*Facepalm* I just realized that I've been calling the Scrap Shop owner Gonzo, even his name is really Gondo. Oh well. I'm too lazy to edit it, so I'm going to keep calling him Gonzo.

So here's chapter 4.

Note: try listening to "Zelda's Theme" and/or "Romance Theme" from Skyward Sword's original soundtrack while reading this.

I don't own anything regarding The Legend of Zelda. I wish I did.

Chapter 4: Groose's Redemption

I had no nightmares that night. Zelda was safe in my arms, so I wasn't worried about her during my slumber.

When I awoke, Zelda was gone. I expected that because I slept in so much. Lately, I've been sleeping in more than I usually did back in Skyloft, due to the lack of sleep during my adventure, desperately trying to save Zelda.

I shoved the covers off of me to go find Zelda.

I walked into the entry room, noticing the bathroom door was closed. I knocked on it. "Zelda?"

"I'm in the bath," she called. "I'll be out in a minute!"

"Okay. Have you eaten yet?"

"No, not yet."

"I'm going to get us food. I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Thanks, Link!"

I walked out the door. I walked down the streamline until I found a few fruit trees. I took out my slingshot because I didn't want to get a headache from rolling into the tree. I shot down two fruits, and they split on the ground. I snatched the pieces up and dropped them into my pouch.

I didn't think living off of fruit would be enough, so I found a large branch next to the fruit trees. I sharpened it a bit, then walked to the banks if Lake Floria. I used that branch to spear fish that swam near me. I caught three fish. "That'll be enough," I said to myself.

I kept the fish on my spear, and I walked back home, holding the spear.

Zelda waited for me outside the door. "Hey, you." She smiled. She wore her white dress, which her blonde hair hung over. Purple bands kept her hair together, and they hung over her chest. The matching purple bracelets were on her wrists, one of which Impa had returned after she passed away. Zelda looked more beautiful than the goddesses and Hylia combined.

"Hey, Zel." I walked up to her and kissed her. We smiled.

"Follow me, okay?" She led me around the house to the back of it. "You were gone a bit longer than a few minutes," Zelda said, "so I did this."

A pile of branches sat in the middle of a circle of stones, where a fire would be. A dirt path lay from the fire pit to the back door, which led to the kitchen. Lining the dirt path were flowers of all colors. Two average-sizes logs sat near the fire pit, and each was big enough to seat two people.

"Wow," I said. "This is… beautiful." My eyes were wide.

"That's not the best part," Zelda said. She grabbed my hand and led me to a patch of dirt about ten feet to the right of the fire pit. "I made a garden. You see these?" Zelda pointed to the top row of the patch. "These will be pumpkins," she pointed to the second row, "these will be carrots," she pointed to the third row, "and these will be lettuces."

Zelda turned and smiled at me, and I couldn't help but smile back. I kissed her again. "This is amazing. How'd you get so good at gardening?"

"Well, up in Skyloft, whenever I wasn't busy waking you up, I helped out with gardening at the Lumpy Pumpkin. I only worked there when I was twelve, though."

"Oh, that's right. How'd Pumm treat you?" I remembered how angry he got at me when I was fooling around at the Lumpy Pumpkin.

"He was nice to me. He's very protective of his chandelier, though. Did you hear that someone broke it?"

I jumped, eyes wide. I rubbed the back of my neck. "Yeah, I wonder who that was…"

Zelda hit me, smiling. "Oh, come on! I know that was you!"

I laughed. "Yeah…"

"Why'd you do that, Link?" she teased.

"There was a heart container on it! I didn't know any other way to get it down."

"And breaking an expensive chandelier was your solution?"

"I hadn't thought it all the way through." We laughed. "Okay, I'm gonna get this food started."

"I'll help." She kissed me on the cheek. I worked on starting a fire in the fire pit, and Zelda gathered some big leaves to use as plates. She washed them off in the stream. She also washed off the fruits that I had gathered.

When the fish were done cooking, Zelda and I sat on a log with the leaves on our laps. I ate like a starving dog, whereas Zelda slowly and delicately picked at her fruit and fish.

Zelda looked at me and giggled. "What?" I asked her, fruit juice on either corner of my mouth.

