"Dave! Dave, wake up, you sleepyhead!"

Your name is Jade Harley, and you are currently standing outside your best friend's tree house, your hands on your hips as you squint up into the midmorning sunlight. What a sleepy boy he is! It's almost noon, and still no sign of him. Day off or not, he should get out of bed at some point!

"Dave!" you call again, stooping to pick up a pebble. Hefting it for a second, you aim and then fling it upwards with your trademark accuracy, giggling and clapping your hands when it smacks into the window like you intended. "Don't make me climb all five hundred of your ladders in there, you dork! You're going to be late for lunch!"

After a moment, the window opens and Dave's messy, messy head full of tousled white hair pokes out. "What," he groans. "It is not lunchtime."

You give him your best skeptical expression. "Are you sure about that?"

He looks past you, up at the sky, and then lets out a loud moan of complaint. "No."

"Get down here!" you laugh, and he rolls his eyes and nods.

"Coming, give me five," he says, retreating into the house again. You sit down on the ground to wait, humming and idly braiding long pieces of grass together into loose plaits as you enjoy the feeling of the sunlight on your back and the slight breeze against your face. It's a lovely day and you think it couldn't get much better than this—Dave's coming over to your and Grandpa's place for lunch, and then you two will go out for a little walk, maybe wander into the woods a little, and then spend some time by the Spirit's spring. It's not too far from the village, maybe twenty or thirty minutes at a quick walking pace, but it's beautiful and feels secluded enough to be special.

The door opens and Dave steps out, sliding down the ladder and landing to offer you his hand with a flourish. You try to stifle a laugh as you give him your hand and let him pull you to your feet, and then you reach up and run your hands through his hair to try to calm it as best as you can.

"One of these days," you tell him as he crosses his arms and ducks away, "I'm going to make the investment in a hairbrush for you."

"As soon as you find one that doesn't break when you try and drag it through yours, lemme know, 'kay?" he snarks back, grinning, and then he slings an arm around your shoulders as you both start to walk to the village proper at a nice, leisurely pace.

"I'm pretty sure you could use half of my old hairbrushes just fine," you tease, ruffling his hair and laughing when he ducks his head away again. "Your hair isn't anywhere as long or thick as mine, and it isn't kinda curly either!"

"Wavy," he says, the hand on your shoulder picking up a lock of your messy dark hair and fingering it. "The word you're looking for is 'wavy'."

"Oh, fine, wavy," you acquiesce, pretending that you don't feel a little fluttery warmth inside every time his fingers stroke through your hair. You are definitely not in love with your best friend, okay? Except for maybe a little. Or maybe a lottle. Okay, a lot. You're definitely in love with your best friend, happy? "Your hair is not wavy, then. It's just... fluffy!"

"Fluffy," he repeats, giving you a deadpan expression. "Thanks, Jade. That's what every guy longs to hear. Shit, my hair's fluffy. All the ladies just love fluffy hair."

You laugh at him, casually leaning in a little closer as you both cross the first of the several bridges over the stream that runs straight through the middle of the village. "I don't know about all of them, but I think fluffy hair is nice!"

Dave considers that for a moment, and then shrugs. "Fair enough. I guess wavy hair is pretty damn cute, too." He looks at you, and then adds, "On some people."

"True," you nod. "Some people can't pull it off, I guess, so they keep it short! I think I kind of can? But it gets annoying, usually. So it's always tied up anyway!"

"Oh my fucking god," he mutters, and you blink, a little confused, before he shakes his head. "Never mind. Nothing important. Anyway, what's for breakfast? I'm a growin' boy, you know. Gotta eat."

That sure was an abrupt change of topic. You shrug to yourself and decide to go with it—if there's something actually bothering him, he'll say so eventually, especially after you both get out of the village and it's just you and the woods. "Well," you giggle, "for lunch we've got some bread and cheese and baked meats, and I also made a pumpkin pie, if you want any of that!"

"Not a bad breakfast menu," he muses, guiding you up the walk to your house, and you bump his hip, laughing.

"Jade!" your grandfather's voice booms from inside as soon as your footsteps and your voices sound on the front porch, and a moment later he's out through the door and standing there, his eyes twinkling behind his glasses as he observes you both. "I see you've managed to get young David out of bed. A stunning feat, my dear, I must heartily congratulate you!"

"Whoa now," Dave smirks slightly, and you playfully elbow him in the ribs. "This isn't even my worst record, Mayor Gramps. Didn't I sleep in until... man, I don't even know. Late?"

"Four and a half hours past noon," you remind him pointedly. "And you would've kept going if I hadn't woken you up! I kind of wish I hadn't, actually. Maybe you'd still be sleeping in now, three months later!"

"I dunno, Harls," he shrugs slightly, dropping his arm from around you. You pretend that you don't miss its warmth in the slightest, instead choosing to look at him as he stands there next to you and grin as he adds, "I think you might've missed me after a while. That's why you got me out of bed, right?"

You laugh and tap your chin as if pondering the question. "Hm... did I actually miss this dork, Grandpa?"

