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bt-writing · 1 year ago

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Winter's Touch

Link x gn!Reader

A/N: lord i love link so much. i know we're all playing totk rn!! this fic is pretty ambiguous, so it can be set in either botw or totk, it has no spoilers for either game :) and to all of my followers,

wow! it has been an AMOUNT of time since i last wrote something! i'm sorry for falling off the map, but i'm sure you all know how life goes. i'd also like to say that i know, as all of my works have been genshin based, that you all most likely followed me for my genshin content, and i appreciate all of you so much. i've had so many kind, encouraging comments that made me feel proud of my work. but, truthfully, i will most likely not be writing any more genshin content for the foreseeable future. unless i get back into the game, which is unlikely. i'll most likely continue to write here and there, but who knows what fandom it will be for?

anyways, thank you all again, and i hope everyone can enjoy this story! i put a lot of effort into it, and i hope i've improved from my previous works :)

SFW

Word Count: 5.9k

Summary: You and Link are caught in a brutal snowstorm while traveling through Hebra. Finding yourselves in an abandoned cabin for the night, how in Hylia will you manage to keep warm?

Hebra's perpetual winter snowfall had been merciless ever since you arrived in the secluded northern region. The last few days especially had shown capricious bursts of flurries and wind gusts even more brutal than normal, heralding in the blizzard that faced you now. An unholy amount of the powdery, blinding white coating had accumulated, disguising any semblance of ground for what appeared to be the entire regionーprobably the entire world, from what you could tell. Nothing would surprise you at this point, seeing just how relentless the thick snowflakes had been since you arrived in this godless land.

A heavy sigh escaped from your chest and fell into cupped hands. The tips of your fingers and knuckles were flushed red from the subzero temperature that effortlessly seeped through your clothes and nipped at your skin. Even after rubbing your hands together like a plotting insect, they remained raw and aching, lamenting the loss of your cozy Rito-made gloves which were misplaced somewhere in a far-off stable. The chill felt like knives, an inescapable punishment for your disorganization, unbearable even through a heavy, wool-lined jacket and several other layers of essentially every article of clothing that you traveled with. As you brought your freezing hands up to try and revive your numb ears, you cast a glance over at your Hylian companion.

It had certainly been a number of hours since the two of you had departed from the Snowfield Stableーalbeit, you would argue it was more so a few days spent wandering the ninth layer of hellーbut it was hard to determine precisely how long due to the constant ambiguity of the murky, grey cast sky above. You couldn't help but pinch your eyebrows together, squinting to protect your eyes from the light reflecting off of the obnoxious white plain. Link appeared unphased by the icy insanity you had found yourselves in. He marched dutifully along the invisible path with his typical resolved purpose, his deep footprints leaving a trail to the rhythmic crunching of snow. The caped hood that Link wore concealed his pointy, elven ears from the onslaught of wind, but you were positive they were a similar cherry-colored shade as your own. Its thin fabric flapped wildly behind Link as he traversed the land, obviously experienced in navigating the ruthless northern tundra. The speed at which he walked through the snow was honestly impressive. You had long since tired, but he never slowed down. It was almost as if his stamina reserves were blessed by the gods themselves.

You, on the other hand, were in a much worse state. The journey had begun to turn your brain to mush. Lack of visual stimulation and the persistent weather beating down on you made it difficult to carry on. Yet, burdening Link with your fatigue wasn't an option. Trying to match your partner's pace, you took long, forceful steps forward, legs burning from overexertion. The additional weight of chunky snow boots, padded clothing, and your traveler's bag filled to the brim with supplies made your hike comparably more strenuous than any other you've been on. Giving thought to your exhaustion only served to make things worse, however, as with your next step, the tip of your boot failed to escape the crater your footprint had made in the snow and instead got caught on the very edge.

