You know what was funny about writing this chapter? I was originally intending to give it a break, and the EXACT moment I think this, I get 7 e-mails through saying how I got good reviews and alerts. Lolz all round.
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Link landed on Skyloft with Kale, and they both dismounted and walked towards the Bazaar. They made idle chatter about their memories of their home as they walked.
"I remember, me and Zelda, we went to the Bazaar when it was closed, and someone had left it unlocked!" Reminisced Link, staring into the air.
"You're kidding! What happened then?" Kale asked, laughing.
"We cooked with the forge, we stole a few potions... Hell, there's this little shelf she has hidden behind the counter, and it has the weirdest potions in it! Seriously!" He said. "There was this one that made both of us so dizzy, we started to see the whole world upside down! Mad times..."
"You're kidding! What else?"
"Ummmm... Oh! Yeah, there was one that gave you clown feet, and a tiny head! It was like we were puppet!" Link and Kale both laughed, and eventually got to the Bazaar.
"This Zelda girl, you seem to have a lot of fond memories of her. What's she like?" He asked, a bit hesitantly, knowing he could very easily get a rebuke from Link.
"Oh... Well, in my opinion, she was perfect in every way. Funny, smart, mischievous. We always used to go creeping around after dark." Link smiled. "Yeah, she's great. Maybe you can meet her. She should be somewhere around."
Kale smiled too. "Yeah, that'd be cool. Perhaps you could set us up?" He asked jokingly. Link took the joke, and laughed too. "Speaking of that, didn't you say she was married?"
Link sighed. "Yeah, that is the case. You couldn't guess who she married though... Okay, who do you think is the biggest idiot on this island?" He asked, with a smile on his face.
"Ummm... Stritch? No? Okay, how about Peatrice?" Link shook his head. "Oh, I don't know! Want me to list every guy on Skyloft? Was it Gaepora? Is that the scandal?" Link gave him a cold look before speaking.
"Okay, think about the biggest idiot, then put a stupid hair style on it." It was a big clue, and Kale's mouth opened wide.
"The love of your life married Groose? Low blow..." He muttered. "Are they even happy together? I've wanted to slug that guy a few times myself..."
Link nodded. "Last time I checked, they were doing... Okay, I guess. I made him grab a job before he starved her to death, then left to go down to you lot. I should probably check up on her..." He trailed off.
"You seem pretty obsessed with her." Link shot Kale daggers. "Oh, not like that! I wouldn't expect anyone to want a married woman, but she seems to have a keen friend."
"I guess your right." Both men bought a couple of drinks, and Link held his high. "To Zelda!" He toasted. Kale joined, and they downed both their beers.
"Ha... I could get used to this. Living like a king in the daytime, sleeping under the stars at night." Both men bought another beer, and started sipping at it. They talked about their previous lives for a while, until a loud voice shouted from behind them.
"Link! Oh my god!" A familiar voice shouted. Kale looked over his shoulder, and raised his eyebrow.
"That's Zelda? From a guy like you, I expected a little more... Pazzaz?" He stifled his laugh at his made up word. Link also turned around, but didn't see Zelda, but another woman he knew.
"That's my other friend, Kale." He was interrupted by a hug from the shouter. "Nice to see you too." He said, when she had been hanging onto him for too long as was comfortable.
"Link! When did you get back?" She half shouted. "And who's this?" She asked, indicating Kale.
"Ah yes. Kale, meet Karane, Karane, meet Kale. He is my sword-mate from the expedition, and Karane is an old friend of mine." He said, introducing them both. He then whispered in Kale's ear, "Don't get ideas, she was pregnant a bit ago." He gave him a meaningful look, and turned back to Karane.
"So you've lost weight." He said. She frowned back at him.
"What's that meant to mean? That's the first thing you say to me after all this time?" She asked, a little angry at least.
He sighed. "I was trying to subtly imply that you are not, in fact, pregnant. I'm sorry if my wit is so dry, but I have been fighting death for a time now." He stated in a monotone voice, and Karane couldn't help but smile.
"Oh, when were you worried about death? You shook hands with it before. What's the count now, three, four times?" She smiled.
"Twice, actually." Kale's eyes widened, and Link responded. "A long story, which mainly involves me jumping from large heights. I'll tell you about it later." He turned back to Karane. "So you have a kid now? And how's Pipit, or have you bored him to death with your baby talk?"
"Oh, Pipit's fine. And so is Robert. The whole thing went off without a hitch, really. Here was me, with all my backup plans and guides, and Pipit turns out to be the perfect father, damn him. But speaking of fathers, do you know who isn't one yet?" She asked, with a mischievous smile on her face.
"You mean... Groose still hasn't had a child yet? Your kidding!" Kale perked up, having no idea what the conversation was about until now.
