Disclaimer: I do not and never will own the characters of The Legend of Zelda. Nor will I ever own Nintendo. Damn it.

THE DAYS IN FEBRUARY
by Cappucinno

o5. Purses

On the fifth day Zelda was proud to say that she didn't return to Beyond Bizarre Bakery. She got off of work, called her good friend Malon, and walked to the mall. It was a rather crowded place, three stories tall, and so big that Zelda had seen both a Target and a Walmart. Inside the mall.

With an aggravated sigh the blonde pulled out her phone and punched in Malon's well-memorized number, idly stopping to look at a jewelry display as the phone rang.

"Zelda?"

"Hey, Malon. Where are you exactly?" Zelda asked, eyeing a ruby locket.

Too expensive. Too bad.

"Oh, I thought we were meeting at the Hallmark store."

"Hallmark?" Zelda stopped, frowning as she straightened up. "We have a Hallmark here?"

There was a pause on the other line and then an embarrassed laugh. "Oh, sorry, my bad. It's Papyrus. Never mind. Meet you at Williams Sonoma?"

"Okay, darling."

Zelda shook her head as she clicked her phone shut and tucked it away into her white coat. She was only a level up and a mall block away from Williams Sonoma, so it wouldn't take her long.

She began her trek, absentmindedly pausing to window shop in a few stores that she'd never be able to afford. She had hardly made it two steps past the Coach store when an all too familiar voice stopped her cold.

"This one, sir?" The clerk asked a certain blonde someone.

"Hey, Zelda, this one right?" He asked, with a wide grin as he gestured to the red leather purse that she'd eyeballing from the window.

Zelda felt her heart skip a beat as she stared at the blonde. Gawked was probably a more accurate word. Her azure eyes widened and there was a hint of her usual scowl rapidly forming, her jaw hanging open in an unattractive manner.

"Yep. This one." Link said to the clerk, passing over his credit card as if the thing didn't cost him 500. With his usual air of casual nonchalance he pushed the Coach purse into Zelda's arms and she obediently grasped it.

It took her a moment to get a hold of herself, helped along by Link's patient staring, before her temper snapped again. In a voice that was decidedly unsuited for the indoors, Zelda Harkinian shrieked.

"HOLY FUCK! STOP STALKING ME!" She was rational enough to punch him as he burst into a fit of what he would later insist were manly giggles, which cued another burst of punches from Zelda. "What the hell is WRONG with you? You're a… you're a creep!"

"Zelda, princess, really? Is that how you thank a guy for buying you a new purse?" The blonde countered, casually wrapping an arm around the hysterical blonde.

"Don't touch me! Jesus Christ, stay away from me!" She paused, shooting him a suddenly defensive glower. "And I didn't need a new purse, thanks for asking!"

"Zelda?" The blonde snapped her head around at the familiar voice and she turned to see a perplexed Malon standing there. The redhead cocked her head at the scene in an appraising manner. "You know Link?"

Zelda would've been happier if the sky decided to spontaneously fall and crush every living inhabitant on earth whilst beaching all of the sea critters. Better that than Malon being friends with the current bane of her existence.

Nevertheless, she was forced to endure the remainder of the afternoon with an overly-interested Link Forester and a particularly devious looking Malon Lon. She would later deny any accounts of people who claimed that they had seen her laughing and having a good time. She would also vehemently deny that she had been ogling one Link Forester's very fine ass.

o6. Conclusions

Link was honestly a little bit worried when six o'clock rolled around and his favorite customer was still mysteriously absent. The blonde fidgeted in a decidedly uncharacteristic manner, waiting patiently at the cash-register for the blonde to appear. He was sporting a rather nasty black eye, not that he could really remember what he'd done to deserve it. He'd only just awoken to find a thoroughly upset Zelda Harkinian beneath him and unfortunately he couldn't even remember how they'd wound up like that.

He'd been hopeful for about five seconds before he heard her sigh of relief, following by an, "Oh, thank God!" And then he'd had an elbow slammed into his face.

Apparently Zelda Harkinian wouldn't lower herself to striking a sleeping man, though she had no problems about beating a hung-over and decidedly half-awake one. Some morning that had been. She hadn't stopped complaining all morning whilst she forced him to cover his torso with a towel as she waited for his shirt to dry.

Apparently she had issues with his chest.

There was something about torture that she kept mumbling about, but Link was pretty certain he hadn't tried to pull anything on the young woman. Hell, all he could remember was waking up on top of her.

Which would've been a great thing under any other circumstances.

He wasn't sure who had dumped him off at the moody-but-decidedly-sexy blonde's apartment when they'd failed to find the keys to his and Malon's apartment, but he made a mental note to kick their asses later.

When Zelda walked in, finally, Link was instantly relieved. Because the little spitfire of blonde that he'd grown so fond of actually came back. Even if she was looking even moodier than usual and glowering at him as she crossed her arms and ordered a roll of rosemary bread.

In fact, Link was so relieved that he didn't even feel the need to tease her or piss her off. Or maybe that was just the guilt talking. As they exchanged the bread and money respectively Zelda stood there, still glowering in that not-so-cute manner that she always did.

"You're bruised." She said in a monotone that Link didn't even mind.

"Yeah."

He knew he looked like an idiot, standing there grinning, but he couldn't bring himself to care. Zelda had come back. This Monday marked the second week he would spend staring desperately at the clock, waiting for her to come in.

"I'm not sorry." She said, lips pursed and eyebrows drawn into a furrow, even as the tiniest hint of pink crossed her cheeks. A very guilty blush. There was a tentative silence and then she actually managed to meet his gaze.

Her cheeks turned a bright flaming red. That was a curious new development.

"…What were you doing at the mall with Malon, anyways?" Zelda asked, and it was Link's turn to look guilty, though he wasn't blushing. Because guys didn't blush. And he certainly wasn't about to admit that he'd known full well he'd see Zelda at the mall when he offered to give his roommate a lift.

"Umm," He scratched the back of his head, not quite bringing himself to meet Zelda's suddenly forceful glare. Sexy, but scary as hell. "Well, we're kind of roommates so…"

When Zelda turned on her heel and marched off without waiting for an explanation Link could only after her in a distressed manner. He'd completely forgotten what people tended to conclude when a guy and a girl were living in the same apartment. Damn it.

Maybe she wasn't going to come back again after all.

A/N: Another update. Two more to go until we have to go back to the waiting game. Still stuck on Day 11. Hope you guys are all enjoying this and, as always, many thanks and much love to my loyal reviewers. Your support is always appreciated.

-Cappucinno