Chapter 3 – Need a hand?
Unimpressed but slightly startled blue eyes had Zelda rooted to the spot, and that growingly familiar silence fell between them.
Samus' somewhat angered expression was hardly visible through the visor of her helmet, but even Zelda could see her furrowed brow relax once she recognised the Hylian's increasingly nervous expression.
"My apologies, Sam..." Her breath hitched, suddenly overwhelmed by her thoughts coming crashing down, "-mus,"
She cleared her throat, "Samus... I am afraid that I was in a bit of a rush, and-"
Samus cut her off with a wave of her cannon, and Zelda trailed off into silence seeing a metallic hand extend down towards her.
Was Samus offering to help her up?
Samus squinted her eyes again, giving a low grunt to show her patience was wearing thin.
'The hell is up with this girl? Take my damn hand already!'
It was only as Zelda coyly slid her hand into that of the huntress that Samus felt an odd feeling hit the pit of her stomach. Somewhere in the back of her mind she'd expected at least some force, but Zelda's hand was incredibly dainty and she didn't sense much pressure at all from her grip. In fact, Zelda rose to her feet as though she were completely weightless without Samus even needing to give the hint of a tug.
The hallways were particularly wide, but as Samus stared down the princess she remained unmoving. In fact, she even looked... pleased. Despite the fact that she easily towered over the Hylian, Zelda looked up at Samus with the calmest smile she had ever seen.
"Thank you, Samus."
Samus pursed her lips, the uneasy feeling in her stomach churning over. Never had she been directly addressed so quickly without feeling the need to soundly beat the informality out of the offender... but Zelda appeared so content that she couldn't bring herself to ball her fist, and another enemy was the last thing she needed. Instead she averted her eyes, giving off a husky 'meh' in response.
Zelda blinked, eyes creasing in amusement very slightly. There was something endearing about the way Samus behaved, and she dared to pry further.
"If you do not mind my asking, why do you wear that helmet indoors? Surely you must take it off to eat..."
Much to Zelda's surprise, Samus looked rather startled at her question – subconsciously bringing a hand up to rest on the side of her helmet – and Zelda suddenly worried that she had touched upon a sensitive subject.
A static-hushed mumble hummed through what Zelda could only assume was the mouth piece of the varia, and Samus very quickly became visibly uncomfortable. She glanced in either direction before cautiously eyeing the Princess that continued to look up at her with a hopeful gleam to her eyes. What was with all the questions? Why did she care?
Samus groaned, the swift hiss of her helmet breaking the silence as she tugged it from her head. The cold air hit her face and she suddenly felt very exposed.
"I'm not eating." She answered bluntly, deciding not to question why the brunette appeared to be a strange mix of enthralled and dismayed.
Truth be told, Zelda had simply been taken aback once more. Strands of molten sunshine framed Samus' defined cheeks, and as she ran her gaze over pursed lips that she dearly wished to see in a smile, Zelda became hyperaware of the blazing blue eyes burning into her. Their eyes locked, and Zelda suddenly felt very much like she had been met with the blistering stare of a wild animal.
A predator.
Later she would realise how significant it was that Samus had revealed her face to her without question and find herself melting into the mattress with an agonising sense of loneliness deep within her core, but now she stood like a deer in headlights under the draining stare of an ice queen.
"You..."
Are absolutely breathtaking?
"...Are not going to eat?"
A much safer option. She quickly pushed away any dwindling thoughts in her mind, and barely managed to refrain from whining out as Samus' face was lost behind her visor once more.
The sound of the blonde's helmet clicking into place was one that she would grow to despise bitterly, but it was not lost on her that Samus muttered a distant 'Don't need it' before masking herself once more. Zelda opened her mouth to speak, but Samus shook her head no and merely shrugged in explanation.
"Nonsense. Surely, you must eat in order to keep up your energy!" Zelda was at a loss; every waking moment that she had seen Samus up until now she had been fighting. Fighting like a demon spawned fresh out of hell, thoroughly beating the life from those who made the mistake of attempting to get in her way. Somewhere in the back of her mind Zelda believed there was nothing to fear; that behind Samus' mask was a young woman in the same situation that she was; but when Samus remained unmoving she found herself doubting.
