Zelda adjusted her skirt before sitting in the chair.
"There is no use, Ms. Harkinian," Mrs. Joy said, giving her a thorough once-over. "I have warned you. I have told you to follow the dress code. I have implored you to see reason."
There was a knock on the door.
Mrs. Joy opened it, and was met by the imposing figure of Ramus Harkinian.
"Please, sit down," Mrs. Joy said, gesturing to the seat.
"What did you do?" he muttered to his daughter, low and uncompromising. "Do you think I have time for this?"
"I didn't ask her to call you here," Zelda hissed back.
"We have to have a talk at home about a few things, and this is coming up? Taking me away from my job so that we can eat. This is unacceptable, Zelda. I thought you were better than getting into enough trouble that I would be summoned to the office."
"You don't even know what it's about!"
Mrs. Joy cleared her throat. "Mr. Harkinian, your daughter has been in several violations of the dress code this year so far, and she's done it again. She is currently wearing black leggings as opposed to the required black tights. And not only has she violated the dress code again, but she's also begun a petition which has recently reached my desk, thankfully before it could be passed around. She's looking to abolish the dress code in its entirety."
"What? No I'm not! I'm trying to make it more relaxed so we can be comfortable while we're learning rather than worrying if our skirt is too short on our tall legs!"
"Zelda Harkinian!" her father boomed, standing up at a towering height over her small, sitting-down frame. "You do not talk back to an adult, an authority figure, or anyone, for that matter. Apologize."
"Sorry," she muttered, insincere.
"Is that boy influencing you in a negative way? Encouraging your disrespect of authority?"
"What!" Zelda balked, standing up herself this time.
"What boy?" Mrs. Joy asked, leaning forward with interest.
"Link Hunter," Ramus muttered, ensuring that Zelda's way to the door was blocked. "Are you aware of that boy's past? That one of your students is a criminal?"
Zelda's mouth dropped as she leaned against the wall, completely stunned.
"Our school is aware of Mr. Hunter's past. He has been vetted by several social workers, one of whom we work very closely with here at the school to ensure his continued upward trend in behavior. Has he done something of particular note I should be aware of?"
"He's dating my daughter!" He spun on Zelda. "Did you know?"
"Yes, I knew! I know everything! He didn't hide it from me! And isn't that confidential? He's a minor! How did you figure that out?"
"I asked someone to do a background check on my daughter's boyfriend because clearly she will keep important information from me!"
"It's not important! Not in that way! You didn't need to know the first day you were meeting him as my boyfriend!"
"You think I didn't need to know that I left a thief unsupervised in my house?"
Zelda turned to Mrs. Joy, desperate and on the verge of hot tears, begging for any sort of help from the only other voice in the room.
And by the grace of the gods, she offered what little she could. "Mr. Harkinian, I can say that Mr. Hunter is one of the top students here. He's caused few problems since he transferred here."
Despite her attempt, Ramus heard nothing. "You know you can't see him, Zelda."
But this, Zelda was prepared for. Her great panic attack before dinner the last week had given her this answer. "I'm eighteen. You can't stop me."
"You live in my house under my rules."
"Well then I'll leave and just go live with the criminal you're so afraid of."
"Your mother and I will disown you."
"You wouldn't. I know both of you better than you know me!"
"Go home, Zelda! We'll talk later tonight."
"I have rehearsal tonight, which you'd know if you paid attention to my schedule half as much as I have to pay attention to yours!"
Ramus scowled, only maintaining his temper because of Mrs. Joy's presence. "Fine. We'll talk when you return from your rehearsal. I have to get back to work."
Ramus left Zelda alone with Mrs. Joy as the tears finally slipped over the edge of her eyes. "May I go now?" she asked, stifling a sob. Her tears were a mix of rage and embarrassment.
"Yes. Don't wear leggings tomorrow."
"No, I won't," she promised with a frown.
Zelda burst into the hall, grateful that the majority of people had already gone home for the day, and she stumbled along the wall and into the bathroom where she sank to the ground and let out a broken sob that she tried to cover with her hand.
She fumbled in the pocket of her back pack and pulled out her phone, fishing for either Link or Makeela's number. She didn't even care which one she called, she just needed one of them. Her thumb hit the screen and she had it to her ear, her horror and pain burning, making her chest physically hurt and causing another sob to escape, much faster and shallower. And once that one was out, it all came out.
Her father had breached not only Link's privacy, but hers. She was competent enough to judge Link for herself. It was like he as a person didn't matter, just the things he did when he was about thirteen.
Thirteen.
He was just days short of his eighteenth birthday. Surely, she couldn't be the only person in the entire whole world who could see Link as someone other than a criminal?
"Zelda?" his voice asked in her ear. Like it hadn't been the first time.
