Melee Academy of Higher Learning for Boys
Year Three
-Five-
Sunlight filtered through the slits of the blinds and cast its golden glow on the bumps under the covers in a feeble attempt to wake them. There was the squeal of a faucet knob and then the sound of water hitting porcelain from the nearby bathroom, where someone was trying to make use of the shower.
Roy rolled over and snuggled up to what he assumed was the furry blanket Marth always had on the bed, draped over Marth's form.
"Chu!" the 'furry blanket' said, and licked Roy's cheek before snuggling up to Roy's body heat.
Something was, quite obviously, not right. Especially since blankets weren't supposed to have tongues. And Marth's tongue didn't feel like sandpaper, nor did Marth normally lick his face like a dog.
Roy woke up and saw that it wasn't a blanket, but Pichu. Marth was no where in sight.
"Pii! Pichu pi!" It jumped into Roy's sheet-covered lap and nuzzled up against him, obviously finding him to be deliciously warm.
Like a cat, Roy mused, petting the pokemon's back.
The door to the bathroom swung open a few minutes later, and there amidst the steam was Marth. Roy flushed bright red at Marth's lack of a towel around his waist and turned away, off to find his pants among the clothes on his side of the floor.
"What's Pichu doing in here?" Roy asked, pants now in hand. The over-sized mouse-like creature jumped from Roy's lap and ended up rubbing against Marth's leg, almost purring.
Marth shrugged. "Someone must have let him in. Probably Link - he's constantly barging in here."
Roy slipped his pants on and then wandered around looking for a shirt, trying to avoid looking anywhere below Marth's waist.
"Did you steal my towel?" Marth asked as he made himself presentable by shoving on some boxer shorts.
Roy smoothed out all the wrinkles and shrugged his shirt on, buttoning it up starting from the bottom.
"Uh...no, I just woke up. Why?"
Marth looked in the hamper, found nothing but dirty underwear, three mismatched socks, and a shirt that belonged to neither of them, and then went out the door to check the linen closet out at the end of the hall (read: the door next to their bedroom).
Roy sighed and pulled on clean socks, afterwards pulling on his rattier-than-ever Converse Hi-Tops. Marth had kept telling him to buy new ones, but if they were still good, why throw them away? So Roy continued on with his morning routine and Marth kept shouting rude phrases in Altean because there were no more clean towels.
Link, meanwhile, had accidentally taken Marth's towel on clean laundry pick-up, hadn't realised it until he finished using it, and then discreetly disposed of it in Zelda's hamper. He hoped she wouldn't notice anything.
-x-
"Some guy was using my shower this morning at some weird hour, or something," Zelda said over tea and doughnuts as Peach set the dishwasher. Master Hand was in a good mood and decided they needed one, for he was getting complaints from Peach and just about everyone else about the stupid kitchen sink always being full. Peach gawked at the princess then.
"What makes you think that?"
Zelda stared into her tea cup. "A towel that wasn't mine was in my hamper, sopping wet. I didn't actually see anyone, but... Someone was definitely in there."
Link came running down the stairs then, his face tomato red, with Roy right on his heels, his face filled with embarrassment tinged with anger.
"Please don't kill me, I didn't mean to, I swear!" the blond shouted as he went sailing out the back door, barely registering Zelda's and Peach's presence. It took the blonde princesses five seconds to realise Roy had a textbook poised high above his head.
Blinking, both females turned to the staircase, where one very red-faced King of Altea stood, hand covering his mouth, still only in a dress shirt and boxer shorts.
Still trying to process all of what just conspired, Zelda bravely asked (while trying to not gawk at Marth), "What just happened?"
Marth just stood there and said nothing.
"Hello? Marth?" Peach walked over to him and waved a hand in front of his eyes. She seemed to not notice his state of dress and he jolted out of his reverie and looked at her questioningly.
"What happened?" Peach asked again, flushing slightly when she realised Marth barely had clothes on. (And then Peach mentally slapped herself, for she began to undress him with her eyes.)
There was a slight pause as Marth tried to figure out a way to word his response.
"...I'm not even sure."
And they left it at that.
"By the way, Peach," Marth said as he walked her back to the kitchen, "do you happen to have a...padlock anywhere?"
Peach looked puzzled. "What would you need one of those for?" And all sorts of images came to her head, such as Roy being locked to the bedpost - with Marth brandishing a riding crop for whatever reason her brain saw fit - and then padlocking the door so no one could rescue him...
Flushing an even deeper shade of red, for he seemed to know what she was thinking, Marth answered, "...There are some things I would like to have locked up."
And Marth refused to elaborate, which only made the situation worse.
