Link suddenly felt so shy.

What was he doing? Approaching the most beautiful girl that he had ever seen in the world, who just so happened to be a princess, was positively the craziest thing he had ever done and would ever do in the history of "do's." And he had done a lot of crazy things: battling monsters, shrinking into the size of Picori, and even defeating a giant, one-eyed creature of darkness, and yet none of these actions frightened him nearly as much as the prospect of him giving Zelda flowers. Deep, royal purple carnations, to be exact, so that they would provide a lovely contrast against her thick, golden hair.

Oh, what was he thinking?

He knew he was completely, dim-wittedly, smitten for her. He didn't really mind.

He was glad that he had the inability to speak, lest he make a complete fool out of himself, (which he would most definitely do). He was also glad that Zelda seemed to appreciate his company, since she often invited him to accompany her on their daily excursions. He, in turn, appreciated her company, as well. But this day was a little different; it was Zelda's birthday. And princesses always have lavish birthdays, so...

Link had gotten flowers for her.

He felt so childish for getting her such a little gift, even if he knew that she would appreciate anything he would give her. He was just afraid, that, if his gift was too extravagant, she would suspect something. Flowers were a safe route for Link. Maybe, just maybe, he'd kiss her if the time was right. That would most likely not happen. But a hero can dream.

Zelda's back was turned to him as she busily arranged the flowers for the ceremony to be held in honor of her sixteenth birthday. She had told Link a countless number of times that she was unhappy with her father for preparing something so, as she described it, "wasteful" for his daughter.

"I don't care that I'm turning sixteen. A nice, little birthday party would have been fine. It's really unnecessary," Zelda had stressed, though her father had refused to hear any of it. Link silently thought that Zelda deserved the best of parties, and even though she disliked "extravagance," he felt as if it was impossible to not give her anything extravagant on her birthday. It was just so easy to give things to her. She was too kind, far too kind, and instead of people taking advantage of her in this way, they showered her with many gifts. Everyone in the kingdom loved her, but she failed to understand it.

"My father tells me that kindness should be rewarded, but there's no reason to hold a ceremony for it. You deserve a ceremony, Link, not me! You saved Hyrule."

Link truly wanted to tell her all of the amazing things that she had accomplished, but, as always, he remained silent.

"Princess Zelda!" Minister Potho's irritatingly high-pitched voice rang out amid the courtyard. Swearing to himself, Link swept the flowers behind his back once again. He prayed to anyone that the Minister hadn't noticed him working up the courage to give them to Zelda. It seemed that the old man had taken no notice.

"Yes, Minister Potho?" Zelda asked, her voice lilting, light. She turned around to greet him, though her eyes passed over Link's as she did so. She smiled, dimples a starry array along her cheeks. Suddenly overcome by dizziness and a lack of air, Link nearly fainted.

"The party starts in five minutes," Minister Potho simply stated. Link resisted the urge to glare at him, his eye twitching irritably. Really? The Minister had been checking up on them every five minutes to remind them of when the party was starting! Sixty minutes until it starts. Twenty. Now five.

"Ah, yes. Come on, Link, let's go greet the guests," Zelda said absentmindedly. She gestured to Link in a silent question, and, of course, he followed her to the doors. Sour disappointment clutched at his features, but he tried to smile every time she looked back to glance at him. Why couldn't he give her the flowers? How hard was it, anyway? However, when such a thought even touched his mind, his whole gut twisted in on itself. Very hard. It was very hard to give flowers to someone like her.

They stood outside for what seemed to him like hours. Normally, neither he nor Zelda minded the silence. Zelda just accepted him as he was. But today was different. His shaky limbs most definitely revealed that!

He looked up at the rosy sky, crimson bleeding in from the horizon. The clouds drifted lazily, as if they were sailboats lost in a vast, ruddy-colored sea. This was going to be a nice, afternoon party. That's all. He wouldn't have to worry about anything screwing up, he reasoned. He would just give the flowers to Zelda, and that would be it. Nothing could go wrong. I'd better not say that, he thought, as the soft rustling of trees made way for the seemingly endless crowd of people that approached them.

"Yo!"

Link bristled. Yo?

In a flourish of shadow and a swish of a violet cape, a purple-skinned man materialized before them. His blood-red eye watched them in amusement, while the other was obscured by his long, lavender hair. His lips were parted in a patronizing grin. What the—

"Vaati," Zelda said, acknowledging the man before her cordially. Link stared at him. What in the world was HE doing here? He'd been changed back into a Picori, hadn't he?

"Just decided to wish the princess a happy birthday. This human form won't last for too long, so..." and, almost charmingly so, he bowed, gently cradling Zelda's hand and kissing it. With his foul lips! Vaati's eye flitted over to Link in a sly smile, and the blonde flushed angrily, shaking in fury. Was it a battle? Had someone challenged him for Zelda's heart? Zelda swiftly pulled her hand away, a polite smile locked onto her lips.

"Thank you."

Link gritted his teeth into a smile and firmly shook Vaati's hand. He made sure to firmly shake it. As in, squeeze so crushingly hard that everyone could probably hear the fragile, minuscule bones in Vaati's hand break. The sorcerer seemed unaffected by it, and his stupid smile remained smeared on his face.

As Vaati entered the courtyard, Zelda edged near Link. Suddenly, Link was overcome with a different swell of emotion. Her hair smelled of flowers, a soft touch of vanilla lingering in the air. Sweat glistened on his hands, and he had trouble holding the carnations in his grip.

"Link, I'm not interested in Vaati at all," Zelda murmured. Her eyes were poised forward as she smiled and waved at the people who walked in.

Link listened to her words, dazed, but Zelda said no more.

Once all of the people had arrived at the courtyard, Zelda began to walk inside. The party had finally begun, but it was already nearly night. Now! Link screamed at himself. Clumsily, he reached for Zelda's arm. She turned to look at him, and there they were, blue eyes locked against blue. He was lost in a sea of azure. Hands shaking, he nearly dropped the carnation as he brought it to her.

He'd never seen anyone's eyes light up as much as hers did. She took the carnation, ever so carefully tucking it behind her ear. Vibrant purple against her golden hair made her seem like some sort of goddess, and she laughed as if she knew it. Link could only stare. She was so beautiful. Did she not see it? With a start, he finally realized how far the sun had gone down and that the atmosphere's warm light had gone out, flickering into dimness, but her eyes were bright, like fireflies. They radiated with silent exuberance. She smiled at him, and slowly, he smiled back.

Isn't it perfect?

They watched each other in the dark. Then, it was quiet.

The words I love you, never touched the air.

The words remained unspoken.

Author's Note: Thank you for reading! I wanted to —finally— get this fanfiction done, so sorry it isn't a Cedfia update! (Haha, yes, I just had to include Vaati, because I adore him.) As you can tell, this is based off of the Minish Cap. Thank you again for the wonderful reviews and being patient with me! :)