The Roommates

by MeBeKiki

After a prank gone wrong, the students at Hyrule University are evicted from their dorms. Zelda, with no other place to go, decides to live with 3 of the most gorgeous guys that attend the school. There's Shad, the charming intellectual. Pipit, the popular jock and overall heartthrob. And Link, the hard-working lone wolf that absolutely hates her guts. [ZeLink, AU].

24. Chapter 24

(warning: VERY long chapter ahead…)

a rendezvous in ordon springs

---

It felt like time froze. Zelda was rooted to her seat, staring at Link as if he were an apparition. She couldn't read his face, other than noting the pure look of shock that he had, an expression she felt certain was similar to her own. Was he happy to see her? Upset? Confused? She couldn't tell, and it worried her. Her brain couldn't register anything or anyone else. But it also felt comforting to see his face, to see him again after he left her so quickly. She knew that she missed him, but she didn't fully grasp onto how strong the feeling was until she finally saw him again.

Then she thought of how scared she felt, how she had lost her scholarship, how her friendship with Lana and Ashei was straining, how Pipit put their relationship on hold – something that made Zelda want to wring Lana in the neck – though it wasn't really the blue-haired girl's fault. Zelda had herself to blame, her and her odd mix of feelings towards Link. Out of everyone at HU, he was the one person she could truly talk to about almost anything. And realizing how sad she felt about him no longer being there, she didn't want to waste any more time gawking. She jumped out of the carriage, running into the mud without regard to the mess she would make of her outfit. She continued to trudge through even as ground thickened around her feet, until she was right in front of Link. She threw her arms around him dramatically, nearly toppling him over and causing both of them to fall.

"Woah!" Link wobbled, catching her by the waist and making sure she was steady. She hugged him fiercely, harder than she had ever hugged anyone before.

"Zelda…" He said. His voice was filled with so many feelings. She could hear sorrow and regret as he scrambled to figure out what to say. "I… I…"

"Shut up." She told him. "Just shut the hell up." She didn't want to hear it. She didn't want any excuses or explanations for the time being, just to hold him and tell him how much she cared, and how much she missed him.

Both of them stood there, their legs sunk into the mud, while Zelda held onto him with everything she had.

"I missed you. I fucking missed you so much." She whispered.

Slowly, he returned the hug, wrapping his arms around her waist and holding her close to him.

"…I missed you too." He said back, and she felt relief flood through her system.

He could feel her smiling into his shoulder, and he cracked a tiny smile too, glancing at Rusl, who perhaps had the biggest smile of all.

"What in the hell is going on here? We're supposed to be huntin' for frogs!" The other man exclaimed, confused at Zelda and Link's reunion. "And who is this?"

Rusl stepped off the carriage, wading through the mud to pull the man away from them.

"Fado, you're such a mood killer! Can't you see these two want to be alone? Let's go back to the village. You can hunt for frogs later."

"Fine! But ya better explain to Talo why we don't have any fried frog legs ready for him! He was lookin' forward to it."

The older men went back to the carriage, and Zelda could hear the wheels turn and the horse trot away, leaving her alone with Link.

After a few minutes, they broke apart from each other. Zelda was now covered in mud, but she didn't care. All that mattered to her was that she was finally seeing Link again.

"Are you really here?" He asked, touching her cheek.

"Yes…" She replied, bringing her hand over his as he was about to pull his hand away from her.

"You're all muddy." He said, looking at her face and her outfit. Not that it mattered, she still looked as radiant and beautiful as she always did. It was hard for him to look away.

"I don't care…" Zelda said, also finding it hard to look away from him.

"Still, we should get you cleaned up…" He suggested. "I know how to get all of those stains out."

She smiled.

"Okay."

Her smile vanished when she realized Rusl had driven off.

"Wait! Rusl was taking me to the village! And he had my stuff…"

"Don't worry." Link assured her. "He'll probably drop it off at my place. Come on, I can take you back to the village on my horse."

Zelda let out a relieved sigh, following Link as he stepped out of the mud and to a shaded area, where a burgundy horse rested patiently.

"You have a horse?"

"Epona. I've had her ever since I was a child. She was a gift from my father."

"How sweet…" Zelda gave Epona a friendly smile. "She's beautiful."

"Very." Link agreed, patting her mane.

Epona stood up, letting out a light whinny and trotting in place.

"After you." Link said politely.

She stopped nervously.

"What's wrong? You've never been on a horse before?"

"Not exactly…"

"This should be fun, then." He placed his hands on her hips and helped her get on. Then, with ease he swung himself up right behind, wrapping his arms around her to hold onto the reins as they ventured back to Ordon. Zelda bit her lip at how close they were to one another. His torso was pressed against her back, and she could feel him breathing steadily.

"Don't worry." He told her, "I won't let you fall."

She leaned back into him comfortably, studying the forest as they rode. She had been enamored by the beauty of Faron when Rusl was telling her all about it earlier, but now that she was with Link, she found it all the more breathtaking. Neither of them spoke for the duration of the ride, simply enjoying the moment they had together. It was pleasant but awkward at the same time, since there were many things for them to address with each other. For now, those things could wait. Link, of course, wasn't expecting Zelda to show up in his hometown, nor was he exactly keen on the idea of her seeing this side of him – since it was such a contrast to the image he kept up when he was at HU. Nonetheless, he had missed her just as much as she had missed him.

Zelda could tell they were in Ordon once the number of trees and greenery began to reduce, and they came to a clearing where a simple, wooden house sat. It was built atop a tree trunk, with a ladder leading up the door.

Link got off of Epona and helped Zelda down.

"Here we are. My humble abode." He gestured.

"Woah…" Zelda murmured, walking around and observing the house from all angles. "Is this thing steady?"

"It's lasted us over 20 years. I doubt it'll come apart now. Let's go inside." He said.

They climbed up the ladder and Link opened up the door to the house.

Despite its simplicity, she found it beautiful. The walls were covered in homemade trinkets and intricately knit yarn decorations. Other than the entrance there weren't really any doors, individual rooms were sectioned off with blankets. Instead of stairs, there were other ladders to lead the way to higher spots within the house. The room was warm, and the windows were open to give a light breeze.

"Make yourself comfortable. I'll go get the water." He told her.

Zelda walked around slowly, keeping herself near the door. She didn't want to snoop around his house while he was out, and she especially didn't want to get his furniture dirty. She grimaced when she looked down at her legs, caked in dirt. She'd left mud tracks on the wooden floor.

Link came back inside with a few buckets of water, then led Zelda further into the house. They passed by the kitchen, and then into an area sectioned off by blankets, with a large tub. Nearby there were other smaller vats and a couple of washboards.

"…Wow." Zelda said, eyes wide.

Link laughed at her reaction.

"Yeah, yeah. I know what you're thinking. Are we still in the 21st century?"

Zelda giggled, watching him fill up the larger tub with water. He brought out an array of soaps and lotions. He pointed out some of the soaps to her.

"I'm assuming you'll want to wash all of that gunk off, so here's what we've got. This blue one is good for your face, the green one acts as a body wash, or you can use the red if you want something similar to a bubble bath. Your choice."

"Thank you…" Zelda grabbed the soaps and smelled each one of them. They all had strong, earthy tones. Link cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Also… if you want me to clean your clothes for you… I should get started on them now." He said timidly.

"Oh." Zelda blushed, catching his drift. She looked at the washboard in the corner. "So… I would bathe here? And you would clean here too?"

"I could move this stuff to another room, if that's weird for you." Link said quickly. "It's just that Aryll and my mom are kind of stingy about that, and the flooring here is a little different than the other rooms, in case the water seeps out, so I'd have to – "

"It's fine, Link. We can make it work."

"Yeah, of course. I'll just turn around." Link said.

"I guess I'll… take my clothes off now?"

"Okay." Link turned around, involuntarily coughing to fill up the silence, the only other noise being that of Zelda stripping down to nothing.

Once her romper was off, she looked down to her underwear. The mud had gotten on there too, but she wasn't sure if giving it to him was a good idea.

As though he read her mind, he spoke up, "I don't mind cleaning your delicates either, princess. It's up to you.

He held his hand out with his back still turned to her, and she handed him the romper and her underwear. It felt incredibly embarrassing but maybe this was the price she had to pay for running into that muddy mess without a care in the world.

"Want me to clean your bra too?" He asked.

"Um… I wasn't wearing one." She said softly.

"…" Link didn't respond, certain he was going to burst into flames at how awkward the situation was.

Zelda stepped into the bathtub, getting settled and then lathering the blue soap in her hands and scrubbing her face really well. She grabbed the red soap, deciding to make things fun for herself by having a little bubble bath while Link scrubbed her clothes.

"You can turn around if you'd like." Zelda said. "The bubbles pretty much cover… everything."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

After a minute or so, Link turned around, moving his cleaning materials so that he could sit comfortably and face Zelda while she bathed. The atmosphere was still a bit odd, and he kept his eyes to himself, but it was better than being forced into the corner as he worked.

"Who told you?" He asked after a few more minutes of silence. He couldn't handle not saying anything. One minute he and Fado were looking for frogs – the next, his old roommate showed up out of nowhere with Rusl and nearly tackled him with a hug. Never in a million years did he think he would see her here.

"Pipit."

That was all she said. It was enough for him to look up at her to see her face. He couldn't read her. She focused on lathering and washing herself. She didn't look upset, she was just straightforward in how she answered.

But there was no follow-up, which of course, signaled to Link that she was unhappy about it.

"When did he tell you?"

"Last day of spring break." She replied, locking eyes with him briefly. "I was trying to call you, but I couldn't get in touch."

"Mm." He took a moment to think. "And you decided to come out here?"

"Yes." Zelda nodded.

"You could have just written to me."

"I could have, yes. But I figured seeing you would be better for the both of us." She shrugged.

"So you could yell at me?"

"What?"

"I'm just trying to figure this out, princess. I don't want you to think I'm not happy to see you, that isn't the case at all. I just need to know… Why are you here?"

It was a fair question, and one Zelda knew she'd have to answer.

"Because you're my friend." She said. "And I know better than most the full extent of what you've been dealing with this year. Writing a letter… it feels lazy. It isn't enough. Not for me."

Link bit his lip, considering her words as he stood up to take her clothes out to dry. He came back inside, a bittersweet smile on his face.

"What?" Zelda asked, noting the expression.

He fiddled around with his fingers before sitting back down.

"Nobody wants to visit Ordon. No one. Pipit and Shad visited once, but only because I begged them for MONTHS to come. And when they finally did, they complained the whole time!" He laughed. "The fact that you came all the way out here just to support me… on your own volition…"

He paused, and they locked eyes again, a familiar warmth rising within both of them.

"… Nobody's ever put in that much effort for me before. That's pretty cool, princess."

Oh. Zelda looked away. No feelings. No feelings. No feelings. She reminded herself. She recognized this warm, fuzzy feeling. It wasn't the first time she'd felt it towards Link – but now that she was no longer in a relationship - it scared her.

"It's… not a big deal. I know it's a bit weird for me to show up unannounced. I'm sorry."

"No worries." He said.

They fell into another silence. Zelda assumed once Link finished working on her clothes, that would be it. But she was pleasantly surprised when he pulled his own shirt off, and started cleaning the mud off of it thoroughly.

He was ripped! Zelda had caught glances here and there of Link without a shirt on – or ANY clothes on even – but she was always quick to look the other way. Now, she actually had the chance to fully see him up close and personal. Years of working in the village had certainly been kind to him. There were a few scars here and there, but Zelda found them attractive. His abs gave Pipit's a run for his money. She unconsciously licked her lips as she watched him clean.

Link felt her eyes on him, and glanced up to see her ogling, not even washing herself like she had been moments before. He smiled to himself. He didn't mind her looking, in fact he was flattered by it, especially from her, but (to his knowledge) she was still taken.

"How are things between you and Pipit?" He asked. It was subtle (he hoped), and would prompt her to look away.

"Me and Pipit?" Zelda asked, taken back by the question. The mere mention of his name made her heart ache. She didn't want to lie about it, particularly when lying was what got her in hot water with Pipit in the first place, but the truth wasn't much better. She promised Pipit, and more importantly herself, that she would keep things at an amiable level with Link. Given she was bathing in front of him and (trying not to) drool over him while he did the laundry with his shirt off, she wasn't off to a very good start. Now on top of that, add the details of what happened between them and why it happened… No. That would be a disaster.

'Oh? Me and Pipit? Yeah, we're taking a break from our relationship because he thinks I have feelings for you and gave me permission to bone you while I'm here.'

No. Nope. She couldn't say any of that.

"Actually, um… We… aren't together… right now." She wanted to punch herself in the face. That was probably the LAMEST way of explaining things.

For Link however, it was HIS turn to be pleasantly surprised. He tried to keep his face neutral. He was worried, of course, since he could see the pain in her eyes, but he still couldn't help thinking…

She's single…

Was that why she was staring at him like that? Could she be –

His face was warm at the prospect of it –

-interested in him?

She couldn't be, could she?

Link wouldn't do anything, even if she were. She looked crestfallen about the break-up. Clearly, she wasn't over it.

Was she?

There was only one way to figure out. He had several questions right off the bat, but he didn't want to fire them all off and consequently seem too eager about the situation.

"What happened?" It was the best question to start with. He WAS genuinely surprised. Whenever he was around them, they always seemed so lovey-dovey towards each other. He had only seen them argue ONCE, and they made up quickly afterwards.

Zelda made circles with the bubbles, splashing the water inside of the tub around aimlessly.

She didn't want to lie, or find loopholes and tell partial truths. The sad reality was that she had been willing to ignore all of the flaws within her relationship, hoping that despite them, she could still make it work. What a naïve thought. The universe still had its own plan for her. Even now, sitting before Link, she hadn't taken the time to think about all of the reasons why she and Pipit had to 'take a break.' That's why she didn't want to hook up with Link, despite Pipit and her other friends' suggestions. She planned on getting back together with him the moment she left Ordon. But now that she put it out there, she HAD to give Link an answer. So… she thought about it.

"We weren't as solid as I thought we were." Zelda started off softly. "Even after a few months of dating, I still didn't know the most basic things about him. I kept a lot of things from him too. You know that. He knew I was lying, but… I couldn't tell him why. I guess we just couldn't move past it." Zelda leaned forward, bringing her arms up to the edge of the tub, resting her chin on top. "He denied it, but I'm certain he was primarily interested in the sex. I don't blame him. It was the main thing we had going for us. Conversations were dry. And shallow. We didn't have a lot in common either."

She felt a sharp pang in her stomach. Saying everything aloud made their relationship sound… boring. Null. Maybe Pipit was right to call things off temporarily. Maybe thinking and assessing what she TRULY wanted wasn't that bad an idea after all.

"I never would have guessed. You two were practically attached to the hip."

"I know…" Zelda murmured. "Maybe it wasn't meant to be." What the hell am I saying? She thought to herself. She made a promise not to do anything with Link. And she had been so certain that after this, she would get back with Pipit immediately. But now, after answering Link's question, she really did not know what her future with Pipit held. He noted the discomfort in her voice.

"I won't force you to talk about it princess. But if you decide you want to later on, we can."

