~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Well, that was something of a hassle," sighed Peach the next morning. "I'm just glad you guys made it home all right."
"It took us a bit, I'll admit it," Zelda yawned. "Gosh, I got to bed so late. Is Nicole still asleep?"
"Yes, and she probably will be until noon," Peach answered, rolling her eyes. "We nearly got separated twice last night in that crowd."
"I'm assuming that you have the day off.?" Zelda asked with another yawn.
"Yeah. But tomorrow I go back to work."
"Joy." Zelda lazily opened the fridge and glanced at what was inside it, then closed it and headed for the door. "I'll see you later, Peach."
"Where're you going?"
"Oh, I told Link I'd go with him to Central Park," Zelda answered with a smile. "I'll buy a pretzel or something on the way over. And just so you know, I may not be home for dinner. We might eat somewhere."
"How romantic!" Peach said in a mocking voice, giggling. Zelda laughed and gave her a hug, then began to make her way towards the door. "Wait a minute," Peach said, causing her sister to come to a halt. "I told Nicole I'd take her down to the Stuart Little boating thing today at Central Park around one..."
Zelda shrugged. "Okay. Maybe we'll see you there. I'm sure it'll be okay with Link."
"Well, if it's not, you can just avoid that place."
"Yeah, I guess so," Zelda laughed. "Bye!"
"Bye."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"OVER THERE!!" Zelda shouted excitedly, causing Link to jump. "Right there, across from the Guggenheim!! A PARKING SPOT!! GO GO GO GO!!!"
"How convenient," Link remarked, pulling into the spot. "And right next to the entrance to Central Park. I don't think I've ever had a better parking place." He jumped out of the car, and Zelda got out too and walked around to his side.
She linked her elbow with his and grasped his hand tightly. As they walked into the park, Link leaned over and kissed Zelda's cheek softly. She laughed and blushed at the same time, then asked, "Is there any particular place in the park you want to go?"
Link shrugged. "I dunno. I think just a walk around the place would be nice."
"Uh. . .my sister said she was bringing my neice here later around the Stuart Little boating place thingy, and. . .uh. . .yeah."
"Well, maybe we'll see them," Link said, grinning. "It's fine with me."
A short time later, the two of them reached the large statue of Alice & co. by the Stuart Little pond. The statue depicted Alice (from Wonderland) staring at the caterpillar, who was seated on top of a large mushroom. On either side of the mushroom stood the Mad Hatter and the March Hare.
"They look just the way they were drawn in the book," Zelda said.
"Never read it," Link said.
"I read it when I was in like third grade or something," Zelda said, taking her place among the small children and sitting on the stone mushroom. "The pictures stood out, because I remember all the characters except Alice had really really REALLY big heads." She laughed, and Link chuckled a bit too.
"Kinda like Yubaba from Spirited Away?" Link asked.
"Yeah, I think so," Zelda answered, hopping off the mushroom. "I actually read that comparison in a magazine somewhere."
"Well, here we are at the Stuart Little boating pond," Link said, putting a hand over his eyes to shield them from the sun. "But I don't see any sign of your sister or your neice."
"Hm...me neither." Zelda shrugged. "Oh well, I guess they didn't come yet. C'mon, let's walk down that way."
They walked arm-in-arm down a cement path which took a curve by a large, gray building. Zelda wondered what the building was, but didn't question it out loud.
"Nicole tells me all the time that she wants to see that statue of Balto they have here," Zelda said. "She used to be obsessed with the movie, and was shocked when she found out it was based on a true story. I told her the statue in the movie is right here in this city, and she's told me time after time that she wants to see it."
"I saw it going on an overpass once," Link said. "But I can't remember where it was, exactly."
"Well, that's too bad."
About twenty minutes later, Link and Zelda found themselves at one of the exits of the park again.
"That seemed like it went by really fast," Zelda commented.
"Well, time flies by while you're having fun," Link said with a grin, taking a seat on one of the wooden benches.
Zelda sat down next to him with a contented sigh. She rested her head on his shoulder, and he automatically put an arm around her. With a smile, she took Link's hand in her own and squeezed it softly.
"Love you," she whispered softly. Zelda sat up slightly and kissed Link avidly. He began to kiss her back, when he suddenly pulled away.
