hey - do y'all remember waaaay waaaay back when, in chapter one of breathing out, when I said that the most relatable thing about zelda's relationship with her father is how there's things unsaid? and how you think you have more time to say the things that need to be said, but in reality you don't?

WELL.

Before they had even fully materialized on the shrine platform, Link could already feel Zelda shaking.

He had decided to travel to the shrine tucked away in the ruins of the Quarry, west of the equally desolated Castle Town. Link figured it was the best choice; he knew there was a shrine in the docks of Hyrule Castle, but he didn't want to throw Zelda right into the castle.

But despite the effort, she was still shaking, and Link wondered if they really needed to go into the castle after all.

"Do you want to wait?" Link asked, lacing his fingers through hers as they carefully stepped off the shrine's platform. He was grateful that the shrine was mostly hidden, tucked away in a small hole that blocked out most of the scenery.

But they both knew what was out there.

"We can wait." He insisted again, squeezing her hand. "We can go check Hyrule Field first, to see if the Guardians are still active, or –"

"No, Link."

Zelda's voice was faint, but resolute. "It's okay. I – I can do this. We'll just…we'll need to go slowly."

She winced a little as she said it, but Link understood; as much as he didn't want to linger, he knew that the memories this place contained would slow them down.

"Okay." He agreed softly, helping her out of the small hole the shrine was sitting in. "Just – I know we're here to grab some things, but – if it gets to be too much, you'll let me know. Alright?"

"I will."

Link didn't let go of her hand as they made their way around the broken walls of Castle Town, heading towards the entrance of what little remained. The scenery stood out like a sore thumb against the rest of the surroundings – lush, green hills and trees making the desolation stand out even more. Castle Town and Hyrule Castle beyond it looked grey and lifeless, burnt out shells of what they once were. He could still remember his first run through Castle Town, and how there was no sounds of nature – how even the wind didn't blow around here, and the air hung still and lifeless around him. Dead.

Castle Town was still a burnt-out ruin, but now…there was noise. Faintly, Link could hear the breeze, whistling through what remained of stone archways. He could hear the trill of birdsong, and the chittering of creatures. His footsteps didn't sound overly loud, as they stepped down the broken stone paths.

"We'll need to be careful." Zelda said softly. "They may not be infected by Malice anymore, but – the Guardians –"

"Are no longer here."

Zelda blinked at him, bemused, and Link shrugged, sheepishly scratching at his cheek with his free hand.

"I may have, uh…destroyed. All of them."

"You did?"

"I was really mad!" Link had burst out. "I was coming to get you, and I just – I just got so angry, and I had – I had stocked up on these arrows Robbie makes –"

"Robbie is still alive?"

"– and I just blew them all up." He finished. "So. It should be fine to walk around the castle. And everything."

Zelda just stared at him.

Embarrassed heat spread slowly across his cheeks, and Link looked down at the cracked stone path, suddenly interested in the way the dust and ash were coating his boots. He didn't look back up until he heard a soft puff of laughter, Zelda continuing to stare at him but this time with a small smile on her face.

"Well," she said, "I'm glad that we won't have to worry about that, at the very least. Let's keep going."

Link was glad that he was able to make her smile, even for just a moment, but it didn't last long; the closer they got to the gates leading to the castle, the more upset she looked, until she was clutching at his hand, her nails digging into the leather of his gloves.

"Are you okay?"

It was a dumb question, but he couldn't help but ask. Zelda looked so pale, her mouth pressed into a taught line as she stared at the broken-down gates and what waited beyond.

"No." She answered shortly. "The – there's Malice, still. Clinging to the castle. I can feel it, I –"

She looked sick, like she had tasted something bad, and a faint golden shimmer began to appear beneath her skin. He believed her; he could feel the Master Sword on his back, humming – the same familiar ring, whenever Malice was in its presence.

Link pulled her to him, alarmed. "Do you – we can walk around the castle and – and get rid of it, if it helps –"

"That – we'd be here all day, I –"

"But it would help you."

He watched Zelda close her eyes and breathe deeply, in and out, and eventually the faint light under her skin faded away.

"It's fine." She quietly reassured them. "We'll be fine. Let's just…let's just go."

