A/N

"Hopefully next update won't be so late."

Holy shit I'm actually continuing this two years later? I reread it and honestly yeah I think I might. I need more teen drama in my life. Honestly, half the reason I stopped writing was because I wanted the Dyslexia Awareness club to work so bad, but I couldn't make it interesting. So, we're just gonna straight up drop that subplot and move on.

I'm so excited to be back. I mentioned bringing this back in the Super Smash Prose discord (invite code: Zrmsm2CM9M) and at least two people said they'd missed me (and another saying they were exited to see Link paired with someone other than Peach lol) so like? damn I really didn't think people remembered me. As of right now, this story has 2610 views on FFN and 1176 on AO3. That's insane to me. 42 kudos on AO3 as well, which is so fucking insane to me. Thank each and everyone of you 3

Oh I guess life updates are a thing? I work part time at a bank. Despite giving me more time to write, I don't write very much lol. I'm fundamentally a procrastinator. When I do write, half the time it's for stuff other than my fics. So yeah, I'm not guaranteeing any consistency. This is purely for me at this point lol. There's a good chance this won't even get published lol.

Oh also I now have a stable boyfriend and two very good birds. Also I lied, I've gotten drunk again and again. Life is good.

Another thing, Sora's finally canon to Super Smash Bros. I barely play Smash anymore, and I don't have the DLC, but yeah, I was hella excited when I saw the trailer.

Anyway, the first segment of this chapter was written two years ago (ish), so yeah, if you see any inconsistency in the writing style, that's why lol.

0-0-0-0-0

Samus Aran wasn't a patient woman. The moment she learned of Ridley and his evil deeds, she vowed to destroy him. Why did she have to deal with all this school bullshit? Sure, she wasn't perfect with her weapons, but why couldn't she just spend all day doing that? She was going to go back to her original world and be a space bounty hunter.

First, though, they'd have to defeat their villains. Samus couldn't wait to rip Ridley limb from limb.

Which is why she was extra annoyed that they were wasting their time with frivolous things like Student Council. Before she found out about her other life, stuff like Student Council seemed like a waste, but at least most teenagers weren't doing anything important. Sports, clubs, at least students had fun. While it wasn't for Samus, she could understand why students were drawn to them.

They didn't have time for that bullshit here. The villains could ride to power at any minute. Why wasn't anyone else taking this seriously?

She didn't feel like she'd need an entire year to train. She already knew how to fire a gun, so aiming with her arm cannons wasn't that much of a leap (though, the kickback was definitely different). She'd already learned hand to hand combat, and while adding a giant supersuit changed the way she carried herself, she'd get used to it.

Whenever she looked around as she practiced, however, she realized why they needed a year. The other students were clumsy, unpracticed. Sure, a few showed good technique, but most of them were complete novices. Seeing that made her extra angry that they were wasting their time with Student Council. Why even pretend like things were normal? The more people accepted that they were no longer random teenagers, the better.

Samus always went on a jog after school, even before all of this. It was a good way to clear her head before working on homework. She could focus all her anger into her feet slamming into the sidewalk, and let the stress wash away like the sweat in the shower after.

It was quiet. Until it wasn't.

She occasionally ran into people from school, but most knew to leave her alone after a quick wave.

And then there was this guy.

"Whoa, you're Samus, right? That badass with the mech suit?"

Samus looked down and saw a short teenage boy. Ugh. And 'badass with the mech suit'? She rolled her eyes. "What do you want?"

Kid seemed to have stars in his eyes. "Oh, I just saw you and wanted to get to know you. Your suit's so cool." Wow. This random kid really thinks he can just approach her like that? He had no idea why she had to have that suit. It wasn't some blessing.

"Do you really think it's a good idea to approach a girl who's jogging on her own?" She raised an eyebrow.

It seemed to take a couple moments for the kid to realize what he'd done. "Oh, shit, I'm so sorry. Let's start over. I'm Mackenzie Little, but everyone calls me Little Mac."

