what happens in the closet stays in the closet

"Link?" Zelda said in disbelief. So this was their final roommate? Why? Goddesses, why?

"Zelda…" He responded, turning to look at Shad. "So this is the smoking hot –"

"Shut up, please!" Shad talked over him, laughing nervously. "Do you two, uh, know each other?" He looked at them curiously.

Link glowered at the now completely nervous blonde, and it was her turn to avert her gaze. Shad noticed the tension between the two and was once again concerned. She liked Pipit a little too much for his comfort, but didn't like Link at all. Couldn't there just be a nice, harmless balance?

"No." Link finally said, breaking the awkward silence. "But it's real fucking nice to meet you." He finished, walking towards his room, intentionally shoving Zelda off with his shoulder. She stumbled back, watching as he slammed the door. She looked at Shad with a frown.

"Something bad must have happened at work," he reassured her, "Link is the least social of all of us but he isn't a jerk."

Could have fooled me… Zelda thought to herself.

"It's fine. I don't mind, really." Zelda said, flashing Shad just about the fakest smile she could muster.

He nodded, walking into his and Pipit's room and coming out with some blankets. He set them on the couch for Zelda.

"I know this probably isn't the ideal arrangement for you but I hope you like it nonetheless."

"It's great, Shad. Much better than rooming with him." She said, and though she was completely serious she tried to sound like she was joking.

"Hopefully he won't bite your head off tomorrow morning. Good night Zelda." He gave her one more reassuring smile before going back into his room.

Pipit, who had watched everything from behind the kitchen counter took this moment to walk over to the sad blonde.

"He's right y'know. Link can get a bit grumpy from time to time but he ain't a bad guy. Something bad must have happened because there's no way he wouldn't get excited at the thought of living with a pretty girl like you." He sat down on the couch, beckoning her to sit next to him.

Zelda laughed, blushing at his compliment. At least there were 2 guys that would be able to restore her momentarily shattered confidence. She sat next to him, internally squealing when he put his arm around her.

"I don't know about that. I'm not all that great."

"Eh, you are to me. I feel like getting to know you, but don't worry, I won't try to get in between you and Shad –"

"We're just friends!" Zelda yelped. She was well aware of how desperate she sounded, but she would be damned if she missed out on an opportunity to be with Pipit just because he got the wrong impression, sort of like Midna and Malon.

"Oh. Is that so? Well, anything else you wanna tell me?" He asked with an expression that was a combination of lechery and genuine curiosity, but mostly the former.

"Uh… What do you wanna know?"

"Anything. Your favorite color, favorite food, favorite ice cream flavor…"

"My favorite color would have to be purple, since that's the color of royalty, my favorite food would probably be Hylian cucco egg, and my favorite ice cream flavor is definitely vanilla."

He chuckled.

"Wow I like Hylian cucco eggs too! Sounds like we have a few things in common, princess."

"Princess?"

"You said you like purple because it's the color of royalty. And you're attractive. So from now on, I'm calling you a princess."

"Oh," Zelda giggled, "Okay."

"So anyways princess, before I finally let you go to bed I was wondering if you would like to get some breakfast with me tomorrow morning. I know that Shad likes to walk to campus but we'll have time to kill before going off to class and it could be fun. What do you say?"

"I'd…" Zelda paused. She thought about Shad. What if he wanted to walk her to school? "I'd love to, but what about Shad? … And Link?" She added him as an afterthought, not wanting Pipit to think too much about her words.

He simply smiled and shrugged, "I guess we'll just have to wake up really early then."

»°«

Staying true to his promise, that next morning Pipit woke up before Shad did, shaking Zelda gently to wake her up. She opened her eyes slowly, shifting within her blanket and sitting up. His gorgeous blue eyes were the first things she saw.

"Hey there princess. You ready for that breakfast?"

"Yes." Zelda smiled, getting off of her couch bed and walking over to her suitcases.

"You can use the shower in Link's room." He said.

Zelda bit her lip, turning back and looking at him nervously. He was clueless on what happened at the restaurant, or even at the fact that she had seen Link before deciding to live with him and Shad, but Pipit knew how callous Link had been with Zelda, so he would have to understand her concern.

"I don't know…"

"He has the master bedroom. And unfortunately, it's the only bathroom with the shower. Don't worry, you can go in without the pass this time around. He's a heavy sleeper."

Zelda sighed, nodding. She turned and walked reluctantly towards his room, before stopping.

"Wait, what pass?"

"I'll explain it later," Pipit said, urging her to go into the room. "Now hurry up!"

Zelda nodded, opening the door to Link's room carefully, making sure she didn't wake him up. But when she entered, he wasn't there.

Letting out a sigh of relief, she walked into the bathroom confidently, starting the water and waiting impatiently for it to get warm. Once it was warm, she immediately stripped and wasted no time in getting herself freshened up.

After she was done she realized that her clothes were still in the living room.

"Shit," she whispered to herself, wrapping her body up in the towel.

What do I do!?

She didn't want Pipit to see her in nothing but a towel that clung to her naked body, which was dripping wet.

But she couldn't just call him from the bathroom, or else she might startle Shad. And then that would be two guys seeing her in a towel.

