She had barely had time to put on her apron before Revali had spotted her, and if Mipha had thought that he would have a couple of questions about her going to the cinema with Zelda before it had turned into a sleepover as well, it was nothing compared to how long it took him to even get to his first question, as he began by telling her how his own date had been a success.

"So then we decided to go to this tiny coffee shop," Revali said, retelling how he and Link had been caught off guard by the rain as well, "to wait for it to pass, only, it didn't, so a little hour later, we had to admit to ourselves that there was no way it was going to stop raining just yet." he pointed at his hair, "I should have listened to you, because even the short amount of time I spent outside in the rain while we ran back to our flat managed to completely ruin it."

"Well, what can I say?" Mipha laughed. "You should really start listening to me when I tell you something."

"Yeah, right. But I hear that you also had not been able to predict the rain. Though, perhaps you had, but simply decided not to inform anyone. I got your text, by the way. She asked you to come back home, that sounds very—" he was interrupted by Mipha punching him in the shoulder, Revali barely avoiding it by dancing backwards, out of her reach.

"It was because it was raining and we were closer to her place than mine."

"Sure, sure." Revali held up his hands in surrender. "I hadn't said that it wasn't."

Resisting the urge to stick out her tongue at him, Mipha tied the bow behind her back and left Revali behind as she went back outside to stand behind the counter.

She had not expected for Zelda to walk up to her just a couple of minutes later, but that was nevertheless what happened.

From the way Zelda looked, not a single strand of her hair out of place—or at least that was how it looked to her, as Zelda's lips curled up into a brilliant smile—Mipha would not have guessed that only a little over twelve hours ago, they had both been absolutely soaked by the rain, to the point that Mipha had to stay over since she would not be able to go outside without being drenched.

Sitting down on the stool directly across from Mipha, Zelda placed something onto the table.

"A chocolate bar," she explain when Mipha shot her a questioning look before turning to inspect the object, "consider it my way of apologising for ruining a perfectly good chocolate bar by mixing it up with the rest of the batter."

"Oh," Mipha said, suddenly grateful that it was a quiet day, and that the café was not as crowded as it would become later so that there were not a lot of people standing around to hear how she had to fight to keep her voice under control. She cleared her throat and added, "thank you, but you really didn't have to—"

She did not get to finish the sentence before Zelda interrupted her. "Trust me, after you actually managed to get through an entire bite of that pancake, this was the least I could do. I hope that the taste wasn't too bad." she reached out to place her hand on top of Mipha's.

Did Zelda know? As she looked back up at her, trying her best to ignore the urge to withdraw her hand, Mipha could not imagine Zelda not having noticed the way she struggled to form coherent sentences when she was around or how she always tried her best to impress her. She wasn't sure if her answer to her question being that, if that was the case, Zelda would have said something by now, she was not the type to enjoy seeing Mipha struggle to act like she was not overly aware of just where she was in relation to Zelda at all times, had more to do with her honest opinion or if she was just hoping at that point. But no matter that, Mipha still let out a laugh as she reached out to grab the bar.

"Thank you," she said, before waving the bar through the air, "I can't eat it right now, not while I am still working, but I just want you to know that I think it looks absolutely delicious, I can't wait to—"

Zelda cut in. "I know that you won't just throw it in the trash the minute I leave this place, you don't have to worry about me thinking that. Besides, I gave it to you, so even if you were planning to throw it in the trash the moment I turn my back to you, well, then you are entitled to do that as well. I mean," she chuckled, "after seeing my poor attempts at baking this morning, I would not blame you if you don't ever want to eat anything I bring to you."

Mipha slipped the chocolate bar into the pocket on the front of her apron. "You are being too hard on yourself. The pancake at least smelt great. In fact, if you ignored the look of it, it was not that bad at all."

"Yeah, that and then the taste, and then we are almost at a point where you would be able to eat a bite of it without it sending you running for the bathroom because it simply is not able to stay down." thankfully, Zelda did not look as sad about the results of her experiments as she had done just that morning, something Mipha could appreciate. She honestly had no idea if she was good enough at lying to tell Zelda that the pancake really had been good without Zelda spotting the lie and had to hide a relieved sigh when Zelda did not give her the chance to find out, already continuing. "But you are right about the smell, though it actually created quite a few problems for me today."

