The weekend was once again, excruciatingly long.

Each moment of her Saturday and Sunday, Zelda was wondering if James would stop by. She figured that she was going crazy, seeing as she couldn't go five minutes without thinking of the damn guy. She even went to Schwarma on Sunday evening with the faint hope that he would be there.

Although he wasn't there, Robbie was—and he immediately proceeded to grill her on what happened after he left on Friday evening.

Once her tale was told, her friend looked somewhat satisfied. But then he asked, "Please tell me you kissed or something."

Zelda mumbled something about a friendly kiss on the cheek.

Robbie slammed a hand down on the counter. "Damn it, Zelda! I've been trying to set you two up since the moment I saw the guy! You could've done better than that!"

"Robbie!" exclaimed Zelda, somewhat scandalized. She could feel her face turning a brilliant magenta, so she hid her face with her hands.

"Well?! Don't tell me you two wouldn't be cute. He has the most gorgeous blue eyes—I'm sure you've noticed by now."

Zelda mumbled something else about yes he had nice eyes.

"There you go, then!" exclaimed Robbie as if this confession alone was enough to rest his case.

She just rolled her eyes and let him rant about how perfect they were for each other, yada-yada-yada.

In fact, Robbie kept up with this the entire week that followed. Whether it was visiting her apartment on Monday night and snacking on all the food in Zelda's pantry while ranting to her about "gorgeous eyes," as Robbie called James; or on Tuesday when James and Zelda just went for a friendly dinner-out at Schwarma, Robbie was insistently trying to set them up. On Thursday, he even followed Zelda all the way to HYDRA headquarters, pestering her about how James needed to get out more or "he'll just become a crazy recluse like you, so take him to the club! Plus, it'll be good for you. You need to get out more."

Needless to say, Zelda just scoffed, rolled her eyes, and replied, "It's not like that, Robbie! Okay?!"

Robbie just muttered something that suspiciously sounded like, "Yeah, not like that my ass. Give it a week! You'll eventually stop being stupid and figure it out…"

Over the weekend, Zelda had her hands full while juggling Robbie's yenta-like blabbering and James challenging her at Mario Kart. Despite the fact that James actually beat her at a versus match—with Luigi no less, how humiliating, dishonor on her cow—she hadn't had so much fun in ages.

She also suspected that her Russian curse vocabulary was expanding, although Zelda thought that was the opposite of a problem.

That Saturday, Zelda figured it was time to introduce him to Super Smash Bros. Brawl—it was there that James first figured out there was a video game character named Zelda, too.

"Were you named after her or something?" he asked.

Zelda just laughed. "No, I wasn't. I don't know why I was named Zelda. I guess that's just what my parents liked."

James grinned. "You know, that's the first I've heard of your family. What are they like?"

At this, however, Zelda's small smile started to fade. "Well… I, uh… don't remember, quite honestly. I know they live in Virginia now, since they moved after I got my job here. I haven't seen them in a long time… too busy," she lied before James could ask.

In reality, they were in Virginia because HYDRA didn't want them anywhere close to their daughter for fear that she would attempt to save them, thus relinquishing HYDRA's control over her.

He heard her tone of voice and knew that her parents were a sensitive subject. Still, he prompted, "Do you have any siblings?"

"No," was the answer. "Although I do have a cousin. I used to be extremely close to her until we both got our jobs. She had to move away after a while too…"

"What's her name?"

"Ellis Anne," replied Zelda, smirking somewhat. "Her parents seemed to favor the weirder names as well, it would seem. She writes books too, so she's as much of a nerd as I am."

"It must run in the family," chuckled James. He then thought for a moment before adding, "If it means anything, though… I think Zelda is a prettier name."

Zelda looked at him for a moment before smiling and redirecting her attention to her character selection on Smash Bros.—she picked Ike, since he was super powerful. After a moment of hesitation, she said, "Well, thank you, James. You know, you're the first person who hasn't made fun of me for my name."

