bitch I'm back.

by popular demand.

YES, I am HERE, which means I am FINISHED WITH SCHOOL. all assignments turned in! capstone presented! we're done baby! you're looking at a (tentative) college graduate! I say tentative because final grades aren't in yet but STILL.

I have been WAITING to get back to this, and I'm so happy I have the free time to do so again lmao

Link's eyes kept getting drawn to the nape of Zelda's neck.

Moments like this have been happening to him a lot – he always had an eye on Zelda before, but now it's just – more. So much more. Even the smallest motions distract him; she smiles at him and he's more dumbstruck than ever before. She traces something on the Sheikah Slate, and he's entranced by the path her fingers take.

There's always something about her that catches his eye – and today, it's the nape of her neck.

He kept getting distracted by the way the soft hairs curled there, and by the curve of her neck; with her hair up, it was so…noticeable. Everything about her was especially noticeable now – the sight of Zelda in Gerudo silks was still something he was getting used to. When she had walked up to him, beaming through her veil and dressed in purple silk, Link felt his tongue tie up into knots, she was so gorgeous. But she could dress up in rags and he would always think she's the prettiest thing he's ever seen.

But there was just so much skin – he kept getting distracted by the soft curve of her waist, by the dimples at the small of her back. It made him wonder if he could just – reach out. If he could find out if her skin was as soft as it looked. He bent to that desire the day of their arrival, just a little, reaching out to press his fingertips against her back to support her, and the small bit of contact had been electric.

And he has bent further still since, finding even more excuses to touch her – pressing a hand to the base of her spine as he called her attention to a stall in the main square, or sitting close until they were a line of connection from shoulder to hip as they shared a plate for lunch.

The little moments of contact he was stealing away – it made him wonder about things. Things he's never really entertained often, but now he couldn't stop thinking about it. He wondered if the skin at the nape of her neck was just as soft as her waist – if the contact would feel just as electric if he pressed his lips against that spot.

But now was not a good time to fall into the spiral of pondering that the curling hairs at the nape of Zelda's neck has brought him to – especially since they were out hunting for sand seals.

Link had promised Zelda leviathan bones, and he figured that three days into their stay in Gerudo Town, today was as good of a time as any to deliver.

The past two days, when Link wasn't giving into Zelda's desire to explore every nook and cranny of the town, they were spending time with Riju, poring over possible trade opportunities and the possibility of the Gerudo aiding in clearing the roads of any lingering monsters and clearing the way for travel. When he brought up the idea of taking a trip through the desert the night before over dinner, Zelda's eyes lit up right away, and that had pretty much settled it for him.

And now, here they were.

They had replaced their silks for tunic and trousers, to have more protection from the sand, and Zelda had used the Molduga guts he brought back for her to make strong elixirs to beat the heat – elixirs that they strapped to their belts, to avoid the hassle of grabbing the slate. His instructions on the location of the leviathan bones hadn't been very clear – Link was just told that the bones were at the edges of the desert, so while Zelda was making the elixirs, he checked the map on the slate and scoured the desert until he saw an outline that looked so much like the leviathan bones in Hebra that he placed a pin on the map, following his gut feeling.

"Do you know how to grab a wild sand seal?" Link asked, and Zelda's ponytail whipped around as she turned to face him, puffing up and planting her hands on her hips.

"Of course I can! With how many times I've visited Gerudo Town, Urbosa would turn in her grave if I didn't know how."

He raised his hands in concession. "Just checking! Do you want to pick your shield? I have…a lot to choose from."

"Why does that not surprise me. Well, then – you can pick. Something I might like."

Something she might like…

Link pursed his lips as he looked over the many shields he's gathered throughout his travels, before deciding on one with a decisive nod. "Okay – got one. Hold out your hands."

Light gathered in his hands as Zelda held her hands out, expectant, and he placed the Guardian shield in her hands, enjoying the way her eyes lit up in wonder.