"How should I know?" your grizzled old gramps shrugs, amusement curving his lips into a grin. Your childhood has been full of laughter, really, and it shows around his eyes, too—the Mayor of Ordon Village can be stern, but he is kindhearted and loving and gentle. He's getting on in his years, but he has a lot of life left in him, you're sure! You aren't worried about him, not yet. "Although I sure do recall you were bored out of your little head!"

"I'm not that little!" you protest, but in vain, because he and Dave are both already laughing from their vantage points way, way above you, damn them both. You cross your arms, trying to keep yourself from succumbing to your own giggles long enough to turn your back on Dave and give Grandpa a pitiful pout—and—nope, and noooo Dave's arms are suddenly around your waist and now he's tickling you as you shriek with laughter and bat at his shoulders, twisting around in his grasp until he relents and you catch your breath, red-cheeked and giggling still.

Grandpa shakes his head and mutters something you don't quite catch—"sung love"? "young dove"?—under his breath before he turns around and walks back inside, calling over his shoulder that lunch is ready and waiting in the kitchen.

Dave looks down at the same time as you look up, and for a second you're struck by just how ... close ... you are to him... and now you're blushing even redder and you're more aware than ever of the fact that despite that he's no longer tickling you, his arms are still locked firmly around your waist. You're vaguely aware of biting your lip a little apprehensively, but then Grandpa calls out a "Well? Are you coming?" and the moment, whatever it was, is gone, and you and Dave all but spring apart as though burned.

"We're coming, we're coming!" you call back cheerfully, hoping that the color staining your cheeks is fading as you turn back to Dave with a bright smile and grab his hand, drawing him into the house.

You sit down for lunch at the round table in the kitchen, the small and informal one. It's near the window that has a lovely view of the lake, and the breeze coming in right now is lovely! Grandpa is already seated, and after he makes his plate Dave joins you too, and you dig in for a leisurely meal.

"So, Dave," Grandpa says conversationally. "Rusl tells me you'll be taking the sword to Castle Town tomorrow."

"You'll have to get up early," you tease, though you're a little sad that you can't go. You really want to go out and explore the world beyond Ordona! Especially Castle Town, you've always wanted to see Castle Town and what the people there are like. "Are you excited?"

Dave takes a bite of bread and cheese, considering the question before he answers. "Sure, I guess. I mean, I get to go see some princess and I get to wave around a sword, cool. I can just also think of other ways I'd rather spend tomorrow." He glances at you again, and Grandpa chuckles for some reason. You don't really see what's funny, so you disregard it and look at Dave incredulously.

"But you're not at all excited about getting to go off and see the rest of Hyrule?" you ask. "You get to go past Faron and up into Lanayru! I wish I could go there. I've always wondered what it's like to live in an actual big city like Castle Town..."

Dave shrugs once, then looks over at Grandpa. "Yo, Mayor Gramps, can I borrow Jade tomorrow?"

Grandpa raises a bushy eyebrow. "Well, I don't know. Jade, do you mind being borrowed for next week? If you say no, bear in mind I expect you to stay on schedule with all your lessons, understood?"

Your heart leaps to your throat and you're pretty sure your eyes are wide and shining. "Really? I can go?" you breathe, clasping your hands together under your chin in hopeful joy. This will be perfect! Not only will you be going on a trip with Dave, but also you will be going on a big trip all the way north to Castle Town and you're going to see all sorts of amazing things on your way there, you're just sure of it!

Grandpa chuckles at your enthusiasm and Dave cracks a little grin. "Yes, you may go," the Mayor says. "Keep yourself safe, and get enough rest. You'll have extra lessons when you get back, remember."

You don't even give a hoot about the lessons! "Ohmygosh!" you squeal ecstatically. "Thank you so much!" Oh, you'll have to pack and provision today, and not go too far on your walk so that you're not tired tomorrow, and—oh who cares right now! You're just super duper excited about this trip!

"Well," Dave says, "I think I just got a good bit more excited for tomorrow."

Your hand is clasped in Dave's as you walk along a fallen tree trunk, your other arm held out to balance you as you go. Above, the birds twitter merrily and the wind rustles in the treetops, this warm but not hot spring day going by in a beautiful haze. And oh boy are you still excited for tomorrow, or what! Tomorrow you're going to go wake Dave up at dawn and you're both going to ride out together and follow the northern road until you reach Lanayru Province, which is all the way past Faron—about two day's ride—and then you'll have to follow the western path, through Eldin, to go around the mountains so that you can reach Castle Town within the week and be home in two—

"Hey, look out—" Dave tries to warn you, just as you trip straight over a broken branch sticking out, wobbling and windmilling a bit comically as you try to right yourself before Dave just bodily scoops you up and sets you back on the ground next to him. Once again, he keeps holding you a good bit longer than he has to, looking down at you as though he's about to say something though you can't for the life of you imagine what, and once again you blush and drop your gaze.

"Thanks," you laugh sheepishly, looking back up at him. He blinks.

"Huh? Oh. Yeah. No prob, it's what I do, right? Keep you safe?"

