Summer of Our Discontent

Summer

Summer nights were once her favorite, but now they seemed to be filled with nothing but silence and loneliness. Sitting outside, watching her horses gallop around and listening the cacophony created by cuccoos and cows, Malon wasn't quite sure what she was upset over anymore.

It was over. She didn't deserve Link, and even if she did, she wasn't sure if their relationship was valid. She didn't feel like she understood him the way she wanted to, the way he wanted her to. And he was hardly an issue in her life at that exact moment.

And why would he be? The boy could hardly even look at her, let alone speak to her.

No, right now Malon's thoughts were plagued by someone else.

Their awkward friendship had transformed into absolute madness, and now Malon was beginning to wonder if dating Link had been a waste of time. She closed her eyes wistfully.

Groose.

Once, a long time ago, everything about him screamed 'puke' to her. His bulky body, scruffy face, and strong cologne was enough to keep her at least fifty feet away from him. She had been both grateful and a bit guilty that he was so smitten with her best friend. She remembered feeling so much sympathy for Zelda, as she knew the blonde didn't reciprocate his feelings, but now all that sympathy was gone.

And replaced with envy.

It was an odd feeling that she couldn't shake. Maybe part of her didn't want to shake it off. Because as wrong as it felt, it also felt right. It felt right to look at him this way… it felt good. It was better than seeking out all the bad in him all the time. He really wasn't a bad guy. He was just a bit of an idiot.

Just like her.

Damn it.

Damn it all.

She opened her eyes when she heard the gate to the ranch opening up. She even allowed a smile to grace her face when she inhaled the scent of fresh muffins. Turning her head slightly, the new person of interest in her life made his way over to her slowly.

Speak of the devil…

"Yo," He said, holding a basket filled with muffins.

"Hi." She smiled lightly as he sat down next to her, the scent of cheap cologne flooding her nostrils. She exhaled sharply.

"Nayru have mercy… do you bathe in that stuff?"

Groose rolled his eyes, picking out the best muffin he could find and handing it to her.

"Shut up. If you keep insulting me, I'll stop coming over here so often. Then you won't have anyone to talk to." Groose said pointedly.

This shut Malon up. Ever since she was called out by Ilia for cheating on Link, she had been avoiding nearly all of her friends. Saria and Midna came along every so often, but she felt like she was talking to a brick wall whenever she was with them. They would smile and nod and laugh and act like everything was perfect, like nothing had changed within their circle of friends. But she knew they didn't really feel that way. They felt awkward and out of place when they talked to her. She knew they were still her friends and loved her and didn't judge her and all that crap, but they weren't connecting. Of course, Malon vented this all out to Groose, who reassured her that it was just an awkward phase and that they would get over it soon. Then there were Zelda and Link. It was pretty obvious that neither of them would be speaking to her any time soon. Karane was too busy making sure Pipit wasn't making googly eyes at Zelda, and it was Ilia's big mouth that got her in trouble.

Groose put a hand on her shoulder, regretting his words the moment he said them.

"Hey, I didn't mean it like that." He looked at her apologetically, to which she rolled her eyes.

"Yeah you did. But it's okay." She took a big bite out of her muffin, smiling at the dazed look in his eyes when she did so.

"You eat like a pig…" He muttered, taking an even larger bite out of his own muffin right after he said it.

Malon giggled, opening her mouth to speak once she swallowed her first bite.

"You're one to talk."

The two munched in silence, admiring the peaceful atmosphere, even if only for a few moments.

"Link still hasn't returned your calls?"

"Nope." She said awkwardly, fumbling around with her muffin wrapper.

"Oh. Well, if it makes you feel any better, Zelda isn't talking to me either."

"That doesn't make me feel better." Malon grumbled bitterly, frustrated that their conversations always had to go back to the same two people.

Groose noticed her weird behavior and arched an eyebrow.

"What's going on in that pretty little head of yours?" He asked suspiciously.

She bit her lip, trying (and failing) to ignore the fact that he was insinuating that she was attractive. Of course, he had called her beautiful once, and she rewarded him with a kiss. That was a big mistake. But putting that to the side, was now the time? Was it time to bring up what was bothering her so much?

