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embywolf · 2 years ago

Note

SCREAMING AT THIS ANXIOUS OMGOKG9KGOMGNSHZKFNENSKAN

WiP ask game: OnlyFandom. Give me something on the next chapter, please.

THANK YOU SO SO SO SO SO SO SO MUCH FOR YOUR PATIENCE!!!!! And for that cat gif oh my goodness that cat is adorable I can't- <3

I've taken way too long to get yall an update on this fic and I was floundering super hard on what segment to give so I decided to just hand you the entire first third of the chapter. I'm so sorry if it feels stale: I feel like I was writing myself in circles trying to get some of the moments to feel right and not cringe but I think letting you all see this much will help disarm the mental block :) I promise the chapter gets more dynamic as it goes on!!

⚠🔞 This fic is rated E:. There IS a content warning in the segment below:. It is marked with dashes for those who wish to skip it. Just scroll until you see "End of CW" and you're in the clear :) 🔞⚠

Ch. 18 Urbosa’s Assistant

When Urbosa said to come over early she had half expected the poor girl to arrive at her door a timid mess, incapable of breaching the topic without prompting and encouragement. If the persistent redness of Zelda’s face was anything to go off of, then it made perfect sense to prepare for a talk akin to pulling teeth. But Zelda wasn’t one to align herself to others’ expectations. Far from it.

What Urbosa got, instead, was a freight train barreling through her foyer a good five hours earlier than anticipated tossing around books on the “art of living well” and a whole dissertation on the theory of “erotic orientation development” while asking questions a mile a minute. It had the Gerudo’s head spinning. Had her utterly stunned and incapable of stopping the rampaging bear of a Hylian storming around her living room where the shoot equipment was prepped.

“-which I already know proper communication is important, but THIS book has an entire section on positions and I just can’t figure out what necessarily denotes difficulty? Is it perhaps a psychological thing or are there variations to accommodate flexibility? OH but there was a passage in here that mentions power relations with a heavy insinuation on wealth and THAT just sounds counterintuitive-”

“ZELDA!!” Her voice cut through the air like a knife.

Wide green orbs parsed Urbosa in mild confusion. Lips pulling back into a long, thin line, it was clear she was oblivious to the extent of her own ramblings.

“Holy Hylia, Zel are you quantifying sex? What is this?” Snatching one of the books from the coffee table, she scrutinized both covers before exhaling deeply. “Dinraal give me strength. Okay… Honey, screw this. We’re going to start slow. These books aren’t gunna help you right now.” Dropping the brick of a volume back onto the table, she opened her palms out to her friend and swept the air clear like a white board. “First I want to teach you some knots.”

The small Hylian gazed back unmoving. “…Knots?”

“Yes. Exactly. One sec,” Urbosa held up a finger and retreated into the other room. It wasn’t long before she came back with two ropes each the diameter of her pinky finger. “Here… You take one and follow along with me.”

“But what does this-”

“It will all make sense as we go,” the Gerudo interjected, “I swear.”

Zelda bit her lip and sighed. She couldn’t deny being a bit put out at being shut down by one of her best friends, but the butterflies in her stomach refused to let up and she’d be damned if she caused a scuffle now. “I’m just so nervous,” she fussed the moment the rope landed in her hand. Twisting it anxiously between her fingers, she continued, “My brain wouldn’t shut off last night and I just… I just don’t want to screw this up.”

Urbosa side-eyed her with mild concern. “Little bird, you’re just an assistant for today. Nothing you do needs to be perfect as long as you heed my instructions. Besides~!” A teasing smirk smeared across her face. “I think you’ll find this overall experience rather… enlightening.”

A cold shiver shimmied down Zelda’s spine. If the plethora of fantasies playing out in her head last night were anything to go off of then yes… today would be telling. However, that didn’t make this any less unnerving.

Sensing the Hylian’s unease, she gave her friend’s shoulder a firm squeeze. “Alright, I’m going to show you how to tie and untie a few different types of knots and then as you practice them relentlessly I’ll drill you about safety.” Her eyes crinkled in amusement as the look on Zelda’s face went from unenthused to calculating to determined.

It’s now or never. “Alright!” She puffed up her chest like a small bird and nodded with more vigor than necessary. “I’m ready.”

They spent the better half of an hour twisting and yanking their rope strands with various techniques. Zelda listened with rapt attention and, unsurprisingly, was quick to catch on. It wasn’t long before Urbosa brought out an old dress form for Zelda to continue practicing on as she ran through an extensive summary of safety guidelines and warnings.

“I know I’ve said this at least six times by now but do not forget: Consent and communication are vital. If at any point someone wants to stop, you do so immediately.”

“I understand,” Zelda nodded, eyes fixed on the half-hatch she was tying above the dress form’s tailbone. She gave the rope a firm yank and froze when a sudden thought crossed her mind. “Um, Urbosa?”

“Yes, Little Bird?” she asked, the edge in her voice replaced with something more motherly.

“Link doesn’t really… talk,” she began, absently picking at the fraying threads as she pieces her thoughts together. “And if his hands are restrained… how do you uphold proper communication?” Her gaze abandons her project to look to her friend and is surprised to be met with a smile as broad as the Great Plateau.

“Good question,” Urbosa coos before getting up from her seat and adjusting the knot on the mannequin to be more symmetrical. “We’ve been working together for long enough to have our own visual language but we also have a safe word. That way he only needs to mutter a few syllables at me to get the point across and if I feel like he is in a state which compromises his ability to do so, we stop immediately.”

“Our safe word,” Urbosa continues, fingers pinched on the rope, “is Hinox.” Punctuating the word with a tug, the knot unravels quickly. “It’s short and easy to spit out, simple enough to remember, and not something that would easily come up in conversation.” She takes a step back and gestures for Zelda to redo it.

“That’s…” she pauses and weaves the rope with growing ease, “…quite clever, actually.”

“Clever and necessary. Much like you, Little Bird,” Urbosa chuckles as her eyes scan the work before her. “In just a few hours you’ve improved dramatically. You’ll get better the more you practice, but for now I think you’ve earned a treat.”

Green eyes light up at the insinuation. “Oh?” Hands twitching towards her books on the coffee table, she can’t stop the excited jitter that flutters through her innards. Just as her fingers grace the cover, however, Urbosa swats her hand away.

“Honey, no.” Her face is deadpan. “Follow me.”

