Valentine

A/N: ...They're, in my opinion, the greatest pairing out there. HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!!

Disclaimer: I own nothing...


Valentine

The young green garbed hero of Hyrule walked along the corridors of the Smash Mansion with a nervous look on his face. His eyes shined with excitement and fear at the same time. Adrenaline was pumping through his veins mercilessly as he neared his destination.

'I have to tell her how I feel...I owe her that much.' He thought to himself. He hooked left in the passageway. In his gloved left hand was a letter of sorts, it was signed to Samus Aran, the intergalactic bounty hunter feared by practically everyone in the mansion itself. His thoughts had been bent on her for longer than he used to allow, now he simply could not resist thinking of the dangerous, yet beautiful bounty huntress.

His thoughts reverted to her gorgeous blue sapphire eyes, her long, soft hair. Her pale skin made Link, among others, melt. Link found himself thinking how anyone could hate her, she could practically snap her fingers and make others just ooze away.

He was never too keen on this sort of thing. Fighting was all he knew. But, dealing with his emotions, which half the time were locked away, making him look more like Samus herself who had a reason, and a damn good one at that, were a trial he was unprepared for.

Love.

In many ways he despised it. It brought pain to many, and it shattered hearts on a daily basis. It was a dreadful bond, yet easily severed. Everywhere he walked, it was all around him. Each world he had transversed across, it was evident. Of course, with love came hate, often the reason he hated it himself.

But love, it seems, has ensnared him within its frightening claws.

It may have begun to develop the years prior without him knowing, lying dormant within his heart...until recently. He was scheduled to brawl with the Bounty Huntress, but he was so distracted, she easily scored the win. Link knew in his heart she did not like her opponents to hold back on her, she asked for no mercy and wished to receive none in return.

But as they fought, Link realized his body was resisting the fight. He was almost incapable of defending himself against her blows. His feet would shake, his heart was racing, and his sword refused to be swung.

Samus, after the fight, was not at all amused by Link's incapability to provide a decent defense, much less an offense. She had angrily hissed at him that if he was ill capable of performance that day, then he never should have showed. But Link told her he felt fine. The bounty hunter, confused as to why he could not fight at prime performance, was only enraged. She had believed he was holding back from striking back because of her gender.

It was quite the opposite.

Link had fought female warriors before, some better than the last, yet he triumphed. Samus had at times defeated him as well in fair fights, hands down. But this time she felt it was different. She couldn't help but feel that Link refused to fight back for another reason, one she could not fathom.

Link stopped in front of a door, it was a simple door marked "Samus Aran". Steadying his breath, Link placed the letter under the door's sill and walked away. It was late at night, and Link was confident that Samus would find it in the morning.

He had assumed she was asleep.

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Garbed in her infamous Zero Suit, the widely known bounty huntress, Samus Aran, walked silently in the hallways of the mansion. In her hands was a letter for "Link". She hated situations like this, dealing with her emotions often made her feel vulnerable, and it was not at all safe to be around Samus when she felt like this.

'Like a ticking time-bomb.' She couldn't help but grin to herself.

The other day, her brawl against Link didn't go so well. She had hoped for a full-on fight with the younger warrior she admired secretly. The note she had was a valentine note, one that she felt he deserved.

Firm friends since day one, mainly because Samus saw allot of herself in Link (and maybe likewise on his end) and quickly befriended him. Both were quiet and stern warriors. Link was too quiet, almost going for days on end without uttering a word. He had no one when the first tournament had been established, just himself.

Samus was the same. Everyone she knew were in a completely different dimension to this one.

But lately, more so then before, it seems that Link has been finding his way into Samus' mind. Her thoughts half the time revolved around him. His unusually long ears, those deep blue eyes. It was a miracle his fans weren't stomping down his door with tanks, the whole nine yards just to get a piece of him.

Samus chuckled quietly to herself as she imagined Link's reaction if that was to happen.

She reached his door and noticed he was not in. He never left his door open, much less unlocked. She opened it further, gazing around. Not seeing him anywhere.

"Link?" She called in, not receiving an answer. Shrugging, Samus entered Link's dorm and placed the note on his dresser for him to see. Finishing this, Samus walked out looking both ways down the hallways for anyone who might see her. Silently closing the door behind her, Samus took a deep breath, her nerves were rattled slightly.

