Dreaming of Coffee and Love

by FlowerOwl

It was a nothing but a meeting caused by the aroma of coffee beans, or at least that was what Mipha told herself the first time she saw Zelda smile at her as Mipha accepted her order. But as time passed and something more bloomed from the conversations that accompanied the cups of coffee and warm muffins, Mipha could not deny that perhaps there could be more to it than that.

8. Chapter 8

She could have sworn it was the hundredth time already that he had done that.

Really, what was the deal with how Revali kept on disappearing into his room for a few minutes before coming back out, insisting that he had just come up with the perfect look for his date with Link, before turning towards her and with an expectant tone demanding to know what she thought about the changes, only for her to not see the difference, give him some vague compliment, and for the process to start all over again?

"No, you aren't looking closely enough." Revali informed her when Mipha slowly tried to suggest that, since she could not see what he was talking about even though he had specifically asked her to criticise his hair, maybe Link would not notice the difference either. "See," he pointed towards a spot on the back of his head, "I plaited this part, but I couldn't find a second mirror, so I need you to tell me how it looks."

Biting back a sigh, Mipha looked at the few strands of hair that had been tucked under one another. "It looks fine to me," she said once she deemed that she had waited for enough time so that it would not make Revali tell her that she had to really look, "but so did the last couple of attempts as well. I really don't get what the fuss is about."

"Well, in that case, you aren't paying enough attention," Revali said, but thankfully he did not ask her to repeat the process, instead turning around to look at her, "besides, I have to make sure that this looks amazing, because I am not about to let Link look better than me."

"I thought you two loved each other."

"We do, but Link literally looks amazing all the time, and that means that I have to try even harder not to look completely ridiculous next to him. I mean, did you see him yesterday?"

"It would be a bit hard for me not to given how we had a shift together." Mipha smiled, though it felt a bit strained. As much as she loved Revali, she really did not have time for this, not when the clock on her phone told her that there were only a little over forty minutes left until she was supposed to meet Zelda at the cinema and she still had to finish applying her makeup and pick a dress before she would be ready to leave. "But I still don't know what you are talking about."

"Then you aren't paying enough attention, because I asked him if he had tried something new with his hair, and do you know what he told me?" Revali did not even give her a second to consider her answer. "He told me that he had just been really tired when he woke up, so he had not even bothered touching it at all."

To be honest, there were days where Mipha would have assumed that Revali had not bothered trying to do anything with his hair either, but given the way Revali delivered that last bit of information, an impressed tone in his voice, she could tell that it had perhaps not been the case after all and that bringing up her assumption would not be the best decision right then. So, rather than doing that, she looked at the plait again, decided that Revali did not need to know that there were a few strands of hairs that he had failed to catch and that no one was going to notice it.

"Well, in that case, I am pleased to announce that the plait looks lovely."

Mipha didn't know whether to feel insulted or not as Revali reached back to touch his hair again, perhaps hoping that he would be able to feel any mistakes that way while not messing up the plait even more, and so, she ended up staying silent.

It seemed that Revali finally accepted her judgement, for he finally stopped disappearing into his own room to change his hair, instead turning on the spot to take in the sight that met him.

"So," he said, speaking slowly, like he had only then noticed the mess around them, "I take it that you are also kind of unsure about what you should pick."

She could see what he meant, she really could. But even then, Mipha still couldn't help but feel like he was being needlessly dramatic about it all. Sure, most of the contents of her dresser had been scattered throughout the room, either laid out neatly on the bed, lying next to each other in the hope that it would help her choose, or discarded in a pile on the floor, but she still had it under control, she knew exactly where everything was.

"No, I am just trying to figure out what would be the most appropriate for the occasion," Mipha said, hoping that she managed to keep up the pretence of being blasé about it all.

From the way Revali cocked his head, it was evident that she did not succeed. "Really? Because that makes it sound a lot like you are preparing to go on a date with her—"

"No," Mipha interrupted him, her voice rising a bit as she tried her best to fight the panicked flutter in her chest, "no, don't you dare try to start all of that again. I was wrong about things like that once; I won't let you try to convince me again."

Revali held up his hands in a placating gesture, taking a step away from her. "Okay, okay, I am sorry. I hadn't realised that this not being a date meant so much to you, but I can assure you that it was just a joke."

And Mipha supposed that, to Revali, it really had just been a joke, a way for him to both cheer her up and to try to take his mind off his own plans. The thing just was, that all of this, the outfit, the cinema, the film, was so much more than that to her. It was her second chance. She had messed up the first time, so now Mipha was determined to do her best. And if doing her best would then also require her to spend a little over an hour standing in front of her mirror as she tried to decide whether or not she needed to apply more eyeliner to even out the wings, holding one dress after another up in front of her, then that was just what she would do.

"No, it is fine," she lied, "I think I am just a bit nervous. I'm sorry for taking it out on you."

