Link felt a weight lift off his shoulders when he finally uttered the words that had been on the tip of his tongue for the past two days. He loved her. He was in love with Zelda Hyrule, and he had found the courage to tell her.
She gasped against his lips, and her arms wrapped around his neck while she fervently returned his passionate kiss. Did he dare to hope…?
"I love you too, Link." The words filled his ears and set his heart pounding faster. Blood rushed to his face and his groin simultaneously, and he let out the breath he had been subconsciously holding.
He cupped her face with both hands and kissed her with all the pent-up emotion he had within him. He loved her. He needed her. She was everything to him, especially now that his father was gone. Life was too short for him not to admit that he had fallen head over heels for the beautiful blonde.
Her gasp for breath, and cool sea water washing over his feet brought him back to reality, and he blinked, looking around. "I need you again, Zel."
"Here?" she panted. Her hair was tousled from the tumble they took into the waves, and her lips swollen from the fierce kisses they'd shared. Link had never wanted her more than he did in that precise moment.
"Tidepools." He grabbed her hand and half-ran, half-dragged her towards the large cluster of rocks hiding the shallow pools of water created by the waves.
"Link! It's the middle of the afternoon! What if someone sees us?" Zelda's faint protest was cut off with a low moan when he paused to kiss and caress the tender spot on her neck that never failed to arouse her.
"We're in a quiet part of the beach, and they won't, as long as we can keep our voices down." He tugged her behind the rocks and did a quick check. The beach was notably empty, save for an older couple close to the village. The waves lapping against the rocks served to dampen the wanton cry from his girlfriend when Link reached under her waistband to finger her slickened folds.
"Link!" she gasped softly, writhing under his touch.
"I need you," he repeated, undoing his zipper to work himself free, then pulling her hand onto his aching erection. "Please, Zel."
"Take me," she whimpered. She turned away from him and bent over one of the smaller rocks, giving him a view of her skirt pulled snug over her perky ass that had him groaning under his breath.
He was on her in seconds, pushing the skirt aside and moving inside her with a single, swift motion. His eyes swept around to see if they were noticed by anyone, but the beach remained empty, and their lower bodies hidden from any would-be prying eyes.
"Goddess, I love you," Zelda murmured while Link's hands settled on her hips and he set a relentless pace of fucking her. "You never cease to surprise and amaze me."
"I will take that as a high compliment." He grunted as a stronger wave swept over their feet and knees, threatening his balance. His grip tightened on her waist, and his left hand shifted to the rock to steady himself.
"I can't believe we're doing this here... Oh, goddess, Link! Harder!" Zelda cried out, pushing herself back against him in desperation.
Link complied, allowing himself to let out a faint moan of her name. His pleasure only grew knowing she was desperate for him, pleading for him to give her everything he had. Then he was spilling over, coating her insides with his seed while she muffled the scream that accompanied her orgasm with her hand.
He pressed his head against her back, shuddering from the spent energy and the euphoria that came with the risk of being caught balls-deep in his girlfriend. "I love you, Zelda. Thank you," he croaked. His voice broke on the words from the emotion of it all. She LOVED him, as he loved her. Loved him enough to let him do something so ungentlemanly. So uncouth as to have sex in public, simply because he couldn't wait to claim her as his own. He didn't deserve her.
"Link?" Her voice was soft as she turned over to face him and hug him close. "Are you okay?"
He nodded, the words he wanted to say dying in his throat. He squeezed her and gently kissed her lips before pulling away to tuck his now-soft cock back into his shorts. "Come on. Let's head back to the room and shower up. Then we can get some food, if that sounds good to you."
Zelda pulled her skirt down and wrapped her arms around his waist. "You know you can talk to me, right? About anything?"
Link studied his girlfriend's face and gave a single nod. "Yes. Thank you, Zel."
She reluctantly let go and moved to match pace with him, interlacing their fingers together as they slowly walked back.
"Do you want to go out for food or order something for delivery? There's options for both." Link kept his tone light. She didn't need to know how much he was internally struggling and frustrated by everything back in Kakariko. The beach was supposed to be a respite from all of that. A chance to focus on each other, and their growing love for one another.
"I think I'd like to go out, provided it's nothing too fancy. I like the idea of being out in Lurelin, enjoying the village for a bit. We can order in for tomorrow, or something." Zelda squeezed his hand. "Are you certain you're alright, Link?"
"Hm? Oh, yes. Of course. Why wouldn't I be? I'm next to the prettiest girl in Hyrule, and I have no responsibilities demanding my immediate attention." The dancer laughed it off. "I can't think of a better way to spend a weekend, honestly."