"I'll see what I can do." Peach went to the door and saw Link, arms above his head, and Roy on top of him, trying to restrain himself from murdering the poor blond with his Japanese textbook.
Peach could only make out part of what Roy was shouting.
"If you ever enter our room without knocking again, I swear I'll get something more dangerous than our stupid Yookoso text!"
And then the rest of what Roy said was incomprehensible, unless one spoke Pheraean.
-x-
Link was disappointed at the lack of costumes this year at Halloween as he saw people pass by his locker. He had decided that morning he would be a samurai. A very blond and elven samurai, but Link figured that didn't matter. He wasn't like some of those people who put cat ears in their hair, pinned on a cat tail to some jeans, and called themselves 'cat boys'. Oh no. Because Link figured that, if you were as lazy as that, why bother? They just didn't want to wear the uniform.
Roy rounded the corner to the third floor new building and then stopped in his tracks when he saw the Hero of Time waiting for him by the locker they shared. When Roy had last seen Link, he was still in his pajamas. Link left with the rest of the posse, Roy excluded as he was "waiting for Marth", and so he didn't see Link change into something else.
"You disappoint me," Link said as Roy slowly approached him. Roy was in his uniform, Fencing hoodie taking the place of his equally blue blazer. Link looked downcast at Roy's blase appearance.
"What?" Roy responded to Link's look. He opened the locker and replaced the books he didn't need with the ones he did, and when he did replace them, he dropped them unceremoniously into the locker, causing everything to rattle. Link, whose ears were incredibly sensitive, cringed and covered his ears.
"Sorry," Roy mumbled, then stepped to the side to shove everything into his bag whilst allowing Link access to the locker. Link just retrieved his various notebooks and then locked up.
"You really need to learn the combo," Roy said, shouldering his bag. "Suppose I'm not here one day. What'll you do then?"
Link shrugged as they began their usual walk to the second floor of the old building - their hang-out.
"Uh...get the lock cut off," Link replied after he thought it over, in his matter-of-factual voice. He nudged the door with his boot and pushed it open, holding it with his foot so Roy could get through.
"Yeah, and then I'd get in trouble for sharing my locker."
One of the security personnel stopped a few feet away from them, scanning the area. She too was dressed like a cop - just like the majority of security in the Academy - with a blue beret covering her head - which set her apart from the others - and a radio, which was standard issue for all of them. There was some static and a single name uttered before it went out.
"This is Valentine, go ahead." She released the talk button and waited for a response.
It was Snake. "Yeah, uh, we have a code 43-42-0 near the business office, over."
Jill rolled her eyes at the made up code name and looked up what it meant.
"Public displays of affection, Snake?" Why do we even have a code for that, anyway?
"Yeah. Two guys. At least I think the one's a guy. You never know now-a-days--"
"Where are you?"
There was no answer for a brief moment. Then, "In the locker behind them."
Jill sighed. She had had a weirdo for a boss before, but Snake... Snake was just weird.
"Then why don't you deal with it?"
"Because, Valentine, I have better things to do than break up a make-out contest. Now just get it done."
And that was the end of contact. Jill blew a stray strand of hair away from her face and looked down the hall, past the business office. Sure enough, there were two teen-aged boys in a deep kissing match. The rest of the hallway was deserted, save for the two boys headed in the direction Jill had to go in.
"N-Nick... Hey, leave a mark and I swear--"
"Just shut up, Steffie," Nicholas said, cutting Stephen off. Stephen glared at Nicholas before grabbing his arms and slamming him into the locker behind them.
"Ooh, you like it rough, don't you, Steffie--"
Stephen shut Nicholas up with another well placed kiss. Nicholas entwined his fingers into the ash-blond hair and braced himself against the locker behind him. Stephen, meanwhile, had himself against Nicholas, his tongue running all through Nicholas's mouth.
When Jill arrived at the scene of the 'crime', she stopped in her tracks and simply stared at the two for a good second or two. Radio still in hand, she pressed the talk button once more.
"Uh... Chris? Are you there, Chris?"
"Jilly, I'm kinda busy--" While Chris was speaking, Jill distinctly heard, "Redfield, can't you shut up for two seconds while I--"
"Chris, who's in the room with you?"
Silence.
"Chris?"
"...Yeah, Jilly? Whaddya need?"
Jill figured she would ask her husband later. There was a more pressing matter to attend to.
"Come to the second floor."
"Why?"
Jill rolled her eyes and sighed. "Because there's something you should see."
"...I'm quite busy at the moment, Jilly. Just tell me what's going on."
So Jill told him everything she was witnessing.
"Our Nicholas?" was all Chris could choke out.
"Do you know any other Nicholas Leon Redfields, Chris?"
"... ...No."
