"You're sure you are cool with this?" Link asked after school ended on Thursday, grabbing her bag for her while they walked.
"Yes, Link," Zelda said patiently, pretty sure he was far more nervous than she was.
"You don't want to wait until this weekend?"
"No, Link," Zelda laughed. "This is the only day I'm positive my parents are staying at the office overnight. I'd have invited you over to take advantage, but I'm perfectly happy at your house. And it's your birthday, so it's a 'your house' kind of thing. Any more questions?"
"You really want to stay over?"
With an exasperated sigh, Zelda threw her hands up. "Do you want me to go home? I'll go home if you want!"
"No! No," Link said quickly, grabbing her hand as they walked. They'd lucked out with his birthday falling on one of the last nights she had free until the end of the show, though they hadn't been fortunate enough to land on a weekend as well. "I just wanted to be sure."
"Yeah," Zelda scoffed, "almost like you need to check and see if I want to hang out with you alone for hours on end," she snorted.
Link grinned at her.
"Where do your parents think you're staying?"
"Makeela. She's prepared for all questions. We played cards, I lost, and then we rewatched Moonlight Howl and cried. We also decided to order pizza."
"I should never doubt how prepared you are for something."
"Never, Link."
They reached the parking lot and Link handed her the spare helmet. When she grabbed it, she noticed the cuts on the backs of his knuckles, dried but bruised. He'd picked her up that morning and would bring her to school the next morning too so she didn't have to worry about her car, and tomorrow, Makeela was going to bring her home after school.
He climbed on first, and she slung her backpack over her shoulders. It was clunky but light, filled with mostly clothes and one schoolbook. Link's bag was nearly flat, and it allowed her to wrap her arms around his waist.
Turning his head to check on her, he felt her lips on his cheek. "Happy birthday, again."
Humming his contentment, he started rolling out of the parking lot, walking the bike most of the way. "Want to go on a miniature adventure with me before we go to my house?"
"Obviously."
"Hold on then," he said, finally shifting gears and feeling her tighten her grip as they rode away.
It was a good thirty minutes on the highway until Link finally took an exit and veered onto some more rural roads, and soon, they were outside someone's farm with Link killing the engine and taking his helmet off.
Zelda stepped off and took Link's hand when he offered, unsure where they were or what they were doing, but she followed him to a fence that ran along the edge of some property.
Link let go to lean on the wood, staring at horses in the distance that were roaming through the field, tails swishing either happily, or to shoo away a fly.
It took Link a moment of watching with a sad smile to drag his eyes away, back to Zelda. "Mikau used to drive me up here. Something about the horses used to calm me down. I'd stare at them forever, and he'd just sit in the car and let me."
"Do you have something you need to calm your mind about?"
Link smirked, not in amusement. "I threatened Revali. I want to smoke so badly. I punched a wall. I'm down a job. Midterms are coming up. I haven't heard anything about college. My closest friend is dead on my birthday again. Like… sometimes I think it's all a joke and he'll call or send a postcard from some faraway land, gone, but not really."
Zelda leaned on his arm, running a comforting hand up and down his tense muscles. "Would you tell me about him? Or is that too much?"
"He—" Link started before sitting down in the grass just before the fence, bringing Zelda with him. He was sitting sideways so he could still see the horses. "He was my Makeela. My best friend, but something more. Like a brother. You've seen me and Pip, yeah? I'm at his house or we're at mine when I'm not with you. Imagine that, but then blow it up a bit. I stayed with him and his family when my dad kicked me out right before I went to jail. He didn't give up on me. He was that kind of person, you know? Like you. Saw the good in everyone.
"When I first met him, he practically hated me. I was like that annoying younger sibling's shadow who followed him everywhere. I did that to Aryll for a while too. But he had patience enough to deal with me. With me, with my attitude and problems, with my family problems. He taught me things. How to work, how to put effort into something good.
