Link strolled into Zelda's hospital room on the dot of nine o'clock, a smile on his lips as he set down a bouquet of balloons and held out a small wrapped gift. "Happy birthday to my favorite sister," he said as he gave her a quick hug.
"I'm your only sister," she pointed out as she returned the hug and he chuckled.
"That has nothing to do with you being my favorite," he said as he took a seat, an excited smile on his face. "Open your present!" He clapped his hands excitedly and she rolled her eyes good naturedly before ripping off the paper. Inside sat a jewelry store box and she looked up at him before cracking the lid. Sitting on a velvety cushion was a beautiful watch, the very one she had pointed out in the Christmas catalog a few months back.
"Link!" She beamed at him as she carefully pulled it from the box, the platinum and white gold shining perfectly. "This was so expensive you didn't need to-"
"Money's not a problem Zelda, you know that," he waved off her words and smirked. "Just put it on." She eagerly complied, a smile on her lips as she clicked it into place on her left wrist.
"Link... Thank you, this is perfect," she beamed at him and he beamed right back, both of them breaking down into a giggling fit after a moment.
"We probably look crazy," Link said with a slight snort, "sitting here smiling like idiots."
"You look crazy," Zelda said with a haughty tone, "I look awesome." They dissolved into giggles again, only slowing down when there was a knock on her door. "Come in!" she called out happily.
XxX
Ike stepped into Zelda's room, his grin faltering on his lips at the sight of the two occupants smiling like crazy. He recognized the blonde man from elevator the one day and scowled. "Oh," he said, mentally kicking himself for such a response, "I didn't-"
"Ike!" Zelda beamed at him. "Come on in! This is Link," she indicated the blonde who stood up with a warm grin and Ike tried to return it, not quite understanding what was going on here. He shook the blonde's offered hand.
"Ike Greil, nice to meet you," he spoke clearly despite his confusion and the blonde's eyes widened. "What?" he asked, a tad bit more gruff than he intended.
"Oh sorry," the blonde withdrew his hand, "I just... didn't think you'd still be visiting my sister." Ike felt a wave of relief wash through him at the words.
"Why would I stop?" he asked in confusion, honestly curious. Was it weird that he still wanted to?
"Uh," Link glanced over to Zelda who just smiled at her brother.
"I was promised presents Ike," she finally said with a beaming smile and he chuckled.
"Yeah, I might've said something about that," he scratched at his chin in mock thought and Link chuckled.
"Well I have to get to the office so I'll see you later Zel," he waved, nodded at Ike, and then left the room, closing the door behind him.
"Well he's better than your parents," Ike remarked and Zelda laughed as she shifted on her bed. Ike moved forward, swinging the obvious giant gift bag tauntingly.
"What's in the bag?" she asked with a heartbreakingly beautiful smile and he shrugged.
"Just some stuff for some chick," he said as he moved beside her. She held out her arms and Ike leaned over the bed to hug her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders before sitting by her legs on the bed. He noticed the new watch on her wrist and paled, suddenly feeling self conscious about his choice in gifts.
"Some chick huh?" Zelda asked with a smile and Ike shrugged.
"Is that from your brother?" he asked as he took her hand to examine the watch. The heart monitor beeped faster and he looked over at it, worry creasing his brow.
"Yeah that's from Link," she said quickly. "I saw it in a magazine around Christmas time and said it was beautiful... Honestly it's a bit much, don't you think?"
"A bit," he agreed as he rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Definitely makes me feel like my gifts aren't good enough."
"Oh stop it!" she said with a pout. "My family is all about appearances and money... If it's not some stupid expensive thing then they don't care." He nodded absently and pushed the bag towards her.
"Happy birthday Zelda," he said with a smile. She beamed at him before opening the bag, a laugh leaving her lips as she pulled out a fuzzy purple cat, it's wide plastic eyes and upturned smile making her dissolve into giggles.
"Oh my god!" she laughed as she hugged it to her, her eyes finding his with mirth. "I love this! What's it from?"
"I dunno, I just saw it and thought of you," he told her honestly and she leveled him a fake glare.
"I remind you of a fat purple cat?" she demanded with a smile and he laughed as he relaxed more on her bed. He leaned back on his hands, running his thumb against her thigh as she dug into the bag with vigor. "What's this?" she asked as she pulled out an envelope. He rolled his eyes at her suspicious look and she ripped open the paper, laughing at the fat little bee drawn on the front over a cheesy flower. She opened it and rolled her eyes. "'Habee Birthday'," she managed to say with a straight face before looking at Ike who winked.
"You know you love my cheesy sense of humor," he said and she nodded. "Go on," he nodded to the bag, "you're not done yet." She set the card down by the cat on her lap and dug in the bag again.
"Ike..." she trailed off as she pulled out a small jewelry box, her eyes flicking up to him warily.
"Go on," he encouraged and she opened the lid slowly. A soft gasp left her lips and he smiled as she lifted the silver necklace from the velvet bed. She held it up, marveling at the silver pendant etched with ancient Hylian lettering, while Ike marveled at her.
"Ike," she looked up at him with tears in her eyes and he shrugged.
