Note: Oookay, so um I didn't write this with the intention of this happening. But it did, and it felt very natural and I love it. Let me know what you think! You guys reviews have me laughing and so flattered. Thank you!
'It was warmer than any night before. The Gerudo border was just over the ridge, but now my mind wasn't on the destination. I looked accusingly from the upside of my hand to the bottle of Gerudo liquor before me. It wasn't as if we had emptied it, there was still half of the poison left. But goddesses, it felt better to blame it on alcohol.
I drew my knees to my chest, feeling a void within me widen. What exactly was there to blame? Link had long left me and had stepped into the woods without a word. It was just a kiss. A small, drawn out peck on my hand. The same action was taken by countless men. Princes, kings, and dukes. I had seen them all do the similar gesture, so why was this any different? Link didn't have any of those titles, but none of those men had that damned languished smile he seemed to love using on me.
Why was there a heat that lingered around me that couldn't quite go away? Maybe if I'm lucky I'll burn right threw the ground and be taken elsewhere. My fingers wrung themselves raw and I stifled a groan. This was too much. Way too much. I pulled my eyes from the ground and my heart raced as I drug myself to my feet. My vision went awry with how fast I stood.
We had firewood. The whole reason we decided to set up camp here was because there was a dead tree that had fallen not far away. The last thing we needed was more firewood. The impatience I inherited from my father boiled over and I pushed passed the horse, the fire, and abundance of wood beside it with fists clenching and releasing repeatedly. I was positive I looked outlandish. We had been on the road for days, but even that didn't stop me from following him through the brush.
I was fuming at nothing in particular. It was the situation that I couldn't make anything of. The romance novels never prepared me for this monotony; the feelings and the uncertainty. Din, I'm scared of something I can't even touch. My face twisted as I pushed down a wave of tears. I was in desperate need of answers.
Air evacuated my lungs as I ran into them.
Link turned around with bewilderment on his face and my storm of anger dissolved. The pounding of my heart filled my ears as we stood silently with each other at arm's length. Moonlight casted shadows on his face making it difficult to meet his eyes. I mustered the remnants of my anger but came up short of what to say.
"I…" Link trailed off, his voice weak from the beginning. He finally let himself slip. His brow furrowed in frustration. Link wasn't the one to let his thoughts be read, that I knew from a year's worth of experience. It never mattered how hard I stared at his stone face within those castle walls, he never did break. Not until now with the deepening crease on his forehead. I found myself wanting to ease his distress.
"Link," I reached for his hand. He stiffened and my limb dropped coldly to my side. My lips lacked purchase of the words I wanted to say. The words 'Why did you leave me?' replayed over in my mind, but his unsteady stature stopped me.
Embarrassment and doubt crept in on me slowly and I drew into myself. The pit of my stomach flipped and I felt the emptiness once more. It was deafening, pushing reason and caution behind me. The urge to close the gap strengthened its hold. The material of his tunic was rough on my hands and the heat radiated promises of what was beneath. His acknowledgment was found in the returned embrace as his arms wrapped around me tightly. The prior feeling ebbed into the back of my mind and for this moment I felt relief.
Link nuzzled into my hair and breathed me in just as I had him. The warmth and scent of the coat I had slept with at Anju's house was found once more, making a part of me want to delve deeper into my desires.
"Don't ever leave me again," I said against him. The words were muffled and potentially incoherent.
His head dipped past my crown and the heat of his breath hit my ear, stopping short of descending farther. "I won't," he murmured. Each syllable sent a shiver down my spine as his lips brushed my skin, tightening my hold around him. "Forgive me."
The knight's mouth was warm as he trailed from behind my ear and to my jaw, leaving soft kisses to mark his path. My breath ran shallow and thin by the time he had traced the curves of my neck and back, leaving me sensitive with anticipation. One hand dipped to my waist and the other met the back of my neck. His callous fingers gently intertwined with my hair.
I whispered his name, pulling away slightly and meeting his eyes. Link's breaths were short and forced, as if he were trying to hold his breath. The blue of his eyes was murky, and his expression filled with the same wanting I sorely needed. I watched him closely as I rose to the tops of my feet and pressed my lips to his. The arms around me pulled my body flush to his. I was quick to deepen the kiss by tilting my head to the side. My heart pounded in my chest so loudly I was sure he would hear it.
Link was a mixture of caution and haste. When I moved to thread my fingers in his hair, he did the same with unprecedented need. When I pressed my lips harder to his, it was like he was waiting to nibble at my bottom lip. He was waiting for small signs while I was all too eager to give them.
