Chapter three

Groose's POV

As I lay there sprawled out in a very indignity manner with my arms and legs spread out and limp, I felt happier than I've ever been in my entire life.

Link and I just had sex. No, I thought. Correction: Link and I just made love.

My lover wrapped his wiry arms around my neck and sighed, probably feeling the same way I did. I hugged him back, taking him in my arms and kissing him gently on the forehead possessively. Mine, I thought.

Then I realized that he had said something and I had no idea what.

"Uhhh, what?" I asked him. "Sorry, babe, I wasn't paying attention." Did I just call him babe?

"So I'm babe, now, am I? I kind of like the sound of that. No one has ever called me babe before," he said, chuckling. I blushed and- horror of horrors- I giggled.

I am Groose, the biggest, strongest, most talented knight (...Knight in training, whatever. Same thing...) on Skyloft. And I giggled. I was so embarrassed I wanted to curl up and die. Link didn't seem to notice. He went right on talking.

"All I said was that this has been amazing," he sighed again and snuggled closer. "I never imagined it would be this good... Being with you. Just... Amazing." I buried my face in his soft, golden hair and took a deep breath.

He smelled like the Surface. The spicy sweet scent of the trees and flowers of Faron Woods clung to him as if it were his natural musk. I decided right then that liked it. Then I realized that he was waiting for me to say something. After a moment I smiled and pulled back, looking down into his eyes. So blue... Beautiful, I thought.

"I am pretty amazing, aren't I?" I said smugly. He glared at me, and I couldn't help it: I giggled again. Okay, this seriously needs to stop, I thought. No more giggling. That's really girly. I don't care how adorable or amazing Link is. He can't keep making me giggle. People might start getting suspicious.

"Stop laughing at me, Groose, you're being mean," Link pouted. "I wasn't that bad, was I?" I bit my tongue and had to hold my breath in order to keep a straight face.

"You were terrible," I said as seriously as possible. He glared at me again, seeing right through me.

"Groose..." He wouldn't stop glaring at me. I held his intense stare for a few moments longer before I couldn't take it anymore. I lost it and started laughing hysterically.

"Hahahahahaha! Okay, okay, you were pretty damn amazing, too. Hahaha! Hahaha... Haha... Hmm..." I finally caught my breath and relaxed. He was smiling. My heart faltered. I wanted to say it.

"Link... I just... I..." I trailed off into silence, unable to say the words without crying. I gulped down the lump in my throat and did the only thing I could think of.

I grabbed him and kissed him hard. After a few minutes of passionate kissing, he pulled away.

"Hey, Groose?" He cupped my face in his hands and gazed into my eyes. "I love you, too. Okay? Always have, always will. I know it's hard to say at first. But you'll get used to it... I know I'd like to." Wow... Always have? What...? I didn't know what to think. I wondered how long he had been carrying a torch for me.

"Link..." He kissed me on the chin, causing my voice to waver again. "Link. Stop. We seriously need to talk about this. About us." He pulled away and sighed, frustrated.

"What is there to talk about? I thought we were on the same page here. I told you how I feel. I love you, Groose. And you said you love me, too," he sounded like he was getting mad. "What else is there?" I shook my head.

"No, Link, you don't understand. I do love you. I'm just..." I didn't know how to explain. "Link, I'm sorry, I can't think of how to explain. This is all so crazy and unexpected. It's happening so fast." He took my hands in his and sighed patiently.

"Okay, Groose," he said. "Let's talk about it. How is it unexpected? You mean you didn't expect me to have feelings for you, is that it?" I nodded and tried to explain.

"Yeah, that's it. I never thought you'd have feelings for me. I always assumed you had a thing for Zelda. And I was kind of jealous. I wanted to be that guy. The most popular guy! The best looking guy, the guy with the prettiest girlfriend. I always knew I was different, I guess. I kind of liked you, I think. I mean I thought you were cute. But I always ignored that because... Well, if people knew that I was into guys..." Link nodded solemnly, completely understanding. I hope.

"Groose, if anyone is going to judge you for who you are then their opinion doesn't matter. They shouldn't judge you for feeling the way you do about me. And besides, it happens all the time."

"It does?" That surprised me. Growing up I was always under the impression that homosexuality was frowned upon in every circle. Apparently I was wrong.

"Yeah," Link said. "It does. Here, especially. Haven't you noticed?" I shook my head. Who else on Skyloft was like us, I wondered? Link laughed.

"Well, Fledge, for one, is definitely a homosexual. He's had a crush on Pipit for the longest time. He talked to me about it last year. I was kind of worried about him when Pipit and Karane started going out." Okay, so I guess it didn't surprise me to hear that Fledge was gay. But who else?