And then suddenly, Snake burst out from the locker a good two feet away from Stephen and Nicholas, scaring the crap out of them and poor Jill. She even had her gun out, afraid it was something more, like a zombie.
"What the fuck?" Stephen shouted, shirt half off, belt unbuckled.
"Jesus H.!" was all Nicholas could utter, albeit muffled because Stephen fell on top of him.
"Holy shit!" Jill shrieked, garnering all sorts of looks from teachers poking their heads out from their rooms.
And then suddenly, Snake had Link in a headlock.
"What did I tell you people about sucking face in the hallways? WHAT. DID. I. TELL. YOU."
Link flailed and pounded his fists against Snake's bulging biceps in an attempt to be released.
"I wasn't making out with anyone!" Link shouted, doing a perfect imitation of Nobuyuki Hiyama. "Honest! I might have a crush on my Japanese teacher, but I haven't done anything yet!"
And then Snake realised he had the wrong blond and released Link, who fell onto his knees and yelled, "GAME OVER!"
"Good job, Snake, you've traumatised one of the students," Jill scolded, hands on her hips. "Tabuu's not gonna be happy."
Meanwhile, Nicholas and Stephen snuck off to the boys' restroom to continue their previous actions.
-x-
"So after school, there's a costume contest for the Do-It-All club..."
"We've gone over this before, Link," Roy said as he slid down the wall near the Japanese classroom. "Your persistence is getting a little annoying."
Link sighed. "Hey, uh... Roy? Can I talk to you about something?"
The sudden change in topic nearly gave Roy whiplash. "If it's about what you screamed at Snake before, then by all means."
"Well..." The floor became very interesting now. "What I meant by what I said was..."
"Yes?" Roy had his arms crossed now as he waited patiently for Link to continue. "I'm waiting."
There must have been a loch ness monster peering up from the floor, for Link's gaze was intent on it.
"...I think Marth's pretty," Link muttered, nearly inaudible.
"What?" Roy had an eyebrow raised. "I didn't hear you."
"I think Marth's one sexy piece of ass!" Link shouted, nearly toppling over. Link, always having crappy timing with everything, chose that moment to confess his thoughts, the moment where Marth just had to make an appearance and hear everything. (Everyone else in the hallway, however, somehow managed to ignore Link's very loud outburst.)
Roy merely blinked and said nothing; Marth turned around ever-so-slowly to face the blond youth.
And Link nearly died and ran off right after making his confession. Roy had no idea what to make of the situation - whether he should run after Link or whether he should stay behind and let everything run its course.
"I figured as much," was all Marth said. Sliding the door to his classroom open, he added, "I knew there was a reason he was acting a little weird around me as of late."
And Roy had no idea what to say to that. And then, knowing he should be a good friend and see if he was all right, Roy stood up and followed Link's path of destruction to the bathroom.
-x-
"Ssh, it's okay, Link..."
"No it's not! Now you hate me and Marth hates me and Farore damn it all! I'm not even gay!"
Link was sobbing on the floor, Roy next to him on his knees. They had been like that for the past five minutes, except Link became just a little more coherent.
"You don't have to be gay in order to think Marth's attractive, you know."
Link looked up, sniffling. "Y-You don't?"
Roy shook his head. "You don't," he confirmed. "Sometimes you turn out to be gay, but I don't think that's the case with you. You're too hell bent on getting Zelda."
Link wiped his nose on the back of his hand and sniffled more.
"S-So I can think Marth's attractive and not be like, sexually attracted?"
Roy nodded.
"...That makes me feel better about myself."
Roy patted Link on the back. "I'm glad." He offered Link a tissue for his nose, who took it and blew his nose loudly.
"But if you try to molest Marth in a deserted hallway or something," Roy threatened, his gaze seeming to penetrate through Link's very soul. It reminded Link of their homeroom teacher and so he got a little freaked out.
"I swear you will rue the day you ever laid eyes on him. He's mine."
"And Sheeda's," Link added, standing up now. "It's her ring he's wearing on his finger, you know."
Roy held up his right hand and waggled his ring finger. "And it's his ring I'm wearing on my finger."
Link grabbed at Roy's hand and examined the ring. It was a platinum band with an aquamarine stone set in the middle. On one side of the setting, engraved into the band, was '2007', and on the opposite side, 'MAHLB'. And Link, for a split second, had no idea what that even stood for, until it dawned on him that 'MAHLB' was emblazoned on their school blazer emblems in a cursive, fancy-looking script.
"I'm surprised it fits you," Link remarked, letting Roy's hand drop. Roy picked up his school bag and together, they left the boys bathroom. It was still noisy in the hallways, not necessarily a good sign. Everyone was moving, which meant the bell had rung a little bit ago.
