"Link? Did you get the popcorn?"
Link popped his head around the corner so he could see Zelda in the kitchen, rummaging through his cabinets like a thief in a hurry. He grinned. She looked horrified at the thought of there not being popcorn.
"No," he said, finally showing himself. "I thought you did."
"What?" she half screeched. "No popcorn? I didn't…. it was supposed to be… where's my phone? I can get Makeela to run for some! We need popcorn!"
"I'm kidding," Link laughed, gesturing to an unpacked bag still sitting in the corner. "Of course I bought popcorn. What, do you think I'm some kind of monster? It's over there."
Zelda's head whipped to follow his gaze and she let out the longest breath. "Oh, thank the Goddess. I wasn't going to say it, but that would have really sucked."
Inside the bag was a box, and one of the contraptions meant to pop the kernels over the stove. And at the bottom was butter salt, which she didn't even ask for.
"You're the best boyfriend," she whispered, holding the salt like it was the most precious thing she'd ever held.
"Tell me something I don't know. I can cook, I shop, I get butter salt. What more could you ask for?"
She rolled her eyes and grabbed the stovetop popcorn. "Obviously there's nothing else in the world that I'd want from you except those three things. And they're all food related. You're doing great."
He winked and watched her for a moment before taking a long breath and grabbing some cups out of the cupboard. "What do you want to drink?"
"Milk, I think? What are you having? I might just steal your idea."
"Coffee. I don't want to fall asleep in the middle of the show."
"It's so late to have coffee. You're crazy."
"Decaf."
"What's the point then?"
"Decaf has caffeine. Look it up."
"I don't need to look it up. I trust you. I still don't know how you drink that black. It's disgusting."
Link yawned, almost as if his body was trying to prove him right. "It's necessary," he said, though it came out as mostly gibberish with his mouth wide open.
"What year did the Goddess create Hyrule?" she asked.
He yawned again. "Not tonight. I just want to chill out. Ask me in the morning."
"I will. Finals are upon us."
"I've noticed." He wrapped his arms around Zelda in a gratuitous way of getting to the knob for the stove's back burner before kissing her neck and spinning around set the coffee pot on the stove. He leaned on the counter beside her as he waited, watching her shake the popcorn over the flames. "I don't think that'll be enough."
"No, this is for us. They can have the cheap stuff. What time is it anyway?"
Link glanced at his phone. "We still have about 20 minutes."
"They're late."
"Probably got caught up."
"I don't want to think about it."
Link snorted and they waited for their things to be done. The bag had half exploded before Zelda took it off the stove and flicked the foil open, the milk and coffee were on coasters, and they were on the couch.
Zelda was crunching on her popcorn, watching Link on his phone when she grabbed a piece and tossed it at his forehead.
He looked at her slowly and deliberately before setting his phone down, waiting.
"You didn't catch it," she said.
"Because that's my forehead. You're a bad shot. That's not my fault."
"Bad shot," she scoffed, grabbing another popcorn and tossing it at him.
It hit his chest.
"Damn," she hissed, grabbing a whole handful. Link spun his legs to face her and narrowed his eyes, focused.
She tossed another. Too high. It hit his eye.
Another. Barely made it to his lap. She'd gone for a high lob.
Another. The popcorn landed on his outstretched tongue and he pulled into his mouth with a cheer. Zelda let out a whoop as Link took the popcorn.
He threw it. Zelda's head whipped to the side and she caught the popcorn immediately, smiling smugly.
"Okay, hot shot," he muttered, throwing another one just a little higher.
She arched off the couch and caught it, letting it crunch loudly.
"I'm good at throwing it."
"Yeah, but you suck at catching it."
This continued for the next ten minutes until there was a knock on the door.
Zelda and Link had begun to get creative, and Link was on his knees while Zelda stood on top of the couch cushions and lobbed the popcorn high into the air. He'd gotten better at catching them, but overall, he'd come up on the losing end of the statistics.
Link choked on a small kernel stuck in the back of his throat and grabbed Zelda's milk, to take a swig before he got up to unlock the door.
"Hey!" Makeela said with Pipit in tow as they made their way into the house. But she stopped immediately, looking around. "What happened here?" Her hands signed the word 'what' but that's all she managed. She was getting better, remembering more words, being able to do sentences, but rarely could she speak and sign at the same time, unlike Link's fluency in it, and Zelda's adept skill.
