Dear reader,

Thanks for clicking on. This is a one-shot or rather an attempt. I don't write one-shots that often. So please tell how it turned out.

There will be no romantic moments. Not many interactions between Pit and Samus. If you want kissing moments you will be so utterly disappointed. Because, there is none. I think if I include it here, it will sound inappropriate. So what will there be? Uh, it is not that long/extremely long, well it depends on your taste. But I'm sure it won't take (or waste) much of your time.

He had the body of a handsome 22-year-old man. She was an 11-year-old girl. Yup, you are reading correctly. No typo's with the numbers.

Also mind that I have never played any of the games, except only Melee (Brawl only one time). Characters might be OOC and backgrounds info is based on thin air. There are loose references to Greek mythology. The title is based on a song from MGS where I ripped the lyrics from. Mind that it's Gaelic and honestly I don't understand a word. :D

(Hey, we're at a new year. New year, new chances, the best is yet to come.. So Happy New 2009!)

I hope you enjoy it! ^_^

Disclaimer: Nothing from Nintendo and Konami and the song from MGS, only this fic.

- The Best is Yet to Come -

He sat on the edge of an ethereal cloud, overseeing the world beneath him. His feet jiggled back and forth. Not minding whether his leather sandals coming loose from the powerful swings of the jiggling. Impatiently he moved, maybe also a bit from boredom was felt.

The Eros was pondering while watching from the azure blue sky. It was all about a question a person once asked to Pit. Someone had asked him whether he ever had been in love. The captain of Mother Palutena's centurions did not know an answer. It was embarrassing to give an immediate answer at the moment. It came too sudden and he couldn't think of a name. He only remembered his rosy cheeks turning crimson red. Which resulted to all the nymphs to giggle and squeal cheekily of seeing their handsome war general Pit's soft side. Some even stubbornly believed to have a chance of becoming his counterpart and started with stalking him continuously or claiming parts of his muscular god-like corpus.

The cherub sighed. That was then and now is different. He could not be disturbed by anyone because no one dared or had the courage of either coming close to the edge of the clouds. It was the border that kept them safe from the malicious mortals' lands and the Underworld. For the Eros it was the place he could find peace.

He thought deliberately, cracking his brains. Love is a strange thing. He, being the highest ranking officer of the whole army, had also been given the task of coordinating and manipulating love between individuals. The extra crucial oomph which is needed in juvenile blooming love, he can effortlessly supply with a finger snap. He provides the catalyst of love chemistry and explosions when matters turn wild. He also has the ability to let love disappear into thin air if he feels the urge or just when he feels like, leaving the lovers heart-broken. Therefore he is even more powerful than gods and goddesses, as both mortals and immortals fall under his clutch.

However, when dealing with his own love life, he is absolutely clueless. Don't worry too much, he was pretty good-looking. The best is yet to come.. Maybe not, Gnōthi Seauton (know yourself). Being the epitome of 'love and luster' itself, he knew not what it is like to love and desire.

At a moment he thought to see a face appear in his fuzzy mind. Materializing into a shape he saw a female. For Holy Palutena's Goodness.. The image of the beautiful and sweet lady was no one other than Mother Palutena herself. No, this could not be right! He loved her as she had been caring him like a genuine mother. She had raised her to be a fine and courteous man, once his biological parents Mother Penia and Father Poros laid him as a foundling. He shoved the image of her kind face out of his head. Pit did not want to end up like many tragic men before him, struggling for an escape from a labyrinth called the Oedipus complex.

He decided to give up and stood up from the fluffy snow-white cloud. His back itched for the too long exposure to the sun's heat. Hyperion had been playing tricks with him again, he muttered. The cherub spread his virgin pure, immaculate wings, ready to take off. Suddenly one of the feathers was separated from the angel wing. Must be the sun god's mischievous pranks again. (The god who once melted the waxen wings of an unfortunate soul called Icarus.) He watched his feather slowly falling down into the depths, carried off waltzing with the wind. It always had wondered him where it might end up. Pit returned to his sitting spot and followed its movement with his watchful cobalt blue eyes.

Under the crimson sun's torturing heat she trained. Whereas other human girls sit inside and go to school or play with best friends, she trained whole day long. All kinds of training because she knew she was far too weak. Condition training, ranging as a hunter, melee combat skills, and meditating when she had the time. No moment the little blond girl hesitated to sit down and relax once for a while. She was told by the Chozo that she has to fight to be strong. Otherwise she will stay weak and frail. The girl heeded the words and Samus Aran decided to be a powerful Chozo warrior.