Mipha raised an eyebrow. "Sounds interesting. May I demand an explanation?"

"You may indeed, although I doubt it is as interesting as what you look like you are expecting since it was just a matter of me trying to sit down to write only to constantly become distracted by the smell. But, hey, it was what made me go here—to get a muffin."

"Really?" Mipha asked, feigning pain in her voice. "I thought it was because you couldn't wait to see me, but now I realise that maybe it was only me who thought that we were friends."

"Would real friends be so good at distracting you from your work?" Zelda asked before shaking her head. "No, but to be serious for a moment, I did actually manage to get a few scenes somewhat done, so I decided that, once I finished the chapter I was working on, I could reward myself by going here." she winked at Mipha. "To get a muffin. And I guess that if you really wanted to think so, I did also come here to talk to you."

"Just be glad that I am not Revali, with the way you are talking right now, I would be surprised if he hadn't already begun threatening you with a cup of coffee," Mipha joked.

Placing her hands on the counter to let her pull herself in towards her, Zelda looked to the side, pretending to be searching for Revali. "He is not here, is he?"

"He is, but out in the back of the shop. You are safe, for now at least, but I still would not let Revali hear you insult me like that."

Zelda smiled. "I will keep that in mind. But to be honest, I did mostly go here to see you. I mean, the muffins are great, don't get me wrong, but they are not good enough to make me stay focused for several hours at a time."

"But I am?"

The nod Zelda sent her made Mipha feel like her entire body had just been filled with sparkling water from the way happiness swept through her like a wave. But it only lasted a moment before reality hit her. It was just how Zelda was, constantly complimenting the people around her, and from what Mipha had seen so far, with how sweet Zelda had been from the very start, it was only Mipha who had a habit of spending too much time contemplating the meaning of every single word she said.

In an attempt to hide how she was sure she was blushing, Mipha reached up to run a hand through her hair, her hand strategically covering up most of her face for a few seconds which was really all she could give herself without it becoming too obvious. "Well, maybe I should try to use that tactic and tell myself that I can't see you until I have actually gotten work done because I have this assignment that I have been supposed to get done for weeks but," she shot Zelda a tired smile, "what can I say, I haven't actually finished it yet."

"Oh, I am sorry to hear that. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"No, you don't have to feel like you have to help me, it was my fault that I did not get started in time and that I then kept procrastinating, and that I delayed it again yesterday because going to the cinema with you was a lot more tempting than the idea of sitting down to do my homework."

But even that did not stop Zelda from grabbing her hand, and Mipha was so sure she could feel her heart skip a beat that she almost missed the first half of the sentence.

"If it makes you feel better about accepting my help, I can tell you that I also have selfish reasons for helping you."

"Oh, yeah?" Mipha lifted her left brow, and, try as she might, she had a hard time imagining what exactly Zelda might be referring to. From what she had seen so far—with Zelda giving her her jacket, going to the cinema with her and letting her come with her home—Mipha did not have any idea of what supposedly selfish reasons Zelda might have for helping her not to fail her classes. "And what might they be?"

"Well, if you actually decide to follow my example—which, by the way, is a horrible idea, it's so difficult to actually keep myself from running down here the moment your shifts starts, so I would not recommend it—then it would mean that the only times we would be able to see each other would be when we both had actually completed all of our tasks, and while I truly believe that you are good at managing your time," at that, Mipha snorted loudly, the sound making Zelda give a little smile, "I know that I am not. So I am not going to let that happen. Tell me what I can do tell help, and then I will do my best to avoid that scenario."

Mipha looked at her, trying to figure out if she was joking or if she really wanted to also have to deal with Mipha whining about her homework. She had to be kidding, right? Mipha loved Revali, she did, but, Hylia, back before he and Link had finally taken the plunge and admitted that they were both love-struck fools who loved to torment themselves by spending time around each other while keeping up the pretence about it all being strictly platonic, him constantly pulling her aside to share his analysis of everything Link had said to him had been among the most frustrating things in her life for months on end.

But as she looked as Zelda, she saw no hint of her being seconds away from doubling up with laughter and tell her that she could not believe Mipha had actually believed it.

"Are you sure?" Mipha asked, just to be absolutely certain that she meant it. "It is not exactly the most fascinating thing in the world, and this is coming from someone who willingly decided to study this subject."

