The bed was too small for the both of them to sleep side by side so Link had Zelda tucked against him. It was the only way Zelda could sleep and honestly, he slept better as well. She was so warm against him and had to push himself backward to keep himself slightly away to not bother her withhim.
It was sometimes a little awkward when he woke up. Thankfully, he usually woke up first. He always awoke early every morning just as the sun got up. He had dim memories of soldiers when he tried to think of why. Zelda's sleep was more sporadic. Sometimes, she was up before him, but usually only when she couldn't sleep or had nightmares more often she was awake a little while after, and unfortunately, sometimes he woke her up no matter how carefully he tried to make his way out of the bed despite him having the outside position.
They needed a bigger bed. He needed to buy them a bigger bed, but then they wouldn't have to lay so close together and part of him really liked lying so close to her. Her hair splayed along her shoulders shining in the soft morning light, she moved slightly and now she was facing him, still asleep.
She was so beautiful. So beautiful, especially asleep with the grief and pain from the last 100 years that was absent from her face. He wished he could take the pain away as easily in their waking hours. Her lips were so close, he wanted to reach out and touch them but resisted. He was supposed to protect the princess. That was his job, his duty, even if he no longer got paid for it . It wasn't like he needed the money anyway.
He shouldnt be feeling this way, she was his charge. He didn't remember everything from the world before but he knew that sleeping with his charge, even fully clothed would have gotten him thrown in jail or worse, well after he had saved them of course. They wouldn't have been able to do anything to him before that he supposed.
He still didn't remember everything. All he had was a small assortment of little things spaced weeks or months apart, some he wasn't even sure where it fell. But he had cobbled together some assumptions, thoughts, and feelings of who he had been before the shrine.
He had been annoyed with the princess at first but as soon as he understood the pressure she was under the annoyance had faded. After she apologized and they became friends he had found himself slowly falling in love with her. Love. He had been in love with her before and he was pretty sure he still was. He unfortunately hadn't remembered that until after they had started this arrangement. At first it had just been practical.
One night Zelda had decided to sleep on the floor, the day after, Link had bought her bedroll as well that way if she preferred to sleep on the floor she would be more comfortable. When he gave her the bedroll, she blushed to the tips of her ears. The bedrolls started getting closer and closer to each other until they were sleeping right next to each other anyway and what was the point of the bed going empty if they were sleeping next to each other in the first place?
It was always chaste. Even though he preferred to sleep without a shirt he always wore one and Zelda's nightgown though form-fitting covered everything. Still, mornings like these always left him with a guilty feeling. He shouldn't be here curled up with Zelda, and he certainly shouldn't be enjoying the feeling of her against him as much as he was. He should be swift in leaving but he found himself unable to move. She captivated him, drawing him in effortlessly.
Her blond hair swooped messily across the left side of her face and he wanted to brush the hair out of her face but that was definitely over the line. Although he was having a harder time remembering where exactly the line was. He needed to get out of the bed. He needed to buy them a bigger bed or maybe two. Two would be more proper and if they were close, perhaps that would still be enough to stop the nightmares. Yet, he still made no move to leave In fact, one of his hands was trying to touch Zelda's face and he just barely managed to stop himself with a sigh.
Who was he kidding? He didn't have a chance. Zelda was a princess and he remembered enough to know that he wasn't nobility and his job was to protect Zelda, not to court her. To think differently would just be setting himself up for heartbreak. They were friends, which was more than he had ever expected in the beginning, close friends, the closest that he could remember having but just friends none the less.
Why would she want someone like him anyway? Someone who had failed her? Someone who had failed everybody? Hundreds of thousands of people had died because he hadn't been strong enough. Why would she want someone who could barely remember her? Barely remember himself?
He let his hand fall to his side. He pushed himself gently back pulling himself off the bed and onto the cold hard floor. Zelda slid backward slightly but managed to scoot herself back onto the bed without waking up. How did the sunlight always cause her hair to shine like that?
Reluctantly he pulled himself away from her and headed down the stairs. The bedrolls were rolled up now and under the stairs. He took one last look up the stairs before heading out the door to start breakfast.