"Oh, wow," she breathed, letting the shield expand, the blue lights reflecting in her wondrous eyes. "Link, where did you -?"

"One of the tests of strength in the shrines – they're a lot sturdier than they look, I promise."

"Do you have more that I could look at later?"

"Of course."

She beamed at him, and it took a lot of effort to not smile at her response like the lovestruck fool he was. He coughed lightly, kicking at the sand. "We should probably go. You all set?"

"Yes!"

There was a small herd of sand seals rolling around in the distance, and Link saw Zelda creeping forward in the corner of his eye, keeping his steps as light as possible so that they wouldn't startle the herd. He almost forgot what he was meant to be doing as he watched Zelda crawl towards a seal, eyes narrowed with focus and shield at the ready, but he shook off his light daze and moved towards his own seal, and soon they were surfing across the sand, Zelda letting out a victorious laugh.

The sands on the horizon practically rippled with heat, and a part of Link wished that he wore his voe armor instead of his Champion's tunic; they haven't been traveling for long, but even with the elixir, he could feel the sweat pooling at the small of his back. Zelda was a few paces ahead of him, her hair a streamer of pale gold behind her, and he figured it would probably be best to catch up to her, since he was the one who actually knew where they were supposed to go.

"Follow me!" He called over his shoulder and risked throwing her a crooked smile in challenge. "If you can keep up with me, that is."

He looked at her long enough to see that competitive fire light up her eyes, making his heart race, and faced forward with a laugh as she let out a loud yell, urging her sand seal to catch up to him.

She kept pace with him as they sped across the sand, and to the southwest, Link could see a sandstorm boiling up in the distance – luckily, for the moment, it was nowhere near the direction they needed to go. But Goddess knows how long their luck would last. As the sand seals pulled them along, it slowly sank in for Link, how long this trip across the desert would be. They would be moving for half the day, at the very most – so long as their pace was good, and they didn't run into any obstacles.

He could see the outlines of Lizalfos dotted across the sand, and Zelda screamed with laughter as they sped past one, the beast darting to its feet at their approach, but soon they were too far away for it to try and attack them.

The sun crawled across the sky, slow as honey, and Link began to wonder if they would even be able to stop for lunch. The last time he rode a sand seal, he rented it from Gerudo Town – he isn't sure how a wild one would act. If they tried to stop and take a break, would it run away?

Probably, Link guessed, and his eyes scanned the area speeding past them. He couldn't see any other sand seals loitering around – if they lost the seals the had, they would have to walk the rest of the way.

"Zelda!" He called out over the wind, urging his seal a little closer to her so she could hear him.

"Yes?"

"I don't think we'll be able to stop for lunch, we'll lose the seals if we do. Are you gonna be able to make it?"

Zelda's lips pursed as she thought about it, her eyes turning back to the horizon. "We can do it!" She finally decided. "We'll stop for lunch when we get to our destination – so let's be quick!"

He saw her throw a cheeky grin at him in the corner of his eye before she shot ahead, her seal barking loudly as she called out, "catch up, Hero!"

The race appeared to be on again, and Link's lips quirked up in a smile as moved to catch up to her. That was how the majority of their trip across the desert went, though they did take a moment to slow down so they could – carefully – take another dose of elixir once Link realized the heat of the day was starting to get to him. He kept an eye on Zelda the entire time, of course, though he tried his best to not be too obvious about it.

He remembered how Death Mountain had affected her, and even though the Gerudo desert isn't that intense, it was still hot enough for him to still be concerned.

Link's prediction about their travel time had been right – it was starting to creep close to sunset, when he finally saw a hazy image in the distance, that slowly cleared up into the shape of a large skeleton.

Zelda gasped loudly once she saw it, too, and when he peeked over to look at her, even though she looked tired from the day of travel her eyes were still shining with excitement.

"We're going to eat something, first." Link reminded her as they slowed to a stop, and he jolted in surprise as the slate started to vibrate against his hip.