"Yes, of course I am sure. If I wasn't, then I would not have offered to help you."

"Okay, well, then I suppose that my biggest problem is that I am really bad at staying focused." she could see how Zelda chewed on her bottom lip and how her brain was working to come up with an answer.

Finally, Zelda narrowed her eyes and leant in closer. "And where do you go to study right now?"

"Uh," Mipha stuttered, Zelda's sudden movement having taken her by surprise, "I mostly sit at home, I guess. That, or I go to the library. But I just find that there is too much noise both of those places, and that makes me constantly want to listen in on the conversations around me." she sighed. "I know that is bad, I really do, but I just can't help myself sometimes."

"No, no, I totally get that," Zelda said, holding up her hand, "I was actually just thinking that I might have found the answer to the question of what you can do to be able to focus a little better." the look Mipha sent her must have prompted her to continue immediately rather than wait for her to ask. "There is this little corner at the library. I am not sure if you are technically allowed to be there, but I have used it to get a quiet place to write when my neighbours threw parties for the entirety of last year, so I doubt that anyone would mind. If you want, I could show you where it is." the question was left in the air between them, as Zelda went silent.

It took her a few tries to be able to get out anything that was not just unintelligible mumbling, but when she did, Mipha was sure that Zelda could almost hear the relief in her voices. "Yes, thank you so much, I would love that."

"No need to thank me. As I said, I have my own reasons for wanting you not to implement the same tactic as I use." Zelda assured her, waving her hand. "But shall we agree to meet up as soon as your shift ends and go to the library together?"

"I would love that."

"So will I, so that is a deal then."

Zelda's eyes were beautiful. Mipha was not sure why she had never noticed it before, but with how close she was to Zelda's face, she found herself absolutely mesmerised. How where there no one else around them that had commented on that yet? Mipha knew, and could not possibly have avoided knowing seeing as the those incidents that went too far were usually accompanied by Link's rare, but still frightening, show of silent fury, that instances of someone taking the time to comment on the beauty of another customer were not exactly rare. But from what she knew, no one had ever thought to inform Zelda that she was the best part of their day, and that they loved when she would look at them with her special kind of smile that made the wrinkles around her eyes appear to compliment the way her eyes would sparkle with joy.

"Mipha?" the sound of her name made Mipha blink, and feel how her cheeks grew warmer as she realised that Zelda must have said her name a couple of times by now.

"Yes?"

"Are you all right? You kind of got really distant there."

"Yeah!" Mipha exclaimed before she even thought to get her voice under control. Hoping that Zelda did not think too much about how strange she was acting, Mipha tried again, this time with a more controlled tone. "Yeah, I am fine. I just—I just remembered that I haven't actually gotten started on your order yet."

It might perhaps not be the best idea to try to cover up her mistake of staring into Zelda's eyes for too long by turning around and loudly beginning to prepare the plate, but that was nevertheless what she did.

And if Zelda really had begun to suspect the truth for her behaviour, at least she did not use the chance to comment on it or demand an explanation when Mipha handed her the plate without a word. But even that did not help make the feeling of nervousness that had crept up from her stomach, out into her entire body until she had to focus on simply keeping her hands from shaking disappear.

Despite Zelda's many speeches about how she was not sure if they were allowed to be there and that there was a risk that one of the librarians might come to ask them to leave, Mipha found that Zelda's fabled secret spot really did do wonders for her attention span. There was simply something about sitting in the little corner, her computer propped up on her knees while she typed away like her life depended on it—which, given the fact that the date for her exams had begun to lose the sense of it being so far away that it would never happen, it probably did—that made her able to get more work done in that last week leading up to the exam than she had done during the entire month before. She should remind herself to send Zelda flowers if she passed her exams.

Actually, Mipha thought as the thought made the flutter of butterflies return to her stomach, maybe it would be a better idea to just tell her that she was grateful for how she had taken time to tell her how to deal with her assignments. It certainly seemed like a plan that came with a smaller risk of her accidentally telling Zelda too much.

But despite how much time she had spent preparing for the exam, how she had even called Urbosa to ask her if she could change up her shifts during the week to give her a little extra time, her hands still shook when she sat down in the plastic chair outside the room where she already knew that rows upon rows of chairs would have been lined up several days ago, waiting for them all to go in and answer the test, picking up their pencils to decide what answer was the right one and how they should explain the answer to the questions. It was no big deal. Only a mock exam. They had had countless of those tests already during the last three semesters, she knew what to do and she knew how to handle it.

