Alright, this is the first chapter in this multi-chaptered fiction story for "RareToonLinkPairs". She requested a MarthxLinkxIke love triangle story, so that's what this is going to be! If you don't like either of those pairings, please do not flame this and/or read it, since that's pretty much all this story will be about. There will be some side events, but they will usually tie in to the development between Marth and Link. This will also be my first story that has any kind of obvious sexual themes, which I'm completely terrified of writing :P The rating may (and probably will) change as the story progresses, but I will post any and all warnings for the specifics. Anyway, without further ado...

Disclaimer!: I do NOT own Marth, Link, Ike, or any of the other characters mentioned in this story. They all belong to Nintendo, which I am in no way associated with.

Warnings for this chapter: IkexLink fluff.

Warnings for the whole story: Sexual Themes and Ideologically Sensitive Material that may not be suitable for Minors.

Key:

Time Lapse or Scene Change: (-)

Adding Inflection or Emphasis to a word or sentence. Also used for thoughts.

Shouting or adding Inflection or Emphasis to a word or sentence.

Writing inside the story (such as if the character is reading a book.)

SHOUTING OR ADDING EMPHASIS TO A WORD OR SENTENCE THAT HAS A QUESTION MARK AT THE END.

CHAPTER 1: Once upon a time...

It was another typical day at the Smash Mansion for Prince Marth Lowell.

He had gotten up, eaten breakfast, trained down in the lobby with Ike, secretly tried to kill him since he had the undying attention of a certain smasher, attempted to discretely flirt with said smasher, and walked to lunch with Princess Zelda, also getting his typical lunch of a turkey sandwich.

What was also usual was his glare sent towards the blue-haired mercenary and – indirectly – the little blond that was seated next to him, graciously accepting the strawberry said-mercenary was feeding him. The two lovers would laugh every time the smaller of the two took a bite, sometimes accidentally letting a little bit of the sweet berry juice leak down his chin which, in turn, provoked the taller of the two to lean down and lovingly lick it away. The blush that the blond wore after the act was simply too cute to be legal, which Ike would so sweetly point out. Of course, this would only make Link blush more and deny that 'cute' wasn't the term to describe a brave Hylian hero, reciprocating with Ike laughing at the blond's naiveté. It was also the typical morning for 'the happiest, cutest, sweetest, lovey-doviest couple in the Smash Mansion', dubbed such by everyone (well, almost everyone) at said-manor.

It made Marth sick.

It was also well-known among the royals of the mansion that Marth had had a die-hard crush on the petite blond ever since... well, ever since he had met him, blatantly. However, Link had quickly been snatched up by another before he had had the chance to make a move, and that 'another' just happened to be his (previous) best friend.

And there were a lot of things that Marth didn't understand about the whole situation.

He didn't understand why Link had returned the mercenary's feelings, since the blue-haired soldier wasn't exactly a 'romantic' (or so he thought). He didn't understand why he hadn't summoned up the courage to make a move on the blond as quickly as Ike had, because he was sure that he had known Link for at least four more days than the taller bluenette. He didn't understand why Ike had to fall for Link; there were plenty of other cute boys and girls here (like that Pit kid, for example, or the two lovely Princess' and the bounty huntress.) [Admittedly, he had asked himself this question many times.]

And most importantly, why couldn't Link have fallen for him first?

But he had already answered this question to the best of his ability to put words in other's mouths. He had considered that maybe the blond didn't want to go out with a royal, since (if Link had not always swung that way) surely he would have fallen for Princess Zelda. He had also thought that maybe he fell for Ike because of his charm and masculinity. Yes, Marth certainly had charm, and yes, he did have muscles to brag about, but neither were quite Ike's caliber (the guy carried a two-handed sword like a butter knife, for crying out loud!)

He had also thought that it was just for the simple fact that Link was too good for him. After all, he had beautiful, silky blond hair that framed his flawless face perfectly, big, bright, ocean blue eyes that seemed to always be filled to the brim with cheerful innocence, a smile to compliment them, a laugh that would make even the coldest person's icy heart melt and laugh right along with him, and a body that Marth didn't even want to risk thinking about a the moment since there were other people around.