She slowly looked at him, letting out a sigh.

"Do you… do you think it's possible to feel something for two people at the same time?" She asked softly.

"Shit." Groose muttered, clenching his fists, ripping at the damp, green grass beneath him.

"Yeah." She said, letting out another, heavier sigh.

"I guess it would be stupid not to think this would happen. I mean, the only two people I really hang out with are you and Mido… At least that's just the way it is right now…"

She said nothing, feeling too embarrassed to grace him with a response.

"It's nothing to feel ashamed of, that's for sure."

"I'm just tired of feeling so guilty." She confessed. "This isn't right."

"What isn't right? Us hanging out? Aren't we friends?" He asked.

"Are we?" Malon retorted suddenly. "Groose, I honestly don't know what the hell we are."

"Neither do I." He admitted, "But I will say… I'm sort of pleased that I cross your mind. I didn't think I would be able to compete with pretty boy." He said this with an amused glint in his eyes.

She rolled her eyes. He really didn't think any higher of himself than some petty rebound. She wished he knew… How much more he was than that.

But then there was… her.

Zelda was far from perfect, but she was still a catch. Perhaps Groose would soon give up the chase? The fiery blonde made it quite obvious she wanted nothing to do with him.

"What about me?" She asked, shades of claret staining her cheeks. "Do… Do I cross your mind?"

The silly sparkle in his eyes soon faded once he heard her words. Her lips were quivering with sweet anticipation. It was peculiar how they had only done this twice before, yet he knew exactly what she wanted.

Their meetings up until now had been strictly (and infuriatingly) platonic. He came to her. She came to him. They would talk, let out their upset emotions, vent to each other because they knew that the other would listen. It wasn't about understanding. Sometimes Groose couldn't wrap his head around Malon or her twisted and helpless psyche, but he would listen to every single word. Patiently. Sometimes, even adoringly. She did the same for him, and felt sorry for the big lug. Unrequited love was no fun. But it was even worse to watch that love drift to somebody else. Sometimes, they wouldn't say anything to each other. She would show up on his doorstep and they would sit on the couch in the living room and watch television. Or he would come to her ranch, like he did now, and they would sit side by side and stare at the stars, relishing in each other's company.

Sometimes, they just didn't need words.

And right now seemed to be one of those times.

"…Of course you do. Why else would I come and see you so often?" He asked, his arm reaching to wrap around her waist and pull her to him.

Yes, Groose knew exactly what she wanted, and he contritely admitted to himself that he wanted it too.

He closed the distance between them, ensnaring her soft lips within his rough, calloused ones. She moaned immediately at the contact, returning his kiss with lusty fervor.

If this was wrong… she didn't want to be right.

"It can't be that good." The undeniably sexy female in front of him said with her arms crossed.

Ganondorf snickered, licking his lips and handing the bottle to his companion. She grabbed it and stared at him, peeved.

"Ganondorf! Wipe that gunk off your face." Nabooru reprimanded him as if he were her child.

He rolled his eyes, wiping his face slowly to make sure she would be satisfied.

"We good?" He asked.

"No." She huffed, sniffing the concoction before her.

The two Gerudos were sitting atop the roof of Malon and Talon's house on Lon Lon Ranch. One of their legions had gone to Kakariko for a raid, so the two troublemakers decided to follow… only to sidetrack and head over to Lon Lon Ranch instead.

"This is the best milk in all of Hyrule." Ganondorf said.

"You should be robbing those three sacred gemstones for scores of millions of rupees, not snagging milk." Nabooru said, taking a sip of it for herself, her eyes widened slightly at how delicious it tasted. She couldn't say she wasn't impressed.

"It's good, huh?" Ganondorf asked smugly.

"Yeah, it's great. But I still think this is a waste of time."

"Of course you do. Lately you've been such a party pooper. Why is that?"

Nabooru shrugged, not wanting to push the unbridled sexual tension that had been brewing between the two ever since they hit puberty. There certainly WAS something on her mind.

"Koume and Kotake aren't happy with you." She said, taking another swig of milk.