She smiled lightly.

"Thanks."

From outside of the washroom, Zelda heard the front door open.

"EEK!" She squealed as Rusl barged into the room she and Link were in nonchalantly.

"Heya!" He greeted Zelda – who sunk into the tub, so deep that half of her face was covered by the bubbles. "I forgot to bring your bag here. My apologies! Didn't mean to interrupt your little bath."

Zelda sputtered, bringing her mouth back to the surface to respond.

"I –"

"Link!" He was already focused on the other occupant in the room. "What the hell are you doing? You gonna join her or something?"

The look on his face was priceless.

"Ha! Just kidding." Rusl laughed, but then his face deadpanned. "But seriously. The villagers are antsy to meet our new little flower. Hurry it up you two!"

He waved at them both, then left the house.

"What… the hell? Don't you have a lock on the door?" Zelda asked Link.

"Nope." Link shook his head.

"What if a thief comes and robs you?"

"A thief? In Ordon? Goddesses, I wish. That would be exciting. The closest things we have to thieves around here are some damn monkeys. And they've actually warmed up to the kids, so they're no fun anymore."

Link chuckled, wringing the water out of his shirt, and hanging it to dry alongside Zelda's romper.

"He's right though. We should get going." He grabbed a thick cloth, "Here. Dry yourself off and get dressed. I need a quick wash too."

Zelda got dressed in the living room, checking out the window every so often to make sure nobody was near the house. She didn't want to have another embarrassing encounter or get caught naked. She rummaged through all of her clothes. For her pajamas she packed some modest outfits, but still had a few nightgowns with her. She just hoped they wouldn't tear amongst all the wood she was surrounded by. Her daytime clothes were NOT suited for the village, but they would have to suffice for the time being. Her allotted time was three days, so it wasn't like she would be staying TOO long. She ended up putting on a light blue crop top with a lace cardigan and black shorts. It was cute. She'd stick out like a sore thumb, but that was already a given since she was a visitor. Link came out of the washroom a few minutes afterwards, dressing himself quickly.

"Hey. You ready to head down?"

"Yes…" Zelda replied. Link could tell she was nervous.

"Don't worry princess. The people here are friendly."

He headed out and began climbing down the ladder. She followed closely.

"If you're an example of how 'friendly' the people here are, I'm not convinced." She told him.

He nudged her lightly with his shoulder.

"Shut up. I'm the exception, not the rule."

"Riiiight." Zelda teased, and they both found themselves grinning like idiots as they walked down a small path that led into the main part of the village.

Zelda looked around in awe; there were houses scattered throughout the land, a beautiful body of crystal-clear water, so clear that she could see all the fish swimming around in it. There were all sorts of animals and critters scampering around. She saw cats, dogs, horses, even a goat!

In the center of it all, there was a small crowd of people grinning and waving at her. They approached slowly, and Rusl came up to clap Zelda on the shoulder.

"Ladies and gentlemen… I would like you all to meet our very first visitor in over three years, and a very good friend to Link…" He pointed over at Link.

Everyone stared at Zelda and Link, questioning looks on all of their faces.

"Friend?" One of the people in the crowd asked.

"Yes, friend. Just a friend." Link told them, his face beet red. "Can you get on with this, Rusl?"

Rusl laughed heartily.

"Of course. As I was saying before, everyone please give a warm welcome to –"

"—ZELDA!" A young, feminine voice squealed.

Zelda looked to the source, finding two familiar faces squeeze and push past the small crowd to come to the front.

It was the young girl Zelda had met in Castle Town, accompanied by the weird baby that owned the restaurant she and Link went to.

"Beth?" She smiled.

"You remember my name!" Beth gushed, grinning.

"What about me?" The smaller boy asked.

"I could never forget you, Malo. That was…" She glanced at Link as she chose her words carefully. "…A pretty special night."

Link blushed, recalling the details of it.

"This is the special guest?" Malo asked, disappointed. "I've met her already."

Zelda rolled her tongue around in her mouth, trying not to be offended. She'd only interacted with Malo a few times, months ago. But one thing she remembered was how blunt he was in the way he approached people.

"Aren't you glad to see her again?" Rusl asked.

Malo thought about it for a split second.

"Eh."

Zelda's eyes narrowed.

"Aren't you supposed to be running your restaurant downtown?"

"That's what my employees are for. I decided to take a break, to come back home and spend time with my family. Plus Beth was feeling homesick." He rolled his eyes.

Zelda cocked her head to the side. This child had his life more put-together than she did. It was mind-boggling.

"I'm sorry, how old are you again?"

"Again? I never told you in the first place." He huffed. "Mind your own business lady. Or better yet, start your own, like I did." Malo then looked over at Link critically. "And you. Bring someone cooler next time, instead of one of your girlfriends."

Link winced.

"She's not my – "

But Malo was already walking to the back of the crowd. Next up, two other little boys ran forward, eager to meet Zelda. One had a red cloth tied around his head and was playing around with a stick, the other one looked a lot gentler and had blonde hair, neatly parted down the middle.

"Ignore my brother. He's a snotbag." The boy with the stick said, "I'm Talo. And you are gorgeous." He said, admiring her shamelessly. Link glared at him.

"Hi, Talo. And who are you?" Zelda smiled at the young, timid boy, who got tongue-tied instantly.

"I'm… I'm…"

Talo scoffed.

"That's Colin. He's kind of a wimp."

"Hey. Be nice." Link said sharply. Rusl nodded at him appreciatively.

"Just kidding…" Talo grumbled.

An older woman placed her hands on Talo's shoulders, another man coming up to stand beside her, presumably her husband.

"My name is Pergie, and this is Jaggle. This is one of our sons. It sounds like you already know the other. I apologize, they can be a handful."

"Oh, no problem. Nice to meet you."

"We run the bed and breakfast here." Jaggle said, "Truthfully the '1 rupee a day' fee was a gag between us, we never imagined someone would actually visit! You don't have to worry about it sweet pea. You can stay with us for free."

"WAIT." Talo interjected, "You're staying with us? Sweet!"

"Good grief…" Malo said from a distance. "Rusl, get the carriage ready. I need to get back to town."

Link frowned at Talo distrustfully, then pointed to the other villagers, making sure Zelda was introduced to everyone properly. They all seemed very friendly.

The last person she was introduced to was none other than the mayor.

"Hello lassie. I'm Mayor Bo, but I've never been one for formalities. Unfortunately my daughter ain't in yet, so I can't introduce you to her now, but I'm glad you got ta meet everyone else. If you there's anything you need, we're all more than happy to provide."

"Thank you." She nodded graciously to the old man.

Everyone then circled around her like she was a celebrity.

"Would you like to do some basket weaving with me?" Uli, Rusl's wife, asked her politely.

"No! We're going down to the creek, you should come hang with us!" Talo said.

"Uh, gross. Come hang with me Zelda, we can play with dolls and talk about boys." Beth wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

"Why not give her a proper tour of the area?" Hanch, Beth's father, suggested.

"I'd do it, but we have some goats to slaughter. Tomorrow night, we must feast!" Fado exclaimed dramatically.

"She can tour after she comes to the creek, with US." Talo argued.

"Or after she plays dolls with me!" Beth reasoned.

"Basket weaving is still an option too, dear." Uli said kindly, "But no pressure."

"Who's to say she wants to do any of that?" Sera chimed in, "I can show you around my shop darling. Everything is 15% off for non-residents."

"Are you seriously trying to advertise your shop right now?" Uli shook her head. "Come on, Sera. You're better than that."

"Like she wants to do basket-weaving!" Sera scoffed.

Everyone began arguing and pointing fingers at each other. Zelda glanced between all of them, unsure of how to react. Link pulled her away from the fray.

"Like I said before, the villagers are nice. And evidently excited to hang out with you. I can shoo them away if it's too much for you."

"It's fine." Zelda waved it off, "But I was hoping to spend some time with you."

Link held back a smile.

"Me?"

"If it isn't too much to ask for…"

"No, of course not. But I promised Fado I'd herd the goats and prep them for tomorrow. He needs a helping hand. He's going to try to find some more frogs for dinner tonight."

"…We're eating frogs for dinner?" Zelda frowned.

"Are you complaining?"

"No." Zelda said quickly.

"They taste like cucco. And feel like fish. You'll like it. I hope."

Zelda nodded reluctantly. The last thing she was going to do was complain about free food.

"Also, you don't have to stay with Jag and Perg. I have plenty of room at my place."

"Oh?" Zelda wasn't expecting Link to offer her a place, but it sounded tempting. "Are you sure?"

"More than sure. You can stay in Aryll's room."

"Aryll?"

"My sister."

"Oh, yes!" He had mentioned her name before. "Won't she need it? Where is she?"

"In Kakariko… With my mom." He added the next part quietly.

"Your mom? Wait, so she isn't here?"

"No… I'll explain more about it later." He fumbled over his words, glancing at something behind her frequently as he talked. "The main point is, my door is open for the next few days."

"I don't want to put you out Link, I know you weren't expecting me and Pergie already has a BnB set-up, so –"

"You wouldn't be putting me out." He said insistently. "Jag and Perg have two sons and their place is about the same size as mine. It would be chaos. Stay with me, princess."

She felt her insides melt. It was difficult to say no to him, he sounded so earnest about it. She bit her lip, smiling at him shyly.

"Okay. I'll stay with you."

He sighed in relief, a victorious expression emerging on his face as he glanced behind her once again.

"Good."

She turned around curiously, wondering what he kept looking at. Then she saw Talo, who was staring at her and gave her a flirtatious wink. She turned around instantly.

"Wait a minute. Link, do you want me to stay with you for MY sake, or because that kid is making googly eyes at me?"

"F-For your sake, of course."

"Oh my goddesses. You're not jealous or anything, are you?"

"Jealous?" He scoffed, "…Jealous? No. I'm not jealous. That's ridiculous."

"It IS ridiculous," Zelda glared, "Because I'm twice his age and I only met him a couple of minutes ago, you weirdo. Now do you really want me to stay with you or are you just worried that some kid is gonna put the moves on me?"

"If you want to stay with J and P, go ahead. That just means you'll be staying with Malo too."

Zelda looked back again at Malo. He caught her stare and rolled his eyes, turning to look in the other direction. She cringed.

"Fine. I'll stay with you." She didn't like the smug look on his face, "But, while you're herding goats, I'll be at the creek."

"Huh?"

"You heard me." Zelda smiled at him playfully, skipping back to the group to tell Talo the good news. He jumped up and down, then gave her a big hug. That's when Link noticed Colin giving her an odd stare too.

Goddesses… Does everyone have to fall in love with her? He thought to himself.

»°«

Colin, Talo, and Beth were piled up in Sera's tiny shop. While Sera organized her wares, Beth played with their cat and Colin and Talo were in front of the mirror she had perched against the wall.

Beth happily rubbed little circles into the cat, smiling at him as he purred. She looked over to Talo; he was attempting to tame his usually unkempt hair. It was an odd sight to say the least.

"Wait a minute, is that my brush?" She asked, taking her attention away from the cat to inspect what he was using to detangle his hair.

"Maybe." He shrugged, studying his face in the mirror.

"Why are you using my brush?" She huffed, snatching it out of his hands before he had a chance to react.

"HEY!" He shouted angrily, startling Sera and her cat.

"Please keep your voice down." She scolded Talo.

"Sorry Mama Ser…" Talo apologized, turning to Beth heatedly, "I'm trying to make sure I look my best for my future wife." He ran his fingers through his hair, pushing it back and trying to figure out the most attractive way of tying his bandana.

"Are you talking about Zelda? Please tell me you aren't talking about Zelda." Beth stifled a laugh.

"And what if I am? Is that funny to you?" Talo asked.

"She's WAY too old for you, Talo! And she obviously likes Link."

"She does not! Link is going to marry Ilia, and they're going to have a bunch of babies and live happily ever after together. Or miserably. I don't really care."

"She came all the way out here to see him!"

"And she'll stay for me." Talo waggled his eyebrows, placing a finger to his chin as he hyped himself up in front of the mirror.

"You are delusional."

"Talk all the trash you want, Beth. But when Zelda and I finish saying our vows to each other, I'll expect an apology speech at our reception."

Beth started cracking up, barely able to contain her amusement. Her laugh worsened when she saw Talo's final hairstyle: a short, stiff ponytail held up by his bandana.

"You know what? Screw you Beth." He huffed, upset by her incessant jeers.

"Language." Sera reprimanded.

"Sorry Mama Ser." Talo apologized again through grit teeth.

"M-maybe she doesn't want either of you." Colin spoke up softly, holding his arm with his hand nervously.

Beth and Talo looked over to him.

"Yeah? And what do you know?" Talo sneered.

Colin shrugged, "Maybe she wants someone different…" His eyes fell on Beth's brush. "Beth, could I borrow your brush for a moment?"

Beth stared at him, the smile on her face gradually fading.

"You want to impress her too?" She asked.

"Yes… Kind of." Colin smiled shyly.

"…" Beth glared, her previously happy demeanor had changed in a flash. She said nothing, storming out of the shop with her brush in hand.

Later on, once Talo and Colin were done primping themselves, they headed over to the creek. Malo was already there, setting up bait on a fishing pole from Sera. Beth, with nowhere else to go, decided to go to the creek with the boys. She and Zelda sat down on a blanket in the grass, close enough to admire the water but far enough not to get too dirty.

Zelda smiled, watching Talo and Colin splash around in the water.

She saw Malo sitting with a fishing pole in hand patiently.

"Whenever we come back home, he likes to stock up on all sorts of things for his shop and restaurant." Beth explained.

"Ah…" Zelda nodded. "He's very wise for his age. When exactly did he start – "

"So what's up with you and Link?" Beth cut her off not interested in small talk and after the juicy details.

"Huh?" Zelda was startled at the topic change. "What do you mean?"

Beth grinned.

"You came all the way out here to see him, right? And you guys seemed chummy when you came to our diner that one night… You like him, don't you?"

Zelda scoffed.

"I… I'm – I – you – wha…"

"Ha! You do!"

"Even if I did, it would go nowhere." Zelda said, though now she wasn't sure why, since she was no longer 100% sure she and Pipit would get back together.

"You should go for him." Beth encouraged, "You just might be the perfect match."

Zelda laughed.

"Trust me, Link and I are far from the perfect match. Our friendship is sort of a disaster."

Beth shrugged, "If I were you I would make my move. Before Ilia gets back."

"Ilia." Zelda said aloud, her body stiffening. She had completely forgotten about Link's elusive childhood friend. Now would be her chance to learn more about her! "Who is she, exactly?"

"Link's girlfriend." Talo answered, intercepting their conversation. He was covered in mud and his hair was tousled from hopping around in the creek with Colin. He had his bandana tied up around his head in its usual manner, and he had completely given up on the look he tried to pull off to impress Zelda.

"She is not," Beth snapped, hoping not to discourage Zelda.

"Not officially. But come on…"

Zelda frowned, recalling bits and pieces of what Link had talked about.

"She's Mayor Bo's daughter, right? One of the only villagers that aren't here, along with Link's mom and sister."

"Yeah, pretty much." Beth nodded.