"Zel, this is no place to be doing. . .this," he said, glancing at an old lady who had been staring at them as if they were huge sinners.
"Then where do you suggest?" she asked, seductively putting her arms around his neck and waiting for a response.
Grinning, Link took Zelda's hand and led her running back to the spot where his car was parked. "C'mon, let's head some place where we can be alone.
As Link opened his car door, Zelda hesitated. She was sure she knew what Link was implying, she just didn't know if it was right or not. Taking a deep breath, she went into the car and hoped she knew what she was doing.
As they came to a stoplight a while later, Link leaned towards Zelda and pointed out her window. "You see that church over there?"
"Yeah..."
"Almost no one goes in there anymore. I guess it's 'cause of the bigger churches they have now, but wow. . ." He smiled as the light turned green and he went on again. "That one church has some of the most beautiful stained glass windows I've ever seen."
"Do people still go inside?"
"Oh, yeah," Link answered casually. "Sometimes even a priest goes in there to say prayers. I used to go there all the time when I was younger, just to pray for stuff. And you know what's weird is that. . .God would always answer them."
"Really?" Zelda asked. Link nodded. Zelda began to think as they drove on. Think about that church, about where they were going and what they'd be doing, and thinking about where Peach and Nicole were right now.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
After about twenty-five minutes of driving, Link pulled into a spot in front of a tall apartment. He and Zelda got out of the car and walked towards it.
Zelda counted the steps as they headed towards the second floor and into room B-14. She shivered slightly as Link unlocked the door and they stepped inside. There was a silence as the two of them stared at each other, not really sure of what to say.
Blinking slowly, Zelda walked towards a shelf with a row of framed pictures on it. "Is this your. . .mother?" she asked softly, staring at a photograph of a young woman in a scarlet red dress.
"Yeah," Link said, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. "That's her."
"You look just like her," Zelda said, smiling.
"A lot of people say that," Link laughed, taking another look at the other pictures. "Let's see. . .that's my Uncle, my Aunts and that's my grandfather."
Zelda's eyes shifted to the last photograph, and she jumped subtely. "W-who's that?" she stammered, pointing to the picture of a red-haired man, whose arms were wrapped tightly around a blonde woman.
"Oh, that's my brother-in-law and my sister," Link answered.
"His. . .his name isn't. . ."
"It's Roy," Link said.
Zelda stared at the picture, hating Link's sister for that one moment. Hating her, and yet feeling guilty for hating her at the same time.
"Um. . .is there a bathroom down the hall? Cause I kinda have to--"
"Oh, yeah, it's that door over there," Link told her, nodding towards a room at his right. She quickly walked in and shut the door.
Link walked quietly towards the photo of his mother, and took it out of the frame. He sighed softly as he traced the ripped edge of the right side. His father should've been on the side, but his body had been torn out completely.
*FLASHBACK*
Link woke up in his bed as he heard something crash. Loud voices seeped from the downstairs and through the cracks underneath his door. Chills went down Link's spine as he debated whether or not to go and see what was going on. Something bad was going on, and he desperately felt a need to find out what it was.
As quietly as possible, Link crept slowly out of his bed and walked towards the stairway. He decided this was as far as he should go--should he start walking down the wooden steps, his parents would certainly hear him. Then he realized that his parents were the ones shouting. Link could hear their voices quite clearly now:
"Hunter, why are you doing this?!" he heard his mother cry. "Why?!"
"It's not your buisiness if I decided to--to--"
"Just walk away and go?!"
Link jumped as he saw two shadows appear on the wall in front of him. Just to be careful, he crouched back further into the shadows.
"I am sick and tired of this, Lily!" his father shouted, throwing what appeared to be a large suitcase into another room. "If my mother had not been so insistent on controlling every single thing in my life, I would have never in a million YEARS even thought about marrying you! Now that she's good and dead, I have the right to do what I want without having to worry about her coming after me and see that I'm punished for disobeying her!"
"So now you're going to blame this on your mother, you mama's boy!" Lily accused him.
"Shut up and listen to me!" Hunter shouted. Link's eyes widened as he saw the shadow of his father strike the shadow of his mother sharply across the face. Lily let out a short screama and stooped over, trying to stop the pain building in her cheek.
