"Why did I do this?" Link whispered, pacing around the room, gripping his hair as waves of anxiety rolled off of him. "Why the fuck did I do this? This sounded like an okay idea on paper. Now that it's happening, I want to fucking explode."

Zelda sat with Aryll on the arm of the couch, having long since spent all their words in an attempt to calm Link. Nothing worked, and his feet simply continued their path as he plucked at the patch on his arm, chewed the gum in his mouth, and tugged at strands of hair.

Aryll sighed and decided to try again. "This is a good idea, Link. You had a good idea. Accept that."

"I'm so fucking stupid. This was such a bad idea."

"We needed a change, Link. This wasn't a bad idea at all." Zelda tried to talk to Link again, but it was a lost effort. He could barely hear her amid his loud thoughts.

Zelda wore a white blouse with cranberry red pants and her most comfortable pair of flats. She had her arm s

She watched Link as he untucked his button up and rolled the sleeves. His hair was a mess, and he looked like he'd come straight from work after sweating beneath the hood of a car all day.

"How much time do we have?" Zelda asked, turning to Aryll.

She checked her phone. "Twenty minutes."

"Okay." Zelda stood up and grabbed Link's arm, trying to still him from his obsessive movements. "Come on. Maybe put something lighter on? Something you'll feel more comfortable in."

"I'm fine," he hissed, pushing his hair back again. But he sighed and nodded. "You're right. Of course, you're right." And he sulked into his room and closed the door.

"Gods!" Zelda breathed, turning to Aryll. "It was his idea!"

Aryll pulled her ponytail tighter and smoothed down her own neat outfit. She wore a blazer that she normally reserved for professional meetings, and already knew to be extra careful while she ate. "Not only are they your parents who don't like him, but they're your parents who are coming from that gorgeous home you've shown me, and coming into our little four room apartment. You have four bathrooms. We have four rooms. Do you see how he might get nervous by this?"

"Nervous, yes. But look at him! He looks like I just told him I've been in another car crash!"

"From what I've been told, your parents are incredibly intimidating. Even I'm a bit scared."

"It's just my parents. He's done this before."

Aryll let out a sigh with a sad smile, one that wasn't quite exhausted, but spoke that she wished she didn't need to speak at all. "Zelda, you have to remember that this is all new to us both. We weren't raised like you were. Hell, we weren't even raised! Link doesn't remember how shitty our mom was, but she just wasn't there mentally. She'd already checked out. And our dad was a drunk who didn't want us. Your parents loved you, Zelda. You're having a really hard time with them right now, but I've heard your stories. They spent time with you and told you that you could do anything. They told you you were loved. They still love you. They're sure as hell showing it wrong, but they do. Link and I never knew that.

"So yeah, he's nervous and I'm nervous. This place we've built from the ground up is about to be judged. We're about to be judged. Everything is under scrutiny. And it's all happening in our own home, in our place. It's not as easy as you think."

"I'm sorry. I didn't think of it like that." Zelda glanced at Link's door and suddenly felt the weight of this dinner a little harder.

"Don't be sorry. It's not the first thing you think of. Just… know that's why he's a wreck."

On cue, Link pushed his door open, still red, still anxious, but in a new shirt with his sleeves rolled up for now, revealing his tattoo in the same way his school uniform did, and he had two ties in his hand. "Should I wear one of these?"

Zelda hopped off the couch and shook her head. "Not if they don't make you comfortable."

"I don't know, I just thought maybe it'll help with the impression. They already think I'm in a motorcycle gang and a murderer."

"They don't."

"Sure, not that they've said out loud."

Taking the ties from his hand, Zelda tossed them onto his bed and wrapped her arms around his waist. For a moment, he didn't know what to do, as if it were one of the first times she'd ever hugged him, but her silence and her tight arms around him had an almost immediate calming effect on him, and he returned her embrace. His head rested against hers as he focused on breathing in and out at a normal rate.

He needed longer to just stay there with her, but a timer went off in the kitchen, and he carefully unwrapped her arms, kissing her quickly before moving to the oven to turn the temperature down, then spun the timer again.