They managed to squeeze themselves into the crowd and take the long way to their respective classes so they could talk just a bit longer.
"Marth and I have the same ring size," Roy said, grabbing Link's wrist so they could hustle some. Link nearly bumped into his younger self on his way to Japanese class, but that was okay since Young Link seemed to have not seen him. Either that or he was just ignoring Link.
"Well that's a little odd," Link said. Roy headed through the doors at the end, Link with him.
"Not really. Anyway, I'll see you for third period, 'kay?" Roy couldn't be late for gym, otherwise they would lock him out of the dressing room and he would get a zero for the day.
Link was already being shoved up the stairs by the people behind him.
"Of course!" Link managed to shout, and Roy went on his way.
-x-
"Spike the damn ball!"
One of the teammates on Roy's volleyball team was getting just a bit too competitive for the 'non-competitive' side of the gym.
"Dude, calm down!" the guy next to him said, setting the ball to him. "Not everyone can spike the ball."
The Obsessed-with-spiking guy demanded that one of the setters set it to him. "I'll show y'all how it's done!"
The ball came to him... He went to attack it with all his strength...
And he missed completely, instead getting whacked in the face by the volleyball. But Roy, having quicker-than-average reflexes, dived down and managed to keep it in play, passing it to the nearest player, who managed to (properly) spike it.
Terry, on the bench, was cheering for Roy to win the entire time, an ear-to-ear grin plastered right on his face. Falcon blew the whistle, signaling gym was over for the day.
"Hey, Pherae!"
Roy tried to, whenever possible, avoid Terry, who was now - suddenly and mysteriously, of course - Roy's number one fan.
But it was impossible to ignore him this time.
So Roy, polite, yet somewhat curtly answered, "Yes?"
Terry wrapped an arm around Roy's shoulders and pulled him in close, as if they were close buddies from kindergarten. He leaned in close to Roy's neck and poked the pinkish mark there, seemingly fascinated by it.
"So Marth marks his lovers, huh."
Roy opened the door to the locker rooms and shook Terry's arm off. He wasn't feeling very comfortable around Terry at the moment.
"Tell me," Terry began, hanging around Roy's gym locker now as Roy took his shirt off. "Who usually tops? And whose bed do you do it in?"
Roy knew Terry was a creep, but he didn't know he was this kind of creep.
Guarded, Roy responded, "Why do you care?" He shrugged his uniform shirt on and buttoned it, realising it was probably not a good idea to stay shirtless around this guy for too long.
Responding as if it were obvious, "Because I always imagined Marthy taking a good pounding."
Roy said nothing.
"And I would totally give him a good one any day of the week."
Roy continued to dress himself and tried to ignore Terry, but he kept repeating his question over and over as if he had some divine right to the information. Roy couldn't get out of there fast enough.
Terry wanted information, though, so after Roy put his gym stuff away and went through the door and up the stairs to the gym, Terry followed like an abandoned puppy to its new found master.
"Answer my question!"
Roy was tempted, oh so tempted, to slam the door in Terry's face and run far, far away from him, but resisted. He knew what Marth would do - make an excuse and leave - but Roy wasn't one to make excuses and he was a crappy liar. In fact, if he made up a fake excuse, he was sure Terry would see through it. Perhaps Roy's way with words could get Terry off his back... From all his time hanging around Marth, he had managed to pick up the art of 'diplomatic persuasion', which was basically ordering someone to do something by making it sound like it was a request.
"What you're asking...," Roy said at last, calmly, quietly, as Terry continued on with his pleas, "is it really something you just have to know? Can't you be content with your imagination? I don't think you want your fantasies ruined, so maybe it's better you stay away from the truth." The truth being that there were no set positions - Roy and Marth would be easily bored if they only had one set position.
Terry had to make a decision: did he really want his fantasy ruined, or was it worth his curiosity being sated and relieve him? Was it worth the potential cost? Terry had to deal with Marth stripping in the darkest corner of the locker room for two years, leaving much up to the imagination.
And then one day he peeked on him, he was disappointed (but still pleased) at what he saw. He imagined sexy battle scars one would normally brag and flash about. Instead, a very self-conscious Marth hid so no one would see them. Marth did not like to talk about all the innocent people - ones who fought for the pride of their country - killed and all the families and lovers ripped apart. And while Marth's scars were indeed very sexy - to not just Terry, but also to Roy - he didn't like Terry's obsession with them.
Terry was faced with the same decision: to peek at Marth and Roy's sex life, or leave it in the darkest corner of the locker room.