Samus raised an eyebrow. "Okay?"

"Look, uh, you're obviously busy, so I'll leave you alone, but feel free to message me." He then walked off in the opposite direction.

Like hell she'd message him. Why had she even stopped for him? She shook her head and continued her jog.

She didn't sleep well that night. How do you sleep knowing that the thing that killed your parents is out there, living and plotting with zero consequences?

Classes were dull, as always. She occasionally popped on the chatroom, seeking even miniscule amounts of entertainment, but there was nothing. Not even one drop. If only they could send pictures, at least there'd probably be some decent memes.

Then again, if the memes she saw on the Ninten Academy Memes page on Instagram were any indication of quality, she was glad. Not that she looked at Instagram, of course.

Also, she knew for a fact that if pictures were allowed, that Axel guy would definitely send a dick pic and get the chat shut down for good. Even if they lifted the swear filter (which was incredibly ineffective and missed a ton of words), straight up porn still wouldn't be allowed, right?

Lunch rolled around, and she didn't want to deal with those vapid princesses for even a second. "Hey, Zelda, I'm going to eat in the quieter side of the cafeteria today." She said as they left class.

"Oh, you have homework to work on?"

"Yeah." It wasn't a lie, exactly. No, of course she wasn't going to do homework over lunch, but it was probably better to say that than say 'your friends are loud and annoying'.

"Well, see you around then!"

Samus grabbed her food and went though the archways separating the two sides of the cafeteria. There was a stark contrast in the atmosphere. In the main part, the tables were large, a mixture of long and round tables filled with gossiping teens. As soon as she crossed through, there was a hush in the air. Tables held only four people, though many only held two. There were booths along the wall that occasionally had more than four people crammed in, but generally, it was a lot quieter. It was a breath of fresh air, one she'd been gasping for while being surrounded by Peach's obnoxious perfume.

She sat at one of the two-seaters in the corner and leaned back. This was nice. She wouldn't be bothered here.

"Oh, hey Samus!" Fuck. It was that short guy from yesterday. Little Mac? "You stole my table."

"I'll move then." She grabbed her bag and began to stand up. All the other two-seaters were taken at this point. Could she go eat outside? It wouldn't be ideal, as she'd rather not drip sweat into her food, but it was workable.

"No, it's fine, you can stay!" He sat down his tray. "Sorry about yesterday, I just really think the whole mech suit thing is super cool."

She wished she could wear it to class instead of the stupid ass latex shit she was in. Why was this the clothing she transformed into? She looked like some weird blue dominatrix.

No point in running away from the conversation. She was strong, she could probably scare him off. "Why are you so into it anyway?" She sat back down and started eating.

"I grew up watching shit tons of mech anime." Ah. That explained a lot. "And I know yours isn't exactly like that, but still. I wish I had cool shit like that in my past."

"What's your past like?" It wasn't that she was curious. She just wanted to confirm that she was right. He was probably a Peripheral.

"Basically the same as right now, except I'm a lot more successful. I'm a boxer, but like, not even cool vigilante shit like some of the other fighters. Nah, I just win against a quirky cast of boxers and eventually end up beating Mike Tyson."

"Mike Tyson's from your world?" Admittedly, that put a bit of a wry smile on her face. Huh, she never thought that a celebrity would be from another world.

"Apparently. So, what's yours like? I bet it's some pretty cool space shit, right?"

She knew he'd ask. "Oh, yeah, tons of cool space shit. I'm a bounty hunter, so I get to go after the biggest and baddest. God, I fought straight up Eldritch horrors. And you want to know what got me into the business?"

Little Mac nodded.

She leaned in close. "When I was four years old, I watched my parents get eviscerated. That bastard Ridley lulled me into a false sense of security, then made me watch as he destroyed everything I ever loved." She took her tray and stood up. "Think your backstory is boring? I'd trade mine for yours in a heartbeat."