He looked positively baffled. "Why would they do that?!"

"Because of the video game," laughed Zelda. "But that's all right… I've gotten used to it by now."

James muttered something in Russian that Zelda thought belonged in the category of curse words.

Afterwards, Zelda pleaded to resume the game, since now her thoughts were on her family, and the endless possibilities about what could've happened to them were making her sick.

James, seeing the expression on her face, grabbed her hand and smiled encouragingly before unpausing the game and resuming their death-match.

Zelda felt a little better, a little warmer, after seeing his smile.

At last, it was again Monday morning, the third Monday morning that Zelda would spend training with James. She was actually early to training that day. She got in the training room at 7:50AM instead of the usual 8AM and went to work on semi-automatics.

As she practiced, Zelda couldn't help but roll her eyes at herself. She recalled that she asked James to teach her how to shoot a gun, but in reality, she'd already known. At least, she'd already known how to shoot pistols and stuff—she'd received a lesson or two from Rory about how to shoot shotguns, but SHIELD only made her master pistols. While she truthfully didn't know how to operate rifles or machine guns or anything of the sort, she had lied a little by declaring she had no clue how to operate a gun.

She still wasn't sure why she had lied. Maybe because she just wanted to have him teach her something, just as a change.

At any rate, she was kinda glad she did it.

That was what Zelda was thinking about for fifteen minutes; but finally, the door opened behind her. She smiled, but didn't turn around. Footsteps echoed across the floor—half of her wanted to turn around and mockingly scold James for being late, but when she turned, she froze.

It was Pierce.

"Oh! Good morning, sir," she greeted hesitantly.

"Morning, Bellefleur," he returned. "Mind if I borrow you for a moment or so? I wish to have that discussion about your new position."

The tone in Pierce's voice worried Zelda. Did he finally piece it together?

Somehow, she kept her face straight as she replied, "Of course, sir."

He waved his hand in a clear gesture of, Follow me. Nervously, Zelda followed him—he exited the training room and set off down that very confusing path of twists and turns that led to the room in which she had had dinner with him the night she was promoted.

Once there, Pierce gazed at her with slight disapproval. "I must say, when I appointed you to Project Red, I didn't expect either you or Soldier to adapt so easily."

Zelda wasn't quite sure what to say. So she only blinked.

"In a matter of three weeks, it appears you two have become great friends. Of course, I can base this assumption off the fact that you've introduced him to a great many relatively modern things—including Mario Kart, as I understand it."

With this, Zelda looked down at the ground. Was he just here to gloat about how he was keeping an eye on her?

But that was when she realized—

"And you calling him James certainly proves to me that you have quite a friendship."

She blinked again and said nothing. At least, she was silent until he asked, "What have you to say to that?"

Zelda wasted no time in replying. "I told him because he deserved to know. It's the one thing I thought would be appropriate to tell him about his past—it is not something that will lead him to more questions, but it is something that he has more than worked his way to know. And I wanted to… to treat him normally. To treat him like a person I might've met on the street instead of this obligation known as work. He deserves to feel normal, sir, he's a person, and a good one at that! I couldn't sit back and do nothing when I held the truth in my hands."

Pierce clasped his hands behind his back and listened to Zelda's spiel. When she glanced up at him cautiously, yet with some defiance, he smirked a little. "You seem very passionate about this."

"Perhaps because we are both in the same boat, James and I," retorted Zelda, no longer in the mood for treating this man with respect. "We were both forced here. We are both stuck. We have no options. And we needed someone to help us. Or at least, I did. That is why we have become friends. Because I needed help—and it was good fortune that he did, too."

"And somehow, despite the trials and training, he is still amicable towards you?"

