#hateno boy

[mastercucco]

Hateno Boy - Part 2 - Link x Reader

The Calamity is gone, but so is Link’s purpose. He feels completely lost in post-Calamity Hyrule where everyone but him seem to have found their new place.

It certainly doesn’t help his restless nights that you, a young Hylian whom Zelda has hired as the new teacher at Hateno School, are slowly taking up more and more of his headspace with each conversation you two have.

Fandom: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild / Tears of the Kingdom Pairing: Link x fem!Reader Raiting: Mature (might go up, might go down, let’s see) Contains: feel-good, slow burn romance; platonic Link/Zelda; Link being an angsty retired hero Chapter Index | Read on Ao3

Chapter 2 - Heromania

Contains: Link is awkward; Everyone is crazy about the Hero, maybe even you Word count: ~2,9k A/N: Yaas, second chapter, let's goooo

The cool night air sneaks in through the open window, barely keeping you awake. Twilight has come and gone, and you can already hear the first calls of the night owls. Your day at the school is stretching unpleasantly late into the evening once again. You’ve been so focused on creating the new curriculum with the Princess – or Zelda, as she has asked you to call her – that you have completely forgotten all your obligations as a teacher.

Now you’re stuck with a cup of tea that went cold hours ago and a stack of short stories written in poor grammar that you promised to read before the end of the week – a promise that seemed perfectly reasonable four days ago. But tonight? Not so much.

You’ve spent a lot of time with Zelda and her knight these past weeks. Zelda is eager to finish the curriculum before fall comes. You still have several moon cycles to go – summer has barely reached Hateno –, but Zelda isn’t one to waste time. She is dedicated to offering the children the best education they can get. You’re in awe of her devotion to the cause – and a little ashamed by your own lack thereof. You are the teacher, after all. You should be twice as passionate as Zelda is, should you not?

You blame your lack of enthusiasm on these late nights: the cold cups of tea and the ever-growing list of tasks and responsibilities that never seem to get any shorter, no matter how many hours of sleep you sacrifice.

You sigh as you pick up the next story from the stack.

THE HERO AND A MONSTER IN A SVAMP

You snort. The ‘Hero of Hyrule’ craze among your students (or ‘heromania’, as you like to call it) is at its peak. You thought you were being clever when assigning them to write a short story about the Hero, hoping it would excite them to complete an otherwise dull assignment. But you were a bit too clever for your own good in the end: your students got so excited to share stories that all of them returned more than one paper. And who were you to kill their excitement just because you had forgotten to do your part in reading them all in time?

You groan, rubbing your face harshly. You can feel the first throbs of a headache knocking behind your other eye. As amusing as some of the stories are (even Zelda thought so after reading one about Link turning into a giant), you’re slowly starting to despise your work, and your students – and the Hero, for that matter.

Another breath of cool air brushes against your neck. You bury your head in your hands. You don’t actually despise your work, not really. It’s just these late nights that you hate.

You hear the door creaking. Shit, you think in a panic and hurriedly tidy up all your scattered papers and pens. You should have expected Zelda to pay you a visit tonight, just like she has every other night so far. As tired as you feel, you don’t need Zelda to see that. Worst case scenario, she might even think you are slacking.

But when you look up, it’s not the Princess standing at the doors, but her Silent Knight.

“Oh, good evening, Link,” you sigh in relief. You glance at the stack of short stories and, as subtle as you can be, flip the first paper upside down before saying, “Please, come in.”

Link, however, does not. He stands awkwardly in the doorway, his expression turning to a frown as he looks around, as if the last person he expected to find inside the school was you, the teacher.

“The Princess isn’t here,” you say after it becomes clear you are not getting a hello from him.

Link looks like a lost puppy, an apt comparison in your mind: he does follow the Princess around like one. The silence between the two of you feels awkward. Even though you have seemingly spent multiple evenings with him, you two have barely even spoken. Everything you know about him, you have heard from either Zelda or the gossipmongers of Hateno.

Or from your students. Most of it from your students.

“I’m sure she will arrive shortly,” you add, giving him an affirming smile. After hearing this, Link finally steps over the threshold and lets the door creak shut behind him.

“I’m sorry,” he says, still looking around, “I thought she would already be here.”

“There’s no need to apologize,” you say, still smiling, hoping to ease the awkward tension still lingering in the air. You continue, “Please, Link, have a seat while you wait. Would you like some tea?”

Link shakes his head and sits down on one of your students’ chairs. It is way too small for him and whines horribly under his weight. The sight of him is amusing, and you struggle to hold back the smile tucking at the corners of your lips. It becomes extremely clear, extremely fast, that Link is trying to look anywhere but into your eyes. You consider asking about his day but decide against it; he’s not the most talkative person in Hyrule, as you’ve come to learn.

“Please, let me know if you need anything,” you politely say before going back to your work. You have barely finished reading the first sentence of The Hero And A Monster In A Svamp when Link suddenly speaks.

“I’m bothering you,” he says.

You glance up from your paper. He is looking down at his hands, a distant look on his face.

“No, not at all,” you lie, “but I do have to ask you to leave after I’m done with these papers.”

“Oh,” Link says, already getting up.

“No, not now,” you quickly say, “but later. You won’t be able to leave once I lock the doors.”

“Oh,” Link says, again, and slowly sits back down. “Right. Okay. Sorry.” He is glancing at the doors with a look of uncertainty.

“And I do prefer the company,” you assure softly. You give him a smile and – for the first time – he returns it. It’s quick but awfully sweet, and you feel your stomach turning.

He looks down at his hands again. “I could make tea,” he says almost absentmindedly and stands up, still avoiding eye contact. “Would you like some?”

Not waiting for your answer, he rushes upstairs to the kitchenette. It’s going to be a long night, you think to yourself and shift your eyes back to your student’s story.

Ones upon a time there was the Hero of Hyrule. One day he saw a monster in a svamp. He takes his Master sword and he kills the svamp monster and he is So fast because he is stronger then the svamp monster. Everyone is happy. Princess Zelda is happy and we had a big party for The Hero. Mom is there and also my brohter and all my friends are there asswell but dad is crying because svamp monster is really my Nana and everyone is sad. The end.

