Peach paced back and forth, a finger up to her chin. The others looked on from the couch as she took three steps forward, turned around, and repeat. She'd been like this for about an hour, without saying anything, and seemed to have no plans of stopping any time soon. Good thing Zelda and Sheik had already left to go to Hyrule, otherwise their plan might be ruined. What plan? They didn't know either, but there was going to be one, as soon as Peach stopped walking around aimlessly. 

Finally, she stopped on her second step, earning the attention from the rest of the house at the sudden breaking of her pattern. Then, with eyes wide and full of determination, she said, "Strawberry shortcake!" 

"Zelda doesn't like a lot of whipped cream in her cake," Marth noted. "Or stuff that's too sweet, for that matter."

"Goddamnit, I forgot," Peach groaned. "I'm assuming Sheik doesn't like sweet stuff in general either."

"Actually, he's got quite the sweet tooth," Link said.

"...Really?"

"Doesn't look like it, right? For him, the sweeter, the better. Also, he hates tangy stuff."

"So that rules out cheesecake, too. Ugh, are those two really just the polar opposites of each other? They're twins, shouldn't they be like practically the same person?!"

"That's a very harmful stereotype, Peach," Palutena shook her head with disappointment, which made Peach roll her eyes. "Still... it is wild to think that those two came out of the same womb, at almost the same time, yet they have nothing in common."

"Other than the untreated anger issues," Roy pointed out.

"True, so, what do we do?" Palutena asked.

"We could make two cakes," Lucina suggested.

"That's a waste of supplies though..."

"This house is full of rich people, myself included, I think we can afford enough ingredients for two cakes."

"True, true, so, a cheesecake for Zelda and a strawberry shortcake for Sheik?"

"Um, guys, not to ruin the fun or anything," Samus interrupted, drawing everyone's attention to her, "But, don't you think they'll serve cakes at the castle, you know, where the party is being held? Where there's probably a shit ton of chefs that have probably already made the cake, or cakes?"

The others stayed silent. "Oh," Peach said. "I forgot, again." Zelda and Sheik's birthday was tomorrow, and they had been planning on giving them a group gift by working on a cake together, but they had completely ignored the fact that they were literal royalty with a huge party being thrown for them and with several chefs at their command. Perhaps this was for the better, though, with how complicated those two are, there was little this group of idiots could do to satisfy them both. Still, not giving them anything just felt...wrong.

"Maybe we could give them some hair accessories, both of them do treasure their hair a lot," Yuri suggested.

"I have a feeling that they already have every accessory known to mankind," Marth said. "How about some weapons?"

"Sheik might like that, Zelda... not so much. She's a nerd," Link said.

"Hey! But... you're also not completely wrong," Ike hummed. "You guys could get her a couple history books. I, on the other hand, already have a present planned for her, I just need to get something for Sheik."

"Let me guess, you're gonna propose?" Samus smirked, her voice oozing with sarcasm. Ike didn't respond. Her smirk dropped and her body tensed up. "Wait... seriously?"

"I wonder if he would like a dagger," Ike said.

"Don't ignore me!"

"I feel like giving someone a dagger as a birthday present would be more of a threat than a nice thing to do for a friend," Claude said.

"I've given someone a dagger before and it wasn't a threat," Dimitri argued.

"That's 'cause you're weird."

"Oh." 

"He likes spicy food, we could always make him the world's spiciest meal," Roy said.

"Again, we're going to a party. In a castle," Samus reminded.

"Oh, right. Well, we could always throw a little after-party where its just them and all of us and we give 'em food there," Roy said.

"Roy," Peach said in a low voice, striking fear into the red-head's heart. Out of all the adults present in the house, she was definitely the scariest. Her sweet demeanor was nothing but that, a demeanor, a mask shielding the malice contained within her, and if someone were to make her angry, they would surely face her wrath. And unfortunately for Roy, it seemed like it was his turn to suffer. "You're a genius!"

Oh. "I am?"

Peach nodded eagerly as confidence once again surged within her. She had just gotten the most brilliant idea, one that would please the most complicated siblings in the world. "Everyone, it's time to put our chef hats on!"