She leads Zelda into a familiar room full of boxes and plastic storage bins. Shuffling a few around, the Gerudo hunts down a black bin with a tape label reading “XXX” and slides it onto a nearby table. “This might be a little presumptuous but nothing about you is meek and I’ll be damned if you miss out on an opportunity you might like.”

“I uh… wait,” Zelda mumbles, shifting her weight from side to side trying to puzzle out her friend’s words. “What?”

A heavy sigh puffs from Urbosa’s chest. “I don’t need or necessarily want to know what you two do privately, but you should know there’s more to intimacy than penetrative sex.” She hastily tosses the lid off the bin and rummages around for a few items.

- - - - - - - - - - Educational CW - - - - - - - - - -

Oh Goddess Hylia… Cold sweat cascades down Zelda’s brow. An obscene urge to lung towards the bin like a starved animal itches within the layers of her skin. With what little self-control she has she stays rooted to the ground, keeping her rabid energy at bay until two large, phallic objects are brought before her. She almost chokes on her own tongue. It’s too much. Embarrassing and enthralling from the tips of her ears down to her toes, her emotions run wild while her eyes begin to bulge.

“Th-These are…” Zelda croaks. A small, nagging voice in the back of her mind barks to know more… to see more… to do more as the onslaught of fantasies fill her brain. She breathes in a stuttering breath. Reaching out towards one of the toys, her veins thrum with a feeling she has long since craved.

Power.

Power and control over her own body, her own pleasure, her own desires… Like a woman possessed, she curls her fingers around the pink instrument and gasps.

“These are just props for shoots but you can get one to use alone or with someone,” Urbosa explains a little too nonchalantly. She watches the blush spread across her friend’s face but is pleased to see her analyzing the item more like a scientist than a squeamish schoolgirl. “The one you’re holding is a personal favorite. It’s called a “rabbit’s foot,” hence the extension on it.”

Zelda nods blankly, still admiring the weight of the small device. It’s comfortable. Almost inviting with its tangible intricacies and velvet surface. She lifts a thin finger to give the extra bulb a light flick and watches it bob playfully in the air. Turning the device around in her hands, she observes its gentle ark and shivers.

“Nayru forbid,” Zelda almost sputters at the realization. “This is for… extra stimulation?!” Her friend gives her an unashamed nod that sets her inner furnace ablaze. “Goddesses…” She holds it like an artifact from an archeological dig. Stroking the material gently, she gives the toy’s texture more consideration. It’s just so smooth. Something between skin and velveteen. I bet it feels amazing.

Eyes closed, the image of her low-lit dorm room morphs into view. Zelda gulps against the lump in her throat as she imagines bringing the instrument to her core. A rosined bow to taunt strings erupting into a concerto of bliss- it reverberates through her veins like molten gold and before long her solo becomes a duet. Pleasure much like that night in Urbosa’s guest room permeates her dream as the instrument satisfies the ache for touch and stretch. But rather than watch a mouth and hand play her like a fiddle, she conducts this symphony herself. Orchestrates the ebbs and flows of the song until the music crescendos to the final note.

Before her musings can get too deep, Zelda falls back to reality. Surely sporting a scarlet flush, she hands her temptation back only to have the other device thrust before her. Trading it, she heaves a deep sigh and gives it a similar scrutinous lookdown. It’s weightier than the previous one, but not in a way that seems unmanageable. Thicker and lacking any extra extensions, but there’s something odd about the base of it.

“Some of these are made to vibrate, like the rabbit’s foot,” Urbosa ruminates, holding down a small circular pattern thus activating the toy. Continuing to click the button, it cycles through a few different vibration patterns before being turned back off. “The one you’re holding now should be one of interest for a different reason though.”

She’s ready to melt. Ready to die in more ways than one and unfortunately for her these damn toys are integrating into said ideas. Shaking the perverse thoughts away, she focuses her energy on Urbosa’s voice. Determined to listen rather than float off once again to the blissful land of daydreams.

“Do you remember what I told you yesterday in the café?”

Squinting in thought, Zelda worries her lip between her teeth for a moment. “About the… OH!” Her eyes grow wide with recognition. “About straps! …for… oh. Oh.” A moment of alarm shoots down her chest and she can’t help but hold the phallic object just a little further from her body. “Oh Goddess, Link bought this?”

“More or less,” Urbosa hums, holding out a bundle of leather straps. “This is the fun part, though: if you secure this on your body properly that device can just click right in and-”

Raw heat is erupting through Zelda’s head and screaming bloody murder in her ears. Threatening a nosebleed, her brain buzzes with images of Link’s intense, hungry gaze eyeing her down while she sports nothing but the strap on. Deaf and blind to the world around her, the images flashing grow more and more provocative until her knees grow weak enough to buckle.

- - - - - - - - - - End of CW - - - - - - - - - -

She slides to the ground with a heavy thump. Legs the weight of lead, her eyes pan up to Urbosa’s in a euphoric haze. “Nayru give me strength,” she mutters helplessly. “How are you so… casual about all this?”

The smile she returns is gentle. Offering her hands to help Zelda stand, Urbosa explains, “To me a body is just a body. Nothing about it is inherently sexual, but that doesn’t mean I don’t know utilize it.” Warm amusement seeps into the corners of her lips. “You do know things like bondage can exist outside the presence of sex, right?”

“Huh,” Zelda breathes. “I guess that should be obvious in hindsight but I never really considered it much.”

“Understandable coming from a naïve brat,” she sings in jest. Her friend merely snorts in response and can’t help but laugh. “I’ll be honest with you, Little Bird… I won’t take on any other clients of this nature.”

Green eyes widen in surprise. “So Link is the only…” she trails off, recalling her friend’s interactions on the subject carefully. “You said it makes good money?”

The Gerudo quirks a brow and smirks, “It makes good money because my client and I operate with a high level of trust and respect.” She watches her friend’s response. Eagerness to understand wells within her irises so plain to see that she can’t help but nod and continue. “I’m sure some people think what we’re doing is a dream job or a fantasy, but neither of us see it that way. Just because he can feel attracted to many doesn’t mean he’s attracted to any, the same way I don’t care for attraction yet understand what people believe is attractive.”

Puzzlement washes across Zelda’s face as she takes time to consider. Like the tides, her thoughts build and grow, weaving a web of memories and empathy to seek understanding. She’s still for a long moment.

“Do you remember, Zelda,” Urbosa coos, “when you went with me to that drawing event a few years ago?”

Like a fish dropped back into water, the Hylian gasps. “OH! Oh yes, the one where we sat in a circle with charcoal and paper around that bowl of fruit?” Her friend nods with a smile. She beams, “Yes, that was… fun but miserable?” Her breath is airy as she laughs.