You rub your eyes. A long, long night…

Your second cup of tea has also gone cold by the time you are done reading the stories.

“Thank Hylia,” you mutter as you push the papers inside your bag. The stories are all sweet – though you question the validity of most of them – but no matter how adorable, you’re glad you don’t have to read one more story about the Hero tonight.

You hastily gather your things and blow out your oil lamp before heading to the doors. You nearly scream when Link steps out of the shadowy corner he was sitting in. He has been so quiet for the past hour that you completely forgot he was even there.

“I’m so sorry,” you mutter, your face flushing with embarrassment. He doesn’t say anything, and his eyes are as quiet as his lips. Instead, he opens the door for you. He gives your back a light, assuring push as you walk past him, something you’ve seen him do to Zelda many times before. His gesture seems automatic, you don’t think he even realizes he does it, but your cheeks blush anyway.

“Are you done with your work?” he asks, even though the answer is obvious as you lock the doors.

“Yes,” you still answer. “Hopefully the Princess doesn’t come here looking for us.”

“No. It’s late,” Link simply says. There’s a tone in his voice you can’t quite put your finger on. Is it disappointment? Or bitterness? You don’t know him well enough to say for certain.

“You’re not going to go look for her?” you ask.

Link shakes his head. “I will walk you home,” he says instead, giving your back another gentle push as you start making your way towards the village.

The silence between you two doesn’t feel as awkward outside, where the rustling of leaves and the singsong of night birds fill in the quiet. The night air is brisk, easing the throbbing pain behind your eye. You sigh. You are happy Link offered to walk you home – though, he would’ve walked past East Wind either way. He has an aura of safety around him, something you much appreciate at this hour, even though you know Hateno to be safe even during the night.

To your surprise, Link breaks the silence first, “I’ve been meaning to ask you something.”

You get a little startled when you turn to look at him and find him staring right back at you. You don’t think he has ever made eye contact with you in such a straightforward manner. You know you’re blushing. It’s almost like he is searching for something within your gaze.

And all you can think about is just how blue his eyes are.

“Have we really met before?” Link asks.

You can’t help the hint of pity seeping into your smile. It’s clear that the question has been bothering him for quite some time.

“Yes,” you answer, “yes, we have.”

He looks away, his brow furrowing as if he’s trying to force the memory.

“Our family farm is right outside Hateno,” you try to help him out. “You knocked on our door late at night. It was during a thunderstorm, a bad one. I don’t think we’ve had a storm like that since.”

The pace of Link’s footsteps slows down. His eyes are looking straight forward, but he doesn't seem to be actually looking at anything. You can see he is trying his hardest to remember. It pains you a little to see him struggle.

“It’s not that important, Link,” you comfort him. “It was a long time ago.”

“No,” he almost cuts you off, “I remember the storm. And I remember the farmhouse. The man of the house made me creamy mushroom soup.”

“That would be my father,” you smile, “and my mother offered to stitch your tunic, but you refused. And you refused a warm bath, to her horror.”

Link doesn’t laugh with you. He’s looking at you again, eyes observing you closely. You’re blushing hard. You don’t think even you, yourself, have ever looked at your own face as intensely as he is now. You can see frustration building up behind his eyes.

Finally, he shakes his head. “I’m sorry,” he apologizes and looks the other way. “I’m not trying to be rude on purpose.”

“It’s okay, Link,” you say, lightly touching his arm. “You had a lot going on at the time.”

You remember the night well. The first time you met the Hero of Hyrule was only a few months before the Calamity ended. He knocked on your family home’s door in the middle of the night, soaked from the heavy rain, bruised, and shivering. Your mother offered him a bed in the guest room because she recognized his blue tunic (there were rumors of a Champion awakened from a 100-year slumber), and your father made him food because he felt sorry for the boy.

You, too, felt sorry as you watched him eat his soup and then refuse the dry clothes your father offered him. He looked exhausted and on the verge of tears. He’s just a boy, you thought, your heart aching as you watched him rub his eyes dry while he may have thought no one was looking.

You’re not mad at Link for not remembering, nor do you feel disappointed. You never spoke with him. You never once thought he even noticed you sitting there by the fire, observing him quietly.

He was just a boy, you think, struggling to meet his gaze. You were the same age as him back then, and you believed – still do – eighteen was too young to bear the fate of the entire kingdom on his shoulders.

Hateno sleeps quietly. There are no lights, not even a flicker of a single candle behind the darkened windows. There is no chatter, no laughter, no horse hooves, no buzzing insects. Even the wind seems to be on its tiptoes as it blows through the town, as if to avoid disturbing the sleeping people. The sand beneath your boots sounds awfully loud in the silent night.

“May I ask you something in return?” you quietly speak. There’s been a long stretch of silence between the two of you since your earlier conversation. You can see something is still troubling Link, and you don’t want him to go home feeling saddened by memories you didn’t mean to bring up to the surface.

Link doesn’t say anything but he turns to look at you.

“The question is a bit… silly,” you hesitate. He waits patiently for you to continue.

“Uhm,” you mutter, already feeling stupid even thinking of asking what you’re about to ask. “Did you ever, by chance, fight a swamp monster during your travels? A monster that perhaps turned out to be someone’s grandmother?”

Link blinks. “... I’m sorry?”

“Forget about it,” you say with an uncomfortable laugh, motioning for him to stop staring at you. “The children have a wild imagination sometimes.”

Link thinks for a moment before sternly saying, “I have never killed a grandmother.” But the frown on his face makes it seem that he, himself, is not quite so sure of his own statement.

“It’s just something silly one of my students said,” you explain, “I asked them to write down stories they’ve heard about you.”

“Oh,” he says.

“They adore you,” you feel the need to explain further. “It was just for practice. I think most of them just made things up for the assignment. I doubt you ever turned into a giant during your adventures, or did you?”

Link shakes his head, a small smile tugging at his lips. “No, I never did,” he says.

