The question came out of nowhere in Link's opinion. Granted, they had been talking about cultural differences earlier, so maybe it wasn't quite out of nowhere, but that had been an hour or two ago. It had started during lunch and been about how the Hylian and Zora foods were seasoned dissimilarly to suit the different ways their taste buds worked, but had sidetracked into similar topics for a while, as well.
They had moved on from that topic long ago, though. They had even physically moved elsewhere, which should have left the topic way behind them in the Domain.
As it was, Prince Sidon and him were chilling out by one of the small lakes near Shatterback Point, Lulu lake. It was a nice spot with waterfalls going both up and down from there, with fresh water for Sidon to swim in if he felt too dry on land. There were no enemies nearby, and if someone felt the need to come and disturb them, they would likely use the waterfall and thus not sneak up on them unnoticed. All in all, it made Link feel at ease for once in his life, and that seemed to be good enough for Sidon as well.
The abrupt question disturbed the lazy tranquility, however.
"I've been wondering about something", Sidon said, and glanced at Link. They were sitting side by side at the edge of the pond, the water resting up to their calves as their legs hung in it. "I recently heard the name of a Hylian custom that I was hoping you could explain and maybe even demonstrate for me."
Link made a noncommittal sound accompanied with a shrug, while keeping his gaze aimed blankly at the frothing water. He was still somewhat preoccupied with their previous topic of luminous stone crafting; he hadn't know they could be powdered up and then used as paint that would glow in the dark. He could already see countless possibilities in that and was cataloging them in his mind. How about arrows that had a small paint sack on their heads to mark enemies with?
"What, exactly, does kissing entail?"
Link's thoughts came to a sudden halt.
Wait, what?
He whipped his head around to stare up at Sidon, a startled expression plastered all over his face. He wasn't even sure what had him the most confused here: the fact that Sidon didn't know what kissing was, the Zora in general apparently not knowing what kissing was, the Zora presumably not partaking in it since Sidon called it a Hylian custom, or Sidon asking him in particular about it.
He wasn't even touching the topic of "demonstration" yet.
While Link was reconstructing his blown mind, Sidon lifted his hands up in an apologetic gesture.
"Oh, pardon me. Was it improper to ask? I promise you that I was honestly just curious and did not mean any offense", Sidon said with a sheepish smile.
Link shook his head, and lifted his own hand to halt any upcoming babble while he tried to think this through. He wasn't exactly against explaining kissing, especially because it was Sidon asking. The knowledge might come in handy if Link ever got around to attempting to win over Sidon's affections. He just... had no clue how to do it or where to begin. It was all very culturally ingrained to him so it was quite baffling to even think that it had to be explained. And now that he was thinking about it, he realized that the topic was actually surprisingly vast. There was way more to kissing than he had figured there was.
"...I take it you're thinking about it?" Sidon asked after roughly five seconds of patient waiting. He wasn't very good at patient waiting at the best of times, much less when it was in the middle of a conversation.
It was a good thing Link was a relatively quick thinker.
'There is a lot to it', he signed, while still going over the details in his head.
Sidon looked positively ecstatic at the prospect. Possibly because he was going to get the explanation he asked for, or perhaps because he was going to get more than he had figured he would. Either way, he beamed at his companion and even lifted his feet out of the water to turn fully towards him. He crossed his legs and placed his palms against his knees so he could easily lean down to be more on Link's level.
If he hadn't just told Link that he didn't know what kissing was, Link would have assumed this position to be for convenience's sake. As it was, it was a fortunate coincidence.
Link smiled wryly to himself before schooling his expression and turning towards Sidon. He sat on his knees for better mobility and to gain a little more height.
'Alright then. The basics of kissing', he signed, and gave an amused snort. Sidon didn't seem to catch it; he just smiled widely and practically vibrated with excitement.
'The concept is really simple. You pucker your lips and touch another person with them as a show of affection', Link signed, and left it at that.
Sidon stared at him for a moment, waiting for him to continue, until slowly a frown appeared on his handsome face.
"...That's it? Don't get me wrong, that's very informative, but I was expecting there to be more", Sidon said, and tilted his head in thought. "I'm not quite sure how that would convey very much affection in the first place. Lips are such a small part of your face. Surely nuzzling is a more effective way? I understand that Hylians don't have head crests, but..."
Link licked his lips briefly, then leaned forward and planted a kiss on Sidon's cheek. That was apparently a very effective way of shutting him up. The Zora blinked down at him and brought a hand up to touch the recently kissed cheek, looking puzzled.
'A kiss on the cheek is a relatively common way to say hello or goodbye to people you are close to. Mostly it's between family members or very close friends', Link explained smugly.
Sidon looked flustered for a moment longer, then beamed at him again.
"Oh! A demonstration! That was unexpected, but surprisingly delightful! It felt slightly damp. Did you lick your lips first? And you said it was between close friends? Should we partake in the tradition from now on? May I try it?"
Link was nodding along to the questions until the third one, which left him reeling at the unexpected boon he was apparently getting out of this, and then Sidon had already assumed he would keep nodding and leaned over.