"She's off on an inner ship, or whatever." Talo said.

"Internship." Beth corrected. "Now is there any reason you're here?"

"Yeah. We wanted Zelda to play with us but you're distracting her!"

"Am not! We're just having a conversation."

"I can hear your guys' conversation! You're trying to sabotage our relationship by getting her to date Link instead!"

"Oh will you just drop it already!?"

"Whatever." Talo glared at Beth, "But I've got my eyes and ears on you… Zelda, when you're done, you know where to find us." He scampered off.

Zelda turned back to Beth, intent on getting more information.

"Anyways, Ilia and Link are the oldest of all the kids here, so they've known each other the longest. Their entire lives basically."

"And… she… likes him?" Zelda pried, trying to be subtle about her curiosity.

"Try absolutely head over heels for him. They were practically glued to each other. I always thought they would end up together."

"Interesting."

Talo came back to them, his hands covered in dirt, but also full of wildflowers.

"Hey Zelda, I got you these." He pushed them to her.

"How sweet!" Zelda said politely, taking them.

"I picked them out specially for you."

"No he didn't!" Colin came up from behind, visibly upset. "Those were from me…"

"No, they were from me!" Talo said.

"Zelda, I wanted to get you flowers because – "

Talo cut him off.

"Back off Colin! She's mine!"

"No she isn't!"

"Yes she is, I called dibs!"

"You can't dibs a person Talo."

They bickered some more, their voices fading as they walked back to the water angrily.

"Ilia liked him a lot. I don't really know if Link felt the same way. But when you live in a village like this, our lives are practically planned for us. So…" Beth continued, evidently used to the bickering.

"So… Everyone expected them to end up together, not just you." Zelda finished her sentence.

"I didn't expect them to end up together, I just thought they would. But for everyone else, I guess that's accurate. Mayor Bo was so sure it would happen, he gave Link his blessing when they finished high school."

Zelda grimaced.

"I mean no disrespect to him at all, but that seems like a heavy thing to drop on someone so young."

"You aren't wrong. But he was hoping Link would take his place when he stepped down. Link wanted to move out to the city, and the Mayor was desperate to get him to stay. He thought offering his daughter's hand would be enough. But it wasn't."

Enough. Zelda thought about that word carefully.

"Zelda!" Colin ran up to her. "Do you like beetles?" He held up a small beetle that sparkled beneath the sun. "I found this and it reminded me of you…" He smiled timidly. "It's a rare beauty of nature."

Zelda scratched her head, feeling flattered but a little weird. She didn't want to hurt either of their feelings but their infatuation would get out of hand if she didn't say anything.

Talo ran up to her quickly, holding a large shiny black beetle in his hands.

"Zelda, I found the hugest beetle near the creek for you!"

Zelda sighed internally. She noted Beth's irritation as well with their constant interruptions, though Beth seemed a bit more bothered by Colin than she did by Talo.

"Isn't mine better?" Colin asked Zelda. "It has a nice color to it."

"But MINE is bigger." Talo said triumphantly.

"Bigger doesn't always mean better. It's about quality not quantity."

"Oh stop it with all the fancy words! Your beetle sucks! My beetle rocks!"

Zelda sucked her teeth in, her patience had all but run out. Beth tugged her arm gently, pulling her away from their bickering.

"Come on, let's go over here." They moved closer to the water, near the little area where Malo was fishing patiently. "They won't bother us if we're near Malo."

Malo remained stationary and focused on the waters before him, holding his rod out and waiting for some fish to latch onto the bait.

"I wouldn't count on that. You two are here bothering me, what's to stop them from wandering over too?"

Beth shook her head.

"We can continue our conversation here."

"Fantastic." Malo grumbled.

"Link left, which hurt Papa Bo. It hurt a lot of the elders. My parents. Mama Uli. Papa Fado. But Papa Rusl was excited for him to travel."

"And Ilia?" Zelda asked.

"She goes to Ordon Tech. She's doing very well there, she's gonna graduate early! She still has feelings for Link, of course, but she's pretty much accepted that they probably WON'T get married in the future. She wants her dad to pass the torch to her instead. Since she's his kin and she's been involved in the village her whole life, she thinks it's dumb to give the title of 'mayor' to someone else, just because he's a man."

Zelda smiled.

"She sounds ambitious, and makes a very good point."

"Yup, she's very cool! I think you two would be good friends, if you weren't love rivals."

Zelda's eyes nearly popped out of her head.

"P-Pardon!?"

"Oh, spare us the theatrics." Malo called out, back still turned toward them. "The mysterious, brooding country boy and the preppy, picture-perfect city girl –"

"I'm not a city girl." Zelda cut in, but he continued speaking as if she had never interrupted.

"- It's the recipe for an unnecessarily dramatic love story. The only question now is why are you hanging out with a bunch of children when you could be macking on him?"

"Because he's busy herding goats!" Zelda said, not even thinking to deny the second part of his question..

"Really? That's the only reason?" Beth teased.

"You guys are insufferable." Zelda whined. "Beth, I already told you I'm not interested in him like that. And Malo, I don't see why it matters to you."

"Well, if I may insert my opinion – "

"You may not." Zelda denied him, but once again, he continued anyway.

"—I've always favored Ilia. She's sweet, pretty, and modest. But it has become evident to me that Link has vested his interest elsewhere in regards to romantic endeavors. You could very well be the first to meet his elusive criteria for a woman."

Zelda shifted around uncomfortably. She was glad to know a bit more about his life and his old friend, but it also gave her a feeling of unease. He had said that he never felt that way about Ilia, but was it truthful? Everyone else seemed to have a different idea.

"Let's… go back to the boys." She said, standing up and walking over to Colin and Talo, who had put aside their feud to play in the shallow waters, hopping with all the nearby critters swimming and buzzing around.

»°«

The day passed by quickly. After her talk with Beth, Zelda spent proper time with Colin and Talo, playing around but being sure not to let herself get TOO dirty. She spent time with Sera, who gave her some handmade trinkets to remind her of her time in Ordon, and Hanch gave her a tour of the village which ended with him making a failed attempt at collecting some honey and running away from an angry swarm of bees. Despite the madness, Zelda had thoroughly enjoyed her time with the villagers, and was looking forward to doing it all again for the next two days… sans the bee swarm.

Early evening came, and the sun made its descent. The sky was between daylight and darkness, and all the villagers gathered beneath the shade of a large clearing within the village for dinner. There were large logs organized for everyone to sit on, while a fire burned in the middle. Rusl and Uli distributed ceramic plates to everyone and the kids jumped around excitedly.

"Frog legs! Finally!" Talo cheered, grabbing his plate and running over to a log. Colin, Beth, and Malo all sat together, then looked to Zelda expectantly. Zelda smiled at them, heading their way. Under different circumstances it would've felt weird to her that she had spent the day with a bunch of little kids but they made fun company. They were more openminded than the elders and very smart for their age. Right before she reached them, someone caught her by the waist and pulled her in the other direction. Startled, she turned to see Link, a light smile on his lips.

"Come sit with me?" He asked.

Zelda grinned, glad to see him again.

"Sure."

She turned to mouth an apology to the kids. Colin frowned; Talo glared; Beth and Malo gave her knowing smiles. Link led to a corner away from the other villagers, with a tinier log where they could sit close and eat in peace.

Uli passed them plates with generous helpings of frog legs. They were steaming hot and fragrant, surprisingly more appetizing than Zelda thought they would be.

"I can't wait for tonight." Uli said, smiling at Zelda eagerly. Zelda waved at her as she walked away.

Link and Zelda dug in immediately. Zelda was apprehensive at first since she'd never eaten frog before, but she quickly overcame it given the appetite she'd worked up from keeping up with all of the villagers. Just as Link had said, its taste was similar to a Cucco but it was also somewhat unique. She ate happily, closing her eyes and savoring every bite.

"Enjoying yourself?" Link asked.

"It's… so… good…" Zelda replied in between bites. "How… is it so… good?" She tore into another leg, chewing happily.

"Rock salt, Hyrule herb, and freshly squeezed lemon. Simple but delicious, and the natural flavor from the frog helps."

Zelda nodded vigorously.

"Yes. It does. It really really does."

Link smiled, admiring how blissful she looked. He still found it hard to believe she was actually here. He didn't think he would see her again for a long, long time, if ever.

"How was your day with everyone?"

"Very fun. Everyone here is so kind. I didn't feel like an outsider at all."

"I'm glad. Like I said before, the village is one big family."

"There WERE some awkward moments." Zelda admitted. "Colin and Talo like me… a lot…"

Link glared in their direction. Zelda noticed, amused that he seemed so bothered by two boys who clearly had no chance with her, but she didn't comment on it.

"Oh, and watching Hanch get chased by bees, while kind of funny, was also a bit much."

Link shook his head, "That man never learns. I'm just glad you didn't get stung. I'm really sorry I couldn't be with you for most of the day."

"It's okay!" Zelda said quickly, "I know I just popped up this morning. I don't expect you to drop everything you're supposed to do for me."

"Well, we missed out on most of today, but tomorrow Rusl and Fado are relieving me of my daily tasks so I can spend time with you."

"O-Oh?" Zelda's insides felt like they'd been set ablaze.

"Yeah. We can even start making up for lost time tonight, if you want."

"I'd love to, but I already promised Uli I would basket weave with her before turning in for the night."

Link scoffed.

"I love Mama Uli with all my heart but basket weaving is a giant snoozefest."

"Which is perfect then since I plan on going to bed afterwards." Zelda shrugged.

"…Damn." Link snickered. He'd missed the witty banter. "So you're really choosing her over me?" He feigned a wounded expression.

Zelda smiled mischievously, shrugging while she swirled a finger on her now empty plate.

"It depends I guess. What would this night with you entail?"

"Nothing too complicated. We can just enjoy each other's company, see the village and all the animals that come out at night. I could even show you some of the basics on hunting."

Zelda let out an exaggerated (and fake) yawn, putting on a look of disinterest.

"Is that all?" She asked.

"I could give you a proper tour of the village. One that doesn't end with me getting attacked by bees. Then we can take a walk around the springs."

Zelda leaned back, eager at his offer. Of course she was going to accept it. It was perfect.

"Hm…" She thought aloud. "It sounds kind of… romantic."

Link chuckled at the implication, looking over to her with an eyebrow raised.

"Do you want it to be?" He asked playfully.

Zelda blinked a few times, her eyes locking onto his and her heart rate increasing substantially at the question he just posed.

He was teasing her. This whole time their conversation had been lighthearted jabs at each other, and she could hear the playfulness in his voice, and she even saw the taunting smile on his face. But even if he wasn't serious, it still felt like a valid question. She would be going against what she had promised herself AND Pipit.

I'm putting way too much thought into a question that wasn't even serious.

Soon the smile on Link's face vanished too when he realized she was actually considering it. She wasn't with Pipit anymore, so there wouldn't be anything wrong with… a romantic night. Part of him wanted to assure her that it was just a joke, but a larger part of him was curious as to what the answer would be. In fact, it was something both of them wanted to know.

But before Zelda got the chance, Beth let out another squeal, similar to the one she emitted when Rusl introduced Zelda to everyone, only ten times louder.

"AAAAAAH!" She screamed happily. "AUNTY LI!"

"Li…?" Zelda turned to see what all the ruckus was about, her curiosity growing when she noticed Link's attention had been diverted completely. He stood up and walked away from her without a second thought, heading towards the mysterious newcomer that had just joined them for dinner.

"Are y'all makin' a fuss over little ole me?" Zelda could hear her voice but couldn't see her due to the mini swarm that formed around her; it was sweet and cute, with a natural country accent.

As more people got a chance to greet her, they all went back to their logs and sat down, continuing their meals.

Zelda finally got a look at her face.

She was an absolute bombshell. Pretty blue eyes similar to Link's, short brown hair, and pouty lips. Link was the last one to greet her, and she gave him a long kiss on the cheek to say 'hello.' She knew she wasn't supposed to, but Zelda couldn't help feeling incredibly jealous. She ran her fingers along the fabric of her clothes self-consciously, hoping she looked her best despite spending the day scampering around outside.

They exchanged a few quiet words to each other, then Link turned around and waved Zelda over. Zelda stood up reluctantly, walking over to the pair slowly.

Oh goddesses. Zelda thought, her nerves overwhelming her, I hope this isn't…

"Princess, I'd like you to meet my childhood friend Ilia." Link said.

…Oh no.

Zelda wanted nothing more than to disappear at that very moment.

No romance. No feelings in that ballpark. Nothing is going to happen. That's the deal we made. Zelda reminded herself. Clearly she needed the reminder since her emotions seemed to be betraying her. She shouldn't have felt jealous, or insecure over Link's very beautiful friend who had feelings for him. But she couldn't help it.

"Princess." Ilia cocked her head to the side, giving Zelda a once-over. "That's a very endearing nickname."

"My real name is Zelda…" Zelda began, but as soon as she said it, Ilia straightened up.

Her mouth fell open but she was quick to close it. She looked to Link, then turned back and looked at Rusl. He nodded.

"You're Zelda?!"

Link cringed and Zelda shifted anxiously underneath her stare.

"Not bad." She said to Link.

"Um, what?" Zelda wasn't completely following, all she knew was that Link must have said something about her since Rusl recognized her name too. Whatever it was must have been flattering. It was a nice boost of confidence at least.

"Okay, you should go get yourself some food." Link said, trying to push her away before she could say anything else. Ilia gave her one last glance as she walked towards the plates.

"She's stunning…" Were the last words Zelda heard before she was shoved off.

Link sat back down quickly, a light blush on his cheeks.

"What was that all about?"

"Nothing." He said innocently.

"So THAT'S Ilia." Zelda stared at her uneasily.

"Yeah…" Link replied awkwardly.

Ilia walked around to all of the villagers, sitting near everyone for a few minutes and talking to them. She elicited laughs and smiles from everyone.

"She seems cool."

"She is."

"How did she know my name?" Zelda asked, turning to look at Link. "Rusl knew my name too and he ended up taking me straight to you instead of the village. Have you been talking about me?"

"Your name may have come up once or twice. But I talk about all my friends. Beth and Colin call Ashei 'queen of the sword.'"

"So what am I known for?"

"Wouldn't you like to know." Link grumbled.

Ilia skipped over to their small area, greeting Zelda and Link kindly.

"Hey y'all! I'm just makin' some rounds, trying to talk to everyone before they turn in for the night. Can I sit with you guys real quick?"

"Oh sure." Zelda nodded, scooting closer to Link to make extra room for Ilia, but she stepped right over and jutted a leg between the two of them, opting to sit in between them instead.

"…Or you could just sit there." Zelda sighed, scooting back to her spot, "That works too."

Ilia smiled absentmindedly, paying no mind to the slight irritation of both Link and Zelda at her intrusion. Neither of them were upset that she wanted to sit with them, but they'd both enjoyed being near each other. She didn't seem to notice. Or maybe she did.

"Sooo," Ilia said in a singsong voice, "I wanna know all about you Miss Zelda. I was talking to the others and Talo told me you were his… wife?"

"He what!?" Zelda squealed, her head shooting in the direction of the kids.

