The bistro was as bustling as a tiny, overpriced place could be when Zelda arrived. She found her parents easily and walked over, a smile she had to force on her lips. "Hey Mom, hi Dad," she greeted as she sat down, feeling very underdressed with them in their work attire.
"Hello dear," her mother beamed at her, all signs of aging held at bay with the latest in surgeries and injections. Honestly, looking at her next to Zelda, you'd almost think they were sisters. The same colored hair, one natural and one now from a bottle, the eyes similar to each other, the noses both so perfect for their soft faces... It was easy to see where Zelda got her beauty, and the lengths her mother was going to to preserve it was a little worrisome.
"How's the job?" her father asked without delay and she looked over at him with a smile. He had been packing on a few pounds, covered nicely by his tailored suit, but not quite hidden in the extra chin he was beginning to develop. His hair once filled with brown locks was now professionally streaked with gray, as well as his goatee he had started to grow to help hide the beginnings of his double chin.
"It's going well," she nodded as she looked between them. They were far enough apart at the table to show that they had been fighting earlier, no doubt about her mother's lavish spending habits again. "I'm stocking shelves in the grocery department and working with a military veteran."
"What war?" her father asked and she sighed as she picked up her menu.
"The one still going on," she said as she perused the options. "He got injured-"
"Where?"
"His leg," she said as she glanced up at her dad suspiciously. "He limps after working for awhile and today I had to help him home." Her mother let out a sympathetic noise as she sipped her lemon water.
"Does he have anger issues?" her dad asked and Zelda tensed.
"He's angry-"
"Towards you?"
"To everyone." Her father blinked at her, the wheels of his brain churning. "He's been through a lot from what I've gathered."
"Is he attractive?" her mother asked and Zelda blushed at her, a small nod making her mother laugh. "Tall?"
"Pretty tall," she admitted, "and handsome... blue eyes like you wouldn't believe, and his hair is the same color."
"Not Hylian then," her father commented and Zelda shared a look with her mom.
"What's wrong with that dear? He sounds delightful."
"Delightfully mental," her father scoffed and Zelda whirled on him.
"Dad!" she glared at him, making him shrug.
"Sufferers of PTSD recover, but it's a very long and often extremely painful process."
"He's already shown signs of improvement," Zelda said firmly, "and I've only worked with him three times."
"Really Zelda I'm sure he's s nice young man," her father waved off her words, "but the last thing I need is for you to get interested and attracted to a volatile individual. He's an injured veteran, suffering from PTSD, probably has suicidal thoughts-"
"He's a great guy going through a tough time," Zelda insisted and her father shot her a look.
"He's dangerous, I don't want you near him." She scoffed at that.
"I'm more than capable of judging who's dangerous and who's not," she said in a strained polite tone. "Can we please talk about anything else?" Her dad huffed and her mother nodded.
"We're going overseas next week," her mother, ever the tension cutter, supplied. Zelda smiled and feigned interest in the details of her mother's upcoming fashion show, her father silent as he brooded.
XxX
Zelda made it out of lunch with her parents and drove to the nearest coffee shop. She checked her phone and sighed at the fact that she had no missed calls or texts. After ordering two coffees, one iced, flavored, and delicious and the other black and hot, she drove back to Ike's. After climbing the stairs and opening the door she froze, alarmed when he wasn't on his bed.
"Ike?" she called his name warily, worried about what she might find.
"Fuck," she heard the hiss from the bathroom and carefully walked forward.
"Ike?"
"Zelda?" the voice came muffled through the door and she smirked slightly to herself.
"Yeah, told you I'd come back and check on you... I brought you some coffee." The door opened and she stared in shock at Ike in a towel. His body was incredibly fit... and horrifically scarred. Rough, discolored patches of skin littered his body, scars in other places-
"Shit, lemme get a shirt and pants on," he growled and stepped back into his closet. Zelda used the moment to blink a few times, trying to dislodge the sight that was now permanently seared on her retinas. He said he barely survived but that... "Hey," he poked out of the bathroom, dressed in a dark gray hoodie and black sweatpants. "I uh," he looked down at the floor, "guess there's no way you didn't see that huh?"
"Ike," she frowned up at him, pain written across her face.
"No," he snarled at her. "Don't you fucking pity me. Don't you dare."
"Ike-"
"Stop it!" he snapped, his eyes angry. "I don't want your pity. It's misplaced." She nodded, trying to wrap her mind around the whole situation. "I don't want it okay? If that's what you're feeling then just go." She held out the coffee cup and he sighed as he took it.
"I'm sorry Ike," she whispered and turned to leave, tears in her eyes.
She made it back to her dorm, locked herself in her room, and cried. She cried for Ike, for the unknown horror he somehow survived, and cried for the man he must've once been.
XxX
The next day her classes were all a blur. The information went in one ear and out the other, not even trying to make a place in her brain. She went through the motions of eating, her mind on Ike in that apartment, limping, hurting, and angry. Her eyes trailed to her phone, wishing she had thought to get his number. He'd be off of work by then, hell he had limped back to his apartment by now and... did he work his second job today? What did he do?