Popcorn was all over the ground, on the coffee table, in a shoe. They'd simply moved on to the next piece of popcorn to keep the game going and had planned to pick it all up later.
"Zelda's too talented for me to handle," Link said, stepping past her to start grabbing the food from the floor.
Makeela was holding a bag, and Pipit held a tray of drinks.
"We brought Hyrule Energized. I got you a donut." She tossed the bag into Zelda's lap.
"Is it a Goron Donut?"
"It is. Because I'm the best!"
"Yes!" Zelda cheered before helping Link.
Makeela and Pipit distributed the drinks before finding a comfortable place on the couch.
"I'm late! I know!" Ilia yelled when Link opened the door for her. She threw her bag and light coat onto the floor haphazardly before flopping onto her stomach, looking up at the television.
Two minutes left.
Link leaned against the armrest, and Zelda perched with her legs curled up to her chin as she rested against him. He knew it wasn't going to last. She'd move around far too often, especially with all the excitement.
One minute.
Makeela was like Zelda, but she'd decided to start her night on the floor with the straw to her drink just resting against her lips as her wide eyes watched the final commercial with the title screen pop on.
Moonlight Howl.
The season finale.
They'd all gone in with low expectations. Amalia and Castor were still separated by his bizarre need to stay apart from her for her safety, while Lacey struggled to bring Amalia away from her continued sorrow.
The finale was anything but boring.
Early into the episode, Castor got word that there was an unknown threat headed for Amalia and Lacey and the rest of his former pack. He'd begun a desperate journey to get back to her in time, to warn her at the very least.
Zelda was on the floor with Makeela, clutching each other's arms as he ran through the trees.
Amalia had learned of the threat, and was preparing her people, a rousing speech to protect their pack.
Zelda was on Link again, her nail between her teeth as she muttered to herself words that Link couldn't even make out. Occasionally, she hit him and whispered, "oh gods!" or "did you see that?" She never expected an answer.
Castor made it back to the pack in time. There was a new rival pack of werewolves tearing the place apart, and Castor threw himself into danger to protect those he loved.
Makeela and Zelda were pacing off to the side, stepping around Ilia's sprawled out legs. Zelda had to stop every now and then to cover her eyes out of fear that they'd kill off Castor, and then immediately peek through her fingers because she needed to know.
Castor was on the ground, surrounded and bleeding.
Zelda and Makeela were back on the couch. Makeela occasionally leaned into Pipit, but she was too tense for the majority of the show. Pipit, as usual, rarely moved except to stay comfortable, shifting his legs. Link did the same, preferring to stay rooted to his seat unless Zelda was with him. And she'd made her way back to him, leaning heavily on him while his arm was draped over her shoulder. Ilia was silent and stiff as a board, entirely engrossed.
Then, Amalia jumped over a fallen tree, snarling in full werewolf form protectively in front of Castor, reunited after a full season apart.
"Oh gods!" Zelda breathed, perching on her heels again and looking at the clock. This was it. The final few minutes. "One of them is going to die. Link, one of them is going to die." He didn't answer her.
Castor tried to get up as Amalia was swarmed, biting and thrashing, she had rolled onto her back, trying to push everyone off. Castor reared to her side, tossing a few others out of the way. But they were both injured still, though they looked at each other for a moment, accepting their fate.
"They're going to kill them both?!" Zelda hissed. Link snorted and put his hand on her knee. She grabbed him, threading her fingers tight through his as she stared unblinking at the screen.
The other pack's leader was circling from the shadows, growling before straightening into human form and wringing out their shoulders. They had a limp, moved slowly. And then stepped into the light in front of them.
Frederick Wolf. Castor's brother who'd been killed at the beginning of the season.
"Well, well, well. This is a surprise, isn't it?" he asked, the camera growing wider on his rotten-toothed smile just before the screen went black and the credits rolled.
No one moved. No one could.
Pipit leaned forward, covering his mouth as he processed the ending. Makeela looked like she'd seen a ghost—which in all fairness, in the context of the show, she just might have. Ilia sat up and pushed herself back against the couch for support. Zelda had pulled Link's arm backwards against her chest where she clutched him in absolute shock. Link didn't even notice, his mouth hanging open.