Talo waved at her, giving the purest smile he could muster, and even blowing her a kiss.

"Malo said you were a 'preppy picture-perfect city girl,' and Colin described you as an 'elegant queen,' which made Beth mad for some reason… And she went on to say that you're actually Link's girlfriend."

Link jumped at the mention of his name.

"Okay, NONE of those descriptions are accurate." He clarified.

"That's why I always like to go to the source themselves. So you two are just friends?"

"Mhm." Zelda nodded.

"You must be pretty good friends if Link invited you out here! He's only invited two other people to come to the village…"

"Um, actually I didn't get invited. I just decided to come see him after I finished my finals." Zelda corrected.

"Wow… How interesting." Ilia smirked.

She continued to ask Zelda questions, about school, Link, and the kinds of things they did to keep themselves entertained. Soon enough, everyone began to wrap up the dinner and started getting ready for their nightly routines.

"Link, are we still on for tonight?" Zelda asked him as he stood up.

"Definitely." He responded.

"I hate to be a bother, but I really need to talk to you about something actually." Ilia said, placing a hand on Link's arm. She turned and smiled at Zelda sweetly. "You wouldn't mind that, would ya, doll?"

Yes, yes I would. Zelda thought to herself. Ilia seemed nice, but Zelda wasn't exactly eager to let her steal Link away when they'd already made plans together. Wasn't hijacking their conversation enough!?

Link wasn't thrilled about it either.

"Can it wait till tomorrow Ilia?"

"No, it can't." She said sternly. She looked pretty serious about it, so Zelda decided to be a good sport.

"It's okay Link. I still have basket weaving with Uli."

He gave her a regretful glance as Ilia looped her arm around his and pulled him away. Zelda gave him a bittersweet smile, waving at him as they walked off.

»°«

"You loop the cane underneath like this." Uli instructed. Her voice was gentle and soothing, so much so, Zelda was certain she was going to slump over and fall asleep at any moment. Out of all the villagers she had met, Uli by far was the sweetest – which was a huge claim to make given how nice everyone was already. But basket weaving was so boring. She had spent nearly an hour on the base alone. Afterwards, she picked up on the weaving itself quickly, but it didn't make the activity any more exciting. "You want the ends of the cane to curl up tards you."

Zelda stifled a yawn, turning her incomplete basket toward Uli.

"Like this?"

"Yes, exactly! You're a natural."

Zelda smiled, weaving carefully and precisely, just as Uli instructed.

"You're a real sweetheart, Zelda. It means a lot that you would actually do this with me." Uli told her, "None of the kids ever basket weave with me."

I can't imagine why… Zelda thought to herself, but she kept a patient look on her face. She liked Uli, so she focused more on the company than the activity.

"I'd love to have a souvenir to remember Ordon by, one that I've made myself to be exact."

"Link tells me you're from Lake Hylia." Uli cheered.

"Yes, I am."

"I'm sure a lot of it has changed in the past ten years…"

"Oh, have you been?" Zelda asked.

Uli laughed.

"Have I been? I was born and raised there."

"What!?" Zelda shot up, "Seriously?"

"Yes! Rusl and I take Colin there once a year."

She's from Lake Hylia… Rusl is from Ordon… and they're happily in love with each other… She blushed, thinking of the parallels with a certain somebody that she'd been hoping to spend some time with.

Except I'm not in love. I'm not even sure what my feelings are. Therefore, it's not the same. Not the same at all.

"How did you meet Rusl?" She asked.

"Ah." Uli had a nostalgic look in her eyes as she wove, "It was nearly twenty years ago. Rusl was always traveling everywhere. He loved it. The day we met, he was making a shipment to Lake Hylia. Goat butter. It was completely by chance that I even saw him."

"What did it feel like? Was it love at first sight?" Zelda asked, leaning forward. She put her basket down for a moment to focus on Uli; she loved a good romance story.

"Ha! As if. The complete opposite, actually. I was taking a walk along the Naydra dirt paths. He was riding down the paths on his carriage at full speed, I didn't know it at the time but he was running late for a shipment. His face was all sweaty, covered in dirt, and he had the nastiest glare on his face, but boy… He sure was handsome." Uli grinned. "He was so focused on getting to his merchant, that he didn't see me at all! I barely jumped out of the way of his carriage, nearly got ran over by one of his horses."

"Yikes." Zelda giggled, "What happened next?"

"I was furious! I followed him all the way to his merchant, ran so fast that my legs were burning. And as soon as he hopped off that carriage, I gave him a piece of my mind. He didn't take it well at all, we argued and hollered till we were blue in the face – what?" She stopped, noticing Zelda was laughing.

"I'm sorry! I just can't picture you acting like that. You're so… sweet."

Uli gave her that classic sweet smile, proving Zelda's theory.

"I am, normally. But he really got me heated that day! The merchant was NOT happy. He only ended up paying half of what he was supposed to pay."

"I take it you two didn't like each other."

"We despised each other. But that's only because we didn't really know each other."

Zelda laughed again, nervously this time. This was all hitting a bit too close to home for her.

"How did you guys get to know each other?"

"He came to Lake Hylia every week. We consumed a lot of their products you know. Whenever I saw him we would just stare each other down and then ignore each other. Then one day I went up to him and apologized. He apologized too, and we walked along the Naydra path together… And soon enough, I saw him more and more frequently at the lake. He wasn't making THAT many shipments. He just showed up, hoping he would run into me."

"When did you guys realize you were in love?" There was no shortage to the questions Zelda had. She had to know. For her own peace of mind.

"Believe it or not, I did exactly what you did. I showed up to Ordon. And after that… we both kind of just knew."

"That's really romantic." Zelda gushed.

"It was. I didn't fall in love with Rusl alone, but the village too. Lake Hylia never felt right for me. I always felt like an outlier there."

That particular bit made her think of Link, and how he wanted to leave Ordon behind. Maybe in their case he would come with her?

Wait, what are you thinking?! This is NOT a thing that is happening!

"I'm sure it wasn't easy."

"The most wonderful things in this world often aren't, dear. If you really think about it, love is a lot like… basket weaving."

Zelda laughed.

"How so?"

"Laugh all you want darling, but it's true!" Uli pointed, "It takes time to make a basket, just as it takes time to build a relationship. First you have to soak the wood to make sure it doesn't crack. Then you need to build a strong base, which is the hardest part. After that, you weave. It takes a lot of patience, but if you take your time, you can make something that is not only sturdy, but also beautiful." She stands up, grabbing a finished basket and showing it to Zelda.

It was immaculate, Zelda was in awe of the intricate patterns, and knowing that Uli had made it by hand made it all the more impressive.

"On the other hand," Uli grabbed another basket, one that was weaved with the same methods but poorly done, "If you rush things though, don't take the proper time to build a base, and don't weave carefully and patiently, you'll have a significantly weaker basket. It could be beautiful, like the basket that was built properly, but ultimately, it will fall apart much faster." She handed Zelda the shoddily done basket, and Zelda turned it over in her hands solemnly.

It was flimsy, and felt fragile, so fragile that Zelda was certain it would fall apart in her hands. She sniffled, and a wave of sadness washed over her briefly.

"That one was Talo's failed attempt at a basket… Sera made him join me in weaving one as punishment. Are… are you okay?" Uli asked, noticing Zelda's gloomy expression.

There was so much she wanted to say. So much hurt in her heart that she couldn't ignore.

"I'm okay. I'm just thinking, um…" She put her basket down, folding her hands into her lap. "…If there's a bad basket, one that wasn't built properly… It could still be fixed, right?" She asked.

Uli knew they weren't really talking about basket weaving, and that Zelda was clearly in need of some comfort.

"Of course dear. The only question left is: do you want to fix it?"

»°«

Link and Ilia sat on the steps just outside of Bo's house, watching the sky get darker and darker.

"What's up?" He asked, clearly upset.

"Can you act a little more enthusiastic about seeing me?" Ilia teased.

"C'mon. Just talk to me. What is it?"

"I wanna know how long you've liked her."

"What!?" Link jumped up, but he was less outraged at the question and more outraged at the topic. "That's what 'couldn't wait'? I blew off a night with Zelda for this!?"

Ilia smiled smugly, which only made Link angrier.

"You know you're just proving my point with this, right?"

"Your point?"

"Yes. You have a huge crush on her! I knew it!"

"No I don't! And I can't believe you. I thought something serious was going on."

"This IS serious."

"No it isn't! What is your angle here, anyway?"

"I want the deets!" Link gave her a weird look. "What? I know city slang too!"

"There are no 'deets.' She's my friend."

"So you say."

"What makes you so sure that I like her?"

"Easy. The way you look at her."

"The way I look at her… And how does that prove anything – "

"It's the same way I used to look at you." Ilia cut him short. Link's mouth clamped shut. No matter how much time passed by, it was always a little awkward to address Ilia's evergreen feelings for him. And it was damn near impossible for him to argue, considering how stern she sounded. "To a T, Link."

"…And you're saying you'd be okay with me dating her?"

There's a wistful expression on Ilia's face, a sadness.

"Love is a complex thing, Link. All my life, I wanted to be with you. But now, I just want to see you happy. I caught a few glimpses at y'all during dinner. I saw the way you smiled, the way you laughed. It's the happiest I've seen you since…" She paused. "…Before your mom got really sick."

He bunched his hands into his pockets, refusing to speak.

"Link. What is keeping you two from being together?"

Where to begin? He thought to himself, a tinge of sadness flaring up deep inside.

"She has… Well… had… a boyfriend. A good friend of mine, actually."

"But they aren't together now?"

"No, they broke up some time after I left. Not sure when exactly."

"But if she doesn't have a boyfriend anymore… This is the opposite of an obstacle then, is it not?"

"You're relentless."

"One of us has to be."

"I don't feel that way."

"Uh huh." Her voice was full of doubt. "So that's it?"

"Ilia, even if I wanted to… I don't know if I'm coming back. And if I did, Zelda's part of our group now. It would make things weird. Venturing into that territory could ruin our friendship, which is already complicated."

"But what if it doesn't?"

"But what if it does?"

"But what if it doesn't?" Ilia shot back. She could do this all night. He knew that. And she knew that he knew that.

"Okay Ilia, if you think we should be together, wouldn't you agree that it's counter-intuitive for you to put a halt on our plans to hang out tonight?"

"That depends. Were you going to do anything romantic?"

This brought him back to Zelda's question, but he didn't want to give Ilia ANY sort of satisfaction.

"No, definitely not."

"Yeah, I thought so." Ilia nodded, "Because you're a coward."

"Excuse me?" Link asked, offended.

"You let your fears rule over you. You don't take chances."

If only you knew what I'd been up to in Castle Town… Link thought to himself. But Ilia wasn't done hammering into him.

"Link, you never take initiative! You just hope that people can learn to read you and figure out how you feel, and that ain't okay! You've gotta tell people how you feel when you feel it!" She scolded him, much like a mother would her child.

"…" Link pouted stubbornly.

She was exasperated.

"C'mon. Walk with me." She pulled him up, then tugged him out towards the fields.

"Where are we going?"

"It doesn't matter. I have a story to tell you. You know about my internship down in Zora's Domain."

"Yeah, what of it?"

"It was SUPER boring. I was taking coffee orders, lunch orders, pretty much just a servant to the fancyfolk. There was this young'un named Ralis, he was the only other intern there who was my age, so we hung out a lot. One day during our lunch break, he took me to this tall waterfall. The drop had to be well over 100 feet! He asked me if I wanted to go cliff diving with him. I thought I would faint. He gave me a special Zora suit to help protect me, but I still wasn't sure how things would end up. I went over it in my head… And then I put the suit on, took his hand, and we jumped! And golly Link… it was magical." There were stars in her eyes. "That sorta rush… I never felt anything like it. It was an amazing and unforgettable experience."

"That's great, but what does it have to do with me?"

She smacked him on the shoulder.

"Take a chance, idiot. Do SOMETHING. If I hadn't jumped, I never would have known how things woulda panned out. It was perfect. Sure, it could have gone horrible and I could have broken every bone in my body, but at least I wouldn't have wondered what could've happened! Because I made it happen!"

"Are you sure this is the example you want to use?" Link asked skeptically.

Ilia smacked him again.

"Ow!"

"And as usual, you're focusing on all the wrong details!" She reprimanded. "But it is also a fair point. Your life ain't in danger in your case. This ain't high stakes. If your friendship is solid, something like a little crush wouldn't ruin it Link." She softened up and poked his cheek. "I'm sorry for ruining your night. But I hope that at the very least, I've given you something to think about. Even if it was all in vain since, as you insist, you 'don't like her that way.' I'll let ya loose now."

»°«

Link held a torch lit by a vibrant flame to lead him back to the house. He wasn't sure what time it was, but he knew it must have been past midnight. He climbed up the ladder carefully and tried to be silent as he opened the door, not wanting to potentially wake Zelda up.

Zelda. He cursed to himself, still upset that Ilia stole him away the way she did. He decided to check on his guest and see how she was doing. He parted the blankets to Aryll's room, finding Zelda lying on her side beneath the covers of his little sister's bed. Her eyes were open and she was staring right at him, as if she'd been waiting for him to get back.

"Sorry," he apologized, "I just wanted to check and make sure you made it back in one piece."

She didn't acknowledge his statement, simply sitting up. The blanket fell, exposing most of her chest which her nightgown did a terrible job of covering.

He averted his gaze respectfully.

Should've worn my other pajamas… She thought to herself, covering up with the blanket.

"You're back late."

"I know, I'm sorry." Second apology within thirty seconds. This wasn't like him at all but he didn't have anything else to say.

"Lost track of time with Ilia?" Now there was an edge to her voice, one Link couldn't fully decipher. He couldn't tell if she was bitter over the change in plans, or jealous.

"What are you, my wife?" He shot back, which made both of them freeze. Both Zelda and Link blushed, thinking back to their conversations with Uli and Ilia respectively. And then… they briefly imagined a scenario where they were married, their eyes glazing over dreamily – though just for a moment. Then it was back to reality, where both of them were painfully stubborn.

There was a minuscule part of Link that wanted to do it. To 'jump off the waterfall' as Ilia had done. He could just do it. Grab Zelda by the face and kiss her to see what would happen. To spite everyone who had nudged them toward each other or insisted they'd make a good couple. So that he could put a nail in the coffin and shut down the asinine thought that they could be anything more than just friends.

"If that's all you had to say me then, and I don't mean to be rude, I'd like to sleep now." Zelda called him away from his thoughts. She was upset. He felt bad. He wanted to make it up to her, but it would have to wait til the next day.

"…Sorry." Third and final apology. Generally he hated apologies but he was handing them to Zelda like it was candy. "Goodnight."

"Yeah, night." Zelda fell into the covers again, turning her back towards Link.

…Ilia's right. I am a coward. He thought to himself.

»°«

Zelda woke up the next morning to a strong warmth. Interested, she wrapped herself up in a robe and waltzed into the kitchen. The source of the heat she felt was coming from a large stone slab with a healthy fire burning beneath it.

"You're finally awake." Link appeared, seemingly out of thin air, behind Zelda. She jumped and let out a tiny yelp.