"I don't mind that." Revali's phone beeped, making him look down at it. "I have to get going now, but you will be fine, right?"

"Right," Mipha repeated. It was fine, really. The butterflies in her stomach were just another sign of the nervous feeling that had spread through her body during the last couple of hours. As soon as she got to the cinema and saw that she had made it in time, they would be sure to disappear again, Mipha knew that, so she put as much joy into her voice as she could, "I should probably also get going soon as well. But good luck with the date."

"Thank you. And good luck with your not-a-date."

A hug and a comment that he was not sure when he would be home later, the door slammed behind Revali, and Mipha was left alone to her choice of what to wear.

The time for when she would have to leave came closer every second, so, in the end, Mipha simply closed her eyes and picked to first thing off her bed. After making sure that it at least did not look ridiculous, she too left the flat and headed outside, doing her best to ignore the urge to run to the cinema. Yes, it would probably make her able to get there a little bit faster, but if the price of getting there five minutes early was that she would be out of breath and tired, then she was not willing to risk it.

Although Mipha arrived at her destination with ten entire minutes to spare, Zelda was already there, waiting just outside the entrance when she got there.

"Sorry, I hope you haven't been waiting for too long," Mipha said as she reached her, Zelda wrapping her arms around her in a fleeting hug.

"No, not at all." Mipha could feel how Zelda shook with laughter as she returned the embrace. "If anything, I was actually just a little bit early."

Leaning back, Mipha allowed herself a second of simply enjoying Zelda's presence, taking in the sight of Zelda's face so close to her. The familiar little ache in her chest was nothing when compared to the sheer joy of knowing that Zelda had actually said yes to meet with her. Maybe it was exactly because Mipha had spent so much time like this, looking at Zelda, but her eyes immediately caught onto the fact that there was something different about her today.

"Hey, is that a new kind of lipstick?" Mipha asked, the words having left her mouth before she had gotten a chance to think it through. She could have kicked herself the moment she realised what she had just said, but by then, it was already too late, so she settled on simply trying her best to make it look like a casual question, rolling backwards onto the heel of her shoe and shoving her hands into her pockets, something that came with the added benefit of hiding how much they shook from Zelda.

"Uh," Zelda said, and it felt like that moment were she so clearly tried to make sense of the question, brows pulled together, a confused look making the shimmer in her eyes dim, lasted for ages, "no, it is what I usually wear."

There was no way to take back what she had just said, so Mipha decided that she might as well just risk everything. "It is pretty," she said, trying her best to keep her voice under control, "it suits you."

"Thank you." and, finally, the smile was back. Seeing the way Zelda once more beamed at her felt like the clouds had just disappeared to let the sun shine on her again and Mipha was not sure what she could say in response that would not give it all away. She was saved by the bell as Zelda turned around to point back at the building behind them. "We should probably get going. I don't know about you, but I am really bad at making decision quickly."

She already knew that there was no way she would not just agree to the first thing Zelda suggested, since, if nothing else, simply getting the chance to watch Zelda enjoy the film would be enough, so Mipha simply followed along as Zelda made her way over to the glass doors leading into the cinema with a noncommittal shrug. "I am not really that picky when it comes to films, so whatever you want to see will be fine with me."

"Really? You do know that the only thing I want to do now is to pick the worst film I can find just to see if you will continue to think that."

"Well, in that case, do your worst."

But despite Zelda's promises, she did not end up dragging her in to see the worst film she could find. Or maybe she did, but in that case, Mipha would have to have a serious discussion with her about what could qualify for the label of a 'bad film', as Zelda ended up settling on some romantic comedy Mipha had already seen twice. But although she had been completely absorbed by the story the first two times, as they sat down in the soft seats and the lights around them dimmed, Mipha quickly found that it was simply not able to catch her attention the way it had done before, not when Zelda was sitting next to her. The actress who had gotten the leading role, despite how there had surely been an entire team involved in every little decision surrounding her, was just not able to compete with Zelda, not when Zelda was sitting this close to her, mirth making her eyes shine as the plot in the film grew even more complicated. She had cared about whether or not the two main characters would get the chance to get together when she had first watched it, but right in that moment, the only thing Mipha could feel was the sense of longing.

She knew that she should be grateful that Zelda had for some reason gotten so drunk that she had not been able to recall how Mipha had left that bar on the verge of bursting into tears since that was the only reason they were able to sit like this, in a cinema, watching a film about romance, but right then, it felt more like a curse than anything else to know that she could remember exactly what it had felt like during those seconds where Zelda had pulled her closer and to know that she had to stay silent about it now. It would risk their friendship, Mipha knew that, but she still let herself play with the thought of telling Zelda, to pull her aside after the film had ended and tell her that she had just remembered a few more details about the bar.

Luckily for her, the film felt like it was much longer than how Mipha remembered it, and by the time the credits began, she had brought herself to her senses. It might make her feel better for a moment, to know that there were no secrets between them, but as Mipha imagined the way Zelda would look at her, betrayed and confused as she demanded to know why Mipha had not told her immediately, Mipha knew that it would only make her feel better for a moment before it would all come crashing down around her.

