Welcome, ladies and gents. Here I am with another Link x Samus one-shot. Since everyone liked Loving Husband, I decided to come through with a small follow-up. Like always, all rights go to their respective owners, and I don't own anything. Enjoy.

"New Shear"

For the first time in a while, Samus went on a brief trip to the mall. The Chozo was never too keen on making an appearance in a public place. To say it simply, she hated crowded areas. Perhaps it was her distaste for unnecessary noise. Throughout her entire professional career, moments of silence were extremely hard to come by. Truth be told, she would rather rest in a small, confined area. It made sense considering she could stay scrunched up for hours in the morph-ball form of her power suit. It was easy to assume that she had grown quite fond of her peaceful life. That and the fact she also hated on-going chattering.

Though she was not known for being the most verbal being, she believed in the old saying, "Speak only when spoken to." Look at who she married. It made sense.

If circumstances allowed, she would never have gone to the mall. Unfortunately, there was not another store within miles of the Smash Bros Headquarters. For Samus, it was a hard choice, but when she ran her hand through her hair, it seemed to feel like the right thing to do. After all, the next beauty salon was over two-hundred miles away, and that trip truly would have been most dreadful.

It was so strange. She felt the wind brush the back of her neck like never before. It was such a strange sensation. The last time she felt like this was when she used to run across the grassy plains of the Chozo home world. That was before she decided to let her hair grow. Which lead her to today. After years of growing, it seemed as if it was finally time for a change. Though it was hard at first, she had to admit that it felt good for the time being. Perhaps it was her imagination, but her head felt much lighter. Since she mane was cut to a much shorter length, the feeling was to be expected.

Was this a good thing or a bad thing? She placed her hand underneath her chin and sighed heavily. It had been so long ago since she got a haircut. She was almost thirteen when she last had one, and that was ten years ago. So, one would say that her goal was reached to a certain extent, but would it be too far?

Sure, she felt good about it, but a lone, lingering thought prevented her from feeling that sense of accomplishment. Her husband of two years, Link, had never been too keen on showing his interest in things outside the norm. Sadly, he had also proven on more than one occasion just how dense he could be.

It reminded the Chozo of the time she wore that red bikini at the beach. Every guy on the beach gawked at her uncontrollably, but her husband, Mr. Observant, was too busy building a sand-castle to notice. How suave of him.

It was his greatest quirk, and his worst as well. Samus loved his innocent demeanor. Nothing in the world could corrupt him. Vice versa, whenever she would try to hint something, naughty in particular, he would be slow to catch on. It was cute, yet infuriating. Deep down, there was a sense that Link did that on purpose just to get underneath her skin.

It wasn't out of the question. He was her husband after all, and with that comes the knowledge of her strengths and weaknesses. Link knew what most Space Pirates and Metroids would kill to learn, like her allergic reaction to sourdough and that special spot above her collarbone.

Samus sighed blissfully as she blushed slightly.

Oh, that special spot...

After a few seconds, Samus stood and brushed her shortened hair back. She was not going to find out anything in her room. If she wanted an honest result, she had to find Link as soon as possible. Unfortunately, the Headquarters was a large place, and she knew she was going to get a lot of unwanted attention along the way.

She had to find a way to remain inconspicuous to her fellow Smash Bros.

In the Dining Hall

The blush on her face was apparent. It was not often that the mighty bounty hunter was found wearing Link's signature green hat. Normally, one would ask what brought this circumstance along, but when a man and woman marry, they learn to share some of the small things. Seeing the Chozo with her husband's hat didn't raise too many questions.

Unfortunately, the hat was a bit larger than she hoped. It continued to drip over her eyes and nearly engulfed her entire face with every step she took. How could he wear something like this on a regular basis? Was his head that much larger than hers, or was there a technique she was missing? Only Link knew the answer to that. The small realization finally came to Samus when she remembered how iffy her husband got over his hats. She could never understand it, but the elf was oddly protective of his hats for a peculiar reason. It could be because he only had one spare.