"Ah! Y-Yes. I'm up now."

"Did you sleep well?" He inquired, moving past her to shuffle through cupboards, pulling out ingredients.

"I did." She said appreciatively. "Thank you. For everything. Especially letting me stay with you on such short notice."

"No problem." He waved off her apology, "Hospitality is kind of a big deal around here."

"I can see that, but you? Being hospitable? It's a miracle." Zelda teased.

"Under most circumstances I'd agree, but I'll gladly make an exception for you."

Zelda felt bad all of a sudden.

"Link, about last night…"

"I know Zelda. What Ilia wanted… wasn't even that important. I should've come back sooner."

"No, it isn't that. I kind of gave you the cold shoulder for it, and it was wrong of me. I'm sorry."

"Water under the bridge, princess. Let's just make the most of today."

Zelda agreed.

"Deal."

Link took his attention away from the cupboards to look at Zelda. They admired each other's faces, and relished in the fact that they were seeing each other again. Zelda bit her lip, wondering if it meant anything, and then the door to his house burst open.

"SPECIAL DELIVERY!" Rusl cheered, bringing in a basket – which Zelda assumed was made by Uli – of fresh cucco eggs.

"You can just set them on the table there."

"Mornin' Zelda!" Rusl greeted. "You excited for today!?"

"Definitely!" Zelda replied enthusiastically.

"Great. I'll be helping Uli prepare tonight's feast, but you're free to stop by for some chit-chat anytime you'd like! My Uli absolutely adores you, and so does my son."

At this, Link glowered.

Neither of them noticed, and Rusl gave Zelda a light pat on the arm before turning to head out.

"Are you making breakfast?" Zelda asked, noticing Link had been organizing ingredients by the large stone slab.

"Yeah. Just tell me what you like, and how you like it."

"I don't know… I guess… I'll have everything?" She said dumbly, looking at all the meats, vegetables and spices he took out.

Link raised an eyebrow, eyeing his ingredients carefully.

"I think I have some Hylian rice in the coldbox. I could make us fried rice, if you'd like."

"Ooh! That sounds tasty!" Zelda agreed. "Fried rice pleaaaaase." She batted her eyelashes jokingly at him.

She's adorable. He thought to himself. He chuckled, grabbing the leftover rice and sitting in front of the slab with all of his materials and a few plates.

"Does everyone have a slab like this?" Zelda asked. "I didn't see one in Rusl's house."

"No, it used to be Mayor Bo's, but he gave it to me. Given my… particular career interest at the time, he thought I could put it to use."

Zelda saw the way Link squirmed at the words 'career interest,' and she leaned forward, a mischievous smile playing along her lips.

"Why do I feel like there's a story here?"

"Because there is…" Link replied reluctantly.

"Well you have to share it now." Zelda insisted.

"Fine, fine. When I was just starting at HU, I had all sorts of jobs to help me keep up with the tuition payments. And some of those jobs… influenced the path I wanted to take with my future. And at one point… I wanted to be…" Link stopped.

"What?" Zelda asked impatiently, "Wanted to be what!?"

"Promise you won't laugh?"

"Is it that bad?"

Link shook his head, ignoring the question, "A hibachi chef."

Zelda covered her mouth.

"Oh my goddesses."

"Yeah, yeah…"

"I can picture it vividly. A young Link…"

"Zelda, please." Link groaned.

"In the chef's hat!"

"Zelda."

"I bet you looked so cute!"

"I regret everything."

"I'm sorry! Continue!" She urged him on.

"It was a stupid obsession, and I didn't have the experience or prereqs for it, but… ahem… my resume said otherwise. The building where Din's Fire is used to be a hibachi restaurant, and I applied for a job there before it was closed down. I got approved for a trial dinner, which was conducted in front of the manager and all of his associates." Link grimaced. "I practiced over and over what to do on this damn slab. I had the cooking part down easily; it was the performative aspect that needed serious work. Hibachi isn't just a meal; it's an experience. And in order to do that you need to have some tricks up your sleeve. I'll spare you the little details, let's just say the dinner didn't end well, and I didn't get the job."

Zelda laughed.

"I think I want the little details."

"I… cracked an egg on the manager's head…" Link said shamefully.

Zelda was practically in stitches now.

"Noooooo!" She giggled.

He couldn't help cracking a tiny smile. He adored her laugh and her smile.

"I was trying to do a trick. Trying to juggle the eggs… It went well at first but my nerves got the best of me and I ended up letting one of them slip and… Splat…" He imitated the sound, blowing a raspberry.

"So that was the end of that, huh?"

"Yes and no. I was embarrassed, but I used the experience as motivation to get better. I practiced again, and again and again and again, until I finally mastered it. I never tried again, especially since I compromised my integrity on my resume for it, but it was fun. And all a part of the process."

"The process?"

"Yeah, of finding out what I wanted for my life."

"Mm." Zelda nodded. "So if your skills are better now, would you make me some hibachi style fried rice? For the experience of course."

Link smirked, eager at the proposition.

"Since you're the guest… I must comply."

He then dove into the performance, making sure the stone surface was hot enough for him to start cooking, and then making their meal for them. He acted just as the chef would, and managed to juggle everything effortlessly, from the knives and spatula to the eggs – without cracking one on Zelda by accident. He even made an onion volcano. Zelda had been thoroughly entertained.

Soon, their plates were full of rice. Zelda shoved spoonfuls of food into her mouth, once again impressed by how delicious everything was.

"Is it good?" He asked, stifling a laugh at how voraciously Zelda ate.

"You know…" Zelda said in between bites, pointing her spoon at him. "I should be mad at you."

"For making you breakfast?" Link asked, puzzled.

"No! For hiding your sick cooking skills from me when we lived together! I mean this is… amazing." Zelda savored every bite. "I can't believe you never cooked for us back in Castle Town."

"What could I have made there princess?" He asked. "Gourmet instanoodle? We were broke college students living off of cheap, canned food from the grocery store and the HU cafeteria.."

"That's fair, but you could have saved us from Pipit's pancake abominations."

Link nearly choked on his rice.

"Goddesses I nearly forgot about that. The man swears that because his name and pancake both start with a 'P,' it makes him an expert on the food."

"Yes!" Zelda laughed, remembering, "That couldn't be further from true."

They both settled down, eating in amiable silence.

"But seriously, this is the best fried rice I've ever had."

"I can't take all the credit for that."

"Yes you can. I literally watched you make this, and it's delicious."

"The food here is great by default because it's all fresh. Those eggs were handpicked this morning. The rice was harvested from the Tabantha fields and brought straight here. So really…"

"That may be, but you can still take some credit for it." Zelda poked her tongue out at him.

"Okay okay, I'll agree with you there." He said.

"So what's on the itinerary for today – "

"HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEY!" The door to the house jostled open again. Fado barged in, his footsteps practically rattling the wooden floors. He looked at Link, then Zelda, who was wrapped up in a silky and somewhat suggestive robe. "Howdy Link. Zel. You two eatin' like pigs after a night of passion?"

Link nearly choked on his rice again.

"FADO!"

"What?" He asked cluelessly, moving onto the next topic immediately. "Lookie, I know we said you could have the day off to hang with yer girlfriend – "

" – She's not my – "

" – but we need ya! We need to slaughter one more goat, and I need someone to drain the blood. And poor ole Uli can't cook all by herself, so we've gotta – "

"Ahem!" Rusl climbed up the ladder and into the house, yanking Fado out. "Sorry guys. We'll figure it out." He said sheepishly. He closed the door, leaving Zelda and Link alone in the house once more, but they could still hear their voices from just outside.

"What're you doing you idiot!" Rusl hissed. "Leave 'em alone!"

"We need more hands!"

"We can do it ourselves! Don'tcha think the poor boy's been through enough?"

"Yeah but – "

"No but's!"

Link heaved himself up with an aggravated sigh, opening the door to where the older men were bickering.

"Hey guys. We can still hear you. Can you take this somewhere else?"

The older men gave them quiet apologies and made their way back down. Zelda, having finished her meal, got up and went to her bag to grab a change of clothes for the day. She passed by a drawer in the living room, stuffed with papers. Curious, she stepped back and took a closer look.

They were letters. Half-written, incomplete letters to be exact. Some of them were addressed to Pipit and Shad, but most of them started with 'Dear Zelda'…

He tried to write to me… She thought.

"You okay?" Link asked.

She jumped lightly, moving away from the drawer.

"Y-Yes. I was just thinking about…" She sighed, thinking to Rusl and Fado's intrusions. "How… You guys really don't have any privacy here, do you?"

"Unfortunately no." Link confirmed. "Boundaries are something of a myth. But, I do know when we can get some alone time together. Like, actual alone time. No prying eyes or ears. No interruptions."

Zelda felt her heart rate increase.

"That'd be great…" She said.

»°«

Soon after bathing – while waiting in separate rooms this time – and getting dressed for the day, Link and Zelda ventured into the Faron Woods together. After some persuasion from Link, the pair made their way up a tall tree, from which they had a gorgeous view of the woods and all the trees and land that trailed on and on from the point they'd seated themselves at.

"Is this the 'actual alone time' you were telling me about?" Zelda asked. They sat side by side on a large sturdy branch.

Link didn't respond, and as if on cue, she heard a squeal and down below saw Colin and Beth running frantically to hide in the greenery.

"Not exactly." He replied, "The woods are like our playground around here. That alone time I promised you will have to come tonight, when everyone is asleep."

"Mm… Let's hope Ilia doesn't crash it this time."

"I'll make sure that won't happen. For now, I guess we should catch up." They had put off having a proper conversation about school and everything that happened since he left.

Zelda swung her legs fretfully. This was the moment she'd been waiting for. To understand everything.

"Yeah. You said your mom is in Kakariko? Why aren't you there with her?" Zelda questioned.

"At least one of us has to stay home and take care of the house. Aryll and I switch off every couple of days. Life in the village is peaceful but there are lots of responsibilities. Aryll's there with my mom while she gets her treatment. Rusl will take me to Kakariko tomorrow and then bring Aryll back, like a trade-off."

"Tomorrow?" Zelda asked.

"Tomorrow." He confirmed. "You're leaving tomorrow too, right? It works out. In fact… you caught me at just the right time."

"Isn't that convenient?" Zelda said, trying to mask her discontent. Time was going by too quickly. She wasn't ready to part again.

"It is. How has the last month at HU been?" He asked.

"Horrible." Zelda answered candidly.

"Oh…" Link scratched his head awkwardly.

"After Ashei's incident with the cops, I found out that I lost my scholarship. I have to figure out a way to pay half of the tuition by July, otherwise I'll have to drop."

Link's mouth was agape.

"Holy shit… What? Zelda, I'm so sorry. But your parents can pay for it, right?"

"I know we're 'upper middle-class' and live in a super nice house by the lake but even HU tuition is above our paygrade apparently. My dad blew my college fund on the house. Can you believe that?" She tried to keep her voice from breaking, but thinking about it made her feel so stressed out.

He wrapped an arm around her supportively.

"Hey, princess. You'll pull through. You're brilliant, there's a lot of scholarship rupees out there for you. You're in way better shape than I am. Don't give up, okay?"

"Okay…" Zelda nodded, letting her head fall onto Link's chest. Link was surprised, thinking that she would just pull away from him after a couple of seconds… but she stayed there. He let his arm linger around her body, and they sat there contentedly, nestled in each other.

It felt so cozy.

"Not having you around sucked too. But you already know that. Lana had a nasty run-in with Nabooru. And then Pipit and I…"

"Right." Link nodded.

"Link, losing my scholarship was a big blow for me. And with Ashei being the new suspect, and then you leaving, I know none of that is a coincidence. I want the full story."

"Well, it involves what you know… and some things you don't. I tried mulling over all of my options Zelda. I wanted to stay. I really, really did. But not only was it too expensive, but things back home were rough. Even though I was sending rupees back home, and Rusl did his best to give us support too, the medical bills were piling up. We couldn't pay for all of it. Even if I dropped it wouldn't have changed anything, only that I wouldn't get my degree. But, I decided that being there for my mom in her last moments was more important than anything. Initially, I was going to submit my leave after this semester. But plans change. After we got exposed at the gala, Aryll sent me a letter." He laughed but it sounded sad. "She said that 'a desert man' from my school offered to help us."

"Mr. Dragmire…" Zelda said.

"The one and only. After that letter, he came to me at my bartending job one night. I was… surprised. I have no idea how he knew where to find me. He offered to pay off all of my mom's medical debt. It was a HUGE sum of rupees, princess. Over 15,000. And on top of that, he said he would cover my school fees for the rest of the year. And for all of that, he only had one condition."

"You had to leave during spring break." Zelda finished the rest for him.

"The window of opportunity was small. It was a tough call to make, and he wanted me gone as soon as possible. But what he was offering me… He didn't just take off her debt, he made sure she got the best healthcare possible. At this point it isn't about trying to heal her, but to minimize the pain. I was desperate. I took his offer."

Zelda felt sorry for him, and angry at Mr. Dragmire for using Link's situation to further his agenda. But she still didn't have all the answers she was looking for. She pulled herself off of him, sitting upright. Link didn't question it, though he was a bit disappointed at the distance she placed between them.

"Are you upset?" He asked.

"Yes." She replied candidly.

"Zelda, I never intended to leave you guys in the dust, I just needed some time with – "

"Link, I'm going to stop you right there. I could never hold your family situation against you. But you just disappeared and left me in the dark about it. You didn't leave a note or a text, or anything. You even made everyone that you DID tell keep it a secret. Don't you get it?" She turned to look at him, her eyes filled with pain. "I'm not mad that you left. I'm mad that you didn't tell me."

Link gulped.

"That's fair."

"Gerudo Desert Link! THAT is how long you've been sitting on this news!" Zelda crossed her arms, "Why the hell didn't you just tell me?"

"I knew you'd be sad about it, and I couldn't do that to you."

"Oh, please." Zelda looked away again, gripping the branch and positioning herself as if she were getting ready to climb down. He knew she wouldn't, at least not without his help, but she wasn't buying his explanation.

"Zelda – "

" – Don't bullshit me Link."

"I'm not!"

"Oh really? You kept this from me because you didn't 'want me to be sad'? Newsflash Link, ALL of us were sad! But you still told everyone else!"

"It was different with you!" Link snapped, his tone getting Zelda to shut up.

She stared at him, unsure of what he meant.

"Zelda, after everything we'd been through and everything we'd talked about… if I had to look you in the eyes and see your reaction when I told you I planned on leaving… I wouldn't have been able to do it. I wouldn't have been able to leave."

Zelda exhaled sharply as it finally dawned on her. In a way, her initial theory had been right. She knew he was telling the truth, and it should've made things easier for them, but instead it made things much more complicated.

"…Why?" She asked, her voice barely above a whisper. "Why wouldn't you have been able to leave?"

He shook his head, refusing to answer her question. But the look on his face said it all. It was a look of yearning. The look of someone who wanted something they couldn't have.

"I think you know why." He said.

"Maybe I do. Maybe I just wanna hear you say it."

The air between them felt electric; the tension was so palpable.

