A/N: Sorry for the long time in between updates. I'm doing what I can.

The ride home was... solemn. Uncomfortable was the best way Link could put it as the usual upbeat and cheerful Zelda was just... there. Riding the plane of existence. Link wanted to say something to break the ice, but what was there to say? Not to mention he was never any good at starting conversations to begin with, let alone to someone who wasn't into it.

So, he ended up saying nothing.

When they reached the house, Zelda immediately headed for the bed. Keeping to her silence the entire time. It was only midday, far too early to call it a day by her standards.

But, Link chose to keep his words to himself once again. Not sure what to say to her, or if questioning her decision was really a good idea.

She had just lost someone very dear to her. It's only understandable that she'd be in a bit of rut. In a few days, I'm sure her mood will start to pick up again.

He decided to carry on with some household chores and reading to pass the time by.

Before he knew it, it was already morning. Zelda had managed to sleep for well over 12 hours before she finally dragged herself out of bed.

"Hey," she said groggily, trying to wipe the remnants of sleep from her eyes.

Well, she said something. It's a start.

"Hey," he replied.

"Sorry... for yesterday."

Her fingers were pointed together.

"Don't worry about it, I understand. It's good that you're taking this time for yourself."

It put him at ease too.

"Yeah, well, I'm just taking your advice."

"I hope you're not taking it because you feel inclined to do so. It needs to be on your own volition."

"That's what I meant. Sorry, it came out weird."

The sudden screeching of the kettle startled Zelda, who was still half awake.

"Sorry, give me a sec."

He moved over to the fire, then returned moments later with two cups of tea.

"This is from the Tabantha region. It's good to have for days like this."

She looked over the discoloured liquid for a few seconds before timidly taking a sip.

"I think I had this before."

"Oh?"

"Back then, you made this type of tea before too. I am-was an avid tea drinker. Yet the tea you brought was something I was unfamiliar with. I remember being pleasantly surprised."

Link unfortunately had no recollection of that moment, but continued to listen to her all the same.

"I was having a bad day. Father had scolded me earlier for using some of my free time to indulge in some research. He commanded that I focus solely on my training, and quit wasting my efforts at being a scholar."

He remembered that much.

"Later on, you came by with some tea to cheer me up."

"And?"

She smiled into her cup, "It worked..."

"What about this time?"

"Mhm..." she said before intentionally slurping her tea.

He smirked at her antics, which only caused her smile to widen a little more.

I'm glad he's here. I don't know what I would've done if he wasn't.

Her smile quickly faded once she took another sip. She had her knees up to her chest, holding the cup with two hands. The tendrils of her hair spilled over her shoulder, dangling aimlessly in front of her face.

She shivered.

Likely due to the fact that all she was wearing was an undershirt that she "borrowed" from Link once again. For whatever reason it gave her a sense of calm.

Just thinking back to when he wasn't here when I got down on myself. I couldn't take care of myself then, and that was only a few days ago no less! Even if I went back 100 years, if it wasn't for Link I would've-

She took another sip to distract herself.

When Mother died, I didn't handle her death very well. I closed myself off from anyone and everyone for a long time. I ruined many relationships, wasted hundreds of opportunities, among other things because of how I handled the situation. If it wasn't for Link's patience and kind heart, I might have never broken out of that slump. He was also the only reason why I was able to keep holding on after 100 years of being trapped in solitude. The only reason why I even had the courage to face Ganon alone.

The more I think about it. The more I realize that if it wasn't for Link... I wouldn't be here today. He's my whole reason for existing, both literally and figuratively.

The thought astonished her.

She sighed.

It only makes me fall in love with him more.

Which in turn, made her more sad.

What if he never comes to remember what we shared together? What if he never remembers the promise he made? What if the Link of now doesn't ever come to feel the same way as the Link of then did? Would he ever feel those feelings for me again?

It was a tough question to answer. Especially when she was already feeling down about Impa's untimely death. What would she do? The only reason why she had the strength to face Ganon to begin with was her love for Link, and the prospect of being reunited with him so they could be together afterwards. If her reason for being here was suddenly taken away... Why was she here? Where would she go? What would she do?

She had never put serious thought into any scenarios where they didn't end up together. Maybe it was her being simply naive, or maybe just overly optimistic, but she truly wanted to believe that once they reunited everything would sort of pick up where it left off. Unfortunately, that hasn't been the case.