So when light flooded the room again and Zelda leant over in her seat to whisper something about how she had not predicted the plot twist, Mipha forced herself to laugh along and say something about how it made more sense the third time you saw it before getting up to leave the room.

They crossed through the hall of the cinema, only to find it had started raining while they had watched the film.

"Well," Zelda said as they stopped by the windows, watching how the raindrops hit the glass before leaving a trail as they ran towards the ground, "I don't suppose you brought an umbrella along with you this time, did you?"

"Nope. You?"

"Mipha, if I ever remember to think about the weather before I go anywhere, you can assume that I have been possessed, because I am so bad at doing that." Zelda laughed, though she soon turned serious again when the rain intensified with no sign of it stopping anytime soon. "Do you live nearby?"

"If I run, I can be home in about ten minutes. Though, it might take a little more than that given the amount of rain."

"Hmm," Zelda said, bowing her head, "I live just around the corner, so we should be able to reach my flat in about half that time, maybe even less. You could wait for the rain to stop there."

The offer was tempting, Mipha had to admit that. No, not only tempting, it was almost impossible to say no, especially as she tried to imagine how much time she would have to spend mopping the floor if she went outside while the weather was so bad. And had she not just practically promised herself that she would stop acting weird around Zelda since it would only increase the risk of Zelda noticing? It was probably fine to say yes.

With a carefully rehearsed glance at the rain outside, Mipha accepted the offer. "Sure, thank you."

"It was nothing," Zelda said, pausing for a moment before winking at her, "what are friends for if not providing you with a place to stay while you wait for the weather to get better?"

The laugh Mipha forced out sounded fake, but by then, Zelda had luckily already grabbed her hand and started making her way out towards the double glass doors leading out into the street, pulling Mipha along with her, so she did not think that Zelda had picked up on it.

They practically sprinted the entire way over to Zelda's flat, with the consequence that Mipha barely managed to pull Zelda back onto the footpath moments before she would have been about to step out in front of a car. However, even as Mipha's heart beat so hard in her chest that it felt like it was trying its best to escape from the confinement of her ribs, Zelda simply looked at her, saying something about how she was happy Mipha had been there that Mipha did not quite catch, and then continued, crossing the street—now without coming centimetres away from being hit by a car—all while continuing to keep up the conversation between them. It was a feat that Mipha could not help but admire, something that had nothing to do with how melodic Zelda's voice was, but rather had everything to do with the fact that Mipha was hardly contributing as she followed along while occasionally making a confirming sound when Zelda paused to look back at her.

Despite how she knew that they would not both have been able to fit under it and that she would most likely have ended up giving it to Zelda, Mipha found herself missing her umbrella, especially when a drop of water somehow made its way past her hair hanging over her back, trickling down along her neck. Reaching up to try to use the fabric of her dress to pat the spot dry, Mipha quickened her pace to keep up with Zelda.

It did not take them much more than the ten minutes Zelda had predicted to reach her flat, but Mipha was still drenched with rain by the time Zelda unlocked the front door and led her up the stairs. From the look it, with her hair sticking to the back of her dress, several shades darker than it had been just a few minutes before, Mipha would say that the same was the case for Zelda. But with how Zelda acted, she would not have thought it.

"Welcome to my home!" with a sweeping gesture, Zelda pushed open a blue door and waited until Mipha slowly stepped over the threshold before she followed after her.

All too aware of how she was dripping water all over the floor, Mipha looked around her. It was a lot less tidy than what she had expected, with shoes lying all over the place in the tiny hallway and a couple of jackets tossed into a corner. Through an open door on her right, Mipha could see an entire wall covered with what looked like articles ripped out of newspapers and journals.

"You can just put your shoes wherever you like," Zelda said as she followed her own advice, removing her shoes with a couple of kicks. They landed in the corner with the jackets, hitting the floor with a clatter. Zelda must have noticed that she had still not moved to take off her shoes, for she followed her line of sight, "yeah, it's quite messy. I am sorry, I had no idea I would have guests over. If I had known, I think I would have tried my best to at least put on the appearance of having my life together, but," she turned the palms of her hands upwards, tugging the corners of her mouth down, "oh, well, it is too late to do anything about that now; you already know exactly how horrible I am at taking time to clean up."

"I wasn't thinking that!" Mipha protested. When Zelda simply cocked her head, she decided that the truth would probably be more convincing. "Okay, I thought that it was a little less organised than what I had expected, but in a good way. I don't mind a little bit of clutter."

"Well," Zelda looked down at the floor, but Mipha could still tell that the beginning of a smile that tugged at her lips was anything but happy, "that would make you the first one to think that." Mipha did not get a chance to ask who had said something bad about her flat before Zelda appeared to notice the puddle that had formed where they were standing. "Oh, I'm so sorry, I had completely forgotten about the rain! I hope you aren't too cold?"