"Hunter, you'll wake the children if you keep on--"
"I don't care about those worthless brats!" Hunter roared. "Let them hear me! They'll never see me again! All they ever were to me were just more mouths to feed! I don't even give a--"
"The children," Lily whispered, slowly removing her hand from her face. "Hunter, tomorrow is Link's ninth birthday and you're just going to-- "
"Here!" Hunter shouted, fumbling for something in his pocket and throwing a pack of cigars at his wife. "Here, tell Link that this is from his father, whom he won't be seeing for a very long time!"
Hunter then turned on his heel, opened the front door, and slammed it shut as loudly as he could. Lily stood there, tears slowly coming down her face. Then, screaming with rage, she threw the pack of cigars into the next room. She then raced up the stairs and turned towards her room.
Link pressed his body against the wall, hoping his mother wouldn't see him. She didn't. Being an eight year old (though going on nine), he did not fully grasp what had just gone on. Slowly, he tiptoed as quietly as he could down the steps until he reached the bottom floor. He walked into the dining room, then stooped down by the wall. There lay his father's pack of cigars.
A few minutes later, he dragged himself back into bed. 'God punish me if I ever do that to anyone,' Link thought to himself.
*PRESENT*
Link hastily put the picture back in its frame and walked over to a small, round table. He opened the drawer, and took out a pack of cigars. An old, dusty, never-been-used cigar pack.
Blowing some hair out of his face, Link muttered, "Thanks a lot dad."
Zelda was also having her fair share of bad memories. Knowing that Link was connected to that. . .that abhorrent man she had once loved! Someone as sweet and kind and trustworthy as Link was somehow incorporated with that monster! It was almost unthinkable!
She stood in front of the mirror, not staring at her reflection, and trying to stop all the memories from approaching her mind. Something tugged at Zelda's concsience, as if wanting her to tell Link that Roy had been seeing her on the side while being married to his sister. But she couldn't do it. She could not bring herself to say it.
Sighing, Zelda leaned over to flush the toilet (which had not been used) and wiped away at her tearing eyes. She put on a smile as she walked out of the bathroom.
Link quickly stuffed the cigars back into the drawer and shut it.
Zelda came up from behind Link and put her arms around his neck. "Love you," she sighed.
"Zel. . ." Link said. She put her hand on his cheek, then leaned forward and kissed him as if her life depended on it. Zelda felt his tongue brush against her lips softly, and she eagerly admitted him to French-kiss her. Both felt their temperatures rising at a terrifying rate, and Zelda's arms reached out to pull Link's jacked off his body.
Suddenly, Link stepped away.
Zelda stood there, dazed, for a moment. Then she said, "Are you okay, honey?"
Shaking his head, Link whispered, "Not really. I just don't really feel that great. It's. . .nothing serious, I just feel a little. . .tired."
"I understand," Zelda said. "Staying up so late last night trying to navigate our way home." She chuckled softly. "I'll just. . .y'know, show myself out--"
"I'm really sorry," Link said softly. "I just don't know how. . .to describe how I'm feeling right now. I wish I could drive you home. . ."
"No, no, it's okay," Zelda said, as Link crashed onto the couch. "I'll just catch a taxi." She bent down and kissed his forehead briefly. "Thanks for a great day."
"No problem," Link mouthed, the words not able to find their way out.
"I'll. . .I guess I'll call you later," Zelda said. "Bye." She saw Link attempting to say good-bye to her, but again no words came out. Feeling a little bad for him, Zelda walked outside the apartment and back onto the street.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Mommy, it's not moving."
"You keep crashing it into the wall, honey."
".........."
"Push the stick that way."
"OH!"
Peach and Nicole had finally arrived at the Stuart Little boating pond (missing Link and Zelda completely). Nicole had gotten boat number 14, and was having a little trouble getting it started. That is, until Peach told her which way she should be pushing the control stick.
"Wow, look how fast it's going!" Nicole cried excitedly, making Peach smile helplessly.