"What?" Makeela finally managed.
"That was the end?" Pipit asked after Link had finally turned that way.
He pulled his arm free from Zelda to sign. "That was the end."
"How am I going to sleep tonight?" Zelda muttered, reaching for her phone so she could pull up a live feed of reactions.
"They want us to take our finals after that?" Ilia practically screeched. "I'm never going to focus! Did I like it? I don't even know! That was so… unexpected."
"I know!" Zelda breathed as she read. "It looks like people are mixed here too. I think… I think I kind of loved it."
Link leaned into her so he could read the reactions. "All I know is that if they kill Amalia next season, I'm not watching this show anymore."
"That's all you can think about?" Zelda asked, nudging him in the shoulder.
"She's my favorite."
"Oh, I know," Zelda teased.
For a while, that's all they did: passed theories back and forth, ate popcorn, and rewatched the episode as it played again.
But it was late, and Ilia, Makeela, and Pipit eventually said goodbye.
Link locked the door and bolted it shut. Aryll was with Collin for the night, so he didn't worry about locking her out. And he faceplanted the bed, nearly falling asleep then and there.
Zelda changed out of her lounging sweatpants and into some shorts to sleep in before sliding into the bed under the blanket beside Link.
"Oh man! I forgot to eat my donut!"
"Eat it tomorrow," Link said, his voice muffled by the pillow.
"I think I might have thrown it out by accident. Will you help me look where we were sitting?"
"Tomorrow."
"Yeah, that's what I meant." She was quiet for a moment before turning back to him. "Do you think they'll really kill them next season? I mean, Twilight Throne killed their main character."
"Zelda," Link mumbled. "I love you so much, but I can't function. My eyes are burning. Finals are starting. Go to bed."
"Okay, okay. Tomorrow we'll theorize."
"Sounds good," he said, moving only to get himself under the covers before he rolled onto his side and immediately fell asleep.
Zelda watched him for a moment, thinking about how she got here before she, too, fell asleep, dreams of werewolves and royalty filling her head.
Finals came and went, grades were handed out, breaths were taken.
That is, until graduation day came.
Zelda wore a sundress with heels as she carried her blue robes around on a hanger, getting them into her car.
She turned around. "Link! Come on!"
He skulked out of the house with his own black robe and handed it to her so she could hang it.
Finally with everything ready to go, she turned to him and grinned, playing with his tie for the fourth time. "You look really handsome."
"I get the memo. You want me to dress up more."
She shrugged and let her hand run over his chest and wrap around his shoulders. "I can too, if you want."
"All of this is crazy. I can't believe they told us we needed the tie. I fucking hate ties."
"Breathe, Link. It's okay," she said, holding him tighter. She could feel him shaking in her arms.
"I want a cigarette," he whined, slamming his head into her shoulder.
Zelda ran her hand through his hair, soothing him as best she could.
They hadn't given him an option.
When all the grades had come in, Mrs. Joy had pulled Link into her office to tell him that he'd scored the highest, and that he was the class' valedictorian. He'd tried to back out, to beg her to give it to someone that the students actually liked, but with a thin smile over her lips, she'd simply told him no, and that he had to make the speech whether he wanted to or not.
And since then, Link hadn't been able to breathe.
He, Zelda, and Aryll had all worked on the speech he'd have to give, creating the best bullshit few paragraphs they could muster together.
Link had practiced it many times by now. He could say it in his sleep. According to Zelda, he actually had.
But now it was nearly time for the students to arrive, and they had to get to the field behind the school where the ceremony was being held.
Zelda drove. She'd always planned to, but with Link's shaking hands and distracted mind, she didn't want him anywhere near the wheel. He was a zombie, walking to the group of teachers and gathering classmates without even taking his cap or gown.
Making a face, Zelda took both of theirs and followed after him.
She took his hand to guide him to the table where Mr. Auru stood, clipboard in hand as he scribbled something furiously. "Names?" He looked up. "Oh, never mind. I guess you two know where to stand, huh? 'Harkinian' and 'Hunter' making the H section complete in a single swoop."
"What?" Zelda laughed.