***

Zelda gazed at herself in the mirror, pleasantly surprised at what she saw. She wore a white gown with gold frills and sleeves that hung loosely off her shoulders, golden jewelry decorated her and added a more regal air to her than she was used to. Her hair was tied into a thick, loose braid that rested on her shoulder and cascaded down her torso, a gold ribbon streaking downThe sapphire that usually sat in the middle of her tiara was replaced by a ruby, and the tiara itself was designed the match the one Sheik was supposed to wear. Whether he actually would was a mystery even to her, but she did know that, if he didn't, she'd kick his ass.

She sat down on her vanity and grabbed a smaller mirror and held it up to her face, just to verify that her makeup hadn't smudged anywhere. Just then, a small bit of sadness settled within her. Even though she had been sooo busy with preparations for the party that she had little time to worry about anything else, somewhere, deep down, she was expecting them to make an appearance, to cause chaos as they usually did.  Him especially, that damned prick, how dare he have not shown up yet even with all the castle security? She was sure he could've sneaked past them, asshole. But no matter, she would see him at the party, surely. 

"Zeeeeeellieeeeee!"  Suddenly, the doors to her room slammed open and, despite her surprise, warmth filled her heart upon seeing all the girls pour in one after another, each bearing a wide grin on their face. Peach gasped once she got a good look at her, smiling, "Zellie! You look gorgeous!"

"Why thank you, I put quite a bit of effort into this outfit," Zelda laughed.

Samus wordlessly approached her, the grin that was previously on her face gone. Zelda looked at her with a mix of confusion and worry, then surprise when she suddenly got down on her knees and grabbed Zelda's hand.

"Zelda," she said quietly, her eyes sparkling as she said, "Please marry me!"

Silence.

"...Huh?"

"Samus, you idiot!" Palutena yelled as she dragged Samus away from Zelda, much to the blonde's disappointment and the brunettes confusion. "We agreed that we'd each take a turn to ask her after she broke up with Ike!"

"Ohhh right, I forgot."

"And that I'd get to be first."

"Wha- no, you fat liar, I go first!"

"Looks like you need to get your memory checked out, Sammie."

And off they went, arguing back and forth with each other while making no real progress, Zelda couldn't help but smile. Oh how she loved their little fights, ridiculous as they were. She noticed Lucina sneaking past them and towards her, holding a small, purple box out to her, "Happy birthday, Zel!"

"Thank you, Luci," Zelda smiled as she gratefully took the box from her hands. She opened it, revealing a bracelet made out of small sapphires stones encased in circlets of gold. Zelda couldn't help but gasp and immediately took it out of the box and put it on, lightly waving her wrist to hear the quiet sound of the stones hitting each other. "Oh this is beautiful, thank you! It even matches with my clothes."

"I'm glad you like it! Actually, I got Sheik a matching one, but with rubies instead of sapphires," Lucina said, though Zelda could hear the slight nervousness in her voice. "I'm not sure if he'll like it, though."

"You don't know if I'll like what?"

Everyone (except for Zelda) yelped as Sheik appeared behind Peach out of seemingly nowhere. They still hadn't become used to how quiet he was, but to Zelda, who had spent her whole life with him, this wasn't much of a surprise. She was, however, surprised to see that not only did he wear the matching suit to her dress, but he also wore the tiara she had prepared, too. He had spared himself of an ass-kicking, good for him. 

Lucina quickly regained her composure and cleared her throat as she reached into the pocket of her dress, taking out a small, red box from it. She walked up to Sheik, who looked completely unamused, and held it up to him, which made him raise his eyebrows ever so slightly. "A present! For you! Um, happy birthday!"

He looked back and forth between her and the box, growing more confused by the second. He hesitantly took it from her and opened it, revealing the ruby bracelet. He blinked. "Oh."

"...Oh?" Lucina repeated. He smile faltered a little, and Sheik noticed the slight guilt on her face, which started to make him feel guilty, too. "Do... do you not like it?"

"W-well, I don't not like it."

"So you do like it?"

"Uh..."

"Sheik, a simple thank you would be enough," Zelda reminded her annoyingly dense brother. 

"R-right. Thank you, Lucina, I really appreciate this."