And while Terry took that time to contemplate it, attendance was taken and the bell rang shortly thereafter, leaving a dazed and very contemplative Terry all by himself as everyone else made a mad dash to the front doors of the gym.
-x-
"Hey, Roy, guess what?" Link, still dressed as a samurai, met Roy by his Pre-Calculus class - which was, ironically, next door to Link's Geometry class. (Link often excused himself to use the restroom, made up an excuse for Roy to leave his class, and then asked him questions about triangles and radii and whatever else Link didn't know.)
"What?" The general was still on the look out for Terry, in case the obsessed-with-Marth brunet somehow acquired a copy of his schedule.
"We get our class rings today!" Link seemed chipper about the whole event, as if it were the best thing to happen since Ganondorf got a sword shoved into his head.
"Really?" Roy asked as he fiddled with his circlet. "When does this happen?"
Link gave him the flyer for it. On it was this:
Fellow students,
During your lunch period, Cust-a-Ring will be in the cafeteria to hand out your class rings. To pick it up, simply give cash, a check, or your credit card information, hand it to our representative, and you will then be handed your ring. If using cash, please have the exact amount - we don't give out change (we're not a bank).
If you are unable to pick it up, please look for our own studio in Little Tokyo, west of Nintendo Land, and pay for it up front.
We hope to see you there!
Roy read through it twice to make sure he had all the information, then checked the back to see if there was anything more.
"Zellie already picked mine up," Link said. "I won't get it till next period, though. She and Ike are swapping rings, whatever that means. I think the idea's stupid."
Roy leaned the paper against the wall and filled out his credit card information as Link babbled on about Ike and Zelda.
"Uh, Link, swapping class rings means two people are going steady."
Link looked at him blankly. "What?"
Roy sighed and looked at his watch. "I'll text you, okay? The bell's about to ring." And without another word, Roy went into his Pre-Calculus classroom. Taking out his RAZR, he texted Link.
Going steady means Zelda and Ike are dating each other exclusively.
which means wut? Link answered back.
They're pretty much on their way to getting married, Roy replied.
...no. they cant get married!! zellie'll dump him easy.
It's hard to break up after you've swapped rings, Link.
The teacher rapped a ruler against his desk for attention and Roy shoved his phone into his hoodie pocket. Thinking of something else, he pulled it back out as Yoshi went on about parabolas and texted Marth.
Did you get my class ring?
A few seconds later, Roy's phone vibrated.
Yes, was the answer.
Okay. When will we meet?
...How about the library before you go to Chorus?
Yeah, that's fine. I'll see you then. Roy shut the cover of his phone and replaced it in his pocket.
No matter how hard Roy tried, he just couldn't focus on the lesson at hand. He didn't really care about parabolas, anyway. He didn't need them to be a ruler someday.
They should gear school courses towards something useful, Roy thought, and rested his head against the palm of his hand.
-x-
Roy headed down the hall to the library. He understood why Marth wanted to meet in the library: his Japanese classes were doing research for their rubric papers. Marth didn't have any fourth period class, so he often went up to the library, anyway. It was usually to read something - a newspaper, a magazine, a novel - or grade papers or go over lesson plans. And it was really the only way he could see Sheeda and talk. It was mostly idle chatter - nothing more, nothing less.
Roy walked into the eerily quiet library - practically empty, save for a few students eating lunch, studying, or using the computers - and found Marth behind a stack of paperwork, his hand resting on his forehead, fingers gripping his hair, his reading spectacles low on his nose. He was writing something down on a worksheet - probably grading it or creating an answer key - with his legs crossed at the ankles underneath the chair directly across from him. He seemed so absorbed in his work, almost too absorbed. Sheeda was in the back putting books away when she stumbled upon two teens being overly passionate with each other. She backed away slowly and went around, not wishing to disturb them, a light flush on her face.
Ike had his arms around Link, who had his hands gripping Ike's shoulders, and the most shocking thing of all was that Link was the one being overly passionate with Ike. Ike, his princess's boyfriend, his rival, his 'arch-enemy'. He pushed Link against the side of the mahogany bookcase and kissed him with more intensity, his hands moving to Link's wrists and he pinned them there.
But no one aside from Sheeda knew they were back there, so there were no interruptions, no questions...nothing.
Roy dragged a chair over to the table and placed it by Marth, directly next to him.
"So... Do you have it?"
Marth's hand stopped mid-page, the pen slipping so it fell on the sheet of paper. He gestured to the small ring box in the middle of the table. Roy picked up the velvet box and opened it carefully. It was the same ring Marth had, except the stone was garnet and the graduation year was 2010.
"Did you see it before?" Roy asked, finding Marth's taciturnity to be just a little odd as he removed the ring from the box.