And then her petition? Made to sound like she was trying to abolish the uniform? The only one who had her petition was Revali.
"Hey, Zelda, talk to me," Link's voice said, more urgently. She could hear that she was sniffling, but she couldn't bring her voice to work.
What did you do? Do you think I have time for this?
Go home, Zelda!
Your mother and I will disown you.
"Zelda. Do you need me to come get you from somewhere? Are you hurt? Please, say something!"
"I…" She had to cover her mouth again to stop a sob.
"I'm coming to get you, okay? Are you still at school?"
"No," she choked out, half a sob by accident.
There is no use, Ms. Harkinian… I have implored you to see reason.
Your daughter has been in several violations of the dress code this year so far, and she's done it again.
Don't wear leggings tomorrow.
"Zelda, just tell me if you're physically hurt, please."
"No," she said, calmer, but not quite composed. "I'm sorry. You're at work. I shouldn't have called." Her voice broke several times in that short sentence.
"No, don't worry. Just stay on the phone with me, okay? You don't need to talk, but you can."
His kindness, that voice… it made her cry harder. That was the evil criminal her father was trying to keep her from.
"You might want to go outside for air," Link said into the phone before staying silent.
Zelda agreed and went to sit on the railing, trying to compose herself for a long time. Link stayed on the other end, soundless, but there.
She didn't know how long she sat there, but she had an inkling that it had been awhile when a familiar car pulled up, and Gabe, of all people, stepped out, switching seats with someone she recognized from the shop.
"Link?" she asked into the phone. "Did you send Gabe?"
"No, is that where he went? He's with you? At school?"
"Yeah."
Gabe strode towards her, shaking his head. "Sorry, Zelda, but Link looked ready to have a heart attack. I had to make sure you weren't hurt or anything."
"I'm okay," she said to him. And into the phone: "Link, can I call you later?"
"Of course. Don't hesitate. Any time."
She hung up and peered over to where Gabe stood. "My dad found out about Link's record. Told me he'd disown me if I didn't break up with Link. I was sabotaged by one of my former friends, and I just feel… I don't even know. I know I feel horrible for Link. My dad…"
"Think about it, Zelda. You have a daughter, and you just learned—without any details—that she's dating someone who's been to jail. Would you be concerned?"
"I… but he's met Link before."
"That's not the question. If you had a record, I'd grill Link like he was a sirloin on the stove to make sure he'd thought it all through. Would I ever threaten to disown him? No. And for that, I'm sorry. But on a basic level, your father is scared for you.
"When Pipit was younger, he couldn't drive. He has a special car now, one with lights to tell him when there's noise, but he didn't have that at first. And I kept distracting him to make sure he was safe, but little did I realize the damage I was doing by taking his mind and eyes off the road and his dashboard. Sometimes, our best intentions can become dangerous. Link's have. Even after he got out, he tried to bring necessities home, so he stole, even knowing the consequences."
Gabe gestured to the school. "Want me to go talk to someone so your dad doesn't have to?"
"No, that's okay." Zelda wiped a tear away and took a deep breath.
"You can come to the garage anytime you need me, or Link, or Pipit, or just a place to go for a few hours. I'm sure Link wouldn't mind the company. And I don't mind you being there. Okay?"
"Okay."
"And Zelda," he said, starting to walk back towards the car. "Don't let anyone sabotage you. You control your life, no one else. In the end, it's not your parents, it's not me, it's not Link, or your friends, or your boss. It's you. It'll hurt. That's never not going to hurt. But you will come out stronger, okay?"
"Okay," she said once again.
"Do you need a ride? I can drive your car, bring you home, I don't know… bring you to the shop?"
"No, thank you. I think I'm going to go to my friend's house."
"I'm glad you're not injured. But I'm sorry to know you're hurt. I'll fill Link in, if you want?"
"It doesn't matter. I'm going to see him at rehearsal in a few hours tonight. He has to fix something in the auditorium. He was volunteered for the job by Ilia, I think."
"Is he freelancing now?" Gabe laughed. "Good to know. Go have a good time with your friend. And have Link send you my number, just in case you ever need help. Even if something happens with you and Link, I'll come help you if you need it, okay?"
"Thank you, Gabe," she said, uncurling her legs and standing, grabbing her phone from her pocket with a much steadier hand. And when Gabe left, she found herself calling Makeela, finding out where she was, and how quickly she could be ready for a visitor.
Zelda stood in front of the mirror in the dressing room. She was in a nude-colored strapless bra and couldn't figure out if it was helping or hindering her failed efforts to get her costume corset on.
It was the first day of costuming, and mostly, it was just a fitting and testing to see what needed to change. She'd been fine in her previous costume, one that had been much looser, but now, she was in her 'working girl' outfit, and she couldn't put any shirt on underneath for the dress to look good. She wanted to rip this stupid thing already, but she resisted the urge and felt Ruto come up behind her.
