Lost Keys and Whipped Cream
-*Zelda's POV*-
The sun slowly retreated over the hills in the distance and soon the sky was dark save for the few stars that were out and the lit street lights that were racing past me. The road seemed to stretch out forever as I drove through the growing darkness of the Hyrule estates. Houses after houses and still mine did not show its existence.
I sigh in irritation.
Why did they put me in the back of the estate? There are plenty of houses out front that weren't occupied. I shouldn't complain though. At least I have a house in this acre of fine land.
Finally, it comes into view and I find myself speeding up until I turned violently into the driveway. Turning the car off, I unbuckle myself and step out into the dark of the night and the moist air surrounding me. The air was chilling and I had to wrap my arms around myself to keep warm on my short walk to my house door.
I shake the doorknob but to no avail it's locked. I search for my house key that should be within my pockets, but isn't. I groan and run a hand through my long, golden hair.
Why does this always happen to me?
Only I, Zelda Harkinian, would lose my house key.
I pound my fist on the door, hoping that it would magically open for me, but luck was not on my side, nor was it ever.
Now what should I do?
As soon as those words came to my mind I already knew who to turn to. I knew for a fact that he would take me in for a night.
-*Link's POV*-
Thunder cracks and lightning strikes. Soon I could hear the heavy rainfall hit the windows of my apartment. I sit idly on my sofa, watching some TV program without really processing what was on the screen. The rain continues to rapt on the windows and soon brought wind along with it.
"Spring season is here once again…" I announce to myself and am answered by another crack of thunder.
The Castletown apartments weren't much, but they were here for people who couldn't afford a house. Like me: Link Hylia.
My apartment wasn't big, but it wasn't small either. It supplied me with what I needed. It gave me a roof to sleep under at night, a place to store my food, a washing machine to clean my clothes after a full day's work, and the rent wasn't half bad either, so I'm not going to complain.
I look over to my digital clock only to see it flicker once as another strike of lightning flashed.
"Oh, for the love of Din. Please-" I curse before the lights flicker off, encasing me in total darkness. "Dear goddesses…" I groan and rise from the couch and stumble to the kitchen.
I know I have a flashlight in a drawer somewhere around here.
I feel around for the drawer and pull it open, grasping the cool handle of a source of light. Clicking the switch a couple times, I soon realize that it's dead. And I had forgotten to pick up more batteries at the store.
"Sweet Farore above…" I slam the flashlight back in its designated spot and turn to another cabinet. "Old fashioned way then." I mutter and pull out a box of matches and about five or more candles.
I strike the match against the box and light the wicks one by one and soon my small apartment is glowing from the subtle light given off from the candles. Blowing out the match, I throw it into the sink and drown it in water before running a hand through my tousled, sandy-blonde hair. I heave out a sigh and look at my wristwatch. It read ten o'clock exactly. Still early for bed, but too late for working on my laptop.
I walk over to my room and shrug out of my faded blue jeans and into something more comfortable for lounging around. Pulling on my black sweatpants and removing my shirt along with my watch, I hear a sharp knock at my apartment door.
"Who the hell could that be?" I mutter, but go to answer the door regardless of my attire. I was half dressed, so they couldn't sue me, whoever they were. "Coming-." My toe hits an unexpected stool leg and I cut myself off from my own sentence. "Damn it!" I curse harshly before my hand lands on the doorknob. I take in a sharp breath and let it out slowly, composing myself before swinging the door open to give view of my visitor.
My eyes widen at the sight before me and I'm suddenly lost for words.
"Hello, Link." Zelda Harkinian smiles, her crystal blue eyes never leaving mine.
"Uh…hi. Um… you didn't happen to hear anything before…" I trail off, noticing her smirk in the dim light of a nearby exit sign.
"How's your toe?" She laughs and I scratch the back of my head.
"Yeah, sorry about that. Whatcha need?" I ask, getting back to the reason why she's here.
Zelda seems to shrink away and become shy, but continues nonetheless. "Well, I seem to have… misplaced… my house key and I was wondering if I could stay here for the night?" She asks hesitantly.
"Uh… ye-yeah, sure. No problem." I stutter and welcome her in.
She sighs in relief and walks past me as I shut the door. I turn around and was not expecting to have Zelda standing right there, so I bump into her, almost causing her to fall over.
"Sorry, I thought you had walked in farther." I apologize and blush slightly at our sudden close proximity.
"I would have, but I'm all wet and wouldn't want to dampen your carpet." She turns her head enough for me to see her smile wryly.