"He was funny, and he played too many video games. He loved to eat. He was middle class. He had a job at Gabe's. Remember, Gabe is his uncle. He had a slight lisp when he said things with T's. The anniversary of his death is at the start of next year. I always go visit his stone. But the anniversary is the only time I'll visit."
"I'm so sorry, Link."
"I know." He sighed and leaned back. "I wanted to show you the farm. I just needed a few minutes here."
"We can stay. I don't mind."
"What are you going to do while I stare at horses?"
"Stare at you?" she tried with a smile.
It got a soft chuckle out of him, and he nodded while he felt her scoot closer to him. She used his thigh as a pillow, closing her eyes after while he played with her hair, ran his hands along her face, anything that could calm him down a bit. But his attention was divided between her, the horses, and his own thoughts.
"How is everything today?" he asked her, hoping to distract himself.
He felt her shrug. "No one said anything about a picture. What exactly did you do to Revali?" She smoothed her skirt down and shifted to get more comfortable.
Link hummed as he ran his finger down the side of her cheek before returning to her hair. "Wouldn't you like to know?"
"I would."
"I didn't do anything. I told Revali he should talk his friends down. That's all."
"That got you a bloody hand?"
"And dysentery, apparently."
"Shut up," she laughed, shaking his leg. "I meant sepsis."
"How about home?" Link asked. "How are your parents doing?"
Again, he could feel her shoulders shrug. "I don't know. I see them in the mornings, and I don't really see them long enough any other time. That Holodrum presentation is coming up, so they're just super busy. No one has mentioned you though, so that's possibly good."
"Yeah, hopefully," he muttered, leaning back against the wooden post.
"Link?" Zelda asked, fiddling with her shirt. He looked at her, waiting. It took her a minute to find the words. "Are you… disappointed? I mean, you saw me practically shirtless for the first time in a blackmail attempted photograph. Like… it wasn't in person."
Link scoffed. "What the fuck kind of question is that? Disappointed, yeah, but gods, not with you. With those assholes that I gave a little too much credit to. But not with you. Gods, not you."
"Okay. I just… I just wanted to know."
They stayed there for some time after, their conversations aimless, but nonetheless enthralling. Link spoke about his past, about Mikau, how they both met Pipit. It had to be an hour before they finally stood up again and made for Link's bike before heading back home.
When they went inside, Aryll wasn't home yet. Link headed out to cover his bike before returning inside and throwing his bag onto the couch. "Make yourself comfortable."
Zelda let her clunky bag land beside his. "I always do."
Link glanced into the refrigerator and sighed. "Guess she's going to come home with food later."
Zelda couldn't help her smug grin as she crossed the room and grabbed Link's hand, leading him back to the couch. "If she's not home… we're alone for a little while. And I know something fun that will pass the time."
Link chuckled and pulled her away from the couch toward his room. "No way are we making out on that couch where she can just walk the fuck in."
"Your room always feels so scandalous. You haven't even actually gone inside mine."
"There are only three rooms with doors: One is Aryll's room, one's a broom closet sized bathroom, and the other is my room. Your pick."
Scoffing, Zelda stepped into the room and smirked. "I didn't say I disliked feeling scandalous in here. And next time you can sneak over, you're stepping foot in my room, okay?"
"Okay," he muttered kissing her quickly before shutting the door.
Zelda chuckled and crossed her arms, staring at the poster on the inside of his door. "Amalia is watching."
"Want me to take it down?" he asked, giving it a studious look.
"No. No, I think it's funny. You could leave me for her, if she ever magically becomes real. Feel free."
"Because you'd leave me for Castor?" he laughed. "Damn werewolves ruining our relationship."
She smirked. He was possibly the only one who would be willing to joke with her about their fictional show like this. She remembered once making a comment about 'what if Makeela had formed a pack and left Zelda out'—which happened to Amalia in season one—and Makeela had become highly upset at the implication that she'd ever do such a thing.
"What superpower would you want?" Zelda asked suddenly. "If you could have one. Would you want to be a werewolf or some cool shapeshifting badass?"