"Hey, look out for boat 7," Peach said, watching Nicole swerve her boat out of the way just in time. "That's my girl!" She laughed as her daughter's boat zoomed around the pond, frightening the small fish into their little clusters by the wall. 'I wish that there had been stuff like this when I was a kid,' she thought.
"So, you finally decided to show up," came a voice from behind her.
Peach turned around. "Zel? Hi, where's Link."
Zelda squatted down next to her sister. "We already came by here, and the poor guy wasn't feeling too well."
"Oh, sorry."
"S'okay," Zelda said, shrugging. "So, I just decided to come by here and see if you guys were here."
"Well, we are," Peach remarked, stating the obvious.
"We stopped by Link's apartment," Zelda said. She watched Peach's eyebrows go up slightly. "But we didn't do. . .anything!" she added quickly in a huff.
"WOW, I'M SO GOOD AT THIS!!!" Nicole complimented herself.
Zelda was about to tell Peach about Roy and Link's sister, but changed her mind. She didn't feel like telling her about that just yet. Besides, she didn't want to have another scene in this park full of people.
"Did you guys go over to that Alice statue over there?" Zelda asked, nodding her head towards the right.
"Yep," Peach said, pulling her digital camera out of her purse. "Look, some old guy took this picture for us."
"Oh, that's so cute!" Zelda gushed, holding the camera up to her face and smiling. "It's too bad me and Link didn't have a camera on us."
"Mm-hm. Say, don't you wish that they'd had places like this when we were Nicole's age?" Instead of answering, Zelda asked:
"Say Nicole, can I give that a try?"
"Sure!" Nicole said, handing the control over to her aunt. "It's so much fun!"
Smiling devilishly, Zelda swerved the boat in and out of all the others, causing the water to come up in little splashing waves. "MUA HA HA HAHA!!!"
"Wow, you're not half bad," Peach said, nodding her head.
"This IS fun!!" Zelda shouted, who was possibly having the time of her life. "Give it a shot, Peach!"
"Oh no, I couldn't."
"Aw, c'mon! Don't be such a fraidy cat!"
"Oh, all right."
.............................
And the day ended with Nicole and Zelda laughing hysterically at Peach's terrible boat navigation.
"Well, that was something of a hassle," sighed Peach the next morning. "I'm just glad you guys made it home all right."
"It took us a bit, I'll admit it," Zelda yawned. "Gosh, I got to bed so late. Is Nicole still asleep?"
"Yes, and she probably will be until noon," Peach answered, rolling her eyes. "We nearly got separated twice last night in that crowd."
"I'm assuming that you have the day off.?" Zelda asked with another yawn.
"Yeah. But tomorrow I go back to work."
"Joy." Zelda lazily opened the fridge and glanced at what was inside it, then closed it and headed for the door. "I'll see you later, Peach."
"Where're you going?"
"Oh, I told Link I'd go with him to Central Park," Zelda answered with a smile. "I'll buy a pretzel or something on the way over. And just so you know, I may not be home for dinner. We might eat somewhere."
"How romantic!" Peach said in a mocking voice, giggling. Zelda laughed and gave her a hug, then began to make her way towards the door. "Wait a minute," Peach said, causing her sister to come to a halt. "I told Nicole I'd take her down to the Stuart Little boating thing today at Central Park around one..."
Zelda shrugged. "Okay. Maybe we'll see you there. I'm sure it'll be okay with Link."
"Well, if it's not, you can just avoid that place."
"Yeah, I guess so," Zelda laughed. "Bye!"
"Bye."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"OVER THERE!!" Zelda shouted excitedly, causing Link to jump. "Right there, across from the Guggenheim!! A PARKING SPOT!! GO GO GO GO!!!"
"How convenient," Link remarked, pulling into the spot. "And right next to the entrance to Central Park. I don't think I've ever had a better parking place." He jumped out of the car, and Zelda got out too and walked around to his side.
She linked her elbow with his and grasped his hand tightly. As they walked into the park, Link leaned over and kissed Zelda's cheek softly. She laughed and blushed at the same time, then asked, "Is there any particular place in the park you want to go?"
Link shrugged. "I dunno. I think just a walk around the place would be nice."
"Uh. . .my sister said she was bringing my neice here later around the Stuart Little boating place thingy, and. . .uh. . .yeah."