That was unlike her.

Samus shook herself mentally, shrugging off her anxiety. The sound of Link's boots coming from the other end of the hallway caught Samus' attention. Her eyes widened. As quickly and silently as she could, she bolted down the other end of the hallway. Reaching the corner, she waited until she heard Link's door open, easing her head around the corner she watched as his green cape swirled in the doorway.

He only wore that cape inside the mansion, especially when he was out in the woods close by. That very forest was where she had first met him.

Deciding to wait until tomorrow to find out Link's reaction to her letter, Samus turned around and began making her way back to her dorm, 'On the other end of this damned mansion...' She thought annoyed.

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Link pulled his cape off, placing it on the stand next to his dresser. His gaze wondered over to the small white parchment sitting idly against the mirror, he frowned at it. Gathering the envelope in his right hand, he used his index finger to sever the top and free the message inside.

He walked over and flipped the light switch back on, scanning the letter, he as surprised by what he was reading. In beautiful handwriting, the letter read:

Dear Link,

Come meet me in the forest tomorrow around noon. Wait by the shaded area at the lake. I'll see you there.

-Anonymous.

Link reread the letter, not knowing what to think. 'Who's letter is this?' He wondered. Deciding to wait until tomorrow to decide, which was Valentine's day, Link readied himself for bed. His thoughts drifted back to the letter, and for some reason he had the strangest feeling it was Samus who had written it.

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Samus entered her dorm, an unusual smile planted on her usually stoic face. She had entertained herself by imagining Link's face as she had navigated the halls. Locking the door behind her, and making sure that Snake could not spy on her through her window like last time, she readied herself for bed when she noticed a letter that had almost slipped her view on the floor.

By now, she was wearing a gray tank top and white underwear so that she could sleep comfortably. She reached down and analyzed the letter. Her first thought it was Falco playing another dumb trick on her, but her suspicions quickly drained when she thought she recognized the handwriting. Falco's handwriting was not the same.

She tore the top of the envelope off and pulled the message out. On a simple piece of paper, in what looked like writing styled long ago was this:

Samus,

I need to tell you something in the forest tomorrow by the lake, say around one. I'll be by the old oak tree waiting for you.

With love, an old friend.

Samus raised her skeptical eyebrow at this. Not a whole lot of the smashers would go out to the forest. Link would, hands down, but the others would only go if necessary. She had a strong feeling this was Link's letter.

Shrugging it off, Samus climbed in bed and fell asleep, thinking of the young Hylian who continued to invade her mind like a plague.

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Link sat under the old oak the letter told him to. It was the only spot at the lake with shade. It was around lunch time, noon, the sun was sparkling across the lake, making Link wince when the light hit his eyes.

The wind was shallow, making small waves in the water. The weed and tall grass surrounding him bended slightly in the gentle breeze. Link's cape hid his back from view, the hilt of the Master Sword glinted in the sun. It wasn't necessarily hot that day, left over chills from last winter was still affecting the land.

The young hero watched the fish swim in the crystal clean waters, seemingly unaware of his presence. Link smiled, he suddenly wished he had brought his fishing pole.

After what seemed like an hour had passed, Link's ears caught the sound of heavy steps moving his way. His first thought was Ganondorf. That was until the familiar voice of Samus interrupted his thoughts.

"Link? You left that letter in my room?" She asked, her suit's helmet altering her voice slightly. Link jumped up in surprise. He quickly stood, brushing his tunic and cape clean of the forest foliage.

"Ehehe...Samus, I-I uh...Good morning!" Link replied with a heated blush, the tone of shyness not being hidden well enough. Samus deactivated her suit, she wasn't thinking Link would be here, she half expected it to be someone just pulling a prank. She had brought her suit to inflict maximum damage just in-case it was the case.

Standing in her Zero Suit, Samus eyed Link with patience, as if egging him to explain the letter.

"I asked you to come here via that letter, yes. But I also got a letter asking me here." Link answered. Samus nodded in response.