Thrown off balance, you stumbled forwards with a small gasp. Your hands flailed in a short motion by your sides in a meager attempt to save yourself from faceplanting into the cold, wet snow below you. Before you could kiss the ground, all of your momentum was halted by Link's hand wrapping around your wrist. His other hand shot across your body, reaching for your opposite shoulder and supporting your weight with his forearm over your chest. He turned your torso to face him directly. The knight allowed for his hold on you to linger, wanting to be doubly sure you found stability. Meeting his focused eyes, another sharp breeze whistled by your ear and sent a chill down your spine. The hood blew off from his head, unveiling his messy blonde locks and long ears which's hues confirmed your earlier suspicion. Link took his time inspecting your face, as if he were searching for the answer to some unspoken question, before breaking the silence.

"You're cold."

Your eyebrows raised incredulously. Cold? It was enough to send a small chuckle from your frostbitten lips.

"I don't know if you've noticed exactly where we are, but I'd say that more than simply 'cold' fits the norm here," you replied, exasperated by his statement. Though, before you could ridicule the words of Captain Obvious, he released his hands from your body, leaving you to silently grieve the loss of his touch. Gloved fingers played with the clasp of his hood before removing it from his shoulders and tossing it over your own. His knuckles grazed the exposed skin of your neck as he secured the cloth to you. His thumbs brushed past your cheeks and ears as he reached for the hood, bringing the oversized fabric to rest right above your browbone. Link's hands trailed down to your arms where he reached behind you to tug the sides of the cape around you tightly. It reminded you of a worried mother swaddling her child in a winter coat. Your chapped lips were slightly parted in surprise at Link's movements. The events of the previous minute had left you stunned, and his current actions weren't helping you recover in the slightest. As your brain fried, a tingly warmth filled your body. It erupted from your stomach and quickly spread to your face, staining your already red features a shade darker.

You simply brushed off the newfound warmth as the loss of wind-chill.

Although grateful for his gift to you, you were also concerned about Link's own well-being since he was the one now exposed to the elements. Your eyes traced his ears as they twitched from the wind's lashing. Adorable as the involuntary motion was, you had to object to his kindness.

"Won't you be cold now?" you asked, trying to deny the item. Even if you were slightly less miserable as a result, his health came before your own. Link was the champion, the hero chosen to protect Hyrule indefinitely. He was the one who mattered most between the two of you. Yet, Link closed his eyes and shook his head at your question. Snowflakes had already begun to accumulate on his dark lashes.

"No. I'll be fine. I have a tolerance for this sort of weather, anyways," he spoke bluntly.

It was your turn to study his face this time in an attempt to detect any semblance of a lie. His serious, teal eyes left no room to argue, and you knew it would be a losing battle to try and change his mind. When you could no longer bear to maintain eye contact with the boy, you cast your sight over his shoulder timidly, growing overwhelmed by his silent insistence. It was hard to look straight at him when it felt like he was staring directly into your soul. However, a dull silhouette in the distance caused you to perk up suddenly, catching his attention. A couple hundred meters away from you was a tiny wooden cabin, nearly swallowed by the dense horizon of snow flurries. The structure was most likely abandonedーthe flatland of agony for miles in every direction didn't exactly scream 'tourist attraction' to you, but at the moment it might as well have been the oasis paradise in a desert of frosty sand.

"Link—" you stepped past him, grabbing the cloth of his sleeve with urgent fingers. "Link, look!"

His eyes flickered down to your grasp on his Snowquill jacket before following your gaze into the snowfield. By the time he had managed to locate the structure, you had already begun to drag him along toward it. This was the most energy he had seen out of you in the last few hours.

After some minutes spent walking through the blizzard, you and Link eventually reached the little dilapidated shack, a lone shelter in Hebra's snowy sea. Not wanting to spend any more time outside than necessary, you quickly pushed open the shoddy cabin door. A loud creak! resounded off the bare walls, greeting the two of you as you made your way inside. The interior wasn't impressive by any means. Dust had amassed on the floor and furniture in a layer thick enough to see from your place by the door. A wobbly table sat to the left of the room, positioned right beneath a small, framed window, its glass frosted over by the raging snowstorm beyond the cabin's log walls. On that table was a partially used candle jammed into its candlestick and a few shards of flint. This was good news, you thought, as it provided a means to easily ignite the fireplace directly opposite of the door. An untouched bundle of wood was conveniently propped up against the stone mantel, begging to be lit aflame by the lodge's new inhabitants. Rest be assured, starting a fire was no doubt next on the to-do list. As Link shut the door behind you, your eyes glossed over the bed to your right. A single, flat pillow rested unremarkably against the equally lackluster bedframe. The remainder of the bed was covered by a hefty comforter adorned with simple Rito chevron patterns. Now this, you could get behind. The only issue was the size of the bed. It was a comfortable fit for one person, sure, but two people would be a tight squeeze.

