I raced to the fountain and quickly snuffed out the fires that illuminated the room. My heart raced, and I quickly undressed, removing my disguise and finding my courage. I pulled over the white dress that I had left earlier and shivered as it was still damp and cold. Yuck. I paced for a few seconds asking myself what the hell I was doing before clenching and unclenching my hands in worry. Do I just reveal to him who I am, and beg he keep quiet? What was he expecting to meet for? What was I expecting we were meeting for? Did I expect… No no no. I shook the thought from my head. Ridiculous. I told myself to sit the F down and be patient. We would just talk it out. Be mushy feely, and then… that will be it. But I would not let him see me, no way! Tentatively I shuffled towards the pool and felt for the stairs before sitting on them. The cave was completely dark, save for the soft glow the water immitted at the edges of the pool. My heart beat frantically as I heard Link walk precariously into the dark room.

"H-hello?" He asked cautiously.

"Hey." I said timidly from the shadows. I heard him clumsily start to make his way towards my voice.

"Who turned out the lights?" He asked jeeringly. I heard a sharp snap as he threw a single Deku Nut to illuminate the room briefly.

"Please don't…" I pleaded with him. He had caught sight of me in that instant, and I saw his eyes stare in my direction. It made me feel so… exposed.

"Alright." He said calmly. "Just let me… Um…" I heard a bunch of metal clinking as he emptied his pockets of his hoard. Cling clang thonk twang, a cacophony of objects fell to the floor and… Snap! Snap! Two more Deku Nuts dropped from his pockets and illuminated the cave once again.

"Ah, shit. I'm sorry." He said apologetically. I heard the flump flump as he took off his boots and then to my horror, the jingling of a belt buckle. I drew my breath in quickly.

"You don't… have to undress. I just… thought it would be best if we could talk." I suggested. Blushing furiously that he might have thought we were here to… well…

"Oh." He said dejectedly. "I thought we were going for a swim." The jangling of his belt did not stop and I heard it fall to the floor. Was he completely naked? I couldn't tell. It was too dark. I heard his feet shuffle towards me and a BANG as he slammed his toe into the bottom stair. He drew a breath inwardly and he groaned.

"Found the stairs…" He moaned, and he made to sit down next to me… I think. I sat there, frozen. What now? I made to look in his direction. I slowed my breathing, so I could hear his. He was breathing softly, but stopped to take deep sighs. I completely understood his inability to control his breath. I, too, was trying to compensate for my racing heartbeat.

"I… wanted to tell you." I began. I jumped as I felt a hand pat around my leg in search for mine. Fearing he might fumble higher, I placed my hand in his, horrified to realized I still had my hands bandaged.

"Sheik, you don't have to tell me anything." He said reassuringly squeezing my hand. I pulled my hand away and made quick work to undo the bandages. I drew a breath as I placed my hand back in his and felt for the first time my naked hand in his, the imprinted tri-force glowing faintly on the back. I felt his thumb rub gently over my tri-force and the gesture was more soothing than any water from a fairy fountain could ever be. He pulled my hand to his face and kissed it deftly, almost shyly, then rested his own tri-forced hand on mine. The little symbol shone as if it were alive with light. We were connected in this way, and I reasoned it must be why I felt such a strong magnetic pull towards him. I felt as if he already belonged to me, and always had. It was as if seven years had never passed. His company was warm and supportive, and for the first time in seven years, I did not feel alone. I sat on the stairs, succumbing to my emotions simply from holding the hand of the man I loved. Tears slipped down my cheeks both in sorrow and relief and I breathed heavily to compensate for my sobs. I felt his arms pull me into him and my sobs heightened in intensity. I held him closely, realizing that he had kept his shirt and pants, probably to accommodate me. Now, I wished he would not have been so silly to do so, and that I could feel his skin on mine. He held me for a while and rubbed my back soothingly.

"Yuck…" He moaned. I scoffed in surprise.