This comment made Zelda wary. She knew that with this response, she would have to tread lightly. With careful consideration, she said, "Somehow, he is indeed. You see, sir, when we first began, I had to assure him that I would take no pleasure out of the trials; and that if I could, I would rather not test him at all. But the duties are what they are, and though it took a couple days for him to see past that, I suppose I persisted in attempting to be friends long enough for him to accept it."

Pierce nodded slowly, though all he said was, "I see."

It was again silent for a while… but again, Pierce broke it.

"Well, Miss Bellefleur, I'm afraid I must advise against you forming any serious form of attachment to Soldier. I have already set him on his mission; he is at it right now. The next time he goes out, you shall be with him. But this part he had to do alone. And once that mission is complete, he will be again preserved, to be awoken at HYDRA's need."

Zelda froze. Did she hear what she thought she did?

James would be frozen again?

She blinked and threw her hands behind her back to keep her tightly balled fists hidden. There was nothing she could say that would make any difference, she knew, but all the same Zelda just wanted to scream at Pierce—she wanted to scream and shout about what a malicious bastard he was, James deserved so much better, and oh God what would she do when he was gone?

It was that moment when she finally and fully realized that he had brought her happiness. Since she'd been promoted, Zelda had been happier in the past two weeks alone than she had been the past two years.

Realizing this, there was nothing she could do to swallow the small gasp in her throat. So it escaped—Pierce raised an eyebrow at the sound, but Zelda didn't stick around to hear what he thought about it.

Instead, she whirled on her heels and sprinted out of the room.

Alexander Pierce be damned, she was going to get James out of HYDRA.

Within another minute, Zelda slammed back into the training room. This time, James was there, plopping a handgun on the table with a tired sigh. He heard the door slam open and whirled around to see her standing, her face and eyes red, her fists clenched, and her mouth open.

"Zelda?" he asked softly, moving toward her. She noticed blankly that today he was dressed in combat gear—some sort of light armor, black, and a mask that covered his mouth and nose. He removed it immediately, however, and threw it on the ground without a second glance. Upon seeing her face up closer, James put a hand on her arm. His blue eyes were darting worriedly across her face. "What happened?"

That was it. She couldn't—she burst into tears.

"Zelda!"

"They're—I—I can't—" she gasped, unable to string two words together. She couldn't lose him now. Not now. So she just kept sobbing, not quite sure what else to do or if she could even stop.

James was obviously at a loss of what to do as well. He stood blankly in front of her for a moment before deciding to hold her close, to make her feel less alone, hoping it would help.

She felt his arms wrap around her back, pulling her towards him, and it made Zelda both want to stop crying and cry even more. She didn't know which one would happen, either; all she knew was that soon, someday soon, James's mission would be completed and he would be iced again and there would be nothing she could do about it if she couldn't get him away from HYDRA's grasp.

But even if she did help James escape, she wouldn't be able to go with him, or her parents were dead.

Her cousin might even be dead, now that it had been proven that Pierce had been listening to all their conversations while in her apartment. Whatever she had said, he would know and use to his advantage.

It took a few minutes, but at last Zelda managed to cease her tears. James didn't let her go, however, until he heard her breathe deeply and say, "Thank you… I just… I'm okay now."

With this, he led her towards a chair at the table outside the training room. She stared at the table blankly, her face blotchy and red. Before he could ask, she said with another deep breath, "I need to get you out of here."

James was shocked. "What?"

"They're—they're going to freeze you again as soon as your mission's over. I can't… I can't let that happen. Not now. You need to go somewhere they cannot find you."

He gazed at her gently and placed his right hand over hers. "Zelda, I can't do that. They'll find me… and I won't leave you here to suffer for my actions."

"I'll suffer more if you don't go!" exclaimed Zelda. "Please—I can't just stay here knowing you'll be gone soon. Whether it's next week, next month, next year, I won't be ready for it. I'll never be ready for it. I'd rather take a risk than lay down belly-up and accept their plan."

James chuckled sadly. "What are you planning, Zelda? How would it work? How could I escape their eyes, which are literally everywhere around the city? I won't let them hurt you."