"No, it is fine," Mipha said, and as Zelda stepped closer, reaching out to touch the sleeves of her dress, not looking too impressed with the amount of water they had held onto, she knew that it would take more than just a little bit of water to make the warm, burning feeling in her body disappear.

After a moment of inspecting her, Zelda clicked her tongue. "I think I have something lying around that might be able to fit you. It might be a little bit tight, but other than that, it should be fine."

"What?" Mipha asked, not believing what she was hearing.

"You can't stay in that, you are going to be way too cold, and I doubt that you had planned for it to start raining while we were seeing that film and brought a change of clothes along with you. Though, if you have, I have to admit that I am genuinely impressed by your ability to plan ahead."

"I am sorry to disappoint you, but I haven't actually thought of that," Mipha said and hoped that Zelda would not notice how breathless her voice was.

"Don't be, I had not really expected you to. But, look, why don't you go to the bathroom—that is over there, by the way," she pointed towards one of the two doors located on the right side of the corridor, "and then I will go and find something for you to change into. You won't mind wearing hoodies, will you?"

"Not at all."

"Great, because, now that we are being honest here, I haven't thought of this happening as well, and I don't think I have anything else that would be long enough once you wear it."

Somehow, Mipha let Zelda show her to the bathroom, answering her questions about which of the possible hoodies and leggings she would prefer to borrow, and before she had caught up with what was happening around her, Zelda had pushed a stack of clothing into her arms.

"Okay, I am also going to change into something dry, and then I will meet you in the living room," she said, quickly turning around to gesture towards the room in question, "just shout my name in that direction if you need my help—the door to the bathroom can be a bit stubborn sometimes, but just hit it a few times around the handle if you have trouble getting it open again, that usually takes care of it."

Already sure that the question of how she would be able to open the door again was the last of her worries, Mipha plastered a confident look onto her face and hoped that it would be enough to hide how she still held the stack of clothes like it was glass that could break at any moment. It worked, and moments later, Zelda stepped out into the hallway, closing the door behind her. Already, Mipha could tell that Zelda had not been exaggerating the issues with the door, and she could practically see how Zelda had to use her entire bodyweight to force the door shut.

And then she was alone.

Part of her wanted to do nothing more than to pause and take a moment to look around at her surroundings—there was a mirror standing beside the sink, that could be the very mirror Zelda had used to apply the lipstick Mipha had assumed was new—but the knowledge that Zelda would be waiting for her was enough to make Mipha hurry up and get changed as quickly as she could. But despite her having every intention not to waste time, Mipha still had to take a moment to breathe in deeply before she pulled the hoodie over her head and adjusted it. It was soft, dry, and warm, but all of that was not what made her stop to simply stare at herself in the mirror. There was simply something so very Zelda about it that it was weird to see her own reflection in the mirror and see that it was not Zelda who was wearing the blue hoodie, but rather Mipha.

If it continued like this, Mipha was not sure how much longer she would be able to last without blurting out the truth. There was simply no way she could stay quiet about it.

But for the time being, Mipha pulled herself together. She could do this.

Smoothing out the fabric a bit, she went to exit the room, and with her newfound conviction, it only took a single push before the door opened.

Even though, all things considered, Mipha had been quick to change into the outfit Zelda had found for her, Zelda was already waiting for her when she entered the living room, sitting on the couch, her head turned towards the window across from her. However, as Mipha stopped next to the couch, unsure of what to do, Zelda jumped up, almost jumping over the couch to get over to her.

"You were faster than I had expected!" she exclaimed before bringing her hand to her mouth, stammering slightly as she tried to add to her statement. "Not that I had expected you to take a long time to change, but—"

Mipha interrupted her with a wave of her hand. "Yeah, I know. I was a lot better at getting the door to open again than what you had expected from me." she flexed the muscles in her arms, happy to earn a smile from Zelda. "It did not stand a chance against me."

"In that case, I will have to ask you what your secret was, because it took me ages to figure out the trick of hitting the door handle." Zelda joked, before the smile disappeared again. "But I have bad news; the rain hasn't stopped yet. I just checked the forecast, and it does not look like it is going to let up anytime soon. I hope that you won't mind eating leftover pizza because that is all I have right now, and I doubt you would want to leave with it looking like this outside." there was no need for her to specific what 'this' meant, not when they could both see through the windows how the street outside had turned into a rainbow of colourful umbrellas trying their best to shield their users from the rain that continued to fall from the clouds hanging above them.

Mipha could not help but think that she and Zelda must have quite different definitions of the meaning of bad news. Although the butterflies fluttered dangerously in her stomach at the sound of it, there was no way she would have declined the invitation to stay, even if Zelda had only asked because she felt bad about sending her back outside into the rain.

"Well, I love pizza, so I don't see any problems with that," she said.

The butterflies felt like they had left her stomach to instead fly around next to her heart as Zelda beamed at her.