"No," Marth replied, looking up. His eyes found the ring in Roy's hand and he gazed upon it, admiring the deep red stone, how it match Roy's hair.
"Do you like it?" Roy grinned and rested his hand on Marth's, caressing it with calloused fingers.
"...Do you like it?"
Roy hated it when Marth answered things with a question.
"I'm not going to be the one wearing it. Do you like it?"
Marth said nothing at first, then, after thinking of a proper response, replied, "Yes. I like it very much."
"Well then... Let me put it on you."
Marth held out his right hand and Roy grasped it, lifting his ring finger so Roy could slide the ring onto it easier. Roy inched the ring on, feeling awkward, like he was getting married and exchanging rings; perhaps he should get down on one knee and ask for Marth's hand. (And that would lead to complicated things, for one of them would have to be the 'bride', and Roy knew Marth would rather die than wear a frilly white dress. Roy couldn't blame him, of course. Though Roy had to admit Marth would be a very beautiful princess...)
When he was done, Marth laced his fingers with Roy's and gave him a quick peck on the mouth.
"I'll see you next period," Roy said as he got up.
Marth smiled. "I would hope so. I don't want you cutting my class now."
With another peck on the mouth - which almost escalated to a french kissing match, Marth gently pushed Roy away and said, "Later." Roy licked Marth's lip and then stood up straight, ring box still in his other hand.
Terry, over by the magazines, saw the whole scene, misconstruing Marth's pushing Roy away to mean something entirely different.
Could there be trouble in paradise, dear Marth? Do I have to swoop in and rescue you?
Terry hadn't planned on his 'masterpiece of an awesomely epic plan' failing miserably when Roy took a sip of Marth's vitamin water.
Oh shit.
Terry straightened himself and, with a look of utter guilt, tried to leave the library.
Too bad Schuldig, who had the ability to read people's thoughts, knew exactly what was going on with Terry. He eyed him as he used the copier and pondered whether or not to report the youth. Deciding against it, he went back to copying the articles on assassin organisations he was planning on handing out to his students.
-x-
"Roy, why are you so late?" Zelda had such a peeved look on her face and in the background, Link was nursing his rather burned cheek.
"I had to see Marth--"
"Were you two screwing again?"
The Chorus room grew quiet and everyone stared at Roy. No one knew Roy and the Japanese teacher were together. They were mostly freshmen, so they didn't know any better, but even so. Zelda realised what she had said, but it was too late to take it back.
"What is your problem?" Roy asked, trying to remain calm, stay civil. "I had to give something to Marth and you jump down my throat?"
Zelda inhaled and then exhaled slowly, trying to calm herself down. Without any further words, she stomped over to her office, went inside, and locked herself in. Roy, confused, looked to Link, who was still tending to his face.
"What happened?" he asked the Hero of Time, taking a seat next to him.
"Well... It's a long story," Link answered.
"I've got time."
Link took a deep breath and let it all out. "Zelda found out Ike was cheating on her and so she hunted him down and blew up at him. Then she found out who he's with now, and then she turned on me and threw a well-placed Din's Fire at me and...yeah."
Roy blinked. "I thought you said you weren't gay."
Link shrugged. "Like you said before, these things tend to happen, don't they?"
Amused, Roy said, "I thought you hated Ike."
Link grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, well... I thought I did, too."
Roy elbowed Link's arm. "So... So is Ike good or...?"
Link thought for a moment. "...Well. His kissing kind of sucks but I'm sure he'll be fine once we get going, you know?" He gave a mischievous sort of smile and tapped his chin with his fingers.
"I mean, Marth wasn't Mr. Perfect First Kiss, was he?"
Roy thought back to his first kiss with Marth, all the way back when Link was hell bent on the whole talent show nonsense last year.
"Who would honestly have sex to this song?" Roy asked, referring to 'Insatiable' playing on the stereo. "Maybe making out, but not sex." He gripped the edge of the stage between his legs and leaned forward slightly, getting into Marth's face just a bit. Marth moved his hand to Roy's cheek and slowly caressed the skin, all the while getting a confused look from Roy. Marth leaned down and over just enough and lifted Roy's head by placing his fingers under Roy's chin.
"It's cheesy, but it works," Marth whispered before ever-so-lightly pressing his lips to Roy's. Roy's arm linked with Marth's and he pulled him over so Marth was on top, the fingers of his other hand grasping Marth's silky hair...
Roy's cheeks flushed at the memory and he licked at his suddenly dry lips. "Actually... It was perfect."
Well, it was perfect to Roy, anyway.
-x-
"Why am I so tired?" Link said, almost incoherent as he yawned. He slid open the door to his Japanese class and collapsed into his seat, nearly falling asleep right then and there.