"I'm so tired. Just ignore me, and go to Mrs. Uli. She'll give you more instructions."
"Okay," Zelda said, pulling Link with her. He was still zombified and unresponsive.
When they got to Mrs. Uli, she beamed. "Link! Are you ready?" Link turned his ghostly pale face in her direction, and she grimaced. "Deep breaths, Link. You'll be fine."
Zelda rubbed his shoulder. "Revali has to go first anyway, so you'll get to watch."
"Not helpful," he choked out.
Mrs. Uli smiled. "Once the class president gives his speech, then it's on to our valedictorian!" She made a small, excited motion, but Link had gone back into his own world. "Okay… get into your caps and gowns, and we'll start in a bit. You'll all line up in alphabetical order and we'll go from there. Take care of him, okay?"
"I've got him," Zelda said, moving Link away from the chairs and into the grassy area. "Come on. Put this thing on so you don't need to think about it."
She handed him the hanger and undid her own, sliding into the surprisingly comfortable sleeves as they billowed around from her movements. Zipping the gown up, she grabbed a hairpin she'd attached to her dress and toyed with it while Link struggled with his zipper.
"You have to calm down a little, Link," she said, helping him.
"If I give you the speech, will you do it?"
"They're not going to let me. You can do it, Link. Have a little courage. You're better than you think you are."
His eyes finally focused on her and he nodded, fisting his hands in an attempt to stop their shaking.
"Hey!" Makeela and Ilia both said, bounding over to them. They'd come together. "This is crazy, right? Tell me I'm dreaming and we're not actually about to be done with school."
"Oh, this is real," Link muttered.
Zelda rolled her eyes and soothingly ran her hand along his arm. Last night, he'd been so nervous, she could feel it in every muscle as she attempted to get a knot out for him. And he'd barely slept: tossing and turning and mumbling. She pitied him for his forced speech, but he really was better at public speaking than he thought.
"Gabe and Aryll are here," Ilia said, hoping conversation would distract him. "We saw them on the way in."
Zelda bit her lip and turned to Makeela. "My parents?"
"Didn't see them. We didn't see everyone though."
"Okay. They said they had to get out of a work meeting first," Zelda whispered, already defeated.
"Hey," Makeela said, wrapping her arms around Zelda. "I said we didn't see everyone, okay?"
"Yeah… okay."
The four of them sat together in the grass until it was time to line up for their procession into the seating area, classical graduation music booming through a rented speaker system.
Link was immediately behind Zelda, and thanks to his role as valedictorian, he had an end seat, like Revali. Zelda lucked out and still managed to sit beside him.
Neither let go of the other's hand as the principal began commencement with a speech, some joke about the weather, and a really long winded discussion about school. It lasted so long, Link's hand had gone sweaty in Zelda's and he had to wipe it on his pant leg.
There were a few other speakers, all giving similar speeches, until it was Revali's turn to give his speech.
"Hello friends," he started, his confidence bordering on arrogance.
Link tuned out Revali's speech. He'd have done it no matter what, but he didn't want to hear what he was saying, lest it be a million times better than his and shake what little confidence was there.
It wasn't until he heard Zelda mutter, "You can top that easily," beside him, and see Mr. Auru waving him over that he realized it was his turn to speak.
Link felt Zelda squeeze his hand once more before he made his way up to the stage that had been set up. He passed Revali, earning a sneer, almost like it was instinctual. Link could have been punched in the face, and he probably wouldn't have noticed at that moment.
He made his way to the podium and adjusted the microphone before looking out at everyone. He could see where Aryll and Gabe were almost immediately, like his eyes were drawn to them. Aryll gave him a wide smile and two thumbs up while he cleared his throat.
"I, uh, I know that most of you don't really know me, and I don't know most of you. We've probably never talked, and maybe you're wondering why the hell I'm up here. But… even if we've never talked, our paths have crossed here at Daphnes Rhoam Hyrule Highschool. Maybe I've just passed you in the hall." His eyes found Zelda's again. "Or maybe I was paired up with you for a project. But we know of each other, at least. This is a small school, so it's kind of hard not to.
"I've ruffled a few feathers in my time here. I've had bad things happen at home, and I've had some stuff happen here too. But I don't regret a second of it. Because what I gained in my life is far superior to anything else I could have asked for. So to me, this school represents something good.