The sun was setting down and hanging at its lowest peak, providing the hottest rays on the land. She wiped her forehead which was covered with sweat completely along with parts of her whole body. Her panting became erratic, but stopping was not in her dictionary. Like a machine supplied from infinite fuel, all it could do was keep running till a screw come loose.

She focused her sight to the reddish orange sky. A tiny little object fell down out of nowhere. Whatever the object, the only thing she had in mind is practice her melee combat, while targeting the falling thing. The premature huntress leapt high up the sky, preparing for a quick slash, until she suddenly stopped halfway. The unfinished stroke led to a rather imperfect aerial finisher. With reduced time to prepare for a landing, it caused her to land ugly on her knees. It had hurt but it was not finished yet! In split view she saw the pale feather sinking down. With great endeavour she made a final leap to catch the feather in her hands, while bruising herself even more.

Slowly she opened her hands which she held in a bowl shape. There, the delicate pure feather lay resting between her dirtied hands. A feel of happiness rose inside her body. She exclaimed joyfully and did a small victory pose. Fortunately the Chozo weren't watching her, otherwise they would be calling the human girl immature, unprofessional, and inappropriate.

The feather was held high up in the sky. Samus had never seen such a beautiful and soft quill before in her life. Immediately she gazed curiously high up in the sky, searching for the owner of the feather. It did not belong to a Chozo because she had never seen one with white-coloured feathers. They had all kind of tropical colours from the rainbow but none was as pure as snow. Actually she never really remembered seeing snow, they were from all stories from her past. Peaceful memories Samus had forgotten long ago.

She shuddered. In the attempt of catching the quill, she had spoilt it with brownish mud and drops of her own blood. The white was not so pure anymore, she thought a bit disappointed, after seeing the scarlet speckled feather. She tried to wash it clean at a nearby river, to no avail.

Nevertheless she held it very closely to her chest. The Chozo weren't there, they were too busy working. The blonde opened her voice and attempted to remember the melody of a song someone used to sing to her long time ago when she was alone.

An cuimhin leat an grá
Crá croí an ghrá
Níl anois ach ceol na h-oíche
Táim sioraí i ngrá
Leannáin le smál
Leannáin le smál
Lig leis agus beidh leat
Lig leis agus beidh grá

Vigilantly the mature cherubim had been following the whole scene. It grieved him to see what pain his feather can cause to people. What should be an innocent feather, which had been part of him, caused a young girl to stumble down and hurt herself. He felt a strong urge to help her up. Yet there was a bounding force preventing him to do so. Palutena benevolent wise words once warned him never to interact with mortal beings. And not without any reasoning behind. Mortals are foul, greedy, feral and impure. Particularly he should never fall in love with human maidens. Half-gods born from mortal maidens ended up in lives filled with tragedy. And everlasting love was impossible as one would perish sooner, leaving the other heart-broken.

Pit departed from the cloud. He could not watch the wounded and bloodied little girl any longer, while doing nothing. He heard a girl voice singing in the world beneath him. The words he did not comprehend. However to capture the soft melody better he had to descend himself beyond the boundaries.

Cuimhne leat an t-am
Nuair a bhí tú sásta
An cuimhne leat an t-am
Nuair a bhí tú ag gáire

Tá an saol iontach
Má chreideann tú ann
Tug aghaidi ar an saol is sonas sioraí inár measc

As Samus continued, more words came back to her. It was a foreign language to her, yet it was so familiar. Burdened in her memories she would always recall the song when she felt lonely. Not that she understood or cared much what loneliness meant. In fact she kept practicing the song when no one watched her. She did not want to forget the precious lullaby that person left her. It was not that Chozo prohibited her from singing, they just appreciated so little things and despised anything unpractical or which had to do with leisure. Leisure is a distraction of the perfect mind, which misguide the individual of forgetting the crucial primary necessities.

Indeed they were right, she was weak. She watched her own body, frail, filthily bloodied and covered with violet bruises. She didn't even have wings. She could not even fly or levitate at all. The little girl did not want to acknowledge too much of her weakness. She encouraged herself with positive thoughts the Chozo taught. She was growing. Only if she trained, Samus Aran would become a mighty Chozo warrior like others or even a brave hero somewhere in the future. Like the way the vague, unknown female-like voice in her head told her, the best is yet to come.