And where the hell is Link?

She decided to swallow her fear and simply walked into the living room, grabbing her bag. Fortunately Pipit didn't notice. He was sitting on the couch facing away from her, waiting patiently. She hurried back into the bathroom and changed into her clothes, taking a few extra minutes to make sure her hair was nice and presentable before they went out.

"Okay," she said in a half-whisper, coming out once more. "I'm ready!"

Pipit clapped happily, "Yay! Let's get going."

They headed out of the apartment, walking down the stairs and talking amiably.

Zelda was more than happy. It hadn't even been a whole 24 hours but she already felt like she was really bonding with Pipit. It was wonderful, she always admired him as a symbol of pride for their school, but actually being able to talk to him was a different story. He was sweet, thoughtful, and friendly. He was everything she imagined he would be.

As they got to his car Pipit stopped walking all of a sudden. He had meant to open the door for Zelda but something caught his eye.

"Pipit?" Zelda asked, noticing his shift in behavior. "You good?"

"Um," he scratched his head, ignoring her question and walking past her. "What are you doing here?"

She turned around and saw Link sitting on the sidewalk with a nearly empty bottle in his hand.

"Nothing. What are you doing?" He asked, looking up at his friend with an expressionless look in his eyes.

"Zelda and I are going to get some breakfast from Telma's."

He rolled his eyes, glaring at the blonde. She looked away immediately.

"You two are already going on a date? Wow, you sure are easy, aren't you?"

"Link!" Pipit scolded, walking back to put a comforting hand on Zelda's shoulder. "Don't be so mean to her. I get that something bad happened at work but that doesn't mean you need to be so harsh. I thought you'd be over it by now."

"Hmph." Link put the bottle down, crossing his arms.

"Man, don't be like this. Why don't you come to breakfast with us?"

Zelda's stomach flipped.

No!

"And be a third wheel with you two? Hell no."

"Hell yes." Pipit said, yanking the stubborn male up and pushing him towards the backseat of the car. "She's going to be living with us for a while and you two are gonna have to get along. So get in the car or I'll kick your ass."

Not one to take Pipit's threats seriously or obey someone he didn't consider his 'boss,' he surprised Pipit by actually complying with his request. Zelda got into the passenger seat, slumping a little as she realized that she and Pipit weren't going to be alone like she hoped they would be.

Link decided to entertain Pipit by actually joining them. It looked like Zelda would be unhappy with his presence anyways, which is exactly what he wanted after what had happened to him last night…

The drive over to Telma's wasn't long by any means, but it still felt like an eternity to Zelda and Link. She would occasionally look into the rearview mirror to see him staring right at her, only for both of them to look away.

When they finally arrived, Pipit let out a heavy sigh, looking at his two silent companions.

They entered the restaurant, seating themselves at a booth. Link sat across from Zelda, while Pipit sat next to her.

"Have you ever been here?" He asked Zelda.

"Only a few times back when I was in high school. Do you come here often?"

"Yep," he said. "This is my go to place whenever I don't feel like eating Shad's pathetic idea of a breakfast."

She laughed, "I'm sure it isn't that bad."

They continued to talk, subtly flirting with each other while Link sat there miserably. He had been hoping that his presence would make Zelda feel uncomfortable, but with Pipit being as charming as ever it wasn't working.

"So are we going to order our food or what?" Link asked, cutting the two off.

"Oh, right. Sorry man." Pipit said sheepishly. He walked off to grab some menus.

Zelda decided to try and make conversation with him. She knew he probably held some animosity towards her after last night but it wouldn't hurt to attempt to be friends, for Shad and Pipit's sake if anything else.

"Aren't there uh…" She stammered when he looked at her. Why did he have to be so hot? It wasn't fair that the golden goddesses gifted a pretty face to someone with such a shitty attitude. Still, she forced herself to make conversation. "Aren't there any waiters here?"

He scoffed.

"I thought you've been here before. You don't know how this restaurant works?"

"The last time I was here was in high school." She reminded him.

He gave her a once-over, the same one he gave her at Din's Garden. She shifted uncomfortably at the way he stared at her so shamelessly.

"You say that like it was a long time ago."

Zelda's cheeks reddened again, but she couldn't get a last word because Pipit came back, giving them all menus.

"Let's try to be quick. The line to order is getting long and we'll need to get back soon."

Zelda pouted, looking down and hiding her face behind her menu. She was actually eager for Pipit to get back up and order for them so she could call Link out on his douchey attitude.

"I'll have the Deku Nut pancakes." Zelda said, not putting much thought or care into what she ordered.

Pipit nodded, looking at Link.

"And you?"

"Two scrambled cucco eggs with a side of toast." He threw the menu across the table, leaning back into his seat.

"Cool. I'll go put our orders in." He stood up hurriedly and speedwalked to the line, beating out an eager Goron that was also walking towards the line.

As soon as he was gone again Zelda turned to look at Link.

"Link, please stop this." She said, trying to sound as civil as possible.

"Stop what?" He arched an eyebrow, irritated at her comment.

"Stop being so callous towards me! Is this about what I said to you last night? I'm sorry, okay? I wasn't even the person in the wrong but I'm willing to apologize if it'll make things right between us."