His phone rang just then, the ringtone reserved for those on his caller list that he knew but didn't usually do more than text. He answered it without looking at it. "Hello?"
"Hey, Link. It's Tuft. You got a second?"
Link glanced at Zelda who cocked her head and silently mouthed "who's that?"
"Sure, Tuft. What's going on? There's not more trouble at the shop, is there?"
"No, no. Nothing like that," the officer was quick to reassure him. "But a couple things came up with the investigation into the threats made at Champions, and the connection to one Ganondorf Dragmire. Urbosa suggested that I give you a call since you'd had some interactions with the man recently as well."
Link pinched the bridge of his nose to ward off the headache that threatened to grow as the couple walked back into the cottage. "Unfortunately. From my understanding, he's been pressuring Urbosa to sell Champions, as well as pushing my father and I to do the same. He wants the land we're on for something. I'd be shocked if he planned on actually keeping the current businesses as they are. It's not his style."
He popped the phone on speaker so Zelda could hear as well while he sat on the edge of the bed and kicked off his shoes.
There was a slight pause from Tuft before the faint sound of a pen tapping against another hard object. "He wants the land for something, huh. And he's using scare tactics and pressuring people to get what he wants. There's little I hate more than a slimy businessman."
"You can say that again," Zelda murmured.
"Oh, Zelda's there too? Hey, Zelda. Hope you're making sure Link's not working himself too hard."
"Nah, I took her to the beach for the weekend. We needed a break from everything."
"Oh, well don't let me interrupt for too long. So! Before I forget, does the name Ghirahim Darkblade mean anything to you?"
"Please tell me that's not his actual name," Link snorted. "It sounds so–"
"Edgy? Flamboyant? Extra?" Tuft supplied with a laugh. "It's real, alright. I triple-checked it too because it seemed outlandish. But it's legit. He's currently in custody awaiting arraignment on charges of criminal threats, destruction of private property, assault and battery, and resisting arrest. Oh, that's not counting the 5 kilos of cocaine we found in his trunk when we finally caught up with him and pulled him over last night."
"Holy Hylia. That's…" Link stared at Zelda as her mouth fell open.
"I know. That's a huge amount of the stuff. Needless to say, he's held without the opportunity to post bail. We got quite an earful from him over that. But you know how it goes. These guys all claim it was 'planted' and they've never seen that kind of drug in their life." Tuft's sigh conveyed the matching eye roll they couldn't see.
"If you need any further reason to keep the guy, he threatened me with a knife at the club a week ago." Link couldn't look his girlfriend in the eye as he admitted it. "I didn't report it because weird shit happens a lot at the club, but he spooked me."
A chair scraped on Tuft's end of the line. "Link. We've talked about this before. How am I, or any of the other officers here, supposed to do our jobs if you won't tell us when shit like that happens? You're supposed to report it so we can go after the guy before things escalate."
"He didn't hurt me. He just seemed like another freak who got off by holding a knife to my throat while telling me he was going to 'expose my secrets'. Do you know how many messed up kinks and fantasies I've heard before?" Link's voice took on a sharp edge. "There's hardly a night that goes by where I don't have people treating me like an object instead of a person. And for what? Just for the sake of their fucked-up fantaises! If I called every time something happened, you'd be in the club as often as the dancers. People are perverts, and if I can't tolerate a bit of dark roleplaying now and then, I don't belong there."
There was another long pause before Tuft sighed heavily again. "Alright. I see your point. But next time someone is threatening you with a weapon, you tell us, okay? That crosses the line from fantasy to reality."
"You got it." Link finally hazarded a glance at Zelda. "Was there anything else you needed?"
"Hang on… Tuft?"
"'Sup, Zelda?"
"Did you say that the drug that you found in his trunk was cocaine?" Zelda had gotten up to pace by the end of the bed.
"That's correct. It's strange, but the two drugs we have the most problems with, between here and the Capital, are coke and weed. I expect it to be weed when I read reports about drugs being trafficked through Hyrule. But nah. This was the other stuff. Why? You got something for me?" Hope filled the officer's voice.
"Just a theory, but nothing I can prove. If that changes, I will let you know." Zelda flashed Link a small smile. "Thank you, Tuft."
"You got it. And hey, enjoy the beach for me. I could use a vacation when all this is done." Tuft laughed. "And Link?"
"Hm?"
"Zelda's a keeper. You know that, right?" Tuft laughed when he heard Zelda's faint cry of protest and embarrassment. "Take good care of each other. I'll be in touch."
The line went dead and Link laid back on the bed, closing his eyes while he processed things. "That was unexpected."