Link turned to her and thought for a second, humming as he did.
"Well," he said, wrapping his arms low on her hips. "I wouldn't need strength." He picked her up and adjusted his grip, so she was secure against him, her legs locked automatically around his waist.
"Whoa," she laughed. "Yeah, you're strong, Mr. Show Off."
He chuckled with her and set her down on the bed, which—like most of the room—he'd cleaned last night. Setting her down gently onto the futon's mattress, he sat beside her. "Teleportation. You?"
Zelda leaned towards him, interested. "I'd want to shoot crazy beams of light out of my hand because it would look cool. Why teleportation?"
Link shrugged. "I don't know. Travel anywhere for free. Not need to walk to the bus in the rain. Visit you when you go away to college. They all sound like good reasons."
"Wait," she said, stopping him as she grabbed his arm. "Is that something you're worried about?"
Link made a face. "I wouldn't call it 'worried', but yeah… something like that. I know it can't last, but I do like seeing you almost every day. I'll miss it. Teleportation would be nice."
"Link, you have a camera on your computer. We'll video chat. And it's not forever. I'll be home on weekends, no matter where I go. Despite what my parents probably wish, I'm not going to school in Holodrum or anything."
"You might not want to come home," Link muttered, losing himself in his thoughts. "You'll find other people. People you like. People you like. People who your parents would want you to bring home. People who can afford to take you out to dinner." He ran a hand through his hair. "I want to be able to take you to dinner, but look, we're on my futon bed. I can't afford to splurge on a nice meal for you."
"I don't want a nice meal. I've never asked you to take me out. I'm so happy coming over and cooking with you, or you coming to my house and ordering. Remember when you said you weren't in this with me for sex? Well I'm not in this with you for money. So suck it up. You're stuck with me."
The corners of his lips tipped up and he nodded. "Yeah."
She narrowed her eyes and pulled his arm so he was facing her. "Help me out, Link. I've never done this."
"Never done what?"
Her eyes glinted with mischief. "We were rudely interrupted last time we made out in here. I want to pick up where we left off. And maybe along the way, you'll get the idea that I want you for you, not the things you have."
"What?" he asked again, but this time, his answer was her kissing him again, though much more intensely than just a few minutes ago. Her tongue was against his, playful but fierce all at once.
And when she broke away, it was to grab his shirt.
"Oh," he muttered, finally understanding.
"How do I… it's going to end up inside out…" she muttered to herself as she adjusted her grip.
Link chuckled low. "I don't fucking care if it ends up inside out," he said before pulling up at the collar at the nape of his neck and letting her do the rest until he could carelessly toss it somewhere onto the floor.
Zelda felt more fabric and groaned, though not without a laugh. "Have I ever told you how much I hate your white tee shirts? You pick these ones that are just right against your muscles and gods, they make me want to just die a bit."
"You can rip it off if you hate it so much."
Zelda snorted and ran her hands through his hair before kissing him again.
She remembered Ravio, some of the things they'd done. It wasn't the first time she would be seeing a shirtless guy—excluding all pool parties she'd ever been to—but Ravio had always liked control. She was pretty sure, by her memory, that he'd whipped his own shirts off and proceeded to practically paw at her until she had to tell him to back off. But with Link, he was giving her control, not wrangling it back when she took it herself. Helpful, but not domineering. And she liked it.
So when she tossed his tee shirt in vaguely the same direction as his uniform, she admittedly gawked at him, her voice hitching into a high-pitch of admiration. "Gods, you're ripped."
Link barked out a laugh as his entire chest turned flaming red, warm to the touch, he imagined. "I get bored a lot."
She couldn't even bring herself to do anything but stare at him. "I'm not complaining at all, but maybe you need another hobby on top of exercising?"
"I play guitar, remember?"
She scoffed, finally daring to take a step towards him, though she cautiously took his hands rather than immediately throwing herself at him right off the bat. "That's one of the reasons your hands are so calloused. You can't escape having some kind of muscle, can you?"
