Darunia: Disclaimer! Selphie Louise does not own the Legend of Zelda or any of its characters. They are the property of Shigeru Miyamoto and Nintendo.

Tingle: The characters she does own are Selphie, Iggy, and Jiji. The characters of Kage, Yugi, Mable, and Raven belong to Kearra. The character Ravick is the property of Selphie's friend, Patrick.

Chapter 8

"Urk… this is taking longer than I expected…" Iggy said, looking around through the frame of the house. He and Kage (with help here and there from Link and even Ravick and Daru) had managed that much- the frame and the chimney. The roof was up over the western wing of the house, so Iggy and Jiji camped out there at night. It had gotten steadily colder, so they made fire in the fireplace to make it warmer.

It didn't help much.

Right now the moon was high in the sky, though it drifted in and out of view behind the occasional silvery cloud. They couldn't see it right now because they were in the left extremity of the house where the roof was already up. Iggy and Jiji had just finished eating and were now laying out their blankets so they could go to sleep.

"How bad would it be if the snow came early and got in the house before you guys got a chance to finish it?" Jiji asked, standing as she finished laying out her quilts. She herself had been working with Selphie to create the furniture and bedclothes for when the house was completed.

"Extremely, I'd say," Iggy answered. "On the plus side, we wouldn't have to worry about food going bad," he smirked. Jiji shook her head, smiling softly.

"…Hey, Iggy," she said suddenly.

"Hmm?" he responded, standing as well.

"If I do something, do you promise not to freak out?" she asked.

"Uh… I guess?" he answered. Jiji nodded and moved closer to him. Iggy's eyes widened as she put her arms around him in an embrace.

"Thank you," she said.

"For what?" he asked, taken aback by the sudden display of affection.

"For one thing, building this house. If it weren't for you, we'd still be drifting around Hyrule," Jiji answered, letting go of him for a moment.

"Yeah, but there's no way I could build a house on my own. Most of this is Kage's doing," Iggy answered, trying to shrug it off.

"Maybe, but you got it under way. It was your idea to begin with, and you are the one who's doing it for my benefit," Jiji said. Iggy blushed slightly, and he hoped the fire in the hearth was not enough to show it. "And it's not just the house," Jiji continued. "I mean… you've stuck with me for all these years, even once you didn't need me to help you through the Garo training anymore."

"Jiji, do you think that's why I stuck with you during Garo training?" Iggy asked incredulously.

"Much of it," she answered.

"No!" Iggy replied. "It's because you were my friend!"

"When no one else would be-."

"No, because you were my friend. Period," he corrected. "I mean, you lived right next door to me before we even began that hell. Sure, I started out telling you that you had cooties." Jiji snickered slightly. "But you were still my friend." Jiji nodded slowly.

"You still didn't have to stay with me after we quit," she said.

"And who else was I gonna stay with?" Iggy replied. "Link and Yugi, despite having the extra space, definitely didn't need more people in the way while trying to raise twins. Selphie and Kage don't have the room anyways, and there ain't no way in hell I would have asked Ravick for help." He paused for a moment. "Though thinking on it, I'm sure Daru and the Gorons wouldn't have minded the extra people…"

Jiji gave another small laugh. "The point I was trying to make was that I appreciate you staying with me all this time even when you didn't have to. Even though I'm sure you don't think I need it, thank you for looking out for me…" she put her arms around him again, resting her head lightly against his shoulder. Iggy hesitated and finally slipped his arms around her too.

Neither spoke for a short time. Iggy's mind was running in circles. 'Oh, gods! I'm actually hugging Jiji! And she's actually the one that hugged me first…!' he thought. It felt so much nicer than he imagined it would- and he imagined it quite a few times. One thing he noticed about it that he hadn't expected… she felt a little off balance… was one of her boobs actually bigger than the other, he wondered. He didn't care. Now, in addition to her pink nose and cheeks, he would love her mismatched breasts.

'This would be the perfect time to tell her…' he realized suddenly. 'I couldn't ask for a better opportunity to tell her how I feel…!' Iggy opened his mouth to speak.

Jiji sniggered slightly against him. "What?" he asked self-consciously, about to let go.

Jiji giggled again. "You're taller than me all of a sudden. When did that happen?"

Iggy sighed in relief and smirked. "It's called puberty," he answered. "Your growth spurt ended a couple years ago. Mine's not quite done yet though. Didn't you pay attention when your mommy gave you the 'talk?'" he asked with a grin.

Jiji pushed him away and poked his shoulder playfully. "Well, excuse me. My mommy's sex talk is not exactly what I was thinking about at the moment," she answered defiantly. Suddenly, though, her smile faded and her head lowered slightly.

"Damn those hormones, huh?" he asked. He glanced at her and noticed her abrupt sadness. "Jij?" he asked worriedly, moving closer to her again. She lowered her head a bit more, hugging her arms to her stomach. "Jiji, what's…?"

Jiji shook her head, keeping her head down. "Just… when you mentioned my mother…" she said slowly, breathing deeply. "It just… reminded me of my family… I rarely got to see them during the training… and we left so suddenly… I just… never got a chance to say goodbye… or…" Iggy stooped his head slightly so that he could look at her face and could barely see tears trickling down her cheeks.

"Hey…" he said soothingly, pulling her closer again. She leaned into him, shaking her head as she drew him toward the floor, sitting down now as she cried onto his shoulder. "Calm down, Jij," he whispered, rocking her gently. "Come on…"

"I had so many beefs with my family…" she said. "The last time I saw them I had that huge fight with my mom… I told her I hated them all… and… I wish I could have at least… told them I forgave them… that I didn't die hating them… my mom, my dad, my little sister…" Iggy listened quietly. "The masters probably told them I left the Garo and was killed for it… 'Stupid girl! She could have had it all! If only she'd listened to us, but no! Had to disgrace our entire household…!'"

It saddened him to see her like this. He wanted her to be happy. Since they'd left the Garo she hadn't ever mentioned her family. Iggy felt stupid for not considering her ever thinking about them at all. How long must she have felt like this but never had a chance to let it out? "Jiji, I doubt if they think that," Iggy said. "They probably wish they had done something different to keep you from making that choice."

"I know," Jiji replied. "And that's what kills me. I want them to know that it wasn't their fault I left. But I can never go back and tell them because someone would find out and-."

"And either your family would cave and tell them where we are or be killed for not telling them," Iggy finished for her. Jiji nodded her head. "I know how you feel. I wish I could do the same thing… except for the going back to see my parents again part." Jiji blurted out a short laugh and Iggy smiled.

"This is just one more thing for me to be thanking you for…" Jiji whispered. "I'm sorry for breaking down like that… Thank you for putting up with it. You're such a good friend, Iggy…" She moved out of his arms and to the blankets she set out for herself, taking off her coat. "Let's go to bed now," she said, crawling under the covers and burying her head. "Good night, Iggy. Thank you again." She rolled over, not facing him.

"Right… good night…" Iggy answered, removing his coat as well, but much slower. Just as he sank into his blankets, his heart sank into the pit his stomach. That's all she thought of him as… a friend. She didn't even feel an ounce of what he felt for her… Iggy squeezed his eyes closed as he tried to sleep, suddenly finding it exceedingly difficult.