Her jaw was set as she walked through the gates onto the castle's withered grounds, and Link could do nothing else but follow.

"Do you want to go directly to the library?" He asked, and Zelda shook her head.

"No, I – I want to see. I haven't seen the castle since – I want to see. What's happened."

The broken spires of Hyrule Castle towered over them as they walked along the winding roads, and Link thought it was so odd how…calm the air was, around the castle. He could remember the Malice that constantly rained from the sky like ash, and how it felt like he could barely take two steps before something tried to kill him.

The one thing he remembered the most about his siege of the castle was how loud it was – how the ground constantly rumbled and shook beneath his feet, a deep, persistent 'thump-thump' that made his bones rattle.

To have the only sound be the wind blowing around them and the crunch of their boots against the gravel was…unsettling.

"Zelda?" He asked, "what…what was it like?"

She knew what he was asking and sighed softly, her pace slowing as she looked out across the moat, to the pillars that surrounded that castle. "It was…a nightmare." She answered softly, and Link squeezed her hand. "It was chaos. I felt – I felt like I could never look away, or get a second to breathe, I was – I was always fighting it. When I could see out into the world, it was always through a film of Malice. Always. Seeing everything like this, so clear, it's -"

Her lips parted slightly. "It's different." She finally said.

They had stopped walking, and Link could only stare at Zelda, watching her look over the remains of her home.

"…I'm sorry."

He wasn't sure what he was apologizing for – sorry for asking, sorry for taking so long, sorry for failing in the first place –

"It's okay."

Zelda turned her eyes away from the scenery and smiled at him. "I think – actually. I'd like…I'd like to go to my room. Is that possible?"

"Oh-! Yes, that's – one of the entrances had collapsed, but there's still another way. We need to find a way into the castle, first."

"Excellent. Let's go."

Zelda picked up the pace as she took the lead, automatically pulling Link along the worn-down path to the western side of the castle. He followed her easily, keeping an eye on her as they walked; she still looked a little pale – no doubt from the traces of Malice still clinging to the castle – but her stride was quick and determined, so he tried not to worry too much.

"Ah, wait –"

He squeezed Zelda's hand to get her attention. "Some of the ways are blocked off from – from damage." He explained. "Let me lead the way, for a little while – at least until I can find us a good way in. Then we can go from there."

The brightness in her eyes dimmed a little, at the reminder of the state of disrepair, but she nodded shortly, using her free hand to gesture to the path.

"You're right. So – lead the way."

-o-

Zelda's room looked the same as it did when he left it.

She looked impossibly small, as she stepped through the hole in the wall and walked to the center of her destroyed room, taking everything in. It was in the set of her shoulders, the way they curved inward – something so sad that it took Link's breath away.

He couldn't move, even though every part of him ached to comfort her, frozen in place as he watched her survey the room. She started to reach out to touch what remained of her destroyed bed, but pulled her hand back at the last second, leaning in to examine a stain of –

"Is that…Moblin blood?"

"Uh –"

Link's voice sounded incredibly loud in the suffocating quiet of the room, and he cringed, finally moving through the busted in wall into the room properly. "Yeah…a Moblin decided to camp out in here. I may have been, uh. Overzealous."

That was putting it nicely.

He could still remember the anger in his blood, white molten hot as he saw the Moblin, furious at the creature dirtying up a place that had once been hers. All he had felt was rage as he prowled the ruined halls of Hyrule Castle, slowly hacking his way through every obstacle in his path to the sanctum.

Zelda smiled at him, but it didn't have her usual heart in it, quickly fading away as the continued to walk around the room, moving over to the bookshelf.

"There might be something useful here," she murmured to herself, brushing the tips of her fingers along the spines of the books. "I always…I always kept some of the books from the library in my room – the ones I liked, or – if any of them are still legible, then maybe…"

She jerked her chin, gesturing for Link to come over. "Can you help me look?"

"Yeah – yeah! Sure! What…what exactly are we looking for?"

"I guess…records and ledgers, maybe. Things that – that had record of Hyrule before the Calamity. I can't really remember if I brought anything like that to my room, but it never hurts to look."