Hopping up onto the counter, he sat there comfortably as he looked around the room, inspecting it for any shred of dirt that they might have missed, or for a photo out of place.

And then came a knock on the door.

"Fuck, they're early!" Link hissed, sliding off the counter and then wincing as he banged into the edge. "Fuck!"

Zelda grimaced, hoping he was getting all the 'fucks' out of his system before they'd be with her parents.

It felt like a theater performance. Zelda ran to the door, Aryll stood and brushed herself off, and Link took his place beside his sister. Everyone looked stiff and rehearsed.

With a breath and a final look behind her to see that they were ready, Zelda opened the door.

Her parents stood uncomfortably close together on the tiny platform just outside the door. Both wore heavy coats, and it looked like they were about to fall off the step. Good start.

"Hi mom, dad. Come in. You can hang your coats on the door hook."

Zelda thought of where they'd hidden all their own coats in Aryll's room and prayed that her parents didn't think to ask where hers had gone.

When their things had all been hung up, Link watched her father silence his phone before sliding it back into his pocket. He had a feeling that had been a distinct point of conversation between the three of them.

"You know Link, obviously," she said, a nervous jitter to her voice.

"It's good to see you both again," Link said, holding out his hand and struggling not to wince at the near death grip they both had him in as they shook his hand and returned his pleasantries. But Zelda saw her parents' eyes zero in on the exposed piece of his tattoo, though they graciously said nothing.

"And this is his sister, Aryll."

"Mr. and Mrs. Harkinian," Aryll said, shaking their hands as well. "It's so good to finally meet you. You raised such an incredible daughter."

"Oh, thank you," Arina said, her eyes already shrewdly looking around the room. "What a… quaint home you have." And then, she turned to Zelda. "Darling, do you sleep on this couch?"

Zelda needed to close her eyes for a moment before she was able to open them again. "No. I don't."

"Where then? Your father and I are so curious about this place you call your home away from home."

Ramus had already distanced himself from the conversation and was looking intently at the shelf lined with photos.

Zelda's eyes flickered from her mother, to Link. He gave a subtle head nod, and Zelda pushed the door to his room open. "Here."

Link strained his ears to hear Zelda and her mother, still frozen in place beside Aryll. But that was broken by the sound of Ramus chuckling. For a moment, Link forgot how to breathe and nearly choked on his own air when he breathed in. And he stared at Ramus.

"Is this your mug shot?" he asked, pointing.

"Yes, Sir."

"Why do you keep it in a frame?"

Link remembered Zelda asking the same thing. "It… it reminds me where I don't want to be again."

"Hrmmm," Ramus said, continuing to look at the rest. "Your father?"

"Yes, Sir."

Ramus turned, like he was going to say something, but he stopped himself and looked again at the pictures, stopping on a young girl. "Is this you?"

Aryll nodded. "Yes, Sir, it is. This is Link, myself, and our parents about fifteen years ago when…"

She proceeded to explain who various people were in the photos. Ramus seemed at least distantly intrigued, even if he would never remember half of what he was being told. Link took the moment to back himself unnoticed into the kitchen where he checked on the meal. It was all in order, and there was very little he could actually do for it but wait. Still, he stayed in the kitchen even after he heard Zelda close his door, and after she heard her tell her parents that he was the one cooking dinner for them. He could hear Aryll tell them to sit, and heard her answering their questions about her life, a grilling that he knew he should have been in there for. But he couldn't.

He didn't hear Zelda excuse herself to help him.

"Hey," she said, startling him. "You okay?" she managed to sign, despite her hand in the cast. He could get what she was trying to say, even without the fluidity of her normal signing.

Halfheartedly, Link managed to nod before tousling his own hair stressfully.

Zelda pulled his hand away and combed his hair back into place with her nails before taking a step back. She signed "I love you" before poking him in the chest for unnecessary emphasis.

It got him to laugh, and he caught her hand, threading his fingers through hers. She gave his a reassuring squeeze and led him from the kitchen, back to where everyone was sitting. Aryll was on a folding chair that they'd brought out, while Arina and Ramus shared the couch, though they sat as far apart as the space allowed. Zelda went to sit on the arm of the couch so Link could have the other folding chair.

