A/N: I've been taking this bit by bit, even though I could probably get it done in one day. Well, don't forget to say safe and healthy. Enjoy

Crimson eyes followed him back and forth as he moved about. His inner anxieties showing through.

"Link, quit pacing, you're going to run a hole in the floor."

Link ignored him from where he sat on a dusty box and continued pacing. He had so much on his mind, so many factors to take into account. He didn't know whether to commend himself for finding a way to stay closer to her or to kick himself for getting drawn into her schemes.

Rough, bandaged hands grabbed his shoulders firmly, halting his pacing,

"Link." Link sighed and looked up to face him. His friend grinned, releasing him and standing back.

"Now I know your mind is probably fretting over the welfare of a pretty blonde but we have more legitimate concerns at the moment."

Link glater at him. "I am focusing on the mission, Quinn. But it's difficult when she throws herself into danger at every turn."

Quinn snorted. "And I bet you're trying really hard to hold her back."

Link sighed, "You don't know what she's like. Once she has her mind set on something it's impossible to stop her. That's why it's better that I accompany her, she'll be safer."

Quinn raised an eyebrow slowly. "And you're sure there's no . . ...other reason?"

Under the intense scrutiny of Link's death glare he raised his hands in defense.

"Okay! Okay! You've made your point! Still, Chief's been considering sending in agent Sheilds; it make miss Lorule more comfortable if she had a woman guarding her."

Link groaned, "She'd be worse off than I am. You know how she idolizes Zelda Lorule. She'd be kissing up to her day one."

"She'd be reasonable."

They both went quiet for a moment before Quinn spoke up softly.

"And. ...how are the flower buds?"

Link turned to face the small window in that attic, watching the sunlight filter through, his footsteps too light to kick up dust. A small smile graced his face.

"They're doing well, I've done a few scans on my Sheikah slate, we're right on track."

Quinn let out a breath, "Which; is surprising, as she doesn't even know. How? I've no idea. Was she raised by cucoos or something?"

"Evangist mother."

"Ah."

Link turned to Quinn and gave a slight bow. "Thanks for the report agent Ivory. Give my regards to the cheif."

His friend grinned, "Will do, good luck!" Then muttered under his breath, "You're gonna need it."

He then quickly pressed two fingers to the dusty floor and disappeared in a flash of light.

Link started a moment later at the sound of Zelda calling out for him. He sighed, he was really going to have to find a subtler way to communicate with her in the future.

000000000000000000000000000000000

The Yiga's involvement was like having a trail of bread crumbs that led right to the culprit; Dragmire. Zelda had assumed he was smart enough not to leave evidence, but guilty people tend to make mistakes when they think they're safe.

Agent Forrester informed her earlier in the week that it was unlikely they'd find the Yiga by chance. Which meant they would have to focus their efforts in finding the Yiga's hideout. When she'd questioned why the Sheikah had never tried finding their lair before, he'd responded rather defensively saying they'd had. But the Yiga would mislead then using fake or old bases, making it difficult to keep track of them.

She'd considered using the Book of Mudora for info on the Yiga, (after consulting a historian and confirming it's accuracy of course) but Link had been quick to intervene. Saying he probably knew more about modern Yiga than the book did. She'd puzzled over his sudden willingness to be open with her, but didn't mind it.

She groaned and laid her head against the cool surface of her desk as a wave of nausea washed over her. She probably spent so much time anxiously searching that it was starting to make her sick.

She blinked, sitting up slowly (to avoid the nausea from worsening) reaching over the desk to grab the Book of Mudora. If she couldn't get any leads on the Yiga then she might as well start at the other end of the spectrum.

She flipped through the pages until she found it. Gerudo. Ganondorf's people, the desert dwellers. Historically, the Gerudo were a race of all females, who only gave birth to one male every hundred years. Upon conception, Gerudo males were always named King, as per tradition. As bizarre as it sounded, the Book backed it up.

Ganondorf happened to be that one male, which; according to the Book, signified a Great Change. For whatever reason, the Gerudo and the Hylians had a long and often violent history, but currently were at peace.

One thorough internet search later (hacking) she concluded Ganondorf had spent most of his life at the Gerudo capital, Fortresse. In fact, he had only moved to Hyrule a free years ago, meaning; if she wanted to find his connections to the Yiga, Gerudo desert was a good place to start.

Satisfied with her conclusion, she quickly laid out a plan inside her head.

"Agent Forrester, I believe I have found a lead!"

While waiting for him to arrive, she pulled a large suitcase from her closet and raced around her room, gathering all the necessary items.

"What's going on?"

Her heart nearly lept out of her throat at the sound of his voice directly behind her.

As it was, she tripped over her feet in surprise, flying forward due to her momentum.

Link let out a frantic noise, before racing over and quickly wrapping his arms around her and gently lowering them down to the floor.

He hovered over her concernedly, hand gently cupping her cheek.

"Are you okay?" he whispered

"Y-yes." she let out breathlessly.

Her heart was racing as he helped her stand up, she shook herself, trying to get back in order. She cleared her throat,

"A-Anyway, I think I've found a possible lead. So far, we've been looking for the Yiga's connections to Ganondorf but what if we did it vice versa?

"Ganondorf Dragmire is a Gerudo, meaning, it's possible we may find evidence of his dealings with the Yiga in Gerudo desert, as he's only moved to Central Hyrule recently."

Link began nodding slowly, "It's possible. . ." he muttered to himself.

"Maybe you should be the Sheikah, not me." he said teasingly.

She rolled her eyes, "Oh please, I'm not the only person in the world that use logic."

"No, I'm serious, I've seen how you work. Being a Sheikah is about more than fighting and stealth, it requires skill, Patience, and the ability to see the truth. I'm not one to give false compliments, I meant what I said."