Before you could ponder the issue any further, Link's footsteps pulled you out of your daze. The planks of the floor groaned beneath his weight, but he paid no mind, instead getting straight to work on building a fire. You smirked to yourself—he must have been colder than he let on. You wouldn't give him a hard time about it, though, as you weren't any better off. Deciding to try and make yourself useful, you made your way to the foot of the bed where the group of barrels were and began to inspect their contents. Not expecting much to begin with, your meager hopes were squashed as you removed the brown lid of each container. The first barrel contained a handful of chillshrooms, which sat snugly at the bottom of the cold, dark abyss. The next one provided nothing more than a few more flint shards, and the third barrel was completely empty, save for the dust bunnies gathered in its crevices. The poor scavenge wasn't a big deal, luckily, since your bag held enough rations to get you and Link through a few more days of travel at best.

Crouching down next to Link, you watched in silence as he stoked the starter flames in the fireplace. The faint heat emanated by a fire as small as this one still felt like heaven on your fingers, which burned from the blood rapidly circulating back through them. You gingerly flexed the joints of your hand with an appeased sigh.

The feeling of watchful eyes on you halted your appreciative finger wiggle. Link looked at you expectantly, causing an amused huff to pass from your nose.

"They were pretty much empty. Unless you're hungry for mushrooms and dust particles, that is," you joked. "It looks like curry again. Sorry."

Link held your gaze for a few seconds before leaning back on his hands and resting his eyelids.

"I don't mind," Link spoke, thoughtfully tasting his next words on his tongue. "Your cooking's good."

That same funny warmth from earlier crept up through your chest. Your cheeks turned soft and fuzzy from his compliment. Trying to keep them from melting off your face, you lightly bit their insides to hold the muscles in place.

"It's like, two ingredients," you said with a soft laugh. Pulling yourself to your feet, you shuffled towards the scrawny bed that your bag occupied. You undid the worn latches that secured your materials and dug around for the ingredients to tonight's dinner. "Although, in comparison to that monstrosity you made the other day, I guess anything is better—Ah!"

During your preoccupied rummaging through your bag, Link had managed to sneak up behind you without you noticing and teasingly elbowed your side in retaliation for your comment about his awful cooking. You chuckled in surprise and returned the gesture, nudging him with your shoulder as a toothy grin broke out on his face.

"It wasn't my fault," Link swore in a poor attempt at defending himself, "how was I supposed to know that monster parts wouldn't work in place of meat?"

"Yeah, because bokoblin stew sounds so delicious," you replied sarcastically. For how talented your Hylian companion was at most things, his incompetence at making an edible meal was rather endearing. Ignoring Link's fake pout, you retrieved the Goron spice and Hylian rice from your belongings and brought them over to the fire.

Before long, idle chatter and the aroma of spiced curry had filled the air of the remote Hebra lodge, imbuing it with more life than it had seen in quite some time. It was cozy, sitting there with Link. The heat from the spice danced on your tongue and warmed you from the inside out. This was everything you had wanted only a few hours ago. One of the goddesses must have heard your prayer, you thought, as you examined the frozen landscape through the window. The sun had disappeared from behind the clouds by this point, leaving behind a pitch black sky in its wake. The snow's reflection no longer stung your eyes.

With your body temperature raised and stomach filled, you couldn't help the large yawn that escaped your lips.

Right. The bed.