“Exactly!” Cackling lightly Urbosa exclaims, “It was humid and stuffy and we left absolutely filthy from the medium! Sometimes those sessions have live models instead of fruit. Sometimes those models wear interesting costumes and sometimes their nude.” Shrugging nonchalant, she watches the light bulb begin to brighten in her friend’s head. “A nude model may sound sexy, but in reality you’re still stuck in a stuffy room covered in charcoal and probably witnessing someone next to you having an emotional breakdown because they can’t get the shading and proportions quite right on a leg.”

Humor creases the lines of Zelda’s face. “Does this mean you’re going to stick me in the corner of the room with some paper and pencils until I cry?”

“No, but that would be hilarious.”

The two women burst into laughter. Singing a song of pure delight, they collect themselves slowly as Urbosa hauls Zelda back onto her feet. Dropping her hands from her grasp, she straightens her back and breathes a deep sigh. “I will only do these shoots with Link because we both see this as an opportunity for art. For him, it’s a means to livelihood, and to me… it’s a safe way to explore expression through photography. We respect boundaries and that is what I want you to take away from today.”

Zelda nods. The furrow of her golden brow loosens as the words weigh upon her. “Thank you,” she breathes. “I think I understand. I never really reacted to things like this before meeting Link and I think… I think it all came on so strong I kind of forgot the bliss of a strictly studious desire.” Her eyes track to the dark bin full of props. “I’m not… changing too much am I?” Her voice strikes a somber chord as she looks back up to her friend. Once again, a motherly grin meets her gaze.

“Change isn’t always bad, Little Bird.” The Gerudo’s voice is soft and warm like the summer wind. “And I would never encourage anything that would hurt you. Speaking of… did you want me to show you how to put this on properly or-?”

“YES PLEASE,” Zelda practically spits.

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embywolf · 3 years ago

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@dawn-the-rithmatist this is adorable!! I love the way you tell stories and this is just too cute!

The Lizard Lady and the Flower Fellow (Zelinktine's Month, Day 15)

Hello friends! Happy Zelinktine's! Here's day 15 of this fantastic month of content. The prompt was "friendship", and I teamed up with the wonderful @linktheacehero and @binkus-and-smelda! Ace’s art can be found here, and I will edit this ASAP to link to Bink’s art when it's ready/posted :) You can read today's fic below the cut or here on ao3! (Which. I kind of recommend. This is a one shot but may be a bit long to comfortably read on the tumbles.)

Being friends with a princess was something that snuck up on Link. Literally.

He had been watching a game of tag from a distance- the other kids didn’t like it when he played. Link didn’t think that was fair, really. Sure, he was fast, but that wasn’t his fault! They were being sore losers. But they got mad when he tried to join in, and Link didn’t like it when people yelled. So instead he watched.

He had been weighing the options for how to spend his afternoon when he had been startled by a hushed voice behind him. “Excuse me, but would you mind holding still for a minute?”

He nearly jumped at the speaker’s sudden appearance, but held himself still. He was rewarded with the light sensation of fingers in his hair and a gasp of delight. “Thank you!”

He took that as his cue to move, spinning around to see a girl about his age standing behind him. Her blonde hair was neatly braided, and her clothes seemed just a bit too finely made for playing around in the gardens. Her green eyes were massive and filled with excitement as they gazed upon a squirming red lizard trapped by her stubby fingers.

Link blinked. “That was in my hair?”

“Mhm!” She flipped it over, revealing its scaly white belly, its limbs flailing wildly. “Hightail lizards are really fast, and since they’re so tiny a lot of times people don’t even notice when one starts climbing on them!” She held it out to him, grinning. “I can’t believe I actually caught one!”

Whoever this girl was, her smile was infectious. Link grinned back. “I bet we could catch another one, too.”

“Really?” A spark lit up in her eyes. “I bet you can’t catch more than me,” she said, and Link’s smile could have outshone the sun. She wanted to play with him! She must not have known about how the other kids ignored him, or why. He wouldn’t tell her, either. He would go easy on her- that way she wouldn’t get mad like everyone else, and they could be friends!

“You’re on.”

–

She destroyed him.

Maybe he shouldn’t be so surprised by that but- he hadn’t lost a game in years! Still, it couldn’t be denied; she was the victor. The girl caught five lizards in the time it took Link to catch two.

“How did you do that?” Link asked, eyes wide. He was fast, but even he couldn’t keep up with the little red lizards.

“You have to be sneaky,” she explained. “They’re really quick, so you have to get them before they see you coming. And they like these flowers!” She held up a blooming yellow flower, one that grew in scattered bursts across the gardens. “It’s not too hard if you know where to look.”

Suddenly, she stopped, her cheeks growing red. “Sorry,” she said, looking down. “You probably think I’m a know-it-all, huh?”

Link shook his head frantically. He didn’t want her to be sad- sad meant she wouldn’t want to play anymore, and then he would be back to watching tag games! “No, no! It’s neat! I didn’t know that!”

Her face lit up. “You really think so?”

“Mhm!” She was an expert lizard catcher! Who wouldn’t think she was neat?

She grinned. “What’s your name?”

“Link. What about you?”

“I’m,” she said, then hesitated. “I’m, uh… Sheik!”

Link wrinkled his nose. “Sheik? Like the ninjas?” The Sheikah were cool, but he had never heard of someone being named after them. But then again, his parents had named him after an ancient myth, so maybe he shouldn’t judge.

She laughed, but it sounded weird. “Haha, yeah, it’s a family name.” She looked around for a moment, like she was planning an escape- Don’t go! Not yet! Link thought- but then plucked another yellow flower. “The lizard on your head probably liked your flower,” she said.

His flower? Oh, right. He reached up to feel the small blossom his mother had tucked behind his ear that morning. He had forgotten about that. He was glad it was still there. But wait- did she think that was weird? Were boys not supposed to have flowers in their hair? “Oh- my mom did that,” he said.

She didn’t seem to mind, simply asking, “Do you know how to make flower crowns?”

Link’s eyes widened. “No,” he answered. “Do you?”

“Yup,” she said, popping the ‘p’ at the end. “Let me show you!”

It turned out that Sheik did not, in fact, think it was odd for boys to wear flowers in their hair, and Link spent the afternoon clumsily weaving together flowers, trying to make them look like the delicate crowns she made. The sun was high in the sky when she announced that she needed to go, and by that time they each had two flower crowns atop their heads, with another pair sitting half formed between them.