Her phone called for her attention as a low ding notified her of the fact that she had just gotten a new message. While doing her best to resist looking at the clock to see how much time she had left before she would have to enter the room, Mipha looked down.

It was from Zelda. Nothing much, definitely not something that Zelda could have spent more than a couple of minutes on, a short 'good luck' followed by a smiley with a smile so wide that Mipha would almost be worried that its face would not be able to stay intact with the way the grimace had to twist it. And still, it was that tiny little text that did it, made her slump over in her seat, her arm almost automatically coming up to support her head, elbow pushed against her knee. She tapped her way into her contacts with shaking hands and pressed the button.

The phone did not even manage to ring twice before Zelda had answered it.

"Yes?" Zelda's voice echoed in her ears, and for a moment, Mipha could not do anything other than try to get her breathing under control, pressing a hand to her mouth to stop herself from crying. Meanwhile, Zelda continued. "Mipha? Are you there?"

Seeing as she had already called her and had most likely made her worry for her, there was nothing Mipha could do but hope for the best as she removed the hand from her mouth and pressed the phone closer to her ear, hoping that it would be enough to ensure that no one sitting around her would be able to listen to what she and Zelda were saying. Granted, they were most likely all as worried as she was, so the risk of them wanting to listen in on her conversation was as close to non-existent as it could get, but Mipha still did not dare to do much more than whisper. "I am here."

She could hear how Zelda sighed. "Oh, good, I was beginning to get a little worried there. Are you finished with the exam?"

"No," Mipha whispered, "I am not, and that is the thing I wanted to call you about. I—I don't think I can do it." around her, Mipha could see how her fellow students were slowly beginning to put away their notes, throwing their backpacks over their shoulders as they went to stand closer to the door, ready to go in and claim their table the moment it opened. "I just know that it is not going to be a good exam; I know nothing about the subject."

"That's just the nerves, though. I promise you that the moment you are in there, sitting in front of the paper in a silent room, it is all going to come back to you. Just try to relax. If I were you, I would not even bother to look at my notes right now if you think that that is only going to make you even more nervous. Just sit still and try to calm down as much as you can—that is the best thing you can do, both for yourself as well as the result of that test."

Hearing Zelda so calmly inform her about what to do helped. Not a lot, but a tiny bit of the feeling of dread in her stomach did disappear for a moment as Mipha allowed herself to do exactly what Zelda told her to do, pushing her notebook deeper into her backpack rather than forcing herself to open it to go over the subject one last time. If nothing else, it did feel nice to simply let go and let someone else decide what to do, to let go of the illusion of control.

"Okay, I am going to try doing that."

"Will you call me once you are finished with the exam?"

"Of course."

Mipha could almost hear how Zelda stood up from her chair, padding through her flat as she shared her last piece of advice with her. "You know, Mipha, try not to worry too much about this." she must have known that Mipha was only a little under a second away from trying to explain to her how it really was not that simple for her, as Zelda did not give her even a moment to get a word in before she had continued, her voice a little clearer now, which Mipha took as a sign that the faint sound of something rustling had been the sound of Zelda readjusting the phone. "You know, no matter what happens, it is not like this is the exam that will decide whether or not you will be able to graduate. I get that it is important and all that, but even if you fail, it will just mean that you will have to work a little bit harder for a while to catch up."

Running a hand through her hair, Mipha bit back a little frustrated sigh. "I know. I know that I am worrying for no reason, but it just does not help all that much. I mean, I want to be able to help people, and I figured that the best way to get as many opportunities as possible to do that would be by getting the highest average mark that I can, so this is kind of important to me. But, yes, I will try to do as you told me to." in the corner of her field of vision, she saw how the door was pushed open and as the other students rushed past her, Mipha hurried to finish the call. "Zelda, I have to go now, but I will call you the moment I get back."

"Good luck," Zelda told her before ending the call, leaving Mipha staring at the beeping phone in her hand for a fraction of a second, before her heart started beating so fast it felt like she had just been out running for the entire day again.

Switching off the phone and shoving it into the bottom of her backpack, she entered the room, hoping that Zelda had been right about how it would all be fine.