They fell quiet as they began to look through the shelves, and soon Link got lost in the repetition of grabbing a book, flipping through the pages, showing something to Zelda, and either putting it in the slate or returning it to the shelf. Soon he started to notice that something was distracting her, eyes darting to something over his shoulder before quickly looking away, and after seeing that happen for the sixth time, Link decided to call it out.

"Are you okay?"

"Oh! Um -!"

She looked embarrassed, her eyes darting to whatever caught her attention over his shoulder and back to him, and Link decided to turn around to see what she was so fidgety over –

And just saw her messy, cluttered desk.

"It's – I just noticed my, my…diary. Over there."

Oh.

That.

He turned back to Zelda and saw that she had began to turn bright pink. His lips twitched with amusement, the sight of her so flustered horribly cute, but he waited her out – he wanted to see if she would ask.

"I was just wondering if…if it were possible that you – I know that you, you were probably – due to your loss of memory and all and I – I wanted to ask if you, you – um -"

She started to stutter, the flush on her face growing deeper the longer he looked at her, saying nothing, and Link decided to finally be kind and put her out of her misery.

"I did read your diary, yes."

Zelda was now completely red at this point, and she nodded once, like that was the answer she expected, before turning her back on him and burying her face in her hands, groaning loudly.

That made Link burst into laughter, and he placed his hands on her shoulders, gently urging her to turn around. "I'm sorry! Come on, look at me!"

"No!" She wailed into her hands, voice muffled. He could see now that she was red to the tips of her ears. "I was – I was so mean to you in my diary! And you just! Read it! I'm so embarrassed!"

Cute. Another laugh bubbled over his lips as he gently curled his fingers around her wrists, trying to tug her hands away from her face. "Zelda," he said sweetly. "Look at me, please?"

Her face was cherry red when she finally pried her hands away from her face, finally giving Link the chance to hold her hands, and he ran his thumbs over the bumps on her gloves, just smiling at her.

It was still startling, seeing her in that blue blouse; when she walked up to him that morning, he felt like they had been thrown back in time – like a century hadn't passed, and they were just waiting for Impa before returning to the castle.

"Don't be embarrassed." He said, "I forgave you a long time ago, remember?"

"…I remember." She said shyly, and his smile widened as he swung their joined hands between them.

"If anything, I'm the one that should be feeling bad." His smile turned a little sheepish. "I shouldn't have read it. But I was just – very greedy."

Zelda tilted her head at him, the flush on her cheeks slowly fading away.

"I missed you." He explained easily, not feeling a trace of shame. "I missed you, and I wanted to know more about you – everything about you. Even the bratty parts."

The blush on her face returned full force, but she didn't turn away from him this time, lips parting and eyes soft at his words.

He could spend the rest of the day just looking at her – but Link knew that she wanted this trip through the castle to be as short as possible, so he cleared his throat, using their joined hands to pull her away from the bookshelf. "Let's keep going – we can go visit your study, too, if you want? I remember seeing some books in there, too…"

Her eyes widened a little. "Can we?"

And how could he refuse that?

It took a bit of effort, climbing up to the destroyed upper level of her room and throwing down a rope so she could follow, but then they were crossing the bridge and entering the remains of Zelda's study.

He watched her slowly take in the state of the room before moving to her desk, grabbing the books scattered across the wood that looked the most intact – including her research notes. She turned around the room once more, taking everything in with an unbearably sad look in her eyes, before sucking in a harsh breath, eyes widening when she saw –

"Oh."

Her voice was tremulous as she kneeled, slowly reaching out to the flower that was growing from the remains of a broken pot.

A silent princess.

"It…grew?" She looked up at Link, astounded. "Even with –"

She gestured around her, and he understood what she was asking. Even surrounded by so much poison, the flower was still able to grow.

"Yeah." Link crouched down next to her. "They're all over Hyrule now, you know."

"They are?"

Her voice sounded so small. He leaned in to bump his temple against hers.

"Yeah. I'll show you sometime."

Zelda sniffled quietly, and Link said nothing, giving her a minute to pull herself together.

"I…I think I would like to go to the library, now."

"Okay. Do you want to walk there, or do you want to take a shortcut?"

"I – a shortcut would probably be best."

Link moved quickly after that, letting Zelda tuck the books she had grabbed into her bag before pulling her close, the slate warping them away to the shrine waiting in the docks.