"Why 'Yuck?'" I asked.

"Your dress is all wet." He muttered teasingly, easing the tension. I laughed the remainder of my sobs away and I stood to peel away the wet garment. The dress made an audible plop, and I stood naked before him, though he could not see. The darkness made me completely at ease. I heard a shuffle as he stood and peeled off his little green tunic to clumsily shove it in my hands.

"Here." He offered.

"Oh… I…" Before I could kindly reject, I felt the fabric slipping over my head, and his hand pulling it down over my body.

"You'll get cold." He said simply. Sure, in an active volcano. I thought sarcastically.

"Thanks" I said as I poked my hands through the arm holes. I was surrounded by the smell of the forest, the feel of his residual warmth caught in the threads. Oh my god I was hopeless, I thought as I brought the shirt to my face to smell the fabric. I felt I was a deeply disturbed woman, going around sniffing shirts.

"I missed you… Sheik." He said unsure at the use of my name.

"Oh," I sighed deeply, taking my seat on the stairs once again. "You have no idea." I said shaking my head. "I waited seven years, Link. Seven years, and it felt like forever." I felt him pull me into another embrace and my incorrigible hands wandered against his naked back. I ran my hands up and down his spine, relishing in the warmth that radiated from him, and how he twitched nervously at my touch. It comforted me that he was just as jumpy and unsure as I was.

"Thank you for waiting for me." He said quietly as I continued to hold him to me. He was incredibly soothed, and I could feel him relax in my arms. It was terribly thrilling, to feel his weight push against me in support. His arms came around to return the comforting caresses and we sat there for a while, just holding each other, neither of us saying a word. His breathing slowed and I heard him sigh heavily, his hand finding my face in the dark. His fingers tracing over my features, to rest on my lips.

"Do you mind if I…" He began to ask.

"Well, you didn't ask last time." I pointed out. He chuckled and laid a small kiss on the corner of my mouth. My breath hitched. "I'm sorry if I'm… no good. It was my first kiss…" I admitted ashamedly. He laughed.

"I just popped out of a church…" He paused to plant a quick kiss. "for the first time in seven years…" He stopped again to plant another, heavier kiss. "a week ago, you really think I have any experience?" He said parting his lips and taking my bottom lip into his mouth. My ears rang as the blood rushed past my eardrums. I was breathing heavily and I could hear him inhale sharply in return. I was frozen in place, completely paralyzed by the onslaught of affection he showered on me. Not in a million years… I thought, not in a hundred million years could I imagine this to be actually happening. I brought my hands to his cheeks and I grew confident, pressing my lips onto his and exploring the feel of my tongue on his skin. He groaned in pleasure and the sound set my body on fire. It was hot, so hot. My cheeks were burning, and the blood was rushing so feverishly in my head that I felt dizzy. I pulled away, and he released me with no protest.

"Whoo…" I groaned, fanning my face. "Not a good place to do this… active volcano…" I said trying to make light conversation. He laughed.

"Should we stop?" He asked.

"No… I… just need to cool off." I said, steadying my breath. I reached behind me to splash water on my face, and the water glowed in agitation. The fairies resting below burst from the surface as my disturbance of the water had rudely awakened them. The soft glow in the room grew, and I looked towards Link to see if I could see him. His eyes were cast towards mine, his bottom lip clenched in his teeth as he watched me. I can't imagine what he saw. A soggy haired girl with scratches on her face probably. I grew embarrassed but I could not look away from him. His gaze held me in such fascination. Violet, penetrating eyes which could probably look right through my own eyeballs and into the back of my skull, where all my dirty thoughts danced in happy abandon. He really shouldn't bite his lip like that. The glow faded as the water settled. His face disappeared back into the darkness. I heard him shift towards me.

"Zelda… you are so beautiful." He said. I scoffed, although a part of me melted to his compliment. Princess or not, I was not in the habit of being called beautiful.