She watched his skin turn redder, and her hands finally reached out to touch his bare skin, causing him to tense and shudder. She could hear him mutter 'fucking hell' under his breath. And she noticed his tattoos, unobstructed and the full view for once. But she was taking her time.
Letting her hands run down his chest, she marveled at how his muscles rippled and twitched at her every touch. How she took a step closer and let her hands move back from his stomach, up his chest, and around his neck. How her lips joined in, experimentally light against him. How he hissed out the word 'fuck' every time his body did something he couldn't control.
And for Link, he could feel himself shaking. Everything about this was foreign to him. He felt good. No one had made him feel so unabashedly good about himself in the years he could remember. No one ran their hands along his skin and didn't immediately jerk away at some unintentional contact, like his criminal status was the plague.
No one looked at him the way Zelda did. No one made him feel wanted like she did. Sure, he had Ilia and he had Pipit. But they were his siblings, like Aryll. Mikau had been a brother. Gabe was like a father. And this wasn't a feeling someone in your family could give you. It was the most intense feeling of realizing that maybe, just maybe, he wasn't crazy. That maybe he wasn't the only one of the two of them who was falling in love.
He'd felt her lips on the skin of his collarbone, but gods, his mind had gone hazy and blank to the point where it hadn't even registered. He was so rapt in her that he just… couldn't focus.
"You still doing okay?" she asked when she backed away, flipping her hair over her shoulder and letting her fingers play with his ears.
And again, he felt his mind just desert him. He hummed something. Some noise maybe? An agreement? A… dare he think it… moan? He didn't even know.
I love you, his brain urged. But it's not what he said.
"This is all pretty new to me," he admitted.
And his sense came back enough to realize just how bashful she looked. "Me too, really. This is all… okay?"
"You know how to treat a heart attack, right?" he laughed. And reacting to his words, her hand trailed over his racing heart. But he cleared his throat and held his hand over hers. "Yeah. This is all okay."
She smiled soft and sweet. "Can I take a better look at your tattoos?"
He nodded and shifted so his side was facing her. Her hand immediately went to the ink on his skin. It was the of one of the mythical Goddesses calling for a knight in armor to meet her through a doorway
"This is so much more incredible and detailed when your sleeve isn't in the way. I never saw the whole thing."
The tattoo went onto his back a bit, and even up higher onto his shoulder: places that Zelda hadn't been able to see with his shirt on.
But she squeaked excitedly and pushed his arm aside. "The sword! You told me it was hidden!"
The Master Sword of legend ran straight down his ribs. "I told you it was hidden from you while my shirt was on. Not that it's hidden overall."
And he still couldn't stop the aggressive shiver ripple through him as she tactically examined it.
"It's so detailed." Her hands go to the one she's seen before, though her eyes move to the part on his back that's been hidden.
She squinted at something dark, a mangled piece of skin that's been covered by the tattoo. And when she felt it, it felt different too… wrinkly, like it was skin that had been tugged and adjusted and settled and perhaps moved again. "Can I ask what happened here?" she asked, feeling it so he knew what she meant.
He nodded and craned his next to get his best view, though he ended up settling for meeting her gaze in the mirror with her entirely behind him. "It's from the car accident. It was a few surgeries. I think it was a piece of metal that did that. They told me it was, anyway. I don't remember much about it."
She pulled her fingers away, a sudden thought concerning her. "Does it hurt? Am I agitating it?"
"No, you're fine. It's been mostly healed for years. When I first got it covered, it hurt like a bitch. But it's good now."
"Why did you choose this design?" She leaned back now, like sitting next to him shirtless on his bed was absolutely no big deal to either of them.
He rested forward on his arms, and gods, did all his muscles move in all the right ways before he looked at her. "I like to think that there's something after we die. That everything we do here isn't for nothing. That dying young isn't in vain, and dying old is an accomplishment celebrated by more than the people we leave behind. So, I like to think that the Goddesses call us home. I don't know if I actually believe it, but I like to think it."