Zelda hadn't noticed and was making a face at his words, rolling her eyes as she removed herself from her sand seal, picking up her shield as the seal dove off as soon as it was free. Link noticed that her legs were shaking, just a little bit. "Yes, yes, I haven't forgotten. And honestly…lunch would be nice. We can eat in the skeleton!"

She had brightened up at the suggestion, exasperation quickly falling away, and Link wasn't a monster…how could he say no?

"Sure," he agreed, releasing his sand seal and pressing a hand over the slate to quiet the vibrating – he wanted her to be surprised. "Let's go, then. Can you walk alright?"

"I'm fine, Link. My legs are just a little shaky from being on the shield for so long – I'll be alright!"

She didn't reject him when he offered a hand, though, and he stomped down the goofy smile trying to spread across his face as they walked to the leviathan skeleton hand in hand.

Zelda's eyes were big as saucers, and she almost tripped over her own feet because her head was tilted back, looking at the yawning arches of bone stretching overhead, and this – this was why Link wanted her with him all the time. This was why he had missed her so much; having her awe and wonder around made finding things in the world so much more exciting than when he was on his own.

And it was only going to get better.

Link was looking around the space inside the skeleton and had just noticed the large bud of a Great Fairy fountain just as Zelda looked down and noticed the shrine, and her loud gasp drowned out the quiet "what?" he had uttered in surprise.

"There's a shrine?" Zelda asked, clutching at his hand as she whirled around to face him, and when she saw what he was staring at, she let his hand go to shake his arm. "A Great Fairy fountain?! Here?!"

She looked so overwhelmed and excited that she was practically vibrating, her eyes not knowing where to look as they darted between the shrine to the fountain to the skeleton and back.

"I'd been looking for the last Great Fairy for weeks." Link said dumbly, "I know they said it was out in the desert, but I didn't think it was this far out."

The quiet sobs of the Great Fairy carried over the wind to them, and he looked at Zelda, who was still clutching at his arm. "What should we do first?"

She looked torn, but only for a second, her expression quickly smoothing out into determination. "The fountain!" She decided, "we have to help her – lunch can wait!"

Zelda pulled him along until they were at the base of the closed off fountain, and she nervously cleared her throat before calling out. "Um – pardon me? Miss Great Fairy?"

The sobs cut off. "Who is it?" A voice called out, thick with tears. "Who is there?"

"We came to help you." Link piped up, "your sisters sent me to find you – they've been freed, in the past months."

"Oh!" A wet sniff. "Sweet children…would you listen to me and hear my story?"

"Of course!"

"I am the Great Fairy Tera, the oldest of my sisters…this was once a beautiful, resplendent spring…but as time has passed, there have been fewer visitors to offer me rupees, and my power has wasted to nothing…"

I wonder why, Link thought, given the location. But he kept the words to himself.

Zelda seemed to know what he was thinking despite his silence, and elbowed him in the side anyway.

"I beg you – I need rupees to regain my full strength…"

"That's fine!" Zelda said, "we can help – how much do you need?"

"Oh, sweet girl," the fairy cooed. "I only need ten thousand rupees –"

"Ten thousand -?"

The words burst out of Link as Zelda blinked rapidly, pressing an appalled hand to her chest. "Goddesses," she murmured.

"Please!" The fairy cried out, "once my power is returned, I can do great things for you – upgrade your armor, improve your clothing better than any of my sisters -!"

Ten thousand rupees – that was more than what he paid to help Mija! Way, way more! There was no way he could possibly –

"Link…"

Zelda lightly pressed her fingertips against his shoulder, and Link slowly turned to see her staring right at him, nervously biting her lip as she glanced at him through her lashes.

"Zelda –" he started, knowing exactly what she was going to say.