"Earth to Zelda," Peach's voice at her door made her jump. "Daydreaming?"
"More like day... I was just thinking," she shook her head and forced a smile to her lips. "What's up Peach?"
"Well," Peach twirled a lock of fluffy blonde hair between her fingers and smiled, "there's a party tonight and-"
"I have work in the morning."
"Aw c'mon Zelda!" Peach pouted. "Don't be so lame! You'll have fun. Hot guys, alcohol-"
"No," she shook her head and Peach rolled her eyes.
"Live your life! Have fun while you're young!"
"Peach," Zelda pinched the bridge of her nose and let out a heavy sigh. "No okay? I have my own fun, I don't want to go out and party."
"Lame," Peach singsonged as she left and Zelda rolled her eyes.
XxX
The next morning Zelda got up for work and dressed, wondering if Ike would have her moved to another section. The drive to work was silent, her forgetting to put on any music. As she pulled into a parking space she looked at the gathered bodies, not seeing her limping companion. With a heavy sigh she got out of her car and moved in a daze to the front doors. Marth gave her a curious smile and she just shook her head, keeping her eyes on the ground.
Out of nowhere a travel coffee cup purchased from a gas station was shoved in her face. Zelda jumped and looked up to see Ike holding it. His face was set in a stoic mask, but his eyes sparked with something she wanted to call regret. "Take the damn cup?" he asked and she gave him a small nervous smile as she did.
"Thanks."
"I owed you for the other day," he added as he shifted on his feet. "It's just from the gas station down by my place but it's actually alright." Her smile grew at that and she raised the mug to her lips. One sip confirmed it was definitely iced, and vanilla flavored. "They don't... I added ice cubes to it," he told her, looking down at the pavement.
"Thanks Ike," she said with a slight blush crawling up her cheeks. "That's... really sweet of you." He shrugged off her words and she took another sip, trying to ignore Marth's dumbfounded expression.
The doors opened and as one the mass of bodies moved to the time clock. Once Zelda was clocked in she waited for Ike before beginning the trek to groceries. "I just want to be treated like a normal person," Ike told her softly and she looked up at him, noted how he kept his eyes on anything but her. "I'm not my scars, I'm not... what happened to me. I'm Ike."
"That's fair," she nodded and he glanced down at her. They had just made it to groceries and she paused. "Do you want me to-"
"I'm sorry," he spoke quickly, looking pained to do so. "I shouldn't have gotten so upset I just... I get tired of looks like that and I," he took a deep breath, "I don't want you to look at me that way."
"I won't," she said quickly, putting her hand on his arm. He looked down at her hand and she squeezed gently. "I'm sorry about yesterday too okay?" He looked deep in her eyes then, Zelda having the eerie feeling he was looking into her soul, and for the briefest of seconds she could've sworn his lips twitched upwards. Then he was back to his normal blank mask, making her question whether or not she saw it at all.
"There's a pallet coming," he told her as he pulled his arm from her hand.
XxX
They worked swiftly, Zelda very aware the moment he started limping. By the time break was called he was obviously favoring his leg, but not too much. "You know what?" Zelda said as they moved to the front together.
"What?"
"I need to go shopping for some boots," she said out of nowhere, "you wanna come along?"
"No. I hate shopping."
"It's just the mall."
"You want to drag the guy who limps through the mall?" he asked incredulously and she smiled sweetly up at him.
"It's just one store." That earned her a snort and she narrowed her eyes.
"I have had girlfriends, a mom, and a sister. It's never just one store," he said firmly and Zelda couldn't help but laugh.
"I promise. We can go on your next day off."
"I don't want to," he responded quickly and she let out a heavy sigh.
"Ike do you want me to treat you like I treat everyone else?" she asked and he nodded once. "Then name a day, we're going."
"You're stubborn y'know," he said and then added under his breath, "and a real pain in my ass." She laughed, having caught the whole thing. They parted ways at the front door and Marth pounced like an excited kitten.
"He bought you coffee?" he asked, like it was the craziest thing to ever happen.
"Yeah," she nodded. "I drove him home the other day and bought-"
"Whoa, you've been to his place?!" Marth stared at her, like she had sprouted another head, and Zelda nodded. "I don't believe it."
"Believe what?" she questioned curiously and Marth gave her an impressed smile.
"You're actually getting to know Ike."
XxX
"We're both off tomorrow, there was an error in ordering," Ike said as they met up back in groceries. "I'm off from my other job then too."
"Awesome!" she beamed at him, so happy he'd actually agreed. "I'll pick you up?"
"Well I can't exactly walk there," he responded dryly. "Not if you're going to drag me around all day."
"Not all day!" she laughed and slapped his stomach gently. "Just one store, maybe lunch?"
"The mall opens at nine. You really plan to spend two to three hours in one store?" he asked dryly and she laughed.