Yeah, outside sounded like a good place to eat. Even though she finally got that brat to shut up, she still just wanted to be alone.

0-0-0-0-0

Peach chewed on her pen as she read her assignment for English class. It was a fairly basic grammar review, reading sample sentences and fixing them. Their first essay was going to be assigned next week, but she wasn't too worried about it. The course load here was easy, almost boring at times. Oh well, it was better than struggling academically and having to learn to fight at the same time.

Luckily, Ms. Shephard hadn't banned the use of their tablets in class yet. Peach still felt bad about the Lucina thing, even though she wasn't directly involved. So, maybe it was better to create a smaller group chat to keep the horniness off main.

Peach T Created a Group Chat with Axel R, Demyx H, Link E, and Jeremy S.

Peach T Renamed the Group Chat "horny on sideblog"

[Demyx H:] probably for the best

[Axel R:] but it's no fun if we can't bother the normies :p

[Peach T:] that's why I invited Link

[Peach T:] he can be the straight man

[Link E:] that's a bold assumption

[Peach T:] comedic* straight man

[Peach T:] are any of us here actually straight?

[Jeremy S:] THAT'S A LOADED QUESTION

[Demyx H:] valid

[Axel R:] valid

[Demyx H:] also wait Peach are you bi?

[Peach T:] like

[Peach T:] I don't actively seek girls out but if a pretty girl asked me out I'd probably say yes lol

[Demyx H:] same actually, definitely more into guys for the most part

[Axel R:] yo actually while I have you guys, any of you wanna hang out tonight at demyx's place?

[Demyx H:] bruh why not yours?

[Axel R:] mine's even more of a mess than yours

[Demyx H:] fair

[Link E:] work, may pop in after if i'm not completely exhausted

[Jeremy S:] I'M ALWAYS THERE

[Jeremy S:] DIDNT KNOW I NEEDED AN INVITATION

[Demyx H:] you good, my place is literally always open invitation lol

[Axel R:] what about you, peach?

Peach thought about it for a moment. She didn't have any plans, and her homework wouldn't take more than half an hour. The only issue she had was if they wanted to drink. She should probably stay away for a while, given her behavior at the party. And besides, it was a Tuesday. She really didn't need to be hungover at school.

[Peach T:] i mean i'm probably not gonna drink or anything

[Axel R:] sweet, free baby sitter

[Demyx H:] its at creekbed apartments, apt number 152

[Peach T:] cool, i'll probably be there around five or so

[Demyx H:] perfect, see you then! ^-^

And so, after she got her homework done (only a few more math problems that she didn't finish in class), she fixed up her makeup and headed on her way towards the apartment complex. It wasn't that close, but it certainly wasn't as far as she had to ride in the Lyft to Alex's party.

Man, that was only a few days ago. It felt like years.

She pulled up to the parking lot, and as soon as she opened her car door, the smell of weed punched her in the face. She shouldn't have been surprised, she really shouldn't have. She rubbed a bit of her strawberry hand lotion under her nose to try and disguise the smell. It didn't really help, but it was worth a shot.

Tentatively, she knocked on the door.

"Come in, it's unlocked!" Axel yelled.

Another deep breath, this one filling her lungs with that awful scent. She'd have to get used to it. Was it this bad the night of the party with Link? It couldn't have been.

She pushed open the door, and dear God, it was even worse than she was expecting. She'd spent her whole life living in the upper echelon, her friends being just as wealthy as she was. Sometimes, her friends would apologize for their house being a mess, but it was usually just clothes strewn about the floor of their rooms or their makeup being disorganized on their vanity. Even the Mulner house, while not the nicest, was at least clean.

This was fucking disgusting. Is this just what being poor was like? Empty soda cans and pizza boxes littered the floor. How did they not have mice? The couch Axel and Demyx were sitting on was dingy, probably secondhand, and there was a second couch made out of an old futon mattress leaned against the back of a dresser.

