sink in she could tell as they stood looking into each others' eyes but then he smiled.

"Sure you can, if you read it aloud."

There had not been any need to make a demand like that. Zelda hardly ever read a book when she was with Link because it was not very polite of her and there was a risk Link would feel rejected. If she did she would often read a good part to him and they both enjoyed this peaceful pastime.

"I'll wait in the garden," he told her and she nodded before she walked to the staircase, unaware of him watching her till she had safely reached her room.

Marth could not take it anymore! What had he to do here when everybody had such a great time no matter if he was present or not? He noticed the other princess, the one who wasn't Zelda, give him a look of sympathy and rewarded her with a cold stare before he rose. He left the half empty bowl of cereal on the table. He could not possibly be asked to finish that mushy clump, could he? It did not look edible in the least.

When he exited the room Zelda happened to be coming down the stairs, but she was too busy folding a handkerchief, or at least she tried to, to notice him. The book in her arms gave her some trouble trying to tuck the handkerchief away neatly and she ended up dropping it. It was light and did not fall all that quickly, as if she had let go of a white feather and her blue eyes traced its way down. The moment it brushed against the floor his hand was there to pick it up, before she even had time to bend down.

He did not give it back at once. He held on to it as he watched her, his expression unreadable, and Zelda was struck by how familiar it felt. She had barely met this prince and yet it was as though she knew how he would react before he did it himself.

Then he took hold of her hand and brought it up so that he could let the handkerchief fall into her open palm, not looking away from her for a second.

"Thank you," she said and he noticed that she sounded more serene than when he otherwise heard her speak. It was as though she had a voice reserved only for him, not that he would ever think such a thought.

"I was hoping," he quietly said, searching for some fancy words to use. "That you would accept my apologies. I did not deliberately try to displease you."

"Do not fret. There is nothing to forgive," she replied and freed her hand from his, clutching the white handkerchief. For a moment his empty hands lingered in the air before he lowered his arms, swallowing.

"Please, excuse me," she apologized and walked past him, offering him half a smile as goodbye.

That was right, Marth remembered, Link would be wondering where she had disappeared to. At least he knew for certain that she was not angry, and never had been. Even if it happened to be so he had learnt his lesson and would never think of doing anything that would make her disappointed ever again. He would have to be more careful in the future.

While Zelda spoke to Marth, Link had run into Captain Falcon in the garden and took the opportunity to pay back the money he had ended up not spending on the date.

Captain Falcon counted them with a frown.

"What a stingy fellow," he mumbled to himself but well loud enough for the hero to hear and Link glared at him.

"I am not stingy, not when Zelda's in question."

"If you say so. When will I get the rest?"

Suddenly Link found the branch of a nearby tree very interesting.

"Soon."

Captain Falcon shrugged. A matter of "when" did not matter much to him anyway and he knew Link's honesty. The racer was about to say something more when Zelda entered the garden looking for Link and the hero turned to Captain Falcon with panicked eyes.

"Quick, get out of here."

Instinctually, Captain Falcon looked around. It was too far to round a corner so he dove behind a couple of bushes. In the middle of the jump he asked himself what reason he had to hide.

"This is stupid," he muttered as he crouched behind the bush, brushing off some leaves. Then he noticed that he was not alone.

If he had been able to see through Samus's helmet Captain Falcon would see that Samus was horror-struck at his sudden appearance, and now they both found themselves together in a pile of twigs and leaves. Nervously he tried to turn his attention elsewhere. What were the odds that you would end up in a bush with the guy that hated you most on the whole planet? No, scratch that, in this universe. A planet was not considered that big nowadays.

"Wait, Zelda!" Link exclaimed as the princess, hugging her book to her chest, almost walked close enough to see behind the bush Falcon and Samus were hiding behind. Both the bounty hunters crouched down.

"Hmm, what is it Link?" Zelda asked and turned around before she could notice the eavesdroppers.

"I was just wondering what you thought about yesterday, except for the last moments."

"Well, that excluded, I thought we as usual had a very good time together. We ought to do something like this again soon. There are so many things to see here, do you not agree?"

"I very much agree," Link said, steeling himself as he thought of making a move, but what? Her hands were busy holding her book so the only option was to wrap his arms around her, but he could never be so bold.

"Are you all right, Link?" Zelda asked worriedly. He looked a bit stiff all of a sudden. Link was, against better knowing, about to reach out and pull her close when he caught sight of two helmets sticking up behind a bush. He had forgotten all about the two bounty hunters.

"No, why does he take his arms down?" Falcon hissed as loud as he dared and Samus nodded at his side when they bent down and out of view again.

"They are leaving," Falcon reported when he peered over the bush and Samus gestured for him to follow her. Captain Falcon had not considered spying on Link and Zelda, but with a golden opportunity like this, what was the point of not doing it he concluded. If not for his own personal enjoyment then perhaps to finally get along better with Samus Aran. He had tried everything else.

