A/N: Sorry for the double post! Something went wrong and I couldn't go in to edit it, so I needed to just make a new chapter!

Link was sitting on the counter, watching Zelda pace, still concerned about her parents. He'd run out of things to say to try to calm her down about the fact that they wanted to have Link over. She didn't even know what they'd say or do. She was just… anxious.

"Zelda," he tried for the fourth time. And for the fourth time, she didn't hear him.

She was going on and on about how terrible it would be if they tried to stop her from seeing him. And how she'd have to run away or be kicked out. And find a nice job. And a house. And food.

Link slid off the counter, hitting the power button on the built-in speakers in the wall and taking Zelda's phone from her hands, leaning on the counter as he scrolled through her music, finally finding her playlist of the Indigo-Go's and letting their songs shuffle.

When the first song started playing, Zelda crossed her arms. "Are you trying to get me to shut up?"

"No, just to calm down," he admitted with a smirk. "You can keep talking."

She pushed her hair from her face and leaned beside Link. "My parents never actually met Rav. Did I ever tell you that? I never wanted him to meet them. He and I were… not like you and me. I want you to meet them formally. It's just making me so nervous."

Link gestured to the speakers. "Take your mind off of it. It's not a problem we need to think about today. If they find out about my past, then they find out. It's not the worst thing. I haven't been in any trouble in years, I'm a recovering smoker, I have two jobs, I mean… not to blow my own horn, but I'm not doing too bad these days."

Zelda chuckled, her wide, almost proud smile spoke more than her words ever could. She knew what a struggle it was for Link, especially over the past few weeks with smoking. And he was truly doing his best. "You're doing incredible. If they focus on your past, they're insane."

She started to get more into the upbeat song Link had turned on and laughed when she saw Link's eyes on her swaying hips. When his eyes darted back up to hers, he closed them, caught, but far less embarrassed than he thought he would be. Certainly, it was less awkward than it would have been just a few months ago at the beginning of the school year. More than that, she really didn't hate the idea of his hands following his gaze.

"Come on," Zelda said, grabbing his hands and threading her fingers through them, pulling him with her into the empty space by the speakers.

"I can't dance, Zel," he warned.

She shrugged and started moving his arms back and forth with hers. "You're not in a talent show. You're just with me."

"Okay," he laughed nervously., loosening his muscles to let her pull him around, leading him in a non-dance that only the two of them could have figured out. Half of it was spent jumping or letting their feet aimlessly move around the room, another part was spent swaying, and the rest was just them moving their joined hands around in some way.

Zelda had to take the initiative, but she bridged the gap between them when the song changed from an anthem to something much more mellow. She moved his hands to her hips and wrapped her arms around his neck with a sly grin, resting her head on his chest. She could feel his fast heartbeat, and almost wondered if he would actually be okay.

"Imagine if we'd been at homecoming together?" he asked, pressing his lips against her temple, needing something to focus on that wasn't where his hands were.

They were swaying slowly, too slow for the song, but they were comfortable off the tempo. "I imagine it would have been like this but with a lot more gawking from everyone," she said, tightening her grip on him. "We could always go to the Winter Formal together and see if people still care. Or we could skip it."

"No," Link muttered, kissing her cheek, and then her jaw. "I want to go with you. Let's give them something to stare at for once."

Zelda beamed before pulling Link toward her, pressing her lips to his when they were close enough. Her hand moved up from around his neck to play with his hair.

But Link's reaction was far more than she'd been expecting, but she certainly wasn't complaining. He guided her backwards until she felt a cold chill run up her spine as she backed against the refrigerator, pinned between two things that were making her shiver. His hand was behind her head to prevent a hard impact before he let his fingers trace down the back of her neck.

And if she wasn't already trembling with mad desire for him, his tongue against her lips did her in.

He didn't taste like cigarettes anymore, but there was the distinct remnant flavor of the gum he'd been chewing earlier.

She was beyond thankful that he had her pinned pretty securely when his braver side took over, emboldened by the soft noises she'd been making. Their kisses became deeper, exploratory and experimental, languid and lazy, fierce and breathless.

In hindsight, Zelda realized just how much confidence it took Link to hold on to his new acts of boldness. Where, in the past, he'd backed down and broken away, now, he pulled away only to look at her as his hand slipped under her shirt to the skin of her waist, firmly set while he waited for some sign that this new territory was okay. Zelda nodded, and was quickly overwhelmed by his hands set a hot fire to her skin as they explored her soft skin, and his lips as they took a tantalizing route from her ear, to her jaw, her chin, her neck, to her collarbone. He'd gotten bold, but he was still Link, and he'd managed to talk himself out of bringing his hands to her front, instead opting to run up her back and down to the upper part of her hips.

His hands didn't tremble against her, and her body had begun to work again.

