Chapter 8 – Serenity

Parties.
Oh, Parties.
How she hated them so.

The beat was heavy, and it made Samus uneasy how it travelled through the floor and up into her body as though the bass ran through her veins. Her body tingled and her head swam; the heat and excitement of the room too much for her isolated mind.

She was used to being bundled together with strangers, that mansion had taught her that whether she wanted to or not. The party setting, however, was quite different. She had made an effort to arrive as late as physically possible, and intended to leave as soon as the doors opened – but there were still hours between then and now without a doubt. She sighed heavily, scanning the room for any non alcoholic drinks; the last thing she needed now was a swimming head, no matter how enticing the idea of totally blurring the night out seemed.
Vodka? No.
Wine? Marginally better, but not quite.
Apple juice? Bingo.

She picked it up clumsily; cursing whoever thought it was appropriate to 'put apple juice in a fucking wine glass'; wedging the thin neck of the glass between her thumb and the side of her index finger.

It was only once she'd picked up the glass that she realised she couldn't drink it with her helmet on.

"Shit."

Good thing the helmet was pretty much sound proof.
Cautious blue eyes darted around the room; settling on a large glass pane on the far side of the room.
Of course, the balcony was a perfect escape!

She wordless pushed her way through the crowd, glad that her shoves brought about no drama since it probably felt the same as being bumped into by another dancer getting way into whatever this vulgar pop music was about, and grasped a hold of the scruffy wooden handle.
She was about to push it open when a familiar voice barked out behind her, and Wolf stood with his arms folded tight. Although a sleazy, proud grin was smeared all over his face, the look in his eyes said he didn't want to be here just as much as her.

"Going somewhere, Aran? You know this is compulsory." His tone was dripping with smug, ego-filled spite, and she knew that if she didn't get out now, her fist would be connecting with his muzzle very soon.

"I need some air." She growled, the static of her words garbling through the mouth piece just enough for Wolf's ears to twitch. She assumed that he got the gist to back off, balled her fist and left the canine where he stood. What a way to start the night.

The rhythmic thuds of unfamiliar music muffled as Samus slid the glass panel door shut behind her, and the chill of the night was a comforting rush from the stuffy party room. Even though it often felt as though all she wanted was to get away from the vast, uncaring void that was space, even the iron maiden could not deny that blankets of navy hues with peeking stars looked breathtaking under the watchful eyes of the moon. It was a divine serenity, broken only by the shutter of metal as she retreated from the suit out of sight. The cold hit her face, and she shivered.

At least the juice wasn't bad.

The balcony stretched far up each side of the building, and was expediently wide. Thick wooden decking beneath her boots was a sound that Samus secretly took great satisfaction in, and she leant against the high metal bar that stretched along the edge with folded arms. The view was one of a lifetime; at least, to someone who had seen nothing but rock and darkness from her window each night; the city skyline glowed freely on the horizon, but between the hustle and bustle of the city and Samus' drowsy stature were acres of woodland and field with too many colours for her to even consider counting.
The balcony itself, although large and far reaching, was surprisingly empty. Wicker benches were sparsely placed with their backs to the building, and a lone telescope could be found on the West side.

"You are not one for the bright lights and strange music either?"

The soft chime of Zelda's voice tore Samus from her trance, and she glanced uneasily over her shoulder to see the princess stood in the doorway with hands clasped loosely in front of her.

"I do not understand the odd trends of this planet. Might I join you?"

Samus swallowed thickly, but gestured for Zelda to join her; in all honestly, after the day she'd had so far, Zelda's company was the most pleasant she could think of. She had a way of making silence at ease, and she didn't find herself concerning over whether she ought to be speaking, acting or anything of such a sort.
It was Zelda's voice that snapped her out of yet another trance like state, but this time it captured her full attention.
"Beautiful, are they not?"
Samus felt the blood rush to her cheeks. Zelda stood beside her now; the light of the moon highlighting her defined features and graceful stance more than any passing daydream could even hope of imagining. Her slender fingers barely seemed to touch the tarnished balcony bar as she lay her pristine gloved hands upon it, and Samus found her eyes wandering over every last stitch and detail. The way she held her shoulders, the way her lips arched into that calm Zelda smile, the way her eyes seemed to roam the sky as though she belonged up there amongst the brightest of stars... And as Zelda cast a glance her way, Samus realised that her favourite thing was the way her eyes gleamed with such a conflict between a raging hunger for freedom and adventure, and tender loving warmth that melted every last fibre of her being. How had she not noticed this before?
She sipped her drink coyly, making a futile attempt to fix her dry throat and free the words caught within it, but accepting that this was new territory where her efforts lacked success she placed her glass down. Maybe some other day she would know what to say.