Zelda frowned now, her irritation proving to be good for keeping back more tears. "How could they? What else could they do to me? My family is probably dead. They might've already killed them. I wouldn't be surprised if they've been dead for two years. But I can't take the chance and go too. You need to go alone."

"I don't care. I'm not leaving you."

"Why?!" exclaimed Zelda. "You'll be promised nothing if you stay! I won't live forever, James! I can't help you forever. I will die someday! I will not be your supervisor for as long as you are within HYDRA's clutches! You should take the chance and go."

"No. I'm not going to leave you here. I care about you too much."

This made her stop short. "What?" she asked hopelessly.

James shrugged, though the look on his face was melancholy. "I care about you too much, Zelda. I won't let them hurt you. You've done more for me than anyone else ever has. And I won't repay you, the woman I love, by endangering you like that."

She stared at him. Pierce's words rang through her head—I'm afraid I must advise against you forming any serious form of attachment to Soldier.

His warning was too late.

She already had an attachment to James. She loved him.

"Damn it, James," she whispered, putting her head in her hands. "And here I was thinking I could use the argument that I love you to get you to escape." But when she looked up, she tried to put on the best smile she could while her eyes were still watery and her face was still red and great she probably looked terrible.

Now that she thought about it, it was glaringly obvious. She couldn't go five minutes without thinking about James—and she was happiest whenever he was nearby. He had fixed her, someone broken and with nothing to live for, the way she had hoped to fix him.

A raw laugh tore through her throat upon realizing Robbie had been onto something the past couple weeks.

"What is it?" asked James, moving to sit next to her.

"Robbie," she groaned. Instantly, he snickered. "Oh, he's going to have a field day when I tell him—"

"Well, he's known that I love you for a week now, so I doubt he'll be terribly surprised."

Zelda stared at him and was about to exclaim something—she didn't even know what—but he kissed her before she could, effectively stopping her words. She blinked once or twice before actually deciphering what was happening; when she did, she closed her eyes and placed her arms around his neck, drawing him closer, hoping that if he were close enough, he could never be taken away.

Pierce's words were simply lost. She felt like she could be with James forever; she certainly wished she could be with him forever. She didn't want to forget what it was like, him kissing her—she felt warm, and safe, and loved, something she hadn't felt in what felt like an eternity. He kissed her lips, her cheek, her forehead, and his hand lightly brushed her neck, sending what felt like sparks of electricity shooting throughout her body, all the way to her fingertips.

She gasped a little when he bit her lip—she had never been kissed by anyone as if they truly meant it before. She wished she knew what she was doing. She'd been reacting on instinct before then. Knowing, however, that she was still rather shocked it was happening, she simply moved his hair behind his ear and placed her forehead against his.

"Pierce told me not to form any attachments with you," she blurted out. But then she smirked. "It's a good thing I don't tend to listen to anyone. I think this is my royal declaration to him of 'screw you.'"

He laughed softly. "He said the same to me," he admitted. "So I believe this is my also my declaration to him saying 'пошел ты.'"

"You know I don't speak alien," grinned Zelda.

"You don't have to. I said the same thing as you—except a bit ruder."

With that, she laughed and placed her head on his shoulder. Despite what Pierce had said, despite knowing they might only have a limited time left, Zelda took comfort from the moment.

Somehow, they ended up in the lounge. Zelda didn't remember walking there, or even if they had a conversation on the way there. The last thing she remembered of that afternoon was James putting on the last episode of Star Trek and whispering in her ear as she lay down on the couch, "I love you, Zelda. I didn't remember what love was, how it was felt—but I'll be damned if this isn't what it was."

I think I'll just leave this here... ;) Because this is the last week of school (thank gosh), I'll be super busy with finals. On Friday evening, expect another update!

Please leave comments and reviews so I know what y'all are thinking!