"Sorry," Link whispered as he jerked away from her with a sharp hiss, but Zelda reached out to stop him, catching the fabric at the bottom of his shirt with one hand, the other bracing herself against the cold refrigerator, and pulled him back, knowing – or rather, feeling—exactly why he'd ducked out of range. So when her lack of distaste had clearlyregistered to Link, he realized he forgot what feeling embarrassed meant as they both breathed and groaned and hissed and hummed into the other's mouth, clumsily staggering for the couch, refusing to break apart until they nearly fell on top of each other when they crashed into the coffee table, laughing uncontrollably while they sat down to attempt to recover some of their lost air.

When they moved back together, it was slower, less abrasive, but no less passionate. And this time, Zelda rested her hands at the bottom of his shirt, waiting for permission of her own. Link glanced at his backpack on the ground.

"How far is this going?" he asked carefully, through heaving breaths.

Zelda laughed, red faced, shaking the fabric of his shirt. "Is this okay? I don't want to go much farther… tonight."

He nodded with a cheeky smirk. "Whatever you want is fine with me. I could do this all day anyway."

She snorted and rolled her eyes, letting her hand drift up his shirt.

And he practically convulsed, sucking his stomach in with a harsh breath. "Holy fucking hell, Zelda. Your hand is ice cold."

Relieved that that was the cause of his reaction, she made a face. "You had me against a refrigerator. Next time, pick the oven."

Link started to cackle, but he grabbed her hand to stop her as she grabbed his shirt, both of them freezing as a light shone through a nearby window: a car in the driveway.

"Are my parents back?" Zelda whispered, as if they could hear her. She slid off the couch and fixed her disheveled hair, peaking out the window and letting out a heavy sigh. "It's someone's delivery."

"Gods," Link muttered, grabbing a pillow to lean on. "Imagine? And you were nervous about that dinner before! If they'd just walked in on us, that future dinner would have been gods-awful!"

Zelda made a face and sat next to Link. "Oh, there's no way we're picking up where we left off," Zelda chuckled. "Now that's all I'll think about. I wish you weren't working this weekend. I could have just gone to your house."

"Wait, what part is all you'll think about? Me or your parents walking in?"

"Both," she said, laughing as she kissed him again, fast and playful. But she pulled away, suddenly serious. "Thank you for coming over. I know you took a day off for it. And Makeela's working, so I would have just been watching television alone or something tonight."

"I'd offer to stay over if you wanted, but your parents, and then I don't have my uniform for tomorrow."

"No, no it's fine. I'm just glad you're here now."

Link grabbed her knee before leaning back against her.

Zelda got comfortable, though she grimaced at a thought. "Gabe might have been right, huh? Maybe we should talk? Because there's something I want to tell you… the thing with Ravio, specifically."

Link sat back up and nodded, listening intently.

Zelda laughed awkwardly. "I guess… Rav and I weren't like us. We weren't close. I… well I thought he was hot. He was that cool guy everyone likes even though they don't know him, and that was about all I knew when we started dating. And he just… he was pushy, you know? Like, here's an innocent example, I guess: I'm afraid of spiders. Really afraid. And he got a tarantula that he said was my new pet to help me get over my fear and he let it out near me and I swear I nearly died. And… I may have killed it when I threw something, which he was pissed at because I wasted his money and killed it. So he did things like that."

Link's eyes had narrowed, though he didn't interrupt. Zelda took a breath. Starting with that story hadn't made it any easier.

"But when we were alone, he would try to push me to do things I wasn't ready for. Like, I remember being in his room and just… I just couldn't do it. And he still wanted more, so it was… we didn't end up doing anything but he still wasn't happy. But anyway, he broke up with me when I just… wasn't where he wanted to be, I guess." She sighed, feeling better that it was out there. "And yeah, that's what Makeela and Revali knew. That he tried to… you know… do things. And I cried with Revali after, and he told me it was okay, and now… he's friends with Rav? I can't even… it makes me sick."

Link reached out, brushing the back of his hand against hers. "You okay?"

She could feel her head nodding, but she could also feel her eyes stinging. "Yeah. I just don't want to scare you off because I really like you."

"Zelda, please, do you really think I wouldn't want to be with you because of that? I'd want to be with you even if we were in giant bubbles and could never touch again. And… yeah, I definitely wouldn't say no if you wanted to… do more… but I'm not with you for that. I'd never do what he did to you. Like, I'm serious. You know that, right?"

"I do," she said, nodding. "You're not Ravio."

Link chuckled. "Thank fuck." But he let out a deep breath. "I wish there was something I could do. Or that we'd been friends then. Because I'd kill him for you, if you wanted. I am a criminal. He missed out on a great person, but his loss is my gain. I might not have had the guts to talk to you if you were with him. I mean, look at you; you, a beautiful, popular, funny, smart person decided to take a chance with a juvenile delinquent, smoker, motorcycle-driving, panicked mess of a guy with a trash home life and more baggage than he could carry on his own. I've never been more grateful that you let me into your life. He's a fool for ever…" Link chuckled humorlessly, this time, running a hand through his hair. "You deserved more than him."

Link offered her a lighthearted smile; Zelda couldn't see his carefully hidden genuine hurt for her. Because he could remember the influence others could hold, and the things it could do to mess with your mind. And Zelda… she deserved so much more than that jackass in her memories.

