Hello everybody! Sorry it took me to post the next chapter… I hope this is just as good as the last one.

Remember, kids, R&R!

Disclaimer : I OWN NOTHING!

.::Enjoy::.

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The next morning, Roy woke up before Marth, as usual, and simply laid in bed for a while. He didn’t want to wake up Marth and face almost certain rejection. Besides that, the bed sheets were warm and snuggly and the room was kind of chilly.

He heard wind beating against the window and a few birds fluttering back to their home in the forest. Looking at the clock, he sighed anxiously and got out of bed, his insides squirming.

Before waking Marth for breakfast he peered out the window. Dark clouds were rolling in; a sign winter was almost here. Shoving a warm sweatshirt over his head he began to pat Marth’s shoulder gently.

“Marth, it’s time to wake up.”

Marth groaned and pulled the blankets over his head.

“No it’s not,” he replied blearily, his voice muffled by the comforter.

“Yes it is, come on. We don’t want to miss breakfast, right?” Roy urged, poking his ticklish ribs. Marth unexpectedly flailed his arms about and stumbled onto the carpet, ensnared within his sheets.

“Roy!! That’s hardly fair,” Marth grumbled irritated. Roy burst out laughing at his total lack of princely-ness and balance that particular morning. He almost forgot about his problematic mistake until he saw Marth blushing at his own embarrassment. Roy tried his very hardest to act normal.

“So how d’yah feel?” he asked.

“Fine… I had the strangest dream last night though,” he said thoughtfully, disentangling himself from the blankets. Both relief and disappointment filled Roy. He thought it was a dream.

“Oh? Was it good or bad?” Roy asked, feigning curiosity.

“Well, it wasn’t exactly bad…” Marth murmured, looking up at his friend from under his bangs. So, it wasn’t bad?

“What was it about?” Roy asked, now interested if Marth would actually admit to what he thought he had dreamed.

“Well it was…” he stopped himself, turning a deep scarlet. “It was just really different.”

He got up from the floor quietly and placed the sheets back onto his bed very carefully, like they were glass and would break at the slightest disturbance. The young prince got dressed more shyly than usual, remembering the ‘dream’. The way Roy looked at him so tenderly. The way the kiss was so warm. The way his heart fluttered when they were so close… the realness of how he felt in that moment.

“Say, Marth?” Jolted back into reality, he tried to cover by replying casually.

“Hmm?”

“Do you think that you’ll ever be able to tell me exactly what the dream was like?”

Marth turned to Roy and felt his face flush a little. Roy had chosen his words very carefully. He didn’t ask what the dream was, nor if he had felt happy during it, but simply what it was like. Marth felt uneasy with Roy’s emerald eyes looking so undemandingly into his own. It somehow made him feel the need to avert his eyes. He looked sideways smiling nervously.

“M-maybe, Roy,” he replied. He didn’t want to make a promise he wouldn’t keep.

That morning, breakfast was pancakes, toast, bacon, and eggs. Although sunny-side up eggs on toast were Marth’s favorite, he didn’t feel much like eating at the moment.

“Hey, Link?” Marth asked the young elf quietly.

“What is it, Marth?” Link tilted his head to the side questioningly.

“Do you think I could talk to you in the courtyard after breakfast about something?”

“Sure, Marth,” Link said, smiling acceptingly. “Oh, I need to tell Knil or he’ll come looking for me. I’ll meet you at the Fountain of Dreams, yes?”

“Yeah, that sounds good.”

Link got up and walked to Knil’s table and told him something quietly. Knil nodded and smiled teasingly.

“Hey Roy, I need to do something, I’ll talk to you later, okay?” Marth said smiling. Roy nodded smiling back and stuffing his mouth with another few slices of bacon, listening to Pit talk about a super adventure he had. Something about a three-headed dog and the Staff of Oblivion. Marth shrugged to himself and walked outside.

Once in the Fountain Courtyard, the wind began to pick up and the rich reds, golds, oranges, and yellows colored the leaves that danced on the mossy stones. Marth approached the Fountain of Dreams which was moved from Kirby's homeland to here in protection of the world's hopes.

The water was a shining transparent silverish-green color that swirled elegantly. Light purple sand was covering the floor of the small pool. Marth looked at his own reflection, frowning at himself. He felt so weak, frail, and impossibly helpless. He sat on the edge of the fountain, becoming lost in his own thoughts.

"Marth?" Link asked, approaching him. "Marth??"

Startled, Marth's head jerked upwards and he looked over at Link in surprise.

"Oh, sorry, I suppose I was just sort of lost in my thoughts...."

"Quite alright. Well anyways, what's going on Marth?" Link continued, joining him on the ledge. Marth hesitated for a moment, then looked down at the ground. He was trying to put his words together in a rational and thoughtful way.

"So... Link, you and Knil have been together for quite some time now, correct?" he began.

"Yes," Link replied, nodding solemnly.

"Well, how exactly... did you two end up together?"