Zelda had always believed that the eyes were a window to the soul; the way Samus looked now, so adrift in thoughts that the princess could only dream of setting sail into the ocean that was the world of the reclusive Samus Aran, and with azure eyes that had locked onto her gaze and brought the impulsive need to close the distance between them, Zelda found her feet moving at their own accord.
The lunar beams had not only hit Zelda, it would seem, as the princess stood in her own unvoiced awe. Samus' battle hardened warrior front had been momentarily dropped, and in this moment she looked exactly as Zelda had pictured her inner goddess to be. Her expression did not appear strained with resentment, her lips were not pursed in resistance, and those eyes that had begun so blunted with sadness had given way to a glimmer of life behind the walls she had been trying so hard to coax down.
This was the side Samus she wanted to see; A Samus who was free and unafraid to let her emotions show, who did not view desiring company as some sort of vulnerability and assume that an enemy is merely infiltrating her life to rip her apart from the inside. She wanted Samus in her entirety; interior, walls and all.
A subconscious blush crept onto her cheeks, and Zelda swallowed as Samus nodded her head coyly.

"Beautiful."

Zelda smiled, looking back out over the balcony and shuffled closer to Samus, holding her breath anxiously only to be delighted when Samus didn't so much as lean away. The air was heavy with what Zelda felt was the unspoken truth behind words, and she rested her head onto Samus' shoulder without a word.

Samus didn't flinch.

Zelda held her breath again; the serenity of the night broken only by the erratic heartbeat threatening to burst from her chest. She was about to open her mouth to speak, when she suddenly became very aware that Samus's chin was now rested atop her head, and a barely audible sigh escaped the huntress' lips. Zelda couldn't stop the wide smile, and she closed her eyes with a soft, pleased hum. She decided that speaking could possibly throw off Samus' surprisingly calm attitude right now, and the last thing she wanted was to put distance between them. It was a long time before either of them moved.

"Samus... Would you tell me about space?" Zelda asked quietly and sleepily nuzzled against the huntress' shoulder. Samus was unresponsive for a few moments, but eventually cracked her eyes open to swipe a glance across the sky.

"It's big. Too big. Scary big, when you're alone." She said, before closing her eyes again. "Even when you've been in it a long time, you've barely seen anything – even though it feels like you've seen everything."

Zelda pursed her lips, and sighed.
"But it looks so exciting. I cannot imagine ever growing tired of such mystery."
She had spent her life barrier struck within castle walls her entire life; and having spent so much of her childhood sat cross legged on her bedroom balcony gazing up at the stars and reading into every last story, every last myth and legend regarding them, her infatuation felt unquenchable.

"I'll have you take you sometime." Murmured the blonde, who Zelda noted now sounded lost in her own thoughts. "We could go up in my ship after the party, if you want."

Zelda gasped, breaking the contact to look up at Samus with wide, hopeful, gleaming eyes.
"We... We could? Really?!" Hands clasped together, her childhood dreamed roared back into life. Her whole life she had dreamt of one day getting even marginally closer to the stars; to be free of her responsibilities, her rules and regulations... could a rugged bounty hunter who came into her life like a hurricane truly be the one to make her dreams come true?
Samus drank in her expression, and her chest swelled. Seeing Zelda drop her level headed ways at times like this were just so irresistible that even she couldn't fight back a faint smile pulling at one side of her mouth.

"Absolutely."