“I don’t understand how they can even come up with stories like that,” you laugh. “Poor Teebo swears he saw you riding a bear once!”

“Oh…”

“And one of the girls says their aunt in Lurelin saw you sailing naked all the way from Eventide.”

“... Oh.”

“Can you believe the imagination of these children?” you chuckle, shaking your head.

Link rubs his neck. “Yeah, wild imagination…” he hesitantly agrees, forcing the most unconvincing laugh you’ve ever heard.

“Oh no, I’m so sorry,” you quickly apologize, “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. It was just a silly assignment.”

“No, I don’t mind. I– uh, I did sail to Eventide and back once,” Link admits, a faint blush coloring his cheeks.

You give him a sympathetic smile. “Stories change as they get passed on.”

“Yeah…” Link mutters, rubbing his neck again.

You come to a stop as you reach the East Wind. The store’s windows are pitch-black, just like the rest of the village. You hope you won’t disturb Pruce and his family when you sneak in. He has been generous for letting you stay up in their attic basically for free. Sure, your father knows the shopkeeper well, but you still think not many people from Hateno would offer such kindness to other people’s children. It’s not the most comfortable living arrangement for a woman in her twenties, but it is better than living with your parents. Besides, Zelda has promised you a room on the school’s second floor once it gets cleared out from all the junk left behind during building.

“Thank you for walking me back,” you say as you turn to look at Link, “I hope it wasn’t too much trouble.”

“It wasn’t,” Link assures you with a smile so soft it makes your heart flutter. You’re starting to understand why the girls in town act so giddy around him. He does have an endearing smile.

“I’ll see you around,” Link says, still smiling. “Have a good night.”

“You too, Link,” you say, feeling a bit flustered. You don’t quite understand your sudden giddiness, and you wish you could just slap some sense into yourself. You pry your eyes off of him before the butterflies in your stomach get any more restless. You take in a sharp breath when you suddenly feel his hand on your back again, pushing you gently towards the door right before he leaves. You are still certain he has no idea he’s doing it.

The night air feels almost too cold against your warm cheeks. You fumble with your keys for an embarrassingly long time before you get the door open. You can’t understand why suddenly your mind is completely overtaken by the thought of the Princess’ knight giving you such attention. You’ve never felt this starstruck around the Princess, and she, at least, is going to be crowned as the Queen of Hyrule one day.

You curse. There’s no other explanation: it has to be your students’ ‘heromania’ trying to overtake you.

[ofcowardiceandkings]

[stares awkwardly at BotW demographics board]

oh yeah, expanded town maps

[new-austin]

I am not having a fun time with TOTK

[starsbreadus]

Zelda:TotK spoilers but in tags bc i forgot how to do keep reading on mobile

[fioreofthemarch]

.

[fable-stims]

Hateno/Chief (That Broken Promise) stimboard for me!

Art/AU belongs to @thatbrokenpromise/@batrogers! They also kindly provided the game footage for gifs.

X X X

X X X

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[chaiichait]

I do not believe that Link just stares with a blank expression after the last dragon tear and moves on with his day. That boy went back to his house in hateno that he had not visited in a while (on account of painful memories) and slept in the bed that he and zelda slept in and cried.

[reallyromealone]

FLUFFTOBER DAY 2

Title: hot chocolate

Fandom: the legend of Zelda

Characters: link, Purah, purahs assistant

Fic type: fluff

Pairings: link x reader

Warnings: male reader, reader insert, link and reader are married and have a child, Link gets to own a restaurant after saving the world

Notes:

Summary: after calamity and the world at peace, link and (name) open a small restaurant together with their adoptive son, link makes a new drink that seems to be a crowd pleaser

💀🎃💀🎃💀🎃💀🎃💀🎃💀🎃💀🎃💀🎃💀🎃💀

Autumn blew through Hyrule and a nice cold breeze washed through Hateno, (name) thankful he knit soft sweaters for the small family of three.

It was a shock to everyone that Link didn't want to return to his knightly duties but if one person understood it was Zelda, the Princess smiling with a fondness to her old friend when she learned his desire to open a restaurant "Save me a seat, won't you?"

And that's how (name) ended up helping his husband in the shop while their little one played outside with his friends.

The store was fairly empty, the lunch rush just ending and (name) taking it as a chance to sit down and relax, looking around the coazy restaurant with a smile, It was a testimony to his husbands hard work after all.

"(Name)! Please feed us!" Purah cried out, the woman having spent every waking moment learning about the sky islands and rebuilding her people's heritage after everything "Link, darling?" (Name) Turned his head towards the kitchen where his husband was hunched over a table creating something, turning the blond made a soft humming sound to ask what he wanted "Purah wants food" his words lazy and a bit sleepy, the hero of Hyrule quickly whipping up some food for them.

"What's this?" (Name) Asked when a mug was placed before him, the two Shikah scientists devouring their late lunches. Like leaned over (name) from behind and rested his head on the others shoulder, (name) sniffed the warm drink and hummed at the sweet scent that came back before sipping it "amazing!" (Name) Beamed at his husband who looked like an excited puppy at the others praise.

"Papa! I'm back!" The voice of their little son called out, (name) glancing at the four year old who immediately ran to his parents "I'm hungry!" The boy pouted, he wasn't hungry for lunch so the two let him go burn some steam off before coming back. Link moved to lift the boy into his arms "can we have sweets papa?" (Name) Heard his little one whisper to the blond "here baby, try this" Purah looked invested in the drink while the little boy took a sip of the chocolate drink and beamed at the flavor.

"You know he's gonna want that every day right?" (Name) Whispered to the hero who shrugged "can we have sooome!" Purah teased and the blond man rolled his eyes handed the boy back to (name) before going to grab some more hot chocolate for the scientists.

"Papa...." It was late, the moon high when link cracked an eye open to see his sons little face infront of his own "can I have more hot chocolate?" He whispered, proving (name)s words correct. Link stared pointedly before pulling the boy into a hug and turning, pinning the boy between both parents "in the morning..." Rarely did link speak but his little family were always lucky to hear it.

"And sword fighting?"