Link's lost nearly all of his memory, and barely remembers who I am. Despite this, he's welcomed me into his home and cared for me. He's trying, but...

But it wasn't enough for Zelda. Not that it was his fault, this was something that she knew that she would have to struggle with on her own. 100 years later, and even after everything they've gone through, Zelda was still incredibly shy and timid around Link when it came to the serious things about their relationship. It took her weeks to build up the courage to start having conversations with him after she got past the "He's an idiot" stage, and then it took months later to finally confess her feelings. Now she was back at square one. How in Hylia was she ever going to get to THAT stage, if she was too nervous to even try and talk to him now?

"You're spilling your tea," said Link while not looking away from the page in the book he was reading.

"S-Sorry! I-I'll clean it up!" she stammered.

Gingerly placing the cup on the table, she then quickly wet a cloth and began cleaning the mess she made.

After said mess was cleaned up, Zelda returned to her spot. She glanced over at him a few times, her hands fidgeting more the longer the silence dragged on.

"Sorry," she mumbled.

"For what?"

The quizzical expression he gave her stunned her slightly.

"It must've been really hard to get that tea and..." her voice trailed off.

"It's alright, besides, we can always get more if you like it so much. I have lots of it anyways."

"Oh... okay. Sorry for making something out of nothing."

"You apologize a lot," he looked over at her.

Her cheeks suddenly reddened, "Sorry!-" her hands flung to her mouth when she said it again.

She looked at anywhere but him, deeply embarrassed. "I-I didn't mean- It's just-"

She had the words right in her head, but when it came to speaking everything turned into a jumbled mess. She suddenly felt a pair of hands on her shoulders, Link was now kneeling in front of her, their faces just inches apart.

"Don't worry about it, it's really not a big deal," he smiled at her reassuringly.

Zelda did all she could to remain composed. Whenever her eyes got fixated on his from this distance, the temperature of everything always seemed to increase.

He touched his forehead with hers, "You're burning up. Are you catching a fever?"

That was all Zelda could handle. She was catching something alright, but it wasn't a fever that's for sure.

"I'm g-going to take a c-cold bath!" she stammered.

"Okay, do you want me to get it-"

Zelda was already at the door, "No! Er- I can handle it myself thanks."

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

What in Hylia was that?! What in Hylia was that?!

Was the question she kept asking herself as she rushed towards the bathing room around the back of the house. She quickly turned on the water, stripped, and hopped in. Not caring for how cold the water felt.

He barely did anything, and I just froze and became all flustered!

The thought both excited and embarrassed her.

These aren't the thoughts to be having right now Zelda!

The water was supposedly cold, but she felt like she was in a hot spring right now.

If that's how I react every time he comes near me, I'll never last.

It just went to show how badly she wanted to be with him, however, her... inexperience, was clearly holding her back.

If only Link could read my mind and take a hint, then it would make this a whole lot easier!

She chuckled to herself.

Goddesses, I sure like to make things harder on myself.

Zelda finished cleaning herself up, and headed back inside. She noticed that the tea was cleaned up and breakfast was started.

"Feel better after your bath?"

She twirled a piece of her hair, "Y-Yes, thank you."

Just thinking about what transpired was already negating the effects of said bath.

"Breakfast is just about ready, would you like some?"

"Please."

The two ate in silence for a time, that was until Link spoke up.

"You know, I was worried about you."

She looked up at him nervously, "W-Why is that?"

"I remember how you were when we... fought I guess is the best way to put it. I didn't think you would, well, get that low. Then you lost someone dear to you only a few days later. Needless to say, I was preparing for the worst."

She noticed how the utensils in his hands were trembling.

Why would he-

It didn't take her long to figure out what he was implying. She leaned over the table and put her hands over his.

"I would never do that to you. I could never do that to you."

The silence between them lasted so long that now Zelda's hands trembled with worry.

"It's just that... I worked so hard to get you back. Despite not remembering you like I used to, I felt that I had to save you. Not by duty, or by a show of gratitude, but of necessity. I can't quite explain it, but the thought of losing you again-"

She couldn't take it anymore, her heart yearned for him. Zelda climbed over the table, and buried his face into her chest.

"You don't need to say anymore. I'm not going anywhere Link."

He sighed, clearly troubled.