"Well, maybe we'll see them," Link said, grinning. "It's fine with me."
A short time later, the two of them reached the large statue of Alice & co. by the Stuart Little pond. The statue depicted Alice (from Wonderland) staring at the caterpillar, who was seated on top of a large mushroom. On either side of the mushroom stood the Mad Hatter and the March Hare.
"They look just the way they were drawn in the book," Zelda said.
"Never read it," Link said.
"I read it when I was in like third grade or something," Zelda said, taking her place among the small children and sitting on the stone mushroom. "The pictures stood out, because I remember all the characters except Alice had really really REALLY big heads." She laughed, and Link chuckled a bit too.
"Kinda like Yubaba from Spirited Away?" Link asked.
"Yeah, I think so," Zelda answered, hopping off the mushroom. "I actually read that comparison in a magazine somewhere."
"Well, here we are at the Stuart Little boating pond," Link said, putting a hand over his eyes to shield them from the sun. "But I don't see any sign of your sister or your neice."
"Hm...me neither." Zelda shrugged. "Oh well, I guess they didn't come yet. C'mon, let's walk down that way."
They walked arm-in-arm down a cement path which took a curve by a large, gray building. Zelda wondered what the building was, but didn't question it out loud.
"Nicole tells me all the time that she wants to see that statue of Balto they have here," Zelda said. "She used to be obsessed with the movie, and was shocked when she found out it was based on a true story. I told her the statue in the movie is right here in this city, and she's told me time after time that she wants to see it."
"I saw it going on an overpass once," Link said. "But I can't remember where it was, exactly."
"Well, that's too bad."
About twenty minutes later, Link and Zelda found themselves at one of the exits of the park again.
"That seemed like it went by really fast," Zelda commented.
"Well, time flies by while you're having fun," Link said with a grin, taking a seat on one of the wooden benches.
Zelda sat down next to him with a contented sigh. She rested her head on his shoulder, and he automatically put an arm around her. With a smile, she took Link's hand in her own and squeezed it softly.
"Love you," she whispered softly. Zelda sat up slightly and kissed Link avidly. He began to kiss her back, when he suddenly pulled away.
"Zel, this is no place to be doing. . .this," he said, glancing at an old lady who had been staring at them as if they were huge sinners.
"Then where do you suggest?" she asked, seductively putting her arms around his neck and waiting for a response.
Grinning, Link took Zelda's hand and led her running back to the spot where his car was parked. "C'mon, let's head some place where we can be alone.
As Link opened his car door, Zelda hesitated. She was sure she knew what Link was implying, she just didn't know if it was right or not. Taking a deep breath, she went into the car and hoped she knew what she was doing.
As they came to a stoplight a while later, Link leaned towards Zelda and pointed out her window. "You see that church over there?"
"Yeah..."
"Almost no one goes in there anymore. I guess it's 'cause of the bigger churches they have now, but wow. . ." He smiled as the light turned green and he went on again. "That one church has some of the most beautiful stained glass windows I've ever seen."
"Do people still go inside?"
"Oh, yeah," Link answered casually. "Sometimes even a priest goes in there to say prayers. I used to go there all the time when I was younger, just to pray for stuff. And you know what's weird is that. . .God would always answer them."
"Really?" Zelda asked. Link nodded. Zelda began to think as they drove on. Think about that church, about where they were going and what they'd be doing, and thinking about where Peach and Nicole were right now.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
After about twenty-five minutes of driving, Link pulled into a spot in front of a tall apartment. He and Zelda got out of the car and walked towards it.
Zelda counted the steps as they headed towards the second floor and into room B-14. She shivered slightly as Link unlocked the door and they stepped inside. There was a silence as the two of them stared at each other, not really sure of what to say.
Blinking slowly, Zelda walked towards a shelf with a row of framed pictures on it. "Is this your. . .mother?" she asked softly, staring at a photograph of a young woman in a scarlet red dress.
"Yeah," Link said, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. "That's her."
"You look just like her," Zelda said, smiling.
"A lot of people say that," Link laughed, taking another look at the other pictures. "Let's see. . .that's my Uncle, my Aunts and that's my grandfather."