The time to face the issue of sleeping arrangements had finally arrived. As enticing as the small cabin bed was in your exhausted state, all you really needed to be satisfied was a spot next to the toasty, flickering light of the fireplace. However, Link was apparently two steps ahead of you. He suddenly rose from his seat on the floor and stepped over to the window, facing his back to you. You held your tongue and curiously waited for his next move. What you weren't expecting Link to do was slowly begin stripping. First went the gloves, which were tossed haphazardly onto the wooden table with a thud. Hands free, he reached around his back to undo the leather corset of his Snowquill armor. It joined the matching gloves on the table. As his fingers hooked underneath the hem of his sweater, you turned your entire body to the side, forcing yourself to look away and pulling your knees into your chest. Of course, there wasn't much privacy where you were, but he could have at least announced that he was going to change beforehand. The sound of thick cloth hitting the table sent a rose-colored tint across your face. You played with your fingers to distract your mind as he rustled through his own bag—for a shirt, you hoped. Considering the amount of time you and Link had been traveling together, it was a given that you had seen him shirtless before. Regardless, that scenario was always in a different context than your current one. The close proximity that the wooden shack forced you into felt much more intimate than usual.

Once Link had finished dressing himself, you hesitantly looked back over at him. Hanging loosely from his hips were the baggy pants of the Snowquill set, minus the boots, which lay toppled over each other in the far corner of the room. It took physical restraint to keep your expression stoic as your eyes found his exposed midriff. Never one to care about fashion, Link wore an old, beige shirt that was just small enough on him to expose the dips of his V-line. The sight made your tongue go dry in your mouth—you wanted nothing more than to run back out into that goddamn blizzard that would surely bring your body temperature back down to normal levels.

But, his face was what held you still.

Link had always been attractive—above average, even—but seeing him now, with the way the golden light from the fire bounced off of his handsome features, highlighting the soft pink blush on his wind-burnt nose and cheeks, it was more like an angel that stood before you. His hair was released from its rubber band confines, now free to frame his face and kiss the tips of his ears and shoulders. You couldn't help but wonder what it would feel like to run your hands through its wild curls.

Completely lost in admiring the Hylian boy before you, it took you embarrassingly longer than it should have to notice what Link was actually doing. With a quick snap of his arms, Link rolled out his depressingly thin blanket onto the cold floor of the cabin, right next to the fire.

"Woah!" you exclaimed, the flap of the blanket hitting the ground bringing you from your daydream. "What do you think you're doing?!"

Link ignored you, grabbing his sweater from the table and bunching it up. He tossed the pathetic ball of cloth near the edge of the blanket, presumably to be used as a makeshift pillow. You had to stop this plan before it was too late.

Before he could sit down on his sad excuse for a bed, you dived face first into the "pillow" that Link had made, stretching your legs out to cover the entire length of the blanket. Your arms wrapped around the clump of sweater, pulling it close to your face to prevent it from being stolen. It was really soft, made from a similar material as your own winter apparel. But, most noticeably, it smelt like him. Link's scent was hard to compare to anything because it contained a touch of everything. It was nature-y, like rich evergreen and sweet nightshade, but also infused with campfire smoke and the vague traces of battle. In the back of your mind, you wondered if this spot on the floor was ultimately better than the proper bed.

The room was silent. Link hadn't made a single noise since you decided to belly flop onto the floor, and you hadn't really wanted to see his reaction. Your nerves got the best of you, however, and you slowly opened an eye to look up at your partner.

Oh. That was a new expression.

His eyebrows were raised high, nearly fully hidden by his tousled bangs. You didn't think Link was capable of displaying that many emotions at once. Confusion, exasperation, and intrigue all bled through his features, like he couldn't decide on just one to feel.

"What do you think you're doing?" he mimicked in astonishment.

"...Sleeping."

"Sleeping."

"Mhm," you muttered from your spot on the ground, "you take the bed. I want to be close to the fire. I haven't completely warmed up yet, you know?" Seeking cover from his skeptical gaze, you rolled over to face the fire directly. You couldn't stand the pressure of his questioning eyes on your back, so you out spoke again, trying to finish the interaction as quickly as possible. "Thanks for setting this up for me, though!"

"Get up," Link said with furrowed brows. He was having none of it. You absently swiped at his hand as he reached out toward you.

"No."