"Ayy, welcome!" Demyx grinned, holding up their bong. He looked around after seeing Peach's barely grimace. "Oh, shit, yeah, sorry I didn't clean up, lost track of time."

"It's fine." She gingerly stepped over a pizza box, glad she was wearing her platform boots instead of the sandals she almost chose. The boys both scooted over, letting her sit in the middle seat on the couch. Remarkably, despite the way it looked, it was still comfortable.

"You like Kart Racer?" Demyx asked, handing over a controller.

"No, don't let her play sober, she'll kick our asses." Axel reached across Peach's lap and grabbed the bong. "Here, get on our level."

Peach took the bong and looked it over. This was… definitely different than the bowl Link tought her how to smoke out of. Wait, was this shaped like a dick? She started to laugh. "I, uh, I don't know how to use this."

Axel started laughing. "Oh my god, you're a literal baby." He took the bong. "Wait, how old are you again?"

"Sixteen, turning seventeen in the spring."

"Oh my god, you're legally still a child." Demyx laughed. "You're too young to legally get high."

"Dude, we're in Arizona, this is illegal for everyone." Axel said. "And here, let me show you."

It only took a few minutes for Peach to stop caring about the mess. As the smoke passed through her lungs, she stopped caring about anything, really. All was good in the world, except her waning skills in Kart Racer. None of them ever got above fifth place in an eight player race.

After a while, Peach set down the controller and laid back, head on Demyx's lap and legs across Axel's. "Yeah, I definitely can't play any games right now."

"Yeah, that's fair." Axel said. "Just gives me more of a chance to win."

"Buddy, the NPCs are significantly better than us." Demyx shook his head.

"Yeah, but I can still kick your ass."

Peach closed her eyes, the movements on the screen starting to make her nauseous. Thoughts raced through her brain, but the moment she tried to focus on one, it's like her brain was filled with honey. It's funny how just a few weeks ago, her mind was so vapid, only concerned with boys or clothes or sports. Not that she still didn't care about those things, but she also had a double life to worry about.

"Hey, Demyx?" Peach asked, opening her eyes after God knows how long. "Uh, just wanted to ask, but you're trans, right?"

Demyx looked uncomfortable for a moment. "Uh, yeah, why?"

"Sorry, I'd assumed through context, but I wanted to make sure." Peach thought for another moment. "Uh, I think I understand dysphoria now."

"What do you mean?" Demyx relaxed a little.

"Well, it's not exactly the same as what you feel, but… you know how our bodies change when we go to school?"

"Oh, yeah. It feels so much better, right?"

"Actually, for me, I feel like this body is the correct one. Like, I don't feel gross or hate that version of myself, but it feels… I don't know, just wrong."

Demyx shrugged. "Yeah, fair enough."

"Hey, so what even is your backstory, anyway?" Axel asked. "I mean, I assumed you were a princess or something from the dress, but like, what's going on?"

Peach chuckled. "Uh, there's not that much more to it, really. I keep getting kidnapped by this giant turtle guy names Bowser, then I get saved by this guy Mario, then the next day, we're all playing golf together." She frowned. "I got lucky, I guess. I know a lot of people have more intense stories. I'm just some girl in a dress who can hit people with golf clubs and frying pans." Maybe saying she wasn't vapid anymore was a lie.

"Yeah, ours is…" Axel looked down. "You mind if I don't tell you?"

"Of course not. I don't mind if you don't want to talk about it." Peach readjusted her legs. "Fuck, I'm hungry."

"Shit, I don't get paid until tomorrow, otherwise I'd order us some pizza." Demyx frowned.

"Dude, I can pay." Peach said, reaching for her purse. "Where do you want me to order from?"

"Oh, there's this cheap place that's like five bucks for a whole pizza." Demyx said. "Here, I can pull it up on your phone."

"You sure that's all you want? I can order anything you want." She handed him her phone.

"Nah, don't worry about it, it's the best thing when you're high." Demyx pulled up the website. "Uh, though, if you're paying, mind if I get like three pizzas so that I have dinner for the next couple days?"