"Great, in that case, I should probably go and get a few slices heated up." having halfway turned around on her heel, Zelda halted. "I don't have a lot of different kinds to offer—though, if there's something else you would like more, then I could always call and order that, so just say if you would prefer something else—"

"No, I am sure that I would love what you have already."

And that was how, after sending a quick text to Revali to tell him where she was and that there was no need for him to worry about her, Mipha soon found herself seated at the table, a slice of pizza placed on the plate in front of her, with Zelda dragging a slice over onto her plate as well.

"So," Zelda said, picking up her napkin to dab it against the corners of her mouth, "I am sorry, but I don't think it is going to stop raining anytime soon."

Almost like it wanted to prove her right, the sound of the rain hitting the roof above them grew louder, and Mipha paused, with the pizza barely touching her lips. "Neither do I."

Total silence filled the room as Zelda took a bite of her slice, nodding at Mipha. As the seconds passed by, Mipha got the feeling that Zelda was consciously trying to draw out the time until she would have to say something. Well, if that was the case, Mipha was going to wait as well.

It felt like it took a year, but the silence most likely only lasted for a few minutes before Zelda opened her mouth, her gaze glued to her food in front of her as she spoke. "If you want, you could stay here for the night."

Was it really happening? Just a few days ago, Mipha had been so incredibly sure that their friendship was already dead, completely ruined by the kiss in the bar, and here she was, sitting at the tiny table in the corner of Zelda's kitchen, wearing a hoodie Zelda had let her borrow, and with Zelda offering to let her stay over for the night. Granted, it was all due to the rain having taken them by surprise, but even that was still so much more than what Mipha would have expected.

"I would be happy to—as long as it is not too much of a bother for you." the words sounded rehearsed, something Mipha supposed was to be expected, given how she had to go over the sentence a couple of times in her head just to make sure her voice would not fail her halfway through.

"Not at all." Hylia, how did Zelda manage to make even the act of pointing at her with a slice of pizza feel as nice as when she was told she had passed all of her exams? Mipha didn't know, but, somehow, Zelda pulled it off as she continued. "I mean, there's still a little chance—although, if I am honest, I don't really think it is realistic to think that it will happen—that it will stop raining sometime soon," Mipha sure hoped that that would not happen but decided not to share that with Zelda as she continued to gesture towards her with the slice of pizza, "but once we are finished with dinner, I will go to prepare the couch so that you can get my bed—"

"Hang on," Mipha said, holding up her hand to interrupt, "I am not kicking you out of your own room. I am taking the couch."

"Absolutely not! You are the guest, so you will get the best place to sleep!"

But Mipha did not give in. "No, you will keep the bed. It is that or else I am going to have to go out into the rain again to get back to my own place. There's no way I am going to make you give up your own bed for my sake." silently, Mipha begged Hylia to let Zelda give in. The rain hitting the roof, creating a broken rhythm, did not exactly make the option of going home to ensure she would not be a bother for Zelda seem all that alluring, and that was not even to mention how she would hate to leave now.

She knew that her prayers had been heard when Zelda's face turned soft. "Okay, okay," Zelda said, lowering the slice of pizza in surrender, "if you insist, I will let you sleep on the couch."

"Thank you."

The rest of the meal progressed without another discussion—save for when Zelda admitted that she had never really been all fond of cinnamon—and before long, the pizza was almost completely gone.

In a matter of minutes, Mipha found herself settled into the couch, Zelda sitting in the chair next to her. Although she had the remote pointed towards the television, turning up the volume of some documentary Mipha was almost completely sure she had mumbled something about sounding like it was interesting, Mipha found that she had to shake her head every other minute to redirect her attention towards the man in the documentary who was trying to explain what the correct definition of a novel was. Try as he might, his obvious excitement about the subject was simply not able to outdo the way Zelda leant forwards in her seat, reaching out to grab Mipha's hand and bring it over to her own armrest.

"Look, they are actually interviewing Nayru," she gushed, admiration making its way into every word, "I can't believe that they actually got her to agree to be in this, but, hey, I am not complaining."

"You like her writing?" Mipha asked, though it was much more of a statement than a question.

She was correct, as Zelda simply hummed. "She is my favourite author. Have you read anything she has written?"

"I don't think so. If I have, I didn't know that it was written by her."

"We will have to change that," Zelda decided, and it seemed that the chock of hearing that Mipha had really not heard about Nayru was enough to catch her attention, making the documentary lose its grip on her as Zelda turned around to look at her, "I have almost every single one of her books, so if you want to, you can just try one of them."

"With you around, who would need a library?"

"I do, since I am a lot more productive when at the library than at home," Zelda said, "although I have to admit that, recently, I have been writing a lot more at home than I used to."

"Why?"

From the look Zelda sent her way, Mipha could tell that it should apparently have been obvious what her answer would be, even before Zelda answered. "Because, when I am at the café or if I meet you in the library, I have found that I will spend more time talking with you than actually writing."

