Hello, and welcome to my newest story! I've been wanting to write a new story, and I finally came up with this idea today. I've noticed that a lot of AU stories are pretty popular on this site, so I decided to try my hand at one. Please note that this is completely unrelated to my other stories, and is also very different than anything I've written before. But I hope you enjoy it anyway!
Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda series, in whole or in part.
I heard footsteps and looked up just in time to see my boss drop a stack of papers on my desk.
"What's this, Impa?" I asked.
"Research for your next big story," she responded flatly, staring down at me.
I sighed deeply as she walked off. The stack must've been a good six inches high, and each file was stuffed full of random documents. No wonder her arms were so strong-she'd been carrying around files like those for years.
I grabbed the file from the top of the stack, set it down before me, and opened it. As I scanned the top page, I rolled my eyes. It was another behind-the-scenes story, covering the filming of the next big-budget movie.
I continued to read, feeling more bored with each passing second. How much of this crap would I have to do before I could get into the really fun stuff, like hard news?
Oh, whoops, I haven't introduced myself yet, have I?
I am Zelda Harkinian, reporter for Hyrule After Hours, a weekly entertainment program. Getting the dirt on celebrities is part of my job description. Seems exciting, right?
Wrong.
It's my job to make the celebrities in Hyrule seem exciting and glamorous. Because in reality, most of them are rather boring. Not mean or anything like that, just dull.
And, at times, extremely stupid. It is these moments of stupidity that I must make stories out of, because embarrassing/idiotic moments bring in ratings. And ratings are the lifeblood of any television program, especially gossip shows. After all, most people here don't give a damn whether or not their stories have any grain of truth to them, so long as they have their ratings, and they aren't being sued by some star who doesn't believe that all publicity is good publicity.
Sure, these stars have things handed to them on a silver platter. But one of the first things I learned in this business is that it's not all it's cracked up to be. I mean, who wants everyone to know what they ate for breakfast, or how much their baby weighed at birth?
But enough of my rambling. Back to work!
I focused back on the page, wondering how much less interesting the material could possibly get. It was then that a name caught my eye. "Link Bravura."
I gasped in surprise. I couldn't believe it! The Link Bravura! The very celebrity that I had been eyeing for months, but had not yet had the opportunity to meet, much less interview.
It felt like it took all of my self-control to keep from jumping up and knocking over all the files. I would finally get to meet him!
Looking about to make sure no one was watching, I quietly folded up the page and slipped it into my purse. There had been too many times that my co-workers had seen me bogged down with files and decided to "help" me by taking some work off my hands, only to end up breaking a big story and getting all the credit.
Not this time. This time, he's mine!
I zipped up my purse and went back to looking through the files, noting names and dates of interest. I then compared my notes to my schedule, to see what I would be able to take. By the time I had finished sifting through the files, the workday was almost over.
I turned off my computer and straightened up my desk, making sure all the paperwork was put into its proper place. I stood up to leave, only to find myself face-to-face with Impa.
"Hold on, Zelda. Is it at all possible that you can stay overtime? I really need this stuff done," she said, trying to hand me another file. Finally seeing I had no free hand, she simply dropped the file onto my desk.
"Yes, ma'am," I barely answered before she turned around and walked off, calling out a hurried thank you.
I sighed and set down my stuff, then sat back down in the chair and opened the file. A reporter's work is never done, I thought, preparing for another long night.
I finally got home around 10 pm, dropping my stuff on the floor and turning on the news before going to the kitchen to find something to eat. I pulled out a pint of chocolate ice cream and set it on the counter to thaw while I changed into my pajamas.
I hurriedly threw on a black camisole and pink boxers before going back to the kitchen for my ice cream. I dished it out and put the container away, then headed for the living room, plopping on the couch and putting my feet up on the coffee table.
I ate my ice cream quickly; apparently I was hungrier than I had originally realized. Once I was done, I picked up the remote to turn off the TV, but set it back down when a commercial came on. It was an ad for a talk show, on which Link Bravura would be a guest.
I immediately set my DVR to record the show, then turned off the TV. I rinsed out my ice cream bowl and put it in the dishwasher, then went into my room to finish getting ready for bed. As I walked towards the bathroom, something suddenly occurred to me, and I went to my closet instead.
Opening the door, I flipped on the light switch and stepped inside. Although I did not yet know when I would be meeting Link-or if I would at all-I wanted to find the perfect thing to wear. I browsed through racks and racks of clothing. All the garments were nice enough, yet none of them seemed quite right.
Deciding I would just have to go shopping for a new outfit, I finally readied myself for bed. Around 10:45, I crawled under the covers, so exhausted that, despite the late-night bowl of ice cream, I quickly fell asleep.
I heard a knock at the door of my apartment and went to open it. Upon doing so, I was surprised to see a tall man with an athletic build standing in the corridor. He had tan skin, thick, blond hair, and bright blue eyes.
"Are you Ms. Harkinian?" he asked, flashing a million-dollar smile.
"Yes," I answered in a shaky voice, as I suddenly realized who he was.
"Link Bravura. Pleased to meet you," he said, extending his hand.
"You, too," I barely whispered, lost in his eyes. "Please come in, Mr. Bravura," I finally added after regaining my composure.
"Please, call me Link," he told me, as I stepped out of the doorway to let him in, then closed and locked the door behind him.
"Then please, call me Zelda," I responded, motioning for him to follow me.
"Please, sit wherever you wish," I said, gesturing about the room. "Would you like something to drink? I have water, tea, juice, soda, lemonade-"
"Just some ice water would be fine, thank you," he said, taking a seat on the couch.