"I think that's beautiful."
I think you're beautiful, his mind echoed, but he didn't say it aloud. Instead, he kept silent, nodding along instead.
Zelda scooted closer, too close. Link's eyes darted to her lips before back up to her oddly mischievous and glinting eyes. Though, he was willing to admit that he didn't hate the way she was lustily looking him over when she did before she let her lips dance along his shoulder.
"If you got more tattoos, what would they be of?" she asked with a smirk.
Link couldn't stop himself from kissing her again before he answered. They both started laughing as they toppled backwards onto his bed. Zelda got comfortable on the pillow while Link pulled away, supporting himself over her with one of his arms.
The other ran his hand along her forehead. "I'd get my name in huge letters right here. But on my head, obviously. What do you think?"
She bit back an amused smirk and made a cautiously supportive noise, though her expression betrayed her… lack of interest in that particular tattoo.
He chuckled. "Okay, what if I got your face tattooed directly over my face? Then, no one would know who I was. I'd be like a ninja."
That got an audible laugh from her and her hands ran pointedly over his chest. "Oh yeah, no one will figure that one out. You're really sneaky, Link."
Link wrapped his arm around her and pulled closer to her, reveling in how easily she fit against him, even at this odd angle.
"I'd want the legendary spiritual stones," he admitted, finally serious. "I like the elements and what they represent."
"You have the Triforce of Courage, too. You like legends."
"I do. I grew up reading stories of knights and courage and overcoming evil."
"And princesses," Zelda added with a laugh.
Link hummed, bending down to kiss her again. "And princesses."
Somehow, he had to keep convincing himself—even after all this time—that this wasn't a dream. That he wasn't sitting in class staring at her across the room conjuring up a wildly inappropriate fantasy in the middle of the school day. Sometimes, he had to remind himself that they actually had started talking. That he'd somehow managed to find this girl in his life. That he, of all people, had won the lucky draw and she'd appeared.
His hand tentatively hovered over the buttons of her uniform blouse, already wrinkled and ridden up at the waist. She couldn't see, he knew, but it took him a moment of steeling his own nerves before letting his hand brush down her throat and stop at the buttons so she knew what he wanted without seeing or breaking their kiss.
He could feel her nod, and in his nerves, his shaking hand pulled at the fabric.
"Stop, wait," she said, craning so she could see what he was doing.
"Sorry!" he said quickly, moving away.
"No, come back! It's not that," she giggled, grabbing his arm and urging him back. "It's just that this is my uniform. If you rip a button like that, not only will my parents figure out what we're doing right now when they see me trying to learn to sew a new button on, but so will the school, because I have to wear this tomorrow. So just be careful or go slower."
"Gods," he breathed, relieved. He'd thought he'd done something horribly wrong.
"You okay?" she asked, smoothing a hand through his hair.
"After what happened yesterday… I just thought I did something."
The picture.
Zelda shook her head. "I don't want to think of that, or of who's seen it. I want to think about who's seeing me now."
"Oh, fuck," Link muttered, and absolutely not in a bad way, as his eyes ran over her.
Zelda chuckled and pulled him back for a quick kiss. "I think that's all you say when we're together."
He laughed and pushed his hair back. "I can go read a dictionary before next time, if you want. Try to expand my vocabulary."
I love you, he thought might be a good replacement.
"I can think of other things you can do with your mouth," she said, turning red as soon as she said the words, but not really regretting them.
Link stiffened. "Fucking hell, Zelda," he breathed before realizing he'd done it again. "Fuck. I mean… shit. Gods dammit."
A hard laugh burst from Zelda's lips, no matter how hard she tried to keep it down.
"You're going to kill me," he muttered, trying to regain his composure before realizing that he didn't need to.