"Oh… well, for what it is worth, I am sorry about that."

"No, that is not your fault at all—unless," Zelda gave her hand a squeeze, "you are trying to be more interesting than sitting still while typing and looking up everything and nothing on purpose. Because if that is the case, then, yes, maybe it is a little bit your fault that I recently can't seem to focus on actually writing when I am sitting at the counter with you."

"There goes my grand evil plan," Mipha chuckled, "I was trying to get you to stay there for a little while longer, and seeing as you went to the café to write, I had to ensure that you would not finish your project anytime soon, so I began to come up with ways to distract you from your work, you figured it out."

"Well, now that I have discovered the truth, I can tell you that there is no need for you to worry about me leaving the moment I finish up the story, because even when that happens, I can assure you that I will still be coming back. I need to make sure that I can still get my daily cup of coffee, you know, and the best way to do that is to spend a lot of money at my favourite café."

Ignoring the way the suggestion that Zelda had only returned to get another cup of coffee made her regret having eaten that last slice of pizza as her stomach began to ache, Mipha shifted in her seat to hide how her hand went to her stomach, almost like that would have taken care of the butterflies in there. "Yeah, if it was not for the fact that I already work there, I would probably also come in every day. Perhaps I will simply continue to do that even when I am no longer working there, so that Urbosa will barely notice it."

Zelda smiled. "Yes, that sounds like a wonderful idea. Although, if you ever quit and don't think you will be coming back, I would appreciate a text about it. I don't think I would have returned had it not been for you."

"You mean my umbrella, I assume?" Mipha teased, leaning over to be able to land a light hit on Zelda's shoulder.

"Yeah. The umbrella," Zelda said, returning the laugh. And maybe it was just the dim lighting in the room, but Mipha was almost completely sure that the expression did not quite reach her eyes.

However, as Zelda soon got up from the chair, turning off the television as she announced that she should probably start finding extra sheets for the couch, Mipha did not get a chance to ask her about it, and by the time it was ready for bed, the two of them standing in the tiny bathroom, only a couple centimetres left between them as they both stood there, brushing their teeth in front of the mirror, she had managed to forget about it, the only hint of there having been something she had meant to ask about being a slight twinge in her stomach as she lay on the couch, pulling the blanket up over her. Not that it mattered all that much, because she was fine. They were still friends, and that was fine. To wish for anything else would be selfish, so Mipha didn't.

She woke up, confused for a moment by the sun coming in through the window, illuminating a room she could not remember, and with her lying on a couch that was definitely not her own. But then it came back to her, and as she waited for her eyes to grow used to the light and for her body to stop begging her to go back to sleep, Mipha lay still, simply staring into the back of the couch. It was strange really. Had it not been for how cold her feet were, sticking out from under the blanket that was a little too short, she would probably merely have concluded that it was a dream, that she had said goodbye to Revali, wished him good luck on his date, and then gone to bed herself, so that she could wake up any moment to find herself lying in her own room. But the coldness, the little fault in an otherwise perfect morning, was what told her that it was real.

The pleasant smell, accompanied by the sound of something sizzling was what eventually made Mipha roll back over, trying to decide whether or not she should stay where she was or if she should risk it and begin moving through the flat, just hoping that she would not disturb Zelda. In the end, the latter option ended up winning, and she pushed the blanket off her, taking a moment to fold it up into a small square before placing it in the corner of the couch.

The floorboards creaked slightly beneath her as she swung her legs over the edge of the couch and lowered herself onto the floor. Hoping that the person living in the flat below would not be able to hear the sound, she made her way out of the living room, following the smell of something warm and sweet that almost seemed like it was there with no other purpose than to lead her to the kitchen.

She found Zelda standing in front of what looked like some sort of science experiment, poking at something in a pan with a spatula. Her brows were drawn together as she hummed to herself, clearly trying to figure out what she should do, before making a decision and moving the pan off the hotplate.

Mipha coughed, hoping that the sound would catch her attention. It did.

In a fraction of a second, Zelda had turned around, standing up a little straighter, spatula still hanging by her side as she spotted Mipha.

"Oh, I hadn't heard you waking up." using the spatula, she gestured towards the contents of the pan behind her with a flick of her wrist. "I was hoping that I would be able to have breakfast finished by the time you woke up, but" she lowered her shoulders, "I am still not quite finished with it."

"I could go back to sleep," Mipha offered, suddenly finding herself wishing that she had just stayed on the couch.

But Zelda shook her head. "No, I am happy to see you, just a little bit disappointed that this ended up taking longer time than what I had expected. Besides, I don't think this would have ended up being the nice surprise I had imagined either way, so maybe it was for the better that you woke up so that you could get a chance to see just how much you are going to wish we had saved a bit of the pizza for today."

Walking through the kitchen to get a chance to look at just what Zelda was referring to, Mipha laughed. "I am sure it can't be that bad."