Sidon's large crest accidentally bumped into Link's temple once, then Sidon tilted his head a little bit and successfully gave Link's cheek a tentative peck. Link was certain all of his blood was rushing into his face when Sidon leaned back and gave him the biggest and proudest smile in existence.
"Did I do it right? I think you Hylians may be on to something. Kissing leaves my lips pleasantly tingly afterwards, so I can see why you would do it", he said, bursting with energy like usual. He either didn't notice Link's flushed state or just didn't understand it because the Zora didn't blush.
Probably the latter, as Sidon had asked Link about it back when Link had first laid his eyes on the gorgeous prince, and had flushed scarlet. Link absolutely hadn't felt inclined to explain it at the time and the subject hadn't come up again. To be fair, Link wasn't sure if there even was a situation where he would willingly explain blushing to Sidon. It was much more convenient to keep the Zora Prince in the dark.
But boy, was Link getting even more out of this conversation than he had even dared to consider.
"Are there other options for kissing? Excuse me if my assumption is wrong, but your earlier words left me with the impression that we would be in for a long talk", Sidon asked cheerfully, and scooted closer like an eager student. If he had a notebook, he would surely be poised to take notes.
Oh, right. This discussion was far from over. Link was going to be very dead by the end of it if Sidon kept acting so adorably, not to even mention if he kept mimicking him.
He took a deep breath and slowly released it. He could do this. The next few things should actually be a breeze. He would worry about the rest once they were relevant.
He lifted his hands to sign.
'Yes, there is more. You can actually kiss others almost anywhere, but the conveyed meaning varies greatly', he explained, and took a moment to feel amused by Sidon's amazed expression. Surely the Zora variety of showing affection, the nuzzling, had similar nuances to it too? Sidon only ever nuzzled his hair, after all. ...although maybe it had to do with their height difference.
Link mentally shook his head. Focus.
He leaned forward, trying to ignore how excited Sidon looked again, and kissed the pink spot right below Sidon's head crest, where a Hylian's nose would approximately be.
'A kiss on the nose is a playful gesture. Usually it's parents doing that to their children, but… not always', he explained. He left out the part that generally the other option was lovers, because frankly he didn't want to scare Sidon off from trying it. Maybe it was a little dishonest, but he wasn't known for his honesty anyway. Besides, there was no harm done so long as Sidon didn't go around kissing random Hylians on their noses. Frankly, even if he did that they would probably assume he was doing it because they were so much smaller than the ridiculously tall prince and he found them cute.
Sidon looked beyond happy about this one. He wasted no time asking questions, and instead leaned right over and dropped a carefully aimed kiss on Link's nose. Link involuntarily twitched his nose at the contact, which made Sidon's eyes widen in wonder and then made him immediately repeat the experiment in very apparent glee. The Zora had the gall to look slightly disappointed when Link's nose didn't move as a result of the second kiss.
Link was ready to drop dead, and was convinced that his face would never un-blush again.
"Ah, that little movement your nose did was fascinating. Why didn't you do it again? Is it not supposed to happen?" Sidon asked, and looked about ready to go for a third round to make sure, but refrained when Link hastily shook his head, definitely not able to handle a third nose kiss from an overly curious Zora.
'Never mind that. I was caught off guard', Link signed, and immediately regretted it when Sidon got a contemplative look on his face. He would bet all his rupees that Sidon just filed away something along the lines of "Surprise equals cute nose twitch; do this again out of the blue later". Link both feared and anticipated that moment.
He just hoped it would be somewhere private instead of in the middle of the Domain where everyone could see.
'Don't. Just don't', Link signed wearily, even though he was well aware that the plea would go to deaf ears, so to speak. Sidon's very fake, politely inquiring look confirmed it. Link pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed deeply, and ignored the chuckle from his friend.
'Moving on', he signed, and then looked up at Sidon. It was then that he realized he had a problem with the next one. He looked from the pink spot on Sidon's face to the underside of his crest, to the tip of it, to the spot directly above it (or its direction anyway, since he couldn't actually see up there), and pursed his lips in frustration.
"Link? Is there a problem?" Sidon asked after a moment, frowning in concern.
Link was quiet for a bit longer, then finally sighed and lifted his hands. 'You don't have a forehead.'
Sidon blinked.
Link frowned at Sidon's crest, like he could turn it into a proper forehead with the force of his stare alone.
Sidon's lips twitched. Then he snorted. Then he started chuckling.
Alright, so maybe it was a little ridiculous.
Link snickered. That in turn egged Sidon's amusement on. And that made Link hard-pressed to hold in his giggles.
Soon they were leaning against each other and laughing themselves stupid. Sidon's voice was loud and clear, laughter rolling from his throat naturally and freely. Link's was as quiet as laughter could get, and drowned under Sidon's like gentle background music under a singer's belting. Where before they had been surrounded by various animals, both land-dwelling and aquatic, now they found themselves completely alone at the lake thanks to the ruckus they made.
It took a good few minutes before the two of them were able to calm down. Link heaved with effort to breathe, unused to laughing so much and generally unaccustomed to using his voice.