"But we can help! I know it's a lot, but – but I'll help you, too! You know I've gathered a decent amount of rupees, during our travels so far, and – and I've sold a decent number of items, too –"

"It's still ten thousand rupees –"

"And we'll get it back!" She cried out. "Link, you know we will. Let's help her, please!"

No, danced on the tip of Link's tongue, but then he – he thought about it. About this Great Fairy, alone in the desert with nothing but the wind and the sound of her own cries for years. And as much as he hated the thought of getting closer to being as broke as he was the day he woke up…Zelda was right – as annoying as it was having so little funds while on the road, she was right.

He had a little savings built up and hidden in his house, anyway.

"Alright." Link sighed. "Alright…we'll help."

It was a little painful how light his coin purse was afterward, but watching Tera stretch to the sky with a twirl, restored and surrounded by glitter and shine…it was worth it, he guessed, despite being short on money for a while – it was always good, in the end, to be able to help someone.

-o-

After chatting with Tera for a little while, Link and Zelda sat in the shadows of the shrine that he quickly activated and finally had lunch.

"I didn't realize just how hungry I'd gotten," Zelda said around a mouthful of glazed venison, and Link grunted in agreement, occupied with shoving half a riceball into his mouth.

There wasn't much conversation as they ate, the only sound filling up the space between them coming from the wind that blew through the gaping ribcage of the leviathan. He could see Zelda looking up at the skeleton as she ate, and he would probably never get tired of the wonder in her eyes.

It was pretty wonderful, Link agreed, looking up at the bones with her. Even when he was on his own, the one skeleton he found in Hebra was very impressive to stumble upon.

"Do you have any more riceballs?" She suddenly asked him, and Link felt his eyebrows creep up in surprise.

"You just had two meat skewers."

The ruddy flush deepened on her face. "I'm still hungry! We were traveling for a long time, you know!"

Three riceballs later, Zelda flopped back onto the stone platform of the shrine, arms thrown overhead as her eyes closed in content.

"Don't forget to take a picture of the leviathan," she mumbled, and he hummed to let her know he heard her.

"We can do it later. Do you want to go into the shrine?"

"In a minute…"

Her breathing slowly evened out, and eventually Link scooted down to lay on the stone next to her, turning onto his side so he could stare at her. A few stray hairs had escaped from her ponytail during the journey, and they curled lightly around her face. She looked tired, and even though Link could happily stare at her all day, it was well into sunset, now, and the desert gets cold at night.

"Are you sleepy?"

"Mm. A little bit."

Zelda turned her head to face him, her eyes sliding open. She gave him a little smile that was dampened slightly by fatigue.

Link frowned a little. "Was the journey here too much? We could've stopped."

"And then what? We'd lose the seals and walk here? No, no…it's alright. It's just – it's a normal kind of tired, I promise. A good kind."

"Alright…" He believed her, but it never hurt to check in. "Not too tired to take on a shrine, though, right?"

"Oh, I'll never be too tired to miss out on that!"

It still took them some time to get to their feet, regardless, shaking off the sleepiness brought on by eating too much food. Zelda looked a little livelier, by the time they descended into the shrine, and her eyes were bright and alert as they stepped off the platform.

To you who sets foot in this shrine…I am Hawa Koth. In the name of the Goddess Hylia, I offer this trial.

There was a door across the room that had been blocked off, and before them there were two large, metal cubes and a large glass tower that glowed a bright, electric green.

Link had a feeling he knew what they needed to do to open the door.

"Magnesis?" Zelda guessed aloud, and he couldn't help but smile.

"That's what I was thinking. Do you want to do this one, or should I?"

"Mm…you can do this one. I can't have all the fun." She tossed a little grin his way. "I'll do whatever puzzle is in the next room."

It was easy enough to do – use Magnesis to move the cubes in such a way that they were close enough to the tower to create a current to the orange switch that was obviously meant to open the door. They grinned at each other when a green light shot towards the gears above the door, slowly prying it open, and then ran to the next room.