"I'm not going to look back one day and wish I could erase my high school memories. No matter what happens in the future, this place was good to me. Not everything in the world is like that, so going forward, we need to remember the things that were good. They are the light in the dark. And as we hit college and the work scene, we're going to need a little bit of joy. That shit is stressful!"
Zelda grinned, pride practically melting her face off as she leaned forward in her seat.
His knuckles were visibly white as he held the podium. "We don't always need to know where we're going. Sometimes, paths change. You thought you were going to go to one school, but fate takes you to another. You thought you were going to be stuck in one mindset, but someone opens up another door. That's cool. You want that sort of thing. You want life to hit you like a door in your face while you're carrying books, only to spill them all. How else will you realize that you've missed the other door, the one that was already open? Or how else will you start up a conversation with the person helping you collect your things? You want to be surprised, because life has a funny way of getting to you, no matter what.
"I'm nervous. Not just right now, staring at all of you, but about life and the future from here. I think I can imagine that some of you are too. I think that's normal. I've been told it is, anyway. Doesn't feel normal. Feels weird, like… like you're just floating in a sea with no breeze and no idea where you're really going to end up once the tide comes in. You just end up somewhere and have to keep moving.
"I guess that's why we have family. They're the ones keeping you up. So whether your family is your parents, or it's your sister, your best friends, your girlfriend, and your boss, they're the reason we get through everything. So I'm going to say thank you to mine. You know who you are, and you know what you've all done for me, so thank you. And I just want to add a thank you to anyone who couldn't be here. Maybe they couldn't make it, maybe they're with the Goddess. I don't know; that's on you, but I know who else I'm thanking. And I know he'd be proud of where I ended up today.
"According to all the templates I followed, this is supposed to be where I thank all the administrators and teachers, but honestly guys, there are a lot of you, and I really don't want to thank you all."
Zelda snorted, knowing that when he'd written that, he'd intended it as a jab. But it translated really well with the hidden context that they all wanted him to keep it in. He did.
"I'm also supposed to end this with an inspirational wrap up that summarizes everything I've already said. Something like 'so go, don't be afraid to live because life will take you where you're meant to be,' or something like that. You know how it goes."
Link cleared his throat again and looked out at everyone, blinded by a light that he'd barely noticed before. But he nodded to Mr. Auru, who then gestured that he should go back to his seat now.
He did, and was met by Zelda's wide smile. "That was so good." She pulled him to her by his neck and kissed his cheek quickly, since they were still surrounded by their classmates.
"I have no idea what I said. I think I talked about hitting people in the face?"
"Aryll's recording. You can watch it later."
"Great."
She leaned her head on his shoulder for a moment before sitting back up. She could see him let out a relieved breath, though his hands were still shaking.
There was another speech, this time by Mrs. Joy. It was a textbook speech about pride, and she was soon off the mic, and a cart was wheeled forward.
"Okay," they heard Mr. Auru whisper. He was hunched down a few rows in front of them, in the 'A' last names, "You're up. Go to the steps. Go." He shuffled to the next row of seats and waited.
Zelda watched Revali go by, getting his diploma with a smug grin on his face that he just couldn't help. The next row of seats lined up, and Link took another deep breath as Mr. Auru knelt beside him, waiting for his cue.
It took some time, but Mr. Auru patted Link's chair. "Okay, go line up behind them."
Link nodded and led his row into the grass on the other side of the field. They still had quite a few names to get through, and once they'd gotten in line, he let Zelda go in front of him. 'Ha' before 'Hu'.
Zelda glanced into the crowd, finding Gabe and Aryll as easily as Link had. "They look so happy," she whispered to him.
"Yeah," he said, much calmer and able to function as he looked back out with her.
"Link," she breathed.
"Yeah?"
"They're here."
He turned to follow her gaze, and he saw her parents standing together in the back with several of the other families who didn't make it to the seats. Arina was a power suit with heels that were clearly sunk straight into the dirt, and Ramus blended in for once in his expensive suit, surrounded by others dressed up for the day.
Link smiled at them, and then at Zelda. "We told you they'd come."
"I didn't think they would," she whispered, wiping a tear from her eye once she'd even realized she was crying.