Once Sidon managed to quell his own laughter, he seized the moment of vulnerability on Link's part and quickly snuck a kiss on Link's nose. Which twitched.
The only thing that made Link feel better about his mortification was the fact that the delighted squeal Sidon let out was completely unmanly and unfit for a prince, so he could at least claim that he wasn't the only undignified one here.
'I will murder you in your sleep', Link signed with a huff, while Sidon just beamed at him like the stupid nose twitch was roughly as good as ten birthdays and spring festivals rolled into one.
"I will let the guard know to expect that. Should it come down to it, I will gladly endure being murdered if that is the price of witnessing the delightful-"
"Sidon", Link actually said out loud, just to save himself further humiliation.
If anything, after a brief moment of surprise, Sidon looked all the more happy about the rare vocalization, but at least he took the hint and dropped the subject. Thank the Goddess.
Sidon cleared his throat. "So, forehead?"
Right. That.
'A kiss on the forehead usually means some form of goodbye. Most commonly it's done after a parent tucks their child in and gives it as a goodnight kiss. It can also be done if someone is going on a journey and it's unknown when they will see each other again', Link explained, then hesitated for a moment before adding, 'It's also done when someone dies and you say to them a final goodbye.'
The mood shifted to a somber one while Sidon digested this new, more depressing information. After an uncharacteristically long moment of silence, the Zora leaned over and placed a very gentle kiss on Link's forehead.
"I certainly hope to never do this on your deathbed, but you do have a habit of leaving for unknown amounts of time, so I believe this is a useful piece of knowledge", he said with a smile tainted with melancholy; it looked wrong on Sidon's usually cheerful face. Thankfully the smile appeared again a moment later. "You take a lot of naps at unpredictable times as well, so that's also an opportunity."
Link couldn't help but smile at that. Trust Sidon to lighten the mood again.
The promise of goodnight and goodbye kisses didn't hurt either.
Was he really getting used to the idea of receiving kisses from Sidon (and maybe giving some too)? This was the kind of world he definitely wanted to live in.
"Are there still other options?" Sidon asked, returning them to the actual topic. His smile was back to the usual blindingly bright variety.
The very kissable kind.
No, still not going there.
Link nodded, then beckoned Sidon to lean down further. And further. And further still, until Link could finally grab him by the crest and drop a kiss on the top of his head, right at the base of the dorsal fin. Now that was a sight he very rarely saw, thanks to Sidon being taller than was legal. Just for that, Link lingered for a moment longer than strictly necessary before finally pulling back and letting Sidon go again.
Sidon didn't straighten up. Instead he grabbed Link's retreating hands with his... slightly shaking ones?
"Do that again. Please", he requested quietly, taking Link completely by surprise, and frankly making his throat feel drier than the Gerudo Desert. The combination of quietly speaking Sidon and the pleading really did funny things to Link's psyche.
Of course he obliged; there was simply no way he wouldn't. He gently pried his hands free from Sidon's so he could take a hold of his crest again for support, then he placed another lingering kiss at the base of the dorsal fin. And another on the right side of it. And one to the left as well. To top it off, he also nuzzled the area with his nose, just like Sidon occasionally did to him.
Sidon was a complete mess by the time he retreated again. He seemed to be biting back happy tears, and he kept clenching and unclenching his fists like he was trying to refrain from doing something. Perhaps grabbing Link?
If Link was being completely honest, it was probably a wise decision. Sidon's hugs were crushing at the best of times, so in such an emotional state he might just accidentally snap Link's spine. That would put a damper on their otherwise increasingly nice afternoon.
"Thank you", Sidon said once he finally found his voice again. He visibly collected himself before continuing. "My apologies for causing such a scene. You see, I'm too tall for anyone to reach the top of my head anymore, so it's been a long time since anyone last showed me affection that way."
Link was reminded of his earlier thoughts. Sidon only ever nuzzled his hair.
Their height difference be damned, he would give Sidon all the head nuzzles and kisses he could whenever the opportunity presented itself from now on. Damn it, he would make the opportunity present itself. All he had to do was ask Sidon to lean down when he had a sufficiently high spot around to climb on so he could reach. Or he could have Sidon pick him up. It really wasn't impossible by any means.
Also, he was definitely not going to inform Sidon that kisses on the top of someone's head were usually reserved for children and other people who very cutely shorter than you. He would let Sidon assume they were the same thing as the Zora head-nuzzling, which seemed like a generic show of affection since he saw everyone do it, and Sidon did it with him so freely.
Speaking of which, Sidon leaned over and gave Link's hair a nuzzle with his crest, then dropped a kiss on top.
Link could most definitely get used to that, even if the implication of "short and cute" would usually annoy him. Not with Sidon, though.
"I believe this one to be the most useful kind of kiss yet, since it mixes so well with my usual form of showing affection", Sidon said. He gave Link's hair another nuzzle, humming in contentment. Link wanted to live this moment on repeat for the rest of his life.
It was not to be. Sidon backed off again and gave Link the gentlest smile ever seen on the face of the planet, and Link felt like his heart was bursting right out of his chest.
"Next kind?" Sidon asked, curiosity lighting up in his eyes again.