"Nope, Zelda is still a maiden bare. It's strange really, you wouldn't expect there to be much wrong with the 'hero' and everything." She said 'hero' as if it was a dirty word, and Link picked up on this. He had also finished his third beer, and picked up another one.
"I hope that isn't a youthanism, Karane. It's a fairly bad one, when all's said and done." He said, erupting a loud snigger from both Kale and Karane.
The trio eventually ran into Pipit, who Kale knew from around even if he didn't know him by name. They made conversation, allowing Karane and Link to talk together.
"So how have Zelda and Groose been, apart from the whole barren thing?" He asked idlely, as if he was trying to just pass the time. Karane saw through him.
"Still interested in her?" She mocked, before continuing on. "She's been fine with Groose. He finally pulled his act together, but something still isn't right. It's the spark, the flair, you know? When Pip and me are together, we want to be there. With Zelda, it's like her duty or something." She ended, and although Link had a burning desire to know more, he didn't pry any more. It would seem to suspicious. He looked down and spotted something shiny.
"Huh. So I can't help but notice this." He pulled her hand up to show a yellow gold ring, plated with intricate silver markings, with a white diamond on top.
She sighed lovingly, before pointing to Pipit. "He proposed. It was so beautiful... The sun shining down, the wind blowing his hair too and fro. That, and this ring cost a bomb. He must have been saving up for years..." She sighed again.
"What are you two going on about?" Asked a disgruntled Kale, who was still idly talking to Pipit.
"Oh, just saying how my fiancé is a lovebird." She smiled ruefully at Pipit. "In more ways than one..." Link sighed in embarrassment.
"If you two weren't my friends, I would be walking away right now..." He trailed off, shaking his head.
"Speaking of heading off, I'm going to check with Zelda. Don't worry, I won't tell her your back, you can savour that surprise." She kissed all men on the cheek, with an extra one for Pipit, before walking off to Zelda's house.
"So what do you wanna do?" Kale asked the pair.
"Well." Said Pipit, "I was thinking of finishing my watch hours for today. If you're back for the whole week, we've got some catching up to do. I'll speak with you later." He walked off in the direction of the academy, leaving Kale and Link alone.
"So I was thinking we... Could..." He trailed off, and gazed in the far distance. Link looked behind him and saw a girl who he didn't know.
"Is that Rebecca?" He asked, silently laughing at how much of a womaniser his friend was.
"Could be. Could also be Hayley. One way to find out." He patted Link on the arm and sauntered over to the girl, who greeted him fondly. With a rueful smile back at him, Link was left on his own.
He took a step towards the knight academy himself, and stumbled a bit. 'Beer might be having a small effect...' He thought to himself, and stumbled over to a tree, which he leaned against. He sank to the ground, and sipped his drink a bit more.
'Why has everyone got such a good life? Pipit has Karane, Groose has Zelda, Kale has... Everyone, why can't I have someone?' He thought to himself. 'I bet Groose isn't even in... Maybe I should visit... Just check in on her, right? No harm in that, right?' His brain screamed a thousand reasons why he shouldn't, but another drop of alcohol drowned his fears. But something also told him he probably shouldn't go to her house blind drunk as well, so it was only a small drop of alcohol.
He eventually stumbled over to her house, attracting some queer looks from passers by. He steadied himself against the door, and smoothed out his shirt, not wanting to appear dirty even though he was very drunk. 'What could possibly go wrong?'
The door opened, causing him to almost topple over, as he was still leaning against it. However, he was pushed backwards by someone seeming to run straight into him, and he caught his ankle on the path, bowling them both over into the dirt. He realised they had their arms around his neck, and he embraced them back, both of them sprawled on the dirt. "Link!" He heard the figure shout.
"Hey sweetie." He said back, and laughed at his own choice of words. He was definitely in a weird kind of mood, and he suspected he was inebriated. Although he actually thought 'smashed' would be a better description.
Zelda got up and dusted herself off. He reminded himself that they were not little children any more; they couldn't just go jumping into the dirty like they used too. He pulled himself up too, and after he had balanced himself, gave her a proper hug.
He dug his face into her neck, and breathed in deeply. Although they had been separated many times over the past year and a half, he hadn't really been away from her smell before. He had been able to get into her room and remind himself what he was fighting for, and for the rest of the time he had been asleep, but now was the first time he had had any contact with her for longer than a month. She smelt of fresh roses and tulips, but she may as well have smelled of manure and rotting pumpkin. He didn't care what she smelled like, just that she was here again.
They finally broke apart, and Zelda happily bounded inside, pulling Link with her and making him trip over the doorstep.
"Wow, you really can't hold your drink." Said another figure, seated on a long couch.
"Nice to see you again too, Karane." He replied, following Zelda and sitting next to her on another couch. It looked like the two girls had just been gossiping, but from the very spontaneous reaction he had got from Zelda, he guessed Karane hadn't let slip he was back yet.
