I hope it's not too late to still wish all of you a happy new year ;).

Since a bit more than two weeks I play BOTW and I love this game a lot so far (but please no spoilers, since I am not done with the maine story yet, thank you)

And when we are at the Spoilers: Light Spoiler Warning for this one here ;).

This is not the first BOTW story which I have written, since I already wrote quite a lot of BOTW stories in these past days, but this is the first one which I uploaded here (the other stories are only available in german so far and I have no idea when I will start to translate them).

I am not sorry for this haha. I just needed to write some fluff about these super cute little Koroks. I love them so much.

And as always: I am sorry for grammer/spelling mistakes.
Hopefully there won't be too many mistakes in here, since I translated the whole thing from german into english and this was anything but easy to do, especially since you guys have different names for the characters than we have in german and finding the names out was such a pain in the a**.

Please enjoy this :3

Please don't stop

The Koroks were a fun folk, albeit a bit weird looking, but Link got used to it quickly and even if he thought it was strange, he felt a weird sense of belonging to this forest folk. Even if they looked completely different than him, he didn't get rid of the feeling of being home in these woods whenever he visited these cute little creatures. Even when the Great Deku Tree spoke to him, it felt strangely familiar to him…

Secretly, Link sensed that his soul was linked to these beings and this forest...and that beyond the last hundred years, but he didn't talk to anyone about it, as he himself didn't know what those feelings meant, so he preferred to cover himself in silence whenever the Deku Tree asked him if everything was alright. Link just nodded his head at such questions, reassuring the Forest Guard that everything was okay, and then he preferred to spend some time with the Koroks or settle down on the edge of the lost woods and enjoy the silence around him.

He had many dangerous adventures behind him already, had faced bloodthirsty monsters and he had fought for what was important to him. But the time had come where he was sick of fighting. The time, when not only his body, but also his soul demanded a break and he would take this break now. And he had opted for the Korok Forest, because no dangerous monsters lived in these woods, who wanted to take his life and he could find his peace here. He had decided to stay here for a few days and the Koroks and also the Deku Tree had welcomed him warmly and all of them were happy when he said that he wished to stay here for a few days.

He hadn't been here since he had pulled the Master Sword from its pedestal. The more he enjoyed the time he could spent here in this beautiful forest now. Not only Hestu, but also the rest of the Koroks were happy that he would spent some days in their forest and that's what they all let him know. There was barely a second in which he was not stopped by one of the Koroks and sometimes it seemed to him that some of them were adoring him.

Sometimes it made him feel slightly uncomfortable that they almost treated him like a king, because he really wasn't one and he would never be one. He also didn't feel like a hero. He was just a knight who had the task of saving the princess from evil. That he was the bearer of the holy sword, he tried to forget in those moments, but that wasn't very easy to do. Whenever he saw the sword, the force of his destiny seemed to strike him like a thunderbolt and he felt how the load on his shoulders grow heavier and heavier with each day.

Another reason to put the sword away for a few days and to rest and relax a bit…

And the Koroks cared for him so lovingly that he wanted to stay in those woods forever, but he knew he couldn't do that, that he would soon have to leave the woods behind him and that he had to go back into battle.

For Zelda, for the dead Champions...and for the rest of Hyrule...

But today he banished these thoughts as he took the Master Sword off of his back and put it down next to the lovingly made bed that one of the Koroks had made for him. Link always had to smile softly whenever he saw the bed. It had been made of leaves with so much love that he had almost blushed the first time he had seen it.

And he slept so well in that bed...

Even the food, which was served to him throughout the day, was just wonderful.

It had been a long time since he had eaten so well and so much and yes, he could really get used to this.

After food and drink, he was going after some promises he had given some of the Koroks, because there were many who wanted to see his skills as a swordsman and some of them even asked him if he wanted to face the Korok trials, but Link had rejected that offer, but he had promised that he would make up for it one day. Now he just wanted to rest and put his sword to rest after showing the curious Koroks how well he could handle it. Judging by the words of the Great Deku Tree, it was not the first time he held this sword in his hand...

But now the sword lay in the corner of the small section where his bed stood and Link stretched and yawned heartily. The day was slowly coming to an end. The sun was already setting and dipped the forest in a beautiful light.

But he wouldn't be able to fall asleep so fast today, because the Koroks were too excited that the great Hero of Hyrule was in their forest and stayed here overnight.

As soon as Link lay down on the bed of leaves, the first Korok was already standing next to him, watching him. Link didn't see him at first, because he was standing at the foot end of the bed, but as soon as the young man was lying on the bed, the Korok also jumped onto it and frightened Link so much that a rather un-hero like squeak escaped him.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," the little Korok apologized and embarrassed he played with a small branch sticking out of the side of the bed.

Link smiled softly, reaching for the small Korok, picking him up and putting him onto his stomach, before he made himself comfortable on the bed and folding his arms behind his head. He grinned slightly as the Korok got quite nervous and looked at him as if to ask if it was okay for him to be sitting on the hero's stomach. Said hero assured him that he had no problems with that and that he could keep him company as long as he wanted.

The name of the Korok was Pepp and he had been the one who had made the bed of leaves for Link. No wonder he was so nervous around him. This is how Link had come to know Pepp the first time he had entered the Korok Forest.

But gradually the Korok became calmer and less nervous and soon the two talked and Link told him what he had experienced during his adventures.