"Absolutely not' (name) grumbled sleepily.

[suniix]

one bed | (botw) link x reader

synopsis | you and link stop by an inn to rest, but there’s one small problem

word count | 1.3k

note | thought about it too hard so i wrote a fic about it (based on this little comic! pls look at it it’s so cute)

As the moon rose, the world beyond your hotel window fell into a peaceful slumber. The faint sound of crickets could be heard singing their calming melody. The peaceful night ambiance would’ve been enough to put you to sleep had it not been for your frantic beating heart.

In front of you lies your traveling companion, Link, whose back was practically against the wall, arms wrapped around himself as if afraid to accidentally touch you.

The silence in the room was deafening, neither of you knew what to say in this situation. After sleeping on the hard ground for weeks the two of you had agreed to spend the night at The Great Ton Pu Inn. The rain that quickly followed your decision only fueled your excitement for a comfy bed as the two of you rushed up the hill leading to Hateno Village. What neither of you expected was for every room to be booked, every room but one with a single bed.

Despite both of you being tired from traveling, neither of you could fall asleep because of the awkward tension that hung in the air. Ignoring it was proving to be impossible, someone had to say something, but you were hesitant to break the silence for fear of making things awkward (as if they weren’t already). You had been traveling with Link for weeks, months even! The two of you have shared several nights close together under the comfort of the stars, what makes now so different?

Maybe it was the smirk the front desk lady had given you both after handing you your key, maybe it was because despite how much you prayed for a room with two beds to miraculously become available you were secretly happy to share a bed with the Hylian boy, or maybe it was because despite you looking everywhere but him you could feel his eyes on you.

Just say something, anything!

You clear your throat, shuffling nervously under the blanket. “Um.. Rupee for your thoughts?” You asked in a hushed voice, an awkward smile making its way onto your face.

Link blinked rapidly in response, likely surprised by your sudden question. He continued to stare at you in silence, now tense as his cheeks turned a bright red.

Thinking you made him uncomfortable you quickly rise out of the bed. “Sorry! You know what maybe I should just sleep on the couch—”

Before you had the chance to remove the blanket from your body Link quickly sat up in bed and reached out to grab your wrist, shaking his head furiously. You stop when he does, slightly surprised to see how fast he had reacted when he looked so tired earlier. Your eyes fall on his hand which, despite the quick reaction, holds your wrist just tight enough to keep you from leaving but loose enough for you to pull away if you so wished. Realizing what he did he slowly pulls away. You immediately miss the warmth.

He looks down, blush remaining on his cheeks as he nervously fiddles with his fingers. “Don’t go, I..” he pauses, unsure if he should finish his thought. He looked up to see you staring at him patiently, waiting for him to finish. That was one thing he loved about you; you were always so patient with him. Although he was more talkative than he was 100 years ago he often found himself struggling to express what he wanted, likely an unconscious habit that stayed with him through his century-long sleep. Despite this you never hurried or pressured him into talking, allowing him to do it at his own pace. Taking a deep breath he continued. “.. I like being close to you.”

As soon as the words left his mouth you felt your cheeks burn. Did you hear him right or was it just a hallucination caused by the late hour of the night? You thought about pinching yourself, but the way he nervously played with his fingers (a habit you found adorable) and the way the ends of his hair curled up just a bit revealing a small scar on his shoulder made it too real to be a dream.

After a few moments of silence Link looked up, seeing your shocked expression. He quickly backtracked, thinking he made you uncomfortable with what he said. “Unless you don’t! That’s fine!—”

“I do!”

Link freezes upon hearing your response. You awkwardly clear your throat. “I-I mean, I also like being close to you..” you nearly whisper, feeling your ears burn with the embarrassment of blurting it out earlier.

Then the room went silent. Your heart was frantically beating against your chest; you hoped Link couldn’t hear it.

Your fear was proven false (unbeknownst to you) as Link was currently lost in his own mind. Link had become so accustomed to seeing you in that golden campfire glow that the current sight of you left him breathless. He thought you looked even more captivating in the moonlight.

He slowly nodded his head, eyes refusing to leave your form. “Ok.” He responded in a daze. It was the only thing Link could think to say as his mind was still elsewhere.

“We should probably sleep now..” You looked past Link and out the window, seeing the moon high in the clear sky. “It’s getting late.”

Link hummed, snapping out of the trance he was in and nodding his head in agreement. You settled back under the blanket and he followed your actions. Despite your earlier conversation, there was still a good chunk of space between the two of you on the small bed.

Wanting him to come closer, you begin to think of a way to convince him. “You know, it’s kind of cold in here.” You whispered (a small lie, it was the middle of summer), but you knew Link heard you when he looked back at you. Deciding to take a chance you scoot closer to him and you hear his breath hitch. “So I wouldn’t mind if.. you came closer.”

Hesitantly, Link listened and with a smile scooted just a little bit closer. You breathed out a sigh of relief you didn’t even know you were holding, moving closer to him again. Beneath the blanket, your hand slowly moved to reach his. As your fingers slowly grazed his he flinched. You were about to pull away before he intertwined his hand with yours. There’s that familiar warmth.

He pulled your hand close to his chest, gently tugging you closer. You complied, wordlessly moving closer to him once again. The distance between your bodies was minimal now; you were so close you could see the faintest freckles gracing his cheeks.

“Are you still cold?” He asked in a low whisper. You nodded your head (another lie, you were already beginning to feel sweaty). You couldn’t help it, now that you’ve experienced what it’s like to be close to him you crave more. Being greedy just this once wouldn’t hurt.

Link lets go of your hand, wrapping his arms around you to bring you against his chest. Your eyes widen at the sudden action, but you don’t pull away.

“Better?”

You nodded, slowly wrapping your arms around him in case he flinched away. When he didn’t you fully wrapped your arms around his torso and snuggled into him, a painfully large grin stretching across your face when he did the same. Your palms were sweaty as they tightly gripped his shirt. He smelled earthy, like damp dirt with a hint of smoke. You sighed in contentment, not caring that the two of you would likely wake up sweaty tomorrow. You didn’t release your grip and neither did he.