"Let me help, Zelda."
"T-thank you," Zelda muttered, feeling Ruto doing up the strings in the back with much more ease than Zelda could. It made the costume fit a thousand times better. "Thank you, Ruto," Zelda said again.
With a sweet smile, Ruto nodded and spun in her own dress. "Like it?"
"Yeah! It brings out your eyes."
"Thank you! I think so too!"
Ruto left her in the dressing room without a goodbye, but honestly, it was more than Zelda even expected. She let out a deep breath and fixed the wrinkles in her skirt before grabbing a jacket and heading out into the auditorium, pulling it tightly against her unusually pushed out chest. She saw Link sitting in the audience, surprisingly, with Pipit. The boys were on the stage, all getting their costumes inspected with measuring tape and a clipboard close at hand, so Zelda went to Link.
"Been a while since I've seen you here," she said, signing along for Pipit, despite talking to Link.
Link did the same. "I missed it so much." But he couldn't keep his eyes on hers for long as they drifted to her corset, one eyebrow cocking up.
"Link," she chastised when his eyes lingered a little too long… or at least too long around someone else.
"Sorry, not my fault my girlfriend is hot in a costume."
"Stop it," she laughed.
"No way," he chuckled, though they were sure to keep their voices down. "How many more times will I see you in a dress from the 1800's?"
"Every show day."
Pipit had grabbed his phone, disinterested in their conversation, so they stopped signing for him.
Link held out his hand, which Zelda took, and he lightly pulled her towards him, a silent invitation.
She smoothed her dress and sat on Link's lap, slightly uncomfortable from the small space and hard metal, his she leaned heavily against him to try to keep off it. One of his arms was around her back, the other held her legs and kept her from sliding. She wrapped her arms around his neck.
"So, did Gabe tell you?" she asked, now realizing exactly why he was so willing to be publicly affectionate.
He nodded and glanced at Pipit before returning his attention to Zelda. "Don't lose your parents over me, okay? If they don't want me around, I respect that."
"Do you respect what I want? Because I want you around."
He shrugged, trying out a playful grin. "That's what happens when you're an underage boy dating a cougar. You listen to the parents."
"Did you just call me a cougar? I hate you," she laughed, a little too loudly.
"You're a legal adult, and I am humbly still a child in the eyes of the law. I'm dating an older woman. That's a cougar."
She had to muffle her laugh into his shoulder, feeling him shake with a laugh all his own. Only pulling away when she knew she wouldn't disrupt the fittings, she ran her chilly nose along his jaw before pressing a kiss just below his ear. "How do you make me smile when I want to scream?"
"You do it for me."
"Oh please. When?"
He scoffed. "Try the first two and a half months of our two-and-a-half-month relationship with each other."
"Is that all it's been?" she laughed again.
"I think so, yeah."
"Weird," she muttered. "It almost feels like it's been a few lifetimes."
"It does, doesn't it?"
"Okay! Next group!" Mr. Ezlo called. "Link, would you come over too?"
Zelda slid off of Link, who hit Pipit and ushered him to follow.
When she passed Revali, Zelda made a face. "Think this passes uniform regulations?" she asked, her nose up with whatever pride she could muster.
Revali looked her over slowly, much to Link's annoyance, and shook his head. "What uniforms? I thought you were trying to get rid of them."
Zelda crossed her arms, covering herself. "I knew it was you."
"I don't know what you mean," he said, unconvincingly taking off his costume layers before heading backstage to change back into normal clothes.
Mr. Ezlo looked between everyone and grabbed Link's shoulder first. "Thank you for coming in." He pulled a black wire from his pocket, frayed and severed. "I don't know what happened."
Link grimaced and handed it to Pipit. "Do you have wire cutters, pliers, electrical tape, and a flashlight?"
"You already know what to do? Ilia said you were smart…"
"Ilia likes to talk people up."
"Toolbox is over there; just grab what you need and go to town."
Link translated for Pipit as they walked over to the tools, leaving Zelda and the other girls in their costumes to be poked and prodded at.
Ruto smiled at her when it was her turn. And Zelda couldn't see Revali. Link and Pipit were under a switchboard. The play was almost over; just a few more weeks and she'd be free of Revali.
And Zelda couldn't help but hope that maybe things were going to turn around.
A/N: So yeah, Zelda's not having a good day.
BUT ON A MORE POSITIVE NOTE: EnduraCarrotChips drew art for this fic and it's GORGEOUS and I spent like 20minutes ranting about how much I loved all of it in a comment in the last chapter on AO3 and asked if I could put it in a note and you should totally go check them out because 333 And also Goron Donuts feature in here. And we all know those donuts are what we're really all at this fic for!
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