"And you are too." I said awkwardly. I heard splashing as Link plunged his hand into the water and the room glowed with soft luminescent rippling. He pulled his hand from the water and caressed my cheek with the coolness of it, the glow staying on my skin for a brief moment. He smiled at its effects. I was surprised to see how close his face was to mine, and his handsome features did not leave me unaffected. I couldn't believe that this amazing man was before me, calling me beautiful, and offering me kisses. I contemplated whether or not I had died, and this was all a dream. I plunged my hand in the water as well and covered his face with it. His features glowed, and his eyes burned into mine before the glow softly faded away again into darkness. I repeated the act, immersing my hand in the water and caressing his face in the glow, tracing his lips with my fingers, watching his eyes as they watched me play this strange game with him. He let me splash him, his face occasionally splitting into a smile as he saw me stare at him in fascination. It must have been fun for him to watch me swoon over his striking beauty. The water slid down his face, and over his shoulders and torso, drawing strange, bright webs of droplets over his shape. Feeling the need to see him, all of him, I threw a wave of water covering him in a glowing sheet. He stood in shock, drenched in the luminescent water, then laughed. I covered my mouth with my hands, embarrassed at the realization of what I had done. Before I could apologize, he swung his arm into the water and I, too stood glowing and soaked in the water. There was an outburst of fairies, all jingling madly in protest at being disturbed from their slumber.