"Well, then you are going to be in for a nasty surprise," Zelda remarked, her voice completely flat, "because even I have to admit that my failed experiments often end being so bad that I have to start over. And, judging from the way this looks, I would say that this is one of those times where I failed."

"I am sure it can't be that bad," Mipha said, and as she did not get a reply, she leant in over the pan to get a closer look at the contents.

Immediately, she could tell that she should have listened to Zelda. It really did not look that appetising, not with the way she could spot several patches on what looked like it had been meant to become a pancake only to be turned into something else about halfway through that were completely burnt. Still the smell that reached her was actually making part of her want to taste it, had it not been for how bad the result looked. Maybe if she closed her eyes, she could lie to herself and make herself believe that it was really not that bad. Another glance at the surface of the pancake told her, that no, she did not have the abilities to lie that well, as the contents of the pan looked absolutely disgusting. Only the fact that Zelda was standing right next to her, Mipha feeling how she was looking at her, waiting for a response, kept her from stepping back and away from what would become breakfast and instead try her best to fake a smile.

"Well, it certainly looks…" what words could she use to describe it? Mipha ended up deciding that staying somewhat close to the truth was probably her best chance of making Zelda believe the lie, "interesting."

It did not work, but at least Zelda did not look too disappointed, as she gave it another poke with her spatula. "It was supposed to end being pancakes," she told her, "but I don't think it was a good idea to try to substitute the sugar and use chocolate instead, or at least I am assuming that was where things took a turn for the worse." she went silent, and for a moment, they both just stayed there, looking at the failed experiment.

Then Mipha ended the silence, tearing her gaze away from the, admittedly quite captivating display in front of her, to instead look at Zelda. "Did you seriously just… not use any sugar for this?"

"Yeah, I just kind of assumed that since they were both sweet, it would not make that big of a difference." Zelda waved with her spatula, the gesture not directed at anything in particular. "And, I mean, I like chocolate, so I assumed that it would only end up making the end result better than what it would have been otherwise."

"I don't think that is how it works."

"No," Zelda said with a shrug, "I am realising that now as well. I am just a little bit sad that you had to be here to witness this failure."

And maybe that was it, the resigned tone in her voice, the way Zelda seemed to make herself appear smaller every second, pulling her shoulders forwards, but the next moment, almost before she herself had realised what she was doing, Mipha had grabbed the spatula, her sudden action taking Zelda by surprise, as she let go of it in an instant. To be honest, Mipha herself was also quite surprised by what she was doing, and maybe that was for the better. As much as she wanted to see Zelda happy, the pancake that could barely even be called a pancake really did not look like something she wanted to eat, but before she had had time to make herself see the faults in her plan, she had flipped the pancake over onto the plate waiting next to the burner.

"This is most definitely not a failure," she declared, despite the way the pancake felt as it hit the plate told her otherwise, "and I for one love chocolate, so there's no way you can keep me from tasting this!"

"You really don't have to do this," Zelda said, but even as she tried to make her see sense and tell her that there was no reason to risk her health by eating the pancake, Mipha could hear how her heart was not in it, so she picked up the plate and shook her head at Zelda's attempts to convince her to throw it away.

"No, you can't stop me," she insisted as she started to dig through the drawers around her, before coming to the realisation that it was as difficult to find anything here as it was when Revali had just rearranged the kitchen for the tenth time that month, "but you know what you can do? You can help me find the utensils."

Zelda's gaze flickered between her and the pancake, and Mipha could tell the exact moment she decided to give in from the way she failed to hide the beginning of a smile behind her hand as she reached out to open a drawer close to the sink. "Here."

As Mipha went to sit down at the table, trying her best not to imagine what the texture would be like, and most definitely not worrying about the taste, she could hear Zelda digging through the cabinets, the sound of porcelain clattering telling her that she had given up on continuing her adventure of trying to come up with a better recipe for pancakes. Her suspicions were proved correct when Zelda moments later placed a bowl across from her, milk and rolled oats following right behind.

"You might not have grown familiar enough with my poor attempts of experimenting in the kitchen to know that you have just made the biggest mistake of your life," Zelda warned her as she pulled the chair in under her, "but I have learnt from my mistakes, so I think I will let you have that," the way Zelda pointed at her plate with the end of her spoon made it look like it was some kind of dangerous weapon, "all to yourself. If you change your mind, don't hesitate to say so, there's plenty of rolled oats for both of us. I won't be offended by you admitting the truth and telling me that whatever it is I managed to create tastes absolutely horrible."

"I am sure it is not that bad. No matter what, the smell of it is absolutely amazing, so at the very least, you managed to do that correctly."

Zelda just shot the pancake an unimpressed look. "Trust me; if you knew my track record, you would not be so optimistic about this."

"Well, then I consider myself lucky I don't, because this is going to be great," Mipha said.