Why couldn't he have fallen for me..? was the question that had replayed in the prince's mind several times since the other two had gotten together. In fact, that very morbid thought replayed in his mind at this exact moment, making him sigh and the action catching the attention of a certain princess sitting across from the noble.

"Marth? HELLO?"

Jumping about a foot in the air, Marth turned to the voice to see an annoyed Zelda and Peach looking back at him questioningly. Samus, who wasn't a royal but wouldn't dare hang out with any of the guys (or whatever Jigglypuff was) just continued to jab at her vast plate of noodles with her fork, looking indifferent and uncaring.

"We seemed to have lost you for a moment! What in heaven's name were you thinking about?" Zelda inquired, taking a small bite of her salad. Marth flinched.

"I-I uh... was just thinking about... the uh... matches for the day..?" Marth responded, not able to hold back the questioning inflection added on the end of his sentence. The princess' blinked and looked a little skeptical, but soon, Princess Peach's expression morphed into one of knowing.

"Hehe, I know what you were thinking about," she paused to giggle, "or, rather, who you were thinking about~"

"A-and who would that be?" Marth asked, feigning nonchalance but failing horribly. Peach looked at Zelda expectantly, making the other princess smirk after understanding what the other was 'telepathically' telling her (Marth had dubbed the silent communication 'fem-talk' since this happened quite often.) They turned their mischievous looks towards Marth who sat waiting nervously.

"Link!"

At that moment, Marth's heart skipped a beat. He knew that they all were aware (very aware ever since that time the prince had almost passed out from a nosebleed after accidentally walking in on and seeing a certain blond almost completely naked, save for his boxers), but was it really that easy to pick up on when he had taken a trip to Link Land?

"Uh, yeah... I was..." he sighed, not even bothering to deny it. He knew that there was nothing – especially when it came to relationship situations – that went over the princess's heads, and saying otherwise did nothing but upset them and edge you on further until you eventually confessed anyway.

Giggling like crazy, Peach leaned over to whisper something in Zelda's ear, which in turn made the Hylian royal laugh just as heartily. Marth gave them confused looks.

"What?"

"Oh, nothing!~" Peach waved off the question, leaning towards Marth to keep their conversation strictly ABC (Marth, herself, and Zelda) as she continued, "You really have it for Link something awful, don't you?"

Marth blushed slightly at the way she had worded it, but nodded nonetheless, sighing as he turned back towards his previous fixation.

"Maybe you should try to flirt with him. Even though he's dating Ike at the moment, it would never hurt to get a little closer to him," Zelda offered, shrugging. In a perfect world, she would rather have Link dating Marth. She knew better than anyone that Link was a pretty fragile person – emotionally, anyway – and that Marth was much better at complying and understanding other's feelings than Ike was. So, needless to say, in this game, she was playing for Marth's team.

"Yeah!" Peach added, "Plus, you never know when they might break up! I guarantee that the first person Linky will run to is you for his shoulder to cry on!"

At this, Marth perked up a little and gave an appreciative smile at the two females.

"Thanks, you two. You are the best friends I could ask for," laughing to himself quietly, he added, "Second in my heart only to Link..."

Not catching the last part, the two princesses giggled and smiled happily.

"No problem, Marthy!" Peach waved off, standing up from the table as she finished her sentence. Marth didn't take heed of her retreat until Zelda stood up along with the pink-clad girl.

"Where are you ladies going?" he asked, blinking as he realized that Samus was already gone.

"We're going to get dessert at Delfino Plaza! They just opened a new shop with brand new foods that we have been dying to sample!" Zelda smiled sweetly, grabbing her purse and taking out a hairbrush to run it through her hair.

"We would invite you to come, but we kind of planned it as a girls-only thing. Me and Zellie really haven't had much time to ourselves," Peach explained, running a brush through her own blond hair, "I'm really sorry!"

Looking deflated, Marth sighed and nodded sadly.

"That's fine. I'll just... go back to my room and sleep or something..." he said dejectedly, standing up as well and fluffing out the tresses of his cape.