“Do you want to play again tomorrow?” Link asked, heart swelling with hope. Please say yes, he thought. This is the most fun I’ve had in ages.

He was rewarded with her brilliant sunshine smile. “Yes!”

As he waved goodbye and sat back down to keep practicing his flower crowns, Link felt the light in that smile all the way down to his bones.

He had made a friend.

—

Zelda showed up the next day feeling oddly nervous.

What if he had found out while she was gone? He didn’t seem to recognize her- but that made sense. She was usually kept separate from the other kids. Her tutors said it had something to do with status and “establishing respect from a young age,” but in Zelda’s opinion, it was just lonely.

She had gotten so excited to see the lizard- a hightail lizard, according to the book she had used to look up the creature the night before- that she didn’t think twice about approaching the boy. And then something wonderful had happened: he had wanted to play with her!

It had been so long since she had anyone her age to play with, and she had been so worried that he wouldn’t like her. But he hadn’t thought she was a know-it-all like her cousins always claimed. He thought she was neat.

But what if he had changed his mind? He was really nice. Maybe he had found someone else to play with. Maybe-

“Ta-da!”

She felt something settle on top of her head, and her hands shot up to touch it. Link was standing next to her, smiling shyly. “I kept practicing after you left,” he said. “I wanted to make you a good one!”

Carefully, she lifted the something off her head. It was a flower crown, woven carefully out of blue nightshade and the small yellow flowers from yesterday in a simple pattern. It was a little clumsy, but far better than the silly chains he had been making the day before.

She traced her thumb over the petals, thinking about the golden tiara her parents would sometimes make her wear, then plopped it back on her head. She liked this one much better. “Thank you, Link,” she said.

He blushed. “Now the lizards will like you more, and you look like a princess!”

She panicked for a moment. Did he know? Was this his way of telling her he knew? But he was still here, and still smiling, and… people usually avoided her once they found out. The adults made them avoid her. So he couldn’t know, because he would have left.

“You need one too,” she declared. “Help me find the right flowers?”

That day was as wonderful as the day before, Link wearing a crown made of mighty thistle and warm safflina to match hers. For a while, they pretended to be royalty- the fun kind, not the boring Princess Zelda kind- and when that grew boring, they pretended to be knights instead. Link knew a lot about knights, and Zelda absorbed the stories like a sponge.

“Sir Link! The dragon is coming back! We need our weapons!”

“Right away, Madame Sheik!” He passed her a sword (well, a pointy stick, but that wasn’t nearly as fun to imagine) and together they attacked the blackberry bush where the dragon was hiding. Berry juice splattered satisfyingly across their faces, and Zelda pretended it was war paint.

“A fine battle, my lady,” Link said in the silly voice he used to sound like grown ups.

Zelda grinned “Indeed it-”

“Link, where are you? Come on kiddo, we’ve got to go!”

Link’s face fell. “I’m over here, Dad!” he called back. A tall man with eyes the same color as Link’s appeared a few moments later, eyes scanning the area for his child. He smiled when his gaze settled on Link.

Then paled when he noticed Zelda.

“Good afternoon, your highness,” he said with a bow. “I trust my son was nothing but respectful?”

Oh no. No no no, she didn’t want this. She didn’t want him to be respectful, or keep his distance, or bow when she walked up. She wanted to be his friend, not his princess. Not outside of their imaginations.

“Dad, don’t be silly! It’s just a flower crown. We’re playing princes and princesses!” Link giggled, and her heart lurched. He didn’t understand yet, but that was about to change.

His father’s eyes widened as he noticed their twin flower crowns, and he snatched Link’s off of his head and threw it to the ground. “Don’t say things like that,” he said, his calm tone betrayed by a note of panic. “You’re a knight’s son, not a prince. Princesses deserve our respect.” He turned to Zelda, who was staring at the flower crown on the ground. “My apologies, Your Highness, it seems he didn’t know.”

Link was kneeling to pick up his flower crown- it had lost a few petals, but it was still in tact- but his father stopped him and began pulling him back towards the entrance to the gardens. “Let’s go, kiddo.”

Link glanced back at her, confused, but followed his father. This was the end, she realized. He would get lectured, and the next day Link would avoid her just like everyone else. Her eyes filled with tears as she looked at the discarded ring of flowers.

She didn’t want it to end.

Zelda scooped up the flower crown and chased after them. “Link, wait!” she said, tripping over her own feet. She tumbled to the ground and was up in the next instant, latching onto his free arm and pushing the crown into his hands.

“Take it with you,” she said, tears leaking onto her cheeks. I don’t want you to leave like the others. Don’t leave me behind.

Link’s worried eyes met her tearful ones, and he took the crown with a reassuring smile. It’s going to be okay, that smile tried to say, and Zelda wished she could believe it. But he didn’t know, and when he did, it would be different.

“Thank you, Highness,” Link’s father said, bowing again before dragging his son away.

Zelda watched them go with her heart in her stomach, scattered yellow petals on the ground at her feet. “Bye, Link.” she said.

And then she was alone again.

—

“Would you care to tell me why I just saw you beating up a blackberry bush with Princess Zelda?”

Link stared at his father. “Dad, it was just my friend Sheik. She’s not-”

His father dragged a hand down his face. “No, kid, that was the princess.”

Link frowned. “Okay…?” Why would she lie about her name? Was it a secret or something? “I’ll just ask her to explain it tomorrow,” he said, shrugging it off. “She’s really good at explaining things.”

“Absolutely not,” his father said. “You can’t just- if she didn’t tell you, she didn’t want you to know. Just leave her be and stop bothering her.”

Bothering her? Had he been… “But we were playing,” he said. “She said she wanted to play with me.” It had been a long time since someone wanted to play with him, and it had been so much fun! Had he really just been bothering her?

His father sighed. “I know, kid. But what if you guys had a fight? She’s a princess, and we don’t want to make her mad. Besides, she’s going to grow up and then you won’t be able to see her anymore.”

Link bolted to his feet. “What? Why not? Is she going to leave? I thought princesses lived in the castle!”

“Well, she’ll be important, and they won’t let most people get too close in case they’re trying to hurt her,” he explained. “She’ll have guards- probably a knight assigned just to her.”

Link thought for a moment, picturing the little girl hunting in the dirt for lizards as a full grown adult, wearing a real crown instead of one made from flowers. A real princess, not just an imaginary one, surrounded by important people, with no time for the son of a knight.

Unless…

“What if I was her knight?” he asked.

His father stared at him blankly. “You.”

