A/N: Hello! I know you all hate me for being a lazy updater, but it's a hectic time. This hasn't been helped by the fact that I've been suffering from a major inferiority complex ever since reading (and then re-reading a gazillion times) Crazygurlmadness's new story 'Only In Hyrule'. If you're not reading it… why not?

Please review! I could really use the feedback since I'm a little perplexed about this chapter.

Muchos luv, Silverpistola

Chapter 7

"Spill."

"Goddesses, that is so American."

"Don't try to distract me. I want to know everything."

"About what?"

"The coy act won't cut it with me. About last night."

"I could say the same thing to you."

"You first."

"Uh uh."

"Uh huh."

Aryll smiled. "Fine. If you must know it was… nice."

My brow quirked. "Nice as in dull or nice as in it was good but I don't wanna get over-excited about it in order to retain my dignity."

She bit her lip. "The latter."

I snapped my fingers, triumphantly. "I knew it!"

"Oh Link," She sighed, happily, "he's just so… sarcastic."

I frowned. "Of course, that was the exact quality I was searching for."

"When he picked me up he was really nervous, I could tell. He was wearing a blue suit and he looked totally adorable."

"Hmm, too much detail, Aryll."

"And he brought me white carnations and stammered out how beautiful I looked. And during the dinner party, which was dullsville by the way; an hour and a half of listening to Malon Rivers going on about her tour of Africa, he leaned over and asked me if I was about to fall asleep too. So we ditched the party and went to watch a singer at The Tudor."

"Sheik took you to the Tudor!" I yelled, my good mood suddenly vanishing.

Sheik took my sister to The Tudor! A cesspit of artists and touchy feely thespians, all of which drank too much wine and talked too much drivel. What was he thinking? She could have been brainwashed! Or started considering solipsism!

"Godesses, Link, chill. He didn't even have a drink and he introduced me to all his friends there. It was awesome. I've never met anyone like him, Link."

Her eyes were sparkling and her smile was so happy. It broke my heart. In a good and a bad way.

"You know, I expected a little reciprocation," Aryll told me, planting her hands on her hips.

"It's a slightly different scenario. You are my sister, Sheik is my friend, therefore I have a right to know. Zelda however, is linked to neither of you."

"She's Sheik's neighbour," Aryll argued, weakly.

"So?"

"And blonde, about 5"9, a journalist and a blues fan."

My eyes narrowed. "You googled her, didn't you?"

"Link, you may think you're pretty sly, but you learned from the best. Now, tell me."

I sighed. And in a manner befitting of a fifteen year old schoolgirl, the details of my date with Zelda came gushing out. Dinner, the carousel and the kiss.

The kiss, the kiss, the kiss. I'd relived it approximately a million times already. Goddesses, how had I become this gibbering mess of hormones?

Was it possible? Could I be falling in love?

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"I'd say so," Sheik agreed.

I dropped my head into my hands. "Oh hell."

"Link, love is the most wonderful, fulfilling-"

"Can it, Sheik. Could you stop thinking about my sister for one minute and help me?"

Sheik looked up from inspecting my screensaver and looked at me, pityingly.

"Link, have you never seen this film before? I can't help you. No one can."

I got up and pointed at him, accusingly. "That attitude is not helpful."

"Geez, Link, I don't get you anyway. You return to England, you find a girl, you fall in love. I hasten to mention that you would never have met her if I hadn't offered you my apartment. And how do you repay me? By refusing to hoover!"

"Way to focus," I mumbled, falling back down on the couch.

"Really Link, I can't even see the carpet for the dust."

"Sheik."

"And you haven't been using coasters."

"Sheik."

"And just look at the state of those windows."

"I can't fall in love."

Sheik paused from his hygiene inspection. "Why not?"

"I live in New York. She lives in London."

"Yeah, well you're gonna have to come back again when I get married," Sheik told me, absent-mindedly.

My eyes widened. Sheik suddenly stood bolt upright as though the implications of what he had said had just occurred to him.

"I was joking-"

He was cut off by a knock at the door. For a moment we both just stared at it, not moving an inch.