"You have fruit on your face." She giggled as I wiped the juice off of my mouth with the back of my hand. I wiped it on the grass.

When we finished eating, Zelda and I sat on the couch in the virtually-empty living room. The only other item in the room was a rug that I kept in my Academy room. "We need to get more furniture," I finally said.

"Duh." Zelda kissed me and I kissed her back. "Do we want to make or buy them?"

"There are some things that we should buy, like a toilet, sink, and plates. I'm not skilled in pottery, so I probably wouldn't be able to make those."

Zelda sighed. "Yeah, me neither. I just hope they're not too expensive."

"Don't worry, I've got 5,000 rupees. Maybe I'll get a Hero's discount, as well."

Zelda giggled. "Should we go to Skyloft, then?"

"Yes, let's." I helped Zelda up, then I led her outside, to the nearest bird statue. "Hold on!"

Zelda grabbed two ends of the sailcloth, and I grabbed the other two. Once in the sky, I called for my crimson bird.

Fweeeehhweeeee!

Fweeeeeeeeehhh! Zelda called for her blue Loftwing.

Our birds caught us, and I yelled to Zelda over the wind, "I'll meet you by the bazaar!"

"Okay!" We flew to the bazaar. I used the sailcloth to land, and Zelda slowly landed her bird by the entrance.

Zelda dismounted her Loftwing, and a familiar voice called out to us. "Liiiiiink! Zeldaaaa!"

Groose ran up to me and Zelda and gave us a giant bear hug. "I heard you guys are living down in Grooseland! Goddesses, I've missed you, Zelda! …You too, Link."

"Groose, you saw us four days ago," Zelda said with a giggle.

"That long!?" Groose asked, releasing us and slicking back his fiery-red pompadour.

"Anyway, we're here to get some stuff for our house in Grooseland- the Surface, I mean," I said.

"You know, you two? I think I'm gonna live in Grooseland with you someday. Wouldn't that be awesome?"

I chuckled. "Groose, we're not calling it Grooseland. But yeah, that'd be great."

"Well, I better get going. I need to prepare for night watch." Groose walked off.

"Bye," Zelda and I said.

"Groose got knighted?" I asked Zelda, facing her.

"Apparently," she said. "I'm surprised you haven't been knighted yet, Link. I mean, you saved the world and all…"

"Most Skyloftians still have no idea that you and I saved the world. They don't even know that you're Hylia. The only ones who do know are you, me, your father, and Groose, who have all been involved. The others just think that you got lost, and I found you." I put my hands on her shoulders. "Most people already consider me a knight, but technically I'm not. Sometimes that bothers me. But now, I don't care. I'm living with you, and that's all I care about."

Zelda smiled and kissed me passionately, and I returned the kiss. I didn't care if anyone saw it. I loved her, and I wasn't embarrassed about it. "I love you," I told her.

"I love you too."

"Oh my goddesses!" Karane screeched. "It finally happened!"

Zelda and I turned to face Karane, holding hands, our faces red. Zelda smiled and looked first at Karane, then at me. I smiled back at Zelda.

"Wait till I tell Pipit about this!" Karane darted off before we could say anything.

I shook my head as I led Zelda into the bazaar, smiles on our faces.

I spent about two thousand rupees on two sinks, a toilet, plates, cups, and silverware. Groose decided to take the day off and he agreed to help us carry the stuff back to Grooseland- I mean- the Surface. He had gotten that silly name stuck in my head.

When we landed, Zelda and I led Groose into our house. "Only one bed?" Groose questioned. "What stuff goes on here?" He raised his eyebrows at us.

Zelda and I ignored him and got to work installing the sink and toilet in the bathroom. He joined us soon, working on the plumbing.

Groose was very skilled at construction projects. For example, the Groosenator was a gadget that he constructed to surround the Sealed Grounds' pit in order to help me defeat The Imprisoned, using giant bomb flowers.

When we finished installing the toilet and the sink, we tested the plumbing. The sink worked fine, and so did the toilet. I silently hoped that a ghostly hand wouldn't appear in the toilet.

We moved on to the kitchen. "Before we install the sink," said Groose, "we should put cupboards and drawers to support the sink and give you more storage."

"Good idea, Groose," I said.