"I know it's not fancy but I saw it and thought of you... It's supposed to mean-"
"'Gift of Wisdom'," she translated and he nodded. "The old triforce tales were always my favorite bedtime stories growing up... I know they're all just silly stories but the tales they told..." she shook her head and looked up at him. "Can you put it on me?"
"Yeah," he nodded and moved closer to her on the bed, hearing the heart monitor as it sped up. "You okay?" he asked softly as he took the thin chain from her fingers.
"Yeah," she said a bit breathlessly and he nodded once as he worked the thin clasp open and leaned towards her more to get it around her neck. She moved her locks up in a messy grip of hair, Ike eyeing her pale neck as he clasped the necklace together. He took a steadying breath and leaned back slightly, liking and yet not liking what she was doing to him.
"Beautiful," he commented as she dropped her hair. She looked up at him with a warm smile.
"Yes it's beautiful! Thank you Ike I-"
"I meant you," he said without thinking, mentally kicking himself when her eyes widened. "I-I mean that it looks beautiful on you," he tried to recover lamely. She crinkled her nose and Ike decided to just accept his fate. "Fine, I meant you," he huffed and she took his hand, squeezing it gently.
"Wanna see me walk?" she asked excitedly and he nodded.
XxX
Zelda smiled, her fingers playing with the pendant around her neck as Ike pushed her from the confines of the hospital to the gardens. "Here we go," Ike mumbled as they meandered down the path and off of it, him finding a perfectly secluded spot.
"Alright," she took a deep breath and beamed at him, "stand back!"
"I'll think I'll stay close," he said firmly and she rolled her eyes.
"Here I go!" she bit her lips and stood up on two shaky legs. Ike stepped closer to her, his hands somewhere between his side and stretched out to grab her. "I can do this," she said and took a step towards him. He nodded happily, his hands still hovering as she took another step.
"You're doing great Zelda," his words were warm and encouraging as she came right up to him. She realized for the first time since she met him how much taller than her he was, her having to crane her neck up to meet his eyes. She felt her weak legs start a wobble and she latched her hands onto his forearms, his hands going directly to her hips. "I've got you," he said in a slightly shaky voice and she dared to meet his eyes.
"I'm okay," she said firmly and he nodded.
"Okay," he took a step back and she followed him, her eyes locked on his as he stopped once more.
"Why'd you stop?" she asked and he placed his hands on her hips once more.
"Because I really want you to take it easy," he said with a smirk and she rolled her eyes.
"I'm fine!" she insisted. "If it would make you feel better though," she said, acting like it put her out to slide her hand into his when really her heart began pounding in her chest at what she was sure was a lethal rate, "we'll do this." He nodded and once more they began walking, the two of them moving slowly but surely around their secluded area.
XxX
She was exhausted from so much exertion, that much was obvious when Ike forced her back into the wheelchair, despite her protests to being completely fine. After attempting to stand, which resulted in Ike so alarmingly close to her face she had been hit by full force of his incredible eyes, she decided to accept her fate and allow herself to be wheeled back upstairs.
When they got to her room Ike wheeled her over to the bed and, to Zelda's shock, scooped her up from the wheelchair with a smile. For the brief ride between the wheelchair and bed she laid her head against his chest, listening to his heart thump steadily in her ear.
"There we go," he mumbled as he set her on the bed and she let out a content sigh. "You're getting way better at walking."
"I know," she sighed as she tried to adjust her pillow.
"Here," he leaned over her and fluffed the pillow for her, Zelda taking the moment of closeness to really examine his features. He was beyond handsome, to the point that it was almost unfair to the men around him. His features were added to by the dark blue hair and eyes, making something that should have been distracting quite flattering. "That better?" he asked and she nodded, not wanting to open her mouth and have something embarrassing slip out. "You look tired," he commented as he sat down beside her, his hand warmly slipping into hers.
"It took a lot out of me," she admitted and he narrowed his eyes playfully.
"You were showing off," he accused and she blushed.
"Maybe," she conceded and he chuckled.
"Why don't you rest? I can come back when you wake up." He squeezed her hand and she scowled.
"I don't want to miss a moment with you," she said and tensed immediately when she realized how that came out. "I-"
"I don't either," he cut her off with a smile, "but you need your rest." He hesitated, his eyes flickered from hers down to... her lips? "Rest up okay? Call me when you wake up and I'm sure I'll have a cake or something from Mom." He gave her a smirk and she nodded.
"That sounds heavenly," she commented as she leaned back on the pillows.
"You remember the question I vaguely asked about whether or not I should do something?"
"Yeah," she said as she picked her head up again. "What was that about?"
"You said yes."
"Well yeah but not knowing what you-" her words get cut off as Ike leaned towards her, a hand moving to cup the back of her head as his lips met hers. She gasped into the completely unexpected contact that felt like it lasted a lot longer than it did. He pulled back with a nervous smirk on his lips and met her eyes for only a moment before he stood up.
"Happy birthday Zelda," he said swiftly and left her room, leaving Zelda to sit there in stunned silence. Her silence was only broken by Peach entering her room to hook up the machines, a worried expression furrowing her brow when the monitor came on, it's beep erratic.
XXX
A kiss? Indeed! Sorry for the absence but, as it often goes, life gets crazy. Special thanks to all the lovely wonderful people who read, and the super amazing ones that leave reviews. More to come soon I promise. Let me know what you think. Much love, Leigh