They finally made it onto the stage and waited for their names.
"Zelda Harkinian."
Sporadic applause and cheers echoed out. There wasn't supposed to be any clapping until the end, but Zelda easily made out Ilia, Makeela, and Aryll's voice. She could hear thunderous claps, and turned briefly to see that her parents were among them.
Mrs. Joy held out Zelda's rolled-up diploma and held out her hand. "Zelda. Congratulations."
"Thank you," she said politely, taking it because she knew she had to. She clutched the diploma and shook several other hands in a row before heading down the steps to pose for an immediate photo. She didn't even need to pretend to smile, it was plastered right on her face.
"Link Hunter."
Zelda turned around and let out a loud whoop, joined again by Makeela, Ilia, and Aryll. And Zelda looked out and saw her parents clapping again.
Back in their seats, Link leaned excitedly into Zelda as they compared their diplomas while other names were called out.
Ravio. Ralis. Sidon.
Zelda clapped for Sidon.
But she and Link hollered for Makeela and Ilia.
Makeela all but skipped to her diploma, her face beaming, while Ilia was far more reserved, looking out at the crowd when she heard their excitement, and clearly blushing, judging by how she coyly hid her head.
Zelda clapped for Daruk. She considered it for Ruto, for the friendship they once had, but she couldn't bring her hands to move. Groose was an obvious no from her. But she did clap for Medli. Without Medli, Zelda and Link might never have met.
There's a little more speaking, and then Zelda recognized her cue to throw her cap in the air. She fumbled because she'd pinned it to her hair, making her look like she'd just rolled out of bed, but she got it off and into the sky before she missed the moment. Link was laughing at her, reaching into her hair to pull out the clips that were now dangling by a thread.
He gave her a quick celebratory kiss, one that was missed by most in the chaos.
"We did it."
"We did," she grinned.
Zelda had to hold back her excitement until after the class had processed back out to that same song. But the second it was done, she bolted for the corner where she'd seen her parents.
"You made it!" she breathed, and threw herself straight into their arms. Whatever they'd done to her in the past, whatever they'd forgotten, they were here. She could forget the past to enjoy the present for a moment.
"We did," Ramus said, hugging her tightly. "We saw the whole thing. We're very proud of you, Zelda."
"Darling, come here," her mom said, opening her arms. Zelda stepped into them. "You did very well. You worked very hard."
"Thanks. I'm glad it's over."
"Where is Revali? His speech was lovely. I've missed him around. He was a good friend to you all these years."
"I don't know. We don't talk anymore."
"Oh. That's right."
"Where's Link?" Ramus asked, glancing around.
Zelda flinched at Link's name coming from her father's mouth. It still sounded wrong, like he was about to berate or belittle him. For a moment, Zelda considered lying. But she could see him with Gabe and Aryll, both aggressively ruffling his hair as he tried to fight them off. Aryll had her arms locked around him so he couldn't run, and she could see them all laughing.
Her father followed her gaze and nodded. "I want to say something to him. Would you lead the way?"
Zelda pushed her way through the crowd to Link, where everyone let him go when they saw who was behind her. Zelda went beside Aryll, who pulled Zelda into her by the shoulders.
"Congrats, kiddo."
"Thanks."
"Link," Ramus said, extending his hand. "Valedictorian?"
"Yes, sir," he said, staring at Ramus' hand uncertainly before taking it.
"Good work. That's quite the accomplishment."
Arina smiled at him, but it was a forced one that she used with clients. "I was surprised. It doesn't seem like you have the time for studying, what with all your jobs. I really thought it would have been Zelda."
Link nodded. "She deserves it."
"No," Zelda said, cutting in. "Link studies so hard, and he always has his work done. He's helped me with my stuff, especially when I fell behind with the hospital. He's basically a genius, and he deserved this. Not me. He worked for it. Don't try to take that away."
"I'm not, darling." She turned to Link, sticking that plastered smile back on. "Well done, Link."
"I had a merit scholarship, so I had to keep my grades up, no matter what. I figured I can sleep during the summer."
Ramus chuckled. "Sounds like something I used to say, until I started applying for internships. Then sleep was a thing of the past, but I had the years of training needed to ignore it. You're on your way."
