conflict at din's garden

Zelda sat on one of the many benches around Hyrule University, awkwardly shifting her suitcases around while she waited for her ride to arrive. The once beautiful dorms of the school were now oozing of chu jelly. It was nothing harmless – certainly not as toxic or acidic as purple chu jelly – mainly red, blue, or green. The students on campus caused an uproar so dire that faculty had to take matters into their own hands. The consequence would be uniform for everyone: eviction. There was no reason, in their eyes, to keep a bunch of students at bay when there was so much treachery and shadiness going on behind closed doors. Many of the students opted to move back home with their parents and commute to schools while other students were directed to nearby apartment complexes. Financially Zelda was secure, and had no access to any benefits when it came to finding a new home. She'd had a month's notice to find a new place, but searching was to no avail. Going back to her parent's home in Lake Hylia was out of the picture. It was too far away from Castle Town. She was jobless so finding a place of her own wouldn't be good either. Then of course she could live with her best friend, but staying at Lon Lon Ranch with Malon wasn't exactly at the top of her list. It would be best to play it safe by staying with Midna, her sexy, sassy, gorgeous friend. Yet with her playful antics it would still be a bit chaotic.

"You know," a voice called out, "my offer still stands."

Zelda jumped a bit, her train of thought broken as she looked up to see one of her classmates looking down at her with a smirk.

"Hello Shad." She said politely, moving her suitcase over as an unspoken invitation to him to sit.

He accepted.

"Do you still plan on staying with your blue friend?"

Zelda laughed, "You mean Midna? I'm not sure yet. I made it clear to her that nothing's set in stone. Until they find a culprit and reopen the dorms… I'm not sure where I'll be staying. What about you? How did you find a place to stay?"

He shrugged playfully, flipping through the pages of the textbook he'd been holding onto absentmindedly.

"I never lived here on campus. I split the rent at the apartment complex down the street with two of my friends. You sure you don't want to live with us?"

It was a damn near perfect offer. Zelda told him in the past that she would consider it but was leaning towards saying 'no,' mainly because she knew he had a crush on her and didn't reciprocate his feelings. It would do nothing good for her case to accept and try to ignore his wasted attempts at flirting with her. Not to mention her friends were well-aware of his attraction to her and would never let her live it down if she stayed. Still, it WAS a good offer… And Zelda was desperate for a place to stay. What would be better than staying with someone who not only goes to the same university but lives just across the street? Commuting would be a piece of cake.

"…Have you told your roommates about me?"

"Yeah, I've mentioned you once or twice." He smirked. "If you're worried about feeling unwelcome you can stomach that fear. There's no way they'd say no to a pretty lady in need."

There it was.

Zelda blushed, biting her lip to stop it from quivering. She wouldn't deny that Shad was attractive – extremely attractive – in a scholarly, erudite fashion, but no matter how hard she tried… there was nothing. She was certain that they were destined to only be friends.

"I-I don't know Shad… You still haven't told me much about them. My parents wouldn't be comfortable with me living with 3 guys."

Shad frowned, waving his arm around dismissively.

"Don't worry about that. And they're great, trust me. You'll have fun living with us. I don't know if you've noticed, but you're kind of running out of time." He said sarcastically, pointing out all the students walking off with their suitcases and bags in their hands.

Zelda rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, I've noticed. Trust me, your offer is sounding better and better with each moment that passes. But I don't have much to offer you guys. I mean, I don't even have a job…"

"That? Psh. We all work and pitch in to pay the rent. We even pay utilities. Don't worry about it Zelda." he put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, making her twitch slightly, though he didn't notice.

"I don't want to be a burden…" She persisted, still feeling a bit awkward.

"You know, there are other ways of repaying us." He said, smirking at her.

Her face reddened immediately, knowing (or thinking she knew) exactly what he was thinking.

"Excuse me!?"

He continued on as though her outburst never happened, "You could help us clean up around the house, cook, help with homework…"

Zelda exhaled deeply. She should have known better than to think Shad would have said something crass. He wasn't like many of the guys that went to HU. He wasn't a pervert.

"Help with homework? Shad, you're the smartest guy that goes to this school."

"I know." He said jokingly, "I was just saying that as an example of how you could be useful. What's it going to take for you to finally say yes?" He asked hopefully.

Zelda smiled. He had laid all the cards out on the table, now she had to make the decision. Was it really worth it to let a harmless crush get in the way of her having a place to stay? She decided 'no.' But before she could finally tell him the three letter word he had been waiting to hear, someone else jogged up and greeted him.