For a moment Link didn't know what Sidon was even talking about anymore, as he was much too preoccupied with falling more and more in love with this man. Then Sidon tilted his head with a little "Hmm?" and Link snapped out of his daze.
Focus, damn it.
He uselessly cleared his throat before lifting his hands to sign... only to pause before getting started. He looked at Sidon's pectoral fins, then at the protruding edges of his crest, and lifted a hand half-way up to touch his own ear in contemplation. Sidon's eyes tracked his every movement, which made him pause and blush. Again.
Two problems. One, Sidon didn't have ears like he did. He knew there were ear holes somewhere, but he didn't know where exactly, and it wasn't the same anyway. Two, he would absolutely die if Sidon was to kiss his ear. Actually, three, he would have to explain the gesture and Sidon might opt out and it would be awkward to continue from there. Summa summarum, this should be left for later.
Thankfully, a stroke of genius hit him then. His hand found his sideburns instead of his ear, and he smiled. That would work.
He reached his hand out to Sidon and took a gentle hold, with just the tips of his fingers, of the left pectoral fin framing the Zora's face. He then leaned over and gave it a kiss. Sidon looked absolutely bewildered by the time he leaned away to sign.
'Kissing a lock of someone's hair is a very princely thing to do. Generally it's done to women with long hair when you're trying to charm them, and it's basically guaranteed to make them swoon if done right', he signed, smile growing at how fitting teaching this to an actual prince was.
Sidon's face broke into a huge smile at the explanation. He even pumped his fists up and down in sheer excitement. "A princely thing! Why wasn't I informed of this before? I must try it at once!"
Sidon eagerly started reaching his hand out to Link, but then paused. He pulled the hand back and cleared his throat, then he adjusted his regalia primly. For a second Link was confused, until Sidon put on his most charming princely smile and gave him a small bow.
"You look positively dashing today, my lovely", he said in a low voice, and then gently took a hold of Link's sideburn and gave it a kiss while never letting his eyes leave Link's. Sidon's eyes were positively smouldering. Had they always been such a warm shade of amber?
So Sidon had definitely listened when Link said "when trying to charm them". And he was definitely a freaking prince who knew his manners. And he was probably the most handsome man in Hyrule, which was certainly helping his case.
Link was frozen on the spot, which was the only thing stopping him from melting. His face felt so hot that he wouldn't have been surprised had there been smoke coming out of his ears. If he hadn't already been stupidly in love with this man, this moment would definitely have done it.
Sidon's lips were moving. He was saying something, but Link couldn't process any of it. His mind was too busy dealing with being flirted with by Prince Sidon.
"-nk? Did I do it wrong?"
Oh no, sir. You did it perfectly, thankyouverymuch. Will you marry me? ...is what Link didn't say, even if it about summed up his thoughts on the subject. Instead he shook his head mutely, both as an answer to the question and to clear it.
Sidon still looked unsure, and that just wouldn't do. So Link, still quite reeling emotionally but trying to overcome it, gave him a weak smile, a thumbs up, and then signed 'swoon', and fanned his red face.
That seemed to do the trick, as Sidon's overjoyed smile was back in its rightful place. He gave his signature arm flex and twinkling grin.
"Success then! I have to admit I was worried for a moment there when you just froze and didn't answer me, but I suppose you were just properly dazzled by the gesture", Sidon said, all sunshine and innocent enthusiasm and and effortless charm and Link truly wasn't going to survive this encounter.
"It's really too bad I can't go around and try this out on my subjects. I bet they would be just as receptive to it as Hylians, hair or not. But alas, I don't want to encourage my fanclub too much, unless I want to spend all my time dodging their advances in the near future", Sidon mused with good humor, which thankfully bought Link time to get his shit back together.
Link gave Sidon a grin, which he hoped looked approximately normal. At least he was thankful he wasn't expected to reply, since Sidon was used to his silence, both speech and sign.
"Ah, but I'm getting off track again", Sidon said, and resumed his 'obedient student' posture from before. "Are there any other ways of kissing left?"
Oh, right. Link was still going to die. It was only going to get worse from here, unless Sidon called it quits, because Link sure as Hylia wasn't going to. It might be pathetic and it might count as taking advantage of Sidon's lack of knowledge, even if he was going to explain everything honestly enough before doing it, but he was going to take what he could get. Who knew if Sidon would ever return his feelings were he to confess them, so if this was his only chance to kiss Sidon, then he wasn't turning it down just because of propriety or something. If Sidon was curious and wanted to try everything, then it was his choice too. It was simple as that.
Thankfully there was one more lighthearted kiss left before they dived off the deep end, or stopped this game.
Link felt remarkably calm as he reached out and took a hold of Sidon's hand. He brought it up to his lips and kissed the back of it while looking at Sidon's mystified expression. He gently set the hand back down to free his own hands up.
'Kissing the back of a woman's hand is a very polite way of greeting them. It can also be a romantic gesture if you're courting the woman', Link explained.
Sidon nodded, but looked contemplative.
"I see. So it cannot be used to men?" he asked, much to Link's surprise. Link had to actually take a moment to consider the question.