"Fuck yeah, go for it." Peach laughed. "Buy as much as you want."

"Ten pizzas it is." Demyx laughed.

"Buddy, your fridge can't hold that much." Axel shook his head.

"Dude, is that really the only thing stopping me? It's also, like seventy bucks after tip and tax and all that shit."

Peach shrugged. "I mean, it's not that expensive. That's, like, a decent meal and a couple drinks at the places I usually go. Not that I can get the drinks, though."

Demyx blinked. "Dude, that's like half my weekly pay."

"Oh."

"Damn, you really are rich, huh?" Axel laughed, his hand idly landing on Peach's thigh. "You gonna be our new sugar mama?"

Axel's fingers were warm. It wasn't as electric as some of the touches she'd had, but it was comforting, unnaturally familiar. "Only if you're nice to me."

Axel smirked, squeezing her leg. "Oh, I can be plenty nice."

"Oh, yeah?" Peach smirked back as well. Yeah, staying hung up on Marth was dumb. She had options.

The front door crashed open. Holy shit, Demyx had just ordered the pizza. Was it here already?

"Do you guys ever just sleep for a whole four hours?" That familiar Boston accent filled the room. Ah, yeah, Scout was coming to this too.

"You say that like that's a lot?" Peach giggled. She checked her watch. 7:15 already? Damn, she'd been here two hours already?

"Yeah, it is." Scout flopped down on the mattress couch and took off his shoes. "Right?"

Peach, Demyx, and Axel Al looked at each other. "Uh, sweetie, how much do you normally sleep?"

"I dunno, I usually get a couple hours, wake up, jerk off because I can't sleep, pass out, rinse an' repeat." Scout shrugged.

"How do you even survive?" Peach asked, while at the same time, Demyx asked, "Wait does that mean you jerk off like three times a night?"

"Uh, Ritalin, and the fuck else can I do at like three in the morning? Play baseball?"

"You know what, I feel that." Demyx said, scooting Peach's head off his lap so he could stand up. "Y'all need any water?"

Peach didn't realize how dry her mouth was until he mentioned it, but holy shit. "Absolutely, thank you!"

"Water is for pussies." Axel laughed.

Did water always taste this amazing? Well, actually, it tasted bad, but it felt so nice and cold going down her throat. She took another hit from the bong, not even keeping track of how much she'd smoked. Scout took it right after. Did weed have conflicts with Ritalin? Was it Peach's place to say anything? He seemed fine with it.

Oh, fuck, she'd forgotten they'd ordered pizza. She usually liked more high end stuff, but you know what, all that grease and fake cheese sounded amazing. They'd apparently gotten four pizzas, all pepperoni. Sound good. Oh, fuck, it tasted even better too. Who knew that objectively bad pizza tasted so amazing?

Scout rambled on about baseball or something. She couldn't find it in herself to focus on his words, but his accent was entertaining. Still, she felt like something was missing.

Oh, right. Link wasn't here yet. Was he even coming? He'd said maybe. She knew that when she said "maybe", it was probably a no. It's not that she didn't like the others, she was having fun, but she definitely… trusted Link more. Not that she didn't trust the others. She just knew that Link would be the only one able to recognize if she'd done too much.

It took her way too long to notice that Demyx had moved over and sat next to Scout. She didn't hear exactly what Scout said, but it caused Demyx to throw his head back laughing and wrap his arm around Scout's shoulders.

"Hey, you good?" Axel asked.

"Oh, uh, yeah, just not used to being high." It wasn't a lie either.

"You just look… lonely." Axel looked surprisingly concerned. He pulled her in so she could lean against his shoulder. Fuck, he was warm. She knew he had fire powers at school, but did that power work out here in the real world? If she put on a big poofy dress and had an umbrella, could she float gracefully down? She sure as hell wasn't going to try it, but she was curious.