"I did actually have something I needed to talk to you about." She wasn't lying, although it wasn't exactly the thoughts on Samus she had in mind when they first... bumped into each other that morning. She was happy to see this steal Samus' attention, and she felt a distinct sense of pride, even power, knowing she had Samus' focus on her.
The huntress looked sceptical, even appalled at the thought of further conversation, but nodded for her to continue.
"About last night..."
That was enough. Alarm bells rang in Samus' head and she knew well forth to trust her gut when it told her to get out of there. She took a step back to put some distance between them, but the pang of what looked like hurt in Zelda's eyes and a now faltering smile made her question her instincts – even if only for a fleeting moment.
"No, please, I will not ask you any questions!" Seeing Samus back up had set of Zelda's own internal sirens and her voice wavered. She reached out a hand to try and take a hold of Samus' arm – but before any contact was made their eyes locked in such a way that Zelda felt as though she'd been punched in the gut.
Samus wanted to scream, she wanted to get out of there, she wanted to listen to her instincts that demanded she did not let this woman lay a finger on her in any circumstances – but the passing memory of how dainty Zelda's hand had appeared in hers flashed before her eyes and she was woken abruptly by the realisation that Zelda had finished her motion. How long had she been lost in thought? Zelda looked almost worried.
Later, in the dead of night, she would think back on this and try to shake the fact that she had somewhat wished to feel the warmth of slender Hylian fingers on her skin.
"Please, just listen to me..."
Samus was sure that her internal conflict in that moment was as close to the sensation of drowning as she'd ever been. The air had been knocked out of her and her mind screamed to fight and get out of there, but her body betrayed her with weighted feet. All she could do was nod and allow this woman that she barely knew to hold her captive. It both frightened and angered her... In fact, perhaps it even fascinated her that Zelda's gentle ways had somehow captivated her – and she caught herself nodding for the Hylian to continue without even realising it. She watched Zelda's fear melt into relief, and a hot feeling hit her lower stomach. What sort of mind control was she doing? Why had she not just walked away like she always did? Perhaps the guilt of leaving the young woman without a word last night had settled like a parasite in the back of her memories.
"I will not ask where you left to or why," Zelda began steadily, never breaking eye contact much to Samus' dismay, "But I just want to let you know that you are still welcome to stay in the room at night. I am sure that a bed would be much more comfortable than wherever you are going, so please, do not feel as though you must vacate. I will not speak a word to you if it so bothers you, but please do not feel obliged to leave. I would..." Zelda took a deep breath at last, "...Like to get to know you better, Samus."
The air between them grew clouded, but the silence was somewhat comfortable to the young princess. Comfortable enough, in fact, that Zelda found herself smiling up at the huntress reassuringly. Samus, on the other hand, was dying inside.
'Get to know me?' Samus felt sick to her stomach. Zelda truly must have no clue what her life was about, what she was about, to want to know even a sliver of detail into the hell that was her daily routine. That explained why she was here; why she still dared to keep her delicate fingertips lay on the hull of her arm cannon; why she even went as far as to smile at her. Smiling death in the face, she would smirk bitterly at later, but now the two stood alone.
Zelda inched closer, daring to take a singular step forwards and close the distance between them once more, and Samus felt as though her helmet were filling up with toxic gas. She just couldn't bring herself to lash out, and the deep, innocent cerulean pools that had clashed with hers were a sight she simply could not harm. Her thoughts whirred by too far to focus on just one, but somewhere in her subconscious Samus wished that the helmet's visor was optional.
"C'mon, plumber! Just one rematch!"
Bowser's bellowing demands shattered the silence, and Zelda gave a startled yelp as she lost her balance and stumbled backwards. She turned her attention down the hallway to the sound of the red hero followed by unmistakable tremors that had to be the footsteps of no other than King Koopa himself.
The hasty clatter of metal behind her snatched her attention, but being met with nothing but the sight of Samus disappearing around the hallway's nearest corner brought Zelda's thoughts collapsing in.
"Why must she always run from me?" She asked herself in little more than a whisper, almost scared by the disappointment so thick in her words.