"I've got you," Zelda said, smiling just because gods, he could make her smile. "You're so much more."

He looked over at her, almost sheepish. "I'll always try, anyway."

"Me too," she agreed. Pushing some of the hair from her face, Zelda tugged on the necklace she was wearing. "Okay, that's me. That's my story. Tell me about you. Have you slept with a hundred strippers from your motorcycle club? I mean, you did tell me you were a phone sex operator, remember?"

Link scoffed, remembering his joke when they'd first started talking. "You watch way too much television, Princess." He shook his head. "No, actually. Remember when I told you about my past? I had some assholes I was trying to impress. So, I did some stupid things. A combination of stupid things, I guess. I was told stories by older guys who left details out as one does. But being a kid, that was all I heard, and I wanted to tell stories too because that's what cool asshats do. I hooked up with my then-girlfriend one time. It fucking sucked. You throw two ill-prepared thirteen-year-olds into a room and it's not going to be pretty. So, yeah, I have about five more minutes' worth of personal experience in that area than you do. Plus, jail put a hard stop on my social life."

Zelda bit back a grin. Because gods, he said everything so effortlessly. And she could talk to him so easily, too. It wasn't hard to tell him anything, it was hard to find the words. She almost wished she'd signed it all to him instead.

"You know what I can do?" Link said after a while. Zelda looked at him curiously when he offered her his hand. She took it, narrowing her eyes playfully. "I can cook something for you."

Zelda laughed as he pulled her off the couch. "Oh no, not without my help. I saw that weird thing you did at your house with the pasta. Who does that? Nope, you've lost my trust alone in the kitchen."

"Fine, I accept your challenge. I'll prove you wrong."

Link pulled open a cabinet and slid some garlic salt over to Zelda. She caught it and poured some onto her steak before tossing it back at Link. He caught it and added some to the grilled greens they had on the other burner before putting it back.

That was how they cooked.

It wasn't the first time that they'd helped the other in the kitchen, and it hadn't taken long to figure out how the other worked. They both preferred Zelda's kitchen, being bigger and having more to work with. Zelda usually had her phone near her, a suggestion of a recipe within reach that she could draw from or ignore as she pleased, but Link was the opposite. He enjoyed throwing things together and learning from his experiments of failed and successful combinations.

Though, Link followed the instructions to a T when it came to unique dishes, or things he'd never done before. Like when he had found an ice cream machine earlier, and they wasted no time getting everything together and into the freezer.

The steaks sizzled for a while, leaving Link and Zelda lounging together against the corner counter as they watched an amusing video on her phone, chuckling together every once in a while.

When it ended, they tended to the food before returning to their places.

"You know," Zelda said, thinking about the video, "My secret skill is that I can juggle."

Link urged her away from him with a smile. "Now you need to show me."

She grabbed three apples from a basket and started to juggle them without looking. Then she lightly tossed one at Link, which hit him in the chest, though he caught it just before it hit the floor.

They laughed again, which was what they spent most of the night doing.

Zelda demanded to know one of Link's hidden talents, one that not many people knew, and he admitted that he could quickly solve a Rubik's cube, which didn't surprise her in the slightest. She just wished she had one, but he assured her that he did at his house and he'd show her next time.

They ate at the island counter in the kitchen, watching a different set of videos on her phone, judging the people in them as they tried not to choke on their food while laughing and talking as they watched.

And when they were done, Zelda sat on one end of the couch while Link dug through his backpack and pulled out a small, thin, square object wrapped in a brown paper bag that had been cut up, but had sharpie drawings doodled all along it.

Zelda took the gift and made a face. "I told you not to buy anything. Did you buy whatever this is?"

Link took the opposite side of the couch and kicked her leg as he stretched out. "Just open it, okay?"

She smiled as she looked at the scribblings and carefully peeled the tape off so she didn't destroy the drawings.

And her mouth dropped.

"What!" she gasped, running her hand along the plastic case. She started to giggle to herself excitedly as her hand went along the plastic again. "How much did this cost you?"

Link sat back with a smug look on his face. "Only $5.99."

"Not possible," she muttered, staring down at her favorite CD by the Indigo-Go's, their second album, old now and cheap enough that Zelda owned three—and now four—copies of it. But not only was it her favorite but written in silver sharpie all along the inner booklet were the signatures of three of the five members of the band. "Link," she said again, finally looking up at him. "How much was this?"

"I'm not lying to you," he chuckled. "I have my ways."

"What ways? This is… I can't even believe I'm holding this," she asked, flipping it over in her hands and clutching it to her chest as if someone were trying to take it from her.

"Colin's best friend lives in Termina. We just asked if he'd go to their signing at a local music shop, and he sent us the CD after. Lulu and Japas weren't there, but now you have a collection to finish one day."

Zelda gingerly set it down on the coffee table before throwing her arms around Link, holding him tight. Link tried to sit up, but she had him pinned, so he gave up and just returned her embrace.

"Thank you," she whispered, unable to explain just how much the gift meant to her in any other words.

But he seemed to understand. He always understood.

"Of course."