"It's her," Sheik whispered, mischievously.

"More like it's one of your ex-birds," I snapped, getting up.

"I don't have ex-birds," Sheik muttered, defensively as I opened the door.

And it was her.

Looking radiant and angelic as always.

"Hi," she greeted, warmly.

"Hey."

I could almost feel Sheik roll his eyes. He was loving this. Git.

"Do you, uh, wanna come in?" I asked, trying to quell the sudden nervousness I felt.

"Well, I got off work early and I was just wondering if maybe you wanted to do something. Go see a film or…" She trailed off suddenly looking uncomfortable. "But you probably have plans already. I'm sorry…"

She turned to leave but I caught her arm. "I would honestly like to do something with you Zelda, it's just I'm going for a meal with Sheik-"

"-But you could come," Sheik quickly cut in, appearing in the doorway.

Zelda looked a little taken aback, but she recovered, quickly. "I wouldn't want to intrude."

"No, it'd be great," Sheik insisted. "Aryll's coming too, anyway."

Sheik slipped on his jacket and stepped out into the hall. "I won't take no for an answer. We'll pick you guys up at seven."

Zelda glanced up at me as Sheik called the lift.

"I'm sorry-"

"Believe me, I'm the one who should be sorry. I think I just allowed us to be dragged into a double date."

Sheik disappeared into the lift.

She laughed. "He's more devious than you."

"Or maybe it's just payback?"

"I think he may need a little moral support," Zelda said, thoughtfully.

I leaned against the doorframe. God, I loved how sweet she was.

"I owe him anyway," I said, softly.

A moment of shy silence fell between us.

"So, is this a casual meal or full dress up kinda meal?"

Not that it mattered anyway, since Zelda would probably look good in rags. "Sheik tends to go for somewhere special. In fact-" I suddenly felt a shot of dread. "he's probably going to take us the The Cavern."

"Really?" Zelda cried, allowing her excitement to flow into her voice. I melted as she blushed.

"Yeah, we kind of, know the chef."

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"LINKIE!"

I winced as a small yet powerful figure came barrelling across the restaurant to wring my hand. Darunia's smile stretched across his ruddy, scarred face, and his dark, kind eyes twinkled.

"Hey Darunia."

"And you brought Sheik! And Miss Aryll!"

Aryll smiled and hugged Darunia.

"And who might this be?" He asked, suddenly taking notice of Zelda.

"This is Zelda, my…"

Girlfriend? Companion? Soul mate?

All eyes were on me. I had to say something. Goddesses, anything!

"His neighbour," she finished, smiling up at me.

I guess this was exactly why I'd stopped dating in the first place. All those unspoken things, never knowing what to say, how to act.

Still, as her hand brushed mine and our fingers laced together, I remembered why I'd made an exception.

"I have a great table for you, right near the window! And tonight, I shall serve up a feast!"

Darunia led us to a table with a great view of the magnificent fountains outside. Sheik quickly pulled out Aryll's chair for her and I followed suit, watching Sheik as he quickly slipped into the seat beside her. He did seem oddly jittery.

Darunia swiped our menus. "No need to order, trust me! I shall make you all something very special!" He clapped his hands and hurried away into the kitchen as a waitress appeared with a bottle of red and white wine.

"He's very kind," Zelda commented.

"He was a friend of my Father's. Father invested in his first bistro. Darunia has always been most grateful," I explained, taking the bottle of white wine and pouring Zelda a glass.

"Darunia says Linkie's like the son he never had," Aryll piped up, with a smirk.

I shot her a glare.

"I've heard an awful lot about you two," Zelda told them.

"Oh?"

Zelda nodded. It was a relief to know that she was more than a match for Sheik and Aryll. After all, she'd played a role in getting them together.

"Are you going to the party at the Gatesby's?" Sheik asked Aryll.

"I've been invited," She answered, casually.

"Oh," Sheik answered. "Well, I'll be going."

Link rolled his eyes. It was really quite disgusting watching Sheik attempt to ask Aryll out again. Almost as pathetic as watching himself.