They left the silent princess behind, its petals glowing faintly in the shade.

-o-

"How on earth do you find things like these? No one outside of the royal family knew about the path to the docks!"

Link shrugged, leading Zelda up the path that led to the library. "Lots of people know about it now. You know that people liked to try and brave the castle to get some treasure – word gets around. And how else was I going to get into the castle? It's not like I was going to go through the front gates."

She huffed but didn't say anything else as they reached the end of the tunnel, Link grabbing the slate to slide the metal bookcase forward, creating a bigger gap that both of them could slide through. Link made sure to go first, gesturing for Zelda to stay put while he made sure that there weren't any more Lizalfos that decided to return to the library. Luckily for them, the library was as empty as he'd last left it – he wondered if maybe the monsters that inhabited the castle decided to find better places to roost, now that the Calamity's influence was gone from the area. He hoped so – he didn't want to run into another Lynel, not with Zelda with him.

They decided to split up and work their way through the books until they met in the middle, Zelda on one side of the room and Link on the other. She instructed that they would start on the first floor and work their way from there, and to put any books that could be helpful onto one of the tables that were still standing.

It was slow going; even in its dilapidated state, the library was impressive, and it took them well into the afternoon just to get through a quarter of the first floor. A century of weather exposure did help speed up his decision on what books would be good to take and what was too damaged to save, but not by much. Clouds had started to roll in, and Link warily stared up at them, hoping that didn't mean rain.

Link decided to put his foot down after they finished looking through the first floor and decided that it was time for lunch. "Zelda!" He called out, "do you want to eat something?"

"Oh -! Yes! I didn't know that much time had passed!"

Link had prepared for this, making sure that he got a few meals together before their departure, and he handed the slate over to Zelda, letting her choose. She was quiet as they ate, a little wrinkle between her eyes that let Link know she was thinking about something. He figured he would find out whatever was on her mind eventually and took the time to enjoy his lunch and savor being off his feet for a minute.

And sure enough –

"Link, can I see the slate for a moment?"

He frowned a little, but nodded all the same, watching as she put her empty plate aside to snatch up the slate, hopping to her feet. "You don't have to ask, you know – it's your slate, too. What do you need it for?"

"I wanted to look for something. I'm curious –"

She pressed a few buttons on the slate, and Link saw the familiar red glow of Magnesis. "I mainly know of the shortcuts to get through the castle, and secret passages to get out," she explained, eyes on the slate as she walked around the room. "But I wonder now if there's any other hidden places -? Like this, here! Link, come see!"

She had grabbed onto another metal bookcase with the rune, pulling it aside to expose a small room, partially caved in with rubble. Link paid no mind to the mess, his attention instantly focusing on the two chests sitting in the room and opened them up to find them filled with silver and gold rupees.

He gaped at the amount of money while Zelda laughed at the discovery, delighted.

"Wait, wait, hold on a second –"

He reached out a hand, stopping her from leaving the room. "You can have it – it's technically your money."

"Link, don't be ridiculous –"

"But Zelda, I'm serious –"

"You can have it! And besides –"

She blushed a little. "We're traveling together, so – we, we share most of the time anyway! So – so what's mine is yours. Okay?"

Link felt heat rush to his cheeks so fast he felt lightheaded. "…Okay."

"Good. Now – I want to keep investigating! There's another hidden door over here, see? Look!"

Link pocketed the rupees as quickly as he could, scrambling to his feet to follow after Zelda, who had practically skipped out of the room to another metal bookcase that Magnesis discovered, this one along the northern wall.

"I wonder if it's another hidden room?" Zelda asked, curious as she began to pull the bookshelf away. "Or maybe it will be another secret passage! Where would it lead, I wonder? To another part of the castle? That would make traversing the place easi –"

Link was startled by Zelda's voice immediately cutting to a halt, and the sudden silence pressed down on him. She was staring into the exposed room, hands limp by her sides, and he couldn't see the look on her face, but something – something was wrong.

"…Zelda?"

He slowly crept up to her side, placing a hand on her arm. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"I –"

Jerkily, Zelda took one step forward. And then another, and another, until she was robotically moving into the room. Helpless, Link could do nothing else but follow.