Link looked at Marth, totally puzzled.

"I'm not quite sure what you're getting at here, but Knil and I met in the Water Temple, as you probably already know. We began to fight a little, clashing swords and things. I was getting pretty beaten up, I hate to admit. I had cuts, bruises, and injuries everywhere. At one point he tossed me across the room. I was lying crumpled on the wet floor, when something changed in him. He dropped his sword, knelt down, and kissed me. At first I wasn't sure what to make of it, but after some time I learned to love him just like he found himself in love with me that first time," Link explained. Marth nodded, his brow still furrowed.

"I'm sorry, that probably didn't help very much. It was a very specific circumstantial coincidence. Why don't you tell me what your problem is?" Link asked, trying again. Marth bit his lip for a moment, and then just went with it.

"I think I might like Roy," he said quickly, hiding his face in his hands. Link simply nodded and smiled, looking up at the dark clouds above.

"Mmm... I see how that could make one feel pretty insecure," Link pondered thoughtfully.

"Well then, you're sure you like him?"

"Yes."

"And do you think he likes you too?"

"I don't know..."

"Have you asked him?"

Marth looked over in shock.

"Have I WHAT?"

"Have you asked him?" Link repeated as if it was the simplest thing in the world. Marth thought for a moment. He'd never asked Roy how he felt about him or anybody else for that matter. Not in that way at least.

"No, I guess... I guess I haven't," Marth said, mostly to himself. Link smiled supportively and patted him on the back. Sporadically, Link's head turned ever so slightly and his ears perked up.

"Knil's coming," he muttered as Navi floated out of his hat, leaving a trail of sparkling dust behind her. Marth smiled at Link, got up, and pulled his hat off revealing messy blonde hair.

"Thanks Link," Marth said, peering over at a slightly arrogant yet inviting Knil who was leaning against one of the arches that led into the courtyard. Marth grinned inwardly and drifted over into the fields to let them have some privacy.

He walked down a hill, the dry grass crunching under his feet. A few lone trees were scattered around the hills. A crack of lighting resounded through the sky, thunder making a big booming noise. He kept walking down the hill, now a little squeamish, nearing the lake. Its waters were icy-gray and churning. It began to sprinkle, then the wind began to gust.

All at once thunder and lightning cut the sky angrily, one after the other, making Marth's heart race. The rain began to thrash about violently, splintering his face. He darted to the drooping beech tree that was right off the lake. His sapphire hair was plastered to his face and neck and he sat down at the base of the trunk sighing. Another crack of lightning made him yelp a little. He pulled his knees closer to his chest and closed his eyes as tightly as he could. More peals of lightning scarred the blackened sky, giving the grounds an eerie after-glow.

A distant voice began to call Marth's name. It was muffled by the sound of pounding drops of water, but it was unmistakably calling for him. He peered tentatively around the tree, searching for the calling person. He saw a tall figure with familiar flaming red hair, jogging around the hill, yelling about, making his voice echo across the hills.

"Roy," Marth called hoarsely at first. He worked up as much of his voice as he possibly could and shouted it this time.

"ROY!!" Lightning cracked and Marth yelped again. Roy raced down the rest of the hill as quickly as he could, sliding in the slippery yellow grass, all the while calling out to him.

"Marth! Marth are you alright?" Roy cried worriedly. Marth looked up at him, fear filling his eyes. He'd always been scared of thunder and lightning, but he'd never told anybody. Roy knelt down, concern etched on his face.

"You poor thing! You never told me you were afraid of thunder storms," Roy said sympathetically. Marth felt his face heat up for being scared of something so silly. Marth was trying so hard to stuff his feelings down, but it became more and more difficult as the intensity of the thunder rose.

"Roy I--" he began, but was cut off by an enormous thrash of lightning that wasn't very far off. He reflexively threw himself into Roy, who luckily was ready for him, and caught Marth into his arms. Marth felt his face flush even more and tried to pull away muttering quiet apologies. For some reason, however, Roy held him there.

"Marth. It's alright. We can wait this storm out," he murmured into Marth's ear. He couldn't look up because he felt extremely self-conscious, so he buried his face into Roy's chest. Roy put his chin on the top of Marth's head, enjoying the natural, intoxicating smell of the young Altean's hair.

When the thunder stopped momentarily, they ran into the Academy, even though the rain was still pelting down on them. Immediately when they entered an extremely worried Pit tackled Marth.

"Oh!! I'm so glad you're okay! There's a high storm warning so we all got worried sick about you," Pit cried, nuzzling the sopping wet Marth.

"Really, Pit, I'm alright," Marth told him, prying him off gently. Ike glanced at Marth, nodding once, then pulling a mid-flight Pit away by the collar.

"We should probably change before we get a cold," Roy suggested, gesturing to the floor, which was accumulating small puddles. Marth agreed whole-heartedly and began to trek towards their room.

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Thank you for reading!

Again, please R&R~