"Here…" He offered, climbing into the pool of water, the surface glowed and twinkled about him as the light illuminated the room almost back to its original brightness. He settled in the water waist deep and out-stretched his arms in invitation. I bit my lip because I knew… the little thoughts dancing in the back of my mind knew what the invitation could entice, and foolishly I rushed to meet it. I stood and made my way into the pool, ignoring the way the tunic that I wore rose up above my waist as I went deeper to meet him. His arms pulled me into a soggy embrace and we both sank deeper in the enchanting water. The room was now bright enough to see, and I felt a sudden shyness as the tunic now floated above my breasts, and I was naked otherwise. His hands caressed my back, and the floating fabric became cumbersome. I felt his hand gently come under it, to rest on my naked back. I did not stop him, and I could feel him observing me, judging my reactions. My heart beat fast against his chest as he carefully placed his other hand on my side, squeezing my body softly as if confirming the reality of me. Link took a deep and shaking breath as I felt his hands drift daringly close to my breasts. I had never found them to be anything impressive, as they had made little effort to swell in my adolescence and I was left with a poor excuse for breasts plastered to me, but it made little difference to Link, as he grazed them with heavy nervousness. I turned my head to see him, and his eyes were darkened in lust. I kept his gaze as I felt his hand grow confident in its exploration, grazing the bud of my nipple, and I shivered letting a small moan escape me. The sound seemed to unleash something in him, and he bent to kiss me. His mouth pressed heavily on mine as I felt his urgency. I pulled his head towards mine, lavishing in the pressure of his hold. His lips parted as he fought to deepen the kiss further. I pressed myself to him and I felt his abdomen twitch as my exposed pelvis grazed against it. He groaned and pushed my hips down on his, spreading me over him. A need, a want burned low inside me as I felt his pressure pushing against me. My hips ground against his and he pulled in a sharp breath as I continued my soft and persistent kisses. The room was all aglow, and I could see the reddening of his face and skin. His blush ran down his throat and over his chest and I pulled back to admire him. His hands tentatively wandering over my hips in uncertainty. I kissed him delicately on his neck, and breathed in heavily as the scent of the forest consumed me. I felt his hands crawl up my back and he tugged at the tunic covering me. I let him pull the fabric over my head and his eyes glazed lazily over my form before he caught my gaze and held it. I saw his eyes dart back and forth between mine in question, asking for more. Slowly, he reached to place his hand on my shoulder and I watched him trace my skin down my arm and over my breast. His touch sliding over me was electrifying and my head rolled back as I took his hand and pressed it firmly to my chest. He breathed low and heavy as he kneaded my breast in his hands. His eyes caught mine as he rubbed his thumb over the peak of my breasts and I felt a tingling shudder run down my spine. He lavished at his effect on me. I closed my eyes, and felt his other hand come to support the small of my back, and his wet, warm mouth envelop over the peak my breast. He sucked delicately and I shivered, growing hungrier and hungrier for more. I reached between my legs and began to touch myself, the electric heat shooting through my core. I moaned blissfully in abandon, hearing the reverberations lap at my ears. He groaned at the sound of it and pulled my face down to kiss me heavily, and hungrily. His hands firmly grasped my hips and he ground his hardness against my exposed center. I cried out at the sensation of his hard length pushing against me, the thin fabric of his pants growing more offensive. I reached out to pull the band of his pants to work them off and he reacted quickly, peeling the fabric down as soon as I had indulged him to strip. He was eager and wanting, forgetting himself in the heated passion. His mouth was on mine now and he pressed his tongue hungrily against my lips. I parted my lips to allow him entrance and at the same moment, I felt the tip of his length push delicately between the lips of my core. I pulled away to observe him and he looked at me with heavy eyes, mouth parted, and tongue resting lazily on his lip. He did not ask, he merely acted. His uncertainty had melted away with my confident play and he began to rock himself teasingly inside me, I brought my mouth to his, touching my tongue to his and then sucking it into my mouth, lavishing its taste. He whimpered and sighed into my mouth as he felt me stretching and pulsing to pull him in, slowly taking him deeper. Once fully enveloped he lost his restraint and dug deeply and lustfully into me, grinding us together as one. My body pulsed lightly in excited response, and the flesh around his hardness squeezed in want. He was kissing my neck now, and he pulled lazily out of me, only to push himself back in with a shuddering groan. The absolute bliss off it sent me whimpering in pleasure, the sensation mounting slowly as he began to pump more quickly and urgently into me. He cried out and he gripped my hips as the water fought his quickening pace his face turning red with frustration and need. He grew tired and he slowed to catch his breath. As he slowed, the feeling that had begun to swell inside me began to fade and I urgently fought to fill it again. I kissed him deeply before separating myself from him and pulling myself from the pool to lay in a glowing puddle on the stone floor. I reached towards him, begging to fill me again. He needed no encouragement and pulled himself over the edge as well, clumsily covering my body in his weight as he found my lips and began to kiss me feverishly. The glow from the pool faded and we were plunged into the darkness once again. I felt him push against my opening and I wrapped my legs around his waist to pull him in. He moaned loudly at our reconnection and began to pump wildly in sensational abandon. Slowly my passion swelled again, and his thrust grew heavier and deeper. His breath became frantic and my body began to pulse in excitement. He shifted his weight, slamming mercilessly and I was sent over the edge, crying out in pleasure. He buried himself deeply and then stilled suddenly, whimpering quietly as I felt him spill inside me. I felt swollen and whole. He ground residually against me, tasting the last electric pulses of our passion and he bent down to kiss me sweetly. His breath was ragged, and I could feel his racing heartbeat against my own as he leaned his weight on me in exhaustion. We laid there silently for a while. Neither of us really wanting to talk about what had just happened.

Slowly and terribly, the world began to lean its weight back on our shoulders.

"You can't tell anyone." I whispered. He nodded, his head resting on my chest.

"I know." He whispered back.

"If Ganondorf finds me he will take hold of the tri-force of wisdom, and use its power against you. We have to do it together. Me and you. Two on one." I muttered.

"I know." He repeated lazily, finally catching his breath. He lifted his head as if to get up, then groaned and rested it again on me. He held his breath as I watched him listen to my heartbeat. I was mesmerized by the idea that Link may be just as fascinated by me, as I am by him.

"I just… want to be here with you… like this…" He groaned defiantly.