"Yeah, just… it's weird, other than Daisy, I don't really feel a connection to anyone from the other world." Was that what she'd been thinking about? So many thoughts slipping by without any focus. "Like, if we go back to that world, I won't have you guys or Zelda or Link or anyone. It'll just be me and Daisy and, like, Mario, Luigi, and some random villains. I know I don't have to go back or anything, but I know a lot of people really want to."

Axel pursed his lips. "Don't be so sure about that. A lot of us didn't have good lives there. Sure, being able to light a joint with just your fingertips seems nice, but…" He stared out at the wall for a moment before shaking his head.

Peach looked down at Demyx as he and Scout babbled about something baseball related. "At least you have friends in that world."

"We're better friends here." Axel said, finality in his tone.

Peach didn't pry any further, instead wrapping her hands loosely around his arms and letting more of her body lean against him. As much as she loved gossip, she could tell that things were very, very different in Axel's previous life.

A few moments later, the front door opened again. Oh, shit, Link actually came. She was starting to give up hope. He looked tired, and he barely acknowledged anyone as he went to the kitchen to grab some pizza.

"He's always like this, give him a few minutes to warm up."

It's funny how they could say "always" like it's a routine. Then again, it didn't take a genius to figure out that an already quiet boy would be even quieter when he was hungry.

"Hey, grab me anotha' slice, will ya?" Scout asked.

"Manners, bruh?" Demyx laughed.

"Uh, please?"

Link was significantly nicer than he let on. Not only did he bring Scout another two slices, he brought out bottles of water for everyone. "I know y'all aren't staying hydrated." He muttered under his breath.

"So, uh, how was work?" Peach asked.

Link shrugged and took off his oversized work jacket. "Cold."

"Sounds nice." While she liked the summer heat, a nice, cool building was always a plus. Speaking of, was the AC even on in here? She heard the fan, but it was still plenty warm. Or maybe it was just the high.

Link just shrugged again as he started eating his pizza.

Peach took another hit, then passed the bong over to Link, who took it gratefully. She wanted to invite him to the quickly forming cuddle puddle, wrap her fingers in his golden hair, but she ultimately didn't. It would be so easy to go back to last weekend, to know that at least someone wanted her. But Link had someone else he wanted, and Peach wasn't going to stand in the way of that.

Maybe she was just jealous. What she was jealous of, she couldn't quite place.

Her phone buzzed in her hand. Fuck, had she fallen asleep. Her mom had texted her asking when she was coming home. It was already almost midnight?

She didn't want to tell her mom she was high. "Hey, uh, my mom's asking if I'm coming home soon, and I don't wanna drive. Can I crash with one of you guys?"

"If my upstairs neighbors aren't being loud, you can crash at my place." Link said with a shrug.

Oh thank God he was the one to offer. Not that she didn't like anyone else, but she was sure that any one of them would keep her up all night. After all, Scout barely slept, Axel was a horny motherfucker, and Demyx was just chatty. Link would let her sleep. Bless him.

Hmm, what to tell her mom? [Lost track of time, really tired. Is it okay if I crash here?]

[Define "here". I can call you an Uber if you need.]

Fuck. Who would her mom trust out of the group. [Link and a couple of his friends. And I'd rather just sleep here and not have to go get my car tomorrow morning.] Apparently Daisy had also asked for an update, so she texted back [Dude I'm so fucking high right now]

And then Mom called. "Peach Odetta Toadstool, what on Earth are you doing getting high on a school night?" Did Daisy rat her out? Why?

"I didn't intend on getting high, it just kinda… happened." Scout made some random horny noises in the background, and Demyx put a hand over his mouth. "Sorry."

"And you said you're with that Link boy, correct?" God, Mom sounded… not very nice. "Put him on the phone."

Peach handed the phone over. "It's, uh, for you?"

Link raised an eyebrow and took the phone. "Hello? Yes, this is Link." She could here her mother talking fast, but couldn't make out any particular words. "Yes, hi, Juliette. Uh, thank you. Yes, she's safe." A couple moments of silence. "Yeah, she's high. No, not dangerously high. She could probably stand to drink more water, but- yes, I'll make sure she drinks more water."