It was a small but spacious room, mostly untouched by the effects of the Calamity; there was a large desk in the corner, and on the wall, there was a tattered banner in the royal colors, the golden sigil of the royal family stamped in the center. Link was starting to have a good idea of what this place was, and he soon got his answer as Zelda took in a shaky breath and said –

"This – this was my…my father's study. My mother, she - she always said - but I never knew - "

His heart swooped into his stomach as her words stuttered to a halt, and Link could only watch as Zelda walked into the room, heading straight for his desk. He had never seen her look so lost.

There was a large book resting on the desk – a journal, perhaps? – and slowly, hesitantly, Zelda reached out to it and gently pried it open. Her eyes skirted over the page, and her face crumpled in such a way that Link couldn't bear to stand there and watch.

"I…Zelda."

He called out and waited until her eyes slid over to him.

"I'm going – I'll give you a little space. Okay? If – if you need anything, I'll be nearby."

She didn't say anything, but she gave him a slow nod, and the last thing Link saw before he left the room was Zelda taking a seat at the desk and pulling the book towards her.

Link gathered up the books they had decided would be good enough to take, adding them with the other books placed in the slate. After that, he figured it would be best to get a head start and start looking at the books on the upper levels; just because Zelda had been in good spirits during their exploration doesn't mean she wants to linger. The sooner they finish, then the sooner they could examine Hyrule Field and leave to rest for the evening.

They would go somewhere nice after this, Link decided as he flipped through the books. Zora's Domain could wait just a little more. And he still had so many places that he wanted to take her, so much that he still wanted to show her.

But where to go first?

Link pressed his lips into a line as he thought over his options, pulling another book off the shelf. There was plenty to choose from. Maybe he could take her to see Dinraal, or Naydra – he still hasn't taken her to see either of the dragons yet. Or they could find that last leviathan skeleton in Eldin?

The number of options he had were daunting. Link spent a portion of his time between poring over the books and thinking on where they could go after this. It has to be a place Zelda would like. It doesn't even have to be someplace new – they could always go back to a place they've already been. Maybe they could just go back to Lurelin, and actually swim in the ocean this time instead of –

There was a noise.

Link froze in place, his thoughts screeching to a halt, and he tilted his head to the side to hear it again.

The clouds had cleared up, when he wasn't paying attention, and now honey gold sunlight streamed through the rafters, painting the room orange – sunset was coming. Had they really been here the entire day?

The noise drifted through the air again, making Link's ears twitch, and again – and when he finally deciphered what the noise was, his blood went cold at the realization –

A quiet, muffled wail.

Throughout this trip, Link has wondered if he still had the Champions' blessings with him. Since reuniting with Zelda, he hasn't run into any obstacle that calls for him to use any of the Champions' gifts, and so he's started to wonder if their gifts had left him when their spirits had finally moved on, the Calamity defeated and their purpose fulfilled.

He didn't need to wonder about it, now.

Link was running before he could think, the book in his hands falling to the ground, and Revali's gale burst to life around him, sending him soaring across the library. His paraglider wasn't in his hands, and he took the landing as best as he could, rolling into a somersault before pushing himself back to his feet. He skids into the King's study, hands braced against the doorway, and the sight he was greeted with shattered his heart into pieces.

Zelda had shoved herself away from the desk and was curled into herself, weeping, her face buried into her hands. On the desk, the book she was reading lay there, opened to the last page.

His heartbeat was pounding in his ears as Link slowly stepped into the room, carefully standing next to Zelda and leaning in to see what had upset her so. The paper was lined with neat, faded handwriting, and Link's heart ached as he took in the words on the page.

…If she is unable to awaken her power at Lanayru, all hope is truly lost. If she comes back without success, then I shall speak kindly with her. Scolding is pointless now. I forced ten years of training on her... and after all that, it seems her power will stubbornly awaken some other way. Perhaps I should encourage her to keep researching her beloved relics. They may just lead her to answers I can't provide.

For now, I sit anxiously, more a father than a King in this moment. I sit and await my daughter's return.