"Because you didn't have your Mountain Coke Dew this morning," Roy answered, walking in after him. "Which, might I add, tastes like Fruit Loops."
"Which is good 'cause Fruit Loops are awesome."
Marth was seated at his desk, legs crossed once more at the ankles and placed underneath his chair, book in hand. Roy simply stared at him the whole time, oblivious to anything or anyone else. He pictured himself jumping from his seat and pinning Marth to the desk, all the while kissing him with such intensity that Marth wouldn't be able to do anything except moan and submit... And then Roy would lean him over the table...
Marth noticed Roy's glazed over look, dirty grin, and the flush on his face - he knew exactly what Roy was thinking about.
"Roy, are you all right?" Marth's voice sounded distant.
"Just be still, my dear prince," Roy muttered, obviously off in some other place. Marth's eyes widened at the sudden realisation that something bad was happening. But to Roy, who didn't realise he was on the floor or that he wasn't in reality anymore, Marth's look said something entirely different.
Marth got up from his desk and someone else dropped their textbook on the floor, effectively jolting many out of their almost-asleep state.
"Roy, are you all right?"
Roy was too preoccupied with other things to notice he was actually half delirious.
"Marth," Roy said.
"I can't understand what you're saying... You're mumbling, Roy."
"I think he said something about jelly beans."
"...You're not much help right now, Link."
"Sorry."
Before Marth could utter another word, Roy had already jumped from his seat - though he wasn't even in a chair, and instead tried to flop out of Marth's arms.
"What are we gonna do, Marth?"
"If you could please help me, I'd take him to the nurse's office. He's pallid and burning up." The voice sounded worried, but the boy in his arms heard nothing of the outside chatter.
"Okay, okay. I'll help him up and then you can carry him or whatever you wanna do with him."
Roy's dream quickly turned into a nightmare. There was nothing but an expanse of blackness. He was standing at the edge of a cliff, an ominous crumbling sound coming from somewhere below him... There was some unknown force pushing him closer and closer...
"Stop tempting me to jump!" Roy shouted, his voice echoing in the chasm of almost nothingness.
"Is he still muttering incoherently?" Link asked, escorting Marth to the nurse's office. Marth was careful to not knock Roy's head into any doors or door frame, lest he do more bad than good.
"I heard something about 'temptation', whatever that means."
Link gave him a look. "That could be anything from chocolate to coffee to floral prints."
"...Floral prints?"
"Yeah. Roy has these boxer shorts that have little flowers with happy faces on them and--"
Marth nearly dropped Roy going down the stairs. He gave Link a glare as the Hero of Time regained his posture, releasing Marth's arm.
"Sorry."
"Could you try to not fall and take me out with you?"
Roy cried out when he saw Marth dangling from the edge, a frightened look in his eyes. Someone from behind grabbed Roy and caressed him, as if he was a pet.
"Only I can have you," the voice said, striking up some familiarity in Roy's mind. "I won't let him take you from me."
"Roy!"
"Roy...!"
Marth saw Roy stir some in his arms as Link held the door open.
"Roy, wake up!"
"Oh Farore, don't tell me he's dying!"
There was a pause as Marth looked Link over. "...You don't have to be so dramatic."
"But he could be dying!"
"Not if he's moving."
And the cliff crumbled to pieces, Marth fell backwards into nothingness and Roy screamed his heart out, the person behind him holding him back, preventing Roy from going after Marth.
"Roy...!"
"...Roy!"
"Roy, I know you can hear me. Open your eyes now!"
And then the next thing he knew, he was in the nurse's office with Marth's and Link's concerned faces hovering over him. Though Marth looked stoic, one could see in his eyes that he was truly concerned for his boyfriend; Link was openly concerned, his hands gripping the foot board of the small cot. Blinking, Roy realised he was in his undershirt and dress pants, his face flushed from what he thought happened moments ago. Marth had a rag in his hand and a basin filled with water and wondered if he was delirious from Elimine only knew what.
"W-What happened?" Roy asked, his throat parched, hoarse, as he sat up. Link handed him a glass of water and with shaking hands, Roy took it and gulped it all down.
"You came into Japanese class, sat down, and then you collapsed," Link explained, taking the glass, and filled it up again. "Marth brought you in here and Doctor Mario looked you over a few minutes ago."
Roy looked from Marth to Link and then back to Marth. "Well? What did he say?" He grabbed for Marth's hand and Marth grasped it, squeezing it reassuringly.
"Someone apparently spiked your drink. He said it probably happened right before fourth period, based off how long it took for it to pass through your system."
"Wait a second." Roy was so confused. Hadn't Marth just fallen from a cliff...? How did he suddenly teleport to here...? "You just died."