He let Zelda handle the puzzle for this one, quickly grabbing his bow and knocking an arrow to loose at the little Guardians he could see waiting for them up ahead. Best to get rid of them now.

When he turned his focus back to Zelda, she was carefully moving a metal ball attached to a chain with Magnesis. The ball was crackling with sickly green electricity, and her tongue was poking out in concentration as she slowly moved it towards the orange switch, taking care to not get shocked.

As soon as the metal touched the switch, the platform to their left activated, and they scrambled onto it first chance they got to reach the next platform.

"There's a chest in the water." Zelda noted absently, looking at the screen of the slate. "Should we grab it?"

"Probably. There's always something good in there."

Link had to double back to open the chest she fished out of the water, but it was worth it to see the excited grin on her face when he presented her with an ancient core. They continued on, Link raising a metal ball glowing with electricity to avoid touching any of the switches as they began to make their way across the path, until Zelda stopped him with a hand on his elbow.

"Oh, look –"

She pointed at a switch sitting over a blocked doorway to their right. "Put it there – there's probably something back there!"

He was right to do it in the end – a chest waited for them as they entered the opened path, and the gold rupee shined almost as bright as Zelda's smile.

"See, I told you! Didn't I say we'd get the money back?"

He rolled his eyes as he tucked the money away, lips twitching with a smile. "Yes, yes, you're always right."

"Yes, I am!"

Link moved the metal ball over to the next switch – closest to the door, where he could see the Sheikah monk behind the bars, waiting for them. But when he placed the ball on the switch, the green light shot towards the gears, but the door remained stubbornly shut. He wondered what exactly he was missing until Zelda tugged on his sleeve, pointing upward.

"A gear is missing there, see? Right there."

Sure enough, there was a gap between the gears, preventing the electric current from reaching the door, and Link frowned at it. To their right, there was another hallway that led down to – somewhere. And Link knew that was where they were probably meant to go.

"Alright – this way."

The gear they needed was sitting behind bars – along with a chest – and there was a large, open room ahead of them, with switches on stone blocks that needed to be connected to make the current they needed.

"Stand on that?" He asked Zelda, gesturing towards the pressure plate on the floor, and when she stepped on it, Link watched with a sharp eye as the platform the blocks were placed on tilted, sending them sliding forward with a loud, dull 'thud'. There was a metal block, too, Link noticed after checking with Magnesis, and he swiftly started to move it towards the two stone blocks that were shorter in length.

"Ah – not that one!"

Zelda quickly stopped him. "Just the third one – since it's the shortest. If you try and place it behind both blocks, it'll still be…wonky."

'Wonky,' he mouthed, amused at the word choice, and he huffed out a laugh when she shoved him, cheeks puffed out in offense.

"That doesn't mean I'm wrong!"

And she wasn't – it still left them with one switch out of place, and Zelda held out her hands in request. "Can I try?"

Link pressed his lips together, thinking about it. "Yeah," he finally said. "I think you're going to have to go over there, though – hold on."

Quickly searching through the slate, Link brought forth his paraglider before hooking the slate onto Zelda's belt. He opened the paraglider before he reached for her, grabbing her hands and curling them around the handles as she blinked at him, startled.

"Do you remember how to use this?" He asked, bringing her out of her shocked silence.

"I…yes."

She still looked a little unsure though, and Link wrapped his hands around hers over the paraglider handles, giving her a squeeze. "You've got this." He reassured her, placing all the confidence he had for her in his voice. "It'll be easy – just head over there and come back. Okay?"

"…Okay." Zelda's jaw set in determination, and she gave him one sharp nod before readying the paraglider, taking one fortifying breath before hopping off the little platform. It was a short flight path to the stone slabs, but Zelda still laughed in triumph when she landed smoothly, turning to give Link a smile before grabbing the slate, activating Magnesis and carefully moving the last switch to its rightful place.