You silently thanked Hylia for not answering your prayer earlier before falling into a deep sleep.

thank you for reading till the end! :D

masterlist

[jeldacat]

Link’s resume in Tears of the Kingdom but the list gets weirder as it goes on:

- Hero of Hyrule / Hero of the Wild

- Princess Zelda’s appointed knight

- Wielder of the Master Sword

- Volunteer fighter for the Monster Control Crew

- Member of the Zonai Survey Team

- Part time reporter for the Lucky Clover Gazette

- Professor at Hateno School

- General merchant / businessman

- Gerudo archeologist assistant

- Golden-haired savior of Lurelin Village

- Member (and potential vocalist) of the Stable Trotters (or Stable Heroes)

- Member of the Yiga Clan…?

- Official Yiga Blademaster

- Well enthusiast

- Fashion model

- Acorn boy / VIP of Hateno Farms

- Reviver of the cheese recipe

- Master of the underpants method

- A suspicious guy

- A modern guy

- A weirdly handsome dude

[xinggxingg]

Farmer boy and teacher Zelda from my Hateno AU are just having a moment 🫡

[mastercucco]

Hateno Boy - Part 1 - Link x Reader

The Calamity is gone, but so is Link’s purpose. He feels completely lost in post-Calamity Hyrule where everyone but him seem to have found their new place.

It certainly doesn’t help his restless nights that you, a young Hylian whom Zelda has hired as the new teacher at Hateno School, are slowly taking up more and more of his headspace with each conversation you two have.

Fandom: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild / Tears of the Kingdom Pairing: Link x fem!Reader Raiting: Mature (might go up, might go down, let's see) Contains: feel-good, slow burn romance; platonic Link/Zelda; Link being an angsty retired hero Chapter Index | Read on Ao3 A/N: Very excited to write something possibly disgustingly cute. The story takes place after the events in BotW but before the beginning of TotK. All characters are adults! I hope you enjoy the story! xx

Chapter 1 - Purpose

Contains: Link being an angsty retired hero; Zelda being embarrassed by Link's inability to talk to girls (or other human beings in general) Word count: ~1,3k A/N: Please look past any weird sentences, English isn't my first language :p

A breath of warm air blows from the sea, gentle on skin and smelling of sea salt. The wind hurries over the hills of Necluda, tall grass bowing before it like waves on an emerald green ocean. Once it reaches Link sitting on top of the hills, it gently tugs on his hair and pushes his hood down.

He has been sitting there for quite some time now – so long that the tips of his ears are starting to redden from the wind, as gentle as it is. The sun that was high up when he arrived at the hills, is now hanging low over the horizon. It is soon time for him to go; Zelda asked him in the morning to stop by the school before sundown.

He is alone, as he is on most days nowadays. There isn’t much for him to do: Zelda is busy rebuilding Hateno, the recently finished village school her new pride and joy. And when she isn’t mingling with the villagers, she’s kept busy with her research at the Tech Lab. She doesn’t require an escort anymore, not after Purah hired a young researcher to assist them decipher ancient Zonai texts anyway. The man rarely leaves Zelda’s side when the two of them are together – which is often. Very often.

Link was jealous at first. After all, he is the Princess’ appointed knight, and he is the one who wields the Master Sword, and he is the one who saved Zelda’s life – not some overly excited, self-proclaimed explorer with a stupidly tall frame and an apparent distaste for wearing upper garments that hide his muscles.

Eventually, his jealousy morphed into loneliness – something he did a terrible job of hiding from Zelda. She asked him if he wanted to return to Hyrule Castle to help the Royal Guard in training new soldiers. Link said no, that he likes it here in Hateno.

“I wouldn’t mind if you go,” Zelda said, gently placing her hand on top of his, “I can see how lost you are here.”

Somehow, Zelda seeing straight through his lies and offering him kindness hurt more than her asking Link to leave in the first place. After that, Link couldn’t help but feel even more uncertain and disconnected. Everyone had seemingly moved on, everyone but him. While he still remains close with Zelda, honoring his duty, accompanying her whenever she travels outside of Hateno, even living with her, he knows deep down that she doesn’t need him anymore. The Calamity is gone, and so is his purpose.

The sun hangs low when Link arrives at Hateno School. The sky is flaring in shades of red, reminding Link of a cozy fire under a cooking pot – somewhere he would much prefer to be. The school’s front doors are open, but the playground is silent and the windows are dark, all except one. It has been a while since Link last visited the school. The children adore him, which is exactly why he prefers to stay away. Their looks of admiration and curious questions make him uneasy. Ever since moving to Hateno, all he has wanted is to lay low, going as far as to hide his head-turning Champion’s tunic in the bottom of his drawer. He wanted to throw the tunic away, but Zelda wouldn’t let him.

He can already hear Zelda’s excited chattering when he reaches the open doors and quietly steps inside. Zelda is having an eager conversation with a young Hylian woman – you – whom Link doesn’t remember seeing before. He does remember Zelda telling him about a new teacher she hired a few months back, and he figures it must be you.

You notice Link arriving before Zelda does and give him a polite smile in greeting. Only when he lightly taps on Zelda’s shoulder does she stop talking and turn around.

“Oh, Link,” she smiles. “You have impeccable timing. We were just talking about you!”

Link furrows his brow. Great, just great, he thinks, already feeling the tips of his ears growing warmer.

“Only good things,” you assure with an awkward laugh. “The Princess told me you made the apple pie she brought the other day.”

Link hopes that the dim light of the oil lamps is enough to hide his red ears. He clears his throat, though not even intending to say anything.

“I don’t think you two have met before, have you?” Zelda says, giving Link an encouraging nudge.

Even after all the years spent in royal banquets practicing formal pleasantries with Hyrule’s nobility, Link still feels awkward having to introduce himself. Nonetheless, he extends his hand for a greeting. When you offer him yours, he brings it to his lips and gives your knuckles a polite kiss. Your skin feels soft and pleasant, he thinks, now horribly self-aware of just how sweaty his own palm is.