Marth stared at Roy like he was a mental asylum escapee, his eyebrow quirked.
"You were dreaming, Roy. You were mumbling in your sleep even, though I have no idea what it was about. You even managed to spike a fever during it."
"The question I think we're all dying to ask," Link said, changing the topic of conversation, "is who the heck managed to drug you without anyone noticing."
"It's like someone didn't want me around anymore or something," Roy remarked, running a hand through his hair. And then it dawned on him. "...The drink I took was Marth's."
No one said a word.
"So that's where my vitamin water went," Marth muttered, fiddling with his ID card, his eyes trained on the floor.
"Does anyone know what the hell my - err, your - drink was spiked with?" Roy swung his legs over the side of the bed and reached for his dress shirt hanging from the foot board.
Again, no one said anything.
"Judging from the effects, I'd say it was some sort of hallucinogen," Marth answered at last. "You were unconscious for a bit and then you were hallucinating and muttering incoherently with the oddest look on your face and then you came back from wherever your mind went off to."
"But who would want to drug you?" Link quipped, looking straight at Marth. Marth shrugged.
"You want me to just pick one or do you want me to make a list?" Marth was half-serious, half-sarcastic.
Roy jumped from the bed, nearly tripping over his own shoes.
Recovering, Roy said, "Terry would."
The pieces then seemed to all fit together.
-x-
"When I find that Terry, I swear I'll let my hand fly of its own accord..."
Marth was usually not the type of person who threatened people - he was actually opposed to senseless violence (or violence in general) because, in the end, someone was going to get hurt. And more often than not, it was the other person. However, if someone had the balls to threaten or hurt someone Marth held a relationship with... Well, they had better keep an eye out.
"I don't want you getting fired," Roy responded as Marth escorted Roy to his locker, on edge from the events that had conspired that day. "I'll handle it myself."
"I don't want you getting suspended," Marth countered. "And since that drink spiking was intended for me... Well, it's only fair I give out some sort of punishment..."
Roy sighed as they arrived at his locker. He entered the combination as usual and grabbed his books.
"I'll think of a proper punishment, Marthy," Roy said with a grin as he slammed the locker shut and shackled it closed. "He calls me the 'overprotective boyfriend'."
Marth didn't look too happy. "...If he hurts you, I swear--"
"Marth, you're talking to a sixteen year old boy who led a rag-tag army and is known for his brilliant strategies. I'll be fine."
They walked down the hall, turned, went down another staircase, and then out the front doors.
"Oh, and Marth..."
"Mmm?"
"There's this pamphlet going around the school about how you should be more open with your partner."
"And?" Marth wasn't getting it - his mind was still trying to think of a proper punishment for Terry. The bastard was in his sixth period... He could 'lose' Terry's assignments or...
"And I think we should be more open."
"...What's your point, Roy?"
"Would you mind if I screwed you up against the bathroom wall?" Roy was known for being blunt, but not that blunt. Marth nearly choked on his own saliva.
There was silence.
"If you ever want sex again from me, you won't suggest such a thing ever again," Marth answered, shattering the silence like a sledgehammer to a mirror.
Roy chuckled. "You're so vanilla."
Marth flushed. "Call me what you will. Sex is for beds."
"And showers," Roy added. "And the computer chair. And--"
"Those aren't vertical objects!" Marth blushed harder.
"...Can we at least do it on the floor?"
Marth gave him a look. "No. Do you honestly want rug burn on your most sensitive regions? I know I don't."
Roy sighed in defeat as they crossed the street. "Okay, fine. We'll do it in our bed."
And Roy's apparent half-possession on Marth's bed irked the prince to no end.
"'Our bed'?"
Which sparked another half-argument on whose bed it was.
"Hey, have you seen the pamphlets they've been handing out about safe sex and being open with your partner?" Link always found the most inappropriate time to pop in. He wound his arms around Roy's and Marth's shoulders and got in between the two swordsmen. In one of his hands was the aforementioned pamphlet.
"Marth and I were just talking about that."
"Nu-uh," said Link as he wagged his finger. "You and him were arguing about who had possession of the beds."
Marth removed Link's arm from around his shoulders and placed it at his side.
"Roy and I are already open enough, thank you."
"I dunno, Roy complains that you keep too much to yourself."
Roy opened his mouth to make a comeback, but no words would form. Marth quirked an eyebrow and Link had such a serious expression on his face.
"I complained once about Marth having a roundabout way of saying things instead of being blunt," Roy said at last. "That doesn't equal 'complains that Marth keeps too much to himself'."
And so it went on.
It was just like any other day at Melee Academy - when you least expected it, something went wrong.