'Definitely not as a greeting, as that would be a huge etiquette blunder, but I suppose as a romantic gesture it's alright? Might depend on the man. Some are awfully defensive about their masculinity', he signed with a wry smile.
Sidon chuckled. "I take it you're not one of them?"
Link shook his head, which seemed to be the cue for Sidon to take his hand and give it a kiss. Link would have thought at the beginning of this, well, educational encounter, that receiving a kiss on his hand from Sidon would be the thing to do him in. After the princely hair kiss though? Not a chance.
Besides, now they were about to enter the potential disaster zone.
Link imitated swooning for a second, which earned him a laugh from Sidon, then abruptly adopted a more serious expression.
'Sidon', he signed, which certainly got the Zora's undivided attention. Not that he hadn't had it already, but it was the principle of the thing.
Sidon sat up straight and gave back an inquiring, but equally solemn expression. He likely had no clue what was going on, but was playing along anyway. He was such a great and dependable friend.
'There is still more, but we're about to leave the innocent zone and enter the... courting and intimate one. I'm still game to teach you if you want me to, but if it makes you uncomfortable, then I could just explain things without demonstrations', he explained seriously, feeling rather like he was about to enter a bokoblin camp: ready for anything and surprisingly calm, because losing his cool could make him change his mind at the last second.
Sidon, on the other hand, looked baffled more than anything else.
"Huh? I would rather think that it would be you who would balk from something like that? I don't have the same emotional context for any of this, so it shouldn't affect me all that much, I think", Sidon said, looking at Link thoughtfully.
It kind of stung. But it was also the truth, Link supposed. To Sidon this was all a game of trying foreign customs, some of which might be amusing or nice, some of which wouldn't necessarily do anything for him. It was Link who felt the emotional connection with everything, put weight into it. But...
'It doesn't matter to you how anything we do makes me feel?' he asked. Not out of anger or hurt; just to see if Sidon got it. If he really understood what he was getting into.
"Of course it does! …Oh. I see. My apologies, I didn't think of that", Sidon said, looking chastised and sheepish. The look really didn't suit him; he was supposed to always be his happy and confident self.
Link waved a hand to get Sidon's attention back.
'I said I'm willing. I only wanted you to be aware of what we're getting into. Do you still want to go on?' he asked.
To Sidon's credit, he took a moment to actually think it through. Or at least give it a single thought, which was the best one could hope for with him. Then he grinned and flexed his arm.
"Yes!"
Well. Now they were officially going to break some boundaries. And Link was about to get what he had wanted for so long now. He only hoped he wouldn't regret this later; that nothing would go terribly wrong and break.
No matter. He was going to do this anyway.
Time to ease into it.
Link brought his hand up to his ear and stroked the edge of it, from the halfway point to the tip. Sidon's eyes tracked the movement attentively, and there was a spark of recognition or realization in them too; likely he became aware of the fact that Link had almost gone for this one earlier, before making the switch to his hair back then.
'You don't have visible ears like this, so I can't demonstrate, but kissing someone's ear is a sensual thing to do. Usually you drop more than one kiss at a time, too', he explained, heart hammering in his chest already at the thought of Sidon doing as instructed. He couldn't know for certain, thanks to his lack of memories, but he was almost sure nobody had kissed his ears before, so he was as new to this as Sidon, and was looking forward to giving it a try.
Sidon nodded, eyes sizing up Link's ears for a moment longer before he leaned in and pressed a hesitant kiss at the center, then a surer one above it, and a confident one at the tip. Link shivered at the feeling and unconsciously let his eyes close by the time Sidon reached the tip. There was a pause where he could feel Sidon's eyes on him, then a shift as Sidon leaned to the side and kissed the other ear as well, making Link sigh in bliss. His ears twitched when Sidon's lips left again, which, predictably enough, brought the Zora back for more. Not that Link was complaining. In fact, he was turning into putty and would gladly spend the rest of the day doing this. He had thought this to be more of the exciting kind of sensual, to be honest, but the relaxing kind was really nice and less embarrassing, so, again, no complaints.
He lost count of how many rounds Sidon made before he finally opened his eyes and reluctantly lifted a weak hand against Sidon's lips to stop him from continuing. Upon looking at Sidon, he actually found that the Zora looked somehow... different from usual. It was hard to pinpoint at first, but then he realized that Sidon's pupils were a bit larger than normally. Something about his general stance was different as well, but it was difficult to tell exactly how. Especially this close up.
Sidon leaned back and sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck, spell broken.
"Pardon me, I believe I got a little carried away there. You just looked so... so relaxed, and like you were enjoying yourself. I meant to stop after the first ear but then you closed your eyes like you wanted more, and then you sighed, and then your ears twitched, which was completely adorable, and then you made this little humming sound-"
The relaxation was gone in a matter of seconds and replaced with a hot blush and a vigorous shake of his head. Link really didn't want to hear more embarrassing details, thankyouverymuch!
Sidon, thankfully, stopped his babbling and settled for looking equally embarrassed.
The silence got awkward quickly.
Sidon cleared his throat. "I think relaxed look suits you very well. You looked really pretty."