"All those parties and events," Zelda sighed, wistfully, "it must be wonderful."

Aryll wrinkled her nose. "You'd think so. It's honestly a bunch of boring people with too much money all bragging about how boring and rich they are."

"But the shrimp toast is a bonus," Sheik added.

Zelda glanced at Link. "I sense your influence here."

"Moi?" I cried, feigning innocence. "I've never said such things. I love parties. And shrimp toast."

"Link says you're very much the flavour of the month," Zelda said to Aryll. "I guess that can't be too bad."

Aryll smiled. "It has it's compensations."

Sheik paled.

"So Zelda, tell us something about you. Link never tells us anything."

I shook my head. "That is categorically untrue."

"I'm honestly not that interesting," Zelda reasoned, shyly, "Just your typical twenty odd year old ice cream and fitness addict."

"Always a good combination," Sheik quipped.

"Do you know how to surf?" Aryll asked, randomly.

"Um, no."

Or maybe not so randomly. "Link's an excellent surfer. He learnt at our house in Devon. He even taught me."

Subtlety was clearly not Aryll's strong point.

"We have to surf?" Sheik yelped. I remembered from school that he was never athletically adept.

"What do you do in New York? I mean, your job?" Zelda asked, turning to me.

"I'm a computer programmer. I specialise in viruses."

"In other words, he's a geek," Sheik added.

"At least I have a job," I shot back. That seemed to catch Aryll's attention.

"You… don't have a job?"

Sheik shifted, uncomfortably. "So I didn't rush into a job after Uni. It's not a crime."

Goddesses, this was a disaster. Double dates were always a bad idea.

"I'd of loved to have travelled after Uni," Zelda chipped in, quickly.

"It was amazing," Sheik told her. "It really made me realise who I really was, what I wanted."

Aryll softened. "I didn't know you'd travelled."

"Oh yeah," Sheik answered. "Italy, France, Austria." His face suddenly lit up. "You know where you'd love, Aryll? You would adore Amsterdam! There's so much culture and history and so many diverse people. The lifestyle is just so healthy and relaxed."

Aryll gazed up at him, smiling dreamily.

"I'll take you there one day. I promise."

She beamed. I looked at Zelda, admiringly. She feigned a breath of relief.

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"How d'you do that?"

It was that perfect time on early summer evenings when the sky is streaked with the golden tones of the sunset and everything is blissfully peaceful. Through the window into the restaurant I could see Sheik and Aryll sharing a desert, their mini spat from earlier well and truly forgotten. Aryll giggled at something Sheik said and pushed him, playfully.

Beside me, Zelda smiled.

"Do what?" She asked, innocently.

"Smooth over what had the potential to become their first fight."

She looked past me and through the window. "You were right. They're good for each other."

We sat down on the grass beside the fountain. Her hand was resting on the grass and I found myself placing my own over it, possessively.

"You're good Zelda."

She cocked her head to one side, inquisitively. "Good?"

I looked down. "I'm not good at this stuff."

"Humour me?"

"I like you. A lot."

Too much.

She bit her lip. "That's good news."

The fountain gurgled, happily, and somewhere in the distance a car drifted along by. I looked over at Zelda who was watching the water. Maybe I could understand what Sheik was feeling. Zelda would love New York, especially in the winter. And I wanted to share it with her, to see her eyes light up a million times the way Aryll's had tonight.

Was that love?

She shifted closer and laid her head on my shoulder, her golden hair spilling across my chest.

"How did you crash into my life Link Hero?"

I laughed, nervously. "I came to save you Princess Zelda," I told her, wrapping an arm around her waist and drawing her closer to me.

She sighed. "You have no idea."

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Additional A/N: Just a couple of points. Yep, I read The Great Gatsby recently, ergo the "Gatesby Party". Plus, Link talks about Aryll getting converted to Solipsism (basically the belief that the entire world has been constructed by your own imagination). This is because of my friend reminding me of this incident when I was in Philosophy class when my friend Michael said he used to be a solipsist. Then I, without thinking, replied, "Ooh, me too!"

Humiliation, thy name is Philosophy.