But like many of their other moments, this one HAD to be ruined. A rock flew up from below, whizzing right in between them. The sheer speed of the unexpected projectile was enough to make Zelda squeal and nearly slip off the branch they'd been sitting on.

"Zelda!" Link grabbed her, pulling her back up. "Are you okay?"

"I'm-I'm fine…" She told him, gripping his arm.

"AHEM!" A voice called out.

They looked down below to see Talo glaring up at them, a slingshot in his hand.

"Are you kidding me?" Link hissed beneath his breath, looking like he wanted to murder the little cretin.

"Be nice Link." Zelda advised.

"WE'RE HAVING OUR ORDON-LYMPIC GAMES TODAY AND WE NEED ONE MORE TEAM!"

"WE'LL BE DOWN!" Link told him.

Zelda watched Link get ready to make his way down the tree.

"Hey." She called out to him, positioning herself to get down as well, "This conversation isn't over."

»°«

After Talo's interruption, Zelda and Link ventured out of the woods and back to the village. Things felt different between them; it wasn't necessarily a 'good' different or a 'bad' different. Zelda just wanted to hear him say it, to confirm her suspicions. She still wasn't sure what she was going to do about it or how she'd react, but she wasn't as afraid or opposed to the idea as she had been initially.

Occasionally their fingertips brushed, but neither of them were brave enough to do anything about it. They just looked at each other, blushed, and then looked away quickly.

"…What are the Ordon-Lympic Games?" Zelda asked, knowing that there was no use in trying to get Link to directly admit his feelings for her.

"This silly thing we came up with years ago. We rarely ever play since Ilia and I are off at college and Beth and Malo are in Castle Town. But basically, we all get into teams of two and play a bunch of mini games. Whichever team wins the most is considered the victor."

Talo, Malo, Beth, Colin, and Ilia were all seated in a circle near the creek.

"You guys are here! Perfect!" Beth clapped her hands.

"How does this work?" Zelda asked.

"Well, we usually have one of the adults as the judge. But since they're all busy prepping for tonight, and we have an extra player anyways, one of US will have to sit back and judge." Ilia said.

"Hmm." Talo placed a finger to his chin. "In my unbiased opinion…"

"Since when was your vocabulary complex enough to know what 'unbiased' means?" Beth scoffed.

"Because of me, duh." Malo interjected.

"…I think Link should step back and be the judge, and the rest of us form teams. I call Zelda!" Talo finished, ignoring Beth and Malo.

Link rolled his eyes.

"Why don't you sit back Talo?" He suggested.

"I know you guys are only saying this because you both want Zelda to yourselves," Malo said, "But in all seriousness, Talo would be a terrible judge."

"YEAH!" Talo agreed. "Wait, what?"

"Oh for Ordona's sake, I'LL do it." Ilia stood up, gesturing to herself. She winked at Link and Zelda. "And as the judge I shall decide who teams up with who."

"Wait!" Talo stammered.

"Colin, you're with Beth." Beth smiled coyly; Colin didn't seem opposed to the pairing. He nodded happily as well, though he quickly glanced at Zelda. "Talo and Malo, the sibling dream team." Malo shrugged indifferently, but Talo was clearly unhappy. "And last but not least… Link and Zelda."

"Um… What games are we going to be playing?" Zelda asked Link worriedly.

"It varies every time." Link shrugged.

"For today's 'Ordon-Lympic Games,' Malo has come up with the activities we are going to do." Ilia said.

"First up is a fishing contest! We'll each get our own fishing rod and bait, and then we have 30 minutes to catch some fish! Whoever gets the most wins!" Malo announced.

They all dove into the activity immediately.

Everyone was perched at different spots of the creek, setting up their bait and fishing rod. To Link's surprise, Zelda took the lead, setting up the pole and their bait with an expert hand. She rummaged around the immediate area looking for insects other than the standard worm. Within ten minutes, they'd caught three fish.

"Greengill, Hylian Pike, goddesses… We even got an Ordon Catfish!" Link gasped, studying each catch while Zelda readied their fishing rod for the next round. "Zelda, you're amazing!"

Zelda giggled at the praise.

"Play to win, right?"

"Let me see!" Malo hopped off of the stump he was sitting on, shoving the fishing pole into Talo's hands. "Woah…"

Zelda handed the fishing pole to Link after positioning their bait.

"These are excellent." Malo complimented.

"Thank you! Where are we putting all of these? Are we just throwing them back into the creek?"

"No, I'll take care of them!" Malo said quickly, grabbing their bucket and dumping the fish into his bucket.

"Hey!" Zelda called out, "We're still getting points for those, right?"

"Of course!" Ilia assured from the point she was sitting at, supervising everyone. "Zelda and Link are in the lead with 3 fish. Don't try to pull anything over me, Malo. I'm watching you." She put two fingers up to her eyes and then pointed them at him, squinting suspiciously.

Another ten minutes passed, and Link and Zelda caught some more fish. They were SO far ahead that Zelda decided to share her knowledge with their opponents.

She sat next to Malo, nudging him with her shoulder.

"Hey."

"Just because you got lucky with your catches doesn't mean we're friends."

"Ouch." Zelda pouted, "Though I didn't come here thinking that, I want to help you."

"Why?" He asked.

"Oh, come on Malo." Zelda saw right through his charade, "You were trying to catch fish yesterday, and now you're 'taking care of' all the fish we catch… Or that we're supposed to catch." She glanced at Colin and Beth who were coming up empty-handed. "You're taking all of this back to Castle Town! At least have some integrity and try to catch one for yourself."

"…" Malo was impressed that she caught on so quickly, even Link hadn't noticed, too entranced in catching more fish to care. "Okay, you got me."

Zelda reeled their line back in.

"Now look. You've gotta change it up with the bait. Worms, bee larvae, any of the local insects… Don't just stick to one. And if you stick to one, you need to make it as appealing as possible." She held a hand up, motioning for Malo to pay attention to his surroundings. All day, the elders had been preparing a feast for tonight. The tantalizing aroma of food wafted throughout the village. "Do you smell that? The food that's being made?"

"I do…" Malo nodded, trying not to drool over how good it smelled. "But… what does it have to do with…"

"It captures your attention. And if you're desperate enough, it draws you to it." Zelda explained, pointing to Beth and Colin, who also had trouble focusing on their task. She took the hook and used the tip to slice into the worm, leaving a steady trail of blood to drip along its exterior.

Malo jumped, leaning in close as she hooked it up snugly.

"Cast your line." She ordered.

Malo, opposed to taking orders from someone else since he was usually the one giving them, did as he was told, too curious about what would happen to care.

After a few minutes he felt a tug on his pole.

"We got one?" Talo asked in disbelief. They reeled in a decently sized greengill.

Malo looked at Zelda with a newfound appreciation. "…Thanks."

"No problem." She shrugged modestly, walking back to Link.

After fishing, they did a few more events, all somehow related to gathering edibles or materials that could be used to make products for Malo's restaurant and shop back in Castle Town.

They had a mushroom hunting contest…

"Are these poisonous?" Beth asked, poking cautiously at an unnaturally bright, blue mushroom.

"Only one way to find out…" Talo opened his mouth to take a bite.

"NO!" Zelda cried, slapping the mushroom out of his hand. "Look at the gills first. Depending on their color, they COULD be poisonous. These are silent shrooms. Usually safe to eat, but you need to cook them carefully before just popping one into your mouth." She frowned at Talo.

Everyone crouched around Zelda as she shared all of her knowledge on different mushrooms and how to check them properly. Even Ilia, who wasn't participating in the activities, came to listen.

"Get a load of her." Talo nudged Zelda, a silly grin on his face. "Beautiful, smart, AND a lifesaver. Don't I have… what's that word, Malo? 'Immaculate' taste."

Desalinating water…

"Can't we play tag? Or hide and seek? This is no fun." Colin complained as they collected water.

"Don't you guys realize Ordon has such a distinct, fresh kind of water? It's delicious and refreshing." Malo explained.

"It's water!" Talo cried. "It all tastes the same!"

"I have to disagree there." Zelda said, "Different kinds of water have their own taste."

"You think so?" Talo said thoughtfully. "Maybe I'm wrong."

"Talo admitting he's wrong? Somebody pinch me." Beth said.

"Ordonian water has its own rich flavor. I think we should capitalize on it." Malo said.

"I am kinda thirsty." Talo licked his lips. "Can we drink the water after we desanitize it?"

"Desalinate." Malo corrected. "And no, you may not."

Even chopping wood!

This one was an easy win for Link and Zelda, considering Link was the only one out of all of them with enough physical prowess to even LIFT an axe.

"This is not safe at all." Ilia confiscated the axes from Talo and Colin before they could make an attempt, which left Link to chop a few pieces.

Zelda sat from a safe distance, watching him at work. All of their activities along with the sun beating down on them had caused him to get a bit sweaty, not that Zelda minded…

She gazed shamelessly with her hands folded, and every once in a while Link turned around, noting her stare and giving a light smile before continuing the show.

"Did you see that!" Talo shot up. "Why I oughta…"

"…Step back from the stronger man who could snap you like a twig and is wielding an axe!" Beth pulled him back.

By the end of the activities, Ilia tallied up the points. Link and Zelda had won by a long shot. Talo, Beth, and Colin were bitter about the loss, but Malo was glad to have more supplies for business. He pushed all of the produce toward his house, giving Link a respectful look as he passed by.

"I changed my mind by the way." He whispered to Link, quietly so that the others couldn't hear.

"About what?"

"Zelda. She's pretty cool. You have good taste."

Albeit his prior annoyances at everyone's assumption that Zelda was his girlfriend, Link didn't bother correcting Malo on the matter. Instead, he glanced warmly at the pretty blonde who was talking and laughing with all the kids.

"Thanks."

»°«

"Goddesses is it time already?" Zelda gasped after they all spent a few more hours playing together. Pergie and Sera were arranging the tables while Uli placed heaps of steaming food on top.

"FINALLY! We get to eat again!" Talo said, bolting straight to the tables.

Zelda stared at the food intently, licking her lips.

"Okay. The food is probably my second favorite thing about Ordon." Zelda said, closing her eyes to inhale the delicious aroma.

"What's your first, then?" Link asked.

She poked an eye open, a coy smile on her face.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" She replied, skipping off towards the feast that had been laid out.

There was an array of freshly cooked meat, from skewers to a roast to hearty stews. There were also fresh vegetables and grains to balance out.

"Do you guys eat like this every night?" Zelda ran her fingers along the table.

"I wish." Talo muttered, trying to grab a skewer.

"We usually throw feasts for holidays." Uli said.

"Then why throw one now?" Zelda asked.

"For you, silly!" Ilia wrapped an arm around her. "Our star guest!"

"You guys went through all of this trouble for me?" Zelda looked all choked up.

"It was no trouble at all!" Rusl exclaimed.

"Well, maybe a little…" Fado began, but he was quickly shushed.

"It's our way of making our guests feel welcome. And we love you Zelda!" Uli exclaimed.

"I think it's time for a group hug." Sera chimed in, and everyone came in close to give Zelda a hug. The only one who refrained was Link, who wanted to stand back for a moment and take the sight in. She looked so happy, which made him happy.

Once all the sentimental words were exchanged, everyone grabbed plates and bowls and began grabbing some food.

Link and Zelda sat together once more in their own special corner, away from everyone else. Zelda had piled up her plate with just about every dish there was. They even had the special blood stew she enjoyed from Malo's diner. Link enjoyed his food, but found it difficult to concentrate on his own plate given how aggressively Zelda attacked the food on her plate. She stuffed her face with everything, barely giving herself enough time to even chew.

"You look like you're about to orgasm or something." He commented lowly.

She blinked a few times, her cheeks full with goat, veggies, rice, and goddess knows what else.

"Limk!" She snapped, "Mou ca't seh dat!"

"Huh?"

"I said," she began again after swallowing all of her food, "You can't say that!"

"My bad." He smirked. "Can I at least say that you're one of us now?"

At this, Zelda perked up. "Really? You think so?"

"And to think just yesterday you were worried about meeting everyone."

"Heh. It feels like it was forever ago." Zelda laughed.

"It does, strangely. But everyone warmed up to you quickly. Even Malo."

They both glanced at Malo, who was attempting to recruit Uli.

"Mama Uli, this goat stew tastes divine. It is SO much better than what my cooks are able to produce at my diner."

"That's because it's made with love, my dear." She replied.

"I know. And that's why I think you should work at my diner."

"Malo, I – "

"Hear me out. We can negotiate a schedule that works for you, you'll get benefits of course because you're Mama Uli! AND you'll get paid even more than what you make here."

"I don't make anything here! I'm a stay-at-home mom!"

"Exactly! Don't you see how great this is?" He continued to follow her around incessantly.

Zelda and Link tried to keep themselves from laughing too hard at the scene.

"He's got a lot of spunk, but at the same time, he's adorable." Zelda said, an endearing smile on her face.

"He was very impressed at how many fish you caught today. Truthfully, I was too."

She swirled the food around on her plate.

"I'm just glad I could help."

"Where did you learn to fish like that, though?" Link asked, leaning forward.

"I grew up near one of the largest lakes in Hyrule, Link. I'm sure you can do the math. But for specifics, I learned everything I know from my dad." She looked to the sky, admiring the pretty colors as the sun slowly began to set. Her eyes became starry and she allowed herself to be swept into the memories. "We had this boat. It was a moderate size, perfect for two people. He would take time off work almost every weekend when I was little, and we would row out to the center, because that's where all the fish were. And we sat out there for hours just fishing. He would tell me about all the fish, what they liked, what they disliked, what worked, and what didn't."

"And you had fun?" Link asked.

"Goddesses, no." Zelda giggled. "It was the WORST. Fishing is so damn boring. I never had the tenacity for it. That's why I left the actual fishing for you and only set the pole up. Sometimes I couldn't even actually hear the words he was saying. It all became background noise at some point. I would stare at the water, and I'd imagine myself falling in or something, just to make things exciting. And at times it felt like I was at a lecture hall or something, taking a class on all the fish in Hyrule."

"There MUST have been something appealing about it if you know how to fish so well." Link pointed out.

"Nope. None whatsoever." Zelda disagreed.

"So is it a good memory, or a bad one? How do you remember what to do if you weren't even listening?"

The smile on Zelda's face gradually vanished, replaced with a sullen expression. Link pursed his lips. Did he say something wrong? It seemed that the roles were reversed now. He had talked to her so many times about his family, and in comparison, he knew so little about hers.

"Zelda?" He asked, mildly concerned. She looked to him, her eyes filled with both hurt and nostalgia.

"It was good." She assured him. "Even though I found fishing to be boring, there was one thing I liked about it. The way my dad's eyes always lit up when he talked to me. There was this spark in him, and whenever we went out to the lake, he came to life. I guess because of that, subconsciously my brain picked up on every word he said, down to the very last detail. And that's why I remember it even today." She slid her plate off of her lap, bringing both of her hands down to clutch at the grass beneath them. "I… I can't remember the last time he took off work to spend time with me since then, or the last time we had an actual conversation about things that didn't involve college or my future career. When I look back at it, I wish I had treated those trips differently. If I had known that moments like those would end, I wouldn't have taken it for granted."