"Would it kill you to hang out with someone? Be social?"
"God it probably would," he said with a sneer and Zelda laughed.
"Then I'll go to your funeral," she said somberly and was rewarded with him rolling his eyes.
"You'll be the only one," he grumbled as he walked off and she frowned after him.
XxX
They made it to the end of the shift and walked up to the front together, Zelda smiling in silence at their planned morning together the next day. "Ike?" she looked up at him as they made it to the time clock.
"What?"
"Do you..." she blushed but really wanted to know. "Do you have a girlfriend that's going to get jealous of my stealing you on your day off?"
"No," he shook his head as he punched the keys, "I haven't had a girlfriend in years."
"I find that hard to believe," she commented and he snorted.
"I said I haven't had a girlfriend, not that I haven't had any interested parties."
"Then why say no?" she asked innocently and he stepped aside for her to clock out.
"You've seen why," he whispered softly and the image of his scarred torso flashed in her mind.
"Yeah but someone who loves you wouldn't care about that," she insisted and he looked down at her, confusion all over his face.
"You saw me. That's a lot to just get over and not care about," he responded dryly and she rolled her eyes.
"Ike-"
"I'm serious," he said and she gave him a stern look.
"So am I." He stared at her for a minute longer before turning away, Zelda falling into step beside him once more.
"So I'll just go find me a blind girl who's also lost her sense of touch," he nodded and she let out an exasperated noise. "Know anyone that fits the bill? We'd be the most interesting couple in town with my limp."
"Ike!" she felt bad for laughing at that, but laugh she did. "You're awful."
"Usually people realize that much faster," he commented as they moved to her car. She paused by the drivers side, wondering why this felt normal.
"You want a ride?" she asked and he shook his head.
"Nah, I'll see you tomorrow," he waved and started to walk off.
"Ike!" she grabbed his arm and he turned back to face her, an eyebrow raised. She looped her arms around his waist and hugged him tightly. He tensed before she felt his arms carefully wrap around her and she smiled into his chest. "You can call or text me if you get bored," she said as she stepped back and he tilted his head.
"And give you another platform with which to annoy me?" he asked dryly and she scoffed.
"Don't be such a baby," she teased as she opened her car door, "you know you enjoy my company." She hopped in her car and gave him a wave as the engine turned over. "You sure you don't want a ride?"
"I'm good," he told her before turning and walking off, his limp pronounced but not as bad as the other day. She watched him move through the parking lot, a small smile on her lips.
This... whatever it was she had with Ike... she liked it.
XxX
Zelda finished up with the last of her homework, wondering what exactly she could talk Ike into the next morning. Shopping, lunch, and maybe if she pushed it they could hang out afterwards. She smiled at the thought, wondering if he was thinking about it too. Her phone buzzed and she grabbed it from her nightstand, her smile growing at the text from Link.
'Wanna hit the mall with me tomorrow?' She bit her lips together, knowing he was going to ask a million questions when she answered with the truth.
'I'm actually going tomorrow with Ike.'
'Say what now?' She laughed at that.
'I asked and eventually persuaded him to go. We're going to grab lunch and everything.'
'Is this a date? ;)' she rolled her eyes, happy no one could see her blush.
'No, just two coworkers hanging out on a shared day off.'
'Riiiiiiight...'
'Shut up!'
'You got it bad for him huh?'
'I don't have anything bad!'
Her phone buzzed and she stared at the text from the unknown number, a squeal leaving her lips. 'This is Ike. Go ahead and annoy me I'm bored while walking to job number two.'
'He's texting me!' she sent to Link and he sent a dozen kissy faces in return. She rolled her eyes and pulled up the message from Ike.
'I would hate to be accused of causing annoyance :P' she saved his number, grinning at her own cleverness. 'I'm putting you in my phone as grumpy old man'
'Gee thanks. You'll be... Dopey :P' she laughed at that, his use of a face making her really happy.
'I should be... That SUPER Pretty Lady Named Zelda'
'That won't fit. How about Annoying Zelda?'
'Zelda the Flawless'
'Zelda the Obnoxious'
'Zelda the Perfect'
'Zelda the Crazy'
'Zelda the Magnificent'
'Zelda the Unstable'
'Zelda the Best Ever'
'Zelda the Self Absorbed. There that fits'
'Hey now!' she pouted at that. 'Don't do that to me :('
'Zelda the Tolerable' she smiled at that, happy beyond belief that he would say that.
'I'll change that tomorrow, you'll put me in as Zelda the Best Ever!'
'Sure. Right. Gotta stop, at job number two.'
':( text me later!'
'We'll see :P' that last text made her smile and let out a small squeal.
"I'm getting through to you Ike," she smiled at her phone. "Whether you want to admit it or not, you're letting me in."
XXX
So, how was that? I hope you enjoyed, because I enjoyed writing it. Special thanks to my two anonymous guests last chapter! Give yourselves a hug from me! Anyway, lemme know what you think. Much love, Leigh