She couldn't stop the smile that crossed her face, he honestly believed that she could be someone special like that. All her life she'd thought talent was cheaper than table salt, and the only thing that seperated the talented and the truly gifted was hard work. Early in life, her mother had informed her she wouldn't amount to anything if she wasn't willing to work harder than everyone else for it.

And yet, somehow, Link believed that she had potential for something she'd never even tried to do. She was a bit flattered yes, but also. ... grateful.

She looked up at him, ". . . . Thank you." she said sincerely.

He blinked, looking surprised before smiling good naturally, "Your welcome."

He looked over at her suitcase. "So, I'm guessing Zelda Lorule and her new boyfriend are taking a vacation to Gerudo desert."

On instinct, she wanted to refute his claim of their relationship before remembering it was their cover story. Admittedly a good one.

She sighed, "Yep, now I hope you have some luggage hiding around my house somewhere so we can get going."

000000000000000000000000000000000

Two and a half hours later they were on their way to Gerudo desert. They had taken Link's car after deciding Zelda's would be too easily recognized. Zelda watched as the scenery zipped by her, enamored with the sight of the desert's endless shifting sands and vast mountains. She had never seen any other region in Hyrule than Faron and Castle Town.

"Did you know that Sand Seals can travel up to 50 mph Sand surfing?"

"What!?"

"I'm sorry, I can't stand awkward silences!"

Zelda shifted in her seat uncomfortably, was her silence really so bothersome to him? He must've seen something in her expression because he backed off.

"Err. . ..sorry, I just. . .wondered if you knew. .." he turned to face the front window again.

No, no, don't shut me out! She started, surprised by her own sentiments, never had she been so eager to speak to another man. What was it about him. ...

"Um. . .so.. .why did you decide to become a Sheikah?"

He visibly brightened and she couldn't help but feel a bit of relief.

"It's funny actually, one of my main reasons for joining was because it didn't require much speaking. As a kid, I had trouble with expressing myself to other people, almost selectively mute."

"Really? I wouldn't have guessed, you certainly don't seem that way now. What changed?"

He let out a small grin, "Impa did, she's our cheif; runs the organization. She took a. . .. special interest in me, I guess.

"She noticed I was very reluctant to speak to people and said that if I let it, my silence would cost me. She was determined to make me my best self and made me take 'conversation classes'. She personally trainede in Sheikah martial arts too. I guess you could say I was her protege."

He rubbed the back of his head bashfully, probably embarrassed by the awed look she was giving him.

His employment to her mother suddenly made a lot more sense. He was the Sheikah cheif's protege, personally trained by one of the best Sheikah in her time. No wonder he was hired to protect her, he was likely one of the best there was. She. glanced at him with new appreciation and made a mental note to check his records later in case she might find anything else. . .. interesting.

She slowly came too as Link shook her gently.

"Hey" he said, "We just headed into the outskirts of Fortresse, we should probably find a place to stay."

She nodded her consent but was still a bit confused. when had she fallen asleep? she had been unusually tired as of late, odd because she hadn't done anything particularly tiring today.

She rolled down her window as they slowly drove through the streets, looking at the Adobe houses, elaborately adorned and the vendors selling food and other items. Suddenly starving, she turned to Link.

"Can we pull over somewhere? I want to try out some of the food they're selling."

"We just had lunch a couple hours ago. Are you really still hungry?" he asked questioningly.

"I just - have never tried Gerudo cuisine before, I'm curious." She said somewhat defensively, not mentioning that's probably what they would be having their entire stay here.

In the end, he found a sandy parking lot and then proceeded to head out into the Dusty streets. The booths were decorated with exotic and gaudy fabric, the Gerudo women themselves blending right into the scenery, dressed in the same style.

She stopped their stroll for a moment, smelling something interesting. Turning around, she took Link's arm (much to his surprise) and pulled them toward a vendor which was selling some kind of fried plant.

"S'av Saba." She greeted, "Would you like to sample our fried Leaver strips little vai?"

Trying out the sample, she found that these so called "Leaver's" didn't taste half bad. It's like a cross between green beans and cauliflower, with a more meaty texture maybe?

She nodded to the woman, "I'll buy a small bag."

Ignoring Link's bewildered look, she continued on her way, while digging in her bag to pull out a small jar of Nutella. Before dipping one of the Leaver strips in and taking a bite.

Link looked at her like she was crazy, "How can you even eat that?" he breathed, "I almost gagged from the smell alone."

"Are you kidding? This is authentic Gerudo food, and they're great cooks, besides it tastes even better with Nutella."

He rolled his eyes, "Of course it does, anything tastes better with chocolate frosting."

"It's a hazelnut spread, chocolate frosting tastes way different."

"Oh please, it probably has what; two hazelnut's in the entire jar."

She gasped in mock horror, "Are you saying you don't like Nutella!?"

"I'm saying I don't like chocolate frosting on my sandwich."

She huffed, trying to find the motel destination on her phone. But her heart wasn't in it, and she couldn't hide the small smile on her face.

Link too, seemed to be in good spirits, eyes bright as he gazed at their surroundings, taking it all in.

At last, they arrived at the motel, checking in before heading to their room. Which was adorned in traditional Gerudo style, looking like the inside of an Adobe brick house, with bright, gilded furnishings.

She let out an internal sugh of relief at the sight of two beds in their room. She new the whole 'Honeymooning couple' was their cover story but she didn't want to push it any more than necessary.

"Don't start relaxing just yet Link, we have things to be searching for while we're here." she said as he flopped down into the bed eyes closed.

He opened one eye to peer at her,

"No don't worry, my head's in the game, I'm just getting into my 'amature - tourist - overwhelmed - by - heat' act."

"Good." she said, peering out at the city below, "We've got a theif to catch."