He dropped his lips to her neck and then trailed downward, following the trail his fingers were making as they released each button. He almost accidently bit her when she arched up into his mouth just as his lips pulled back, banging into his front teeth.
"Sorry," they both muttered at once before laughing.
Link returned his attention to her, having far too much fun listening to her hitched breaths and soft noises when his hand joined his lips as they brushed over her skin, so close but yet too far from where she wanted them. And Link… well, he struggled to keep his wits about him with her squirming and arching into him. His hand rested over the front clasp of her bra, but he had to keep himself from acting on it, because that was not something he wanted to rush, and he knew Aryll would be home soon.
So—though it didn't actually do much because gods, this was Zelda he was thinking about—he tried to mediate the situation by returning to her lips and experimenting with a little more vigor, which she matched and quickly overtook.
And was he ever glad he didn't decide to go for it when he heard the front door of the apartment slam and Aryll's voice call out his name.
"Yeah, in here!" Link called back, grinning at Zelda mischievously.
"Is Zelda in there with you? I didn't see her car."
"Hi Aryll," Zelda called weakly before stifling an embarrassed groan into Link's shoulder.
"Hey girl, good to hear you again! Listen, I know you two are probably having a great time doing whatever, but I'm fucking hungry, Link, so wrap it up and get out here so I can eat this food and go to bed, okay? I have my 7:30 class in the morning, a meeting with my advisor before that, and I actually want to celebrate your birthday with you. Then you can… resume."
"We'll be right out," Link said, though his voice hitched at the end when he let go of Zelda. "Fuck," he muttered to himself, grabbing a shirt off the clean laundry pile and throwing it over his head. He looked over Zelda again, hungry and wanting, but he grabbed another shirt and held it out for her. "So you don't need to wear your uniform."
"Thank you," she said, pulling it on, enjoying his far-too-stressed reaction as he watched her. It was too loose, hanging off of her like she was a child playing dress up.
And then he grabbed two sweatshirts. "Gods," he chuckled, unable to resist himself from kissing her again.
I love you.
"I like seeing you in my stuff," he said instead.
"Oh, do you?" She tugged the Indigo-Go's one on and hugged the arms to herself. "I like being in them, so it's a fair trade."
He pulled his own sweatshirt over his head and heard Zelda snicker. "Unless you're not embarrassed around your sister, I think you're going to want a longer sweatshirt."
Link looked down and… yeah… a little too noticeable. He grabbed a new one and tried to avoid making his situation worse by staring at Zelda in his sweatshirt, and his shirt, in her uniform skirt, which had ridden up a bit with their activities and… not helping.
"Do you need sweatpants?" Link asked, knowing she'd say no because he knew she'd brought some that would actually fit her. But it got her attention onto her skirt, which she fixed. "I have some to sleep in. They're in my bag. I'll change in a minute."
He fixed the inside-out hood and pulled the bottom of his oversized sweatshirt down. "Better?"
He was assuredly not better when her eyes flicked down. And when they met his again, she nodded and winked at him before opening the door.
Aryll was at the kitchen counter, pulling plates out and setting takeout food onto them, not noticing them emerge. Zelda veered over to her bag on the couch, digging for her sweatpants before folding them over her arm.
"Can I change in your room?"
Not helping.
"Yeah, go ahead," Link said, hurrying over to Aryll to get his mind to focus on anything else. "Sweet," Link said, grabbing at the Spicy Gerudo Cake.
But Aryll grabbed his hand. "No way, you little thief. Paws off. Food then dessert."
"Technically, he said, inching his hand toward the orange frosting, "You're no longer my guardian so I can eat whatever cake I want."
She hit his arm. "I'm your guardian until 8:52pm. You're still seventeen, Mr. Hotshot."
Conceding with a smile, Link held up his hands. "Okay, okay. What did you get me then?"
"I got you food and cake."
"Fine, thank you," he said, turning at the sound of his door closing and Zelda emerging to put her uniform into her bag.