"After Ganon is gone…" I began. "We can." We were both silent for a while. I sank into a fantasy about living a life with Link by my side. I saw sunlight, thrown rice, the uproar of cheers from the crowd as we shared our first kiss as a… I had gotten ahead of myself. I wanted to picture us together, celebrating and starting over… but I knew that he had to be sent back. The timeline had to be reset. It was with dawning horror that I realized I had planted a lie in him. I did not have the heart to correct it. I also wanted to believe we could stay here together, uninterrupted. I needed to have faith that if and when the timeline was corrected, we would fall into each other's arms again.

"I have to go." I said apologetically. Obligingly he pulled away from me and I felt warm liquid puddle down my backside. It was a cruel reminder of the pleasure we had consumed, and the absolute irresponsibility of it. The world outside was on its knees, begging us to save it. And we were here, indulging our urges.

A shrieking laugh burst from the fountain, and in a cruel twist of fate, the Great Fairy appeared, relighting her snuffed torches. I clamped my arms over my nakedness and Link covered himself with his hands urgently.

"Well, don't be shy now!" She boomed in delight. "You are not the first, nor will you be the last to consummate in my waters." I looked at him and he looked at me, face red with embarrassment. "Legend says, my waters encourage the conception of great Heroes." My face blanched at the thought. She continued mercilessly "I have to say, what an honor it is to be the audience in the joining of two holders of the tri-force. It was a beautiful and lovely display. Within you two I can sense a particularly powerful kind of love that is born only once in every thousand years." I wanted to interrupt her, to stop her from continuing her embarrassing prattling, but I had no words to speak, and Link looked at me in shared horror.

"As compensation for giving yourselves to this fountain, I offer you a gift." The Great Fairy spread her arms wide and I felt warm and calm all over. I waited for something to happen, but then the warmness faded, and I felt completely unchanged. With an ear shattering cackle she dove back into her fountain, leaving us in the harsh light of the cave. I looked towards him to see if he had changed in any way, and he looked back in shared confusion.

"Do you feel anything?" Link asked me. I shook my head.

"No, I don't feel different at all!" I exclaimed. The strangeness of the situation had jolted us from our post coital shame and we made to gather our things. I saw Link glancing at me as he watched me envelop myself back into the Sheikah garb. As I covered my face in disguise, I was reminded of my duties.

"Link you can travel back in time, you know." I began. He approached me, stomping his feet into his boots.

"Like… stop Ganondorf before he…"

"No." I said, cutting his optimistic fantasy. "You can go back to when the Sacred Realm sealed you, but not before." I saw his face drop.

"Why would I want to do that?" He asked.

"It doesn't appeal to you, to be able to live out the seven years that you lost?"

"No… I'm pretty happy with… this." He said, taking hold of my hand. I pulled it from him.

"Link, how can you be happy having to make love in an active volcano to keep us secret?" He shrugged.

"I don't think I could ask for more."

"Link there is so much for you should ask from this. There's so much more that I want from this..." I said sighing. A silence fell between us, and I feared that I had shared too much of how deeply I felt for him. Maybe he did not feel so deeply for me. The thought stung badly. "You have to go back." I said. His eyes darkened slightly, but I pressed on. "Replace the Master Sword into the pedestal, and it will bring you back. When you are ready to meet me in this time, pull it back out."

His gaze relaxed slightly, knowing that he could always jump back to when we were.

"I guess… I should go then." He said, pulling his shield above his head. My heart fell to the floor. No matter what we needed to do, I still desperately wanted to do nothing but stay with him in our love-stricken cloud. He turned to leave.

"Wait!" I heard myself scream, my lovesick heart bursting forward. I raced to meet him and kissed him deeply. He held me tightly and returned the kiss. "I'll see you…" I muttered to him.

"Zelda I…"

"Sheik." I corrected. "For now."

"Sheik… I'll see you." He said, before releasing me and turning to walk away from me. He pulled out his ocarina and played the Prelude of Light. Disappearing right before my eyes.