He stared at her sympathetically.

"I'm sorry." She apologized suddenly.

"What? Why?"

"I probably sound selfish right now, being sad about my dad when he's still around and yours isn't…"

"Hey, it's okay. You don't need to apologize." Link said, refusing to let her feel guilty about expressing her feelings. "And if you want to do those things with your dad again, you should tell him."

"Maybe. But it would just sound like an excuse now. Plus he and my mom are practically working overtime to get together tuition money for me, now that I lost my scholarship. I feel like I let them down." She said sadly.

"Nobody's perfect Zelda. Not even you. And it isn't your fault that you lost your scholarship."

"Even then I still know I messed up. I don't even know what I want for myself. Should I even be at a university? Is this right for me?" She felt her jaw tighten, angry at herself, angry at everything. "There was one thing I had on my side, no matter what. That thing was time. And I don't have it anymore. Now, now, now. Everything has to happen now. I need to figure out what I want to do and work as hard and as fast as I can. I need to…" Figure out who I want. You, or Pipit. She couldn't say that part out loud, but as she thought about it, in the past two days she felt her feelings for Pipit dwindling. It was like the sand on the top half of an hourglass, slowly but surely settling onto the bottom half. Was Link the bottom half?

"Never mind." She said quickly, shaking her head. "Truthfully… coming here and spending time with all of you… I envy you, Link."

"Me? Why?" He asked, puzzled.

"I don't want to sound ignorant. I can't possibly know all there is to know about Ordon in the two days I've been here. And I know your life is the furthest thing from easy. But I see how close all of you are. I mean, just look at Colin and Talo." She pointed to them, Talo had Colin in a headlock. "I can tell that even though Talo pushes Colin around, if someone else came and tried to bully him, Talo would defend him immediately. And then there's Beth… She's so peppy and loves life. I bet she has lots of fun with Malo in the city. And Malo is wise beyond his years. And Ilia's the glue that holds everyone together. And you…" She poked Link.

"Me?" He asked.

"Their hero."

"Hero?" He sounded skeptical.

"Yes."

"That's funny."

"You are the worst at taking compliments, Link."

"Me, a hero…"

"They all look up to you."

"Because I'm the tallest?"

Zelda shoved him and he burst into laughter instantly, unable to keep a straight face.

"What I'm trying to say is that I adore the dynamic between all of you. Everyone here takes care of each other. Back in Lake Hylia…" She looked sad again, "…Things aren't like that at all. Everything is a competition. Who's the smartest? The prettiest? Has the most rupees? That's what's prioritized. No one cares about who's kind, or generous, or willing to help someone with their problems. I never got along with anyone my age there. That's why my first true friends were a girl from the Twilight Realm and the daughter of a ranch hand."

"That sounds really sad."

"It was." Zelda confirmed. "That's why I'm glad I came here. Not only did I get to see you, but I got to meet so many wonderful people, and see what a supportive community looks like."

"Heh." Link chuckled. "It's funny you feel that way. Because if I'm being honest, I never wanted you to see this side of me."

"Hm?" Zelda frowned. "Why?"

"It's embarrassing." He confessed. "We don't have electricity. Our houses aren't made out of brick. The only doors are on the outside. For a good portion of my life, I didn't even know cars existed." He stopped talking for a moment to laugh. "Pipit and Shad are great, and I don't want to speak ill of them, but they're my closest friends and the first people I trusted enough to show my home to. And they had no appreciation for it whatsoever. Given their reaction… I felt more ashamed of it. I mean, Ordon will always be my home and I'll always have a soft spot for it, but I decided it would be best to keep my life here and my life in the city separate."

Zelda shook her head, a somewhat dreamy and admirable smile on her face.

"I've never heard something that was so completely wrong." Her words startled him. "Everything about this place is beautiful. From the scenery to the people. Every single inch of it. You guys have the most stunning woods right outside of your doorstep, and it's all yours. Link, you live in a tree house!" She exclaimed. He laughed at how giddy she sounded; there was a childlike wonder to her voice. "THAT is everyone's childhood dream! You guys have the BEST food I've ever tasted. Like, it is seriously so good. And seeing all the work you do, you have so many valuable skills. I bet you'd be the likeliest of our group to survive an apocalypse."

"Now you're exaggerating." Link said.

"There you go again! You are absolutely horrible at taking compliments Link. I mean it though. Every single word. You shouldn't be ashamed of where you're from at all, regardless of what others may think of it. I know it isn't perfect, and that you have valid reasons why you want to leave and move somewhere else, but Ordon will always be a part of who you are. And to me… you're amazing."

The smile on Link's face slowly vanished at her words, and his brow furrowed. Internally he felt a tumultuous swirl of emotion. He stared at her, noting the look in her eyes as she smiled at him. Her voice was soft and genuine, and he knew she wasn't lying or just saying things to make him feel better. She really did mean it. Every single word.

Zelda wasn't sure why he looked so serious.

Did I come off too strong? What's wrong with telling someone they're amazing? Or maybe it's something else?

"Anyway, I'm going to get seconds." She said, holding her plate up. "Do you want anything?"

"Uh, no…" Link watched Zelda stand up and walk back to the series of tables, greeting the other villagers who passed her by.

He stared at her, angst and yearning and desire swirling in him all at once. He didn't mean to look so stern, but her words evoked something out of him, something he had been desperately trying to control. He didn't have the courage to outright say it during their talk atop the tree in Faron Woods. Why he couldn't face her, why he couldn't tell her that he was leaving…

But now he was officially done denying it. She gave him no choice.

He wanted her. Badly.

Zelda had seen him in all sorts of contexts. She saw him when he was happy, sad, angry, vulnerable, contemplative… She saw him for all that she was, and she accepted it. She did more than accept it; she embraced it. He didn't want to feel this way, but he did.

He didn't care about anything else anymore. About who liked her before he did, or who she'd been with.

He wanted her. And he was willing to take that final leap.

»°«

Link and Zelda finally got the 'alone time' they'd been waiting for once the large feast was over. Everyone had eaten plenty of food, leaving practically no leftovers, and all of the kids went back to their houses and conked out immediately after a long day of playing. Zelda was unable to sleep, too elated off of the high she felt from having so much fun. That, coupled with spending as much time with Link as possible before they parted of course. They had gone back to his house and spent hours just talking until the sky got really dark. Once Link was certain all the villagers had turned in for the night, they went back outside, walking around the village and traversing to the edge of the woods. He had one sight he'd been itching to show her, and she was eager for it since it would be their last mini adventure before they went their separate ways.

They stayed close to each other. Zelda wouldn't say it aloud but she was a bit scared about going into the wilderness at night. This time when their fingertips touched, Link caught her hand and twined their fingers together.

Lightly surprised, Zelda looked down at it, but showed that she didn't mind by giving him a gentle squeeze. She came in closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder.

It felt peculiar and pleasant at the same time, the unspoken affection between them. Pipit hardly crossed her mind at all that day, other than the times she brought him up in conversation. And she no longer cared about keeping the promise she had made to herself.

They stepped through the trees and underbrush, coming into a clearing where tall, overgrown grass turned into soft sands. Zelda held back a gasp. It was spectacular.

"Ordon Springs is always a sight to behold. But it's even better at night."

At a loss for words, Zelda couldn't give Link a proper response, simply walking closer to the spring. The water was shallow, only coming up to their feet. A steady flow came down from a mini waterfall. But what was so captivating was the way the moonlight lit the springs. It looked ethereal.

"We have a myth about why the springs look so beautiful at night. The elders say that once the Great Evil was defeated and Hyrule was at peace once more, the spirit of Ordona allowed her Light to be absorbed by the springs. That's why it has such a nice glow."

Zelda bent down, touching the water with her fingers. It was neither warm nor cold, but when she pulled her fingers out they felt cool as the night breeze swept by.

"The water's perfect." She commented.

"I know. It's always just right, particularly in the spring and summer."

"That's…" Zelda trailed off when she heard the sound of shifting fabric. She turned around to see Link taking his clothes off, stripping down to his boxers.

She nearly shrieked, covering her eyes – then separating her fingers a bit to peek out at him.

"What are you doing!?" She asked.

He gave her a weird look.

"I can't get into the water with my clothes on."

"What do you mean? It barely covers our feet!" Zelda stepped into the water to prove her point, and just like she said, the water only reached her feet.

"I should have given a heads up. I'll get dressed again if you're uncomfortable – "

"No!" Zelda interrupted. "I mean, I don't mind…" Her cheeks flushed, "I just don't understand why you have to strip to get into the water."

"Well, the water here is shallow, but if we go up to the top of that tiny waterfall, the water's a bit deeper." He smiled mischievously. "Also, if we're in our clothes, I can't do this…" He bent over innocently. Curious, Zelda walked a bit closer to see what he was doing, then he turned around, sending a huge wave of water in her direction!

"Aah!" She jumped, barely dodging the splash.

He doubled over in laughter at her reaction.

"You think that's funny?" She crossed her arms. "You're playing a dangerous game, Link."

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say that sounds like a challenge."

Zelda responded by slipping out of her shirt and tossing it off into the dry sand, and then doing the same with her pants, all the while maintaining eye contact with him. He felt his cheeks turn red, but kept his eyes at a respectable position.

"Maybe it was." She replied, using a powerful kick to splash him with water.

It hit! She laughed victoriously, squealing when a chase between them ensued. They ran in circles splashing each other with water, and at the same time, trying to avoid getting splashed. Then Zelda got a devious idea, and bent down, scooping up some wet sand. She shaped into a tiny ball and hurled it at Link.

He flinched, his mouth falling open when he looked at the sand that now covered his torso.

"Is that how we're playing now?"

Zelda giggled, "I wanted to get creative… Oh!" She gasped as Link hit her arm with his own ball of sand.

"That's it. Sand ball fight!" She yelled, and they began pelting each other with balls of sand varying from tiny to extremely large. More laughter, more chasing, and more mischief followed, and soon they were covered head to toe in damp sand.

After several minutes Zelda surrendered, then rinsed her hands.

"Wanna go up?" Link pointed to the body of water above the tiny waterfall. "We can clean ourselves from the mess you made."

"The mess I made?" She poked her tongue out at him.

"Yeah, you started it."

"No I didn't!"

"Yes you did! You threw a bunch of sand at me. And then you decided to forfeit. You've got a lot of nerve, princess. Tsk, tsk." He pretended to be disappointed.

"Well YOU splashed me first." She said, giving him a playful shove. They teased each other some more as they made their way up to the alcove. Zelda let out a sharp exhale once they reached it. It was even more stunning. Tall, lush trees surrounded the area, framing the night sky above them perfectly, while the water's bright blue glow illuminated the flora around them. Zelda sank into the water slowly. Once again it was perfect. The water came up to the lower part of her stomach. Not to deep, but not too shallow. There were large stones beneath the water that served as seating. They washed themselves quickly, watching the sand on their skin dissipate into the water.

Once they were done, they sat side by side, staring at the stars above them.

"I can't remember the last time I had fun like this." Zelda said, reflecting on their day together.

"Same here. Some of my favorite nights were from days just like this. Playing all day, eating a bunch of food, then laying back and staring at the sky."

"I can see how living like this would suck you in." Zelda commented, resting her head on her arms.

"It's fun, isn't it? The work can be physically demanding, but it serves as a good work out. What you see here is what you get. We have it made for ourselves out here. Natural resources that we can use for ourselves AND to make rupees, plenty of time to play, and great food."

"But… still not the life you want to lead, in the end."

"No." He shook his head, contemplative. "Not after my dad was killed."

"And before that?"

There were a few more seconds of silence while Link thought about her question.

"I saw a life for myself here once. Marrying Ilia and taking her father's place, herding goats and living in simplicity with little expectations. And in that scenario, I could see myself being happy. But I don't think it would have been…"

He scrambled for the right words to say, and for a moment Zelda's mind went elsewhere.

"What? Aren't you happy with him?" Lana had asked her.

"Yeah, of course. He's great. Things are… fun." Zelda didn't know what else to say about it.

"Is being happy enough for you?" Ashei asked.

…

"Link wanted to move out to the city, and the Mayor was desperate to get him to stay. He thought offering his daughter's hand would be enough. But it wasn't."

…

Her mind snapped back to the present moment.

"Enough?" She suggested, finishing his sentence for him.

"…Yeah." He nodded, "Enough."

"I look forward to seeing you in Castle Town again, then." Zelda replied. "It hasn't been the same without you."

"I bet. But… it can't be all that bad." He tried to keep the conversation lighthearted, not wanting to see Zelda sad or dread over saying goodbye again.

"No… It is pretty bad. To me at least." Zelda insisted, feeling sad anyways.

"Come on, Zelda. At least you guys had extra room. Plus, you didn't have to sleep on the couch anymore." He nudged her.

She didn't smile, or even look at him, keeping her eyes on the water.

"Zelda?" He asked, concerned as she glared at the water. "Zelda I was joking…"

"Well it wasn't funny to me." She said sharply. "And I still slept on the couch."

"You did?" He asked, puzzled. "Did Pipit take it or something?"

"No."

"Shad?"

"No."

"Then why would you – "

"Because it reminded me too much of you." She answered finally, her head shooting up.

He was astonished by how miffed she looked; he knew she wouldn't be happy about him leaving but he didn't think it would have this much of an impact on her.

"Everything in that room reminded me of you. I couldn't sleep in there at all because I even started dreaming about you." Zelda slapped her forehead with her palm, mortified that she was even saying any of this. "All I could think of was the fact that you were gone. So as I said, yes, it was pretty bad."

Link felt his stomach drop.

"Zelda…" He wavered. He wanted to ask her a question, a question with an answer that he both feared and anticipated. He didn't want to make any assumptions, given what Zelda had told her about her relationship with Pipit. But he had to know. "Did your break up with Pipit… Did it have anything to do with me?"

Zelda's eyes met his.

"Yes." She answered quietly, as if someone listening in might hear them. All of it was about you. We would have been willing to ignore everything else if it didn't have anything to do with you. She thought to herself.

His breath caught in his throat.

The water beneath them swished around as Zelda moved carefully, inching closer to him.

"I just…" She went timid all of a sudden. "Feel so drawn to you. I thought it was only physical. But… I was wrong." She surrendered again, this time to what her heart was telling her.

Was it wrong of him to feel happy? Or a deep satisfaction that he wasn't the only one feeling this way? It made things a lot easier for him, to admit how he felt, for there to be a chance.

As for Zelda, there wasn't as much guilt within her as there had been just a few days ago. She was tired of the guiltiness and trying to convince herself of things that weren't true.

"I was also afraid." She added. So afraid.

"…" Link didn't say anything at first, making Zelda nervous. He had similar feelings too, didn't he? She hadn't forgotten about their earlier conversation.

"So was I." He said eventually. "I've never liked someone that way before. An attraction, sure. But something deeper? Never. It feels…"

"Feels like what?" Zelda asked desperately. She wanted to know. She wanted to know everything. Every little thought that popped up in his head, every sensation, every feeling that he had. Lest she was actually wrong, and all of this was some sort of ruse, and that her initial hunch had been right… that they were only friends, and nothing more.

