Real life has sadly been screwing up my fan fiction life :( I did not even have time to stick On Hiatus on my profile! But now I am back…with a little SS one-shot! And it's ZeLink, because I have not written that pairing in a while and I missed it. R&R!
Her heart ached.
How long? How long since she last set foot on Skyloft? How long since she rode her Loftwing? How long since she looked into his beautiful blue eyes on a sun kissed morning…how long since she lived without a care and without the knowledge of her destined burden, her previous incarnation?
So long, it felt like an eternity ago.
She looked down at her hands. So young…and yet their owner, the goddess, lived on through centuries…
Whose hands…?
Zelda's? Hylia's? Those of the innocent Skyloft born girl, or those of a goddess from times long past?
She did not know.
Then her thoughts drifted to him. Who did he see? After all their ordeals, the trials, the triumphs, the revelations…after she revealed herself to him…did he see Zelda, as he knew her? Or did he see a goddess, a stranger?
He defeated Demise. Did he do so out of love for his friend, or out of obligation to his goddess?
She feared the answer, because she herself still felt so confused by her new identity.
Who am I? What…am I?
She stared at her reflection in the water. She needed her friend's reassurance…and yet…though he remained the one that she trusted with all her heart, his presence just confused her further. Because she remembered his identity, she remembered the burden she placed on him…but still she remembered their childhood, clear as day. She remembered how she thought of him once…as a tool, a tool to use. Then she remembered how she thought of him in her new reincarnation. Beautiful, kind, loyal…a heart of gold…a true friend. And how she felt at the ceremony. Her blush…her concern for him…she realized she loved him, as a friend…but also as something else.
This confused her enough, but the two incarnations collided and contradicted. How did she love him, if she created him? How did she need him, when she planned his entire life?
She slapped at the water, distorted her reflection. She thought of how simple it seemed. Take your incarnation, and your chosen hero, and kill the demon king.
But nothing ever turned out simple. Because what she did confused her even now. She used her new incarnation…she used Zelda…she used herself. And her chosen hero…
Chosen hero? Or best friend?
She still did not know.
She cradled her face in her hands.
"Who?" she whispered aloud. She took her hands away and looked up at the night sky.
"Who?" she demanded again of no one in particular.
No answer came, which did not surprise her.
She sat down and collapsed on the grass in defeat. If she didn't know…how did she figure out what to say the next time she saw him?
Do I love you, Link?
Or do I just need you…to protect my world?
She longed for the simplicity of the Skyloft girl Zelda's life. No Triforce…no elaborate plans or threads of fate…no memories of the horrific wars of the past…
Just her, Link and the Knight Academy.
Zelda? Something asked. She didn't hear it, but felt it-just like she always did.
Link never talked.
She sat up to look at him, and all at once felt overcome in a wave of emotions-love, happiness, nerves, indifference, and confusion… They came all at once and she looked away.
"Link?" she asked. "I didn't expect you out here so late…"
He looked at her, and she once again felt his vibe.
"Yeah, I know I came out alone. I just…I needed some alone time."
He raised an eyebrow.
"I-I just…" she stuttered and tried to find the right words. " Ever since I regained those memories…I have not been sure…of whom I am. I know I am still your Zelda…"
And I never want that to change, she thought.
"…But I'm also…someone else." She paused. "Before, when I made my plans, I didn't even think about the difference between my incarnations, just that fate unfolded the way I wanted it too. I thought that Hylia wanted the same things as Zelda…but Skyloft…the people I have met…I became a whole different person to the goddess that made those plans. And yet, now I remember that goddess, I am confused." She paused. "I remember this world, the Triforce and you through two different sets of eyes. I don't know…I remember how I used you…and then I feel pride at how well it turned out, and guilt for what I did to my best friend, and…" She trailed off, still unsure.
Do I tell him? She bit her lip and looked at him to see his reaction.
She did not need to look. Warm arms wrapped themselves around her, her heart skipped a beat. And now she knew.
He did it all, everything, for his friend. For Zelda. Not because of orders, or because the burden of the world rested on his shoulders. She looked at his face and her heart almost melted on the spot. His eyes pleaded her to smile. And she did.
How do you say so much and still not make a sound?
She decided in that moment to tell him in that moment as they stared into each other's eyes. His eyes…his wonderful big ocean blue eyes…
She forgot everything about her confusion, about the way she used to think of him. Because here and now she knew the past did not matter. She loved him. And she needed to tell him.
"Link…do you remember, before the tornado…I said I needed to tell you something?" He nodded.
"I…I never told you. Link…before I pushed you off the edge of that statue.." She giggled a little. "I remember I stood about this close to you. And I wanted to tell you…I like you this close. No,…I love you this close. And I'm about to do something stupid….But I've wanted to do it ever since the Wing Ceremony…" She started to close the distance between them. But not for long, because he closed the rest of it before she got halfway.
His lips met hers, and her heart seemed almost to jump out of her chest. She meant to kiss him…but somehow he kissed her instead. She decided she loved that even better.
"How did I ever think of you as less than the most wonderful person I've ever met?"
A hint of shyness entered his gaze and-by the gods, did he just blush? She felt her own face flush.
He likes me. He really, really likes me!
She found that she no longer felt even the slightest bit of uncertainty. Who cared if she planned that whole goose chase? She did not plan this. No past interfered with this future. She smiled at him, and took his hand in hers.
"I love you, Link."
His ocean eyes stared back at her, and she felt their words.
I love you too, Zelda.
I have been trying to stretch all my writing to 2000+ words…I failed miserably at stretching this one. Oh well, if I get reviews, I will feel good anyway! If there are no reviews, I will cry T_T