Link wasn't sure if that made the situation way better or somehow worse.
'Thank you', he signed anyway, then bit his lip before continuing. 'Do you still want to keep doing this? After... that happened?'
Sidon startled and gave Link an incredulous look.
"Are you jesting? Of course I do! I don't think that was a bad thing at all, only a little bit more than we were expecting. You did warn me that we would be treading on new territory here, I just didn't really get it until now", Sidon said, and gave a familiar large grin, which actually helped put Link more at ease again. If Sidon could move on from that without making this weird, then so could he.
...Even if the next step was...
"So, what's next?" Sidon asked cheerfully, although he seemed to be smoothing down his scales along his jawline and neck. Now that Link looked, it seemed like they were slightly flared. Strange, what did that mean? Whatever it was, at least it served as a partial distraction so Link could not think too hard on what he was about to do next. He just had to be... frank and clinical about this and he would be fine. Fine, as in not spontaneously combust before they even got to the point.
'Next is what people usually think of first when kissing is mentioned', Link signed hesitantly, and Sidon immediately perked up, very attentive. 'There are many different ways to go about it, with varying intimacy. This first kind can even be shared between very good friends, generally two women rather than men, or between a parent and a child. ...Although mostly it's between couples.'
He paused to see if Sidon would back out at this point, but no, Sidon looked excited, yet clueless. Link's heart felt like it was trying to break out of his chest, but he resolutely ignored it.
He didn't give himself time to think about it, and instead leaned forward and gave a quick peck on Sidon's lips.
It was actually a little disappointing. He had expect it to be magical, but it was much too brief to feel much like anything. Not to mention that Sidon didn't respond in any way, which was to be expected given that he hadn't had the time or instructions to prepare himself with.
Sidon blinked in confusion, then looked directly at Link's lips with a tilted head and a slight frown. However, the expected questions or claims of disappointment didn't come. Instead, Sidon leaned in and pressed a similar kiss to Link's lips.
...This time it was a little magical. Maybe because it was Sidon kissing him. Or maybe because, despite the suddenness, Link actually returned the kiss automatically, which made a huge difference. Either way, Link had a stupid smile on his face after Sidon pulled away in shock, presumably because of the different feeling he got from Link's properly puckered lips.
Sidon touched his lips, looking confused. It was adorable. Link had half a mind to grab the Sheikah Slate and snap a picture.
"It felt different?" Sidon asked, and looked at the fingers he pulled away from his lips, like there would be something on them. Link fought very hard to resist the urge to pull out the Slate.
'Another try?' he asked, thoroughly amused, and honestly just too damn happy from one silly little kiss. And he really wanted another one.
Sidon nodded eagerly and leaned right in, this time with Link meeting him halfway there. This kiss was even better, since now both of them knew what to do and expect. It was still brief, because that's what Link was aiming for with this one, but both of them thoroughly enjoyed it regardless, at least if Sidon's wide smile was anything to judge by.
"Huh! I have to admit, that was very enjoyable. I think I'd like to do it again sometime", Sidon mused, causing Link's cheek to colour a little again. He... really probably should remind Sidon that he said it was mostly between couples. …But he did mention that it wasn't unheard of for very good friends to do it...
Damn it, he would decide on what to do about it later.
"You said that kind is somewhat intimate? So, it's a generally affectionate gesture, without any specific meaning other than intimacy?" Sidon asked, which brought Link back to the immediate situation.
Link wished Sidon would stop using the word "intimate", even if it was relevant.
'More or less. It can be used the same as a kiss on the cheek, but it's a more...', he felt like banging his head on the wall, '...intimate version.'
"Ah, I see."
They were silent for a moment, digesting the information. This time it was Link who broke the silence, so to speak.
'The next kind is strictly between couples. It's similar to the previous one, just lasts longer', he signed, watching Sidon carefully. Still waiting for him to back out.
Sidon did hesitate for a moment, watching Link in a similar manner the Hylian watched him. Waiting for him to bail. Making sure he was still alright with this. Wondering if this was smart. Maybe thinking of where this might lead them, if that was even a possibility in Sidon's mind.
Then he smiled brightly as the sun.
"In for a green rupee, in for a blue one! Let's do this!"
Link didn't give himself any time to think, lest he lose his nerve. He reached up to Sidon and wrapped his arms around the Zora's neck for a good secure hold, which seemed to leave Sidon fumbling for how to react. Sidon's hands hovered uselessly for a moment, then he looped his arms around Link's middle, clearly figuring that this worked similarly to a hug.
Link's heart was hammering so loudly that he was certain Sidon could hear it. Regardless, he gave Sidon a nervous smile before pressing his lips against the Zora's. Sidon responded immediately, but then automatically tried to pull away after the initial press, because that's what they had done earlier. So Link chased after him and locked their lips back together, which made Sidon produce the cutest surprised noise.
Link was absolutely loving every second of this. He moved his lips against Sidon's and tilted his head slightly, and Sidon actually shivered and tightened his grip on Link's waist. So much for Link being the only one affected by this endeavor. After a moment Sidon got the hang of kissing like this and started responding, which made the experience even better.