When he looks back at you, even he can pick up the awkward tension in your smile and words as you introduce yourself. He feels his whole face heat up, not really understanding what he did wrong but knowing he must have, because even Zelda has the same tension in her smile as you do.

“He is very accustomed to his formal greetings from his days at the Castle,” Zelda says with a forced smile and gives Link a look. Only then does he realize that a hand kiss, though adequate in greeting a noble woman, is not something you, a village school teacher, was expecting from a Royal Knight. He would apologize, but his mouth is dry and no words come out.

“And, well, you probably already know of Link,” Zelda breaks the uncomfortable silence after it becomes clear Link isn’t going to introduce himself.

“The Hero of Hyrule,” you say, knowingly. “We have actually met before.”

We have? Link thinks, the heat of embarrassment getting unbearable. All he wants to do is run home and hide under his bed covers for the rest of eternity. This is why he rarely leaves their home or willingly socializes with the villagers. He would cringe if he wasn’t too embarrassed to move his face muscles.

“You have?” asks Zelda out loud, her disapproving eyes boring into Link’s.

“It was years ago,” you are quick to add. “He took refuge in our family home once. I wouldn’t blame him for not remembering.”

Zelda doesn’t appear quite as understanding when she shoots another scolding look at Link, the pink in her own cheeks deepening as well. “Please,” she says as she turns back to you, “accept my apology. Link can be awfully forgetful sometimes.” She gives him a final glare that, at last, makes him drop his head. He’s not sure if dying of embarrassment is a real occurrence, but if it is, then he must be very close to leaving Hyrule for good.

“It’s quite alright, Your Highness,” you say with a slightly uneasy laugh that fails to fully mask your discomfort. “I don’t mind it, really. Like I said, it was years ago.”

There is an uncomfortable silence between the three of you. Then Zelda claps her hands, and the tension breaks like a taut rubber band. Link sighs, relieved.

“Well,” Zelda says, “now that we are done with introductions, perhaps we can show Link the curriculum we’ve been working on? I’m sure he can give us his opinion on the section about monster parts and their usage in elixirs.”

When you turn to look for something from your writing table’s drawers, Link grabs Zelda’s sleeve and gives her a pleading look. Zelda narrows her eyes and shakes her head.

“Do not even think of fleeing” she hisses in his ear before she hurries over to you to help you with a pile of scrolls close to toppling over. Link lets out a silent grunt and looks longingly at the open doors. The sun has gone down, the sky now the same shade as embers cooling down under a cooking pot – somewhere he would much prefer to be.

Chapter 2 - Heromania »

[idkhoworwhytell]

a chain of sick and sleepy boys

it hits legend first

The chain had ended up in Wild’s Hyrule. And honestly? Legend was tired. Scratch that, exhausted. They’d been walking for what felt like days on end and They weren’t even near Hateno yet! 

With a groan, legend adjusted his hat and trudged forward

“I think  you woke up on the wrong side of the bed” a familiar voice said next to him ,  small huff left him, a small glare on his features as he glanced over to her, the exhaustion being more obvious now up close.

“Not all of us can just sleep anywhere like you, y’know. Some of us actually have problems sleeping in forests where monsters could pop up out of nowhere.” He said with a glare “I’m pretty sure the monsters will wake even me up , until then I’ll sleep soundly” she shrugged her shoulders no care in her tone  He rolls his eyes, going quiet again as he glanced forward. The old Hylian was starting to drift a bit, eyes unfocusing. It was only until Time put a hand on his shoulder that he snapped back into focus.

“You sure you’re alright?”

Legend gives a shrug he  lets out a half sigh, half yawn.

I’m fine. Just need to focus. Don’t worry about me.” Waving time off 

You look like you’re gonna pass out.” He huffed, slightly annoyed at the words.

“I’m fine Just got a few more hours of walking. I can last through that..”

TThe old man didn’t look convinced in the slightest.

the old man says they’ll stop as soon there’s a available chance. 

Legend was going to protest, until Time gave him that Look again. Instead, he lets out a defeated sigh, mumbling under his breath about Time being a worrywart.*

While Time went to tell the other of the plans to make camp, she and Legend were left alone. He glanced at her, the annoyance now being more obvious on his face.

He  said nothing, but he did tilt his head at her, still waiting for the others but still willing to talk. “grumpy pants , just what did you eat to get sick? You really do need to stop picking things up out see on the side of the road.” He gave a scoff, crossing his arms as he looked away.

“I didn’t eat anything bad. I’m just tired, that’s all..” “ could be both for all I care. Your sleeping and taking some medicine when we stop” she said leaving no roo more arguing in her tone Legend grumbled to himself, rolling his eyes at her suggestion. Even if the idea of being able to sleep did sound nice right now. He’d never admit that he hated the fact that she was right though.

“Fine, whatever.. He rolls his eyes ”mhm you know I’m right , now I see that time has found a spot so let’s get you set up” He simply huffed at her words. But, nonetheless, he began to begrudgingly follow Time and the others to where they’d be camping for the night. He didn’t say anything until they eventually got to the spot and started to get the camp set up. Now out of sight, he slowly walked over to one of the logs nearby and sat down, resting his arms on his knees.

She comes to him with a unfamiliar liquid to him, He looked at the liquid in her hand with obvious confusion, an eyebrow raised. But, nonetheless, he took it.*

“What is this? ”NyQuil , and when you wake up I’ll give you some DayQuil, it’ll help you feel like your not dying and get you some sleep. She responds He gave her a skeptical look, eyeing the liquid as he slowly took a drink of it.

“How do I know you’re not trying to poison me this exact moment.”  “if I would , I would know better and do something else, giving it straight up to you ? Come on you know I’m smarter than that.” He paused, before letting out a defeated sigh. And honestly? She was right; he knew she was smart enough to not outright poison him. Which means this was probably safe-ish..

“Yeah. I know that….I trust you.” *He set the cup down, taking the bottle from her instead. He looked at the bottle for a few moments, looking for any clear signs of danger. It wasn’t until he looked at the label and saw exactly what it was that he gave a nod.

