Autumn
It'll have to do Link admitted to himself the evening before Zelda was due to arrive. You can stop cleaning now, Hero.
He'd spent the past two, maybe three days cleaning out his Hateno Home to make way for the Princess. In truth he'd been unable to stop fidgeting over the house as he waited for Zelda to move in. Hyrule Castle itself was still in disrepair; most of it was untraversable, either caved in or crawling with Malice. And after one too many times losing her work to a gust of wind and a gap in the wall, Zelda decided she would just live somewhere else while repairs were being done.
Link couldn't quite remember offering for her to stay. He'd been walking with her along the battlements, listening to her lament the state of the castle. He'd scratched his chin and tried not to sound too hopeful when he mentioned that he'd bought a house in Hateno, and the next thing he knew they were planning living arrangements and discussing how to split up chores.
Zelda would take the loft, and Link the main floor. Neither of them planned to be there very often, preferring the road to being cooped up at home; Zelda was in the midst of a tour through the major settlements of Hyrule, and Link had business in Akkala aiding the restoration of the Citadel. The Hateno home would be little more than a base of operations until the Castle was done - they couldn't call it living together .
She streamed in like sunlight the next afternoon, carrying an overflowing pack and a large stack of books. Her personal belongings were scarce; once she'd arranged her things, they fit in their entirety in a single dresser drawer. But the rest…
A horde of books and writing tools, all salvaged from the Hyrule Castle library; a few vials of elixirs and an entire pack of surveying tools; a telescope and a star chart; and a miscellany of things Link couldn't even identify let alone understand the purpose of.
Link nervously watched Zelda unpack her things, barely able to believe she was real. What are you afraid of, Hero? A little while ago he'd told her that he loved her. He'd realised he couldn't imagine anything but loving her. But living together...that was serious .
Link cleared his throat. "I gotta get some groceries, want to join?"
Zelda poked her head over the railing of the loft, grinning down at him. "You're cooking?"
Link nodded happily, and that seemed to be all the convincing she needed.
They walked hand in hand through the town, waving and nodding at the strangers that passed by, a gradual realisation dawning on them both; no one knew who they were. They were both in plain traveller's clothes, dyed in subdued browns and blues both practical and unmistakably Hylian. Zelda had twisted her hair into a braid that was hidden under a hood, and without her regalia and golden jewels she looked the same as any other Hylian.
Well, Link thought, as he watched her thumb through his list of groceries. Not just any Hylian .
"We should pick fake names" Zelda suggested on the way back to the house.
Link raised his eyebrows at her. "...are you sure?"
She wrapped her arm around his, and spoke in a low voice. "Call it a security measure. Can't have people knowing the the Hero of Hyrule has an unlocked door,"
"I'll get a lock." Link said defensively. "When I need it."
"Oh, so nine weapon racks was more important than a lock,"
He gave her a gentle shove, eliciting from her a sudden raft of giggles.
"We don't need a lock," he said.
"Oh?"
Link took her right hand in his, and tapped the triangular crest on her hand. "You can just seal the door."
Zelda's face fell. "Link…" she groaned. "Oh Hylia, no-"
"What?" he challenged her, stifling a laugh. They walked into the house, both eyeing the wooden door knowingly.
"Is this living here will be like, then?" Zelda asked as she dumped her bundle of groceries onto the table. "Bickering and bad jokes?"
Link closed the door behind himself, and walked slowly up to her, groceries all but forgotten as he cupped her face in his hands and gave her a long, rapturous kiss. His worries about living with her were all gone then, and he remembered with a sudden clarity why he knew he loved her.
"Maybe," he said breathlessly. "Can't imagine I'd prefer anything else,"
A/N: This fic was written as part of a writing request from tumblr. It is finished and will update ~once every three days. Thanks!
