Title: Mischief and the Bounty Hunter
Author: Sometimes, A Muse
Date: 5/22/2008
Fandom: Super Smash Brothers
Pairing: Marth x Link
Rating: R-ish
Word Count: 1016
Summary: One-shot. In which Marth complains about how much Samus' teasing really irks him.
Disclaimer: Don't own the characters, don't have any money to give you if you sue. Original plot elements are mine.
Author's Note: In my journal, I requested people to give me characters and prompts as an exercise to help combat take advantage of my insomnia; for each prompt I would supply a drabble dedicated to the requester. This request was for Marth/Link, with the prompt "tiara." Concrit welcomed.
Dedication: Dedicated to zeffyface (on LJ), who requested the pairing and supplied the prompt. Additionally, it was one of her drabbles (Unsuspecting Spectators, which in turn was prompted by my Grounded) that directly influenced this story; I recommend reading that before moving on to this.

Link knew something was up when Marth stormed, agitated, into the Hylian's flat. From the discontented noise Marth made as he flopped onto the couch, Link knew the prince was just waiting for him to ask so Marth could rant about the annoyance. Still, Link waited, suppressing his smile, until two more grumbles passed. It was in the discontented sigh that the Hylian heard his cue, turning to sit on the couch at an angle to his lover.

"What's up?" he asked, reaching for Marth's hand. He massaged the knuckles through Marth's glove and the prince made a pleased sound in the back of his throat, before snatching the glove away as if remembering himself. Link hid his smile.

"Useless, uncouth, annoying, uncultured...." Marth's grumbles gradually increased in volume, each word punctuated by an angry jab of his hands, until he finally turned to Link, exploding. "I really don't know why you insist on being friends with her!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Link said, holding his hands up defensively. "Friends with who?"

"That blasted bounty hunter, Samus!"

It was taking every bit of Link's willpower to keep the smile off his face. He shifted on the couch, drawing one leg up under the other. "Samus? What'd she do?"

"What didn't she do?" Marth grumbled, annoyed, but allowed Link to take his hand once more. "It's not bad enough that she has to break into my flat, but...oh! It makes me so mad!"

"What?" Link prompted. Marth didn't show any signs of snatching his hand back, so Link drew off the glove, turning Marth's arm so he could massage the palm of the prince's hand with his thumbs.

"She...she...she put this picture of Ike and Pit kissing on the ceiling, right above my bed!"

"Ike and Pit, huh? I never would have guessed. Good for them!" Link struggled to school his look into one that said "contemplative" as opposed to "mischievous." Thankfully, his poor efforts were enough for Marth, whose mind wasn't really on Link's expression anyway.

"I...Link! That's not the point! She broke in and glued – glued! – that thing to my ceiling. Bad enough to see that waking up, but I had to ask Snake what to use to loosen the glue, and that man is absolutely insufferable."

"Well, at least she's got good taste. I mean, Pit's ok, if you like them young-looking. And Ike's definitely easy on the eyes."

"Link!"

"What? I'm just saying." Link plastered his best innocent look on his face, scooting closer on the couch to reach for Marth's other hand. "Besides, how do you know it was her?"

"I just know," Marth replied imperiously. "And on top of it all, she has to tease!"

"Hm?" Link drew off Marth's second glove, massaging this hand as he had the first. Some of the tension had drained out of his lover, but Link knew better than to try to snuggle too close to the prince just yet. Instead, he concentrated on working the tension out of Marth's hands, the kneading sensation of his thumbs one he knew Marth enjoyed.

"She just...grrr!" Marth's hands tensed, as if to form into fists, but immediately relaxed into Link's practiced touch. "She apparently can't tell the difference between a tunic and a dress, nor is she informed about types of headwear."

"She called it a tiara again, didn't she?"

"As if a woman whose choice of clothing includes oversized armor and a suit so tight it leaves nothing to the imagination, should comment on other people's dress."

"Oh, does she wear that? I wasn't under the impression that you were paying attention to girls now." Link kept his tone light, and leaned in to nip gently at Marth's neck, softening the impact of the verbal tease. Marth didn't shy away from the contact, and Link hid his smile with gentle nips and licks to Marth's throat.

"I'm not paying attention to girls, she just has to make herself obnoxiously noticeable. Besides, it's not a tiara," Marth huffed. The effect of the pout was lost, however, as he tilted his head to allow Link better access. Fingers laced together, and Marth tugged lightly until the Hylian moved to straddle his lap, Link's attentions still firmly rooted in the sensitive skin of his neck.

"Hmmm, I don't care what you call it, I'm just going to be taking it off you later." Link's mouth traveled up to whisper at Marth's ear, and his tongue flicked out to tease the lobe. His hands, meanwhile, disentangled themselves from Marth's, moving instead to massage the prince's shoulders. Marth's hands traced down Link's back: when relaxing in his flat, it was Link's habit to forgo shirt and chain mail, wearing only his favorite green tunic over his pants. Marth's hands quickly found the hem of the tunic, darting underneath to dwell at the small of Link's back. Fingertips traced patterns on the skin, and Link moaned his approval into Marth's ear.

"She just makes me so mad!" Marth's statement was softened by the loss of the vitriol that had previously colored his voice.

"Are you still thinking about her?" Link nibbled at the spot just behind Marth's ear, and rolled his hips against the prince.

The actions had the desired effect, as Marth surged up, knocking Link off the couch and landing on top of him. Lips met, clashing, and Marth growled into the rough kiss. Link bucked his hips again, intentionally provoking his lover, and was rewarded when Marth ground down against him. Link's hands moved to the ornate fastener holding Marth's cape, only to be knocked away and pinned by the prince. Marth sat up, stripping off cape, armor and tunic; tossing the garments aside, he looked down at Link, hunger burning in his eyes.

Link made a mental note, before he got too lost in their lovemaking, to thank Samus again – knowing, as he did so, that she would, in turn, tease him for his method of making his lover more aggressive in the bedroom. Then again, teasing – and teasing your lover for you – is what best friends were for.