Peach and Zelda looked at each other with conflicted expressions, but just as suddenly saw Ike and Link sitting at the table across from them, seeming to just now be finishing lunch as well. Glancing back at the other, they smiled as a plan formed between them with more 'fem-talk'.

"Wait here, Marth! I've got a plan~" Peach said in a sing-song voice, grabbing Marth's shoulder to halt him as well as Zelda's hand. Marth only blinked back at her as she and the other princess half-skipped over to the table that harbored the mercenary and Hero of Twilight.

He couldn't hear the conversation that went on between them, but the next thing he knew, Zelda and Peach were leaving with Ike and Link was left sitting by himself, waving apologetically as the bluenette was practically drug out the door. Before leaving, though, Peach ran back over to Marth and smiled mischievously.

"We're getting Ike to help us 'find' the new café, so that should give you at least ten minutes alone with him. Go get 'im, big boy!"

With that, the bubbly pink princess giggled and pat Marth on the back reassuringly, turning and dashing back out the door behind Ike and Zelda.

Then, Link's bright blue eyes shifted and saw Marth, probably looking pretty stupid just standing in the middle of the cafeteria with a very confused expression set on his face as he processed what just happened.

"Oh, Marth! Over here!" Link called, waving happily as the prince jumped about a foot in the air at the voice as he turned to him quickly.

"Y-yes?" Marth asked as coolly as he could manage, watching as Link scooted over a little and patted the seat next to him.

"Come sit by me! Zelda and Peach took Ike away, and since I'm now all alone, I would really appreciate your company!" the Hylian explained, smiling sweetly and making Marth blush, though he shook it off quickly and nodded.

"Sure! No problem!"

As Marth made his way over to sit by his secret love, he could feel his heart pounding a thousand miles a minute.

"Nice to see you again!" Link chirped, smiling happily at the prince as he took a seat unnecessarily close to the Hylian.

"But we just saw each other this morning," Marth pointed out, smiling back as he chuckled. Link only giggled cutely.

"I know! But I still think it's nice to see you!" Link smiled wider, making Marth's heart flutter.

Link, Link, Link. If you only knew...

"Haha, well it's good to see you, too," Marth smiled, leveling his voice to speak normally, "What did you have for lunch?"

"Just some salad and... a few strawberries," Link responded, blushing a bit as the strawberry part came out. Marth inwardly rolled his eyes and blanched.

Just forget about that. It's just you and Link right now, and I need to keep conversation going...

"You really should eat something more substantial. While salad is good for you, if you don't eat enough, you'll be hungry long before dinner time."

"Yes, I know, but I want to stay fit. If I eat too much I fear I'll put on weight."

"I wouldn't worry! You have a wonderful body, so I don't think that a few extra pounds would hinder it in the least."

As his last sentence came out, Marth paused to review what he had just said. Whatever it was had Link blushing like mad and blinking innocently.

Oops...

"You... really think I have a nice figure?" Link asked, cocking his head to the side and amplifying his cuteness 100fold. Now it was Marth's turn to blush.

"I...well...uh...y-yeah, I do. I-I don't think you should worry about your weight at all," Marth stuttered, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. Link's face instantly busted into a beaming smile, making the prince blush more. But what really sent him over the edge was Link suddenly jumping on top of him, laughing while squeezing the bluenette tightly.

"Aww, you're so nice! Thanks, Marth!" Link cooed as he snuggled his head into Marth's chest, unknowing the effect it had on the flustered prince of Altea.

H-he's... i-in my arms... What the heck do I do!

Wait, chill out. Just be cool...

"Heh, you're welcome," Marth managed, suddenly getting a whiff of something that smelled like... cherries? "Um... do you smell cherries?"

Link tensed, and for a moment Marth thought that he had said something horribly wrong as the Hylian rose from his chest and looked away from the prince with a blush as red as the fruit aforementioned.

"Y-yeah... It's me..." Link almost whispered, and Marth raised an eyebrow in question until Link further explained, "I-I'm using this new shampoo... and it's cherry-scented, obviously. I-I know it's stupid, but I just really like cherries and thought that the scent would be more... subtle..."