His lips pulled taut, visibly unimpressed with your childish antics. After a few more dismissive swats from your end, Link straightened his back and peered down at you with a dangerous glint in his eyes. You should have known better than to test his patience. Now, he would make sure you paid in full.

A startled noise left your throat as two large hands shot towards you. Link had fallen to his knees in order gain easier access over you. His calloused fingers closed around your wrists, trying to hold you still as you squirmed frantically underneath him. You wouldn't go down without a fight, unwilling to surrender the wrestling match over the shitty fireside bed.

"No! Stop! I don't want to sleep on the bed," you cried out. Full-belly laughs were now echoing off the cabin's walls as you two play fought on the floor. Even though you resisted with all your might, Link's superhuman strength could only be eluded for so long before your inevitable loss came. In one quick motion, he brought both your wrists above your head, throwing you off balance and causing your back to collide with the blanketed ground below.

A painfully large grin stretched across your face, making your cheeks blissfully sore. You panted, slightly out of breath from the altercation with the oh-so-mature Hero of Hyrule. Link sat on top of you, being careful not to rest too much of his weight on your body whilst straddling your sides. He allowed for just enough pressure to keep your body trapped beneath his own. His long bangs dangled only inches away from your forehead. Those playful, sea colored eyes that you cherished stared victoriously into your own. The smile lines in their corners trailed down to lightly flushed cheeks that made your stomach do flips. Link wasn't the type to wear his emotions on his sleeve, so the rare moments where you got to see his more mischievous side made you long to see it again.

Once you had finally come down from your laughing fit, you let out a heavy sigh and stopped struggling to escape. That was when you noticed the position the two of you were in was... suggestive, to say the least. Link still had a hold on both of your wrists, effectively pinning you down underneath him.

"Do you give up?" Link spoke lowly. The huskiness in his voice sent shivers up your spine.

"Never," you whispered back, doing everything in your power to keep your tone steady. He examined your face for a while. You could only hope he didn't realize that the blush your face was from his proximity rather than the physical exertion. Then, in a motion that nearly sent your heart out of your chest, Link began to lower his face down to your own. The tension in the air was heavy and your body tingled everywhere. Shutting your eyes expectantly, you waited for Link to grant the wish you've had for a long time.

But the feeling of his lips on yours never came.

"Too bad," he breathed into your ear. Before you could process what just happened, your world flipped upside down—literally. Link had tossed you carelessly over his shoulder and brought you to the Rito-quilted bed. You hit the mattress with an "oof!" as he flung you down unceremoniously.

You laughed and complained, "Link!" at his actions. All he did was stick his tongue out at you and make his way back to his own bed on the floor. You had been totally and utterly defeated.

"You suck," you pouted.

"Get some sleep," he waved you off as he sat down criss-cross before the fire, monitoring its flames.

You stuck your tongue out at him from behind his back and pulled the comforter over yourself. Your heart raced in your chest. What were you thinking? That Link was actually going to kiss you? Embarrassment flooded through your body, making you bury your face into your pillow as a means of escaping the unpleasant feeling. Your palms were sweaty as you gripped the pillow case.

Link. You had known the Hylian for quite some time, having accompanied the boy on his hero's journey over the last few months. Being Link's companion had exposed you to his colorful personality, which was often hidden underneath his trademark stoic exterior. It had admittedly taken you a while to pick up on his idiosyncrasies, but once you did, it was impossible not to become smitten. The way he would roll his eyes at some stranger's tedious request and still agree to do it. How he would give the stables' herding dogs the rest of your meat when he didn't think you were looking. His wholehearted laugh anytime Epona jumped particularly hard, resulting in a startled yelp from you. Though, he never seemed to mind your arms wrapping tighter around his waist. Even the way his eyes become glossy when a traumatic memory hit him, avoiding eye contact but hovering ever so slightly closer to you, as if he were afraid that the past would come and take you, too.

You earnestly couldn't help but catch feelings for Link during your travels. Even so, you really wished that he'd be a bit more aware of the effect he had on you.

As your adrenaline slowly wore off, the exhaustion from the day hit you like a brick. Your thoughts about Link began to fade, only to be replaced by the sweet slumber you had yearned for all day.