Link breathed out a laugh, unsure if that was a compliment or not. But from Ramus' expression, it at least looked like he was trying.
"Hey!" Aryll said, grabbing her phone. "I need pictures! Zelda, do you want some with your parents?"
She looked at them, unsure. But Ramus nodded. "We can put them in the albums."
Aryll took several pictures. A photo of Zelda with her parents, some separate ones of her with each of her parents alone, one of her Gabe and her and Aryll. Link with both, Link with each one as well. Quite a few of Link and Zelda together. When Makeela and Ilia joined them, Aryll took photos of them all.
Ramus and Arina went back to work. Gabe went back to his shop. Ilia and Makeela went home with their parents.
It left Aryll, Link, and Zelda wandering around the school, taking a look at it one last time.
"I don't think I'm going to miss it for a while," Zelda said, crossing her arms. They'd stopped at their spot, where they'd gone every time they wanted to be alone.
"Me either. That speech was bullshit."
She laughed as she felt his arms around her waist and heard his hands slide along the fabric of the gown. "I know. I was there when you wrote it."
"Yeah… but I was panicking. I barely knew you were there."
"Thanks, Link."
He chuckled and kissed the side of her neck. "Sorry."
She leaned into him as she hummed her acceptance of his apology. "Yeah, yeah."
Link tapped this diploma and scoffed to himself. "Would it be too bitter if I sent a copy of this to my parents with a note about how I did all of this without them? Maybe a picture of me happy, giving them the finger. That's too bitter, right?"
"If it makes you happy," she said with a grimace. "I don't think you should do it, but if you do, I'm certainly not going to judge you."
"I shouldn't do it." He paused, considering it again. "Maybe I can send them the newspaper when our names go it for the honor roll. That's less aggressive, and they don't have to know it's from me."
"It is less aggressive."
"No. I really shouldn't do that either. Please take my mind off it before I decide to do it."
"Okay. What are we going to do all summer?"
"Work," he scoffed, and she pulled away after it was loud in her ear.
She turned around and wrapped her arms around his neck instead, absently playing with the loose hairs at the nape of his neck. He smiled; she knew he loved that feeling.
"What about tonight?"
He pulled her closer by the hips and wriggled his eyebrows. "I can think of a few things. We can wear our cap and gowns then, too."
"Oh gods," she laughed before kissing him.
There was something so familiar about it. It wasn't tentative or new, and it wasn't passionate and sloppy. But it was raw and it was real and it was theirs.
Link picked her up and started heading back to Aryll, not breaking their kiss while she laughed, bouncing against his lips again and again in a very un-romantic way as she jostled with their walk. Eventually, they gave up and she just rested her head against his until he set her down by Aryll.
"I got a ton of pictures of you two just now. You're so cute. I'm definitely framing one or two of these. I wonder if I can edit them so it's more aesthetic."
Zelda craned her neck over Aryll's shoulder to see. The pictures were mostly of her and Link kissing, but the further back she scrolled, the more Zelda appreciated that Aryll wanted to take photos of everyone and everything. She'd even taken a picture of her and Link crossing the stage, sitting in their seats—though that was mostly just the back of their heads—and many of Link giving his speech. Then she saw the video.
"Aryll, will you send them all to me?"
"Yeah, of course!"
"Thanks. Are we all going to order something tonight?"
Aryll looked up from her phone and settled her eyes on Link.
Zelda turned to him suspiciously. "What?"
He grabbed the zipper on the front of her gown and toyed with it innocently. "I thought maybe you'd want to go out to dinner with me. My treat. It's the one thing I've always wanted to give you, and now I'm in a financial place where I can do that without worrying. I figured, we're already dressed up."
"You know I meant it when I said I didn't need that kind of thing."
"I want to."
She could see the sincerity deep in his eyes and it made her bite her lip. "Okay. Where are we going?"
He let out a deep breath. "Good, because this is going to be really forward of me, but I made a reservation at Midna's Place. I figure they had a little bit of everything."
"You planned this?" Zelda asked, no longer able to hold her excitement down. "When did you have time?"
"Before I went crazy."
