It's smut. It's based on that one illustration. You know the one I mean.

The starlight came streaming in the unshuttered windows, and fell gently upon Samus's eyelids, through shutters that were set to open at a certain time whether anyone liked it or not. Even buried as she was in layers of cozy sheets and blankets, she knew this ended her last chance of curling up and going back to sleep. She'd somehow developed a habit of waking up just before the ship opened up and let the light in, which was fine, because one of them had to be the first to get up.

An arm was draped over her as she made to rise. "Samus," came a murmuring, half-asleep voice from beside her. "Stay."

Smiling, Samus patted the arm before unceremoniously pushing it off herself. She attempted to get out of the bed again, but another pair of arms snaked its way around her, and yanked her back to the mattress. "You're not," someone behind her said, "going anywhere."

Before the bounty hunter could muster a response to that, a head of purple hair moved across her still-fuzzy field of vision. Energy smiled down at her with sweet innocence. "We caught you."

Missile's voice behind her was a little less innocent. "Whoever said you could get up early and leave us all alone?"

Energy settled comfortably on Samus's chest, her hair turned iridescent magenta by the light, and closed her eyes. Samus shifted in an unsuccessful attempt to dislodge her, still held fast by Missile's strong arms. The bounty hunter groaned to herself as she ultimately flopped back to the bed, stymied again. This could be a problem. Missile was stroking her hair. We have things to do today. Energy snuggled closer. Then again...

It hadn't always been this way. For most of her life, including the start of her bounty hunting career, Samus Aran had spent her nights and mornings alone. Companionship wasn't something she could afford, and it wasn't something she wanted. But on a mission in her second year as a bounty hunter, among the war-torn streets of a planet in collapse, she found a pair of girls, two children long since left to fend for themselves. Attacked a moment after she saw them, Samus had protected them and finally brought them to safety aboard her gunship.

They didn't talk much, but Samus could see that the girl with blue hair was a fighter, and the girl with the pink hair was a healer, and they were fiercely protective of each other, in their own ways. Samus knew they both had to be strong to have survived in such a hostile world on their own.

The first thing they ever said to her was their names. The bluenette said she was named Missile, while the pink-haired girl shyly introduced herself as Energy. They had no home, they said, and they wanted to come with Samus.

Her profession demanded she say no. Perhaps any bounty hunter but Samus would have. But it had been less than two decades since she was an orphan rescued from the burning streets of her own home, and she could not abandon them. But Samus was sure they made no mistake about it—a life with her wouldn't be an easy one. Someone like her was a perpetual target for very dangerous people, and the girls would have to lean discipline and self-defense that went beyond the day-to-day survival they knew.

Little did she know just how ready they were for her training.

At first, she only wanted to bring Missile with her into the light combat situations she had scouted out, but the girl flat-out refused unless Samus would allow Energy to accompany them. Samus had thought she was being foolish, and said as much. Energy herself also swore she wouldn't let Missile go without her. And so, ultimately, Samus brought them both with her on the mission.

The present-day Energy interrupted Samus's recollections by sliding a hand under the light, half-unbuttoned shirt Samus slept in. Apart from a swoop in her gut, Samus immediately felt a curious wave of vitality spreading throughout her body, radiating like heat from the point where Energy's hand touched her skin. In a moment, her tiredness was gone.

Whatever the girls were, they weren't quite human, something Samus learned very quickly. She was in fact the one to be injured on that mission, having rushed ahead—being overconfident. She was still new to bounty hunting then, and had paid the price for believing her old training with the Chozo to be infallible. When she made her way back to Missile and Energy and let herself collapse heavily on the ground, Energy sidled close to her, and then something incredible happened.

The first thing she perceived was gentle hands on the back of her neck, on her shoulders and the small of her back. Then she felt a surge of power in her body, and watched in amazement as her burns and wounds healed over and faded as if they were never there. She looked over her shoulder to see Energy giving her a reassuring smile. Then there was a flash of movement in the corner of her eye, and she turned back in time to see only the end of Missile's flurry of blows that left a group of would-be ambushers unconscious before they hit the ground.

Missile, lying behind her in the bed they all shared, let her hand wander over Samus's body until it fell upon the breast opposite the one Energy's palm now occupied. Instead of a gentle touch, she gave Samus a rough pinch on the nipple, causing the woman to flinch and clench inward.

Their skills were almost supernatural. Energy's ability to heal was certainly inexplicable to the eye, but watching Missile fight, seeing the way she effortlessly anticipated every movement and dealt crippling blows with uncanny precision, Samus was equally impressed. The girl's strength, too, was superhuman, and outclassed even Samus's. Samus watched them mature, and she could see their growth, too, was slightly more than human. It didn't seem long before they had become women—women Samus came to trust implicitly, who always accompanied her on missions and protected her as she had once protected them.

Energy's slender fingers were slowly following the hem of Samus's shirt and undoing buttons one by one. Samus, resigned to her fate, let her own digits twist gently in the woman's beautiful hair, shuddering slightly at the continued teasing Missile was inflicting on her. The bluenette probably didn't approve of the slow pace Energy was taking, but she played along, assaulting Samus in pokes and touches, grinning all the while. Her breath was hot against the back of Samus's neck.