Lucina's smile returned to its former brightness, and as she took a deep breath, she wrapped her arms around the other girls and started herding them towards the door. "I'm glad to hear that, now then, we should probably get going, we'll see you guys at the ballroom!"

"Awww but I wanted to look at the pretty woman more," Samus groaned.

"I suppose we'll get a chance... another day," Peach sighed.

"Reference."

They left chattering amongst themselves, probably about who was going to ask Zelda to dance first. Sheik closed the door behind them then walked up to Zelda, about to put his bracelet on the table in front of her, when she said, "Put it on."

"..."

"Now."

"Why are you ordering me around?! I'm the older one, I'll have you know."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, big brother."

"Gross."

"Put it on!"

"Okay!"

He huffed and undid the clasp, wrapping the bracelet around his wrist. And then, after struggling to put the clasp in again for about two minutes, Zelda grabbed his hand and did it for him. "You're so incompetent."

"Shut up. Anyway, we better get going, or we'll be late."

"You just wanna go now so you can show your face then dip as soon as possible, don't you?"

"...No."

"Suuuure. Still, you're right, we don't wanna be late," Zelda smiled. She stood up, brushing away any wrinkles on her dress with her hands, then held out a hand to Sheik. "Shall we go?"

Sheik sighed and grabbed her hand, wrapping it around his arm and leading her to the door. "Hyrule siblings, awayyyy..."

"...Hyrule siblings?"

"Patronize me."

***

Their entrance was grand and glorious, as was expected for the royal family. The two made their way to their thrones, Zelda gave a quick speech thanking everyone for attending and that she wished they'd have a good time, and after she sat on her throne, the part had officially began. Sheik, for one, was bored out of his mind. He had never been much of a party person, much less grand ones like these. There were too many people, the music was loud, and it was hot, and he could barely stand heat. He had made a deal with Zelda to stay for at least an hour, so he just had to hold out for a little bit longer and then he could finally leave. Still, he'd be lying if he said there wasn't one thing he wanted to do...

"You want to dance with Link and Yuri, don't you?"

He nearly jumped out of his seat as his head snapped towards his sister, who was still looking down at the crowd. A mix of disgust and embarrassment filled his face. "What?! Hell no, why would I want to dance with Link?!"

"You didn't deny wanting to dance with Yuri, though," she smirked.

"Ugh," he groaned, sinking into his throne. "What about you? How come you haven't asked Ike to dance with you?"

"Because he, as the gentleman, is supposed to ask me first."  

"Didn't know you cared about such old-fashioned rules."

"I don't, but it's my birthday and I get to do whatever I want!"

"Fair. It is a little surprising that he hasn't come to ask you, though." He took a peek at his sister, a cold shiver running down his spine upon seeing her dark expression. She was still smiling, but he knew that almost murderous-aura of hers better than anyone.

"Mm, yes, it is strange, isn't it." Her eyes were focused on the blue-haired fool, who seemed to be having the time of his life chatting with the others. Oh she was so mad, boiling with anger even, but she had more important matters to attend to. She turned her head to look at her brother, the murderous aura gone, and said, "Why don't you go dance with them and then you can go."

"As in, I don't have to wait an hour?"

"As in you don't have to wait an hour."

A tempting offer indeed, but there was no way he'd do that. Way too embarrassing. "I'll pass."

"Too bad, I'm forcing you."

"What?"

Suddenly, a gust of wind pushed Sheik out of his seat and down towards the dance floor. He tried his best not to trip over the stairs, but the further down he went, the less control of his feet he had, somehow. Thankfully for him, Yuri and Link were nearby, talking to each other in fact, and they just so happened to notice a falling prince practically rolling right towards them. Sheik closed his eyes and braced for impact with one of them, or, more ideally, the floor. 

He felt a pair of arms wrap around him, finally halting him and allowing him to regain his balance, but the prince wouldn't even dare to open his eyes. He was already embarrassed enough, if he was the one who caught him, he might just die. 

"Sheik..."

His eyes snapped open upon hearing the irritating, annoying voice of his not-friend. He looked up at him, at his damn wink that made Sheik want to rip his eyeballs out.

"Did you just fall for me?" Link smirked, slightly biting his lip.

