Holy smokes! I haven't posted for over a month?! Geez, I am so sorry to all of you guys who've been enjoying these so far! To be fair, I did not expect to get so bogged down in the Oracle games. But, this will be my last kiss scene based on them. Next up, it's on to Link Between Worlds and Triforce Heroes! I can't wait, can you?

ANYWAY...I wish I could fully convey how thankful I am that the people at Nintendo work so hard to make such great games and great stories as the ones in the Zelda games. I tell you, they are no end of inspiration to me!

As always, if you enjoy this kiss scene, or if you have suggestions for how I can write better ones, please leave a review down below! I say this a lot, and I'll say it again: ever since I started writing fan fiction, your reviews have always been a crucial part of my writing process, so keep 'em coming!

Thank you and goodnight. I hope y'all enjoy! ;-P

For perhaps the tenth time in the last couple hours, Link let his gaze drop from the road ahead of him, his face flushing. She was staring at him again - he could feel her gaze without even seeing her. He desperately wanted to sigh in exasperation, yet he knew it would be very impolite of him in this case.

About seven feet to his left rode Zelda, the fourteen-year-old princess of Hyrule. He was accompanying her and her ever-present nursemaid Impa back home after their mission to stop Ganon's resurrection. It was she who was regarding him now with those large blue eyes of hers, and he fought desperately against the instinctive urge to look back and make the situation even more embarrassing than it already was.

As awkward as it was to have her scrutinizing him so, though, Link knew this ride would have been just as awkward had she kept her gaze off of him. Shortly after defeating Twinrova and the imperfect form of Ganon the witches had summoned, they - Link, Zelda, Impa, and many of the friends they'd made in Labrynna and Holodrum - had celebrated in the grove where one of the great Maku trees dwelt. There, in the midst of the hugs and congratulations and pats on the back, Zelda had thrown her arms around him and caught him flat-footed with a joyous kiss to his cheek. Link still felt, in his memory, the touch of her lips on his face and the sudden heat that welled up in his cheeks from it - the same heat that he felt whenever the event replayed itself in his mind.

It wasn't that the sensation was unpleasant - far from it. He wasn't repulsed by the lovely blonde princess, and he found her sweet demeanor unbelievably charming, particularly when he considered the vast, secret courage that lay beneath it. Yet he was unsure what to make of the kiss. She could have simply been acting in her exuberance over their victory. But he knew he couldn't discount the possibility that Zelda had feelings for him, and it was this which made him nervous. He'd never really paid any mind to romance, not during his mission, not during his previous travels, not even when he was growing up and his parents were still alive. He'd never considered what a relationship might be like, and now that it had so suddenly become a possibility, he was left a little spooked.

And now his instincts won out; his eyes slid left, meeting Zelda's. Indeed, she was still looking right at him, and now he felt he must find something to say, unless she might speak first.

"We should stop and camp here," came the sudden voice of Impa from ahead of them. "It'll be dark soon."

Without so much as a pause for breath, Link checked his horse and dismounted, surveying the spot Impa had picked as he did so. He couldn't keep from chuckling at the fallen tree trunk that lay beside a small circle of stones. Someone had used this place as a campsite before, perhaps even Zelda and Impa had used it themselves in the last month or so. It was a nice campsite, though, so he had no complaints. They were fortunate to be travelling in a light, scrubby pine forest; there'd be dry twigs and brush in abundance to keep a fire going, and gathering these would keep him busy for a bit, get his mind off of Zelda's inexplicable behavior.

…

True to Impa's words, it got dark quickly; they'd just managed to start their fire when Link noted that twilight was drawing to a close, and dusk was setting in. It was mid-autumn, so the three sat together on the fallen tree, close enough to their fire to keep warm, and pulled from their packs dried beef and fruit to soothe the pangs that were beginning to affect them all. They ate together in silence, focused, for the moment, on their meal.

Link had just finished, as had Zelda, when Impa's voice broke the quiet: "Does anyone need more water? There's a stream close to here."

The Hero looked up. Impa was holding her canteen upside-down. It was uncapped, but no water was coming out. Quickly, he and the princess checked theirs. "I'm close to empty, now that you mention it," Zelda replied, handing her canteen over. Link got up and held his hand out for the two canteens.