The two girls had no intention of stopping, intent on sweeping Samus up in their healthy mixture of gratitude and lust. Energy finished her work and pulled the shirt open, that lone barrier between Samus's skin and theirs, and Missile flung it away somewhere out of the starlight. Immediately, each hand from both of Samus's companions returned to its place upon a breast, and Energy leaned forward to bring their lips together. Missile chuckled and redouble her efforts, groping and squeezing to make Samus arch up into the kiss. Energy was slow and sweet, and again every touch of her lips and tongue against Samus's skin gave an invigorating jolt, just as every one of Missile's touches was deep and heated.

Samus was already feeling that tightness coil inside her, more than ready despite not having been so much as touched below the waist, and the two knew it. Energy held her kiss longer once more, then broke it and slowly started to slide her way lower down Samus's abdomen. This morning, it seemed, she had had enough teasing. As she moved away, Missile's arms again encircled Samus, and then in a flash she rolled herself atop the bounty hunter. First her hands went to Samus's shoulders and pinned her for a moment, as if there were any chance Samus wanted to escape, and then returned to their tasks, kneading, pinching. Missile's bare skin was hot against Samus's midriff.

The equally nude Energy was also sparing no inch of contact between flesh and flesh, but she eventually settled into her perch between Samus's thighs. She traced her fingers back and forth over the most sensitive areas she was so familiar with, making Samus squirm beneath Missile's weight, touching and flicking ever so slightly the folds of Samus's sex. Their coordination superb in bed as it was in battle, Missile leaned down and locked her eyes with Samus's as Energy poised herself, mouth open and breath brushing over skin. "We love you," she said, and then the gasp rent from Samus as Energy dipped her head and closed her mouth around her was lost as Missile bent forward and locked their lips together.

They quickly established a rhythm, Missile rough as ever in claiming Samus's mouth, Energy gentle but swift with her fingers going in and around and her tongue lapping against Samus's already wet center. When Missile let her up for air, Samus brought her head up to look at them both, but threw it back just a second later, panting hard, a hand clutching the sheets beside her. Energy looked so subservient, dutifully doing her work between Samus's legs, but every motion she made had the older woman wrapped around her little finger.

Soft moans, the noise of circling tongues, and the wet sounds from Energy's ministrations filled the room as they continued. Missile was rubbing herself over Samus's stomach, which was taut with tension and wet from sweat, and alternating her hands and mouth both from Samus's mouth to her neck to her breasts. The rough hands and hot tongue contrasting, firmly gripping tender flesh one moment and wetly sucking it the next, were driving Samus crazy. She could have let her mind go blank then, locked her legs around Energy's head and came, but she wanted more. When Missile had leaned back, Samus brought her hands to the woman's rear, gave a hard squeeze that drew an unexpecting groan, and then pulled, tugging Missile up past her chest and over her face. Eagerly, she stretched forward so her mouth could reach its target.

Missile inhaled sharply, arching her back and supporting herself with arms behind her on the bed; Samus let one hand off her ass and brought it up and down the woman's lithe, curved frame and over her breasts. At the same time Samus set her tongue to work on Missile, Energy gave a purr of contentment through her very occupied mouth, and sank herself ever deeper into Samus, hands reaching up and grasping Samus's waist with shocking strength. Samus came then, at the girl's renewed assault, but Energy didn't slow, continuing against the writhing of Samus's sensitive body, eliciting quiet, labored moans that were quite muffled beneath Missile. Samus rode out the crashing climax, thrusting hard in and against Missile, too, caught in a heady rush of sensation at both ends.

But if that had been enough for Samus, the pair was far greedier. They kept going, Missile close now, her breaths ragged, Energy continuing her ravishment. Fine then, Samus thought, and with a heave she upended Missile.

Missile landed on the mattress by Samus's feet, and as if automatically, Energy curled her body inward, bringing her lower half closer to Missile, who wasted no time in parting her twin's legs and beginning to lick, suck, and finger there. Samus did the same to Missile, and in no time the three had cinched into a tight circle. Energy's breaths grew ragged, too, her body never far out of sync with Missile's.

Samus resumed her attack on Missile, dizzy but nonetheless determined. Energy's hands slipped beneath her and began squeezing her butt none too softly; payback for her groping Missile. She was already close again. They all breathed hard and fast against each other. Finally they came, Energy and Missile almost simultaneously, and Samus again with shudders and gasps.

Extricating herself from Missile, Samus flopped back to their jumble of pillows at the head of the bed with a heavy sigh, and was joined a moment later by Missile and Energy, one on each side, just how they had started the morning — sans clothes. Missile brushed her hand over Samus's body and took Energy's, drawing it to her own mouth and taking each finger between her lips. Samus did her best to let the afterglow overpower any lingering sex drive. She looked over their heads, to the dazzling vista of stars through the window, as the pair cuddled close to her and continued their small caresses to each other. She thought about how they had ended up here, and thanked those stars for this gift she had never know she wanted.

It wasn't more than a minute before she let out a gasp; the two acted as one by some unspoken signal, and she felt a wet, warm mouth close around each of her nipples and begin sucking. Energy and Missile had their fingers intertwined over her waist, once again preventing her from going anywhere, and looked up at her with vivid magenta and cobalt eyes as they held her.

Sandwiched between them with nowhere to go and undeniable arousal again starting to course through her, Samus lay back with a half-moan, half-sigh, and the starlight washed over their skin as they lost themselves in one another.

※ A/N: After this, they had a ton more sex.