"Tell me something I don't know," Ganondorf said sarcastically, grabbing the bottle from her and taking a sip of his own. He smiled lightly when a mixture of delicious dairy and the honey-like taste from Nabooru's lips invaded his taste buds. But it disappeared instantly when he thought of Nabooru's words. He didn't want to talk about this. He was fond of Nabooru because she proved to be a distraction from all of his responsibilities. And she did much more for him than that. He felt like she possessed a certain spunk that other Gerudo women didn't have. Sure, Gerudos were sassy by nature, why wouldn't they be? But Nabooru… she was different. She was a breath of fresh air, and he'd be damned if she turned on him like this.

"Look, I know that we usually don't talk about this. But… maybe we should? They feel like you need to take your responsibilities a bit more seriously. I mean, I didn't care until they started reaching out to me. They feel like our friendship has been interfering with what should really be a priority in your life."

"Shut up, Nabooru." Ganondorf said bitterly, startling her with his callous tone.

"Hey! I'm just telling you the truth. It's not my fault you can't take it."

"I can take it. But sometimes I just want a distraction." He said, standing up. He paced across the roof, making lots of noise, which made Nabooru feel a bit nervous.

She stood up as well.

"So?" She asked challengingly, following him.

He turned to her, taking in the ravishing beauty before him.

"Distract me." He said, his eyes betraying him and exposing the pain and pressure he had been bottling up inside of him.

"G-Ganondorf…" She said, suddenly feeling weak at the knees and nearly losing her footing on the roof and plummeting off the house to the pastures below.

Instantly his arms shot out and wrapped around her waist, pulling her to him protectively.

She closed her eyes for a moment, her hands instinctively reaching up to his chest.

"You really need to watch your step. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were… falling for me." Ganondorf snickered.

Nabooru craned her neck up so that she could look into his piercing gold eyes. He was smirking at her, and at that moment she couldn't picture anything sexier.

"You're full of shit." She whispered.

"Yeah." His grip on her waist tightened, but she couldn't lie to herself and say that she hated it. "So are you."

He leaned forward, his forehead pressing against hers.

"I really do enjoy spending time with you, Nabooru. I can't see myself hanging out with anyone else."

Nabooru sighed, feeling her walls break down. Only Ganondorf could do this to her. And she loathed him for it.

She didn't seem too concerned with putting on an indifferent front as usual and denying her emotions.

She wanted him. And now she was convinced that he wanted her too.

But just as she was ready to lean in even closer, it seemed that something else had captured her significant other's attention. Immediately he released her from his loving embrace, pulling her to his side and letting go of her completely.

She couldn't hold back her disappointed whimper. Was that just supposed to be an innocent hug?

"Tease." She muttered, crossing her arms, but she could still see that Ganondorf was staring at something intently, not even bothering to acknowledge what she had said. She followed his gaze, trying to find out what was so damn interesting.

And then she saw it.

Red.

Deep shades of red hair on two different bodies that matched, one large figure and another, slender one. Their hands roamed each other's bodies desperately, as if they had been restraining their love towards one another for far too long.

Nabooru arched an eyebrow, craning her neck out, wanting to get a better look.

"Is that Malon?" She asked in shock.

Indeed it was. Her special 'friend' pressed her against the grass, continuing his sensual assault on her lips, touching her eager body without any regrets. However, it didn't seem that she was upset with this, in fact she was quite content, running her fingers through his hair and holding onto him like he might disappear.

She looked to her side and saw Ganondorf whipping his phone and snapping a picture of the sight. She smiled and moved closer to him, wanting to get a feel of his body as much as possible, but acted as though she had done it purely to observe the picture he had taken. But Ganondorf wasn't as stupid as she thought, and caught onto her antics. Her bare hip was brushing against his hand and he loved every second of it.

I just need to make sure Link doesn't find out… He thought to himself.

The picture itself was surprisingly exceptional in quality.

Nabooru was impressed by his camera; she didn't believe he would have been able to get such a good shot given their position on her roof. However, the picture was so clear that the rather risqué scene that had unfolded in front of them looked just as it did in real life on camera. Ganondorf couldn't hold back his smirk, which Nabooru thought was because of how good the picture was. But in truth, he was more interested in the woman standing next to him.