Aryll handed Link his plate of food and smiled at Zelda. "Love your sweatshirt. Link has an identical one."
Zelda immediately turned red and started chuckling nervously.
"Leave her alone," Link groaned, taking Zelda's plate to the coffee table for her.
"No, it's okay," Aryll laughed, setting her own things down. "It's a rite of passage. I steal Colin's things all the time when I'm at his house."
"Why isn't he here?" Link asked, taking a mouthful of noodles from his favorite restaurant.
"He did want to be. Just… work. You know the feeling."
"Too well," Link agreed.
And they ate together with chatty conversations that filled the space. They cleaned out the dishes and stored leftovers in the fridge and wiped down the table all before Aryll sat down and made herself comfortable while Link handed out the pieces of cake.
"What did Zelda get you?" Aryll asked with an exited grin.
Link looked at Zelda.
She bit her lip. "Okay, Link, listen: I did spend money on this, and you're going to know exactly how much, but I also want you to not get mad and to remember that I'm rich. My parents are bringing in thousands of dollars in overtime, and they owe me money for damages done to my upbringing. Okay?"
"That's the worst job selling something I've ever heard."
Zelda grimaced and reached over the couch to grab a neatly wrapped box. "Happy birthday."
With a cautious look, Link took the box. It was feather light and didn't shake when he tested it. He tore the paper and was met with a plain white box with the lid taped down. Once he was able to get the lid off, he saw a small gift card, unlabeled on the side facing him. So, he lifted the holder.
And nearly dropped it.
"Gods, Zelda, are you serious? This is… too much money."
His mouth was wide as he picked up the little card again and read the words: Desert Ink and Piercings: $250
But Zelda leaned forward, her eyes shining as she registered his excitement that was bursting through the price shock. "You want a new tattoo, right? A spiritual stone, maybe?"
A wide smile finally hit his face. "You were fucking baiting me in there, weren't you?"
"Oh for sure."
"You even have the right place I go to."
"Aryll helped me."
Link's eyes darted over to his sister.
Aryll shrugged. "I have your girlfriend's number, Link. She and I had a great day here without you while you were at work while she figured this one out."
Link snorted, but pulled Zelda into him, giving her a chaste kiss in front of his sister. "Thank you, Zel. But please, don't spend that much money on me again. I'm not wort—"
"Don't finish that thought, Link," Zelda warned, kissing him once more before sliding back. "I'm not sure how Mrs. Joy will feel about you flaunting one lower on your arm. You're running out of room up top unless you switch arms."
"I'll get it in winter, wear long sleeves, and by the end of spring when it's hot, I'll have perfected speedily covering it in the mornings."
"My turn," Aryll said, standing to grab something else and tossing it at Link. "This is from Colin and I."
He caught it, and there was a decent amount of weight to it. No wrapping, just a white box that, like Zelda's, had been taped down.
And again, when he opened it, he nearly dropped it. "What the fuck, Aryll. What did… how…?"
"Combined power. Open it. I didn't tell Zelda what it is."
And he lifted a smartphone out of the box, already with a screen cover and phone case over it. It was no latest model, but it was sleek and new.
Zelda's eyes lit up.
Link spun the phone in his hand. "We can't afford this…"
Aryll threw her legs over the arm of the chair. "We can. You're on my family plan, which has unlimited talk and text. And we've talked about adding you before, so you know it's not going to be that much extra money. Besides, with you going to college soon, I want you to have a real phone. Unfortunately, I couldn't keep your number the same, so that's new. And maybe send me or Zelda the pictures you want to transfer over. And you might need to redownload Snake. Oh, right, try to stay on the Wi-Fi when you use the internet."
Link put the phone down and wrapped his arms around Aryll, giving her neck a playfully tight squeeze. "Thank you, Aryll."
She tapped his arm, laughing. "Eighteen is a big deal, kiddo."