"Sorry for bringing this up. I know you got-"

"Shh... It's okay. I know that you have your own demons, and I'm glad that you're sharing them with me. I'm here for you too you know."

He nodded against her.

If Zelda was being honest with herself, this was a nice distraction. It was easier for her to help someone else with their problems over stressing out about her own. Thing is, Link never really shared his problems with her before, so this was a new experience for the both of them.

After a few minutes they broke away from the embrace.

"Thank you, for listening," he said while scratching the back of his head.

Zelda was blushing as she returned to her seat, maybe she did go a little overboard with the whole bury his face in her chest thing, "I'm always willing to listen to what you have to say."

Him and I are more alike than it seems.

Her thoughts veered back to what he said earlier.

I could never leave him like that, but... If I were to lose him again...

She shook her head.

What am I even thinking about? That's never going to happen. Why would I think that he would leave? He won't leave, right? He can't leave, not after everything we've gone through. He wouldn't do that to me. Or... He did leave before, so what if- No, no! You're overthinking again!

It was a battle that she always struggled with. Was she good enough? Was she just a burden? Would she be better off out of the picture? Why was she here? These were among the many questions she would constantly ask herself 100 years ago. When she failed to unlock her power at the springs, when she seemed to hit a wall with her research, when she'd overhear what people thought about her at the castle, even when she was scolded by her father... All these things would constantly make her ask herself, was it really worth it?

It started off as a once in a while thing where she'd feel down, not something that warranted attention. Everyone has their bad days. However, over time before she knew what she was dealing with, the seed of doubt had already blossomed within her heart. The source of its energy? Her happiness. To feed the doubt that led to her depression, it required the happiness of her childhood before her mother's passing. The appearance of Link only added onto her depression. Even if it wasn't intentional, he sparked her jealousy, over the fact that he was able to master his "role" before she could even obtain hers. Her anger, from when he followed her around, being a constant reminder her of her own failures. She would drive herself crazy, sometimes to the point of tears when she tried to guess what he thought of her. She didn't know why she cared about his opinion so much, maybe it was because they were destined to share the same fate, maybe she always had him placed on a pedestal above her. Whatever the case was, for the words he did not say, she would fill in the gaps with her own twisted thoughts; and that only made things worse.

Zelda would torture herself time and time again with what others thought of her. Most days it was tough just to get out of bed, let alone put on the facade that she was okay with everything. Her world had been falling apart for over a decade, and she did what she could to hide it. After all, she was the princess of Hyrule, leader of the Champions, the one to seal the Calamity away, heir to the throne. She was never allowed to show her weaknesses, even if it broke her.

However, after spending more time with Link and getting to know him better, she realized that they shared a lot of the same problems. It gave her perspective. Seeing how someone else was handling their problems. It made her feel like she wasn't alone anymore, and it gave her a little bit of happiness to find someone she could confide in, someone to bare her soul to, someone she could share her demons with that plagued her for many years.

For a time, things felt like they were getting better, maybe she was finally ready to move on and turn the page in her book of life, but nay... Despite having finally found a new purpose in life, and a new goal to work towards, her world was still falling apart. She had just become blind to it. She still couldn't unlock her sealing power, Hyrule still wasn't ready to defend itself, while setting herself a new goal was a positive, she was still far from it. And, the seed of doubt was still rooted deep within her. Zelda was finally fighting back, but... things took a turn for the worse when the Calamity struck. All of her friends, her only family, the love of her life, everything was taken from her. It would've been easy to end it there. No one would blame her for giving up, after all, she did what they could, right?

In spite of every reason to give up, there was one reason not to. That was, him, Link, her new goal, her love, her everything. He was the only person willing to help put back the pieces which was of her life together. He was the only one to make time for her, and listen to her when everyone else wouldn't. He was the only to make her feel... happy. To push away the doubt from her heart, even if it was only momentarily. When the opportunity arose to bring THAT back into her life again, Zelda would've made the same choice every time.

Looking back on it, it seems like an incredibly selfish thing to do. I was only thinking of myself when I decided to put him in the Shrine of Resurrection. I desperately hoped for his return so we could be together. I wanted what we once had so badly that I put everything on the line to bring him back.

Even if that meant not letting him die.