It was silly, but Samus understood where he always came from. She hated it whenever someone else even attempted to touch her paralyzer or any of her weapons for that matter. Link touched her Power Suit once and miraculously found the self-destruct switch in the process. Needless to say, the Headquarters was in much need of a new roof afterwards.

Oh, the scolding he got...

Before she could even try to smile, her hat fell completely over her nose. She grumbled incoherently as she took the hat off to straighten her hair. Though it only took a few seconds, it seemed as if the entire world was watching her in slow motion. Sonic's mouth was left agape as he held a half-eaten chili dog in his hand.

Samus stopped what she was doing and blankly stared at the hedgehog. Before she could place the hat back on her head, Sonic rushed in and grabbed the blond's forearm. "No, don't do that. Your haircut looks..." he started to confess before something stopped him.

How? How does it look? At first, Samus didn't know how to react. Was he going to compliment her? She suddenly found herself smiling, waiting for the hedgehog to finish his sentence. Unfortunately, Sonic was not prepared for the sight of a smiling Samus. Throughout her entire time within the Smash Bros Core, Samus had always kept the same blank expression on her face. Sadly, no one except for Link ever got to see the Chozo smile honestly. Little to say, this made the woman very hard to read.

For the blue blur, seeing Samus smile not only startled him, but it down right terrified him in the process. If she never smiled before, why would she smile now? Every distinct possibility that came to his mind was negative. Sonic then released the Chozo's arm and chuckled nervously.

"I mean, look at the time. I'm sure Donkey Kong needs a hand with that monkey wrench, so I'll see ya," he said hurriedly before he sped out of sight.

Unfortunately, with this sudden abandonment, irritation took over the woman's mind and body. Her fist clenched with anger, and she let out a growl low enough to frighten a grizzly bear. That blasted hedgehog left without saying a word. Was that his way of saying that the haircut looked terrible?

It wasn't terrible... was it?

The Chozo huffed and hastily made her way out of the dining room. For hers and everyone else's sake, she'd best find Link in a hurry. If unsuccessful, the entire Smash Bros Core may experience a second explosion, much more volatile than the first. Fortunately, Samus had a good idea of her elven love's whereabouts...

Hyrule Field - On the Great Eldin Bridge

If everyday had to be as boring as this one, Link would have to go through the Cave of Ordeals to prevent himself from dying of boredom. The elf stood on one side of the lengthy bridge with his bow in hand. On the other were a set of jars he had set up for the occasion. He readied one of his arrows and fired away, obliterating one of the jars in the process.

Link let out a disgruntled moan for his accomplishment. Sadly, it didn't cure his boredom. Deep down, he knew the absence of his wife was the center of his desolation. When he woke up earlier that morning, Samus had already left to take care of some things. Whenever she left like that, it usually meant that she left for an important business matter, namely dealing with the Galactic Federation, a bounty job, or the shopping list. Whatever it was, it always meant the same thing.

Don't follow me.

Even if it was out of concern, Link was absolutely forbidden to disobey that rule. The elf stared blankly at the sunset and sighed heavily. With a wife as stubborn and thick-headed as his, it was too hard to try and break the rules. That is and leave with his limbs still intact.

It's hard being married to a bounty hunter from space...

However, before the elf could continue to wade in his despair, a bright blue light shone down from the sky. Link turned around just in time to see a young woman materialize in the center of the beam. Her blue eyes warmly stared at the elf, thus easing the weariness in his soul. Link sighed easily before he placed his bow back in his supply belt. After a brief second, the light faded completely, revealing the galactic bounty hunter, Samus Aran. Before anything could be said, the blond soon found herself locked in a warm embrace with the hero of Hyrule.

Such a display of emotion. If anyone had told her that she'd be doing something like this a few years ago, she would have laughed in their face. Yet, look at her now. The way her arms were wrapped around his neck. The way her face was buried into his shoulder. One would think she actually enjoyed it herself.