Scout made more lewd noises, which caused Axel to yell "SHUT THE FUCK UP, HE'S TEYING TO TALK TO HER MOM!"

"...No, I don't live with any of the people in the background, thankfully. Yes, I trust them, they're just idiots sometimes." Demyx looked mock offended, so Link flipped him off with a smirk. "No, she won't be sleeping here, we're walking to my apartment." Another pause. "It's literally three doors down, don't worry. I live alone. Uh, there's a student assistance program for students who are turning eighteen during the school year. No, I'm not eighteen yet, my birthday's in February." He rolled his eyes. "No, I cannot drive her home. No, it's not just that I'm also high, I don't have a car. I, uh, don't have a license either. Yes, she'll be safe at my place."

He sat and listened for a few moments, his face flushing. "No, of course I wouldn't do that! Of course not." Another pause, this one filled with what sounded like a threat. "Yes, I completely understand." He said, a sober look on his face. "Yeah, I'll hand you back over." He handed the phone back to Peach.

"Hey, Mom."

"You can stay at Link's place for the night, only because I've met him and trust him. Come home straight after school tomorrow so we can talk."

"Am I grounded?" Peach squeaked.

"We'll talk tomorrow after school."

Fuck, she was totally grounded. "Okay."

"Be safe. I love you."

"Love you too, Mom."

Her mom hung up the phone. Everyone stared at her. "Uh, yeah, I should probably head out. Uh, thank you guys."

"Shit, we didn't mean to get you in trouble." Demyx frowned.

"No, no, you didn't make me do anything. I should've paid closer attention to the time." She stood up and stretched. "See y'all at school tomorrow, 'kay?"

"Yeah, see you tomorrow!" Axel grinned.

Link got up too and put on his jacket. Thank fuck Link was trustworthy. He still seemed embarrassed from the call. She could surmise what her mom had threatened him about from the lingering redness in his cheeks.

They stepped outside, and Peach took in a fresh breath of air. "Well, that was an adventure."

Link shrugged. "Uh, sorry about your mom."

"You handled the call well, you're fine." Peach shrugged. "God, though, I'm ready to sleep."

"Yeah, let's get back."

0-0-0-0-0

It took Link a few seconds to realize why he was on the couch. Right. Peach was in his bed. She'd stayed the night after being too high to drive. Honestly, he was glad she was able to recognize that. He would definitely believe it if Axel drove high.

He heard the bathroom door open, and he sat up.

There Peach was, hair still wet from the shower, wearing one of his oversized shirts (that fit her perfectly, funnily enough) and a pair of his boxers. How the hell did she look better in his clothes than he did? "Morning!" She was far too awake for this early.

"Mornin'" He sat up and groaned.

"Mind if I borrow some clothes? Mine still smell like weed, and I know that out clothes change when we go to school and all, but I don't know if the smell will go away and all." Peach asked. Honestly, Link had never thought about it.

"Yeah, go for it."

Peach ducked into the bedroom, but left the door open. Link made it a point not to look. "So, I'm giving up on Marth. Don't know if I made that clear."

Link didn't really know what to say. He'd never been in any serious relationships, or even crushed on anyone that hard before Zelda. Even then, was it a crush or was it… their past was strange, undefined. Was it even romantic at all? It felt to important to just be a crush.

"But I'll still help you with Zelda. I think you guys would be good together."

How could Peach even possibly know that? Link only knew it because of a tablet full of backstory and dreams of lives that he'd never lived.

"I'm probably going to hang out with her sometime this week. If you want, I can ask her about you." She came out of the bedroom, wearing a pair of cargo shorts and a pink shirt that Link didn't realize he even had. "Have anything you want to know?"