"Oh, no." Link murmured aloud, taking in the King's last written thoughts. "Oh no, oh, Zelda –"

She wouldn't look at him, and Link slowly twisted the chair around until it was turned away from the desk, circling around Zelda and crouching at her feet, placing his hands on her knees.

"Zelda." He coaxed, automatically rubbing his thumbs over her knees. "Zelda, please look at me."

He reached up, lightly pressing his fingers against the back of her hand, and she let out a ragged sob as she finally let her hands fall to her lap.

The look on her face broke his heart.

Her face was red and blotchy, tears pouring down her face and dripping off her chin, and in her eyes was a pain so sharp it made Link ache in sympathy just to see it.

"Zelda."

He didn't know what else to say. Only her name, and that just made Zelda cry even harder.

"Why?" She choked out. "Why cou-couldn't he –"

She couldn't get the words out, and she curled forward towards Link, her hair spilling over her shoulders and curtaining them, cutting them off from the world.

"I – all I wanted, all I – I just wanted him to be kind to me, to – to understand that I was trying so hard, and I –"

Fresh tears filled her eyes, spilled over her cheeks.

"Why couldn't he tell me he was sorry?" She sobbed. "Why? Wh – there was so much time, I – it was all I wanted to hear! It was all I wanted!"

She couldn't speak anymore, sobs bursting from her chest, and she practically tumbled out of the chair into Link's waiting arms, falling into his lap as she gave in to her misery. It was all Link could do to hold her as tight as he could, feeling the telltale prickle of tears in his eyes from the level of her pain. Zelda was crying so hard it sounded like she couldn't breathe, clutching at Link's tunic and burying her face in his neck.

"I – I don't –" Zelda shook her head rapidly. "I don't want to b - be here anymore! I want to go – I want to leave!"

Blindly, Link searched for the slate, frantically looking for the first shrine he could think of while holding her close with his free arm. Something, anything – just as long as they would get away from here.

Hands shaking, he pried one of Zelda's hands away from his tunic to place on the slate, and soon they left the sorrow of Hyrule Castle behind in wisps of light, Zelda's cries still ringing in his ears.

It took him a minute to gather his bearings when they landed on the platform of – whatever shrine he picked, but – the could see the Ridgeland Tower in the distance, and Serenne Stable, surrounded in a circle of trees, and all at once Link knew where he was.

And where he wanted them to go.

In his arms, Zelda was immobile, still crying silently into his neck; it would take some doing, due to the hills, and he would have to be careful, but – he could do it. Carrying Zelda would be no problem at all.

Shifting to his knees, he scooped Zelda up properly into his arms before rising to his feet, checking the direction he wanted to go before starting to slowly make his way down Salari hill.

Link took her to the tree, on Irch Plain – the one where they picked flowers, Zelda taking copious amounts of photos on the slate, and she told him about the silent princess.

It was properly sunset, when they finally made it, Link sitting back against the tree with a sigh, and Zelda had stopped crying as he walked, her face still hidden away in his neck. Link was fine with the silence – he didn't really know what to say, when it came to something like this. Didn't know what he could possibly do to make her feel better and ease the ache.

"Link."

He jumped a little when he heard Zelda's voice, thick with tears, and he looked at her as she finally pulled away from him, just a little. Her eyes were red and swollen, her eyelashes clumped together from her tears, and Link's hands itched to reach up and wipe the offending tear tracks away.

"If I –"

She stopped, hesitated, started again after taking a deep breath. "If I – if I wanted to…to tear Hyrule Castle down –"

His eyes widened at her words.

"If I wanted to tear it down, brick by brick," she continued, her eyes shining with a fresh film of tears, "until nothing was left – nothing – would that be okay? And if – if my new castle could be – our house, in Hateno. If I wanted that to be my castle, to be my throne – would…would that be fine?"

Link was stunned silent. He could do nothing but stare at her, until Zelda's tears spilled over, pouring silently down her face.

"I don't want to go back there, anymore." She admitted in a whisper. "I don't know if I can. To rebuild it and return to that place…I cannot. There's too much there. It hurts too much."

She shook her head and closed her eyes, tears dripping off her chin, and Link finally gave in to the urge to reach up and touch her face, wiping those offending tears away.

"If you want to tear it down," he finally said, "then I'll be there to hand you bomb runes."