Pepp looked at him wide-eyed and seemed even more excited than before, when Link told him about the Guardians he'd seen on his long journey through Hyrule. Fortunately, he had always escaped the Guardians without them discovering him, because he didn't want to imagine how a frontal encounter would have ended with a Guardian that was able to walk...or to fly. Probably with his death, but he didn't tell Pepp about that, because he didn't want to scare little Korok any more than he already had. He probably shouldn't have told him about the night of the Bloodmoon...or about the Lynels who roamed Hyrule; always looking for new prey...

Link then tried to lead the conversation to something happier and asked Pepp what they were doing in the forest to pass the time. Some of the Koroks seemed to try their luck with these trials they were talking about earlier and others went into the lost woods to collect mushrooms and other edible plants, which they then offered for sale to travelers. But Pepp was one of the Koroks who avoided the lost woods and preferred to stay in this part of the forest.

"But one day I will have the courage to go into the lost woods and then I will find a Blupee. I want to be as brave as you are Link!"

Link smirked and reached his hand out for Pepp and tickled his stomach.

"I am sure you will, little one," he said, his lips twisting into a small grin as Pepp squealed happily and reached for his finger, but he didn't try too hard to actually push his finger away from his stomach.

Interesting…

But he stopped it after a few moments and pulled his finger back.

But to his surprise, Pepp looked at him expectantly and giggled as he looked straight into his face, scooting a little further forward.

"Why are you stopping?"

Link raised an eyebrow questioningly and looked at Pepp in disbelief.

Did he mean this question seriously or was he kidding him?

"Please don't stop, that was fun!"

Okay...the whole situation just got weird...but somehow funny too.

Pepp looked at him so expectantly that he just couldn't resist it and he reached his finger out to him again.

"What was funny? That?" he asked teasingly, his lips twisting into a small grin again, as he wiggled his forefinger into Pepp's small belly, causing him to squeak and immediately little hands grabbed for his finger. But again, Pepp didn't try to push it away. No. He simply held onto it and laughed with joy. Somehow he was cute when he was laughing and squeaking like that and Link felt a warmth in his heart that he hadn't felt for a very long time. The last time he'd felt it had been when he'd been with Mipha, watching her play with a young Sidon.

That was more than a hundred years ago and Link had almost forgotten about that feeling...

He felt how the hero moved more and more into the background, making room for the child that still lived inside of him and which he had been so many years ago and the louder the little Korok was laughing and squealing, the stronger the warm feeling in his heart became. In the end, he could no longer fight the child in his heart and he let it out of himself. He took his other hand for help, angled his legs at the same time so that Pepp didn't accidentally fall off him while he played with him and soon Link couldn't hold back his smirk anymore, when he tickled Pepp with all his fingers. Of course he made sure not to overdo it, moving his fingers slowly and teasingly over the Korok's body, who didn't want to stop laughing, but not for a second he begged Link to stop. On the contrary, if Link stopped for a moment, Pepp looked at him almost disappointed and he almost begged him to continue, since it seemed to be a lot of fun for him.

Yes, Koroks were indeed weird creatures, but as long as Pepp had fun with this childish game, Link didn't care for how weird this situation was. He himself had a lot of fun too and soon his chuckle turned into cheerful laughter, when he found a spot on Pepp's body that was particularly ticklish and apparently the little Korok couldn't stand it to get tickled there. His laughter was getting shriller and now he was trying to push Link's fingers away from this spot, but Link kept on tickling him there, laughing happily while he did so.

"What? Now you suddenly want me to stop? But earlier you told me to continue? Make up your mind, little one," he said, laughing, but he just got a loud squeak in response.

The loud laughter of the two soon attracted some of the other Koroks and they peered cautiously over to the two and giggled. But no one dared to help Pepp, as no one dared to mess with the Hero of Hyrule.

But they also didn't need to, because Link soon stopped tickling Pepp and pulled his hands away from him, because he decided that it was enough and apparently also the little Korok thought that it was enough, because he looked at him thankfully, but nevertheless he kept on giggling.

"That was so much fun!" he squeaked excitedly and Link just laughed, rolling his eyes playfully at his words, before making himself comfortable again, folding his arms behind his head and closing his eyes.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it," he said, without looking at Pepp.

His lips twisted into a soft smile as he heard Pepp giggle and then he felt how the Korok moved on his stomach and it felt like he wanted to jump off of him. At least, Link thought so, but Pepp taught him something better, because only seconds later, Link felt little fingers pressing into his blue tunic and into the sensitive skin of his stomach. The young hero opened his eyes and squeaked in surprise, before sitting up and grabbing Pepp with his hands and lifting him from his stomach.

"Hey! Don't do that!"

Pepp just giggled and Link soon heard the other Koroks giggling in amusement as well.

He felt his cheeks burning and mumbled something incomprehensible into his non-existing beard before glaring playfully at Pepp.

"Don't even think about it," he growled at him, but Pepp heard it in his voice that Link wasn't serious.

"Now we know how to wake you up tomorrow morning," Pepp said, giggling, and the other Koroks joined in his giggling and Link was already feeling quite nervous about tomorrow morning.

"I'll wake up early," he said.

"We wake up earlier than you..."

Great…

What had he just started?

Somehow he had the feeling that he would regret this little game he had played with Pepp...

The End

(Or maybe...to be continued?)

I hope you enjoyed this silly idea of mine. I couldn't help it, I just had to write this down, since the idea for this story was stuck in my head for quite some time now. Maybe the next one will be a serious story...but I can't make any promises though haha. Depends on which story I want to translate next.

I also have some TP and SS stories which I want to tanslate and upload, so please stay tuned.

And maybe, just maybe (and if you ask niceley ;P) I might write a second part for this one here as well (only if you have interest though).

Thank you for reading and see you at the next story :)