Zelda nearly gasped.

It was Pipit.

Captain of the football team, the Casanova of Hyrule University, everyone's secret crush, Pipit.

He was the paragon of perfection, the man every other man loved to hate.

Shad noticed Zelda's shift in behavior, and turned around immediately to look at his friend with an expression of distaste.

"Hey man!" Pipit said, still keeping up a steady jog in place. He had a towel slung around his shoulders and he was so sweaty that his shirt clung to his body tightly. Not that Zelda was complaining, he was total eye candy.

"Hey." He mumbled, his hands tightening around his textbook ever-so-slightly.

"Practice is going to end later than I thought, so I can't pick up the eggs. Think you can squeeze time into that extremely busy schedule of yours and make a stop at the grocery store?" Pipit grinned cheekily, knowing fully that Shad didn't have much of a social life.

Shad glared.

"Yeah, whatever." He said.

Pipit laughed and stepped forward to ruffle his hair. While he did so his eyes lingered over to the star struck blonde sitting next to him.

"…Hello." He said, his hand still in Shad's hair.

He knew it was rude to stare, but… Damn. She was a cutie.

"Hi!" Zelda said eagerly.

"I don't think we've formally met. I'm Pipit."

Zelda bit her lip, trying to suppress an 'I know,' from escaping her lips. It would sound a bit creepy.

"My name is Zelda." She said.

His eyes widened momentarily.

"Wait. YOU'RE Zelda? The Zelda that Shad keeps blabbing about?"

Zelda giggled, looking at Shad whose face was cherry red. She raised an eyebrow.

"Dude, you were right. She IS hot –"

"OKAY!" Shad said, cutting him off quickly and swatting Pipit's hand off of his head.

"You're going to live with us, right?" He asked eagerly.

"Of course." Zelda said, making sure her eyes were on Shad when she answered. His spirits seemed to lift when he realized she was actually paying attention to him instead of his very attractive friend that also happened to be one of his roommates. If Shad had just told her that he lived with one of the most popular guys at their university she would have said yes a lot sooner.

"Cool. Well, I should get going now. My teammates are waiting. I'll see you two later!" He waved, giving Zelda an especially charming smile before running back towards the football field.

"Well that was great, wasn't it?" Shad asked, meaning to sound 'cheery' and happy, though he ended up sounding a little bitter.

"Shad, are you okay?" Zelda unintentionally scooted closer to him, putting her hand on his shoulder. "It's not what you think, I swear. I was about to say yes before he even came to us."

"You think I care if you're into him? Because I don't. Just tell your friend that you found a place to stay and she can drop you off. I'll text you the address." He said, getting up and walking off briskly. His mood had changed way too quickly for her liking.

"Shad!" Zelda stood up, grabbing his arm and pulling him back.

"What?" He looked back at her. His eyes were a bit misty but he held a stubborn expression. If he was trying to keep the jealousy off of his face, he was failing miserably.

"I don't want you to be mad at me. I'm sorry okay? He's just the most popular guy at this place so it was shocking that…"

"He associates with a loser like me?"

"I wasn't going to say that."

He shook his head, a small smile making its way onto his face.

"It's whatever. Don't worry about it. I'll be fine. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some eggs I need to buy…" His voice trailed off when someone in a car to their right side started honking repeatedly.

The occupant rolled their window down. It was Midna, with Malon in the passenger's seat.

Zelda froze, looking at them slightly mortified when she realized they were smiling suggestively. She looked back at Shad, taking her hand back from his arm immediately.

"Zelda, come on! We have to go!" Malon said impatiently. Midna simply grinned as though something was going on between her and Shad.

Biting her lip embarrassedly, Zelda nodded, grabbed her suitcases and ran towards the car without giving Shad a proper goodbye.

»°«

"So are you two an item or nah?" Malon asked excitedly as soon as Zelda got into the backseat. Zelda rolled her eyes as Midna drove off.

"No. We are not."

"Then why were you holding onto his arm like that?" Midna asked skeptically.

"That's none of your business!"

"Oh my goddesses! Are you gonna live with him?" Malon stared back at Zelda with wide blue eyes.

"…Yes." She said.

Midna whistled.

"Yes girl! Go on and get yourself some." Once they got to a red light the older female turned around to wink at her.

"It's not like that…" Zelda whined embarrassedly. "We're just friends."