"Well, I'm full of good ideas." He stroked his pompadour. "Tell you what. You two obviously look exhausted, so why don't you go to bed while I finish the cupboards. I'll be done by the morning."

"Wow, thanks, Groose," I said. "You can crash on the couch tonight. It's in the living room, the door to the right."

Zelda and I walked to our bedroom, and I wrapped my arms around her as we lay down in the bed. She turned her head and I kissed her. "Love you."

"Love you too," Zelda said.

Zelda's warmth soothed me until I drifted off to sleep.

I awoke to the sound of pounding nails. 'Groose is still working?'

I let go of still-sleeping Zelda and I carefully slipped out of bed. Before I exited the bedroom, I stopped. I looked to my right. To the left of the window was a fireplace, slowly burning logs.

On the mantle were picture frames. I walked over to them and grabbed one of them. It was a picture of the students of the Academy. Karane, Pipit, Cawlin, Stritch, Groose, Fledge, Zelda, and I stood in front of the staff. Instructor Owlan and Instructor Horwell stood to the left and right of Headmaster Gaepora. We were standing in front of the chalkboard in the classroom at the Knight Academy. I grabbed another picture frame that caught my eye. It was a picture of me and Zelda kissing in front of the bazaar. That had to be taken yesterday. I looked at a third picture frame. It displayed me on my Crimson Loftwing, flying with Zelda, who held onto me. Both of us were smiling. That was taken the day that we started building our house. I wondered how those last pictures were taken.

That wasn't the only surprise. A tall mirror hung from floor to ceiling next to mine and Zelda's wardrobe, so she could see how she looked.

I also wondered how Groose managed to put those things into our room without waking the two of us.

I exited the bedroom and walked into the entry room. I saw a bench next to the wall bathroom door. That was the only surprise in the entry room. I walked into the bathroom.

A curtain rack was attached to the ceiling in a circle around the water basin, and green curtains that matched my tunic hung from the rack. I walked out of the bathroom, still in awe.

In the kitchen, a red tablecloth covered the table. Four wooden chairs surrounded the table. The sink was installed, and the drawers were supporting it. Cupboards were attached to the ceiling and wall, and they contained plates and cups. The drawers contained the silverware, and Groose left some drawers empty. I noticed that Groose carved a window out of the wall above the sink, and he put glass in it and curtains. On the wall that the living room and kitchen shared, a picture of Groose hugging me and Zelda yesterday hung.

I walked into the living room, where Groose was. "Link!" he called. He was sweaty and had bags under his eyes.

"Did you stay up all night!?" I asked him.

"Yep! It was so worth it, though!" His pompadour sagged down a little bit from his sweat.

"Groose, everything is so amazing! Thank you so much." I put a hand on his shoulder.

"I'd do anything for you two, my two best friends!" He nodded at me, a huge smile on his face.

"And those pictures… How'd you get those?"

"Well the one of us at the Academy, I asked the Headmaster for a copy. The one of you and Zelda kissing, the one of you and Zelda flying, and us three hugging, were all from Scrapper, Gonzo's robot! He agreed to help me because I knew you. He called you Master Shortpants…" Groose chuckled at my nickname. "He took those pictures with his eyes when you weren't looking, and somehow he managed to print them off for me."

"Groose, I can't thank you enough for all of this. All we expected you to do was the drawers and cupboards!"

"Well, I haven't necessarily given you an apology yet… for being such a jerk to you back in Skyloft. I figured that this would make you forgive me." Groose rubbed the back of his neck, wiping off the sweat.

"Groose, you didn't have to do this. I already forgave you, even if you didn't apologize."

"Thanks, Link. Hey, let me show you around the living room."

"Groose!" Groose and I turned to look at Zelda in the doorway, the biggest smile on her face. "Thank you so much for this!" She ran up to Groose and hugged him.

I could tell Groose had moved on from Zelda because he played it cool. "Anything for my two best friends," he repeated. "Did you see everything?"

"Everything," Zelda said. "What's in here?"