I hadn't even realized until now that she was soaking wet from the downpour outside. "Oh, forget that. I could care less." I wave it off and step around her. She remains where she is, not moving an inch. "Seriously, Zelda. Come on in." I call to her as I enter my room.
"Are you sure?" She asks me.
"Positive." I reply and scourge through my drawer of clothes as lightning flashes again, reminding the world of its presence.
I had to have something else she could wear. I wasn't going to let her freeze and catch a cold in her wet clothes. I find another pair of black sweatpants that were actually too small for me and an old ratty, gray t-shirt.
As I'm walking out of my room, I glance around for Zelda but can't find her.
"Zelda, where are you?" I ask through the glowing fire of the candles.
"Over here…" She beckons from my living room.
I walk over to her as yet another flash of lightning brightens the room for a mere second followed by a crack of thunder. The storm is relentless. I come to a stop next to her in the living room and see, in dismay, what she's looking at.
"You never told me you have a younger sister." She laughs, staring intently at the photo of the energetic, young, blonde girl and the many other photos adorning the wall.
"Never came up." I say simply and hope she would just drop the subject all together.
"What's her name?" Zelda asks.
"Her name was Aryll." I whisper.
Zelda's silent for a moment, figuring out why I had worded the sentence like I did.
"Was? You mean she's…" Zelda trails off and turns to me.
I nod, my eyes not leaving the picture of my deceased family member.
"How long ago was it?" She asks, true concern lining her features.
"Let's see, I think it's been…ten years now. My parents and her were killed in a car crash when I was sixteen. Hit by a drunk driver." I explain flatly.
"Oh, Link. I'm so sorry-"
"Don't be. You didn't know." I cut her off. I didn't like it when people felt sorry for me, so I change the subject.
"Here are some dry clothes for you. I promise they don't have any koodies on them." I smirk and hand her the bundle of clothes.
"Very funny, Link." She smiles and takes the clothes from my outstretched hands.
"Bathroom is right around the corner." I inform her and turn to walk into the kitchen.
I hear the bathroom door click shut, but it wasn't long until I heard it open again. Zelda came over to the counter and snatches one of the burning candles.
"Kinda dark in there." She smirks and goes back into the bathroom to change.
"What? You don't have night vision?" I ask humorously, only receiving laughter from her as a response.
It doesn't take her long to change; in no time she's out again garbed in fresh clothes, carrying her wet ones in one hand and the candle in the other.
"Where do you want me to put my clothes?" She asks as she sets down the candle next to the others.
"Oh, here I'll take them. I can wash and dry them tomorrow morning when the power is back on." I explain and take her clothes from her.
I go into my very cramped laundry room and place her clothes in the washer until the morning. I come back out to find her sitting on a stool at the counter, her eyes flickering to me as I emerge from the dark hallway.
"What?" I ask, arching an eyebrow.
"Nothing, just…how can you not be cold?" She wonders.
"What do you mean?" I ask as I step into the kitchen once again.
"You're not wearing a shirt." She points out.
"Oh, I see. Naw, I'm never really cold; never have been." I shrug it off.
"So, if you were to run outside right now in this freezing cold rain…"
"I wouldn't be cold the least bit." I finish her sentence for her and chuckle.
"I'd like to test that theory." Zelda laughs as lightning flashes again.
"Maybe some other time. I really don't feel like getting wet right now." I admit and laugh at the disappointed expression on her face as I reach for the refrigerator handle. "Hungry? I've got plenty of food." I offer.
"Maybe just a snack." She responds.
I look to the freezer then and pull out a tub of ice cream. "How about this?" I ask as I turn around to face her.
"Ice cream? On a cold rainy day?" Zelda inquires with a smile and an eyebrow raised.
"Why not?" I chuckle and search for bowls and silver wear. "There should be toppings in the cupboard. Go ahead and choose." I propose and she complies, searching the cabinet.
I fill the bowls with two scoops of ice cream and then turn to the fridge again to pull out whipped cream. Zelda is seated in her spot at the table once again and the only topping she chose was chocolate.
"That's all?" I look at her in bewilderment.
She shrugs, "Nothing else seemed appetizing." She picks up her spoon and bowl.
"Well, it's your choice." I say before taking a spoonful of ice cream into my mouth, savoring the cool feeling as it runs down my throat. When I look back up at Zelda, she's gazing down at her bowl of ice cream uncertainly. "What's wrong? Not your favorite flavor of ice cream?" I ask between mouthfuls.
"No, that's not it…" She pauses and I wait for her to continue. "Why don't we hang out anymore, Link? We used to all the time; we were best friends." She finishes, her eyes never leaving her bowl.