Smiling handsomely at the cuteness, Marth gently lifted Link's chin with his pointer finger and Link's ocean-blue orbs shifted to look at the prince with shy embarrassment.

"It's not stupid, Link," Marth chuckled as bravery suddenly bubbled up in his heart, "In fact... I really like it..."

Marth ran his fingers through Link's silky blond hair, Link unable to help but laugh as the hair waved back into place and tickled his small nose. The scent wafted through the air as the source was tousled, sending the aroma straight to both the swordsmen's senses.

Blue irises of slightly contrasting – while still somehow complimenting – color met each other, and time seemed to freeze around the two. Marth looking down at the shorter male as the blond looked right back up at him made the noble's heart flutter with emotion as thoughts flooded his mind.

I wonder what would happen if...

Marth leaned down slowly, Link showing no reaction one way or the other.

Interesting... Maybe he'll let me...

Marth's breath ghosted across Link's lips, and that seemed to break Link's personal bubble as he whispered the prince's named softly.

"Marth...?"

And that did nothing but edge Marth on more, the sound of his name floating through those lips enough to make him want to shove the blond to the ground and take him right then and there.

Just a little closer...

"Marth...? What are you- EEP!" Link suddenly let out an adorable squeak, at the same time being lifted off of the bench and being twirled around in someone else's arms before being brought into their chest.

"Hey, babe! Missed you!" came a deep voice whose owner held the little blond captive in it's arms. After recognizing who it was, Link turned around in the embrace and hugged his boyfriend back.

"Hello, Ike! I missed you, too!" Link cooed, squeezing the mercenary tightly. Marth just sat back quietly, missing the Hylian in his arms and sending a glare at the man who now held him.

As Ike pulled back, he looked at Link oddly.

"Have you lost weight? You seem even lighter... not that I still don't love that body of yours..." as Ike said this, he ran a sensual hand along Link's back, growling in the blond's ear and making the boy squeak.

"I-Ike... not here..." Link whispered, making Ike groan and pull back slightly, "I think I've only lost about five pounds... nothing to worry about!" Link smiled sweetly, making Ike smile as well and pull the Hylian back into the embrace.

"You're so adorable... I love you..." Ike said softly, but Marth was able to pick it up. It made his heart ache to be the one to say that to Link.

"Hehe, I love you, too, Ike!~" And it hurt Marth even more to hear those words directed towards anyone that wasn't him.

After pecking the blond on the cheek, Ike let him loose, but kept them connected by linking their fingers together.

"So, what are you planning to do for the rest of the day?" Ike asked, Link cocking his head cutely and seeming to be deep in thought.

"Well... I don't think I really have any plans..." Link trailed off and let his gaze wander back to Ike, "Is there something you had in mind?"

Ike chuckled, squeezing Link's hand and leaning forwards to press their foreheads together.

"I sure do. A huge, romantic dinner; right on Smashville's docks," Ike said silkily, making Link's eyes widen.

"No way! You really got dinner reservations there? That's almost impossible!" Link gushed, pulling away a bit and smiling brightly at the mercenary.

"Almost being the key word. It was a challenge, I won't lie, but after a few rearrangements and some compromises, I was able to get us prime seats, leaning right over the ocean," Ike continued, relishing in how considerably Link's smile brightened at the end of his explanation.

"Ike, thank you so much! You are so amazing!" Link beamed, catching Ike in a hug full of passion. Ike chuckled, wrapping his arms back around the Hylian.

"You're the amazing one, Link... I love you..." Ike cooed, leaning down and brushing away some of the blond's bangs to give a chaste kiss to his forehead as the boy giggled cutely.

Marth continued to sit quietly, jealousy raging like a tempest in his heart.

'You are so amazing!' Ugh! I can't believe that Link likes that stupid, meat-headed, muscle-driven, idiotic-

"Marth?"

The prince nearly jumped out of his skin as the sound of his love's voice hit his ears.