"Your house is lovely," Arina managed, her polite voice showing. "It has… personality."

"Thank you," Aryll said. "We moved here a few years ago, but I think we're going to look for something else within the next few years, maybe."

"Why is that? The neighborhood?"

Ramus' hand itched by his pocket as he listened to his wife's thinly veiled attempt at rude small talk.

"No," Aryll said quickly. "No, this is actually an excellent, safe place to live. It's just… with Link going to school soon, and I'm nearly done, we might consider something else."

"Ah, yes," Ramus said, latching onto a topic he didn't feel terribly opposed to talking about. "I've forgotten what it was that you wanted to go for, Link, but to the local college, if I remember correctly? You have some sort of scholarship?"

Zelda should have been happy that he'd remembered, but she knew that the only reason that fact had stuck in either of her parents' heads was because the idea of the local community college was absolutely appalling to them, despite how good of a school it really was.

Link rocked his heels as he leaned forward. "Yes, I had the opportunity to go for a scholarship there. But I…" he looked between Zelda and Aryll. "Yesterday, actually, I spoke with someone about a loan to go to the University of Central Hyrule, and they accepted. So, I'll be going there to study mechanical engineering."

"Link!" Aryll squealed, unable to help herself as she all but launched from her chair to squish her brother in a tight hug. "I'm so proud of you!"

Returning her hug, Link looked at Zelda, who mouthed 'me too' while Aryll finally pulled away and straightened her shirt that she'd just wrinkled.

"Sorry, but when were you going to tell us?"

"Tomorrow," Link admitted with a shrug.

"No minor?" Arina asked, though she seemed more than pleased that he was going to a different university.

Hesitating, Link figured he'd just dive into it at this point. "I don't have enough money to take the extra classes for a minor. So just mechanical."

"Did civil engineering ever cross your mind?"

"No, ma'am. That's not something that interests me too much."

"And what exactly do you want to do with that degree?"

Sighing, Link shook his head. "I don't really know. I think I'd like to work with… engines. Maybe."

That answer didn't impress Arina Harkinian. She sat back and hummed her response, seemingly more interested in Link becoming a civil engineer. But she directed her gaze to her daughter. "And you're still at the hospital then? Is that affecting your schoolwork?"

"No," Zelda said too quickly. "I mean, I'm a little more tired, especially now that I'm doing everything with one hand, but that's all."

Ramus cleared his throat. "And is this getting in the way of theater at all? You must have so few hours of the day left."

"Dad," Zelda said, her voice instantly shaking. "I… I told you. I was banned after they learned I passed out."

"Ramus," Arina scolded beside Zelda. "She came home absolutely in tears. How could you forget?"

He hummed his response, same as Arina had. "And volleyball? When your arm heals, will you be able to play, or have they banned you from that as well?"

"We'll see how it goes."

Ramus nodded and turned to Aryll. "Do you need anything from us? With Zelda's arm, I imagine it might be putting more on you right now. If there's anything at all we can do to ease the burden, let us know."

Aryll shook her head, eyes boring into both of Zelda's parents. "We don't need help. I manage fine. Zelda has been the most wonderful, generous addition to our little space. She's not slacking on a thing, and even if she were, I can pick up any slack just fine. Thank you though." She would have added more edge to her words if she couldn't hear that Ramus was genuinely offering to help, and not making a low blow against their living situation.

Then, the buzzer went off, much to everyone's relief.

Link and Zelda set the table, while Aryll took care of the food. They sat in relative silence for the meal, only exchanging polite courtesies, like 'thank you' and 'this is very good.' The meal stretched on in painful awkwardness as everyone waited for the others to speak in a never-ending cycle of silence.

For Link, Zelda, and Aryll, they could tell that the elephant in the room was clearly Link's past. Her parents wanted to bring it up so badly that it was like a tangible subject that they were just waiting to grab at. It was a waiting game, seeing if there was any way they'd leave the subject alone for the night or not.

