The hospital had been more than okay with releasing Zelda that next morning. They hadn't even believed she'd needed to stay that long once all her test results had come back clean. But it had been at her parents' insistence that she stay there.
Her parents had a way of working people into submission, grinding teeth until someone relented. Donating money, presenting facts. It was why they were so good at their jobs. And it was how Zelda ended up in bed in her at house several days after leaving the hospital.
She'd agreed to come back a few times a week, but to primarily stay with Link. She'd also promised to spend the first few days entirely at home so they could see she was well again. It seemed a fair compromise to get them off her back, and Link was allowed back in the house to appease her.
And though her parents had hovered near her for the first few days, by the weekend, they had returned to work—overtime to make up for the time they'd taken off to stay home with her.
Monday, the sound of Link's motorcycle had her rousing from her bed where she was working on a paper she'd gotten an extension on. She hadn't been back at school since, and no one at school seemed to pressure her to return after ending up in the hospital.
She heard the thud of Link's footsteps on the stairs, and he easily slid into her room, throwing his bookbag down with a heavy thud on the ground before he faceplanted her bed.
"This thing is so comfortable," he muttered into the mattress.
Zelda lifted the shoulder strap of his bag and grimaced. "What's in here, rocks?"
"No, half of it is your shit. They made me bring you some homework."
"Gross," she said, letting the bag drop again before joining him back on the bed. "How was it?"
He pulled her pillow under his head, clutching it and closing his eyes. "You're infamous."
"Great."
"I had Ilia on the case. You know how she and Makeela think they're detectives. So, it seems that girl, Navi, is pretty excited that you got hurt because she's now going to take your spot on the team until your wrist heals. Revali, Sidon, and Darunia were all pretty upset to hear you'd been hurt. Revali was actually really concerned and spoke to me for more than two seconds when he learned it was because you'd passed out. Let me think… Medli and Groose tried to sign to me that they wanted to know how you were, but Groose didn't even use real signs, so… yeah. Ruto and Ravio didn't give a fuck. Shocker, they're assholes."
Zelda nodded. "I expect nothing less."
"Mhmm. Chem was miserable without you. Who else is supposed to read our notes out to me while I bang out the formula for something?"
"Shut up."
He laughed and turned to her, his eyes drifting to her hand in the cast, sobering. "Can we talk?"
"We are talking."
Link chuckled. "I know. There's just something I want your opinion on. I don't think I trust myself making it alone."
Zelda rolled over so she was facing him, listening intently.
He took a deep breath and shook his head, as if he himself was still confused. "I want to go to UCH. I want it so fucking bad. And I have to make my decision sooner than you will, since mine was early acceptance."
"Is it the money that's making you doubt going?"
"Yeah. I mean, the scholarship covers some, but a lot will be out of pocket still. I'll have to move, so there's room and board, or an apartment. A meal plan or groceries. Textbooks. Just… a lot. Plus, if I do this, Aryll gets to move in with Collin, which she's been wanting to do. I'm the only reason she even lives here. And if I move, then I'll lose my job with Gabe, so that means finding a whole new job or, more likely, two. On top of that, Gabe offered to help. I can't take his money. I don't know what to do."
"If money wasn't an option, where would you choose? Just the degree program and your happiness."
"UCH. Mechanical engineering. But then there's Gabe, and you, and Pip. They're here, and you'll be somewhere."
"No, take us all out of this equation. We're not in this decision. Gabe would want you to do this, Pipit will be going to school after his gap year, and you and I will be fine. None of us are a part of you making this decision."
"I know," he sighed, letting his eyes roll back before closing. "I think I'm going to do it. I'm going to ask him."
"He'll be more than happy to help you, you know that."
"I'm not taking the money though. I'm going to pay every cent back the very second I can."
"You'll be starting life without a student loan, Link. Not everyone can say that."