“Yeah… that checks out.”

*He took another sip of the liquid, feeling it begin to make him feel even more tired than he already was. She noticed his eyes droop , “it’s gonna do that , come on let’s get you some dinner”  helping him back to camp Despite his tired state, he tried to protest against her help.

“I don’t need help walking. I’m fine…” *He muttered, although it lacked the conviction of any normal protest. Not to mention that his steps were slightly wobbly as he tried to follow her back to camp.she huffed  and just threw him on  her shoulders, not caring what the others might think Legend let out a small gasp as he was just suddenly hoisted up over her shoulders. He tried to struggle for a moment, a little embarrassed at the fact that he was just suddenly picked up like a bag of potatoes

“Hey! I said I didn’t need help walking..!” “ And have you fall? I don’t think your pretty boy face can handle  that,  can it?” Legend flushed slightly at the comment, mumbling as he tried to fight back the embarrassment.

“I’m not a damsel. I can walk on my own..” *He muttered, still struggling against her slightly. But the fact that he was exhausted didn’t help his case. “if it helps you feel less embarrassed I let off right before we reach camp.” 

Reluctantly, he stopped struggling against her, allowing her to carry him the rest of the way. He had a small pout on his face, the fact he was basically having to be carried was already embarrassing enough for him letting him down and going to wild to retrieve their bowls. Legend silently thanked her as he was set down again. Taking a small moment to regain his bearings

Meanwhile, Wild was preparing food for everyone. He’s obviously still worried over how Legend’s been, but he trusted that she’d be able to look out for the other as well. She sat next to him , hoping he can still eat. Legend was tired, yet as soon as he got a whiff of the food he was presented with, he somehow had the energy to sit up and dig in. He was almost shoveling the food into his mouth before he even realized it After a bit  he was passing out into her arms , her catching him and putting him into his bed roll carefully  laying him down she took his sword and put it to his side Legend practically passed out the moment the weight of his head hit the soft bedroll. He let out a silent sigh as he cuddled into it. Despite wanting to protest over the way he was being treated like a child, a big part of him deep down actually liked the care he was being given. He fell asleep and heard the woman and the chain talk about  just he  got sick with him  wanting to argue but he didn’t have the strength to do so 

The chain was obviously worried for him, all of them were. Although, the main 3 worried the most: Time, Four and Wild. They didn’t like seeing their friend looking so sick, or the fact that they had to stop the adventure so Legends could rest.

Time was the voice of reason in the group, as per usual. He was keeping the others from waking Legend to question him about how he was feeling. She told them it was possible he got food poisoning from  something he picked up in the trail , or that he was sleep deprivedEveryone nodded at that, although they were still worried. Four spoke up after a few moments, his voice being soft yet worried.

“How long do you think he’ll be out for?” “NyQuil will keep him asleep for about ten hours , so he’ll sleep in just a bit, he’ll still be a tad sick in the morning but I’ll give him some DayQuil  to help with that, and just maybe if I pull my strings right, hell let he carry him so he can sleep more, cause all he  really can do is sleep it off with the help of the medicine” she says while making sure he’s still breathing

Time gave a nod, a small exhale leaving him. The old man didn’t like seeing his friend sick, not one bit. But, there was nothing else they could do for now. The best thing to do was to just let him rest and let the medicine work as it was supposed to.

“Thank you for the help with this. I know Legend can be stubborn with needing care at times..”

“It’s alright , if I didn’t it would spread and it would sucks for everyone  , I have a better immune system then most of you, so it’d better be me then you cause I’ll get it just a bit while the rest of you would get it bad,

She gave a chuckle,”

🤭 “really all you have to do to get him to listen is throw him around a bit , he’ll eventually give in”

A small smile appeared on the group’s facades. Time chuckled slightly at the idea, while the rest couldn’t help but to imagine different scenarios where they could just do that. The idea alone did make them feel somewhat better, knowing that it’d likely be a good way to get the cranky hero to listen for once. She waved them off to their bed rolls , offering to keep watch on them and her hero that had gotten sick, being able to take care of any night troubles that may occur 

Time was about to protest against her offer, but Wild ended up being the first to speak. He gave a small bow of his head in gratitude. 

“Thank you. If you need anything, be sure to tell us.”

he  said, before going to his bedroll and getting settled as the others did the same, but not before they each thanked her as well. “Yea yea, you ain’t  be able to help if you don’t rest”  

Time chuckled at the comment, letting out a small sigh. Nonetheless, they all listened and began to get settled, their eyes fluttering closed one by one as they got comfortable in their bedrolls. little  while later she heard legend tossing and turning , he stated to turn green in the face She quickly sat up, looking over at Legend. It didn’t take her long to realize that he was about to get sick. And probably not too far from her own bedroll..

“Ah hell..” *She muttered, moving quickly over to him and rolling him to his side.

She had a bucket in hand, to try and catch everything she could . Her quick action was met with him suddenly jolting up and emptying the contents of his stomach into the bucket. Legend looked absolutely miserable, a sweat forming across his face as he tried to breathe through his mouth. 

“gotta  breath through the nose buddy” 

she said so softly as not to startle him  and gently started cleaning his 

face clear of the sweat and taking off his dirtied tunicLegend was only barely coherent as he tried his best to follow her words. His breath was shaky, and he was definitely still nauseous, but her voice was keeping him somewhat grounded. That didn’t mean that he didn’t try to object when she started to take off his tunic, though

 It came out as a weak attempt to protest. “Hey…what’re you doing..?”

“I promise I’m not gonna hurt you” still soft in the voice  she replaced what had took off him with a white cotton  shirt , getting her eyes turned as much as possible bit so she could still work He was too exhausted and sick to argue with her in any sort of effective way. Besides, he knew that she wouldn’t try to do anything bad. So even though he muttered something along the line of ‘this is not helping my image-“   he let her work, simply flopping back onto the bedroll once she had finished changing his shirt.  He was too exhausted and sick to argue with her in any sort of effective way. Besides, he knew that she wouldn’t try to do anything bad.