So, when Link took the trash outside and heard the approach of footsteps, he expected the worst.

Ramus Harkinian stood before him, tall, imposing, and like he could easily kill Link with a single look if he wanted to. Which is what Link was sure would happen as soon as Zelda's father started to speak.

"I saw your gum on the shelf. I remember Zelda saying you were trying to quit, but that was a while ago now."

Link froze, unsure how to form words. He just stared for a while, his head starting to shake, unsure of what to say.

Thankfully, Ramus seemed to understand that, and he continued to speak. "It's hard. I used to smoke, you know. I was older than you, and I started when I was of a legal age, which, given your difficulty stopping, I imagine you started much younger, correct?"

"Yes, Sir. On and off since I was 13. Like I've said, I'm not proud of many aspects of my past."

Ramus nodded. "I nursed away my cravings with wine. Gum is a good alternative. Zelda doesn't know, I don't think. I stopped before she was born. Of all your faults, that's the one I find most understandable, from personal experience, anyway."

"How long did you…?"

"Maybe about, oh, five or six years? I thought I looked like a proper businessman, what with my suit and my cigarettes and my occasional cigar. I just looked like I was trying too hard. And I wanted to be taken seriously, so I started smoking behind the building where all the big guns were. I learned that I was so far at the bottom, and I'd need to claw my way through all my smoking pals to get to their jobs one day. So I went back to smoking alone. And then Arina told me she didn't like the smell on my clothes, and I wanted to impress her instead of the bigwigs, so I gave it up. Did Zelda ask you to as well?"

"No. She never did. I always… appreciated that. She didn't know at first. No! I mean, she knew I smoked, but she didn't know I'd started trying to quit again."

"Mmm, that's good that you did it on your own." His sidelong look had Link shiver. He knew what was coming. "Link, did you ever steal cigarettes?"

Grateful for the cold air, Link shoved his hands into his pockets, exposing more of his tattoo, as Ramus' eyes were drawn to it. "Yes, I did. I was never charged for that particularly, but yes. From stores, from friends, and from my father. I stopped stealing them when I came back from jail, and I had an older friend buy them for me."

"Stealing 'them'. You continued shoplifting?"

"Fuck," Link muttered, hopefully too low for Ramus to hear. "Yes. Things we needed. We were struggling, and I thought I was doing the right thing."

"How old were you again?"

"Fourteen. Close to fifteen."

"And assault was a charge?"

"Yes, Sir. I got into a fight."

Ramus nodded and looked around into the cold night before climbing the steps again.

"Sir!" Link said before he could stop himself.

Ramus turned, confused and intrigued all at once.

"I know this is probably something you don't want to hear from someone like me, but I love Zelda. I do. I'll never hurt her. And I've changed. I want to be someone who's worthy of someone like her.

"I lost my best friend a few years ago, and I've been struggling ever since. And while I wish to the Goddess that I'd never called my father that day, I can't change it. I can't change any of my past. But if I had the chance to change the rest of my life choices, knowing that I'd be standing here, right now, I wouldn't change a thing I've done. It's led me to be better. To know better.

"And I love Zelda enough to keep trying with you and Mrs. Harkinian, but I don't know what else to do. I don't know how else to show you that I'm not here to hurt Zelda. I'm not playing a game. I- I mean, I have jobs. I have school. I have great grades. I just don't know what you want me to do to prove to you that I want Zelda to be happy. And if that ever means that I need to get out of her life, then I'd do it. What can I do?"

Ramus tilted his chin up into the air, letting it whip against both of their faces unrelentingly before he finally answered. "I saw you at the hospital with her. I saw that you… care. Keep doing that. I can't say that I like your choices or your lifestyle. I don't like where you live, and I don't like that you've got tattoos and a dangerous motorcycle that I'm sure my daughter has been on more times than I care to think about. I don't like that my daughter is living with her boyfriend at 18 and sleeping in his bed. I don't like that she's not home where I know she's safe. But I'm starting to come around to the idea of you.