Fwish.

After what was most definitely not enough sleep to satisfy you, a sharp chill shot through your body, throwing you from the depths of sleep and into the misery of consciousness. You groggily sat upright and turned your head towards the door of the cabin. There stood Link, still dressed in his sleepwear and boots, quietly shivering from the light dusting of snow on his body.

"Link?" you choked out, concerned as to why he had been outside. "What in Hylia's name are you doing?"

It took you a few seconds to notice the room had dimmed a considerable amount since the last time you were awake. The fireplace had greedily consumed all of the wood you had to offer, leaving nothing more than the shadows and a taunting pile of ashes in its aftermath. At the foot of the bed, the fruitless barrels from earlier were missing. Link must have somehow broken them down without you hearing and used their husks to fuel the fire. Yet, even that wasn't enough to keep the flames alive. The only light source remaining was a decaying candle three-fourths of the way melted and showing no signs of stopping soon. It was barely enough to illuminate the vermilion contours that winter's touch left on Link's face.

"The fire died," Link muttered through chattering teeth, "I went to check for more wood outside." He desperately rubbed his hands up and down his arms, trying to create enough friction to rid himself of the frostbite. "There wasn't any."

Link was a rather pitiful sight. He stood freezing by the door, underdressed and racked with shivers. Even his nonchalant expression was twisted into one of discomfort. Without thinking, still half asleep and driven by an innate desire to help Link, you pulled the corner of the warm comforter over your lap and patted the empty spot next to you.

"It's alright," you yawned out, "just share the bed with me for the night."

The air was silent aside from the wind's whistling outside. Link stood unmoving, his mouth wordlessly agape at your suggestion. You would have found his dumbstruck face cute if your patience wasn't wearing thin from the low temperature in the cabin.

"I'm assuming you haven't slept yet, either," you mumbled, scooting your body back down to lay in the bed. "Come on, already, it's cold."

With that final prompt, Link kicked off his boots and shuffled over to the bed. You scooted your back as close to the wall as you could go. You didn't want Link to feel uncomfortable sharing a bed with you, but he would only suffer trying to brave the night with no fire. There was no other choice but to sleep together. At least, that was the mantra you kept repeating to yourself as reality began to set in. The dip in the bed was like a splash of water to your system, sending shock waves straight to your now wide awake brain.

Link gingerly tucked his legs underneath the comforter, flinching as his foot bumped into your own. You could tell he was tense by the way he lowered his body down and rested his head on your shared pillow. Link was flat on his back with his face pointed towards the ceiling, hesitantly glancing at you from the corner of his eye.

If you didn't know any better, you'd have thought the cabin had teleported from Hebra to Eldin. It felt as though the volcanic heat from Death Mountain had invaded the bed and threatened to scorch you both. You held mutually flustered eye contact with Link for a few awkwardly prolonged seconds before flipping your body to face the wall, pretending like his presence in the bed wasn't slowly suffocating you.

"Uh—night," you murmured.

"Y-Yeah," Link replied, voice pitched a bit higher than normal. You felt the bed shift as he presumably turned his back to yours.

Pins and needles crawled all over your body. You tried your best not to think about the palpable tension that hung in the air. Link's leg twitched softly, causing you to flinch in turn. You needed to get a grip on yourself. There was nothing wrong with sharing a bed with Link, even if you did have a substantial crush on the Hylian boy. Right now, you were just two friends trying to keep warm. Nothing else.

You spent the next few minutes forcing yourself to think of anything besides your current situation. It worked, luckily, and after one final self-lecture for fantasizing about Link, your breath slowed and your body welcomed sleep once again.

"Ngh..."

You felt a small sound leave your throat, watered down from sleep and muffled by the warm pillow your face was buried into. Another content sigh left your mouth as you pulled the pillow closer and stretched out your limbs. Its gentle undulations lulled you in your near-sleep state.

Wait. The pillow was breathing?