Zelda opened her eyes to stare at him, wondering.

"You don't have to go back there, if you don't want to. You never have to step foot there again. It's your choice, Zelda. And – and if you want your new castle to be our house, then it'll be our house."

Link gave her a little smile. "You make the rules now, Zelda. Being a Queen – taking care of Hyrule – that goes however you want it to go. That means whatever you want it to mean. So…it's okay."

Zelda didn't smile back, but her eyes softened a little, and she reached up to cover his hand with hers, a few more tears slipping down her cheeks.

"I couldn't have done this without you." She whispered, squeezing his hand, and Link brushed his thumb across her cheek.

"You'll never have to."

-o-

Something told Link that he should wake up.

He pried his eyes open with a quiet groan, shuffling until he was sitting up in his bedroll, rubbing at an eye. Next to him, Zelda was still fast asleep, her breathing slow and even, and he tried not to wake her as he rose to his feet, stretching.

They had fallen asleep at the tree, making a quick camp and not even bothering with dinner after the day they had. Zelda had fallen asleep immediately, and Link took some time staring at her face, brushing her hair away from her tear swollen eyes before he followed after her. The fire had died sometime in the night, and it was pitch black, the only light source coming from the moon shining overhead, bathing everything a faint silver. He was wondering what on earth he had woken up for when he saw it – a streak of silver, shooting across the sky. And after that one there was another, and another, and Link's eyes widened with wonder.

Shooting stars.

He swiftly sank back to his knees, placing a hand on Zelda's shoulder and shaking her lightly, urging her to wake.

"Zelda," he called out. "Wake up, Zelda. Open your eyes."

She moaned in protest, but her eyes slowly cracked open – still slightly bloodshot from her tears. "Link?" She asked muzzily, letting him help her sit up as she rubbed her eyes. "What is it? What time is it?"

"I don't know – I only know it's late."

She pulled her hands away to give him a sharp look, and he grimaced in apology, knowing how much she hated waking up early. "It's for a good reason, I promise! Look!"

He pointed up and watched as Zelda's grumpy look melted into one of astonishment as she took in the shooting stars. "Oh my goodness," she whispered. And then – "Link, look!"

She pointed at one particular shooting star – a streak of gold that fell silently to earth a little distance away, leaving a thin, gold pillar of light, shining upward.

Link grinned at the sight, excited – this would be good. And, there would be no monsters that would try and snatch it from him first.

"Come on." He offered a hand to Zelda. "Let's go get it."

"Get what-? Oh, but our things -! What if we get disoriented, and lose our way -"

"No one's gonna take them! And there's no way that's gonna happen –"

"You don't know that! I just woke up, and I'll have you know I get very disoriented -!"

Eventually Link compromised, making a new fire and lining the perimeter of their camp with a few luminous stones, so it would be easier to find. Link kinda thought it was overkill, but Zelda must have been satisfied with that, because she grabbed his hand and soon they were off, running in the direction that the star had landed.

It felt surreal, running over the hills and through the tall grass – almost dream-like, with everything bathed in the moon's silver glow, streaks of silver passing overhead from the ongoing shower of stars. He felt so light as he ran, like his feet were barely touching the ground – and when Zelda let out an exhilarated laugh – her first real laugh in hours – just because, Link's heart felt like it was soaring.

Eventually it became a race, and Link had to let Zelda's hand go so he could pump his arms and legs, trying to reach the golden light first, and Zelda practically screamed with laughter as she tried to catch up to him. She was a few paces behind him when he reached the light first, scooping up the star fragment with a triumphant yell, and she almost slammed into him from how fast she was chasing after him.

Link's reflexes were quick, and he held the fragment in one hand as he caught Zelda around the waist with the other, enjoying her squeak of laughter as he spun her around before setting her on her feet.

Her chest heaved as she tried to catch her breath, and there was a flush of exertion splashed across her cheeks – but her eyes were sparkling, and she was smiling so widely that Link felt the tight knot in his chest finally loosen up.

"You're such a cheater!" She laughed breathlessly. "I – I would've won if it weren't –"

"What, if it weren't for me being faster than you?"