I returned to the living room with his ice water, and a glass of lemonade for myself. Setting the drinks on the coffee table, I sat in a chair.
"So, um...shall we get started?" I asked nervously.
"Sure. What would you like to know?"
"First of all, do you mind if I record this interview?"
"Not at all," Link smiled at me. "And it's probably better, because I tend to talk too fast when I'm nervous."
"You, nervous?" I smiled. "You go up before cameras all the time. How could you be nervous?"
"I always get nervous when I'm around beautiful women," he explained, causing me to blush.
"So, anyway..." I stammered, searching for something to say. I suddenly remembered that I had my notepad on the coffee table. Quickly picking it up, I began to ask him questions, all of which he answered fully and politely, throwing in a little humor here-and-there.
Once I was done asking him questions, I put down my notebook and stood to shake his hand. He stood, too, and took my hand, but, instead of simply shaking it, pulled me close to him.
"Thank you," I murmured, lost in his eyes again. "It was a pleasure interviewing you."
"Anything for such a lovely young woman," he grinned, not once looking away from me.
Before I knew it, he was leaning over me, puckering his lips. I closed my eyes and let myself be taken further into his arms, and felt his soft lips on mine. I smiled into the kiss, which lasted for what seemed like forever, but was only a few seconds.
We finally broke apart, my head spinning.
"I'd better go," he sighed. "I'm sorry, I know that was rather forward of me, Zelda. And I know this will be, too, but I'm going to ask, anyway. Would you mind if I...saw you again sometime?"
"That would be wonderful. I would love to interview you on another occasion, particularly after the film comes out."
He frowned slightly. "I don't think you understand. I was asking you out on a date."
I smiled feebly and laughed at myself, and was relieved when he chuckled slightly.
"I'm sorry, I just...I'm so surprised. Pleasantly surprised, mind you."
"I'm glad to hear that," he grinned. "Are you busy this weekend?"
"As a matter of fact, I'm not. I just happen to have a three-day weekend, after the show airs on Friday."
"Well, how does dinner on Saturday sound?"
"It sounds wonderful, Link."
"Well then, Saturday it is. I have to do some filming that day, so if it's alright with you, I can call you when I'm done, and we can pick a time to meet."
"Sounds perfect."
"Well, I'd really better go now. Bye, Zelda. Until Saturday."
"Yes, Link. Until Saturday," I said dreamily.
He pulled me to him gently, leaning over me once again...
I awoke to the alarm at 6 am, only to discover that I had been kissing my pillow. I threw it to the side in disgust, annoyed that my dream had been interrupted.
Hitting the "off" button on the alarm, I clambered out of bed and went to my closet to pick out something to wear, then got in the shower.
I finished getting ready for work and left at 7:30, headed for a coffee shop where I would be meeting up with my co-worker and best friend, Malon. I could hardly wait to tell her that I planned to interview Link Bravura. I knew I could trust her not to spill the beans to anyone else, as doing so would cause some of our co-workers to get jealous and try to ruin my big chance.
"Hey, Zel!" Malon greeted me cheerfully as I slid into a seat across from her. She usually got there a few minutes early, since she lived closer, so she had already bought her breakfast.
"Hey, Mal! How are the bagels this morning?"
"Good. But the muffins looked really good, too."
"Oh, now I don't know what to get."
"How about you get a blueberry muffin, and if you give me half, I'll give you half of my bagel. I got a whole wheat one today."
"Sounds like a deal," I agreed, leaving my purse with her after getting some cash from it. I got up and went to the counter, ordering a blueberry muffin and a small coffee.
I returned to the table with my order a few minutes later and cut the muffin in half, giving one half to Malon. She promptly gave me half of her bagel, and we spent the next several minutes talking, eating our breakfast, and sipping our coffee. Before we knew it, it was 8:30, and we had to head to work.
We had gotten so caught up in talking about other things that I had completely forgotten to tell her about my news, and I didn't realize it until we had parked our cars and were walking to the staircase.
"Hey, Mal, guess what?"
"What, Zel?"
I lowered my voice, for fear that someone would come into the stairwell at any moment and overhear us. "Impa gave me a bunch of files yesterday, so I could research my next assignment. And guess what my assignment is?"
"Just tell me!" she said excitedly, while taking care not to talk too loud.
"I get to go behind-the-scenes of another movie. And I discovered that Link Bravura is one of its stars."
"No way!" she practically squealed. "Are you going to interview him?"
"I plan to, provided nothing gets in the way this time."
"Congratulations. Zel, I'm so happy for you, and I-"
She cut herself off as I quickly put a finger to my lips. I had heard the door at the top of the stairs open and shut, and I didn't want anyone eavesdropping.
We quieted down just in time, as one of our co-workers came downstairs to get some stuff she had left in her car. She looked at us funny as she passed us, apparently surprised that we were so quiet. Once she went out through the door at the bottom, we burst into peals of laughter.
"Wow, that was a close shave!" Malon proclaimed. "If Ruto found out, she'd try to take over the assignment for sure."
"I know, but I'm not about to let it happen. It's my turn to interview Link, and I'm tired of people taking my assignments without my permission."
"When are you going to tell Impa?"
"I think I'm going to actually wait until after the interview. That way, if someone overhears, then it's already over and done with, so they can't take it from me. For now, I'll just tell Impa that I'm going to the set to get some specifics about the movie that weren't in the press release."
"Sounds like a plan, Zel. And you know you can rely on me if you need any help."
"Thanks, Mal," I said, hugging her.
As we reached the top of the steps and entered the building, I had my fingers crossed, hoping that nothing would go wrong to screw up my chances.
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