"Would you stop being so stubborn? He's gorgeous!" Midna said.

Zelda blushed. She wasn't going to deny that Shad was attractive, in fact he did garner a lot of attention from females for being both sexy and smart – which was its own type of sexy, sure, he wasn't as well-received as Pipit, but that didn't mean he couldn't get a girlfriend himself.

But Zelda wasn't sure they would be a good pair.

"I just don't think we click. But he's been so kind to me about having a place to stay, so I decided to take him up on his offer."

Midna smiled as they finally reached their destination.

"Well I'm glad you came to your senses at least. Now, it's time for us to eat. You ladies ready?"

"Oh definitely. I'm starving." Malon said, getting out of the car.

Zelda followed her two friends quickly, entering the restaurant. The place was called Din's Garden, paying homage to the beloved goddess that everyone in Hyrule had the pleasure of learning so much about.

"You sure you can afford this?" Malon asked Midna, "The food here does NOT come cheap."

"You think I don't know that, girly? Don't worry. I got you guys covered. The most expensive plate here is 40 rupees and if you guys order it, you know I'll murder your asses."

Zelda shook her head, smiling as they went up to the host's desk.

"Table for three, please." Midna said politely, looking at the host with a lewd expression.

Zelda's eyes nearly widened when she saw him.

He had dark brown hair and the most piercing deep blue eyes she had ever seen. Along with chiseled features and a body to drool over, in the looks department he certainly gave Pipit a run for his money. He looked up at the three females before him who were visually undressing him and gave them an empty smile. It was evident to Zelda that he didn't like his job, or wasn't in a very good mood at that exact moment, but he still treated them courteously and grabbed three menus.

She couldn't help noticing how his eyes lingered on Midna, who was dressed to impress in an outfit that showed off her curvaceous body. Malon was also wearing a nice outfit that accentuated her body. Meanwhile Zelda looked like a box, in her sweatshirt and ripped jeans. She knew they were going to eat out that night but wasn't anticipating that her friends would look so… sexy compared to her.

"This way, please." He said, motioning towards the tables within the restaurant. He continued to watch Midna closely as she walked past him, then focused his attention on Malon, even winking at her. When he saw Zelda however, he cleared his throat and cast his gaze toward the floor. Zelda tried to shrug it off, but couldn't help feeling bothered.

He directed them to a booth, setting the menus down.

Midna and Malon both got extravagant menus, in which the edges were gilded with silver. Zelda smiled, eager to eat until their server simply dropped a folded paper menu with some crayons along with it. He walked off without another word.

Zelda's jaw nearly hit the floor.

Midna and Malon gasped, covering their mouths and trying (but failing) to suppress their laughter.

Did that really just happen!?

Mortified, Zelda stood up, giving her two friends an intimidating glare that instantly shut them up, then picked her menu up and stomped back over to their grumpy host. Before she addressed him she tried her best to regain her composure, then went up to him. He was typing aggressively on a laptop, most likely his as it was clear that he was a student, visibly stressed.

"Uh…" Zelda scratched the back of her head, holding onto the paper menu and crayons awkwardly. "Excuse me?"

He stopped typing and looked towards her, looking away instantly as though she were visually displeasing. She chose to ignore it.

"Yes?" He still tried to sound nice.

"You gave me a child's menu. I'm sure it was a mistake, and I'd like an adult one please."

He continued typing and shook his head apologetically.

"Sorry kid. You have to be thirteen or older to get one of those."

"…I'm turning 19 this year." Zelda muttered bitterly.

"…Hm?" He wasn't expecting that.

He looked over at her again, eyeing her up and down.

Zelda decided it would be in her best interest to step towards the brightest part of the room, so that he could actually see her face and not just her body. He flinched slightly once he got a good look at her. She was beautiful. Absolutely stunning. The clothing and the fact that he was ridiculously tired made her seem a lot younger than she actually was. He didn't realize he was staring until she cleared her throat.

"So can I get an adult menu?" She asked impatiently.

"Yeah, yeah sure…" He said, grabbing one and giving it to her.

"I don't see why you didn't just give it to me in the first place…" She said under her breath, turning to walk away.

"Pardon?" He called after her.

Zelda turned, slightly irate. She never realized how snarky one simple word could sound.

"I said, it would have been nice if you just gave me the menu instead of being stubborn."

His face fell, and that look of disdain was apparent once more. He huffed, turning his back to her and continuing to type on his laptop.

"Sorry, not my fault you have the figure of a twelve year old boy."