"That was my letter. But you go ahead first." She said, taking a seat in the grass and crossing her arms, giving Link her full attention. Link nodded, sitting down as well and gathering his thoughts. They sat in silence for awhile, occasionally a fish would jump out of the water on the other end of the lake. Finally, Link had gathered enough courage to speak his mind.

"Samus...I have a confession to make." He started. Samus, for some reason felt her eyes widen slightly at his words. Maybe it was his tone that suggested he had something serious to say.

"Over the years we've known each other, we've been good friends. Well, remember that brawl we had been put against each other?" He asked. Samus nodded, keeping her attention on him. "Well...the reason I did so poorly in it was because..." He tried. Samus leaned in a bit, waiting for his answer. "...Because...I..." He struggled to get out. Samus gazed at his face, observing the blush on his face, and the look in his eyes.

She saw love in his eyes.

Stunned was all she was at the look. Link, shaking his head, raised his eyes up to Samus.

"Don't hate me." He said simply and quietly. Before Samus could recover from her shock and ask what he was talking about, Link reached forwards grasping her chin gently. A warm sensation filled Samus at her lips, the feeling spreading throughout her form as Link's lips remained on hers. Her eyes were even wider when she realized it was a small kiss she was receiving from him.

Without giving her time to respond, whether positively or negatively, Link pulled back with his gaze down. Samus shared the blush on his face, she wasn't expecting the kiss and was caught off guard. When she recovered, Link looked up, ready to face her wrath.

But now it was his turn to be surprised.

As he locked eyes with Samus, the bounty huntress grabbed Link by the collar of his tunic and pulled him in. With Link squirming, expecting to be beaten to a pulp, Samus locked her lips on his. Link's heart raced as did Samus', the warmth they shared engulfing them in a comfortable embrace. Samus' eyes were already closed, her grip on Link's tunic had not loosened either. Gradually as the kiss went on, Link's eyes fell shut.

He lifted his arms up and held her closer to him. Samus, giving no opposition to this, released Link's tunic and wrapped her arms around his neck.

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The princess of Hyrule, Zelda stood at the entrance of the mansion. It had been two hours now since Link and Samus had left to the forest, unknowing that both had called one another to it. The princess smiled to herself, they had both come to her with questions about the other. Zelda helped Link to realize his feelings, he was her closest friend and she would gladly offer her wisdom to repay him for the deeds he had done in her name. Samus, she met when Link escorted her here. Seeing that Samus had befriended Link and earned his trust and Link having earned her trust in turn, proved to Zelda that Samus was a rare person to find.

So when Samus came to Zelda, seeking council about Link's actions and why she could not stop thinking about him, and "that stupid hat of his" as she had said, a cover to what Zelda could plainly see, she helped Samus to see Link's own feelings to her and Samus' to him.

In the bearer of wisdom's right hand was a bag of valentine candy that Peach had given to everyone. The mansion was filled with decorations, much to Samus' chagrin. It annoyed her to no end for reasons others could only guess at.

She caught sight of the duo approaching. They seemed close to one another, both were even holding hands, making Zelda grin wider. They caught sight of the grinning wielder of wisdom and approached.

"Have fun?" Zelda asked once they were up the steps. The question sent a wave of red over the two's face. Giggling, Zelda handed Link the bag of candy and entered the mansion without another word, leaving the two to blink.

Link fumbled with the bag, eventually getting the tie off and reaching in. He pulled out a piece of heart-shaped candy with "I love you" written in red. Smiling in understanding of Zelda's actions, Link handed the piece over to Samus who took it with a curious glance at him.

She read the words on the sugary object and smiled. Placing it in her mouth, Samus gestured Link to hand her the bag. Handing it over to Samus, she searched the contents of the plastic bag until she found the proper one. Handing the piece of candy to Link, she closed the candy bag and waited for his response.

Link read the piece, in white it read "Kiss me". With a blush creeping onto his cheeks, Link glanced at Samus who was giving him a sly smirk. She nodded at him, and pulled him in for a second embrace.

Obliging his new lover, Link placed his lips on Samus' and held her close. Samus in turn repeated the gesture, allowing hers and Link's heart to soar through their spirit.

–

Snake watched the two on the other side of the door, green with envy. Before he could move, his ear was grabbed by the familiar hand of Zelda and he was dragged off, kicking and screaming.

END