“Mhm.”

“Kid, you can’t even hold a sword properly.”

“But- but I could learn! And I could get super strong like you are, and then she could choose me to be her knight!” And then we can play together again, he added in his mind, though he doubted his father would care much for that idea.

His dad gave him a sad smile and ruffled his hair. “Sure, kiddo. But training happens in the afternoon, so you won’t be able to go to the garden to play anymore, okay?”

Link considered. The other kids wouldn’t play with him anyways. The only friend he had was Zelda, and if he couldn’t be friends with her unless he was her knight… he nodded. “Deal. I want to be the best knight ever.”

Link’s father smiled. That had been easier than he thought. The kid would be distracted, and he wouldn’t have to worry about accidentally offending the royal family. And who knew? Maybe Link would actually become a half decent knight.

—

Link approached training like a game of tag. It was easy enough, as long as you were willing to push yourself to your limits. As long as you could really commit.

Once, in a game of tag, someone older than him had been chasing him- someone with longer legs, and they had been gaining on him. But Link was small, and he was fast, and there was no reason he couldn’t still win. So he had used his smallness to duck under the older boy’s legs, and used that speed to get through before he could be tagged. He hadn’t hesitated and thrown himself into the move as best he could, and the older boy had fallen to the ground still “it”.

Training was the same.

Sure, he got a fair share of scrapes and bruises, and some days his arms shook so badly he could barely lift a spoon at dinner. But he didn’t stop.

He overheard his father talking with another veteran knight one day. “Your kid is really something else,” the man had said, and Link’s father had agreed.

“Can I see her now?” He asked when his father declared him ready for a real sword of his own, rather than just the wooden practice one he had been learning on.

“Sorry kid,” his father had replied. “Only if you become her knight.”

He asked again when he managed to hit the bullseye on the target during archery practice, and again when he completed his first full year of training. And again when he learned to ride a horse, and again when he bested his father in one on one combat for the first time, and again, and again, and-

“I’ll tell you when you can see her,” his father told him one day, exasperated. “I promise, I’ll let you know, but until then, just… forget about it for a while, okay?”

But he couldn’t forget about it. Two days of friendship had been more fun than he had had in ages. Friends were easier to come by among the knights, at least at first, but he was so much younger than even the youngest recruits. And then he began to do better, better than the other recruits and even better than some full knights. Then friends were hard to come by, and it was just like those kids playing tag all over again.

It’s okay, he thought at fifteen years old, watching the other recruits leave for a night on the town. He set down his weapons and settled in the grass, plucking dandelions and hyrule herbs to weave together into a flower crown. I have a friend. I just… haven’t talked to her in a while.

He had seen her briefly- they would pass in the halls of the castle, or she would walk by while they were training- but they never got the chance to talk, or even say hello. She would be with someone who looked official or important, sometimes even with the king or queen, or he would be with his father or in the middle of training and… and sometimes he wondered if she would even want to say hello. She was a princess, and they had known each other for two days.

But he still remembered her smile when she picked the lizard out of his hair. And he remembered her laugh when he declared her the finest knight in all the land after vanquishing the dastardly blackberry bushes. And he remembered how wonderful it was to have someone want to be around him, for no reason other than friendship.

“You’re getting that dreamy look on your face again,” one of the other recruits called from across their shared room in the barracks. He had moved in when he was fourteen. “Thinking about a special lady, hm?”

Link blushed. “Something like that.” Because Sheik- no, Zelda was special, but not in the way that his roommate implied. She wasn’t- they weren’t…

The thought made him flush deeper, and he shoved it from his mind. They were friends. Just because she was smart, and funny, and genuine, and had clearly grown into her beauty based on the few glances that he managed over the years… that didn’t make them anything other than friends.

Maybe he had a small crush. But that was his problem.

Link was knighted two days before the tournament was announced. There was plenty of pomp and grandeur- apparently he was the youngest knight to ever join their ranks- but Link didn’t care much for it. Sure, it felt good to know his training had amounted to something, and it was nice to be recognized. But nothing was changing, not really. He had been training (alone) and now he would be standing guard (alone).

(He had hoped that maybe Zelda would be the one to knight him, and had been disappointed by her father instead.)

The announcement was lackluster in comparison to the knighting ceremony, but in Link’s mind it was far more important. A pompous looking man with an obnoxious feather in his hat had arrived with an announcement for all of the knights: a tournament was to be held, and the victor would receive the honor of being appointed the Princess’s personal protector.

It paid well, and it was a cushy position. Sure, you had to stand around all day, but you got to stand around indoors, out of the sun. You got to see the beautiful noble ladies and overhear them gossiping about each other behind each others’ backs. You got to eat food from the fancy banquets, and go to the fancy parties-

And you got to spend time with Princess Zelda.

“I heard she’s a real bitch,” one of the knights complained. “My new girl is a maid in the royal quarters, and she said she’s got no friends. No one wants to put up with her.”

Link ground his teeth, but held his tongue. A dark anger bubbled up within him. They had no idea what they were talking about.

“I tried to talk to her once, and she talked for fifteen minutes about the mating patterns of hot-footed frogs,” another replied. “She might be a royal, but she’s weird.”

“Then don’t compete,” Link said, standing up and grabbing his gear. He needed to keep working up until the moment of the tournament. He refused to lose. “If you think she’s so strange, then drop out of the tournament and leave the job to someone who actually wants it.”

The younger of the two knights blinked- it was probably the most Link had spoken to anyone in years- while the older one stood, crossing his arms and looming over Link. “You think you can tell me what to do, new boy? I’ve been a knight longer than you’ve been alive. I’m not dropping out of shit, and if you think you’re just going to waltz in and take a cushy job like this in your first week on the job, you’re stupider than I thought.”

Link clenched his jaw hard, barely holding back from punching the man. Save it for the tournament, he thought. “I look forward to competing against you, then,” Link forced out, his forced cordiality fooling no one, then left the room without another word.

He had a tournament to win.

—

Zelda didn’t see why she had to be at the tournament. It wasn’t like the results would be impacted by her presence. She was an unnecessary variable in this experiment, so it really made no difference whether she was spectating beside her father or in her room working on her latest project.

Her father argued that it was good for her to get out of her room a bit more, but Zelda disagreed. Most of the people she encountered when she went out would prefer to not be talking with her, and were varying degrees of bad at hiding it. Better to stay inside, where she could enjoy her interests without judgment.