"It feels like you." He smiled demurely. "Beautiful. And warm. And comforting."

Zelda felt her resolve begin to weaken, anticipation surging through every bone in her body.

"It also feels scary." He added. "Something new and therefore dangerous. Something that makes my heart race so fast, that it feels like it's going to beat right out of my chest."

Zelda came in closer again. Link watched her, almost hypnotized by the way she moved and how radiant she looked amidst the heavenly glow of the springs.

Tentatively, she reached out and placed her hand over his chest, resisting the urge to trail it down the length of his body, focusing solely on his heartbeat. And just like he described, it was thundering, beating so fast that her hand moved slightly with every thump.

That was the moment that confirmed everything for her. The moment she knew that she had been wrong, horribly wrong. Because every feeling he described, every adjective he used – it matched her own feelings for him. Perfectly.

"Want to know a secret?" She asked, taking his hand and placing it over her chest, where her heart was beating just as fast, if not faster. "That's exactly what it's supposed to feel like."

They stared at each other, realization and acceptance setting in. Link moved his hand from her chest up to her cheek, stroking it tenderly.

And finally…

Finally…

They fell into each other.

Like it was all they had been waiting to do that entire night. Like it was all they had been waiting to do the moment Zelda first stepped off the carriage, and perhaps, even long before that.

Zelda had been the first to lean in but Link met her lips at lightning speed, pulling her into his lap immediately and wrapping both of his arms around her waist. They kissed each other fiercely, with everything they had. It was a completely new sensation to both of them, the feeling of finally being in each other's arms, yet it was also strangely familiar. They fit into together so fluidly, like two pieces of a puzzle that finally found their way to each other after so many failed tries with other pieces that just didn't fit.

But this didn't feel like their first kiss. It felt like their last.

Like it was the last time they would be able to do this, like they had to make every single second of it count.

And soon, Zelda's lips weren't enough for Link. Slowly he pulled away, his lips never leaving her skin as he planted a series of kisses along her cheek, to her chin, her neck, collarbone, and along her shoulder. Zelda took it as a chance to catch her breath, focusing on how heart-wrenchingly good everything felt.

"Nngh…" She moaned softly, "Link…"

The sound of her voice ignited something within him; he wanted to hear more. His hands began caressing her body, touching and teasing and kissing every part of exposed skin that he could find. His lips even brushed the top of her breasts and buried his face in her cleavage, driving her crazy. She knotted her fingers into his hair, eventually pulling him back up so that she could kiss him again. He was a great kisser. A devastatingly great kisser. It felt perfect. So impossibly perfect. She ran her own hands over his body, down his torso and around his back, feeling every muscle.

"Princess…" He murmured between kisses, "I've wanted to do this for so long."

He felt her smile against his lips.

"Me too." She replied.

So much for keeping things platonic…

And then they continued to kiss each other passionately, over and over again, losing themselves completely and unapologetically…

Some time later, they stepped out of the water, laying on the sediment that surrounded the alcove and allowing themselves time to dry. Link laid on his back, his arm wrapped around Zelda while she curled up to his side, her arm draped over his chest.

They didn't say anything, they just stared at the night sky, cherishing this moment together. He massaged tiny circles into Zelda's back, occasionally planting a soft kiss to her forehead.

"Is this weird?" He asked.

"Hmm?" Zelda asked, coming out of her blissful haze. "How so?"

"I'm glad that this is happening, but I don't want there to be any problems. If Pipit still has feelings for you, that is."

Zelda pursed her lips. She didn't want to ruin things, but it wasn't right for her to let Link think that their relationship had been over for good.

A break.

That's what their initial agreement was. Pipit had been so devoted to her and to their relationship, and it had only been two days… She was so sure that she wanted to make things with him work. It was crazy how much things had changed in such a short amount of time. What would be better? To tell Link the truth and hope that he'd understand? Or keep it to herself and talk to Pipit when she got back?

No. I can't lie anymore. That's how my relationship with Pipit got ruined. She cared for Link a lot. She wasn't going to make the same mistakes.

She lifted herself off of him, sitting up.

"About that…" She hesitated.

"Yeah?" He looked at her, propping himself up as well.

"I wasn't completely honest with you about me and Pipit."

"What do you mean?" He asked, getting worried.

"We didn't… we didn't 'break up.'" She put the terms 'break up' into air quotes.

His eyes widened.

"What?"

"Link…"

"Oh goddesses. That means you… we…" His face paled.

"Link, all of the reasons why we weren't working out were true – "

"That doesn't mean you can cheat on him Zelda!" Link scolded her. "ESPECIALLY when you know what happened with him and Karane."

"I didn't cheat! When I told you that we weren't together, that was true too."

He calmed down a bit – just a bit.

"If you 'aren't together' but you're not 'broken up,' what the hell are you then?"

"On a break." She replied.

"A break?" He asked, crossing his arms. He frowned at her. "Does that mean… That after everything we told each other tonight, and the time we spent together… There's still a chance you'd go back to him?"

"Technically yes, but – "

"But what? It's a clear-cut question."

"Link, my feelings for Pipit have NOTHING to do with my feelings for you."

"But you still have feelings?" Link asked. "Otherwise, why not just end it for good?"

"Because Pipit thought it would be a good idea for us to –"

"Pipit thought it would be a good idea? This was HIS idea?"

"Does it matter!?" Zelda snapped, getting annoyed at his incessant interruptions. She felt like she wasn't being given a chance to speak.

"Yes it does matter! Did you even want a break in the first place?"

There was no point in trying to lie or save face now.

"No, I didn't." She responded candidly.

"Wow." He replied. "I can't believe this."

"Can't believe what?"

"Can't believe I could be this fucking stupid."

"Link, PLEASE. Can you give me the chance to explain things to you before you shut me out?"

"Fine. Explain yourself." Link huffed, glaring at her. It stung, reminding Zelda of how coldly he had treated her when they first met. She didn't want to go back to that.

"Pipit was the one who tried to initiate a breakup. I didn't want to end it for good, so we compromised with a break."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't know how you'd react, and when I bought my ticket here, I didn't have any intentions of trying to hook up with you or anything like that. I just wanted to see you."

His shoulders slumped. He didn't look as angry as before, but his mood had deflated from just a few minutes earlier.

"I know it sounds bad." She told him, "But I was wrong. I thought that I wanted to be with Pipit, but after I took the time to think about it, I realized that I like you. I like you a lot."

"…Can I ask one more question?" Link said, wanting to believe her.

"Of course." Zelda nodded.

"When did you guys decide to take a break?"

Zelda frowned, all the guilt she had repressed flooded into her all at once.

"…Two days ago." She said shamefully. "Link, I know it sounds like a short amount of time, but…" She reached out to touch him, but he jerked himself away from her.

"Two days?" Link repeated in disbelief. Zelda felt everything spiraling out of control. And she didn't know how to fix it. She wanted to be honest; she wanted to tell the truth. But the truth didn't make things better. It only made things worse. In a flash, he had stood up, storming off, stepping off of the waterfall and down to the sand where his clothes were.

"Link? Where are you going?" Zelda asked, following him.

"As far away from you as I can get." He responded bitterly.

"Link, please."

"Please, what? Shall we review the facts?" He turned around to face her again. "Two days ago, you were in a relationship. A relationship that you didn't want to end. A relationship with one of my best friends. And now, two days later, you're here with me. Flirting with me, making out with me as if he didn't even matter to you!" He snapped. Zelda bowed her head down, unable to look him in the eyes. She didn't know what to say. It sounded bad and it WAS bad. There was no excuse for it. "You're telling me that in two short days, you were able to sort your feelings out? What happens when you go back and you see him again? Are those feelings going to resurface?"

"No!" Zelda shook her head.

"How do you know that?"

"I… I don't know!" She threw her hands in the air. "I didn't think about something like that happening."

"Think!" He exclaimed. "That's the operative word here, the essence of the problem, isn't it? You don't fucking think before you do things, you just do them, not caring about how it'll make other people feel!"

"I…" Zelda was speechless.

"I've seen how this ends Zelda. And it ain't pretty. Shad liked you a lot, and you could never be upfront with him about the truth until you had to be. And now the same thing is happening again, with me and Pipit."

"No, Link… It's different. You're different."

"Bullshit." He spat stubbornly.

"That's it, then?" She asked sadly. "You're gonna give up on us, just like that?"

"Us? There is no 'us,' Zelda. There can't be. I'm not your boytoy, okay? I'm not someone you can play with when you get bored with what you already have."

"It isn't like that at all!" She complained.

"That's exactly how it is. Two days. Two fucking days." He repeated. "That was all it took for you to leave Pipit behind. Riddle me this, princess. How long then, would we last? How long would you stick around until you found someone better?"

Zelda shook her head.

"No one's better than you, Link." She meant that. With all of her heart. Her time in Ordon with him, despite how short it was, had meant more to her than the duration of her relationship with Pipit. The two weren't even comparable; Pipit didn't come close.

"That's where you're wrong. There's plenty better than me. What does a guy like me have to offer to a girl like you?" He asked miserably. She could see the pain in his eyes. She could see that his feelings for her hadn't diminished despite how upset he was. He still wanted her. And he no longer sounded angry. He sounded hurt. Heartbroken. Because of her. And that was worse. Way worse.

"You have so much to offer." She responded.

"No I don't." He disagreed. "I can hardly even take care of myself. My mom is dying, and there's nothing I can do to stop it. I'm fucking pathetic. You and I, princess, we're from different worlds. This was a mistake. All of it. It shouldn't have happened."

Each word felt like a blow to the gut, leaving Zelda in more and more emotional pain. Link grabbed his clothes and dressed himself, walking back to the house.

There was something else within Zelda. Amidst the hurt, she felt her own anger fester. Before she could stop herself, she called out to him.

"You're a hypocrite…" She said, her hands trembling lightly.

He stopped walking. He didn't say anything or turn around, he just stayed stationary.

"I know I screwed up. And I know I should have told you the truth. But don't act like you didn't keep important things from me too." She walked toward him, grabbing her own clothes and slipping into them as she talked, feeling the strong need to defend herself, because Link had his own flaws that weren't being acknowledged. "You want to call me out for not being able to express my feelings!? Here's some cold, hard truth for YOU, Link. We wouldn't even be friends if it weren't for me! I'm always the one initiating things, trying to get you to talk about your feelings! It's like you don't even want to address things, just ONCE it would be nice if you'd take some initiative!"

A chill ran down Link's spine; Zelda's words were eerily similar to the criticisms Ilia had given to him.

"Yeah, I have trouble expressing myself, and doing it at the right time. But so do you."

Link sneered.

"You wanna know why I don't put myself out there like that, Zelda? Because of shit like this. Because I don't want to get hurt. I've gotten hurt plenty of times, and even if I should be used to it by now, it sucks every time."

"Everyone gets hurt Link. It's a part of life."

"Even if that's the case, I can't let it get any worse. Not with all the other crap I have to deal with in my life. So go home, Zelda. We're done here."

And with that, he walked off again, leaving Zelda at the springs alone, with a broken heart.

»°«

Zelda stared at the wheels beneath Rusl's carriage solemnly, her hand beneath her chin. Link had left to Kakariko the first thing in the morning. Their argument from last night had been the official farewell. Now they were on their way back to the rural crossroads, where Zelda would then go back home and continue on with her life.

Rusl was silent, mostly just humming to himself. He could tell Zelda was sad and he had seen Link early in the morning before he went to Kakariko. He also had a similar look of sadness. Something bad happened but Rusl couldn't put his finger on what it was. They had seemed so happy, and – through his eyes – in love with each other throughout her visit.

Zelda tried her hardest to keep herself together, but it wasn't working. It should have been Link. It always should have been Link. Not Shad, not Pipit, not anyone else. She couldn't even put into words for him what he had come to mean to her in the time they knew each other. The kiss they shared was the most amazing one she had ever experienced. She didn't just feel the physical lure to him, but the emotional warmth too. And now it was gone. They had argued many times before, but this one felt significantly more serious. And the more she thought about it, the more despair she felt.

Unable to keep it in, Zelda let out a gasp all of a sudden, as if all the wind had been knocked out of her. Rusl jumped, looking to Zelda worriedly. He wasn't sure what was happening, but it sounded like she couldn't breathe. She grunted, feeling tears peek out of her eyes. She tried to hold back a sob, but waves of sadness kept hitting her over and over. They wouldn't go away.

She gave in, letting the tears fall and letting herself cry.

"Zel…" Rusl said, but Zelda waved him off.

"P-Please… Just keep going. I-I need to get to the rural crossroads." She said.

He complied with her request, still concerned and glancing at her every so often while she cried. She made it clear with her body language that she didn't want any comfort. She just buried her head in her hands and tried to empty out her tear ducts.

Her sobs got worse the farther away they got from Ordon. Soon the Faron Woods were out of sight and they were on Hyrule Field. She couldn't stop herself, nor did she want to. How things went from perfect to horrible in the blink of an eye astounded her thoroughly.

She had never cried so hard before. She didn't even cry when she and Pipit decided to take a break, which showed how insignificant and small her feelings for him had been, compared to Link. Her and Link hadn't even dated! They weren't even together! And yet, it had a much stronger impact on her.

Eventually they reached the crossroads and it was time for her to say goodbye to Rusl. He didn't have any words of comfort to offer her, and for a moment, he stood there awkwardly trying to figure out what to say. Zelda grabbed her bag and was about to walk off when he shot his arm out, stopping her.

"Wait, Zel." He told her, pulling her to him. He leaned in and gave her a hug. Zelda hugged him back, squeezing tight, letting her tears get absorbed into his clothing. He didn't mind it all, giving her a supportive pat. They stayed there like that, one final reminder to Zelda of the love and care she had received from everyone in Ordon.

"I hate saying goodbye like this. I don't know what happened, but everything happens for a reason. Don't let this be the last time you and my boy interact. Because I know neither of you would be happy if that were the case." He told her.

Zelda nodded, wiping her face to no avail, since the tears wouldn't stop coming.

"…Thank you." She told him. She watched Rusl get back on his carriage, heading back to Ordon.

Once her phone had service again, Zelda sent her friends a text to pick her up at the train station in Castle Town. On her way there, she tried to cover her face in order to avoid drawing any attention to her, and continued to cry quietly throughout the train ride. She glanced at her phone, scrolling through her contacts. She came across Pipit's name, and hovered over it. He had been right all along. And she felt bad for insisting that he wasn't, that there had been hope for them. There was no hope. And there was no reason for them to continue. And now that she knew and accepted the truth about her feelings, she pressed the call button near his name.

"Hey princess." He picked up on the first ring. She felt a pang in her stomach. Even though Pipit was the one who gave her the nickname, it made her think of Link. And it hurt.

"Zelda? Are you okay?" He asked when she didn't respond immediately. He heard her sniffling me on the other line.

She struggled to catch her breath, not wanting to be too brash, but unsure of what else to do. She felt heartless, but she didn't have the energy to correct it.

"Pipit…" She spoke, her voice raspy from all the crying, ready to put the final nail in the coffin. "…It's over."

---

A/N: …