Zelda sputtered loudly and pressed a hand against his chest to shove him away, but Link grabbed her wrist, rocking back on his heels and laughing as he pulled Zelda to him.

"Here."

He let go of her wrist to cup his hand around hers, reaching for her other hand to quickly place the star fragment between them. Cradled in their hands, it bathed Zelda's face in an ethereal golden glow, and it chimed between them, like the faint ringing of a bell.

"You can have it." He said, and the light of the star fragment reflected in her eyes as she stared at him. "It's your first star fragment."

The stars continue to shoot by over their heads, but Link didn't pay them much attention. They were nowhere near as dazzling as the smile that slowly spread across Zelda's face – nothing could ever really compare to that.

"Thank you, Link."

Her eyes were clear and bright for the first time all day, and the sight of her happiness was so beautiful that Link found himself rocking forward onto the balls of his feet to try and kiss that smile before he could think about it.

He caught himself at the last second, freezing as he began to second guess himself because –

Because he really, really wanted to kiss her. But would that be okay? Zelda, she – she's had such a hard day, and would it be fair to make it even harder and pile his feelings onto her? He didn't think so.

But she was so happy, and so beautiful, and Link just wanted to kiss her so badly. His heart pounded in his ears, and he wondered where his infamous courage had gone as he tried to force his frozen limbs to do something, to – move, Hero -!

But Zelda was always a lot braver than he was when it came to this.

His heart squeezed in his chest when a pair of warm lips brushed against the corner of his mouth – there and gone again before he could even do anything about it, and Link was stunned as he looked into Zelda's bashful eyes.

His lips parted as he gaped at her, and the longer he stared at her the more she seemed to fidget, until she finally burst. "I –" she stammered, trying to take a step back. "I'm – I'm sorry, I – I don't know what came over me. I should – I should have asked, or – or maybe just not have done it at all! I'm – Link, I'm sorry, I. I understand if – I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable, and if you want to leave or – or not want to see me anymore, that – that's perfectly fine, I –"

She looked so terribly sad as she tried to take another step back – another step away from him - and no, no – that wasn't right. That wouldn't do.

Link finally found it in him to move, and he barely registered the faint ring of the star fragment falling to the ground between them as he used his hold on Zelda's hands to pull her in, cupping her face in his hands as he quickly swooped in to press his lips against hers.

It was a little clumsy, and their teeth clacked together from his eagerness, but it was the best kiss he's ever had, and his heart kicked into double time as he felt Zelda slowly cradle his head in her hands.

They only pulled back when they needed to breathe, and even then it wasn't by much, Zelda's nose brushing against his as they tried to catch their breath, foreheads pressed together. If he thought she was beautiful before then that was nothing compared to now, her eyes darting across his face, blushing to the tips of her ears and lips so red just from that one kiss that Link was dying to kiss her a dozen more times – a thousand.

"Was that okay?" Link whispered, brushing his thumbs across her flushed cheeks, and she nodded, shivering a little when her nose brushed against his. "Really?"

"Really." She whispered back, and a smile was teasing at the corners of her lips.

"Can I kiss you again?" He asked, desperate to press that smile into his mouth, and she laughed shakily, already closing that short distance so she could press her answer into his mouth.

"Yes."

The second kiss was just as good as the first – better, even, because there were no teeth clashing and he could feel the way her lips parted against his and the little sigh she let out when she pulled back, laughing at how he soon chased after her for another.

Link felt so happy he was delirious from it, and his hands were shaking when he let Zelda go to wrap his arms around her waist, pulling her in so he could bury his face into the curve of her neck. He could feel her heart racing as fast as his, and the words bubbled up in him as her hands shakily combed through his hair, turning her head to press a kiss to the tip of his ear.

I love you. He wanted to say it. I love you so much.

He pressed the words into her skin instead, turning his head just a little to press his lips against the curve of her neck.

Overhead, the stars continued to fall.

But Link had much more beautiful things to focus on.

surprise!

having to wait over 100k for a kiss is a good enough slow burn, right?

hopefully it was worth the wait.

I think I'm going to take a little break - not super long, just a few days - and then I'll get back to writing. I still need to beat age of calamity and a bitch has been extremely neglectful of my progress lmao.

but let me know what you think! comments and kudos are loved!

until next time!