Link had put an arm around Zelda as he towed her away and took a quick glance back before the part of the garden they had just been in disappeared out of view. When he noticed where his arm was he quickly pulled away, a bit too abruptly perhaps because Zelda looked slightly bewildered at this.

Link froze. Could there possibly be a chance that she enjoyed him holding her waist? And how did it look through her eyes when he had pulled away like that? His feelings were rather the opposite of wanting to remove his arm.

"Link?" Zelda asked and waved a hand in front of his face. She could see a small twinkle in his eyes as he came back from his daydream and made a startled jump. Then, steadying himself his arms flew around her waist and he pulled her closer, the twinkle turning into a spark of determination.

"I am so sorry Zelda," he exclaimed. He should not have made her felt insecure by pulling away like he had done.

Zelda's eyes widened as her book slammed into Link's chest, creating a thin wall between their bodies. What in the world was he apologizing for? And why would he hold her this tightly? She could not recall her humble friend to ever have hugged her other than in a very light and friendly manner, which still was not often and had reduced greatly during the last years.

"YES!" somebody suddenly yelled and Link jumped away from Zelda. Both swirled around and found Samus and Captain Falcon standing up behind a nearby bush, fists raised into the air. Samus then gave Falcon a look of accusation for his "yes" and then a good old punch in the face before she strode away. Falcon crouched down behind the bush and tried to make himself invisible instead of running away.

"P-perhaps I shall go inside," Zelda stuttered and rushed after Samus. Link, who had been about to follow Samus's example concerning the racer stared after the disappearing princess.

"No! Wait, Zelda!"

Zelda brought a hand to her forehead. As if there were not enough rumors already. Samus and Captain Falcon had totally misinterpreted the situation and what could she do about it? Just as she came inside the handkerchief came loose and fell once again.

She stopped in her tracks with a sigh, this time reacting faster and reaching down before it had fallen all the way down.

Marth had surprisingly enough not walked back to his room. Instead he had taken place in the sofa, making sure he kept the furniture to himself as he from time to time glared at the garden through the transparent glass doors.

At first he had looked away and tried to act invisible when Zelda rushed inside, but the frown on her face had not gone him by and he had, curse his eyes, turned back to look at her. He could see how the handkerchief slipped away from her and even before it came loose he had gotten to his feet to pick it up for her. But as it was now he ended up grabbing both the handkerchief and her hand. For a moment he stared at the slim fingers in his grasp, not being as long as those of his own, and then looked at her face. She looked about as surprised as him, raising her head at the same time.

Then Link came rushing in and almost tripped over Zelda, fortunately regaining his balance in time. With a "guh!" he stared down at Zelda's hand linked with Marth's and became absolutely petrified. The prince's gaze shifted to Link and the hero saw how the prince's cold eyes narrowed. How he hated that Marth.

But the next second Marth suddenly got the friendliest expression Link had ever seen as he turned back to Zelda. Swiftly he grabbed a hold of her other hand and brought both of them to his lips. The handkerchief laid in-between their hands like a thin pillow for her delicate, smaller ones.

"Please, do not lose it," he said, voice soft as velvet and then rose and turned his back against the two Hylians. Boiling with rage Link held out a hand to help Zelda get to her feet while he stared after the prince.

When I first started writing this chapter I was stressed for a test and had a bit too many cups of coffee. I could tell, because after a while I read what I had written and it was the most random insanity I've ever seen! So it was just to delete it all and start over. I think I'll save the truth serum for later. I want Luigi to have some of it and what's the point of revealing his dark secrets if he doesn't go through lots of trouble trying to keep them? Besides Link, Zelda and Marth are a whole lot more fun.

In the previous chapter I sort of considered Peach reminding Roy of their 'baby' when that waitress flirted with him, and is Bowser not the best? I have always wanted him a stuffed animal looking like him. Mewtwo is awesome (and Ganondorf too). Concerning Mewtwo I am trying to make a little fun of the first Pokémon movie (believe it or not, I love that film). We all know how Mewtwo is all obsessed with finding his purpose and nothing else matters? Well, here he has not really found any purpose yet (so everything is pointless).

And (bounces around in circles) you have all been most kind! How could I ever deny you (who asked) some Marth/Zelda? (but Link and Zelda make such a good couple, which I'm sure some of you agree of, that they ended up having a moment too). Hmm… This little Marth/Zelda is definitely not enough from me when you have been so nice, so expect more! And thank you, thank you, thank you everyone who reviewed. I really loved to read what you have to say (squeals). To think that people are gifted to say such good things, doesn't it make the world a bit brighter?

This chapter wasn't too long, was it?