"That picture is perfect blackmail material." She commented.

"I know it is. But I don't think we should rush into anything."

"Why not? You finally gonna listen your mothers?"

"Heh," Ganondorf laughed, but he had a bitter look on his face. "Something tells me there's more to this story. Last time we chatted with our little friend, there were troubled waters between her and her boyfriend. Now she's here making out with somebody else…"

"Okay, and? Aren't we going to bust them for it?"

"Something's up. Trust me on that instinct. Isn't that the guy that Link said was in love with Zelda?"

Nabooru saw him, racking her brains for a moment.

"Oh yeah! That's… Moose." She said slowly, though she sounded very unsure of herself.

"Sure it is…" Ganondorf said, though he wasn't quite sure of the buff redhead's name either. "Well, here's what I'm thinking. We need to –"

However he never got to finish his sentence because he was cut off by an older, huskier voice emanating from within the house.

"And just WHAT do you two young'uns think you're doing!?" he sounded angry.

The two Gerudos froze, thinking their covers had been blown. They didn't want to do it, but if they had to harm their captor they would. They looked below slowly, and saw Talon, Malon's father come into view. The gruff man wasn't staring at them, he was staring at Malon and Groose, who had frozen in the middle of their rather suggestive 'activities.'

Nabooru's jaw dropped. She knew that their first instinct should have been to either run or slit his throat, but the scene that was now unfolding was just too good to miss.

"We should go," Ganondorf said, grabbing her arm. "Before he sees us too."

She nodded, a bit disappointedly, and allowed him to drag her away. They gracefully flipped off the roof and landed on some sturdy wooden boxes filled with milk. But the real deal was inside of the house, where the milk was refrigerated and icy cold. In fact, Ganondorf slipped into the backdoor to grab a couple more bottles.

"Ganondorf!" She hissed, "Now is NOT the time!"

He came back out less than thirty seconds later with several bottles in his hands, displaying his skills as a seasoned thief.

"How could you forget the rules of thievery my dear? There's always time for stealing." He winked at her.

She rolled her eyes, trying to ignore the sudden rise in her heartbeat.

"Okay… Where are we going next? Kakariko?" She asked.

"No." He said, shaking his head. "Our band should be heading to Zora's Domain by now."

"Oh." She smiled deviously all of a sudden, thinking about how fun it would be to wreak havoc on their fishy friends. "Sounds fun."

"Oh it will be." He said, and together the couple ran off towards their new area of interest.

Zelda wouldn't have believed it herself, if it wasn't happening at that exact moment.

But it was.

She was playing footsies. With Link.

Time and time again throughout the course of the summer, she often found herself in rather suspicious situations. It was times like that she wished her mind was an open book, that everyone could read her innermost thoughts and realize that she was innocent.

Perhaps now at this exact moment, she wasn't as innocent as she thought (or hoped) she was.

Of course, it was important to look at the context of the situation.

When Karane had invited her to 'girl's day out,' she forgot two important factors:

One) Scheduling it in the daytime, and

Two) Girls, aside from herself.

When Karane picked Zelda up, she wasn't surprised that they ended up spending time at Zora's Domain. After all, the water haven was home to one of the best spas in all of Hyrule, the perfect spot for a bunch of teenage girls to spend their day. Plus, the place was simply amazing.

However, Zelda was surprised when they got to their destination and saw Pipit and Link. What the hell? Was this all a set up? This was not a girl's day out, and Zelda made that VERY clear to Karane, who simply laughed at her and told her that she needed to 'loosen up a little.' When they went to the cashier, she was convinced they were on a double date. Zelda shook her head, claiming it was simply four friends hanging out, but she knew Pipit and Karane had their weird thing going on (more than friends, less than lovers). But hell, she and Link weren't even friends.

…Right?

They called a temporary truce at the mediation, then immediately afterwards tried going back to their usual banter.

Emphasis on the word tried.

Zelda couldn't remember the last time they argued.

Well actually, she could.

It was just a couple of moments ago, when she felt his toes poking out at hers.