God, there was so much he wanted to know, but he doubted Peach would be able to find that out. He shrugged. "Maybe what's up with her and Urbosa?" They seemed to be close, real close. Maybe it was masochism driving his curiosity more than anything.

"Cool, I'll ask." Peach smiled. She took out her phone. "Shit, it's almost time to go. Want me to drive you to school?"

Part of him wanted to say no, to take the time to ride his skateboard and have some peace and quiet. The Arizona heat, however, shined in through his window, and he knew he'd be dying by the time he got to class. "Thanks, yeah."

"Cool."

Link went to go get dressed. Why was Peach so insistent on helping him, anyway? After all, at least for a night, she'd wanted him. He changed into a blue t-shirt, not really caring how he looked. The only thing he had to do today was go to the museum with Namine, but he could come home and change if her needed to. Still, he was confused by Peach's determination.

Oh well, if it help him get closer to Zelda, he was grateful.

0-0-0-0-0

Tidus Jecht was never the kind of guy to think anyone was out of his league. He was the star soccer player, popular and handsome and beloved by all. Hell, he even had daddy issues, which, as it turned out, girls and guys alike just loved. He had whoever he wanted.

And then he met Yuna Braska.

Well, he hadn't technically met her yet, not in this life. He'd seen her from afar, but never once had the courage to say anything to her. Tidus Jecht, scare to approach a woman. What a fucking joke.

Yuna was far beyond anyone he'd ever known. Not necessarily in looks, though she was beautiful beyond compare, with mismatched eyes and round cheeks. No, what captivated her was her grace, her devotion, her kindness. Every night, he dreamed of her, of kissing her under a lake as the moonlight shown on them, as tears streaked through their eyes as they mourned a life they'd never be able to have. Yuna was set to die, but instead, Tidus took her place. He'd never understood these dreams, but the moment he saw her in this life, he knew everything was real.

He'd chosen to die for a girl.

And he couldn't even find the courage to talk to her.

She always smiled at him in the halls, a shy smile, one that had been carved into his memory for millennia.

"Dude, just talk to her! I promise she'll like you!" Rikku, her cousin and his friend, whined. She leaned across the group of desks and grabbed his hands. "She's starting to worry about you."

She knew what happened to them in their other lives too. He wouldn't blame her if she just decided to stay away.

"And don't think you're sparing her by staying away." Lulu added, her arms folded under her chest.

"We just want you two to be happy together, ya? You're good for each other." Wakka said.

It was hard to accept any advice from those two, knowing that they were willing to sacrifice her life in a futile attempt to save the world. In his other life, he had weeks to forgive them. Now, he'd gotten all the information, all the emotion at once, and he was still trying to figure out where he fit in with his past self.

Before the group could scold him more, Professor E. Gadd called attention to the class. Still, that didn't stop Lulu's glare and Wakka's concern, and Rikku kept pestering him during their English class.

He really wasn't paying attention on his way to lunch. His normally empty mind was racing with thoughts. He'd never had to confront his own morals, his mortality, his-

"Oh, gosh, I'm so sorry, I-" Her voice was soft and clear, like an angel.

Yuna Braska had bumped right into him.

Of course their real meeting was on accident. For the longest time, in his past life, he'd thought their meeting was a chance encounter, a mere side-affect of his arrival in Besaid. But that meeting turned out for be destined by forces beyond him.

"Tidus." She took a deep breath.

"Oh, uh, hi."

"It's good to finally meet you. I'm Yuna." She bowed slightly, then looked up at him with those mismatched eyes, and he never wanted her to look away. "And I think we have… a lot to talk about."

His heart raced. The woman of his dreams, she was real, she was here. They were both alive, a second chance at a real future between them. He'd been wasting it, he realized.

"Can I kiss you?" Tidus blurted out.

Yuna didn't answer with words, instead pulling him into a deep, longing kiss. All of a sudden, it's like he'd never left his old life, and everything clicked together perfectly. This is what he'd been missing, and now he finally had a second chance at it.

He wasn't going to lose her again.