"Smooth," Yuri chuckled as he crossed his arms. "Shall I give you two a little room?"

"Yes."

"No! And get the hell off of me," Sheik groaned, pushing Link away.

"You're the one that fell on me! Or rather, for me-"

"Say another word and I'll carve your heart out."

"..."

Zelda gleefully watched her brother embarrass himself, and took even more joy in knowing that she was part of the cause. Now that that was done and over with, she could finally focus on the other pressing issue at hand: her stupid boyfriend. She scanned over the crowd in search of him, so that she could glare at him some more, but was perplexed to find that he was nowhere in sight. Strange. Maybe he went to the bathroom? But all the others were still around, if he had gone there one of them would've surely accompanied him.

She stood up, figuring that perhaps she didn't spot because she was sitting (despite the fact that the thrones were above the dance floor), and yet there was still no sign of him. That is, until someone grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her away to behind the throne, out of sight from the crowd. She yelped as a hand snaked around her back, which was left open by her dress, but she wasn't alarmed. She could recognize his touch in an instant, and while her heart was soaring with excitement, she couldn't just let him off easy. 

"Hey there, Princess," her stupid man said. 

She crossed her arms and looked away from him, making him smile. "Oh, Ike, I didn't realize you had come. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Well, I felt a certain someone staring at me quite intently, specifically, as if they wanted to murder me," Ike said, that irritatingly hot smile still on his face.

"Is that so? I wonder why they'd do that," Zelda pouted, trying her best not to break her act, despite how much she wanted to kiss him at that very moment.

"Right? If only they had known that I had to discuss a little surprise I have in store for them and their sibling with the others," Ike sighed and shook his head with fake disappointment. 

All of Zelda's anger was gone in an instant, replaced instead by curiosity and excitement. "A surprise?! What surprise? Tell me, tell me!"

Ike couldn't help but chuckle at her sudden shift in expression. This is what he loved about her, every moment he spent with her was so exciting even if they were doing the most casual, laid-back things, all of that was fun because she was there by his side, there to always brighten up his day. And he couldn't ask for anything more. He kissed her cheek and took her hands into his own, whispering, "It wouldn't be much of a surprise if I told you about it, would it?"

"But I'm curious," Zelda pouted, following his loving gaze which was directed right at her.

"How about this, then? We dance together for a little bit, and then I'll show what the surprise is."

"Hm, you make a good bargain, but I'm gonna need a little more."

"Anything you want."

"How about... a kiss or tw-" She couldn't even finish her sentence when his lips were softly pressed against hers, and goodness did she melt immediately. 

He moved away frustratingly quickly, though, that smile from earlier turned into a slight smirk. "There'll be more of that later, for now," he lifted her left hand up to his face, placing a gentle kiss upon it, "May I have this dance, My Princess?"

She couldn't even pretend to be mad this time, so she gave in to her happiness and said, "It would be an honor." 

He smiled as he guided her to the dance floor, emerging from behind the throne and walking down the staircase to it. The crowd even separated as they made their way to the middle of the room, giving them more than enough space to enjoy themselves without having to worry about bumping into others. A sweet waltz began to play as Ike put a hand on Zelda's waist, while she put one of hers on his shoulder, then held the other's hand with the one they had left. 

Zelda was having the time of her life dancing with him, mostly because of how often he messed up. He was trying desperately hard not to step on her toes, but despite his best attempts, he did crush them at least five times. Seeing him so embarrassed while trying to keep his cool was absolutely adorable, and she so adored how hard he kept trying for her despite being a total disaster. After he stepped on her toes again and went through yet another small bout of depression, she gave him a kiss on the cheek and a wide smile to reassure him it was alright, and  goodness was that more than enough to energize him. He picked her up by the waist, spinning her around in the air while she laughed and held onto his shoulders. As he lowered her, he snuck in a quick peck on the lips before they resumed their dancing.

Meanwhile, Samus was about to bite her nail off. "Goddammit, why do they have to be so in love?"

"Samus I think it's about time you start giving up on the idea you're gonna marry Zellie," Peach said. 

"She deserves better than him!"

"True as that may be, we, sadly, cannot stop their love."