"Allow me to give you the tour," Groose said. "Right here," he pointed to a second fireplace that sat ten feet from the couch, "we have another fireplace, with a chimney directly above. The fireplace in your bedroom also has a pipe that leads the smoke to that same chimney." Groose walked to the wall across from the living room's entrance. He pointed to a slide door. "This door slides open for easy access to the right side of your yard. Don't worry; it locks." To the left of the door was a shelf that carried items that I had put into the Item Check. "I've asked Peatrice to give me these items. This shelf hold your Bug Medal, Heart Medal, Cursed Medal, and Empty Bottles, for quick and easy access in times of need." Groose walked to the back wall, the one opposite to the fireplace. "Here is your shield collection, Link."

There were nine shields hanging on the wall. Three were wooden shields; of those, one was basic, another was better, and the last was the best. They were organized the same way for the three iron shields and the three sacred shields. I kept the Hylian Shield hanging over our bed in the bedroom, however, and I strapped it on every time I left the house.

"And right here," Groose pointed to a small table next to the couch, "is a table."

Zelda and I laughed. "Thanks so much, Groose! How can we ever repay you?" Zelda asked.

"I'm not taking payment." Groose yawned. "Well, I better get going. I'm exhausted."

"You can stay here, if you want," I offered.

"Nah, I don't want to be a nuisance. Plus, you two need your alone time." Groose winked at me.

Zelda's face turned pink. "Okay, bye, Groose! Thanks again!" Zelda said. I waved goodbye as Groose exited our newly-furnished house. Zelda and I followed him or the door and watched him wave to us as he flew back home.

"I can't believe how nice he is now," Zelda said, turning to me. I got lost in her beautiful blue eyes.

"I can. People change." I kissed Zelda.

"I won't change," Zelda said. I raised an eyebrow. "I'll always be madly in love with you."

I chuckled and kissed her again. "And I'll always be madly in love with you."

We go back into our new home, enjoying each other and the new additions to the house.

I didn't notice it before, but next to the bed stood a nightstand, which held the lamp. I noticed it when I turned out the lights and hopped onto my side of the bed next to Zelda.

Zelda and I lay facing each other in the bed, our legs touching under the covers. I held her hand to my chest with both of my hands. I gave into the urge, and I kissed her passionately. I let go of her hand and put one around her waste, the other on the back of her head. Zelda did the same with her hands. Just like in my dream a few nights before, Zelda's lips were so soft and so delicate.

Despite wanting to continue kissing her, Zelda and I pulled away from each other slowly. I kept my eyes shut, but I was awake.

"Link?"

"Yes?" I opened my eyes, once again getting lost in the beauty of the girl I loved.

"How did those pictures get taken?"

She was referring to the ones that seemed impossible for a person to take without us seeing him. "Groose said that Scrapper took them."

"Scrapper? Who's that?"

I guess I hadn't told her. "Scrapper is Gonzo's robot, much like the ones that we saw in the Lanayru Province. He helped me and Fi carry heavy items from the Surface back to Skyloft."

"What kind of items?" Zelda asked, curious.

"Well, he helped me retrieve a crystal ball for the fortune teller. Also with the water basin that's in our bathroom. That helped me extinguish a wall of fire that blocked my path. Oh, and remember the 'two whirling sails' from the Ballad of the Goddess?"

"Yes," Zelda said. Of course she knew. That was a dumb question on my part.

"Well, one of the two sails fell beneath the clouds, so Scrapper retrieved it for me so I could see Levias, who happened to be infected with some monster thing, but that's besides the point."

"Wow, why'd he do all of that for you?"

"Well, he had a thing for Fi… he called her Mistress Fi and called me-" I didn't finish that sentence.

"What did he call you, Link?" Zelda propped herself up on her elbow, still curious.

"…Master Shortpants."

Zelda laughed. A lot. "Oh my goddesses," she said. "That's a great nickname!"

"Shut up," I said playfully.

"Okay, goodnight, 'Shortpants.' " Zelda kissed me and shut her eyes.

"Goodnight, Princess." She hit me and smiled. I kissed her forehead before I shut my eyes and went to sleep.

I understand that everyone reading this has their own idea of what Link and Zelda's house looks like by now. I tried my best to describe it so you'd get a picture. It may have been confusing, but imagine it as you please.

To be continued.

Until then, Review, Follow, Favorite, eat sausage, do whatever your heart desires. Just make sure it's legal.

-SausageLink43