"I know you must see my wife and I and think we don't love our daughter, but we do. I know we work too often, and we've missed events that are important to Zelda. I know you've seen the bad things, and she's said that you've held her while she cried because of us. We're doing what we can to provide a financially stable life for her in a world that— and I mean this without insult— you know well can drain a person of their time, money, and choices. And I want Zelda to have it all. All the choices. All the world. And if it means I have to work this often to give it to her, then I will.

"So keep doing what you're doing. I can't guarantee that we'll ever sit down on a couch and watch basketball—or whatever sport it was she said you played—but I'm willing to try to be more understanding. I don't speak for Arina. You may have noticed there's some difficulties between us at the moment, but I will try. Give me some slack, and I'll give you some."

Link nodded. "I can do that, Sir."

Ramus sighed. "I'm not at the point where I'm comfortable with you calling me Ramus, and I think that Mr. Harkinian is a mouthful to say often, but you don't need to call me 'Sir' nearly as frequently as you do."

"I'm sorry, Sir. I- I mean… sorry. It's an old habit."

"Did you call your father 'Sir'?"

"Him and everyone else, yes. I was taught that it's respectful, but I had a teacher once tell me that I needed to stop because it made him feel old."

Ramus snorted and opened the door. "Get inside before I start to like you anymore."

Link grinned. "Yes, Sir."

They walked back inside, and saw Zelda sitting cross-legged on the couch beside her mother. Aryll was in the chair across from them, saying something too low for Link and Ramus to hear. But when they approached and the conversation stopped, he had the distinct feeling that he knew exactly what—or rather who—they were talking about.

Both of them took their seats in the ensuing awkward silence, and waited for someone else to break it.

Arina took that opportunity. "So, Link," she sat back, like she was just ready. "What are you going to do when you go to UCH? Are you going to commute? Change your job? Live on campus. There's so many factors to consider."

Link shifted uncomfortably. "I uh… I haven't worked all of that out yet. I know my boss will let me come home to work on weekends, that way I'll keep getting experience and income, and I'll probably try to find a work-study job on campus. I haven't worked everything out financially yet, so I don't know. I might just look for an opening at a shop closer to school as well."

"So, you'll be living there? On campus?"

"Most likely. An apartment seems excessive."

"Yes, quite. When you said you were going to a school here in Hyrule, I was rather concerned that Zelda might not go to Holodrum in the interest of following you."

"Mom! I make my own decisions."

Arina shrugged. "I just don't want to see something happen to you while you're studying to become a doctor. That's a lot of schooling, and if you were to do something irresponsible, like become pregnant, because you're taking up with this boy—"

"I knew this was going too well," Zelda groaned, slamming her head back against the cushions.

"Well just think about what you have to lose. I don't even like you here, even with his sister as a chaperone."

Aryll sat forward in her chair. "I'm not Link's chaperone. I'm his guardian, and I'm his sister. I've taught my brother to make good choices, Mrs. Harkinian, as I believe you've taught Zelda. They're good kids."

"I just don't want to see my daughter throw her entire life away because of a mistake."

Link and Zelda both moved to interject, but Aryll held up her hand, narrowing her eyes at Arina. "I know what you're implying right now. Link is a good kid who had some bad things happen to him in the past. And Zelda is smart. My brother is not a mistake, and if you think there's something wrong with Zelda's choices, that's on you. No one else.

"And if you really want to roll with that scenario of yours, Zelda has support here, no matter what happens in the future. Support from me. From Link. Whether she gets it from you two is a different story. But Zelda, while she's not my relative, is my family, and I care about her. She's always welcome here."

"Yes, well if being with your brother has her making poor choices, then that is my business, and it is on me. I trust my child. I don't know your brother. You're not a parent. You don't understand."

"I'm not a parent, no. But I am someone who is responsible for the wellbeing of someone I love. You'd know more than his criminal record if you'd ask."

Zelda grabbed her mother's arm before she could speak again. "Mom, please stop. Let me just stop you now. I'm not going to school in Holodrum. I've always wanted to visit, but me going to school there has been your dream for me, not my own. And regarding Link? You have no say. You have an opinion, sure, but I can choose to disregard that opinion, which I have done, and am doing again. Did you know that he's doing the theater lights with me so I won't have to be alone or with someone I'm not friends with? He has two other jobs, and he's doing that for me. Did you even go to my last show? No."