"Link. I had a thought." Zelda sat beside him, silently wringing her hands from nervousness. "When your father was hospitalized with that seizure, it was from drugs, wasn't it?"
Link's blue eyes flew open. "Cocaine."
"Exactly… I don't think it was a coincidence. Not given all the other strange happenings around Kakariko of late." Zelda took his hand in hers. "Link, we're going to get to the bottom of whatever's going on. What Ganon is planning, he's not going to get away with it. We're going to bring him to justice, one way or another."
"We have to have evidence to do that. There were no traces of cocaine found on any of the other dishes at the restaurant where Dad had dinner… He was deliberately given the drugs. Ganon wanted him dead, and now he's dead. He's not going to stop until the shop is gone and Champions too, for good measure." Link blew out his breath. "So much for a relaxing trip to get away from everything."
"Why don't we take a relaxing shower to try and get our minds off of it, and then have some late lunch?" Zelda suggested. She gently stroked the hair off his forehead and leaned down to give him a kiss.
"Guess so." Link let her deepen the caress, then reluctantly broke it off and led them to the bathroom. The highlight of the cottage was the spacious waterfall shower with stone walls on three sides, and a rock bench under the spigot. The water flowing from the showerhead sounded like rainfall in the forest, immediately relaxing the blond even as he worked on undressing.
Gentle hands slid over his back and helped him pull the shirt from his back. "Do you mind if I join you?" Zelda asked softly.
"I was hoping you would."
Words weren't needed as the couple stepped under the refreshing spray. Link opened his arms and Zelda stepped in close, cuddling against his chest while the water ran over their bodies. He held her close and simply breathed. Let the water wash away the tension. Wash away the exhaustion. The fear of the future. Anything that wasn't present in the moment where it was him, and the woman he loved.
After a few short minutes, the relaxation gave way to arousal, and he gently claimed her lips in his, silently asking permission. Zelda was only too willing, surrendering herself fully to his tender touch. He used the bench to his advantage, giving himself the leverage to enter her from behind and keep his balance under the spray. It took considerable effort, but he was able to forget everything but the mewling, whimpering cries of his girlfriend and lose himself in giving them both the pleasure and comfort they sought in each other.
The shower washed away the evidence of their earlier escapades in the tidepools, and shampoo made short work of cleanup when the couple regained their bearings after Link brought them both to release in the water.
Zelda was the one to break the silence when she turned off the water, shivering until Link handed her the towel. "Link? Why did Urbosa give you the weekend off?"
"I have a decision to make. One that I don't want to make in the midst of everything else that's going on, but she's forcing my hand."
"What decision is that?" Zelda squeezed water out of her hair with one towel while Link wrapped a second one around her body.
"Urbosa asked me to consider quitting dancing at Champions for your sake. She wants my answer by Monday."
"And what's your decision?" Zelda didn't look at him.
"I haven't made one yet. I wanted to talk to you and see what you thought."
"You want the decision to be on my shoulders?" Now Zelda was facing him, and Link felt his heart sink into his stomach.
"It's not like that, Zel. I love you, and I want the decisions we make that could affect our future to be made together." Link mentally scrambled. "She told me that you didn't like me dancing there. I can't deny that I've been worried about it causing a rift between us, more than it already did when you first found out. But I wanted to discuss things with you before I just acted on impulse. Again."
Zelda didn't say anything for a long time. He could tell by the look on her face that she was deep in thought. "What decision do you want to make?"
"I want to make the decision that will make you the happiest. I meant what I said earlier. I love you, Zelda. I want to plan for a future where the two of us can be together. I can't… I can't lose you…" Link swallowed against the lump that formed in his throat. "If you want me to quit dancing at the club, I would, for you. I know you wouldn't ask it of me. But the offer is on the table now. Tell me what you would have me do."
"Link, I–"
The harsh ring of a cell phone going off interrupted the couple again. Link grabbed his off the nightstand, and shook his head. "It's yours, Zel."
Zelda dug through her purse to retrieve it, catching it just before it went to voicemail. "Hello?"
"Zelda? You better turn on the news, and fast." Azzy's voice was frantic. "I don't know what's going on, but someone is out to get you."
"Turn on the tv," Zelda instructed while she grabbed her panties and pulled on the crop top and skirt she'd been given.
Link complied without question, silently pulling his own pants on and sitting down beside her.
Running as a 'breaking story' on the Hyrule News Network was a downtown building in Kakariko engulfed in flames. Fire crews were on scene, doing their best to curb the flames, but the windows had already blown out, and the entire three-story building was bellowing with acrid, black smoke.
"No… NO!" Zelda's knees gave out and she collapsed, unable to do anything but watch as the law office she spent countless hours and days working in went up in smoke.