"We're still friends, Zelda, that's never changed," I assure her. "But I guess we just didn't have time to see each other. College was always tough to work around and now our jobs are in different areas. We're hanging out now, though." I point out and give her a genuine smile.
"I guess so…but if it wasn't for me losing my key I wouldn't be here and none of this would be happening…" She mutters, stirring her ice cream before taking a bite and all the while her gaze refuses to meet mine.
I feel a sudden twinge of sadness sweep through my body.
She doesn't want to be here?
"Do you regret it?" I ask doubtfully lowering my gaze.
Her head shoots up and her eyes are wide. "No, I didn't mean it like that. I'm actually happy to be here with you. I just wish that it didn't happen like this: me losing my key and resorting to you. I'd rather have it be you inviting me over or something along those lines…I-I've missed you for the past six months, Link…" She trails off, blushing slightly at her own words.
I smile at her blush and then grab the whipped cream bottle. "Whipped cream?" I ask as I spray it all over my ice cream, completely covering it.
"Yes, please." She laughs softly and smiles, forgetting about the previous conversation. I stretch my arm over to her bowl and coat her ice cream in whipped cream. "Mmm…Thank you." She says halfheartedly.
"No problem." I chuckle.
Zelda takes another bite of her ice cream as do I. A sudden thought came to my mind and my face brightens, my smile turning playfully cruel. I shake the whipped cream bottle before bringing it over to Zelda and spraying it all over her front side. She gives a small squeal and recoils back into her chair. Her expression was one of pure surprise. I throw my head back and laugh uncontrollably at her priceless expression.
"Link!" Zelda half yells, half laughs, her dropped jaw curving into a smile.
"You should…have seen…your face!" I say between laughs.
"I hope you don't mind your clothes getting dirty…" She says while wiping off some whipped cream from her face.
"Those are old clothes for me anyway. I've outgrown-Hey!" I shout as I get a face full of whipped cream.
Zelda laughs in return. "I wasn't referring to the clothes I'm wearing, Link."
"Now you've done it, Harkinian." I laugh with her and quickly spray her again.
She scoops up the whipped cream from her bowl and launches it at me. I simultaneously stand up and take a step back, retreating to the center of the kitchen. Zelda circles around the table and throws another handful of whipped cream at me and I attempt to spray her again, but Zelda suddenly slips on some stray whipped cream on the tiled floor and falls forward, running into me so hard that the impact sent both of us to the ground.
We're both laughing, not realizing the position we're in. I was on my back and she was sprawled over my bare chest, her face up by my ear. A flash of lightning seemed to snap me back into reality, my laughter dying in my throat. Zelda must have come to same conclusion, for she had stopped her laughing as well. We laid there for a moment, unmoving, breathing heavily from the great amount of laughter. I felt her hot breath on my neck causing me to shiver slightly, but not from the cold, rather from Zelda's close proximity.
I hate to admit it, but my hormones are raging out of control. It's taking every shred of will power from me not to just flip her over and take her-
No
I will not think that way. I would never do that to her; it would ruin too many things.
Zelda slowly props herself up by resting her hands on my chest, bringing her face mere inches from mine. Her hands were absentmindedly caressing my chest in the process.
Oh, goddesses, Zelda. You're not helping with anything!
We stare at each other for a moment, not sure how to handle this situation.
"I-I'm sorry…" Zelda whispers and begins to get up, but I bring up my hand behind her head and pull her face down to mine.
And I kiss her.
Our lips are still for what seems like forever, but really it was only a few minutes. Zelda is in a complete state of shock and I have to admit that I wasn't much different. I don't what made me act as I did, even after I told myself not to do anything stupid that would send me over the edge, but I don't regret it.
Not one bit.
I release my grip on her before I have a chance of going further and let my head drop to the tiled floor beneath me. Zelda stares at me for the longest time and I finally break her reverie by whispering an apology and slowly sitting up. In an instant her arms wrap around my neck and she pulls me into another kiss.
I kiss her back this time, not wasting a moment of her warm presence on my roaming lips, my bare chest, everywhere.
She was everywhere.
I sink back down to the floor and wrap my arms around her, the whipped cream bottle is completely forgotten about as it rolls out of my hand and out of reach.
-xoOox-
Sorry if it's a little cheesy, but this is one of my first short stories. This is also my first uploaded story, so reviews are welcomed. There's a lot of dialog and not much description in between, but I'm working on it. Zelda does NOT belong to me or any of the characters, etc. All copyrights go to Nintendo and Shigeru Miyamoto.