Summary: During Link and Cloud's Grudge Match, their respective girlfriends talk in the stands. Betwixt war stories and laughter, a new friendship is born. Link and Cloud are doomed.
Pairings: Link/Samus romance. Cloud/Tifa romance. Link and Cloud friendship. Tifa and Samus friendship. General Smash Bros family feels.
"Ugh." Said Tifa Lockhart, wiping at her shirt. "Idiot blood, I can never get this stuff out. Got any tips?" she asked Samus Aran, the tall blonde-bombshell sitting next to her. The two of them had just finished beating some sense into the pranksters Roy and Pit, after the Miis had finished with them of course. The beat down the two had delivered had been so brutal that Master Hand decided to spare the two dorks further punishment. Angering the two ferocious women seemed to be a fitting punishment.
Samus shrugged, her Zero Suit was already spotless. "Never needed it, this thing's always been self-cleaning. I know how to deal with blood on armor, but not clothing." Said the bounty hunter and part time vigilante with a shrug. "Link probably knows some tips. But that's monster blood. Big difference between monsters and idiots."
Tifa nodded. "True. Monsters have a brain at least." She said with a snicker, Samus responding in kind. She gestured down at the arena. "Pointy ears is your boyfriend?" she asked as Cloud and Link began their long awaited duel.
Samus nodded. "Yeah. Kind of weird I know, but look where we are. This place is waving Crazy Town bye-bye in the rearview mirror." As though on cue Kirby acted on the urge to swallow Sonic, spit him out, and start dashing around at supersonic speeds.
Tifa snorted. "Hey at least you're brand of crazy is the fun type of crazy. We've got a bunch of genetically engineered monsters running around looking to murder everything in sight. Our crazy is the murderous type of crazy." Said Tifa. Sonic was now dashing after Kirby, screaming threats at the puffball. "Then again, maybe scary crazy is better. This is pretty creepy" She said in an amused tone.
There was a sudden shout of pain and a whoosh of power from Final Destination drawing both the girls' attention. Cloud had been knocked out of the arena, giving Link one point. "Well, looks like the elf got first blood." Said Tifa.
Samus sucked in air through her teeth, her eyes widening. "Shit. Do NOT let Link or Zelda catch you calling either of them that." She said quickly. "It is not a smart thing to do."
Tifa frowned. "What's wrong with it?" she asked. "I mean, it's just sort of a joke. Would have thought your boyfriend would have a thicker skin." Said Tifa with a raised eyebrow.
Samus shook her head. "No, no. In Hyrule the e-word is an incredibly derogatory and offensive term. A huge insult. Believe me, in the first tournament Link put Mario and a couple other in the hospital for calling his that." She said, shuddering at the memory. Link had proven to be downright sadistic when that word had been directed at him. Honestly it had been kind of arousing for Samus.
"Wow." Said Tifa, her eyes wide. "Damn I… I didn't know." She said quickly. But how the Hell had she been so supposed to know that the e-word for Hylians was the equivalent of calling a black person the n-word? She remembered when a particularly stupid patron called Barrett that. Barrett had shown the man how difficult it was to raise a child with only one arm.
Samus raised her hands. "Hey, I get it. No one knew until Link beat the crap out of Mario." She said. "But still, don't say it around us Smashers. We like Link, and no one insults one of us if they know what's good for them." Said Samus in a slightly threatening tone.
Tifa gave a thumbs up. "No worries." She assured. There was another scream from the arena and a roar of applause from the crowd. Link had been knocked out this time, and Cloud was preparing for his return by harvesting the inside of a party ball.
Samus nodded, and moved onto other things. No use dwelling on mistakes. "Your boyfriend seems to be pretty fixated on winning this fight. Hope for your sake that his sword isn't compensating for something." Said Samus with a shrug.
Grateful that they had moved on from her blunder, Tifa snickered. "And I'll tell you what I tell everyone else who makes that stupid joke. Cloud isn't compensating for anything with the Buster Sword. He's representing." She said with a wink at the blonde next to her. Samus nodded appreciatively.
"Wow, that's actually a really good comeback." Said Samus in a mildly impressed tone. "Mind if I share it, Ike and a couple others round here could use it." She said.
Tifa shrugged, "Feel free." They were silent for a moment, watching Link and Cloud slugging it out before she asked. "Mind if ask you something?" asked Tifa. Samus shrugged. "Shoot." Said the bounty hunter. Tifa cleared her throat. "How did you and Link get together? I mean no offense, but how the hell does a space bounty hunter and a knight from the middle ages end up dating?" she asked. It was honestly puzzling for the brawler. Link and Samus seemed like two completely different people. It didn't add up.
Samus mused for a second before answering. "Well, we first met in Super Smash One. When I first saw him I thought 'sissy boy'. You know, he looks kind of like the type. Sensitive looking, a bit feminine, all that jazz." Said Samus. Tifa could sympathize. She had thought the same of Cloud when they first met as kids.