Pit followed the girl's quiet voice until they became a clear melody. Her voice was not perfect or close to the sound of silver bells. He admit he had heard far better singers and music performers on Mt. Olympus, like orchestral satyrs and sirens, but powerful emotions and feelings were provoked from the tune. Enchanted by the tune's power he felt himself carried away. Sorrow and lament the Eros felt. As if he finally had knowledge of what he lacked. And that he realised from just watching a plain young mortal female singing.

Céard a tharla do na laethanta sin
Céard a tharla do na h-oícheanta sin
An cuimhin leat an t-am
Nuair a bhí tú faol bhrón

An cuimhin leat an t-am
Go sioraí sileadh na ndeor an ormsa nó orainne a bhí an locht

From closer view he could see her much clearer. Golden flocks of her hair were tied in a ponytail by sturdy strands of grass. Even though they were greasy and wet from sweat, they looked kind of sweet around her face. Her attire was simple. Green flaxen clothes that had a plain green colour blended the young huntress perfectly camouflaged in the floral scene. She was almost as pretty as Lady Artemis, the goddess of hunt. It was a pity that these true beauties have the habits of hiding from the eye.

He caught glances of parts from her skinny posture, which are revealed by battle-torn parts of the clothing. Her skin was not tanned. Even though she trained under the sun, it remained light in colour. Pit could never understand why humans and his gods consider rather plump ladies as the female aesthetics of perfection. She, who did not have yet developed female features, was much more of a jewel to behold. For him, the girl was a raw diamond, who needed time and care to be crafted and develop to be even more glorious.

The way she fought proved her to have the steel discipline of a Spartan. He hoped her to claim victories for battles. She did have the Eros (desire) for success and victory like Lady Nike. For what reason she fought, let her be guided by Lady Athena's righteousness and not blinded by Sir Ares' destruction and bloodlust. Pit finally found out what his own personal desire is. The way Mother Palutena watched over him, he wanted to do the same. To protect and take care of the human girl.

Ag mothú caiite s'ar fán
Cén fáth an t-achrann is sileadh na ndeor
Tá áilleacht sa saol
Má chuardaíonn tú e
Tá gliondar sa saol
Cuardaimís e

Suddenly he heard her no more. She stopped singing. Pit did not realise until he sensed that the air lacked a gentle touch. He stared down at the girl and was shocked to see her mint coloured eyes staring back deep into his.

Samus did not know what she saw above her. A creature stood hovered motionlessly in the sky in front of the vermillion star called sun. She couldn't identify from the silhouette what kind of creature it was. The sun at the background was far too bright, which harmed her eyes when staring for too long. The blond girl had never seen it before. Her basic instincts told her that if she had her laser zapper with her, she at least could shoot down the Unidentified Floating Object. However she did not, and awaited the creature to approach. When it approached closer her side she saw it in perfect detail. Her mouth opened slightly from amazement. No, she thought. Emotions mislead us, rational thinkers do not need vague meaningless substances without essence as emotions. That was what her foster daddy told her. Yet, he was the prettiest thing Samus ever saw in her life. He had two feathered wings, while his body had no feathers. He was like her, he did not look anything like a Chozo. His skin was exposed, he had brown chestnut hair on his head, and he was tall. He wore clothing so exquisite, she could never secretly dream of. They were silky white robes that covered his body loosely. Golden ornaments glittered radiantly from the sun's illuminating light.

The girl looked back at her own wearing when seeing his clothes. They were leaf green and fully covered with holes. She felt strange when the mysterious man looked at her clothing. She remembered her foster daddy telling her never to show her naked body during the presence of creatures other than Chozo, as they meant nefarious harm. She was not exactly naked, but her attire covered very little of her body parts. The blonde never understood what was meant with other creatures until she saw Pit for the first time.

---

Pit saw her backing off coyly and making herself small. The girl covered her flat-chest with her thin arms. There was no emotion in her face but he sensed her fear. He sighed. The cherub understood her fears. He was probably a stranger for her. And disgraceful wanton gods as Zeus foolishly think they can claim everything they want, including innocence and virginity of young women. If that deprived Zeus even want to lay a finger on her… Pit would never allow that as he promised himself to watch over the girl. The actions of that pervert frightened the young man already.

"Hey, don't be afraid of me, okay? Call me Pit. What is your name?" He questioned in a friendly tone. She did not answer. It seemed that the girl did not understand the language he spoke. To his chagrin, he never learned her name.