"I hate straight people."

"They're bi though-"

"Guys!" Marth snuck up from behind them, putting a hand on each of their shoulders, "Everything's ready, we just need to take them!"

"But Zellie and Ike are in the middle of a waltz right now," Peach said.

"I know this song, it's gonna end soon. I'll try and alert Ike to bring Zelda to the garden, you two go tell Link and Yuri to get Sheik there too," Marth said."

"Yes, sir!" Peach and Samus then sneaked past Marth and made their way towards Link and Yuri, the prince, meanwhile, tried to think of how the hell he was supposed to let Ike know without Zelda finding out. Actually no, that part was simple, the hard part was how he was supposed to do it without looking like a lunatic to the rest of the crowd. He could grab someone and dance his way over to them then tap Ike on the back or something, but then he'd look even more insane because those two were the only ones dancing in the middle of the room. Well, he had no other options, he supposed. He made his way to the very front of the crowd and then, while Zelda's back was turned to him and Ike was facing him, waved his arms around in the air, hoping, praying that Ike would tear his eyes away from Zelda for even a moment and look at him.

And thankfully, there was no way Ike could miss a blue-haired prince jumping up and down and spinning his arms around in circles no matter how much he tried to ignore it. He glanced at Marth, smiled, then looked back at Zelda. She noticed this, which made her raise a brow. "Is something wrong?" She asked.

"Marth looks like an idiot," Ike said, letting her hand go for a moment to point at him. Zelda looked behind her, spotted him as he froze up the moment she turned around, and laughed. 

"What is he doing, exactly?" She asked.

"Who knows. Maybe it's a dance from Archanea?"

"Hm, maybe I'll have to ask him to teach it to me, then," she smiled. Oh gods she was so beautiful. Unfortunately, her smiled wavered as she began to pay more attention to her surroundings. "The song's about to end..."

"Happy because your toes won't have to go through anymore torture?" Ike teased.

"Oh please, you know that's not true," Zelda said. "I love dancing with you, Ike, even if it means that my toes may or may not fall off, I'd still want to dance with you!"

His smile grew wider and his cheeks had a reddish tint to them. Oh his poor heart, it can't take anymore. As the song's final note played, he slowly dipped her, gazing into her eyes with the most amount of pure love and adoration he's felt for anyone. She was truly the one for him, every day that passed he loved her more and more, and it would never stop growing. He leaned lower down, whispering in her ear, "Happy birthday, Zelda. I love you so much more than you could possibly imagine."

"And I love you even more." Her hand softly caressed his cheek, her smile radiant, then she pulled him in for a kiss, and he returned it without an ounce of hesitation. The crowd around them cheered as they parted and Ike helped her stand up straight again, still staring longingly into the other's eyes. 

He took her hand and gently wrapped it around his arm, and said, "Now, it's time to take you to your surprise."

Zelda gasped, a new spark in her eyes lit up. "Really?! I was starting to think you forgot about it."

"I'm offended that you'd think I forget thinks so easily," he said jokingly, ignoring the fact that he did almost forget about it. 

"My most sincere apologies, sir," she said, her voice oozing with sarcasm. "So, what's the surprise?"

"You'll know once we get to the garden."

"The garden? I don't remember giving anyone permission to use the garden tonight."

"Impa."

"Ah."

They swiftly left the ballroom and made their way down to the garden. On their way there, Zelda noticed how empty and dark the hallways were, which was unusual since they would normally have a torch lighting them up at least. She supposed this was Impa's way of making sure people knew not to pass through that area, and that only made her more giddy to find out just what exactly Ike and the others had planned.

"Zelda?"

She snapped out of daze upon hearing her name, and as she looked up to the one who called her, she found her brother (accompanied by his two future husbands) coming from the opposite direction. She blinked. "Sheik? What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," he responded.

"You didn't think that this was a surprise just for you, did you?" Ike smirked.

"O-of course not," Zelda said. Lie.

"What about you, Your Highness?" Link asked.

"...No," Sheik answered. Lie.

"Well, we're here," Yuri said as he opened the door that led to the garden. He turned to face Sheik and winked, making the prince blush. "Don't wanna build up more suspense, do we?"