Samus continued. "But then, you know, we got to talking. He was nice… friendly. He never thought less of me because I was a girl. Never said a woman couldn't be a hero and all that. He was understanding." She smiled at the memory, oblivious to Link and Cloud screaming obscenities at each other as they both tried to shove super spicy curry down the others throat. "We got to being good friends, partners. I even took him on a couple of jobs in space. It was great." She had a distant and happy look on her face.
"Sounds kind of like me and Cloud when we were kids. Except the missions were beating off rabbits from his mom's vegetable garden." Said Tifa with a smile. But then Samus's face turned cold.
"Then… he showed up." She said. "Ridley. That piece of trash who killed my parents." Said Samus, her voice turning the temperature of ice. She spoke the name of the Space Pirate like it was a foul curse. "He snuck up on Link, Link would have pulverized him in a fair fight. Bottom line, Link was going to die until I saved him." She said, then she looked down at the ground. Her eyes seemed a bit… damp. "I had never been so scared in my life. I'm not afraid to die, I accepted that I'm going to die when I was a kid. But… I was terrified that Link was going to die. He was the closest thing I had to family anymore, and Ridley was going to take that from me like he had my parents."
"Damn, hoped you killed the bastard." Said Tifa whole heartedly. Samus nodded grimly, a slightly savage look came over her, suggesting that Ridley's demise had been one of agony and pain. Tifa approved. She would have done the same to Sephiroth if given the chance.
"After that, things were different." Said Samus, her voice growing wistful. "We never officially got together or anything, it just sort of happened. And we… we're happy." She said with a smile. It was a real, soft smile. A crack through the cool façade. "I suppose that's what counts." She said with a smile.
Tifa blinked and said, after a moment, "Wow, not every day you actually get to liv e a Nicholas Sparks novel crossed with Star Wars." She said with a grin. Samus shot her a look. "But still, real cute." Said Tifa honestly.
Samus shrugged. "Yeah. Do me a favor and keep it under your hat. Link has enough trouble with people questioning his masculinity. While I can assure he has NO problems whatsoever in that department, I'm in no hurry to show that off the Side-Show freaks around here." Said Samus gesturing to the others. As though on cue, Mewtwo started to use his telekinesis on Bowser, forcing him to punch himself in the face.
Tifa shrugged. "I get it. Cloud and I are a bit sensitive when it comes to the past too." She sighed, thinking of their ill-fated adventures about the world seeking to stop both Shinra and Sephiroth. Then, for a reason, she couldn't comprehend, she started to talk. "Cloud had a girlfriend… well sort of a girlfriend. Her name was Aerith." She paused, seeing she had Samus's attention. She was hesitant to tell this story, but it felt right after Samus had told hers. "Aerith and I were friends, but we both loved Cloud. I didn't hold it against her, it's hard not to fall in love with him, but there was always that little grain of resentment."
She sighed, thinking of the wonderful Cetra girl who had become the soul of AVALANCHE. "And I did like her, and I knew that Cloud loved her. But then… when Sephiroth killed her… I could barely look at Cloud. I'd never seen someone look so… destroyed." She said, thinking of the ruinous work that Aerith's murder had done on her childhood friend.
"And this Sephiroth guy?" asked Samus quietly.
"Cloud killed him. Killing his was the only thing that kept him going." Said Tifa sadly. "Then Sephiroth came back and Cloud got back together with AVALANCHE. He was… he was lost. But we managed to save him, I'm still not sure how. Cloud and I ended up dating after a while." She looked up sadly, but it was a bittersweet sorrow, mixed with hope and a heavy joy. "It's… it's hard competing with a ghost sometimes. I don't think Cloud will ever stop loving Aerith but… we manage." She said wistfully.
Samus surprised both of them by putting a comforting hand on Tifa's shoulder. "I know the feeling." Said Samus. "Link and Zelda… they're connected on a level I'll never know." She said. "I know they're not together but still…" she trailed off. "Jeez I sound whiny." She snickered, trying to lighten the mood. "Link's rubbing off on me and not in the fun way." She said with a chuckle.
It succeeded in making Tifa laugh. There a sudden cry of "GAME!" from Master Hand and both women turned to the arena.
"Crap, we missed the whole thing." Said Tifa. "This the guys will be mad?" asked the brawler to her new friend.
Samus smirked. "If they know what's good for them they'll be nice about it." She said.
"Amen to that." Said Tifa.
Meanwhile, down in the arena, Cloud and Link felt a chill up their spines. They almost missed Master Hand calling, "SUDDEN DEATH!" and bomb-bombs rained down on them in time to the cackling of their loved ones in the stands.
AN: High there my duckies! A bit of a change of pace with this one. I know it got kind of emotional, but the next one will be much funnier! Please don't hate me.