Zelda's eyes widened.

She wanted so badly to tell him off, but she knew her friends were waiting for her, so she decided not to grace him with a response.

Walking back to the table with her stomach lurching wasn't exactly a fun experience, however. She did NOT have the figure of a twelve year old boy, he only said that because she wasn't wearing anything audacious or provocative.

While she headed back towards her table, an older man in a suit and tie noticed her distraught expression amongst all the laughter and happiness and generally good vibes emanating from the other tables.

"Little miss, is everything alright?" He asked, reaching out to her.

"Yes," Zelda said shyly, "I'm fine. It's just… that host. He was very rude to me." Zelda said, pointing back at the attractive young man at the front.

She usually wasn't one to snitch but she was feeling bitter about what he had said to her and wanted to get back at him some way.

"Oh, is that so?" The old man said curiously, scratching his beard. "Well thanks for telling me that miss. I hope you feel better soon." He smiled at her, walking away.

She sighed, walking back to her table and setting her menu down.

"You were back there for a long time." Midna commented, taking a sip of her water.

"Long enough for us to order our drinks." Malon added.

"Blame that asshole of a host, not me." Zelda waved off their comments dismissively. "Let's just eat." She tried to force the host's comments out of her mind, but she just couldn't stop thinking about what he said…

»°«

"Thank you for the ride Midna!" Zelda said graciously, grabbing her bags and suitcases.

Midna poked her tongue out at her friend.

"You're welcome. I won't lie, I'm a bit disappointed that you changed your mind about staying over at the last second. But living with that hunk ought to do you some good! Don't hesitate to tell me about the sex, I bet it'll be fantastic." She winked.

"Aah! Stop!" Zelda said, shaking her head. "For the millionth time it isn't like that!"

"Whatever." Midna said, rolling her window up and driving off.

Zelda rolled her eyes, a blush still apparent on her face. She looked down at the address that Shad had texted her, struggling and heaving her luggage along with her towards the elevator.

Once she got to the second floor, she looked around carefully at each room number.

"12B… 12B… 12B…" She murmured to herself until she reached her destination.

She knocked on the door, not expecting such a quick response.

Immediately the door opened, and Shad materialized in front of her, giving her a large grin.

"Hi Zelda!" He said eagerly.

Zelda couldn't help but laugh.

"Hey Shad! Were you waiting for me?" She asked teasingly, rolling her bags in.

"Let me help you with that." He said, "And… maybe." He added as he helped her carry her stuff into the place.

It was surprisingly clean. Zelda had anticipated a pigsty when Shad said she could help with cleaning up around the place, but looking around it didn't seem like that would be necessary. She had to admit, she was impressed.

"Ooh, is that Zelda?"

Zelda turned to see Pipit coming out of the kitchen with a big smile on his face.

"Hey girl, it's good to see you again."

"H-Hi Pipit." Zelda said.

"It's kind of weird thinking about how we met only a couple of hours ago, and now we're living together. But don't worry, I don't bite." He winked at her.

"So anyways," Shad said, "Zelda, you'll be sharing a room with Link. He should be coming home from work soon."

"Oh, uh… Okay." Zelda felt a bit uncomfortable at the thought of sharing a room with a guy she barely knew, but still followed Shad as he guided her to the room. It was tiny. There was one room with a study desk. She would only be able to sleep in a corner of the room, not that it was much of an upgrade from her dorm room…

"I know it's small. If you don't like it you can just sleep in the living room. The couch is pretty comfy."

"Yeah, I think I'd like that better." Zelda said, laughing nervously.

The front door slammed shut, the third male tenant of the house stomping in angrily.

"Link?" Shad asked worriedly. "You okay, man? That girl I was telling you about is here. You should –"

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. I'm not in a good mood right now. I lost my temper at work and said a few things I shouldn't have, but then this bitch…" He stopped talking immediately as soon as Zelda emerged from his room, somewhat eager and nervous to meet her final roommate.

"Oh my goddesses, it's you." He pointed at her with a disgusted look on his face.

Zelda froze.

It was the host from the restaurant. The one that told her she had the figure of a twelve year old boy.

A/N: Damn Kiki, back at it again with ANOTHER Zelda AU. (Don't worry, I'm almost finished with Summer of Our Discontent so it's okay, besides I don't plan on making this ridiculously long anyways). I've been watching lots of KDramas lately so this may be a little cliché. And when I say a little, I am under exaggerating.