Of course, her father had insisted, and any arguments about how unnecessary she was to this whole process went ignored. So she found herself sitting beside him in the stands, watching as the competitors lined up to hear the first round’s matchups.

They were all knights she had seen around before, mostly grizzled veterans. Tall, scarred, and experienced people who tended to ignore her or tune her out whenever she was in the room. Well, that was fine. About what she had expected, really-

Wait. Was that…?

At the far end of the second row of competitors stood a competitor much younger than all of the others. His armor lacked any of the dents and scratches of his competitors, and he stood at least a full head shorter than the next tallest person in the tournament. But what stood out to her the most was his hair. He had forgone a helmet, leaving golden locks uncovered. His hair had been braided with flowers back into a stubby tail- red, orange, and yellow blossoms.

Mighty thistle. Warm safflina. And yellow dandelions like the ones that grew in the gardens in the spring.

“Link?” she breathed.

Her father was giving a welcome speech- something about honor and duty and all things knightley- but her mind was reeling back through the years, back to the boy who she had only known for two days and was somehow the closest friend she had made in her childhood. Back to lizard hunts and battles against imaginary monsters. Back to flower crowns and petals on the ground.

“Let the tournament begin!” her father proclaimed, finishing his speech, and the knights saluted him with their swords before leaving to prepare and await their matches. Zelda’s heart was racing. This was something unexpected, but so very, very welcome.

The first match started, and she watched for just long enough to determine that no, neither fighter was Link, before mentally spiraling. She had only seen him briefly since that day that his father pulled him away. He had been training to become a knight, that much she knew, but she had never been able to find the courage to approach him. He certainly hadn’t approached her, and she just assumed that their friendship was fated to end like that. He had learned the truth and wanted nothing more to do with her.

He’s probably just competing for the sake of the job, she reminded herself. Don’t get your hopes up. Personal protectors were paid handsomely for the extra commitment and time put in. She held no illusions about this tournament- the competitors here were for many reasons, none of which were her.

The first round ended quickly, and the second round began just as fast. Not Link- not important.

Still… a part of her was hoping against logic that this might mean more to a salary to Link. The hope burrowed its way into her heart, holding fast against the waves of reasoning that told her to let it go, let him go. Her mind said that she was just opening herself up for more loneliness and disappointment. Her heart seemed determined to not let that stop it.

The second round dragged on a bit- an even match between fighters, it seemed. But when the third round began, Zelda straightened instantly, giving the fight her full attention.

A boy with flowers in his hair hefted a sword and shield, his expression dark as he stared down his opponent. The man he was facing off against was probably twice his size, armor worn from years of battle, hefting an ax as tall as he was. Zelda pursed her lips; Link was facing a veteran in the first round. The odds were against him.

The fight was over in less than a minute.

Link moved like lightning, darting in close before the man could use the axe’s reach to his advantage. He scored two quick strikes before dancing away again, circling around his opponent’s dominant side. The veteran snarled, swinging the axe with a strength that could crush armor. Oh goddess, Link wasn’t wearing a helmet, if that swing made contact-

Link jumped out of the way at the last second, landing a backflip perfectly before darting in to strike at the man’s unguarded side. He slashed three times in rapid succession, blade a mere flash of silver, before sweeping the man’s feet out from under him. He fell flat on his back with a groan and a clang of armor. Link’s sword was at his throat in an instant.

Zelda stared. He was brilliant. How had he become so skilled so quickly?

The match was called and the veteran hauled back to his feet. Before leaving the ring, Link turned to where Zelda sat with her father and raised his blade in salute.

Green eyes met burning blue, and her heart stuttered in her chest.

And the tournament continued.

—

Link had never fought so hard in his life.

She recognized him- there was no mistaking that moment when their eyes had met. I’m here, he had thought, wishing the goddess could send his words directly into her mind. I’m going to win. I’m still here- I didn’t leave you.

He kept an eye on the other matches, and was pleased to see some of the tougher competitors being eliminated. He had been thrilled to meet the knight he had argued with before in the first round, and took great pleasure in taking the man down. But he had to stay sharp; anyone among the ranks of the Hyrule knights was no one to dismiss in a fight, and he had to come out on top.

The second match was closer than he would have liked, and stretched on for what seemed like an hour. It was only really a few minutes, he knew, but the dread of facing a nearly even match seemed to slow time to a crawl. After being declared the victor, he once again turned to salute- to the king, technically, but in his heart it was to her…

Only, she wasn’t there.

He frowned, but accepted the victory and left the ring. Where had she gone? Had he upset her? Maybe she was offended and decided to have him kicked out. Oh goddess, what if she hated him? What if he had just been assuming she was okay with him this whole time when she really never wanted to see him again? What if-

Stop it. You don’t know any of that, he scolded himself. Focus on the tournament and talk to her about it later.

Because no one could tell him not to talk to her once he won. No one except for her, anyways, and if she told him to leave, well… he would, even though the thought made him feel as though he was being stabbed in the chest. She was his friend (and maybe also his crush) and he would respect her choices, even if she chose to cut him out completely.

—

“We have our winner!”

Link’s chest heaved, his lungs burning. There was a stinging pain coming from one of his thighs where he had let a blade come a bit too close. His forearm was already bruising from the number of impacts he had taken with his shield, and sweat slick strands of hair were coming loose from his messy braids.

Self consciously, he reached up to feel his hair, then smiled. The flowers were still in place.

The king stepped down into the ring, Zelda- when did she get back?- following closely behind him.

Wearing a flower crown.

He blinked- no, not a hopeful hallucination. It was old, by the looks of it, made from dried blue nightshade and… and dandelions. His breath caught in his chest. There was no way- had she really kept it, all this time?

“You fought well today,” the king said, and Link did his best to pretend like his mind wasn’t racing, his heart thundering. The flowers looked like they were all dried, though still beautiful. It was the same flowers. It was the same crown.

He glanced at her, then back to the king. She winked at him.

“...the honor of serving as Princess Zelda’s appointed knight. Congratulations.” Link snapped out of his mental freak out for long enough to bow, pressing a hand to his heart.

“I will serve well,” he promised, and meant every word.

—

Zelda was losing her mind. He had been on duty for five hours and she was losing her mind.

Why did everyone need to speak with her, all of a sudden? They had been perfectly content to let her lurk in her room the day before, and the day before that, and for the past several years. Why today, of all days?

“Thank you, Your Highness,” the seventh - seventh- person of the day said with a bow. How many questions could people have about a single banquet? “Your assistance is very much appreciated.”