Well, she did. More than anyone could fathom.

After a minute or so, the couple finally broke away from each other. Link gave the Chozo a smile as wide as the bridge he was standing on, but it quickly faded when he saw that Samus did not return his smile with one of her own. She turned her back to him in order to avoid his gaze and give him a subtle hint.

For a few seconds, the elf's blue eyes stared questionably at his wife. He couldn't put his finger on it, but something was out of place. It wasn't her Federation uniform, though Link thought it was something quite formal. Yet, he thought a lot of clothing was formal nowadays. Casual wear for him was his old farmer's outfit. He had been told that he was an old back-country hick at times, and half-heartily he'd agreed with them.

Then, it finally struck him. He could not find the long, blond snake that was his wife's ponytail. At first, he thought she was simply hiding it, but his inner sense came back to tell him that was downright impossible. He should know after all. Almost every night, Samus took her hair down to give it a thorough brushing. On occasion she'd sleep with it down, too. Though it came all the way down to her upper back, it never became a bother for the couple. Whenever they held each other close through the night, her hair's silk softness would brush against his body, and pineapple scent would run through his nose. It had become so rudimentary that he adjusted quite fondly to it.

So hiding it was out of the question. Link glanced at his wife's new hairdo and came to a new, yet hurtful, realization. She had gotten herself a haircut. Samus had her hair redone to a short, shaggy hairstyle. It had somewhat of an unkempt look about itself, but it still held a certain charm. For certain, not too many people could have gotten away with it, but it looked perfectly natural on Samus.

Yet, when Samus turned around, she was greeted with a mixed expression on her husband's face. Though he bore a smile, the confused look in his eyes told the story.

It was kind of a 'It looks nice, but why?' sort of expression.

Samus gave the Hylian an exasperated look. If shooting husbands with missiles were legal on this planet, she would have fired enough in his direction to level the entire land. Link felt the heat coming from the woman's building rage and started to sweat slightly. He hastily threw his hands up defensively and chuckled slightly. He then reached into his supply belt and pulled out a small blue ribbon. His wife's royal blue eyes softened considerably at the sight of the strip of fabric.

It turned out he bought her a new ribbon to replace her old red one, but because of her shortened hairstyle, it was no longer necessary. She couldn't even use it for her hair now if she wanted to. Before she could further think about the issue, Link gently took a hold of the woman's hand and slid the ribbon over her wrist. Right afterward, he placed his lips on top of her own. As time went on around the world, it stood completely still for Samus. She leaned into the kiss, wrapping her slender arms around the elf's neck. Link ran his fingers across the back of the blond's smooth neck, earning him a few moans for his actions.

Unfortunately, the moment could not last forever. Samus and Link had to end the act of love so they could regain their oxygen. However, Samus stayed in the elf's arms, rested her head against his, and sighed blissfully.

Link smiled as he continued to slide his fingers across the back of his wife's neck. However, the woman shivered slightly before she made a sound that startled the Hero of Twilight. It seemed forced, but his wife let out a small chuckle. That was odd. Samus was never the kind to laugh outright. Link had a small sense to what caused this strange phenomenon, so he continued to run his fingers across the back of his wife's newly exposed neck.

Though stifled, just as the elf thought, Samus chuckled for a second time. Link couldn't help but smile at a small realization.

Samus Aran, the universe's most feared bounty hunter, was ticklish.

The thought was absurd, but based off his strange life experiences, Link had more than enough room to believe in the impossible. As he continued to play with his wife's anointed Achilles heel, earning him a few chuckles in the process, Link suddenly felt his smile grow even wider.

He could get used to his wife's new shear...

--

That'll do it. Once again, I'd like to thank Heather for being the best proofreader in the world. Remember, reviews and constructive criticism are always welcomed. Thanks for reading.