"I know." He sighed and threw his arm over his eyes. "This is all so stressful. And that's the thing, you know? It's really not. My best friend died, my dad's in jail, my mother doesn't want me, and I think that choosing a school is stressful? Fuck that. I have better things to stress about. Like money. It's childish."
Zelda let her arm swat lightly against him. "You're allowed to be stressed about what you seem to think are the little things. Not everything has to be life changing. Like, I was sitting here thinking about how I was supposed to put all the dishes away before dinner so I can, you know, use the dish washer. I'm stressed out now because I haven't done it. It's not going to ruin my life, and I'm still allowed to be stressed about it." She paused, watching his hand instinctively reach up to his arm to scratch where the patch was still pressed into his skin. Zelda reached her good arm over to stop him, threading her fingers through his and letting their hands drop to his chest.
"Do you think I need therapy?" Link asked. It was a rogue thought, one that passed through his mind every so often. He hadn't been in some time, not since it had been mandated. But he had to admit, it had helped him work through the worst of his problems. And while these weren't the worst things he'd ever faced, he looked at Zelda and wanted to be as healthy as he could be. He wanted to stop itching his arm, or tapping his leg. He wanted to stop thinking about how easy it would be to grab some more cigarettes and let the anxiety be masked by a haze of smoke.
And he knew that Zelda, the Goddess-given gift from planet perfect, wouldn't be disappointed if he told her he needed one cigarette, if he ripped off the patch and just gave in. She wouldn't even hate him if he told her he'd only smoke when the stress got too bad or if he accidently called Pipit 'Mikau', even if only in his mind.
He could do it. Only have a cigarette when he thought about whether his parents would have liked Zelda or not. If they'd be proud of his life choices or not. If his mother would have praised him for changing his life, or disowned him for going to jail in the first place. If his father would have stopped drinking to help his son stop smoking.
"Do you think you need therapy?" Zelda asked, turning it around. She'd never say yes or no to a question like that and he knew it.
"The co-pay might be too much."
"Hey," she said, moving to turn his face to her. The motion was awkward thanks to her cast; plastic and Velcro rubbed at his chin, but the tips of her fingers managed to reach his cheek, brushing lightly against the skin so he knew exactly where she wanted him to look. She waited until his eyes met hers, though his head turned into her hand, into the light touch she offered. "You're worth it, Link. If you want to do it, you're worth more than any copay."
For a long moment, Link couldn't do or say anything. There was just a weight her simple words had that held him down, heavy with their meaning. There was a time he'd have fought her on that. But when he finally could speak, it was only to state a simple fact. "I love you."
She tilted her head and smiled. He wanted to say it again and again just to feel the flutter in his chest that happened every time she smiled at him. "I love you," she laughed before rolling herself on top of him. He helped support her with her one hand unable to press into the mattress. Her hair tickled his face. "Want me to distract you?"
Link just made a face, one that was intrigued and suspicious all the same. She let her lips hover just over his and took his craning neck and desperate chase as a 'yes'.
She finally let him kiss her once and quickly before rolling onto his other side, and grabbing his hand. Her thumb pressed into his right wrist and he watched her, confused by the awkward pressure she was applying.
"Are you doing acupressure or something?" he asked with a laugh.
"Shut up," she muttered, poking around more. Finally, she stopped and nodded. "Trapezium, scaphoid, lunate, triquetral…" her fingers pressed firmly into the small bones in his wrist as she spoke, moving in a clockwise circle. "I always struggle to say this one. Phys… Pie… something form. Then hamate, capitate, and trapezoid! Boom. Carpal bones."
"Wow," Link whispered, looking from her to his hand. "That's hot."
Zelda started to laugh and sat up. She crossed her legs to look at him intently. "Thank you."
He smirked and shook his hand around. "What else can you tell me?"
"Really?"
"Yeah."
Her smile grew, the excited puff of her cheeks reaching her eyes as she grinned with pride. "Well all I know for now is the hand. Impa told me to start learning the bones in the body if I was serious."