"Apparently," he said, letting her go before returning to his couch and playing with the phone, setting it up with Zelda's guiding assistance. She was the first new number in his phone, now under the name Princess Zelda Harkinian, if only because he liked typing on a touch screen. He didn't need to add an "A" in front, because his phone now had the option for favorites. And he sent out a text to Aryll, Zelda, Ilia, Pipit, Gabe, Makeela, and Collin letting them know about the number change and so they'd have his new number in their phone.
They worked on changing the background (which Link playfully put as a picture of him and Zelda making strange faces while testing the camera before deciding he wanted to actually keep it), adding apps and pictures to his contacts, and changing the ringtone.
Aryll ended up heading to sleep and Link left Zelda with his phone while he changed out of his uniform pants and into sweats before inviting her in to get more comfortable as it got later in the night.
Zelda peeled off Link's sweatshirt and tugged at the shirt he'd let her. "Should I change?"
"No, you can sleep in that," he said, slightly choking on the words as he realized that Zelda would be sleeping in his shirt (for no real reason) and in his bed with him. Because he'd invited her to stay the night. Because somehow, he'd managed to ask her if she wanted to stay over on his birthday. Because…
I love you.
But he didn't say it again.
"Do you want the inside or the outside?" he asked, gesturing to his futon. Both sides had benefits and downfalls. The side against the wall was harder, firm from the springs below that allowed the couch to stretch out at all, and the outside was completely unsupported, but extremely soft. "Give them a try. They feel different."
Link grabbed his clunky laptop off the floor while Zelda rolled around.
"What side are you normally on?"
"Both."
"So helpful," she muttered, finally settling on the softer side.
Link crawled over her and opened up his laptop, which Zelda promptly took away from him to log into her Movie Slate account while he tried to figure out what noise he wanted to use for the alarm on his phone.
They picked out a movie, one that they'd both been interested in but never seen, and immediately proceeded to talk through the opening.
"Is this weird?" Link asked, gesturing to the blanket that they were under.
"Is it?" she asked, unsure what he meant.
"Like, I just wanted to know if you wanted me to sleep somewhere else. I've stayed over a few times, but you're here at my house… in my bed. Couches are one thing. And when you agreed to come over, we didn't really talk about sleeping where because—"
"Link, you're fine. Please. We didn't need to talk; I got the memo when you invited me over that the bed was possibly implied. And I'm fine with it if you are."
"Oh, I'm fine with it."
Link felt her press up against him, getting comfortable as she watched the computer that was balancing on his legs. And he kept his arm around her, like they were on any old couch, trying to keep his cool.
And soon, the movie had ended. Link unplugged it and listened to it shut off without a battery to sustain it and handed it to Zelda to slide under the bed.
Zelda used Link's arm as a pillow, complaining still that she should have got him new ones for his birthday instead. He didn't mind at all, especially not when her arm draped across his stomach. His hand went to trace a small pattern, not too distracting as to wake them both up, but enough that he felt her arm break out into goosebumps.
"Goodnight, Link. Happy birthday."
His head lolled towards her, watching her eyes drift closed.
I love you.
"Night, Zel. Thanks for being here."
"Anytime," she muttered before drifting off to sleep.
Reviews: Oracle: Oh yeah, he totally deserves it. He's legit done so many illegal things at this point. And Yeah, I don't want our boy to get arrested, so I had to keep him mostly in control. Djfede310: Honestly, same! Hello-world8467: HAHAHAHAHA no one needs to know! DK21 XcL: Hahahahahaha fanfics do Revali dirty, I'll admit. And I'm definitely a culprit of that! I actually have a love/hate relationship with the game version of him so it's weird. Guest: BAHAHAHAHAHHA LEGIT PERFECT! AndrewPixelKnight: Honestly, that's clearest translation of that entire scene! James Birdsong: Thank you! Queen Emily: They are the WORST! Don't forget Ravio. He's in the R mix of jerks too lol. ElenaGilbert24: He's totally willing to get arrested to protect her! I think the consequences are probably the last thing on his mind when he's that angry.