"Wow, you're such a noble person aren't you?" He muttered sarcastically.

"Why are you such a jerk? Why can't you just forgive me? Was it that bad?"

He didn't respond for a moment, simply looking at Pipit for a couple of seconds before standing up and surprising Zelda when he grabbed her arm. He yanked her up and pulled her towards a backroom of the restaurant. Zelda panicked, not expecting his sudden action after watching him squirm awkwardly in her presence. Unfortunately for them Pipit caught sight of them walking off, but didn't want to risk their spot in line, so he said nothing.

Link pulled her into a closet that was right next to the bathroom. Even though it had the label 'Employees Only,' he went in anyways.

"What the hell!?" Zelda yanked her arm back, holding onto it protectively.

"You want to know something, little girl?" He growled, staring at her lividly.

Zelda gulped, remaining silent.

"That job made me the most rupees. And then you fucked it up for me within a matter of seconds."

"What are you talking about!?"

"You snitched on me!" He jabbed a finger at her. "Don't act so innocent. You talked to my boss."

"Your boss?" Zelda was absolutely confused, but Link wasn't buying her 'act' for a second.

"Yes, my boss, you dumb bitch! You mean to tell me that you didn't talk to anybody about me last night?"

"First off, I don't appreciate you using that kind of language with me." She said angrily, "And… yeah. I did complain about you to someone, but I didn't know he was your boss. I was just upset."

"Because I gave you a kid's menu? I gave you an adult one afterwards!"

"You're leaving out the part where you said I had the body of a twelve year old boy." Zelda crossed her arms.

Link's shoulders slumped a little, and his blue eyes softened a little.

"You… heard that?"

"Yes I heard that!"

"I didn't mean to say it that loud. I was just… talking to myself." He said, averting his gaze to the floor.

"Well I heard you loud and clear. So next time when you see a girl and direct her towards a table, maybe you should try –"

"I was fired." He spat bitterly.

Zelda's face paled.

Oh.

That's why he was so angry with her.

Still, could she really be blamed? He was the employee. He had to hold a certain level of professionalism.

"So…" She said, looking down at the ground. "You can just get another job, and maybe you know, not be such a jerk." She lost a bit of her confidence with these words. From what she knew of him thus far, he would probably flip his lid over what she said. It didn't feel nice telling him off knowing she cost him his job.

To her surprise, he simply shook his head.

"You don't get it."

"Maybe I would if you would just tell me instead of expecting me to understand –"

"You think all I need to pay for is the rent?" He stepped close to her, way past the imaginary shield of her personal bubble. She backed up, her back pressed against the wall as she tried not to focus on his infuriatingly captivating sapphire eyes.

"That money was supposed to help me pay my way through school too. And for my family…" He stopped talking, closing his eyes.

She looked up at him to see that he was looking away.

"Link?" She asked, genuinely curious.

Did he say something he didn't mean to say?

"Forget it." He said, shaking his head. "This isn't worth it."

"What are you going to do then? Make my life a living hell?"

"Depends. Do you have a job?" Link asked.

"…No."

"Do you go to Hyrule University on a full ride?"

"…Yes."

"Ha. I fucking knew it."

"What does my financial situation with Hyrule University have to do with this?"

"You have it so easy. Do you realize that? You don't have to work at all."

"Excuse me?" Zelda looked at him in disbelief. She was tempted to pull his pants down and take out the stick that was shoved up his ass. "I didn't get that scholarship with a snap of my fingers. I studied meticulously and earned it!"

"I work too! Every single day, through junior high, then high school, and now! I have to work thrice as hard as everyone I know to survive! If I didn't, I wouldn't be able to live with Pipit and Shad. But you come along and bat your eyelashes and cast them both under your spell."

"That isn't true at all!" Zelda growled, "Shad was kind enough to offer me a place to stay, and from what he told me you weren't opposed to the idea –"

"Yeah, until I found out you're just some lousy freeloader. If you didn't look so flawless you wouldn't be able to live in our apartment." He said, turning away.

If Zelda wasn't cherry red then, she certainly was now.

He stole a glance at her, noticing her flustered expression.

"That wasn't a compliment, so don't take it as one."

At that moment the door opened and Pipit was staring at them, looking less than thrilled, with a receipt in his hand.

"It's not what it looks like." Link said quickly, walking out and giving Zelda a cold look. It said: Don't say a word.

Zelda sighed, looking back at Pipit who was staring at her skeptically.

"What he said…"

Pipit sighed, running his fingers through his hair.

"You guys rushed into this room to be together, and your face is completely red and you look absolutely disconcerted. There's only one thing you two could have been doing in here." He said disapprovingly.

Zelda closed her eyes.

"You have to believe me when I say this. He absolutely hates my guts."

A/N: Oh snap! Another update so soon? Well, after only 2 days this story got 5 reviews (not too many but certainly not bad), 6 favorites and 18 follows! Woah! I'm feeling this. The story is going to pick up soon, I promise. Next chapter we're going to delve into more characters and get into what's happening on campus. But don't worry, there will also be more intense ZeLink moments. (;