They spent a good long while lip-locked, until finally Link tried pulling away. "Tried" being the key word: Sidon chased after him immediately, apparently unwilling to end the kiss, be it unconsciously or by an active choice on his part. Link didn't have the heart or will to insist just yet, so he got right back to it for a bit longer. Sidon pulled him closer into his chest in response, which made Link smile into the kiss, which seemed to frustrate Sidon since it made Link's lips less responsive. Sidon made a discontented sound, which in turn made Link chuckle and finally actually pull away.
Sidon frowned at him, which made Link laugh harder.
"Alright, now that is just rude. Are you laughing at me?" Sidon asked, obviously very put out by the fact that he was no longer kissing Link AND was laughed at to top it off. His scales looked ruffled again and his pupils were definitely larger now, and he was breathing a little heavily.
Was it... Were those signs that Sidon was excited? The same way blushing betrayed Link? Well now, that was very useful to know. Or would probably be later, once Link was done laughing at the Zora's expense.
Upset as Sidon might be, he didn't let go of Link and started chuckling, himself, soon enough. He leaned his crest against Link's hair affectionately and held on until Link managed to calm his giggles down.
Link patted Sidon's shoulder until he Zora looked down at him, then smiled brightly.
"I'll make it up to you", he said out loud with his quiet and hoarse voice, since his hands were still busy being wrapped around Sidon's neck. "Mind your teeth."
Sidon returned the smile with one of his own brilliant ones, ecstatic to hear Link speak. "You're already forgiven! Wait, my teeth?"
Link gave him one more smile, then tightened his hold around Sidon's neck as a semi-warning before pressing his lips against Sidon's again.
The Zora wasted no time whatsoever before returning the kiss enthusiastically, his hold on Link tightening again in obvious joy. He even gave a content hum and stroked Link's back. All in all, he made it very clear that this was where Link was supposed to be, and he'd better not leave again anytime soon.
Not that Link was going to.
Link let the kiss stay on familiar grounds for a moment, then poked his tongue out and boldly licked Sidon's lips. The Zora was startled, and although he didn't break the kiss Link could feel his eyes on him. Link resolutely kept his own eyes closed and gave another lick, trying to pry his way between Sidon's lips. A second of hesitation, and then he felt Sidon's tongue touch his own and the game was on.
Link caressed Sidon's tongue with his own and was happy to discover that Sidon was perfectly willing to mimic him. Sidon's tongue being partially out also made it easy for Link to slip past it and tentatively enter Sidon's mouth to explore. He had to admit that he was slightly worried about the dangerously sharp teeth, but it seemed that either Sidon remembered the odd warning before they got started with the kiss, or he just figured on his own that he might want to avoid any sudden bite-y movements right then. As it was, Link didn't end up with a punctured tongue or lip, but instead got to discover that Sidon's tongue was huge. Well, proportional to his size, really, but he was also twice Link's size so the point still stood. Also, Sidon's mouth tasted faintly like fish, which was unsurprising. And damn, were there a lot of sharp teeth there.
For a while Sidon seemed content to let Link explore in peace, but soon he pushed forward and entered Link's mouth without any hesitation whatsoever. While sticking his tongue down Sidon's throat had been enjoyable and fun, having the Zora take the reins was truly something else. Sidon's tongue seemed particularly interested in testing his blunt Hylian teeth, which made sense, even if that was pretty far from Link's mind then. No, his thoughts were more along the lines of incoherent lovey-dovey babble and internal screaming.
Once Sidon seemed satisfied with his mapping of Link's mouth, Link took charge again and steered their making out into a mix of light tongue and plain open mouthed kisses. At one point he even playfully bit on Sidon's lower lip, and was belatedly thankful that Sidon had the presence of mind to not copy that maneuver. It seemed that the Zora enjoyed it particularly much though, judging from the muffled groan and the fact that he lifted Link higher in his arms to bring him closer before drowning him in eager kisses.
Eventually Link was quite out of breath from all the mouth action and had to pull away to get larger quantities of air. Sidon almost chased his lips again but then seemed to change his mind, probably because he, too, was panting heavily.
They stared at each other with half-lidded eyes, both flushed in their own ways and too out of breath to say anything. Sidon's kiss-bruised lips formed a beautiful smile after a moment, which Link returned gladly, feeling giddy and like his heart was so full it could burst.
For a while they just smiled dumbly at each other, until Link remembered that he had one more thing he wanted to do before his mind came down from the love-high and could break the moment.
He leaned in and gave Sidon's smiling mouth a quick peck, then he started peppering the Zora's handsome jawline with butterfly kisses. Sidon didn't seem to know how to react to that, so he stayed still until Link's mouth moved to the underside of his jaw; then Sidon, either instinctively or by applying logic, tilted his head to give him better access. Link could feel Sidon's rapid heartbeat from the jugular vein as he kissed his way down Sidon's neck. He had to maneuver his way around the neck piece Sidon always wore, but he could manage that, even if it was a shame how much skin he was missing in the process. He ended the path of kisses with a nibble on the exposed patch of Sidon's collar bone area, leaving a few disrupted scales in his wake. Not quite the same as a hickey, but Sidon's breath hitched from the action so Link was certain the sentiment was delivered.