“You’re welcome,” she replied with a forced smile, perfect posture slumping as soon as they left the room. Next to her, she saw Link suppress a snicker and she grinned.

“You’d think it would be something a little more important than menu planning, if they’re going to bug royalty about it,” she said, false haughtiness in her tone. “I thought they would never leave!”

Link just smiled and shook his head, then started walking towards the door.

Wait. Walking towards the door? No! “Where are you going?” she asked, eyes wide.

He startled, looking back at her blankly. “I was going to stand guard outside. I thought you wanted some time to yourself,” he explained.

“Wh- well yes, but I wanted to talk to you!”

“To me?”

“Yes,” she replied, exasperated. Did he not get the message with the flower crowns? She had winked at him, for Hylia’s sake!

“Oh,” he said, cheeks pinking. “Wh-what about?”

“I…” Well that was a good question. What did you say to someone you hadn’t spoken to in years? Hi, I missed you, I know we only knew each other for a few days but I’ve wanted to talk with you every day since. “Well, anything, really.”

Link continued to stare at her blankly. She sighed. “You used to be a lot chattier.”

“I- heh, yeah, I guess so.”

They sat there quietly for a moment, the atmosphere tense and awkward, and she hated it, hated it in a way that she had never hated quiet in her life, and she had to- “Do you want to see what I’m working on?”

He tilted his head, looking puzzled. “Sure?” Oh, that had been a bit out of nowhere. Well, he wasn’t allowed to complain about her lack of social graces. He hadn’t been about to say anything.

She led him into her room and across the bridge. “This is my study,” she said, blatantly ignoring the awkwardness in the air. “And this is the Sheikah slate.”

The screen brightened, lighting up the Hyrule Compendium- or at least, what little she had been able to fill in. “It has the ability to create incredibly lifelike images, and if you get one that’s clear enough, you can use the slate to track the subject of the photo.” She held it out so that he could see, and he leaned until their shoulders bumped to get a good look. “The issue is, it only tracks things it recognizes, and only when they’re within a short range.”

“So you couldn’t take a picture of, say, a stray cat, and then use it to find that cat later?”

“Correct. It would just let you know when there’s a cat nearby, if it recognizes the cat at all.” She frowned, flipping to the creatures section of the compendium. “Even then, you have to be close before the sensor begins to work. I’ve been running experiments using hightail lizards, but it can be frustrating when there are none nearby and the sensor-”

She jumped as Link burst out laughing, cutting her off. “What? What is it?” she asked, looking around. Nothing obvious jumped out at her. “What’s so funny?”

“I just-” he broke off with another laugh. She had missed the sound, she realized. She hadn’t laughed with someone in… no, she didn’t want to know the actual amount of time. It would probably just depress her. “You’re still looking for those lizards,” he said.

She looked back at the picture. Red scales. White belly. The image she had managed to capture specifically had the lizard crouched in a patch of dandelions. She snorted. “Apparently, yes, I am.”

She looked up at him and found him grinning- far from the purposefully blanked expression he wore on guard duty. “If you need any help finding them, I happen to be a bit of an expert,” he said.

She smirked. “Finding them, sure, but catching them? I seem to recall you being a bit hopeless in that respect.”

Link gasped, clasping a hand over his heart. “Lies and slander, Your Highness.”

They burst into giggles, smiling like fools, and Zelda’s eyes fell on the dried flower crown placed carefully on her desk. She still remembered taking it off when she returned to her room the day he left, wanting to throw it across the room and cry and yell, but instead taking it and hanging it to dry out so she might have something to remember of her friend.

And he was back.

“I missed you,” she admitted as their laughter died out. “I- I know it’s silly. W only knew each other for a few days, but then you just disappeared, and-”

He wrapped her up in a hug, squeezing almost tight enough to hurt. “I missed you too,” he said, voice hoarse. “I couldn’t- I wasn’t allowed to talk to you, but I kept trying, and-”

“And you made it,” she finished with a smile, hugging him back just as tight. “We’re together again.”

She pulled away, keeping her hands on his shoulders and gazing affectionately into his eyes. “I want to hear about the past few years. Tell me everything.”

And he did.

—

Once they started talking, it was like they couldn’t stop. Zelda would have sworn that it had only been a few minutes- half an hour at most- but when she checked the time, hours had passed. She didn’t mind in the slightest.

It felt like they couldn’t say enough, in all honesty. Years of not seeing each other had left a strange distance between them that they were both desperate to bridge. They were closing the gap as rapidly as they could, building up a connection with stories and jokes in an endless stream of words.

He had learned to braid his hair from his mother. She hated needlework with a passion, and had bloodstained enough fabric with needle pricks to make her handmaids worry. He had five horses, all wild ones he had tamed himself, and was still offended the stables wouldn’t allow him to register any more. She was as close as family with the Gerudo chief. He kept quiet mostly for fear of bothering others. She hid away in her room for fear of judgment.

It was late when Link announced that he needed to leave, their mouths dry from so many hours of speaking. And yet, she didn’t want him to go. After having her years of quiet abruptly ended, she wasn’t quite ready to let go of the noise.

“Until tomorrow, Your Highness,” he said with a bow.

I’ll miss you. It’s only until tomorrow, but I’ll still miss you.

The next day was much the same. When they were in the presence of others, Link was silent, like a perfect knightley mask had fallen into place. Zelda followed suit, acting as the picture of royalty.

“Your knight is a good influence on you,” her father said. She had needed to choke back a laugh at that one; just before he had entered the room, Link had been telling her about the past three times he had pranked his captain. Just the latest three. She chose to hold her tongue, though- no need to get him in trouble, nor to waste her father’s good graces.

“I’m glad he was chosen,” she replied, meaning every word.

By the end of the first week, they were no longer quite so frantic to know each other, and an easy familiarity replaced the constant exchange of stories. Long nights of research were now often accompanied by the presence of her knight- her friend, she thought gleefully- bringing some menial task up to her study to work alongside her. Meetings with stewards and servants were sped along by suggestions and helpful comments. Interactions with the more intolerable nobles were immediately followed by jokes and snippy comments- she had been delighted to learn that Link was sarcastic- and any bitterness the conversation may have left was quickly swept away by the company of a friend.

He rarely left before midnight, long after his shift had technically ended, but he never seemed to mind. She certainly didn’t. And then he was there again the next morning, and she would pour him a cup of very strong tea to make up for the late night before, and they would commiserate over their drowsiness as the day wore on.

It only took about two weeks to realize that she was in love with him.