Your eyes shot open at the feeling. You pulled your head back and nearly fainted at the sight. Inches away from your face was Link's own quiet visage. His soft, pink lips were slightly parted and his long, dark eyelashes fluttered in his sleep, most likely a subconscious reaction to your sudden movement. His bedhead while asleep was truly a sight to behold—to no surprise, as Link had a natural bedhead while awake. Honey blonde strands of hair were tousled messily against the pillow and curled slightly at the ends. You felt his arms, which were draped loosely across your waist, pull you back into his chest. He could probably sense the loss of warmth in his sleep.

You can't remember a time where Link had looked so at-peace. 'Good for him', you thought agitatedly, as you were seconds away from a heart attack. It actually hurt, how hard the organ was beating in your chest. Your stomach was doing violent flips inside you. The only reason you hadn't leapt to the other side of the room yet was that, even if you wanted to move, you physically couldn't. Not without waking sleeping beauty.

After a few seconds of meditative, although exasperated, breathing, you calmed down. Maybe this was alright. It was true, Link rarely had a chance to get a good night's rest. You two were constantly on your feet and Link always kept watch when you camped outside. He'd quickly shoot down your offer to take lookout shifts, refusing to hear another word out of you. Even when you spent the night at a stable, you knew Link slept with one eye open. He'd never admit it, though. He didn't want you to worry.

In an act of blissful defeat, you buried your face back into Link's enticing chest and allowed yourself to fully enjoy the moment. Hylia knows if this chance would ever come again. You sheepishly hugged Link, savoring the drum of his heart beating in his chest. The sensation of his body in yours... it was so warm. If love had a feeling, you imagine it would be like this.

Link's body began to shift against you. As his shoulders slowly hunched down, the angelic curls in his hair trailed down your cheek and his nose found its place in your neck. Link's lips were pressed against the top of your collarbone. Whether this was intentional or not, you couldn't tell. Your mental state was out the window. At a tantalizing pace, Link's lips placed featherlike kisses along your neck, wordlessly confirming that their earlier placement was no mistake. His kisses reached your jawline and languidly began to map out your face. From the curve of your cheekbone to your temple to your forehead, Link's mouth traversed the planes of your face, exploring each hemisphere in extensive detail.

Finally, the Hylian pulled away from your face. Your wide, dumbfounded eyes stared into his own half-lidded, cerulean blue ones.

"You never pulled away."

You were so stunned that you didn't even notice his lips moving. Every part of your body felt weak, you could hardly bring yourself to respond.

"Mm."

"Did you want to pull away?"

"No," you whispered.

"Good."

Without another word, Link brought his perfect lips onto your own. It was a funny sensation that quickly became your favorite thing in the entire world. You returned his affection in full. As Link trailed his calloused hands under your shirt and along your back, you quickly seized the opportunity to threat your fingers through his fluffy blonde locks. Hylia, how you longed to do this.

You couldn't help but smile into the kiss. Every nerve in your body tingled in elation from the way Link kissed you. He was gentle but passionate, as if he'd wanted to do this for a long time. Reluctantly, you broke the kiss to ask.

"How long?" you breathed.

"Too long," Link shook his head. That impish smile you love so much broke out on his face as he suddenly flipped you onto your back. A surprised laugh barely made its way out of you before Link silenced it by returning his lips to yours.

Link broke the kiss again after a few minutes. He held your face in his hands and rested his forehead against your own.

"You have no idea how hard it was," Link sighed. His warm breath tickled your nose. "Sharing this cabin with you, waking up to you tucked into my chest," he trailed off. Your face went red at the revelation—Link had been awake for everything. "I tried to pretend I was asleep in case you were repulsed, but... when you didn't pull away from me, I just couldn't help myself," he admitted, staring sincerely into your eyes, tracing the curves of your face with his thumbs. "You were just so warm."

You smiled giddily and leaned into the palm of Link's hand.

"It wasn't easy for me either," you chuckled, relieved that your feelings had been mutual all along. You wanted so badly to tell Link how dearly you loved him, but you knew you shouldn't. Not yet, at least. For now, you were content lying in his arms while he showered you in kisses. The heat from his touch made you think that, just maybe, this blizzard wasn't so unbearable after all.

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