Do you remember the time
when little things made you happy?
Do you remember the time
when simple things made you smile
Life can be wonderful
if you let it be
Life can be simple
if you try

She could not take her eyes off from that certain part of him. Most beautiful of all was of course his elegant wings. He had perfect feathered wings. He could fly anywhere he wanted to. His wings are graceful pure-white. She thought of that one quill. The pure quill she aimed to caught and which she did not let it go for one moment, once she had the grip of it. She finally discovered where it belonged from. It was his.

He saw that little things could make people so happy. Even though she hid her emotions behind her cold mint eyes and unstirred frozen lips, he could sense the joy of others. It had always been others. What would be his own joy? What could make him happy?

The strange man was her flawless idol. How much she longed to have wings she would never receive them. Somehow the existence of this wonderful man, directed her to follow her pursuits. He was strong, he had wings. Not just wings but wings with feathers in their purest form. Everyone looked must looked up to him when he flies up really high. If she could be strong too, then Samus might have wings too, like him.

---

Whatever happened to those days?
Whatever happened to those nights?
Do you remember the time
when little things made you sad?
Do you remember the time
when simple things made you cry?

Samus startled, when she turned around and saw the male creature standing right in front of her. She was not in a safe distance anymore between this mysterious being. The huntress had got his quill. The man must have come to retrieve his belonging. His feather. This must be the reason why he came all the way down here. Although it was just a simple, little feather, she did not want to hand it back. Giving it back, was to give up a precious treasure. The perfection Samus lacked. She hesitated and examined its pureness once more. It felt soft and comforting in her rough hands.

He had no intention of retrieving one feather, when he had over thousands on his wings. Pit was disappointed for the fact she saw him as a big bully, a fierce Minotaur. The seraphic war general tried to be nice and each attempt failed leading the girl to be even more afraid. Seeing her backing off, made him sad.

"Hey, you do not have to be afraid, little one. I won't hurt you. Here, see, I have loads of feathers. I do not mind of losing one." he told her smilingly. The brunette spread his right wing widely open like a fan with perfectly arranged lamellas.

After a while, she approached him, slowly sneaking. Never ever had a creature drawn this close to her. Was he not afraid of her? Was he stupid? Was he trying to provoke her? The wing was now only a few centimeters away from her. A great desire told her to touch the wings. She watched his actions carefully, with her light green eyes, like a natural hunter. Instead of plunging in with a quick thrust to attack the prey with sharpened talons, she just let her fingers slip between the snowy plumage.

---

Is it just me
or
is it just us?
Feeling lost in this world?
Why do we have to hurt each other?
Why do we have to shed tears?
Life can be beautiful
if you try
Life can be joyful
if we try

The young male observed the maiden stroking his wings. Her hands were warm and sweaty. However soon the tender stroking became violent and aggressive plucking. Pit tried to suppress his mouth from yelling out loud. This tiny girl could pack quite a lot of raw strength, he thought. He did never blame her. Her behaviour must be due the lack of muster such as love and care. The Eros knew not how they nurtured her, he did know it was not exactly the right way for a mortal child.

"Hey! Hey! Stop! I give up!" he exclaimed like a child while retreating his wing as quick as possible.

This winged man was not only just special to her, he could also perform all kind of tricks with his face. She observed the grimaces in a perceiving manner, which he made when she had grabbed a bundle of his plumes. Maybe with a bit too much force, she realised afterward. He clenched his eyes, his cheeks twisted in a strange fashion, and his mouth went askew. Chozo could never do that. They always have the same look at their face and in their eyes. It fascinated her to see his facial expressions.

"Huh? Is there something weird with my face?" the cherub asked when his azure blue eyes met her mint green eyes. He tried to read her face but she still she leaked no visible emotion. Pit patted the part of his wing which she treated rather ferocious.

"Good grief!" His fingers touched blood. He placed his wings in a pose to examine the bloodied feathers. It was not his own blood, otherwise he would already feel the bleeding pain. He immediately fixed his gaze towards her hands. Red blood streamed from untreated cuttings.

She knew where his eyes are focusing at. He was upset. His perfect white wing was spoilt by her dirty hands. Samus had destroyed his wing. It had always been like this and she so disgusted herself for it. Everything Samus Aran's hands lain would be stained with blood.

It was also the scarlet colour that reminded her from a traumatic memory. Nightmares from the past, she thought to have forgotten finally. They all rose up again. The very image of the dreadful, featherless, dark-crimson wing appeared again. She wanted to start crying out but she did not want to appear weak in front of others. Pit peered through her frozen eyes, and saw glimpses of her hidden fears.