Zelda's eyes shifted to the last photograph, and she jumped subtely. "W-who's that?" she stammered, pointing to the picture of a red-haired man, whose arms were wrapped tightly around a blonde woman.
"Oh, that's my brother-in-law and my sister," Link answered.
"His. . .his name isn't. . ."
"It's Roy," Link said.
Zelda stared at the picture, hating Link's sister for that one moment. Hating her, and yet feeling guilty for hating her at the same time.
"Um. . .is there a bathroom down the hall? Cause I kinda have to--"
"Oh, yeah, it's that door over there," Link told her, nodding towards a room at his right. She quickly walked in and shut the door.
Link walked quietly towards the photo of his mother, and took it out of the frame. He sighed softly as he traced the ripped edge of the right side. His father should've been on the side, but his body had been torn out completely.
*FLASHBACK*
Link woke up in his bed as he heard something crash. Loud voices seeped from the downstairs and through the cracks underneath his door. Chills went down Link's spine as he debated whether or not to go and see what was going on. Something bad was going on, and he desperately felt a need to find out what it was.
As quietly as possible, Link crept slowly out of his bed and walked towards the stairway. He decided this was as far as he should go--should he start walking down the wooden steps, his parents would certainly hear him. Then he realized that his parents were the ones shouting. Link could hear their voices quite clearly now:
"Hunter, why are you doing this?!" he heard his mother cry. "Why?!"
"It's not your buisiness if I decided to--to--"
"Just walk away and go?!"
Link jumped as he saw two shadows appear on the wall in front of him. Just to be careful, he crouched back further into the shadows.
"I am sick and tired of this, Lily!" his father shouted, throwing what appeared to be a large suitcase into another room. "If my mother had not been so insistent on controlling every single thing in my life, I would have never in a million YEARS even thought about marrying you! Now that she's good and dead, I have the right to do what I want without having to worry about her coming after me and see that I'm punished for disobeying her!"
"So now you're going to blame this on your mother, you mama's boy!" Lily accused him.
"Shut up and listen to me!" Hunter shouted. Link's eyes widened as he saw the shadow of his father strike the shadow of his mother sharply across the face. Lily let out a short screama and stooped over, trying to stop the pain building in her cheek.
"Hunter, you'll wake the children if you keep on--"
"I don't care about those worthless brats!" Hunter roared. "Let them hear me! They'll never see me again! All they ever were to me were just more mouths to feed! I don't even give a--"
"The children," Lily whispered, slowly removing her hand from her face. "Hunter, tomorrow is Link's ninth birthday and you're just going to-- "
"Here!" Hunter shouted, fumbling for something in his pocket and throwing a pack of cigars at his wife. "Here, tell Link that this is from his father, whom he won't be seeing for a very long time!"
Hunter then turned on his heel, opened the front door, and slammed it shut as loudly as he could. Lily stood there, tears slowly coming down her face. Then, screaming with rage, she threw the pack of cigars into the next room. She then raced up the stairs and turned towards her room.
Link pressed his body against the wall, hoping his mother wouldn't see him. She didn't. Being an eight year old (though going on nine), he did not fully grasp what had just gone on. Slowly, he tiptoed as quietly as he could down the steps until he reached the bottom floor. He walked into the dining room, then stooped down by the wall. There lay his father's pack of cigars.
A few minutes later, he dragged himself back into bed. 'God punish me if I ever do that to anyone,' Link thought to himself.
*PRESENT*
Link hastily put the picture back in its frame and walked over to a small, round table. He opened the drawer, and took out a pack of cigars. An old, dusty, never-been-used cigar pack.
Blowing some hair out of his face, Link muttered, "Thanks a lot dad."
Zelda was also having her fair share of bad memories. Knowing that Link was connected to that. . .that abhorrent man she had once loved! Someone as sweet and kind and trustworthy as Link was somehow incorporated with that monster! It was almost unthinkable!
She stood in front of the mirror, not staring at her reflection, and trying to stop all the memories from approaching her mind. Something tugged at Zelda's concsience, as if wanting her to tell Link that Roy had been seeing her on the side while being married to his sister. But she couldn't do it. She could not bring herself to say it.