"Zelda…"

"No! And you talk about trusting me?" Zelda's voice cracked, this time looking between both her parents. "I don't know if I should even trust you! Are you both together? Are you seeing someone else? Are you getting a divorce, or separating? You won't tell me anything!"

Ramus shifted and turned to Arina, waiting for her to answer first.

But she couldn't.

"Yes," Ramus said, clearing his throat harshly. "We are both currently seeing other people."

"Why do you both live at home then?"

"We're…" he turned desperately to Arina for help.

"We are separated, but we are not sure if we want to get a divorce. Love is not a fairytale, Zelda. It's not the fantasy that you believe you're in. I'm sure Link is good, but people never really change."

Link's gaze went to his hidden stash of gum that Ramus had found and he wrung his hands together. He hoped that weren't true.

"Stop bringing him into things! I'm asking about you!" Zelda exclaimed.

"Your father and I are taking time apart to see if we truly want to try to make things work. There. Are you satisfied?"

"No," Zelda breathed. She stood up and went into the kitchen, leaning heavily against the counter.

Then, she felt a hand run soothingly along her back.

She let Link do it for a few moments, reveling in the comforting feeling it brought, but she quickly spun into him, preferring the warm, all-encompassing feeling that his arms brought. "I hate them," she whispered so only he could hear.

"Your father might like me a little bit, I think."

"Yeah? Something happen when you took out the garbage?"

"Yes, actually. So if nothing else, tonight has your dad coming around a little bit."

Zelda pulled away just enough to look at Link's face. "Have I ever told you that I'm really proud of you?"

"Because of UCH?"

"Because of everything."

Link smirked and pulled her closer again. "I'm proud of you, too."

In the silence, they could hear Aryll having a civil conversation with Ramus, and Zelda could hear the intentionally loud clicks of her mother's phone as she typed.

"Do you think I've lost my mom?" Zelda asked, thinking of all the days in the future that she might not get to share if her relationship had been irreparably damaged.

"No, I don't."

"You don't?"

"No. I've seen irreparable damage, and not just with my parents. This is something that can be fixed."

"While you were outside, she did mention that she liked your cooking."

"See? That's one point for me."

"Stop," Zelda chuckled. But it faded. "I just want them to go. I want to go to sleep."

Link's kiss missed her forehead and landed in her hair before he stepped away from her. "You don't want to have Moblin Munchies with me?"

With a face, Zelda feigned resignation. "I suppose I can lose some of that planned sleep for that."

"Maybe we should include Aryll?"

Zelda scoffed. "She'll need wine after tonight, not cereal."

Link held out his hand, and Zelda took it. "Let's finish this night out strong, okay Princess?"

"Shut up," she laughed, pressing up against him as they walked out, ignoring the looks they received.

Zelda's mom was able to keep to polite conversation after that. She'd even gone so far as to ask Link what he used to do for fun as a child.

And when they left, she gave Zelda a long kiss on the forehead before giving her hand a squeeze with a sincere 'Goodbye, Darling," as she headed to the car.

Ramus gave Zelda a hug and shook the others' hands before he too followed Arina.

And unsurprisingly, Aryll went into the kitchen, and returned to the couch with a bottle of wine.


Reviews: Scarlet Curls: She does! It's so sad, but I've unfortunately seen it happen and it never should! Guest 1 YASSSSSSS WITTY GUEST! I'm still going to sit here and probably any time I see Guest show up more than once, I will question if it's you hahhaha! Guest 2: Is that you Guest 1? And yes! Link goes out for milk when they're out! He did go to a convenience store, but it could also have been straight from a cow. Either way, he's got bad-boy vibes while being responsible for bringing home the milk, and it IS important hahahah! ElenaGilbert24: Link is so precious, I can't even handle him sometimes! Poor Zelda, honestly. This chapter didn't do her too many favors either! But she's too strong to be defeated by another win/lose dinner! Jojoker: They do! I know! I feel bad for them too!