They were both in a hot tub together (don't ask), he was shirtless and wearing swimming trunks, showing off his glistening body while she was in a bikini, trying to read a book. Karane was off canoodling with Pipit, and she was too embarrassed to be out in public with her self-proclaimed worst 'enemy' turned… acquaintance?

She had been in the hot tub by herself and Link came back after his full-body massage, all loosened up and peculiarly giddy. He hopped in with her and she decided not to argue, making it very clear that there would be no conversation between them whatsoever.

Until he decided to grind his feet against hers.

She squealed, pulling her legs close to her and holding onto her book, making sure it wouldn't get wet.

"Link!? What the hell?" She snapped at him.

"Aren't they soft?" He asked.

"What?" She was blushing like crazy now.

"My feet. Aren't they soft?"

"What does that have to do with anything? Just keep them away from ME!" She snapped.

"Geez, you're no fun." Link said, frowning.

"Yeah, well, I wanted to spend time with Karane, not you."

"And I wanted to hang out with Pipit. So I guess we're both in a slump."

"Whatever. Just shut up and let me read."

"No." Link said stubbornly, trying to bite back a satisfied expression when he saw how peeved Zelda looked. He had to admit, as of late, pushing her buttons was amusing for him.

"What do you mean 'no'?" She asked.

"I think you know exactly what I mean. I'm bored. I want someone to talk to."

"Then go find Pipit and Karane and bring them over here."

"I already did find them." Link said.

"Oh yeah, and –"

"They were making out." He said this with a grimace.

Zelda's heart skipped a beat and her face betrayed her when a wistful expression crossed her pretty features. Link noticed and sighed. He was most definitely NOT jealous, no, not jealous at all…

But he knew she was.

"You still like him." He said, crossing his arms.

Zelda looked up from her book which she had hardly been reading, her cheeks completely red.

"No." She said, her hands quivering slightly.

"It wasn't a question, Zelda."

Why did she get shivers when he said her name like that? Damn him.

Zelda sighed.

"No, I don't."

"What really happened that night?" He asked. "I know about Groose and Malon. What about you and Pipit?"

"Nothing happened. Nothing of interest, obviously." She still liked Pipit, and thought he was a sweet and attractive guy. But she had moved on from her infatuation from him a LONG time ago. It was up to Link to believe that. She couldn't care less if he did or not, the only exception being if he tried to bring it up as conversation.

"Well –"

"Why do you care so much about me and Pipit?"

"I don't. It's just that I know he's bothering you."

"You are delusional. Just drop it Link. I moved on a long time ago."

"He liked you too." Link said.

"Whatever. That's in the past."

"You should have said something –"

"Link, stop…"

"And that could have been you instead of her –"

"I don't want him Link." Zelda said vehemently.

He noticed her eyes had somewhat darkened. She was seriously fuming now. Taking the hint, Link wisely closed his mouth and dropped the subject.

After a few minutes of silence however, he wanted to do something. As relaxing as the warm water was, he was still bored. He found his eyes wandering over to Zelda's body, scanning her up and down as she read her book.

She flipped the pages to her novel prudently, raising her book a bit higher to cover her exposed chest, and hide her 'assets.' She was well aware that he was staring, but didn't want to comment on it because she knew they would both be embarrassed.

He blushed when he noticed her shifting awkwardly, and cast his gaze downwards. He shuffled around with his feet, deciding to brush them against hers once more. Instead of verbally scolding him, he felt a sharp pain in his calf, where Zelda delivered a nasty kick.

"Ouch!" He yelped, startled by her sudden attack.

"Stop poking me with your feet."

"But I'm bored!"

He poked her again, his toes lightly tickling hers.

She bit her lip, trying to suppress a feminine giggle. She had to admit that his feet were soft, but she was having trouble concentrating on reading her book, or more importantly: tuning him out.

"Link, stop it. I'm serious." She shoved his feet with her own, and soon they were 'leg wrestling' with each other. It got so intense that soon she put her book down, a bit far from the hot tub to ensure that it wouldn't get wet and ruined.

"Link!" She squealed when he started splashing her. Not intimidated by this act however, she started splashing back, and soon the two were creating a ruckus and water was hitting the stony floors. They hardly saw it as an issue though. The place was basically created from water.

