#botw zelda: *le gasp protocols and manners and personal space and--*

[skyloftian-nutcase]

Hmmmm, how about something from breath of the sky?

BREATH OF THE SKY MY BELOVED AHHHHHHH

YES YES HAVE A WIP

...

He looked so incredibly vulnerable. So normal. He didn’t look like a mythical hero, or the progenitor of the royal line, or the champion who triumphed over the original Calamity.

He was just a person, like Link. Like her.

Grabbing a hold of her resolve with this thought in mind, Zelda placed both hands on his arm and gave him a hard shake.

The Hero inhaled sharply through his nose, and his body froze. His breath, initially rising to a level of gasping, was now evening out in careful, measured inhales and exhales. Though the princess couldn’t see his eyes, she could tell he was now awake.

She cleared her throat, trying not to startle him. The mild jump that shook his entire body indicated she didn’t quite succeed.

Quickly turning onto his back, the Hero’s eyes pierced into her, his face a little pale. Zelda swallowed, her nerves returning under his deep blue gaze. She had grown used to long, silent glances from Link, but his eyes somehow seemed… she didn’t know, the lighter blue made them less mysterious maybe. This Hero’s eyes were dark, like oceans that held so much in their depths that she couldn’t see. He seemed to be analyzing her for a moment, making her skin crawl, and then his eyes softened, his body easing into a more comfortable posture.

“Hi,” he said hoarsely, and his face relaxed.

Zelda blinked, not quite expecting such a simple greeting. “Um… hello. A-are you alright?”

The Hero gave a small smile, his head tilting somewhat into the pillow, and Zelda felt her heart melt as her muscles stopped clenching quite so hard. “I’m okay. Are you?”

Zelda bit her lip. “You were having a nightmare.”

His smile faded a little, and he looked away. “It happens.”

Zelda didn’t know what to say to that. She hugged herself, unsure what to do next. The Hero sighed and glanced back at her, asking, “Is this your bed?”

Her exasperation from earlier resurfaced, and she folded her arms. “Yes, actually.”

He hummed a moment and then said, “Is this your side of the bed? Do you have a side?”

Zelda blinked. What?

“There’s plenty of room.”

Zelda blinked again, horrified. What?!

The Hero smiled and stretched, closing his eyes, and then beginning to fall back asleep.

Wait a bloody second— “Um, excuse me.”

The Hero opened his eyes.

“This is my bed.”

The Hero stared at her. “Yes?”

Clearly, there was a miscommunication going on here. Zelda felt her cheeks blush as she grew flustered. “So I sleep in it.”

The Hero twisted, looking at the other side of the bed, glanced back at her, and pat the empty space beside him, bemused.

Was he—?! “I can’t sleep with you!”

The princess didn’t quite mean for her voice to sound like a near squeak when she said that.

The Hero looked even more confused. “Why not?”

“Why not?!” Zelda spluttered, feeling her ears redden as well. “Because—because it isn’t proper!”

“Proper for what?”

Zelda stared at him, mouth agape like a fish out of water.

The Hero furrowed his brow. “A bed’s for sleeping, after all. And there’s plenty of room for you to sleep here too.”

Zelda shut her mouth with a click on her teeth. She opened it again to protest and came up with nothing.

This was… this was ridiculous. But she was running out of both nerve and energy trying to explain how this was not okay, thank you very much.

But… he looked… so confused.