"It doesn't matter. It really doesn't matter, dear." Pit comforted her. She might understand, or not. Nevertheless, he placed his hand softly on her cheek.

---

Tell me
I'm not alone
Tell me
We are not alone in this world
fighting against the wind
Do you remember the time
when simple things made you happy?
Do you remember the time
when little things made you laugh?

"Why won't you just tell me what troubles you so much?" the angel put on his kindest smile. The skinny blonde did not stir. Her expression stayed stoic but he knew that behind the silence, an underlying agony was concealed. How hard she attempted to hide it, the more of the insecurity he perceived.

"I know you don't understand my language and I don't understand yours. Yet I do want to understand you." spoken with true honesty, Pit wanted nothing more than to understand the girl better. So he could relieve her from her endless struggling.

"You are not alone. You are not alone anymore." Samus watched his lips twitch in unknown gestures. The way the handsome birdman treated her was far different than Chozo. They would never come very close to her unless they have to feed her or when she needs sparring training. The contact felt strange, but not bad or painful. For a second the eleven-year-old forgot all about the evil monster who always appears in her nightmares.

"You know. You are pretty." The winged man said.

"Pret-..Tee?" She could only capture the last word and tried to repeat it at her best.

"Well done, young lady!" He moved his mouth in a broad wide line. Then twitched into a kind of arch. Samus saw the man flying the different direction. Please don't go away, she wished to cry out. But he would never understand her tongue anyway. There, her perfect example would disappear. However soon after, he appeared back to her. In his hands he held a piece from a branch he severed from a nearby tree. The man bended the branch diligently into a closed circle and put the branch carefully on her golden hairs.

"I'm sorry for not giving you a real crown. You certainly deserve own, little princess." Samus followed the 'crowning ritual' through the reflection of a nearby river. She saw him placing the circular wreath on her head, which resembled his laurel wreath in great similarity. His one was of course much prettier. However with the wreath she looked slightly a bit more like him.

"Ah! The crown suits you very well. You are even prettier when you smile and laugh… Like this." The birdman put his mouth shape in a very big arch again. The girl endeavoured to imitate his facial expression. She forced her lips into an exact copy of his. First it was extremely difficult to mimic. Then it became effortless after a few times of trying and for the first time ever Samus Aran could smile naturally.

---

You know
life can be simple
You know
life is simple
Because
the best thing in life is yet to come
Because...
the best is yet to come

"Eureka! I finally know what I want. Hey, I want you to keep smiling!" Pit shouted from bliss. Life could be simply...simple. He could not believe how great his satisfaction was when she managed to smile and laugh. He did not need a perfect goddess from Mount Olympus. It is true that intricacy astonishes the soul. Yet when things are too difficult to understand, the psyche ends up with knowing one thing; that it knows nothing. Therefore intricacy is silver, but simplicity golden. In the future this simple girl would grow in a gorgeous woman. Pit was absolutely certain of it. In the future she must a strong warrior. The Eros could already imagine how pretty she would be when she grows up in a lady.

---

Pit had a souvenir from her. A gift she did not handed her intentionally. He plucked the quill from his own wing. It pained for a few seconds. Now he had a crimson feather. The feather which was completely drenched with her blood.

Samus was a bit disappointed that the handsome man had to leave. It was not only his wings that caught her attention. The brunette provided her feelings she never had before. And right at the edge she frightened to be overwhelmed with her haunting sorrow and fears, he saved her. Blowing off the sadness with a vigorous gust from beating with his glorious wings. The blonde touched her own wreath. The sharp leaves prickled her fingers. She pushed his lone plume closely to her heart, which softness tickled her palm. She desired to have wings too. Not only just wings, Samus Aran wished to be pretty and strong like him in the future. Or even stronger.

They departed from each other. He was an immortal being who belonged on Mount Olympus far beyond human reach. She was an ordinary mortal being who belonged on the transitory grounds. But none of them regretted from the departure. Pit transcended back to heaven with a dignified smile. While Samus waved him goodbyes filled with excitement. Because both knew the best is yet to come…

Thanks for reading (till the end)! ^_^ It would also be extremely nice to give some feedback if it sucked really hard in your opinion. Yikes, in fact I wonder whether it is too long. It appeared to be much longer than I expected.

Oh, why I picked the lyrics of a Gaelic/Irish (?) song? I just like the title. Don't know whether it is actually true, but the name Samus Aran sounds Irish to me.