Link could hear the grind of the gears behind him as the gear was made accessible to them, but he didn't look away until Zelda glided back over and clambered up the ladder back to his side.

"You did great." He said once she had returned, and she beamed at him.

After that, it was easy – grabbing the gear they needed and opening the chest to obtain the large hunk of sapphire inside, shuffling down the hall with the gear floating ahead of them to place it in its waiting spot so they could open the door and meet with the Sheikah monk inside.

When they left the shrine, it was evening, the moon shining overhead, and the chill of the desert cut Link to the bone.

He heard Zelda suck in a sharp breath next to him, and she wrapped her arms around herself, already beginning to shiver. "Goddesses, were we in there for that long?" She cried out. "It didn't feel like it!"

"Time is always weird in the shrines. Come on -"

He grabbed her hand, pulling her off the platform and out from under the shadow of the leviathan. "Quick picture," he reminded her, holding up the slate. "And then we can go back to Gerudo Town."

Zelda nodded, teeth chattering, and she pulled her hands away from where they were tightly wrapped around her to ask for the slate. "I want to do it."

He gave her the slate, staying close as she walked around the giant skeleton, taking a few pictures at a few different angles before nodding sharply, satisfied. Even though Link was ridiculously cold, he didn't mind – she did the same thing when he took her to the skeleton in Hebra.

"Okay – I'm done."

She gave him the slate and started to furiously rub her arms, huffing. "Oooh, it's so cold!" She cried out as he looked up the shrine by the gates of Gerudo Town. "I don't remember it being so cold!"

"It's gonna get colder." Link warned her as he pulled her into his arms. "We have to change before we go back into town, remember?"

Zelda's eyes widened in horror as she remembered, and she groaned loudly to the night sky as their bodies began to dissolve into light, Link snickering at her dramatics as they warped away.

-o-

Link didn't put too much effort into dinner when they returned to Gerudo Town, too tired to do more than a quick serving of rice and fried eggs. He let Zelda have the first bath, knowing she probably needed it more than he did, after the outing they had. And when Link emerged from the bath after thoroughly scrubbing away the sweat and sand from the day and entered their room, he found Zelda face planted into their bed, pressed into a pillow.

He quirked a curious eyebrow as he walked across the room, taking a seat at the foot of their bed. "Are you okay?" He asked, and Zelda let out a groan in response. "That's a promising answer."

"I'm fine!"

She turned her face out from her hiding place within the pillow and started to push herself onto her elbows so she could look at him, but she winced and stopped the motion halfway.

Suspicious.

"Okay…" she sighed, lowering herself slowly back onto the bed. "The truth is – I might be…somewhat sore from riding sand seals for half the day."

Ah. That would do it. It probably didn't take long for her legs to start aching after her bath.

"Is it really bad?" Link asked as he crawled onto the bed, sitting by her side. "Will you be able to sleep?"

"Mm…" She closed her eyes as she thought about it. "I should be fine. It's not terrible, it's just –"

She slowly bent her legs, kicking them up behind her before lowering them back onto the bed, and she sighed a little, shrugging helplessly. "Sore," she finished. "Like I said. You don't have to worry, Link."

Zelda opened her eyes to give him a smile, and though she did look tired, she also looked very happy.

"You had a good time, then?"

"I did! Today was a lot of fun! I do wish we could've taken the horses, but…I know they wouldn't have made it that far."

"Definitely not." Link agreed, leaning into the pillows. "Wild sand seals are a pain, but effective. But I'm glad you had fun today."

"Yes! The Great Fairy and the shrine were such a surprise! Did you know at all?"

"I knew about the shrine, sort of." He gestured to the slate, resting by their bedside. "It started pinging like crazy when we got close to it – but, you know. I wanted to surprise you. The fountain was a bonus for both of us."

"Of course you did."

Her voice was warm, the fondness clear in her tone, and Link could feel the heat growing in his cheeks, his eyes sliding away and drifting to –

To –

In her shifting attempts to get comfortable, Zelda's sleep shirt had ridden up – not by much. Just a sliver.