Sighing, Zelda leaned over to flush the toilet (which had not been used) and wiped away at her tearing eyes. She put on a smile as she walked out of the bathroom.
Link quickly stuffed the cigars back into the drawer and shut it.
Zelda came up from behind Link and put her arms around his neck. "Love you," she sighed.
"Zel. . ." Link said. She put her hand on his cheek, then leaned forward and kissed him as if her life depended on it. Zelda felt his tongue brush against her lips softly, and she eagerly admitted him to French-kiss her. Both felt their temperatures rising at a terrifying rate, and Zelda's arms reached out to pull Link's jacked off his body.
Suddenly, Link stepped away.
Zelda stood there, dazed, for a moment. Then she said, "Are you okay, honey?"
Shaking his head, Link whispered, "Not really. I just don't really feel that great. It's. . .nothing serious, I just feel a little. . .tired."
"I understand," Zelda said. "Staying up so late last night trying to navigate our way home." She chuckled softly. "I'll just. . .y'know, show myself out--"
"I'm really sorry," Link said softly. "I just don't know how. . .to describe how I'm feeling right now. I wish I could drive you home. . ."
"No, no, it's okay," Zelda said, as Link crashed onto the couch. "I'll just catch a taxi." She bent down and kissed his forehead briefly. "Thanks for a great day."
"No problem," Link mouthed, the words not able to find their way out.
"I'll. . .I guess I'll call you later," Zelda said. "Bye." She saw Link attempting to say good-bye to her, but again no words came out. Feeling a little bad for him, Zelda walked outside the apartment and back onto the street.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Mommy, it's not moving."
"You keep crashing it into the wall, honey."
".........."
"Push the stick that way."
"OH!"
Peach and Nicole had finally arrived at the Stuart Little boating pond (missing Link and Zelda completely). Nicole had gotten boat number 14, and was having a little trouble getting it started. That is, until Peach told her which way she should be pushing the control stick.
"Wow, look how fast it's going!" Nicole cried excitedly, making Peach smile helplessly.
"Hey, look out for boat 7," Peach said, watching Nicole swerve her boat out of the way just in time. "That's my girl!" She laughed as her daughter's boat zoomed around the pond, frightening the small fish into their little clusters by the wall. 'I wish that there had been stuff like this when I was a kid,' she thought.
"So, you finally decided to show up," came a voice from behind her.
Peach turned around. "Zel? Hi, where's Link."
Zelda squatted down next to her sister. "We already came by here, and the poor guy wasn't feeling too well."
"Oh, sorry."
"S'okay," Zelda said, shrugging. "So, I just decided to come by here and see if you guys were here."
"Well, we are," Peach remarked, stating the obvious.
"We stopped by Link's apartment," Zelda said. She watched Peach's eyebrows go up slightly. "But we didn't do. . .anything!" she added quickly in a huff.
"WOW, I'M SO GOOD AT THIS!!!" Nicole complimented herself.
Zelda was about to tell Peach about Roy and Link's sister, but changed her mind. She didn't feel like telling her about that just yet. Besides, she didn't want to have another scene in this park full of people.
"Did you guys go over to that Alice statue over there?" Zelda asked, nodding her head towards the right.
"Yep," Peach said, pulling her digital camera out of her purse. "Look, some old guy took this picture for us."
"Oh, that's so cute!" Zelda gushed, holding the camera up to her face and smiling. "It's too bad me and Link didn't have a camera on us."
"Mm-hm. Say, don't you wish that they'd had places like this when we were Nicole's age?" Instead of answering, Zelda asked:
"Say Nicole, can I give that a try?"
"Sure!" Nicole said, handing the control over to her aunt. "It's so much fun!"
Smiling devilishly, Zelda swerved the boat in and out of all the others, causing the water to come up in little splashing waves. "MUA HA HA HAHA!!!"
"Wow, you're not half bad," Peach said, nodding her head.
"This IS fun!!" Zelda shouted, who was possibly having the time of her life. "Give it a shot, Peach!"
"Oh no, I couldn't."
"Aw, c'mon! Don't be such a fraidy cat!"
"Oh, all right."
.............................
And the day ended with Nicole and Zelda laughing hysterically at Peach's terrible boat navigation.