Link told me before that the sword always has contingencies in place in case something were to happen to the hero, so another would've eventually taken his place, but... it wouldn't have been him. Even if it's the same soul reincarnated, he wouldn't be my Link. Even if he's different now, he's still the same Link from 100 years ago. Thing is... it doesn't seem to matter that he's back. I mean, I should be happy right? I got what I wanted. So why? Why is it that this pain in my chest won't go away? Why does it feel like my world is still falling apart? Why do I feel like I'm stagnating? What am I doing wrong? What's wrong with me?!

Her vision became misty.

"Zelda?"

"Sorry," she quickly wiped away at her eyes. "This talk just got me thinking is all."

"About something that's making you cry?"

"I'm just thankful for you being here. Thinking back on it made me realize how lucky I am."

He scratched the back of his head, which caused Zelda to give a sad smile. It wasn't totally a lie, she was thankful to have him in her life again. However, it was clear that some of the things that haunted her from a century ago weren't willing to go away with just the simple passage of time.

Ugh! I need to stop with these thoughts! I always get so down on myself. Things are fine, everything is fine! We're fixing our broken selves, slowly, but it's better than nothing at all. Happy thoughts, happy thoughts.

Zelda needed to reassure herself that everything was in fact okay. It was so easy for her to overthink things and get inside her own head with nasty thoughts.

"Link."

He looked over towards her.

"Can you teach me how to bake? I've always been curious how to make fruitcake, and it would be a welcome distraction."

He looked into his pouch briefly before giving a nod, "We have everything we need."

"I feel like I've asked this before, but, how do you fit so many things into that small pouch of yours?"

Shrugging his shoulders he said, "I've had it since I can remember. For whatever reason, it self organizes and can take a many number of things. Real convenient."

"I'd say. What do you mean by self organize?"

"Come see for yourself."

He opened his pouch, and Zelda leaned over to peer inside.

Incredible! Everything is slotted in a way where he can easily access anything at any time. It's almost like another dimension is inside the pouch. How is that even possible?

"You want to go inside?" he asked nonchalantly.

"What?"

She wasn't expecting that.

"You can see for yourself what it's like in there, you just have to reach inside."

"Is that even possible? Have you tested it before? How would I get out? What would happen to me?"

He grabbed her hand, directing it towards the pouch.

"Let's find out."

She laughed awkwardly, "Y-You're joking right? This isn't f-funny."

The closer her hand got, the more scared she became. To the point where she eventually had to yank her hand away. As she took a moment to recollect herself, she could hear soft chuckling coming from beside her.

"That's not funny!" she pouted. "Who knows what could've happened."

"Sorry, I couldn't help myself," he said in between laughs. "Your reactions are too cute."

She became immediately flustered.

C-Cute? He thinks I'm...cute?

"S-Still, that's dangerous," she cleared her throat. "Not when we don't know what would've happened."

"I never tried large scale living things before, but if it's applied in the same manner as the fish and insects I store. You'd be completely fine."

"How can you be so sure?"

Taking out a Winterwing Butterfly, it was only a matter of seconds before Zelda was watching it flutter away.

"How?!"

She had no idea how the butterfly was still alive. Being stuffed into a pouch that led to an inter dimensional space which they knew nothing about for potentially weeks on end with no food, water, or light, not to mention that it had been scaled down from its original size. Everything led to there being no chance of survival, yet...

"From what I gather, items stored inside the pouch are frozen in time from the moment I place them in there. That's how everything stays fresh, or at least in the condition it was in when I placed it in there."

"Do you feel the weight of all the things your carrying?"

"No, but there is a limit to how much I can fit in there."

"Amazing!"

The scholar in Zelda was drooling in awe.

What he has shouldn't even exist, but here it is, and it's capabilities are simply brilliant!

"Hey, you ready?" Link had a hand waving in front of her.

She was so in awe of his pouch that she didn't notice that he got everything ready for their baking lesson.

"S-Sorry!" she replied, slightly embarrassed that she veered off track like that.

"Let's start with the basics. What ingredients do we need?"

"Umm, I should know this," she glanced at him nervously before thinking back to what the recipe entailed.

I've eaten it so many times before, and I've read the recipe countless times when trying to make it myself.

"Obviously there are apples and wild berries. Next is Tabantha Wheat, then cane sugar?"

He nodded, "I've already marinated the fruit, so we don't need to worry about getting that part done."

"What did you use to marinate the fruit?"