You laugh at that and nod. "Yup, that's you, my knight in shining armor!" And because you're feeling a little brave and a little reckless—maybe there's still adrenaline pumping through you from that near-fall—you place a hand on his shoulder and stand on the tips of your toes and press a little kiss to his cheek.

... Well, at least now you aren't the only one blushing!

Yeah, you're going to pretend that was totally normal, so you slip out of his grasp and link your fingers through his, something that comes a lot more naturally than kisses or anything like that because you've both grown used to holding hands since long before the age where that meant anything past innocent affection.

"Jade?" his voice comes to you and you turn slightly to look at him, tilting your head to the side in curiosity.

"Yeah?"

"I... eh, never mind," he shakes his head and flaps a hand at you dismissively. You guess this is probably the same thing that was bothering him earlier, before lunch, and for a second you're tempted to prod him to spill the beans, but you know that's not how Dave works. That's not how your friendship with him works, either. He doesn't like being prodded, and he'll talk when he's ready, not a second before! And you're okay with that, so long as whatever the thing he isn't talking about isn't something that'd hurt him. Which you're fairly sure it isn't, because you've made it clear to him in the past that you won't take it well if he tries to hide actually important things from you!

So while you're curious, you're not too worried. You'll let him take his time. After all, the two of you have your own grand old adventure that you get to start on tomorrow, just the two of you and it's going to be amazing and wonderful and god you just can't wait!

"Damn," Dave shakes his head, looking at you with mild amusement. "You really are excited, huh?"

"Is it that obvious?" you ask, bemused, and he lets out a snort.

"Jade," he says, as if he's explaining something that should be readily apparent, "you're literally bouncing in place."

"I am?" you blink, and then you realize you are, and so you laugh because that's just really funny! "Wow, okay, I am!"

"Why didn't your grandpa just send you in the first place, anyway?" Dave wonders aloud. "You're way more interested in going out and seeing the world and whatnot than I am."

You shrug, wrinkling your nose a bit wryly. "Honestly? If you wanna know what I think, it's probably because he's just worried about me growing up and leaving the nest, all of that. But he should know better! With all his grand talk and all those bedtime stories about adventures and stuff, he's the one who inspired me to want to get out and see the world, you know?"

"Yeah," Dave nods, looking at you with something you can't quite place—fondness, maybe. "I know."

"What do you think of it all?" you ask him. "Do you just want to come back here after this?" You think you honestly might want to move away from Ordona for a while. Not that you don't love it here—you do! Your heart definitely lies in these woods and the small village where you've grown up. But you just... you want something more! You want more people, more excitement, more action! More to do and more to see. More to be! You want something more out of your life than goat herding, you guess that's what you're trying to say.

He shrugs in response, swinging your joined hands as you keep walking, hopping over a little stream that runs down to the lake at the center of the village. "I dunno, honestly," he answers. "I guess it'd depend on what we do and what we see out there. And on what you want to do. I mean, I don't... hell, you're my best friend, Jade. I'll go wherever you wanna go, if it makes you happy."

You blink in surprise. Of all the answers he could've given, you aren't sure you were expecting that one! But it's not unwelcome in the slightest. No, not at all—quite the opposite, considering the bright smile you can tell that it brought to your face! "Well, you're my best friend, too! And I'm asking you, what'll make you happy?"

Another little shrug. "No idea. I don't want too much out of my life, honestly, and I mean, I'd be fine with staying here if that's what works out. But I guess—hold your horses, Harls, I already know what you're about to say, and I agree. I can't decide fully until I've seen all my options. So we should probably wait on this discussion until after we've gotten to Castle Town."

"I want to stay there for a while," you tell him a bit dreamily. "They have a huge academy on the study of magic and science, and I would love to go there..."

"Maybe you will," he says. "I bet if anyone could get in, it'd be you."

You beam and squeeze his hand tightly, feeling those little warm flutters in your chest again. "Thanks, Dave." You're about to comment further when the surrounding geography suddenly hits you and you realize you've both gone farther than you meant to, considering you're in south Faron Woods rather than northern Ordon. "Oops. We should probably head back home, shouldn't we?"

"Probably," Dave agrees, a little reluctantly. He looks around and then back at you. "Wanna stop at the spring and sit and chat with me for a bit on our way back?"

"Absolutely," you agree brightly, looking up at him with a little smile. "When did that become a question? Of course I want to sit and chat with you, silly!"

"Nah," comes the reply, "but maybe I just like hearing you say it."

AN: Why am I starting another long fic? We just don't know.

Anyway, oh boy oh boy am I excited to present the first chapter of a Twilight Princess AU! More characters will be introduced in subsequent chapters. This is going to be DaveJade-centric but worry not, there will be lots of friendships too! (I'm incapable of writing fic without friendships everywhere, hehe.) It's going to be loosely based on the game storyline, but will deviate and alter some stuff, too. In case it wasn't clear from time estimates, too, Hyrule is a bigger country than in-game.

Okay! This is going to be fun! Good luck with spring semester, everyone, and thanks for reading and reviewing!