But Impa was already shaking her head with a light smirk. "You already gathered branches for the fire," she stated. "I'll handle this."

Link shrugged, gently tossing over his canteen, which was as empty as Impa's. The heavyset Sheikah woman nodded once as Link sat back down, before grabbing a burning branch from the fire to light her way as she walked off into the dark.

And then he realized that this left him alone with Zelda on the fallen tree. He glanced over and saw that the princess' gaze had slid down to the ground, her cheeks flushed a lovely shade of pink. Link's eyes went wide.

By the Three! Impa knew something was up, of course! He should've seen it behind her smirk as she'd taken his canteen. Link's trepidation, forgotten for the moment, now returned in full force. The Sheikah clearly intended for them to figure out what was between them.

Well, Zelda was still blushing and looking as if words escaped her. So he steeled his nerves and spoke. "Hey, uh, about that time in the Maku grove…" he began, his gaze on the ground, pausing as he realized he didn't really know how to word the obvious question.

"You're wondering why I decided to give you that kiss back there, yes?" Zelda inquired, and Link looked up at her. "I can tell that's what you've been thinking about. I could feel you puzzling over it the whole ride."

Link nodded. "I guess..." he explained, "...I guess I don't really know what to make of it, y'know? Like, I'm not sure what you meant by it."

Zelda shrugged. "The obvious," she answered, "I kinda like you. Wait...no, I really like you."

Link blinked. He'd known that was a strong possibility, but he hadn't expected her to come right out and say it so easily; he'd thought if she was interested in him, she'd have to work her way up to the revelation. Now it was out in the open, before he was ready, and he scrambled for a moment for something, anything to say to that. It took a few seconds to find something: "I...I don't quite get it. What about me...What about me made you go, y'know, 'I like that'?"

Zelda looked away for a second, seeming uncertain. After a moment, she finally responded: "I'm...not sure I can really pin down why. And even if I could, I'm not sure I'd be able to explain it. You...you're not...bothered that I feel this way, are you?" This last she said while scooting in closer to Link, who flushed, both at the movement and at the look in her eyes.

"I mean…" he replied hesitantly, "You're really pretty. And you're super nice, and it's cool to see how brave you are. I…" he paused with a sigh, "...I've never really thought about this sort of thing before. I wouldn't know what I'm doing."

Zelda laughed softly - Link wasn't sure whether it was more of a giggle or a chuckle - before mirthfully ruefully quipping, "Neither do I, really. I mean, I've read the fairy tales, but they don't really say how the Hero and the princess shared their lives. I got some advice from Nayru back in Labrynna, but I'd be just as new to all this as you."

Link gave a single, short huff of laughter at that. The two stared into the fire for a minute or so, with Zelda slipping an arm around his shoulders, and he responding in kind with an arm around her waist.

At length, the princess looked back at him, longing in her expression. "Hey, Link," she began, "could we...maybe…" she trailed off, but the unconscious movement of her face towards his negated the need to finish her request.

Link's own face moved just a little to meet hers, before he hesitated, his nervousness returning once again. But it seemed Zelda had noticed, and taken the movement as a yes.

Without much warning, Link felt her lips upon his, her free hand moving to the back of his head, holding him in place. For a moment, he didn't respond, his veins feeling like rivers of fire, wondering at the gentle, insistent pressure of Zelda's lips, and the sudden, instinctive need to kiss her back. And yet, even when he regained his wits, he fully surrendered to that need. His lips began to move and press in sync with hers. His free hand came up to stroke the tip on one of Zelda's ears, sending a shiver through her, and the intensity of her kisses suddenly seemed to increase threefold, as if she were devouring his lips. And yet Link didn't mind; he felt warm, he felt right in her arms, their lips pressed together.

When they parted, both were red-faced and panting. Though nearly out of breath, Link managed to gasp out, "I think...I think I like you too," which set them both to laughing, throwing their arms mirthfully around each other.

It was, of course, at this moment that Impa finally returned with three dripping canteens. She smirked at the two youngsters. "Mission accomplished," they heard her whisper to herself.

Link rolled his eyes. At least she was being honest about it.