"Trade secret. Something I learned while making it before."

Next he buttered a pan, then lined it with parchment paper before handing her a bowl.

"Whisk this until there are no lumps of sugar and it becomes fluffy. Once you feel that you've figured it out, add an egg to the mix and repeat the process. You'll need to do this three times."

Sounds easy enough.

Link was working on the spice mixture while Zelda whisked away.

After about 30 seconds, her arm grew tired.

"What in Hylia? Why is it so hard to whisk now?"

"Now would be a good time to add the egg," said Link while tending to his own task.

How can he tell without looking?

She cracked the egg...

Oh no!

"I-I accidentally got some of the shell into the bowl," she showed it to him with a worried expression.

"That's fine, just pick it out."

She breathed a sigh relief, she thought that she ruined the entire recipe.

It wouldn't have been the first time...

For all her book smarts, being able to memorize ancient texts and do precise calculations when it came to configuring ancient tech, Zelda couldn't follow a recipe for the life of her. She could get all the ingredients together, but once the process actually got started it would be an awkward struggle with mixing ingredients, screeches from forgetting to add something or adding too much, looking over at the recipe book at every step to make sure her measurements were exact... Zelda was able to make simple things, like sandwiches, oatmeal, salads... basically anything that didn't require a fire or more than a few steps, but she couldn't fry eggs if her life depended on it, so there was no way that she could handle complicated recipes like this one. If she didn't burn the thing, she had a habit of mixing the wrong things together, and what should've been mushroom soup, turned into a concoction that could ward off evil spirits.

It was a sight to behold, which is why whenever she tried to cook, the doors to the kitchen would be locked, and she'd be sure that no one would be coming to that side of the castle for an extended period of time.

Picking up where she left off, Zelda continued to follow Link's instructions. Mixing in the three eggs one by one.

"Finished."

"Good, now we can-" Zelda bursting into a fit of giggles stopped him mid-sentence.

"You have batter on your nose!"

He went to wipe it off, but Zelda beat him to the punch using her finger. Keeping her eyes locked with his, she then put her finger in her mouth.

"It's coming along quite nicely!" she exclaimed with a sweet smile.

He scratched the back of his head before continuing, "Now we mix everything together, and put it on the pan. Make sure to spread the batter evenly, or else it won't cook right."

Adhering to Link's instructions, Zelda spread the batter on the sheet.

Once she got his stamp of approval, she then put it on the stove.

"Let it cook for an hour and a half, then we can take it off to cool."

"That wasn't so bad."

He took a sip of the coffee that he made while she was whisking before taking a seat in the chair by the fireplace, book in hand.

"Once you get the hang of it, it's not so bad. And, if you get real good at it, then you can get creative and start making your own versions of it."

She moved the other chair next to his, and leaned against him while he began reading.

"I like this," she said softly after watching him flip though a few pages.

"Like what?"

"Doing things like this together, being like this," her face was a slight shade of red as she said it, but she was out of Link's view.

She couldn't outright say that it made her feel like they were a couple, but she couldn't deny the fact that it did make her feel that way either.

After the hour and a half passed, Link handed her a pair of mitts to use so she could move the cake onto the rack that he had laid out for her.

Thirty minutes later, it was ready to be served.

"It's good to eat now. How does it feel to make your first fruitcake?"

"Well, I couldn't have done it without you."

Which was something that couldn't be more true.

"This is our first fruitcake, and... I'm excited to eat it!"

Zelda's tastebuds were screaming at her to take a slice...or ten. Link handed her a plate, and joined her at the table soon after with one of his own.

"Thank you for the food," she said before digging in.

One bite was all it took for her to feel like she was floating in the clouds above Hyrule.

So light, so sweet, so fluffy, so amazing! How I've missed this beautiful delicacy.

She looked over at Link, who was reading and eating at the same time.

Thank you, Link.

Her smile was sincere and warm.

Zelda always appreciated the small things that he did for her. It may be insignificant to some, but to her, it meant a lot.

After finishing up her fruitcake, Zelda joined Link by the fire once again.

"Anything you want to do?" he asked, when she leaned her head on him.

She shook her head against him, "Let's just stay like this, just for a little while longer."

A/N: Make sure to leave a like, review, and share. It helps me out and I appreciate it.

Anyways, see you guys in the next chapter.