The moon watched over them with a teasing smile, sending down her beams of adoration to dance between strands of flaxen and twirl them around auburn in kind as the two finally melted together in a close, long awaited embrace. Zelda moved first; finally closing the distance between them as she slowly and delicately wrapped her arms around Samus' waist. A long, breathy sigh slipped between her lips, and Samus shuddered. If the night had not been so prevailingly calm, it would perhaps have startled her; but Samus was too far lost in Zelda's warmth to resist returning the gesture for more than a moment.
Zelda trembled as strong arms enveloped around her, instinctively pressing closer. She buried her face into Samus' neck, closing her eyes tight warmth washed over her body. Samus closed her eyes tight; her breath growing deep as Zelda's perfume began to overwhelm her. It was intoxicating, far beyond the dulling ways alcohol, as it filled her sense with the sudden and overpowering feeling of life deep in her bones.

A comfortable silence fell between them, the grand orchestra of crickets backing late night birdsong in the smooth jazz of Mother Nature's musical whim fading into unconscious trains of thought, and the gentle tug of latex curves alongside silken garments brought the two to hold each other a little tighter.
Her eyes cracked open after what could have easily been an eternity to Zelda, but it would never be long enough. Her head spun; Samus' now held her so close, so protectively, so lovingly that she could not bear to let go.
Samus nuzzled her face into Zelda's hair, allowing herself this fleeting moment of indulgence. She could feel Zelda's body stop trembling, leaning into her no less – and it certainly did not feel like it was purely for warmth. The night breeze wove around them, tracing the red thread of fate around every crevice and corner it could find to bind them ever closer, and Samus could only flush at the realisation that the undeniable heat between them had long since blocked out the unforgiving chill that came with a sky so littered with stars as they had been blessed with that night.
This had grown so quickly, so fast, and she was deeply shaken with the dread of her actions. She couldn't allow Zelda to fall into her life, not the war ridden ways that she lived, but no matter how hard she pushed Zelda just kept pushing back harder. She had been alone for so long that the affection was overwhelming, and deeply stirring in a way that shook her core; and no matter how much she bit it back and fought to bottle it up, she was afraid.

Samus didn't understand what she was feeling. She felt sure that Zelda would be disgusted with her way of life if she dared to speak of it; the countless lives she had ruined and planets she had destroyed, families and futures taken and crushed beneath her boots.
She was numb. She was numb and cold and unsure of her own actions; a trigger happy woman with too much emotional baggage, and a thirst to kill to prove she was alive. If Zelda knew that she wasn't just a stubborn woman who was too shy to talk about her feelings, she would surely leave just the same as everything else in her life that had been torn from her hands, and she was not stupid enough to attach herself to anyone again. Not whilst that purple scaled pirate was still on his feet.

She knew Zelda was strong, but Ridley was a relentless force – and his technology could prove overwhelming for her magic if he knew what he was dealing with. If Zelda was to fall to his mercy in some sick twist of events, she would never forgive herself – and deep down she knew it would destroy her. She knew that someday Zelda would tire of her attitude or her brutal way of life – regardless of if it were her choice or not – and leave her alone again.. And Samus did not know if she could take that again.

Zelda, however, was raging her own internal battle. She felt Samus' body twitch, and the huntress had been the one to pull her closer. She felt like she was drowning, but Samus' embrace had an undeniable desperation to its grasp now; like a silent cry for help. She ran her hand up the huntress' back, and ran her fingertips through her hair rhythmically; glad to feel Samus relax against her once more. She was the holder of the triforce of Wisdom; did Samus not realise this? She knew something was troubling her; it was so painfully clear through her fleeting glances and lingering touches that she craved warmth and affection, but her body and mind simply would not allow it. In the beginning Samus had pushed her away relentlessly, but as she began to crumble Zelda had savoured her chanced to glimpse between the cracks at someone who so undoubtedly needed her help.
She had spent her life sitting on her hands, signing documents and agreeing to demands she would never have wanted her kingdom subjected too – but she too was just a person the same as Samus, and she knew by the dull ache in her eyes that something had been broken inside of her. The way she so ruthlessly defended herself; both physically and emotionally; made it clear to her that something had shaken her – but Zelda did not believe that anybody was beyond repair.
Samus had brought a challenge to her, to have someone so refreshing in her life was new and busying and freed her mind of kingdom concerns. Samus was slowly freeing her, and she was determined to slowly free Samus.