"Goddess, I love it!" Her eyes softened when she saw him relax, wishing that he didn't need to feel tense to do something like planning a formal date for them. She took his hand and swung it lightly, though she was far too serious to mistake as playful. "I love you, Link."
"I love you, Zel."
She giggled and shook her head, pulling his arm behind her and around her waist while she leaned into him.
Aryll smiled and held her hand up awkwardly. "Hold off on any more PDA until I leave. I think you're both cute, but you also make me want to puke. I'm going to Collin's for the night so… you have the apartment, Link." She waved and headed back to her car quickly.
"You really have this whole night planned, huh?" Zelda laughed as they both started for the parking lot.
"Well, I don't mind improvising a bit."
"Good, because after dinner, I really want to take you for some ice cream."
"A walk in the park sound good too?"
"Walk in the park while eating ice cream?"
"You know it," Link chuckled. "I'd planned on Loftwing Loops for dessert, but you know, your idea is so much better."
"Oh! I kind of want Loftwing Loops too!"
"No one said we can't have both. We're adults. Technically."
"Here's to adulting."
Link snorted as they reached her car. He unzipped his robe and tossed it into the back seat, holding his hand out for hers. He took a moment to appreciate the dress she was wearing, and he noticed her equally admiring him half bent into the back seat with his dress shirt and nice pants.
She smiled innocently and crossed her arms.
He hummed as he stood back up, and ran a hand through her soft hair, marveling at how it fell through his fingers. Marveling at her, that she was even here with him.
"Thank you," he whispered, kissing her forehead.
"For what?"
"Everything. All of it. For helping me fix myself. For being with me. For just being you."
"Well, if you get to thank me, then I get to thank you for the same things."
"Sure, Princess. Thank me all you want. Thank me later, too! You know what? You can thank me all night for being me."
"Oh, shut up, Link!" she laughed, whacking his arm as he walked around her to get to the passenger's seat. "I was humble about it, at least."
"I'm not humble. I am hungry though."
"Gods, me too. I'm starving. The reservation soon?"
"Yeah, head straight there. We might need to wait twenty-ish minutes, but that's all."
"I can handle that." Zelda couldn't stop grinning, finally turning to Link before she took the car out of park. "You're a good guy, Link."
"Now."
"That's all that matters."
He held his hand out, and Zelda took it, content to take a moment just to feel his rough, calloused skin against hers. But she let go and shifted her car into reverse. "Okay, let's go on that date."
A/N: First off, I think valedictorians sit somewhere else because I went through my high school pictures and three super smart kids were sitting next to the principal and I think one of them was valedictorian. I don't remember much about that day soooo oops! Link gets an end seat instead. I am Link and used a template to come up with his speech hahaha! I don't remember 98% of my highschool graduation and I needed to creep through my Facebook just to remember what we even did. I also skipped two of my college graduations though because I hated commencement. Just send me that diploma!
ANYWAY! That's the last 'real' chapter! If you don't like epilogues, here's your stop! If you do… then I'll hopefully see you in the next (AND FINAL) chapter!
Reviews: Oracle of Hylia: I feel like Ramus is at least trying more than Arina is. They both still suck, but he's got more of an effort in. zViridian: Aww I'm sad it's ending too! Bittersweet sadness! Gabe is the real hero of this fic! He's the rock for sure! And hahahhaaha poor Link would be like whoa... what just happened!? Oh man, I'm sorry to hear that! That's so much stress to put on someone! James Birdsong: :) Thanks again! Subnatic Survivor aka once upon a time guest 2 who is not guest 1: First off, kudos to you for using that mobile app because I can't make it function hahahahaha! It does not cooperate with me lol! But yeah, Gabe is totally the cool uncle! That's such a perfect comparison! And man, it does suck to miss things like that! I remember being taken out of certain things and it was crushing at the time. Scarlett Curls: 3 I'm glad this chapter was touching! And I hope you're doing good! Life will even out! MaskedMarvel: Yeah, it's crushing for her, but it's definitely something she can get through! And hahahhaha I had too much fun with some of the lines this chapter! Luchux: 33 I'm sorry last year went like that for you! It's definitely okay to miss missing out on all that senior stuff and regret that the year happened the way it did, but yeah, when there's something you can't control like that, looking ahead rather than behind is always the healthiest way forward! I really hope this year is going better for you!