"Hang on..." Said Zelda, "What do you mean 'again'? Did you already know that-"
"Details, details. I'll get you a drink." Karane got up and moved into the kitchen, where they heard a few small clatterings and bangings.
"Link! How have you been?" She asked exitedly, looking animatedly at his face, as if she was hanging onto every word.
"Ummm... Good, yeah, fine. Totally well. And yourself?" He asked, hesitantly.
"I'm fine... Are you really drunk? You don't seem like you used to, but I've never seen you physically drunk before. Are you alright?" She asked nervously.
"Zelda, calm down." He looked at her patronisingly. "Just cause I'm a little drunk doesn't mean I'm dying or anything..." He rolled his eyes. "So obsessive..." He sarcastically stated. He got a small punch on the arm.
"Ow! You know, why is it that whenever I see you, I get hit? Almost makes it not worth the trouble..." He looked down at the door and sighed, like he was depressed.
"You're a terrible liar, Link." She said, before playfully nudging him. He looked up with a grin on his face.
"I'm that bad, huh? Shame..." He laughed, and stretched out on the couch. Zelda nestled into his arms, and he held her there. They both were sprawled out on the couch, and they sat in silence for a while, enjoying the moment.
"So where have you been?" She eventually asked, when she had gotten comfortable.
"Oh, just down on the surface, like I said... What is it, four months ago now?" Zelda nodded, and he continued. "Yeah, my team's been down there, defending the new colony down there. It was fun at first, but now... Well, it's kind of getting heated. It's why I'm up here anyway.
"See, I got injured, so me and Kale got sent up, to have some free time." He nodded to himself, and saw Zelda's quizzical look, and he answered her question before she could ask. "Kale is my sword-mate. He is kind of a half trainer, half trainee, half friend, half ally. And he's also two different people..." He laughed silently at his strange joke, and Zelda herself couldn't help but laugh too.
Karane came in with two drinks, and raised her eyebrows at the twos questionable position with each other, but she let it go for now. "Here you are, one for you, and one for you." She placed Lin's very definitely in his hand, and the same with Zelda.
"Aren't you staying, Karane?" Zelda asked, as Karane made for the door.
"Oh, I need to go help Pipit with... Something. I'll catch up with you tomorrow. Bye Link!" She chimed, before almost closing the door. "Besides, I'd doubt there is room for three in a twosome..." Zelda looked down, abashed, but Link didn't notice in his drunken haze. She took a sip of her drink, and spat it out again.
"What's wrong?" Link asked, noticing her discomfort.
"Oh, nothing. Apparently Karane just wants to get me drunk..." She held up her glass. "Whiskey, all of it."
Link took on a slightly mocking tone. "Too young for alcohol, Zel?" He asked, as he downed his own glass, with only a little grimace at the end. Not wanting to be outmatched, Zelda did the same, but with a rather loud gasp at the end.
"Hey, it isn't fair! You've already been drinking..." She teased. They carried on chatting and taunting for a while longer, before Zelda too started to become a bit dizzy. 'Strong whiskey... Why do I even have that stuff? When did I buy it?' Irrelevant questions which only interested the sober side of her, which had left a minute ago.
"I see you fixed the place up then. It looks nice. Beautiful, even." He stared at her for a little to long was necessary before she replied.
"Yeah, it is rather nice. But there are still things I want to do. Such as a cellar, for instance." Cellars were important, as the wind kept the underside of the island cold, making cellars the perfect place to preserve food in. Most people used salt and ice, or failing that, themselves.
"You should do that. You deserve it. Your the most beautiful person on the island, you should have a cellar at least..." He was staring at her again, but she was staring back.
"You really think so? Thanks..." She replied, but trailed off as well, being enthralled by his eyes. She was entranced, like his eyes were whirlpools in which her heart was slowly sinking into.
"Yeah... I do..." He moved closer to her, as if he wanted to kiss her, but was afraid of her reaction.
She screamed at herself, 'You're married to Groose! Married!' But that seemed irrelevant. All that mattered was right now, on this couch. 'And Groose isn't coming come tonight.' With that last thought, she moved in to kiss him, closing the gap between them.
It was short and sweet, just how she wanted their first kiss to be. He moved in deeper, kissing her for longer, until they were interlocked in each other's embrace. Nothing mattered but now. But this.
'But this is wrong!' She shouted at herself, but she didn't care. She was vaguely aware of being lifted in his arms, whilst they were still kissing, before being carried upstairs, and her last memory was of falling asleep, blissfully, her head resting on his bare chest.
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I'm skipping the lemon. Deal with it. I really didn't want to write it, and I think this covers what happens without going into detail. Anyway, thanks for the good reviews, and I hope to be hearing from you again soon!
I'm running out of ways to say bye...
Bai? I'll settle with bai.
Bai!