Disclaimer: I don't own Zelda. Or Ilia. Or Link.
To Breena.
Christmas Hero
By Raine Ishida
Christmas was Link's favorite time of year. He loved the smell of the air, the feeling that came over it when snow was about to fall, the silence of the night during said snowfall. The food. The friends. Even the presents. He didn't often get a lot of presents, but he made a good effort to give a few, buying them at the Castle marketplace with the rupees he'd earned herding goats at the farm.
He'd managed to get something nice for Ilia this year. Last year the new saddle for Epona was nice, but …he was certain that hadn't cut it. He owed her big this year. Especially since…she knew how he felt about her. He had to prove his feelings now, perhaps. Jewellery? Were her ears pierced? He'd never noticed.
But it was Christmas Eve, and tomorrow night he'd give her her gift. …Preferably out of sight of her father. He was a nice enough man, but…the tusks totally threw him off.
With a soft smile, Link imagined Ilia's surprise and delight as she opened her gift. He hoped she liked it.
..
The next day came and went quickly, until it was evening. All of the villagers of Ordon had gotten together at the Mayor's house for dinner, bringing various steaming dishes and vastly decorated cakes. And presents, of course. Lots of those.
The children were running around with their new toys and Link was full of turkey and stuffing. Ilia was giggling with Beth about something and Link was impatient.
When would he have her attention?
He caught her eye from across the room and smiled softly. She blushed and smiled, her cheeks rosy with embarrassment. She knew he had a gift for her. She also knew that in the last couple of weeks things had changed between them. She'd known the moment they were both saddling Epona and he'd accidentally brushed her hand and turned bright red, staring at the ground in embarrassment. Link, get embarrassed? Hardly.
Anytime after that, if a stare had been held too long, any hesitation between sentences… A blush would follow. Or a stammer. Mostly hesitation. In fact, Link hesitated before most things these days, especially when it involved her.
Link waited impatiently by the punch bowl. He had put her present off to the side where no one would see it, delicately wrapped in a box, tied with a bow, which the shopkeeper had done herself with a wink. "Hope she likes it, dearie," she'd said with a gap-toothed grin.
Link sighed heavily. For whatever reason, this signal of impatience was enough to capture her attention. Ilia bid her friends a good night and told them she'd be back later. Carrying her punch glass, she walked over to Link, grinning a smile that he had come to know was just for him. She looked stunning in a sparkling red dress, the red of the dress making her eyes seem that much greener. She'd even put a red poinsettia flower in her hair. He'd given it to her earlier. He could barely function.
Was he breathing? He couldn't remember the last breath he'd taken.
"Hi Link," she was saying. Could he focus enough to smile? Probably not.
He managed to murmur something in her general direction and she grinned, her smile coy, her eyes coquettish. He hated that look. It drove him crazy.
"So…you have a present for me?" she asked with a smile, biting her bottom lip. That drove him crazy too.
He offered her the small box, glancing around to make sure no one was watching. No one was. They were all absorbed in their own gift-giving, drink-drinking, food-eating. It was only them in their own corner of their own world.
Link watched, enraptured as she smiled up at him while she untied the bow on the box. "You didn't have to," she was saying. He shrugged, offering a small smile of his own. It was the best he could manage. He probably couldn't wrap his tongue around enough words to explain that this was to make up for the stupid things he'd done recently. Like all the times he'd ignored her because he wasn't able to tell her how pretty she looked that day without sounding like a total moron.
She gasped as she lifted the box's lid. Her gasp went unnoticed by all but him. Her gasp brought chills to his body, shivers down his spine. Inside the box was a necklace. Dangling from a delicate gold chain was a heart-shaped green gem, the same shade of emerald as her eyes. She held it out in awe, studying it with her lips parted in wonder.
"Oh, Link…it's…gorgeous," she breathed, handing him the box. He put it on the table, ignoring it. It wasn't important right now. "I love it," she added, answering the question in his eyes.
"Help me put it on?" She held out the necklace to him and turned around so he could clasp it behind her neck. Doing so, he drew in a deep breath, as well as courage. He would need it.
She turned around, her eyes glittering with delight. "It's beautiful, Link. Thank you."
She didn't really know what else to say that would explain how much she loved her gift, but that was alright. Link had another gift for her. Without waiting for her permission, and taking initiative for what was probably the first time in their strange 'relationship', Link disregarded the possible stares of others in the room, the fact that her large, angry father was nearby, the fact that the mistletoe was hanging in the other corner, tipped her chin up and kissed her softly. No hesitation this time.
"Merry Christmas to you too," Ilia whispered after they'd parted, smiling gently. Link just smiled. It was things like this that made Christmas his favorite time of year.
..
End.