The man that held me in a kiss was everything I had ever needed.
He pulled away suddenly, leaving me gasping. The blond of Link's hair mixed with mine once our foreheads touched and his breath fanned over me.
"Zelda," he said, husky from the lack of air.
I hummed in response, drunk from his touch.
Link spoke again, "I-We can't." I stared up at him. Our bodies were still close, pushed against each other as if there wasn't any other alternative. "Why not?" I breathed out, watching as his gaze flickered from my eyes and then to my lips.
He didn't reply, but hesitation crossed his face.
"For the love of Hylia," I swore, hoping to drag him from whatever he was thinking. "Would you just forget about our titles and pretend that I was a normal woman and you were a normal man?"
I bit my lip, watching him search my face. Link dipped down, capturing my lips in a soft, but desperate kiss. "I don't want this to last for just tonight," he said against my mouth. "I want it to last longer."
"How long?" I gasped against him as he bit at the tender skin below my jaw. Once he was satisfied with the air he stole from my lungs he released, "As long as you'll allow."
"And if that's just tonight?" My words were wobbling, and my cheeks flushed as he fully took me in. Link scrutinized me for a long moment before devolving into a tender gaze, "I'll love you for every second and hope to remember tonight for the rest of my life."
In a milky haze he had lifted me up and began carrying me. His hands supporting my bottom and my arms wrapped around his neck. The redness of my cheeks blossoming at his heat. He was reacting just as torridly, and the affirmation sent me into a bout of bliss.
The path led us back passed the wood pile, the ebbing fire, and the sleeping horse. My back hit the soft blanket that was laid out earlier and Link disappeared from view.
"Don't worry," he said quietly in response to my alert gaze following him. "The fire." A log was tossed and a flurry of embers danced in the air, then Link was back. He hovered over me shortly before giving a short kiss to my already swollen lips.
"What if I want it to last more than tonight?" I said, barely above a whisper. Intrigue danced in his eyes.
"How long?"
The corners of my mouth tipped upward, "As long as you'll allow it."
Link's smile bubbled and he cradled my face in his hands, "It seems that we've come to an impasse."
"An impasse, indeed."
I pulled him down by his collar, smothering out whatever he had to say with my lips. Link was happy to oblige. His fingers found the hem of my shirt and as his hand touched above my bare hip, I sucked in a breath of air at the unfamiliarity of his contact. I gasped his name and his attention was immediate.
"If we have forever, do you suppose we could… wait," I voiced hesitantly. His eyes widened and he pulled his hand away as if touching a burning stove.
"Gods, of course. I'm sorry," he blurted out frantically.
I sat up to meet him, grabbing his hands to meet my waist entirely to feel him closer. "This is all… very new to me," I smiled shyly. The fire burning within me said that I wanted everything. To feel every inch of his skin against mine and let him touch me. It was almost primal, and for whatever reason it instilled apprehension. My brain didn't want my rationale to slip away. I wanted to be in control while at the same time wanting nothing but him.
Clearly seeing the tug-of-war occurring in my mind, Link grasped my hands tightly in his. The grin on his face wasn't anything I had seen before, if anything reminiscent of that night at his aunt's house. He had decided he didn't have to hold anything back anymore and the idea made me melt into his arms.
"You think too much," he said into my hair. I could hear his smile.
"So do you," I laughed, happy to merely be. Be at this place at this time and with him. Link spoke slow and steady, while I reveled in his warmth.
"There's never an obligation to do anything. At least," he sounded closer, "not when it comes to you and me."
Then, we were laying down. I didn't bother releasing him and felt his breathing underneath me. It felt more intimate than anything else that had occurred. "No expectations for me?" I jested. "Not even one?"
"Well," Link sighed, "Maybe a couple. They're quite difficult. Are you sure you want to hear them?"
I moved my face up to meet his inquisitively. "Yes?"
My heart fluttered as that smile returned, meeting his eyes. "You should always be you to me. Doesn't matter who we meet or where we go. I want you."
"I think I can make that arrangement," I said, my beaming hurting my cheeks. "Any other requests?"
"Laugh at all my jokes, even if no one else does," Link rested his hands on my back.
My head disappeared into the crook of his neck, my breath tickling him. "That will be tough."
"I told you they were difficult!"
And as he laughed, I knew I was absolutely smitten with Link Forester.
Note: /34y6U4K