Link and Ike nodded while Sheik and Zelda stared at each other, completely confused. They made their way to the gazebo, a small wooden building that could barely fit how many of their friends were in there and could barely handle how much they were moving around. The closer they got to it, the more concerned the siblings grew, especially when their respective partners left their side and rushed towards the others. They looked at each other, then back at the gazebo, then back at each other. This surely wasn't going to end well.

"Peach, aren't those too many candles on a single cake?"

"Not my fault they're old."

"Could've just bought two two candles and put them on."

"That's less fun, though."

"Fair enough."

"Guys, they're here!"

"Shit- I haven't lit all of them yet."

"Have you considered using magic?"

"Oh. Palutena!"

"Yeah, yeah, I got it."

The group continued to argue slightly amongst themselves as quietly as they could, though that made no difference to Zelda and Sheik's ability to hear them loud and clear. They all began to slowly turn around, with Peach at the center of the group and clearly carrying something, and then, all together, they fully turned around and shouted, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" Roy and Shulk ran up to the pair and stood beside them, pulling on party poppers and covering them in confetti, while Pit flew up into the air and released a bag of balloons right over them. Zelda laughed as she played with the balloons, smacking several of them to Sheik's face, while he remained unamused as always, although, if they looked real closely, the corners of his mouth were tilted ever so slightly up.

"Thank you guys, this is wonderful!" Zelda said, still smacking balloons at Sheik.

"Gonna be a pain in the ass to clean-up later," Sheik said, avoiding them.

"Can you not."

"Sorry."

"That's not all!" Peach grinned as she walked up to them. In her hands  was a white cake with a pink tint to it, whipped cream swirls encircling it, and with candles that were either on the verge of falling down, unlit, or almost fully melted. "Ta-da! A strawberry shortcake cheesecake made by all of us! And it only took us ten tries!"

"...isn't that just strawberry cheesecake?" Sheik asked.

"Hah, you, a non-baking expert, would of course say that," Peach said all matter-of-factly, "You see, the crust here is made out of crumbs made out of the cake-part of strawberry shortcake, while the batter itself tastes like usual cheesecake but has strawberry chunks in it, as for the whipped cream, each slice will have its own, small amount to add the perfect amount of sweetness without making it too sweet." Sheik and Zelda understood absolutely nothing about what she just said, but she looked passionate about it so they took her word for it and hoped they would like it, not that it mattered since they would at least pretend to either way. "Aaand now! For our final step before we get to eat it: the placebo effect!" 

The siblings tilted their heads. "Huh?"

"This cake was designed in order to appeal to your own individual tastes, and to make it all work, you both need to believe it caters specifically to you," Peach said as she walked up to Sheik, standing on her tippy toes so she could reach his ear.

"I don't think the placebo effect works when you know you're being, uh, placebo effect-ed," Sheik said as he leaned down slightly.

"Shut up."

"Okay."

Peach whispered, "It's sweet," into his ear, then she walked up to Zelda, who also leaned down, and whispered, "It's not sweet," to her. Then, she made her way back to the gazebo's table, cut two slices of cake and put them on two small plates, then she grabbed a fork for each of them and went back and handed the plates to them. "Now then, enjoy!"

"Why thank you," Zelda said. The two grabbed a bit that would include both the batter and the crust, and, upon seeing the expectant eyes of their friends, they took one glance at each other and bit into it without hesitation. As they took their respective bites, something short-circuited in their brains.

"It's sweet!" Sheik gasped.

"It's not sweet!" Zelda said at the same time. Their heads snapped towards each other, disgust and disbelief as to what the other just said written all over their faces. "What the hell is wrong with your tastebuds?!"

"I should be asking you that, it's obviously sweet and delicious," Sheik said as he took another bite.

"I'll agree its delicious but sweet?! If anything its closer to sour!"

"Looks like being princess is starting to make you lose your mind, dear Zelda. It's sweet."

"You asshole-!"

They continued arguing back and forth with each other, almost to the point of escalating into a physical fight. Still, seeing this made the other's quite happy, after all, their plan had worked; even if it did permanently damage the relationship between the two siblings, at least they all worked together to make their friends happy.