"That makes sense," I said. "But I didn't notice. People are pretty good at hiding it. Are you sure people here wouldn't judge us if they found out?"

"Are you ashamed of us, Groose?" Link suddenly asked, quietly and obviously getting upset that I was worried about this at all. "Are you ashamed of me?"

"No! Ugh, I'm not ashamed of you. Any guy OR girl would be proud to have you. Especially me. Anyway, that's not the point. I don't get why you picked me. Out of anyone. Any girl, any guy. Doesn't matter which." He looked at me blankly and I sat up in bed, exasperated.

"You're a hero, Link! You could have chosen anyone in the Sky, or on the Surface. For example, Peatrice. Or Orielle. She's a little older than you but I've seen the way she looks at you. Even... Well, I think Owlan just adores you for bringing him that... Thing."

"Oolo," Link said softly, a smile lighting up his face.

"Yeah," I said. "Oolo. Anyway, like I said, you could have picked anyone. What I want to know is... Why me?" Link closed his eyes and laid back on the bed. He took a deep breath and was obviously trying to keep his composure.

"It's always been you, Groose," he said. "Only you. For as long as I can remember." He sat up and took my hands in his and held them tight as he continued to speak softly.

"When I first came to Skyloft I was scared of everything. The only people who cared enough to talk to me were Zelda and the instructors at the Academy. And you. Sure, you were mean to me. But not all the time. Sometimes you could be really nice. After a while that stopped. I didn't know why. But I never stopped trying to be your friend." He quieted and smiled at a memory.

"Remember the time when we were kids and we played duck duck goose every day for two weeks straight?" I nodded.

"Yeah," I said. "It was a big joke. You picked me as the goose every single time. And Zelda started saying duck duck Groose instead of duck duck goose. All the kids started doing it and it was embarrassing. I hated it." Link sighed.

"I know, and I'm sorry. The only reason I picked you every time is because I liked you then, too. I wanted to play with you. Get you to chase me for once. I didn't think about what the other kids would think. I felt really bad when they started making fun of you." I nodded, letting the memory come back.

I remembered being bitter about that for years. I took a deep breath and held it as I closed my eyes. When I opened them and let the air out, I wasn't bitter anymore. It didn't matter now. It was in the past. Link squeezed my hands reassuringly. I smiled at him and he kept on going.

"Anyway, it was always you, Groose. Zelda teased me about it for a while before she realized it was serious. That's why she was always so protective of me. She thought you'd hurt me if we actually ever became close." Now, that surprised me. Zelda knew that Link was gay all this time and she never told anyone?

Not to mention the fact that Zelda obviously had a crush on him. If not now, then before at some point. Whatever, I thought. She is out of the picture now.

"She thought I'd hurt you?" I was appalled. Then Link chuckled.

"Well, you were always either beating me up or threatening to beat me up." I stared at him blankly for a moment. He has a point.

"Touché," I said. He's right. Zelda had good reason to protect her friend from me. I was pretty awful to him. Of course I was dealing with my own angst about my feelings toward both Zelda and Link at the time, so that's understandable as well.

"So... Anything else you need cleared up, Groose?" I looked at him, and thought for a moment. Then I smiled. I had a thought.

"No, not really," I said, leaning in close to kiss him. He closed his eyes and I pulled away just at the last second. "Actually, yes. There is something else."

He opened his eyes and when he did I crushed my lips to his and kissed him harder than any other time that night. When I pulled away he was rosy cheeked and breathless.

"Yes? Groose, what is it?" His eyes shone with anticipation. He knows what I'm going to say, I thought. Oh, well. I'm going to say it anyway. I took a deep breath and didn't let it back out until I was finished.

"Link, will you go out with me? Officially? I want us to be together," I took one big gasping breath when I was finished. His gorgeous blue eyes got really big and so did his perfect smile. He wrapped his arms around my neck and gave me his answer.

"Yes," he whispered. "I'm yours, Groose. Always have been, and always will be." And then he began to nibble on my ear in the most adorable way. I sighed happily as he began to kiss a trail down my neck.

Today is officially the best day of my life, I thought contentedly. And it's only the beginning...

The end. :)

There you have it, folks! A perfect beginning to make the perfect happy ending for Groose and Link. This sure was a lot of fun to write. I hope you all enjoyed reading it!

Please read and REVIEW, seriously, I want to know what y'all think of this story.

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Thanks for reading! Byyyye!

p.s. Seriously, PLEASE REVIEW! :D