Note: Modern!AU

Marth rapped at the apartment door in front of him, biting his lip from nervousness.

Luckily enough for him, the person he wanted to see was home this evening.

After a few bumps, clicks, and chains, the door opened up to the young face of an old-time friend. "Marth!" She exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

He smiled. "Say, Kris, I brought food. Care for some potluck for supper?"

She smiled brightly. "Sure! I was going to order takeout anyways, so I don't mind."

Inviting her old friend in, she immediately prepared some tea as she set the table. "So... how's Caeda? Is Elice doing well?"

He froze up. "Uh... Caeda's visiting her family for the new year. I'm planning to visit Elice tomorrow morning. God knows that hospitals are the worst place ever."

Luckily, she didn't notice. "Agreed. Well, that's good. What did you bring?"

He smiled to himself. "Well, I brought mashed potatoes, some fruit salad, Mr. Jägen grilled some lamb chops and told me to bring some over to you, and I tried Elice's recipe for some lo mei rice. I hope it turns out well..."

Kris laughed out loud. "That's wonderful! You probably shouldn't worry about the lo mei rice, it'll definitely be better than any of my cooking!"

Marth chuckled. "True. How you almost manage to burn down your flat while trying to make a sandwich should probably be classified as a superpower."

Kris snorted and brought over the tea. "Ginger, jasmine, green tea, jasmine green tea, or Earl Grey?"

"Jasmine green sounds nice."

Nodding, she hummed along until they both had a cup of tea in their hands. Having two couches, they sat across from each other. Kris's precious Chinese tea set was on the coffee table between them.

Sipping some tea, she looked at Marth with a piercing gaze, making him uncomfortable. He was about to blurt out the one thing that had bugged him for the past week when she set down her tea and shrugged. "Well, let's eat, shall we?"

All of the food were in small bowls covered lids. They took them out and he could see her eyes shine from the delicious food in front of her. "Wow! This is amazing!" Marth beamed from her excitement.

They ate in a relative silence, none of them uncomfortable. It reminded them of their high school years, sitting next to each other in a loud cafeteria and immersed in their own little quiet bubble.

Finishing their pleasant meal and washing up the dishes, they resumed sitting on the couch when Kris gave a knowing smile. "So, what's bothering you, Marth?"

He took a shaky breath, unwilling to say it out. Quick as a flash, she was by his side, gently rubbing his back as a gentle urge to say what he needed and as comfort, comfort that she was there for him. Always. "I-I found Caeda..."

"Go on..."

"I found Caeda cheating on me."

He heard a small gasp, and he found himself wrapped in a warm hug.

The initial shock of his discovery prevented him from shedding any tears. But as his friend continued her caring ministrations, he couldn't stop his soft sobs from escaping, the tears slowly rolling down his cheeks.

She simply hummed, letting his tears fall without any word. He often felt like she was the only person who really understood who he was as a person: more fragile than expected, as sensitive as a girl, more prone to cry... it was no wonder that so many people had bullied him, calling him gay and transgender and all that whatnot. Most girls just laughed and gossiped about him.

Until Kris came along. She was like a shining ray of hope, chasing away the bullies and the dishonor laid on him, helping him regain his respect among his peers and several new good friends as well.

Well... they were new at the time. Now, they were all old friends.

"W-what should I do?" Marth began to stifle his cries, grabbing a tissue to blow his nose.

"Well... just talk it out with her, I guess. It might be just some huge misunderstanding or something-"

"I..." He flushed from embarrassment. "I kinda stalked her for some time already... at first, she was just kissing Ogma, so I was like: okay, I'm just paranoid, but then I've started seeing more and more..." He sighed and leaned towards Kris, who was just as tall as him. "I guess I can talk it out, try to part on good terms. She really was a good friend beforehand. I don't want it to be any more awkward between us..."

"Mhm." Nodding, she never let go of him until he cleared his throat. Blushing, she pulled away and refilled her tea. "But let's not let that dampen tonight. Last Airbender marathon?"

He immediately perked up. "Oh, please, yes!"

They watched for a good long time, all the way until almost midnight. He noticed how Kris didn't move back to her seat.

Pausing the episode, they simply watched the clock.

"Kris?"

"Hm?"

"Ah... never mind."

"No, seriously, what?"

"Really, it doesn't matter... much."

She laughed as the clock ticked to 11:59 when Marth whirled around and silenced the laugh with a kiss.

It was intoxicating, yet there really wasn't any heat behind it, just a sweet kiss that made them both wanting for more. He embraced her, closing their eyes as the clock struck twelve, continuing on for another minute before pulling away. Both were blushing a fierce red as they both pulled out idiotic, wry grins.

"What was that for?"

"Well... a good end for the old year and a good beginning for the new year?"

They laughed out loud at the lame excuse as he kissed her again. "Happy new year," Marth said.

"Happy new year to you too," Kris replied.

A/N:
IMLATEIMLATEIMLATEIMLATEIMLATE IMSOSORRYUUUUUUGH

Anyways, just being fashionably late 'n all. Happy new year to everybuddy!

Some notifications: I'm bumping up the rating for future chapters. There won't be any citrus (yet), but there would be hints and mentions of it (maybe, when I get the guts to haha), but I WILL will WILL definitely write some disturbing scenes for some future chapters. It will take time for me to upload the next one, so sit tight and read the stories made by the peeps I mentioned above.

HAVE A WONDERFUL YEAR GUISE!