"Then enlighten me, Doc."
Zelda chuckled again, grabbing his hand. "Are you trying to flirt with me over science, Link?"
"Oh no, Zelda; you started that yourself."
Every time he said her name, every time, she still felt butterflies in her stomach, like it was the first time. It was the same aggressive assault that she felt when she saw him cleaning the foyer the night of auditions. It was the same feeling when they'd broken into their classroom to fix a keyboard. Not nearly as bad as when she'd seen him soaking wet, walking in the rain though. She wondered if he felt the same whenever she said his name.
He did.
Zelda ran her hand along his finger, like she was some sort of palm reader, before settling on the tip. "Okay, this is the—"
The house alarm went off, and she heard the clank of keys that no burglar would have done. Besides, there was a familiar jingle to both of her parents' keys, distinct enough that she knew who was approaching based on the pitch and frequency of the keys hitting each other.
"My dad."
"Fuck," Link said, rolling into a sitting position. "I'm not supposed t be in your room."
The footsteps approached the stairs.
"I can't make it out of here to like, the bathroom before he gets upstairs."
Zelda shrugged. She didn't care if her dad walked in on them mid-makeout at this point.
But Link cared. He cared so much that he slid off the bed and ducked down so he was obscured from sight.
Zelda started laughing so hard that she grabbed her phone just so she could pretend to be laughing at something.
Her father appeared in the doorway, a bemused look on his face. "You're having a good time."
"Funny video Makeela sent me," Zelda said easily. "Why are you home so early?"
He tapped the doorframe and gestured vaguely in the direction of another room. "I forgot some important papers. Just swinging by to pick them up and figured I'd check in on you. Is Link here? I saw his…. motorcycle."
Zelda put the phone down slowly, giving her just enough time to craft an answer. "He was. He and Ilia came over, but they went in her car to get some snacks before we work. They'll both be back soon."
"Ilia?"
"Our friend. She's great. You met her a while ago."
"Ah," he said, seemingly relieved at the fact that Ilia was around as well. And Zelda knew that, which was exactly why she said it. "Good. I'm glad you have friends over." His words were strained, but he got them out for Zelda's sake.
"Thanks. And thanks for checking in."
"Yeah," he said, smiling lightly. "I'll be home later tonight. Your mom should be as well."
"Wait!" Zelda called, almost sensing Link cringing from the floor. But she had to ask. "Are you both still living here? Like, it's not just for me?"
"It's… complicated. We can talk more about it later, I promise. I have to get back."
"Okay. That works."
"Okay." He nodded one more time and left the hall to grab his things. The alarm sounded just a few minutes later, and Link finally popped up, able to breathe in relief.
"Shit!" Link gasped, as if he had been holding his breath the whole time. "You're a fast liar."
Zelda chuckled. "I'll let Ilia know that she was here today, just in case, by some Goddess-borne miracle my father ever runs into her."
She slid off the bed and landed squarely in Link's lap, resting her head on his shoulder and letting out a long sigh.
"What?" he asked with a chuckle.
"I wish Castalia was still together."
Link's lips tilted up and he grabbed his phone. "Want to look at pictures of them being happy or something?"
"Yeah," Zelda said.
Moonlight Howl had continued the long, torturous separation of their two main characters, making this season terribly boring after its beautiful beginning.
Link scrolled through some screenshots before he added 'art' to the search, and they looked at some drawings people had done.
Zelda immediately proclaimed that she wanted to draw instead of doing homework.
She grabbed a paper and sat at her desk with a pencil, scribbling out incoherent lines that she knew would have to eventually turn into a masterpiece.
Link stayed on the floor, still looking through pages on his phone. Then, he found something. "Ever read fanfiction?"
"No," Zelda muttered, too preoccupied for a more dignified response.
Clicking through a few pages, he learned how to filter out searches, looking for something short to see if this was something even remotely interesting to him.