Just to prove that she was not afraid of a little patch where something had quite obviously gone wrong in the process, Mipha cut off a bite, making sure that she got a good part of the burnt area. Zelda just shook her head at her, but even then, Mipha could still see from the intrigued look in her eyes and the tug at her lips that, despite her many warnings, she was happy that Mipha had not simply agreed with her that they should throw it away.

But, Mipha realised moments later as the bite hit her tongue, they should most definitely have done that. Not only was the pancake incredibly dry, it also crumbled the moment she tried to bite into it. And the taste… technically, Mipha supposed that it could have been worse. She could tell that Zelda had mixed chocolate into the batter, so at least that was there to somewhat distract her from the absolutely horrendous aftertaste, but even that was not enough to make her ignore the way it all came together to form something that tasted like Zelda had left it on the hotplate for ages.

"So?" Zelda prompted, making Mipha acutely aware of how Zelda was waiting for her verdict, having leant in over the table, leaving her own breakfast somewhat forgotten in front of her as she instead focused on her. "What do you say? Is it as bad as I had expected or is it even worse? Be honest."

"Uh," forcing herself not to answer the question by running to the rubbish bin to spit out the bite, Mipha quickly swallowed the piece of pancake, doing her best to hide the grimace that followed, "it's not that bad. I would perhaps even say that it was actually just a little bit good."

"Liar."

"Yeah, okay," Mipha admitted, "it was bad. I am not going to lie, it was really bad." seeing the way Zelda looked down at the table in front of her, a look in her eyes like she accepted her opinion just like that, Mipha hurried to continue. "But, for what it is worth, I could actually taste the chocolate you added to the batter, and that was without a doubt the best part about this. I just think that it was a really bad idea to completely get rid of the sugar. Besides, it could have been a lot worse. Do you want me to tell you the tale of just how badly Link messed up during his first week of working at the café?"

Link was not going to mind her telling Zelda the story, not when it was meant to cheer her up. Or at least that was what Mipha hoped. If he did, well, then she would just have to deal with Revali ranting to her about it later. All that mattered right then was that it made Zelda meet her gaze, head tilted to the side, a questioning look in her eyes.

"Was it worse than this?"

"Yeah, I am pretty sure it was," Mipha said, a hesitating tone in her voice, "or at least he had managed to wildly overestimate his own abilities."

"You have my attention."

"It was during one of his first shifts at the café," Mipha began, lowering her voice as she recalled the incident, "and he had just managed to convince Urbosa that we had to expand the menu and add more options for what the customers could choose from to it. But it was apparent that Link was mostly referring to the muffins, so after he had brought up the idea a couple of times, Urbosa told him that if he could come up with concrete suggestions for additions to the menu, she would consider it. And apparently Link took that as an invitation to bake as many muffins as he could come up with and then bring them in the next time he went to work, because a couple of days later, I was just about to finish up my shift when I noticed a horrible smell coming from the back of the shop. So, you know, worried that there was something out there that I needed to take care of, I went to see what had happened, and there Link was, holding a tray of muffins, a proud look on his face."

"How bad was it?" Zelda asked, a muffled laugh hidden behind the sleeve of her blouse.

"Bad," Mipha stated, "really bad. It was so disgusting that I could barely look at it, I just had to get out of there as soon as possible, so I think I said something about how I was happy to see that he had decided to institute improvements to the menu, and then I was out of the door. In hindsight, I should probably have said something, but I just did not want to stick around and have to look at those muffins for any longer, so I just did the cowardly thing and fled."

"And then what?"

"Well, he went to show the results of his experiments to Urbosa. I think she managed to say something diplomatic about how it was nice to see that he had plans and that he wanted to change things for the better, but that, ultimately, she had looked into it, and the café was simply not able to expand its menu right now. So, in that way, I almost think Link would have managed to go home, still believing that we had liked the muffins had it not been for Revali."

"Let me guess," Zelda laughed, "he said something about how the muffins were the worst things he had ever seen and then threatened to throw a cup of coffee at him if he did not get them away from him at once."

"Close, but not quite. He just started laughing at him before going over to poke the muffins and declare that, at the very least, Link could have gone to him for advice, since he was actually the best baker at the café. Or, well, that is how Link told me the story, knowing Revali, he did probably say a lot more than just that, but that is what I know for certain."

"Is Revali really the best baker?"

Mipha shrugged. "Maybe. We never really put it to the test, but if I am being honest, I have to admit that I doubt it. But Revali likes bringing up the story from time to time when he feels like reminding Link of how that was a total failure, and I don't think Link minds it, so neither of us have ever challenged his position as the best baker. And since Link is undoubtedly the best at cooking, I guess we just kind of decided that Revali deserved to title of being the best baker. So," Mipha placed the fork back onto the plate, "if it is any consolation, this is not the worst thing I have ever been faced with."

"But you would still like for me to grab you a bowl and a spoon so that you can join me in rejecting that and eating rolled oats instead, right?"

"Oh, definitely."