Not too long after that, Zelda found herself laughing at Link's expression every time she got a good splash on him. He spluttered, wiping his eyes and trying to get a good splash on her, but she had gotten the upper hand. Suddenly he lurched forward, grabbing the blonde by her bare shoulders and pulling her towards the middle of the hot tub, tickling her mercilessly.

"AH!" She screamed, her laughter increasing feverishly as he had his way with her body.

He almost lost himself while his fingers rubbed across her soft skin, eliciting more amused sounds from his blonde counterpart.

"Stop that!" She said, placing her hand on his firm chest and pushing him away.

He grinned, staring at her in satisfaction as she tried to recompose herself from laughing. Her face was flushed and she was panting heavily, clearly exhausted from their little session.

"See? Wasn't that fun?"

The smile disappeared and turned into a scowl. It was as though her emotions pulled a completely 360.

"No. That wasn't fun. You know I hate being tickled."

He still had that stupid grin on his face and part of her wanted to wipe it off of his face, but part of her actually found it quite attractive.

"If you hate it so much, why were you laughing?"

"You were tickling me. How was I supposed to react?" Zelda asked.

"I don't know." He said innocently.

She raised an eyebrow, never having been one to back down from a challenge.

This time it was she who lurched forward, her fingers dancing across Link's rock hard muscles. He flinched, letting out a startled grunt while she took her time torturing him. His laugh was hesitant and rough, he was trying desperately to hold back the laughter within him, but even now his stubbornness couldn't get the best of him. He retaliated by grabbing her arms and lifting them up, tickling her armpits.

"AUGH!" She managed to say between giggles, "You're so gross!"

He laughed, a devilish smirk working its way onto his face.

She screamed at him to stop however, when she felt the tie on the back of her bikini loosening up from all of their roughhousing.

"What?" he asked, a bit sad that she was going back to her 'uptight' self suddenly.

"Link!" She said frantically, not knowing what else to do to cover up at that moment except to press her chest against his.

"What?" He asked again, oblivious to her distress.

Her bikini top slipped off not even a split second later, and his eyes widened when he realized why she was panicking, and how her now naked chest was planted firmly against his.

They both stared at each other for a moment, completely mortified by what had just happened.

"Oh shit," he whispered, wrapping his arms around her body to cover herself up from everyone else, trying to suppress his lower region's natural responses to the feeling of her soft, supple figure on his own.

"Can you reach behind me and grab it?" She asked pleadingly.

He nodded, reaching forward and grabbing it.

Zelda looked around; so far there were only Zoras and a couple of other ethnic groups around the spa. Hardly any of them were paying attention to the two Hylians pressed onto one another in the hot tub.

Thank the heavens Malon and Groose can't see us now…

She sighed graciously as Link grabbed her bikini and tried to hand it to her, making sure his eyes didn't find themselves staring at any area of Zelda that would make her feel uncomfortable.

But then, his face paled, his piercing blue eyes seemingly fixated on something behind her.

"Are we… interrupting something?" An all too familiar voice asked from behind, and Zelda didn't even need to turn around to know that it was Pipit's, a hint of impediment and protectiveness laced within his tone.

Still, she craned her neck back to see him and Karane staring at her wrapped up within Link's arms.

With no top on.

Just great.

A/N: *Says that I'll try updating before the end of August*

*Updates mid-September*

I know, I know, I'm a horrible person.

I'm ending the chapter here now! It was going to be longer, but I figured that it would be too long, and it's better if I continue the scene in the next chapter. OOH and guess what? A couple more reviews and this story will be my most popular. I'm pretty pleased with that! Thanks to all the follows and favorites, and the bunch that reviewed the previous chapter. I appreciate it. The next chapter is going to be pure Zelink (duh) and Ganondorf/Nabooru. Hopefully I can update this within a week or two, before September ends… but I'm not about to make a promise I may not keep.

ANYWAYS

Chapter Fifteen Theme Song: Summer

Artist: Calvin Harris

I'll be seeing y'all (hopefully) very VERY soon! ;)