He pushed himself up and belly-flopped onto the bed to be more comfortable while he read. He learned very quickly that 'oneshot' meant one chapter, but beyond that, the rest was foreign.
They both were silent for a long time before Link made a loud noise and dropped the phone. "Oh shit!"
"What?" she said, turning.
"I don't know what the fuck I'm reading!"
"What?"
"What's a 'lemon' mean?" he asked, looking up at her.
Zelda shook her head and shrugged. "I assume it's not the food?"
"Apparently not." Link hesitantly picked the phone back up and scrolled. "It says it's rated E."
"Okay?"
"'E' is for everyone. This is not for everyone."
"Why? What's it about?" Zelda set down her drawing and laid beside Link so she could see his screen.
"It's about them having sex."
"They do in the show."
Link made a noise and skimmed the page as he scrolled before handing it back to Zelda.
Her eyes scanned the page before bugging out. "Oh," she muttered, continuing to read. "Oh!"
"Yeah," Link said, breathing out a surprised laugh before reaching for his phone again.
But Zelda held on to it. "I'm reading."
"Zel," he chuckled, holding out his hand.
"No! Go work on my drawing if you don't want to read."
"You're going to read that?"
"Hell yeah," she said, rolling away from his reach.
"You didn't even start at the beginning," he protested, reaching for it again.
Zelda's eyes shimmered in amusement as she looked up. "You want to finish reading it too, don't you?"
"I want to look up what a 'lemon' means, that's all." His red face betrayed him, and Zelda beamed. She tapped a few things into his phone before tossing it back to him. Not a moment later, her phone dinged, and she smugly pulled it off the desk and into her lap.
"Read a few more paragraphs down," Zelda said, curling up in her chair. "If this doesn't happen at the end of the season, I'll be pissed. Unrealistic expectations are being set already."
Link read on and scoffed. "Yeah, that's not going to happen and you know it. Don't get your hopes—"
"Oh, Link, did you read the next paragraph too?"
Skimming it with every intention of reading on, Link shook his head. "This is so not school work."
"We can do math later," she said, pushing her things off to the side of her desk so she could lean. "This is more fun. It's the Moonlight Howl we never knew we needed."
Four chapters into a different fic, they still hadn't done any work.
And though neither of them had looked up what a lemon was, they got the idea of the ratings after that.
A/N: Okay, sorry for the long gap between updates! I had no inspiration to write this whatsoever, so this chapter was essentially me just getting something on the page again, which is why it's kind of all over the place. I just literally haven't been able to write a word for this fic! I have officially run out of any and all notes that I might have had, which means I'm now running 100% blind. Because I think this fic is getting to me, and because my notes are gone, I'm going to end this fic very soon. I might do some time jumping to get to the end of the school year more quickly, but I'm going to ballpark end this fic at Chapter 55. It might be a chapter sooner/later but this is about the end. I am in dire need of writing something with some plot again, and stakes, and boy do I miss killing characters! With this as my main fic, I don't get to do that. So I'm not sure how fast these updates will be, since I'm really still not overflowing with desire to work on this, but it won't be a month-ish.
Reviews: zViridian: Hahahahahaha they did, right! At least by their standards! And you just may hear a Pirate AU! I have been drawing Pirate Link for fun and now it's stuck in my head, and the other day, I planned a general plot for it, so I am hoping it'll actually happen! James Birdsong: Thank you! ElenaGilbert24: I like how they're both handling jealousy! I feel like they're both secure enough with each other to know that it's not the unhealthy, raging kind! And yes! I love Makeela! I really hope I go through with the Pirate fic! I have so many ideas in my head, but that one is still just whacking me saying 'DO IT!' Hahahaha! DK21 XcL: Hahaahhaha! They're so interesting to write as villains, but not typical villains'! I can't help it! Jojoker: Thank you! And you did hear that! I hope it ends up actually happening!