"Y-yes?" Marth answered, turning towards the object of his affection. Link smiled, shifting in Ike's arms to face him fully.

"Um... I'd like to... spend some more time with you, but since Ike and I are having dinner tonight, why don't you and I have lunch together tomorrow afternoon?" Link smiled shyly, leaning forward in anticipation, "What do you think?"

Marth blushed a little at the closeness of the other smasher, but nonetheless smiled as he felt his stomach churn with happiness.

"Sure, lunch sounds great! 12:00, right?" Marth asked shakily, unable to help but think that it sounded like they were planning a date. Link smiled and nodded, both the hero and the prince unaware of Ike's deadly glare at the other bluenette.

"Link, why don't you go ahead and go up to our room," Ike started, his tone slightly dark, "I'd like to talk to Marth for a moment."

Link looked up at Ike and smiled, hopping up from his seat and unable to sense the impending danger.

"Okay! I'll see you later!" Link chirped, kissing Ike on the cheek and waving to the prince as he left, "Bye, Marth! I'll see you at lunch tomorrow!"

Marth was a little confused at first as to why Ike needed to speak with him, but instantly forgot about it as he heard the Hylian's voice.

"Bye, Link. I'll see you then," Marth waved enthusiastically; a little too enthusiastically for Ike's comfort.

"Marth," Ike stated firmly, making the prince refocus his attention on the other bluenette and drop his happy front, instead letting it mold into a cold stare as he continued to speak, "I've been wanting to speak with you for a while now."

Marth just glared expectantly, waiting for the mercenary to continue.

"First of all, I have a question," the taller man started, making the prince cock a questioning eyebrow as if asking him what it was. Ike leaned in a little closer to the other, his face darkening and becoming more serious, "You like Link, don't you?"

Marth's heart clenched, but no one would have known from seeing his facial expression since his face didn't even twitch, an amused light even coming to his eyes.

"Why, of course I do. He's a very likable young man, and I'm sure everyone else in the mansion agrees," Marth smirked, the mercenary's expression only becoming grimmer at the snotty answer that he would only expect from a royal such as Prince Marth Lowell.

Clutching the front of the prince's tunic tightly, he brought the shorter bluenette's face close to his own, frowning so deeply that Marth was sure it would be stuck that way.

"Don't be smart with me; you knowwhat I'm talking about, princey," Ike spat, searching Marth's eyes for any sign of wavering, "I know that you like Link."

Marth was about to retort, but Ike beat him to it.

"And don't even think about trying to deny it. I saw that move you tried to pull on him before I got here, and you know just as well as I do that you can't lie to me. After all," Ike paused a smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth, "I was your best friend."

Marth's smug expression couldn't help but falter at the mercenary's words.

"...So? What if I do?" Marth asked, trying to keep cool but failing. Ike's fist tightened even more around the delicate fabric clenched in his hands, his knuckles turning white as his face turned red.

"If you do, then I have this to say to you," Ike started, smiling such a malicious smile that the prince was actually afraid that he'd be murdered right there in broad daylight, "Link is mine. He will always be mine. You have no chance with him. But, if somehow you get a burst of courage and dare lay a hand on him, I will see to it that that hand will never touch anything else. Link seems to like you – not in the way you want, of course – so I won't deny him from seeing you, but if you ever hurt him, so help me..."

As Ike trailed off, he let go of Marth's tunic and stood, towering over the prince who looked back up at him with a glare.

"I'm letting you off easy in the name of our past friendship, but the minute you step out of line, I won't hesitate to take any action necessary," Ike turned, about to walk away before looking back at the prince, "Understand?"

Marth kept the steady glare at the mercenary, but still nodded, not wanting to found out what would happen if he defied him.

Ike smiled – genuinely this time – and nodded, turning and walking away to leave the prince thinking over what he had just been told.

However, rather than feeling even the slightest bit of fear, only one thought came to the Marth's mind:

I will never give up.

(-)

And there you have it! The first (completely boring) chapter in this story! Nothing has really gone on yet, but this was pretty much just to introduce the characters background and relationship as of now.

The cliché-ness of this kills me...

See you next chapter~