But it was enough for Link to see a small portion of her back.

And just like that, he was ensnared once more, captivated by the glimpse of smooth skin and the dimples resting at the base of her spine.

He found the will to pry his eyes away from that little strip of skin and slowly laid down, tugging the blankets out from under him so he could bury beneath them. Next to him, Zelda's eyes had slid closed, and he could tell that she was about to fall asleep.

"Zelda," he murmured, and watched as she wrinkled her nose, slivers of green squinting at him as she opened her eyes slightly. He noticed that there was a spray of freckles across the bridge of her nose – probably from all their days spent in the sun.

Link was suddenly gripped with the wild urge to try and count them all - to trace them with his fingertips

"Hm?"

His chest quickly filled with that sticky, aching fondness, close to overflowing. "Get under the blankets so you can sleep. Weren't you complaining earlier about how cold you were?"

"Don't make fun." She grumbled, groaning a little under her breath as her muscles apparently protested at her movements, yanking the blankets enough to roll beneath them. She exhaled slowly once the blankets settled around her and happily burrowed into the pillows, eyes already sliding shut.

Link knew he needed to get up and blow out the candles before going to sleep, but it was tempting to just go to sleep and let them burn down to nothing. He quickly got up to be responsible, blowing them out and plunging the room into darkness, only the faint silver of the moon lighting his way back to bed.

Zelda mumbled a little when he crawled back into bed, and it was automatic, his reaching for her, wrapping his arm around her waist –

And he froze a little when his fingers touched bare, warm skin.

Just like all the little touches before, it sent lightning racing down his spine, the shock of how warm her skin was and how soft it felt leaving him stunned every time. Her nightshirt must have stayed ridden up, he realized numbly, not even falling back into place when she moved beneath the blankets.

It was probably weird. He should move, shouldn't he?

But he didn't.

Instead, he bent further still.

Slowly, a part of him afraid she'd pull away if he moved too quickly, Link gently pressed his fingers into that little dip at the base of her spine, rubbing at the muscles he knew were sore. Zelda hummed a little at the touch, deep in her chest, burrowing closer to him and pressing her face into his nightshirt. She was warm, and soft, and smelled like the warm spice of the safflina soap that was left out for them.

"Is this okay?" He whispered, starting to pull his hand away. "I –"

"It's fine," she whispered back, voice clear despite her exhaustion. "It's…really nice. Thank you."

"Mm."

Link kept going, then, pressing all five fingers into the small of her back and hoping the heat from his palm could sink in and loosen up the sore muscles. Beneath his hands, Zelda melted into him even more.

"…Zelda."

"Hm?"

His heart was racing. She could probably hear it.

"Do you want to know what we're going to do tomorrow?"

That wasn't what he was going to say – truly, he had just said her name because he wanted to. Because he just wanted to feel her name roll across his tongue. He could feel the curve of her smile through the fabric of his nightshirt. "Yes. What are we doing?"

Well. He hadn't planned on it, but –

"Do you want to solve the mystery of the Eighth Heroine with me?"

The excitement his request caused woke Zelda up enough to throw her arms around him and tackle him into the bed.

He kept his hand pressed against that secret sliver of skin the entire time.

I will not be writing about them doing the eighth heroine sidequest lmao. in the two playthroughs I've done so far, I still haven't gotten around to doing it. maybe one day - but not anytime soon since I'm in the middle of playing age of calamity lmao.

but anywho, yeah! there's that! I wrote this whole thing to try and get my writing groove back after so much writing for school. hopefully it delivers.

after this chapter I think I'm gonna speed things along and start moving to central hyrule and hyrule castle. but before that - another interlude! look forward to it, hopefully!

comments and kudos are loved, as usual! I'm happy to be back writing for fun. these past two weeks were rough lmao.

but that's it from me! until next time!