Done with his job, Link leaned back and looked at Sidon with a satisfied smile. Sidon looked well kissed, slightly flustered, and a large bunch of scales along his jawline and neck were positively untidy looking with how they were sticking up. His pupils were large and he was breathing heavily. Absolutely lovely.
"That was..." Sidon started saying, then shook his head in amazement and instead lifted Link up so that he could easily return the favour of the latest lesson. The Zora's kisses weren't quite delicate enough to call them butterfly kisses, but Link didn't much care for details like that as long as Sidon kept doing what he was doing. Sidon made sure to kiss every inch of Link's jawline, then did the same courtesy to his neck, which made Link moan quietly and tighten his hold around Sidon's neck. It was really too bad that Sidon played it safe and didn't try nibbling on Link's neck or any other part of his body with his sharp shark teeth; Link believed he would have been into it despite the potential bleeding.
Sidon gave one last kiss to Link's collar bone, not able to reach any more skin thanks to Link's clothes. Link idly wondered if Sidon would have kept going if there hadn't been obstacles in the way, or if he would have stopped there anyway because that's where Link had stopped.
Sidon's face appeared in Link's vision again. The look in his eyes was warm and he had a smile on his face despite still being slightly out of breath. His gaze kept dropping to Link's lips.
"I have to admit that I underestimated how much I would enjoy this", Sidon said, and, apparently unable to resist, gave Link's lips a quick peck. It made Link feel rather hopeful of the future, if he was honest with himself. "Is there more?"
Oh. Right, this might still just be a game to Sidon. It was time to find out, and Link suddenly felt a lot less euphoric. There were only two acceptable outcomes to this, in his opinion: either they started properly dating and could continue doing this whenever they pleased... or they didn't, and never did this again, which would be heartbreaking but at least be a clean resolution. Link knew that friends with benefits was a thing, but he was far too deeply involved for that to be an option; he would just end up miserable if the relationship didn't eventually evolve into a romantic one.
Link reluctantly withdrew his hands from around Sidon's neck, which made Sidon frown and tighten his own hold until he visibly realized that Link needed his hands to sign. Sheepishly the Zora let go as well so Link would have the space to sign.
Link missed the warmth of their embrace already.
He took a deep breath and let it go slowly, and then he looked up at Sidon with a serious expression.
'Technically, yes, there is more', Link signed. 'You can kiss almost anywhere on the rest of the body when you're being really intimate with someone. But this is the extent of what I'm willing to do for the sake of friendly experimenting.'
Link kept a neutral expression while in reality he was hanging onto the moment and desperately hoping that Sidon wouldn't break his heart in the next few minutes.
Sidon looked thoughtful. "I take it this also applies to the last few kinds of kissing we tried? You said they were strictly between couples, so that means we cannot do this again unless we start dating?"
Link's heart was beating rapidly, but his poker face held well enough when he nodded.
Sidon broke into a huge smile.
"Then we shall start dating! A very simple solution to a very simple problem", he said cheerfully, then leaned forward with a clear intention of wrapping Link right back into his arms.
Link, however, dodged the attempt, bewildered.
'What?' he asked, his brain refusing to catch up on the happenings. Really, just like that? Not a moment of hesitation, no need to even think about it first?
Sidon blinked bemusedly and halted his attempt to catch Link.
"What? …Do you not want to?" Sidon asked, now looking increasingly worried.
Link shook his head rapidly, then realized it could be very badly misunderstood, and instead brought his hands up to quickly sign what he had in mind.
'I want to! But why- I mean, how did you decide it that quickly just now?' he asked, trying to get his thoughts and feelings back in order.
Sidon's frown dissipated and a large smile appeared instead.
"Why wouldn't I?" he asked. "I had to make a choice between kissing you and not kissing you, and it was obvious which one I wanted." His smile softened into a fond one as he continued. "You are my dearest friend and I always look forward to seeing you once more. I feel closer to you every time we see each other, and today you let me come much closer than ever before. Now that I've gotten a taste of that closeness, I find myself unwilling to let the distance grow back to what it was before. There is simply no way to go backwards, so the only way left is forward. I think it was inevitable that we would end up a couple, unless it were you stopping it from happening."
Link stared at Sidon, speechless. Nothing new there, but now he couldn't even find the words to spell out with his fingers. Sidon's speech was the most beautiful thing anyone had ever said to him. It was also everything he had wanted to hear for such a long time now. Was this really happening?
Sidon reached out again and took a gentle hold of Link's hand. He never let his eyes leave Link's own while he brought the hand up to his lips and gave it a lingering kiss.
This Zora was way too smooth for his own good.
"You already indicated that you want this too, but just to make sure there is no room for misunderstandings... Will you date me?"
Link had never nodded so fast in his life. Or signed 'yes' so rapidly.
"YES."
Needless to say, a lot more kissing commenced very soon after. After all, Link still had plenty to teach and Sidon was very eager to learn. And now they no longer had any reason to hold back.
Ever again.