It snuck up on her, creeping up in the back of her mind like it her heart was afraid of scaring her away. It was the secret smiles and the quiet laughs, the way he listened when she spoke to him and the way he always spoke truthfully with her. By the time she knew the feeling in her chest well enough to put a name to it, it was too late to run from it.

“Good night, Princess,” he would always say with a bow as he left for the day.

I love you, she would think, and say back, “Good night, Link.”

—

“Do you ever wonder where those other kids from the garden ended up?”

Zelda glanced up from her book, a bit surprised. It was usually her who initiated their chats- not that she minded. “Not really. I still see some of them around the castle.”

“Really?” He tilted his head, curious.

“Sure,” she said, placing a bookmark. “Most of them visit with their families. Some of them never left.”

Link nodded. “Did they…” he trailed off. She could hear the rest of the question anyways. Did they ever get better? Did they ever change?

“No,” she said with a bitter smile. “They’re still the same.” Adults now, or nearly adults, but still keeping their distance at all times, still scurrying away the moment she got close. The only thing that changed was the gossip. As children, they had simply avoided her. Now, their childhood jokes had grown teeth, and they used them liberally to shred her apart.

Not that it bothered her. It was fine. She scowled down at her notebook. It was fine. She was over this now.

“Sorry,” he said, scratching his head and backing towards the doorway.

“What for?”

“For bugging you.” He looked down at the ground. Oh, he thought that scowl was for him. “I should let you get back to it.”

No, she wanted to say. You’re not a bother- you’re never a bother. Stop looking like that. I don’t want to be someone who makes you feel like that.

“I don’t mind,” she said, and the words were fine but they were also wrong, because they weren’t don’t go, please stay, I don’t feel quite so lonely when you’re here. “You’re welcome any time.” I would pay you a fortune just to sit here and be with me.

Goddess, she was desperate, wasn’t she? It should probably have been embarrassing. She was too busy yearning to care.

“Thank you,” he said, offering a stiff bow. “I’ll cease my intrusions for the time being.” Please don’t. “Until next time, Your Highness.” Just stay. I want you to stay.

I love you.

“Good night, Link.”

—

“I never actually congratulated you for your performance in the tournament, did I?” Zelda asked one evening.

“I- You don’t have to do that,” Link stammered, blushing. She liked his blush; it was the one expression he could never hide.

“I know I don’t, but I will,” she said with a cheeky grin. “It was impressive- some of those competitors have been in the knights’ ranks for decades, and you trounced them.”

He avoided her eyes. “Well, I- I trained really hard for it.”

“Still,” she insisted, “if you ask me that only makes it more commendable. You clearly have natural talent, but you also have the determination to build on it.” Before she could think to stop herself she was sliding a hand along his jaw, turning his face until he made eye contact. He followed her willingly, melting into the touch. “It’s one of the things I really admire about you.”

So close to him, she could feel his breath catch, could feel his throat bob against her fingers as he swallowed hard, and she- she really needed to stop this. She wasn’t doing her pathetic crush any favors by being this close.

“Y- you too,” he replied as she pulled away. “You put so much effort into everything, and you really seem to care about all of it. You…” he gave her a small smile “It’s nice to see someone care so much,” he finished. You have no idea how much I care, she thought, smiling back at him.

“It’s hard to believe that boy from the gardens is now one of the finest knights in Hyrule.” It’s not hard to believe at all. Of course you would be- how could you not be? “We’ve come a long way from beating up blackberry bushes.”

Link grinned. “Who would’ve thought my Madame Sheik was secretly Princess Zelda?” Still yours. Perhaps not your Sheik, but still your Zelda.

He reached out to grab her hand, expression softening. “Honestly, I’m- I like the way you ended up. Wouldn’t change a thing.” Her heart twisted in her chest as he stood to leave. You have no idea, do you? How much that means- how much all of your words mean. “Ah, sorry, forget I said anything.” No- don’t take it back, don’t apologize. “Good night, Zelda.”

Good night, Link.

“I love you.”

—

Link froze with his hand on the doorknob. He didn’t- she hadn’t actually said that. Had she?

He turned around to find her with her mouth hanging open and her eyes wide, like she was just as surprised as he was. Like the words had tumbled out without her permission. Had she… had she really said that? Did she mean it?

“Sorry, Highness,” he said, cautiously formal. If he had misheard, he didn’t want to lose his job- lose her- by overreacting to a misunderstanding. “Could you repeat that?”

Her jaw snapped shut with an audible click. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, the same way she did when she scolded herself for mistakes. Then she opened them and looked right at him, looking as tense as though she were bracing for a blow. “I said…” a moment’s hesitation, then- “I said I love you.” The words poured out in a rush, like if they were held in for a single second longer they would burn her.

Link inhaled sharply. He hadn’t misheard. The hope in his chest swelled until he thought it might burst.

He approached her slowly, reaching to cup her face in his hands. “You- you mean like a friend, or…”

She was shaking her head before he could finish the question, eyes screwed shut against his searching gaze. “No. No, not like a friend, like- like I’m in love with you. And… like I have been for a while.”

Link beamed, stroking her cheek with his thumb. “Why are you closing your eyes?” he asked.

“Because,” Zelda sighed. “I don’t want to see you upset the last time I see you before you leave.”

“Who’s leaving?” he asked. He had fought so hard to get back to her; they would have to drag him to get him to leave her side now, and he would fight every inch of the way. “Zelda,” he said softly. “I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere.”

She peeked at him with one eye, checking for a lie, before chuckling and meeting his gaze. Whatever she saw there must have been reassuring, because the tension flooded out of her in the next instant. She lifted her hands to cup his against the sides of her face.

“I love you too,” he said, and the words felt perfect as they fell from his tongue. Her eyes lit up. “I’ve loved you for… for a long time, I think. It was a crush, when we were little, but then I saw you again, and then we talked, and you’re- you’re incredible, and I-”

His rambling was cut off by the press of her lips against his as she surged forward into his arms. Link kissed her back eagerly, moving in tandem with her. He had never imagined he would get this chance, never let himself truly hope, and now he was overwhelmed. Her fingers tangled their way into his hair, pulling him in closer, and he responded by wrapping an arm around her waist, drawing her in, hugging her close, because she was here, this was real, and she loved him.

They broke apart far too soon for his liking, both breathing heavily. Zelda beamed at him with kiss swollen lips, and he couldn’t have contained the answering grin if he wanted to.

“Thank you for coming back,” she whispered, leaning her forehead against his.

“Always.” he replied, closing his eyes and pulling her close.

He was never letting go again.

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