She started cleaning his face and knew  that she would need to wash his bed roll , with as much gentleness as she could muster she lifted him up , not swaying as much as she could and laid him in her bed roll he  was still mostly out of it. But he still managed to give a small mumbled complaint as he was moved into her bedroll. 

“Hey…I can..I can still walk…I don’t need….” he  protested, but it was interrupted by him groaning again. He felt absolutely miserable, yet too tired to try to keep fighting. She places him down and grabs the soiled things and goes to the steam nearby still the camp in her line of sight She could hear him move in her bedroll as she left. A soft groan leaving him. He tried to pull himself together as he laid in the bedroll, but he was still feeling far too ill to try and sit up. Which left him basically stuck in her bedroll, waiting for her to come back.*she returned with a offer of a bath , with minimal help in her end of course just offering to do what he needed and nothing more unless otherwise asked. It was obvious that he didn’t want to accept her help. He was a stubborn hero after all. But the part of him that was exhausted and tired of feeling gross was telling him to accept it. His brain was a little too messed up right now by the medicine to put up much of a fight.

It  only took a few moments of his internal argument before he mumbled ‘yes’ to her offer. He was probably not going to remember saying this in the morning..

 she lifts him up and leans him on the edge of them water and turns so he can strip and pull himself in ,it  was honestly a miracle that he hadn’t thrown up on the way to the water. He was extremely unsteady on his feet, but he managed to get himself to slowly strip out of most of his clothes.

He hesitated just a moment when he was about to get into the water. But he eventually did, slowly lowering himself into it with a soft hiss of relief, the temperature feeling nice on his sweat covered skin.*She returned and asked his permission to wash his hair , with shampoo  he didn’t  recognize form her world but that looked nice 

Legend slowly looked up, a small groan leaving him as he considered the offer. Admittedly, washing his hair sounded heavenly right now. He was far too exhausted and achy to do it himself. So, against his better judgement, he softly agreed, closing his eyes and waiting for her to begin.she started scrubbing his longer hair doing her best not to tug but to make sure she got the knots she did that twice to get all the grime out. He  sat there, allowing her to work through the knots and dirt in his hair. It was obvious that she was being careful and gentle with her work. He let out a small hum of pleasure as she managed to brush out a hard to reach knot, his eyes fluttering open as he let himself relax into her hands. She had introduced him to the idea of conditioner not to long ago he recognized the smell as she massaged it into his hair, it  took a moment for him to register the familiar scent of the conditioner. But once he did, he let out another hum, his eyes closing again as he leaned further into her hands. He didn’t say anything, but it was obvious by his body language that he was silently telling her that it felt good. Her not aware of the bunny situation it was a little odd that he thumbed his leg like he was a bunny when he was enjoying it 

He leaned all the way into her hands now, the hums he was letting out sounding almost reminiscent of purring. It was pretty clear that he was enjoying his hair being massaged by her. He even started to very slightly kick his foot, almost as if he was a cat that was being petted.she noticed and gave a small chuckle unknown to his embarrassment, she patted his neck and offered him a washcloth signaling he could wash his body, but if he wanted she could too At first, he was embarrassed by her laugh at his actions. He was a Hero, he wasn’t supposed to be acting like some sort of cat. But the embarrassment vanished when he heard her offer. He hesitated again, but he gave a small nod, mumbling a quiet, “please..” She tapped his neck so he would turn it 

He nodded quietly and did as he was asked, tilting his neck to the side so she could continue. He closed his eyes and sighed as he waited for her to begin cleaning his body. she scrubbed  and  the washcloth instantly dirty , so rinsed and did his other side of the neck , rising to again , with the hand that wasn’t busy she was massaging the washed neck 

He let out a soft sigh again as the warm water and cloth worked across his skin. It was soothing, especially being so exhausted and achy still. His body relaxed into her light massage, leaning into her hand as she massaged his neck. She moved to the shoulders massaging while she worked He let out a small moan as she worked at the tight and strained muscles in his shoulders. They were practically boulders, but he honestly likes how her massaging them sent a small tingle down his spine. 

She found a knot in his shoulder and put down the cloth and went at it. 

He let out the moan again as she managed to get the knot out of one of his shoulders. He nearly went boneless as it was slowly worked out, his head dropping and his eyes half lidding in pleasure. she told him he could sleep if he wished  she wouldn’t hurt him when he was this vulnerable  He wanted to argue, he wanted to stay awake. But the way that she was massaging the tight muscles of his shoulders, it was really working to get him to relax and feel sleepy. Especially with the fact that he was still sick and sleep deprived. But he really didn’t want to give in to the sleepiness. So, he shook his head a bit to try and wake himself up more. 

she hummed, finding no more knots in the shoulders she moved to his arms He shifted a bit in the water as she began to work at his arms. Although, this time it was probably because her hands on his arms were making him shiver slightly, even though they were warm, and the water was warm. His head drooped forwards a bit more, a small groan escaping him again. getting all the knots  once more , she lightly kissed one scar she knew he didn’t practically like.

He froze for a moment as she kissed one of his arms, his breath catching in his throat for a moment. He was surprised that she was acting so gentle with him at the moment, it was almost hard to believe. Although, when she kissed his arm, all he could really pay attention to was the spot her lips touched, a warm feeling spreading across it. He let out a very very soft whine. she kissed all the scars she knew he hated on that arm, and did the same to the other wash, kiss repeat.

He kept letting out soft small sounds as she kissed each and every single one of his visible scars. It was hard for him to keep from shuddering every time her lips touched his skin, the feeling of her lips sending tingles up and down his arms. After a while, he found that the noises he was letting out were starting to sound more and more like small moans of pleasure. she gave him a smile and very gently kissed his cheek He felt his face start to flush and grow hot in embarrassment as she kissed his cheek. This time he shivered, his breath catching in his throat once again. The hero felt incredibly overwhelmed at the moment, but he also felt too tired to object to what she was doing. So, he simply let out a small whimper and turned his head to try and hide his embarrassment. she gave more smiles and ribbed his cheeks and asked him how he wanted his legs washed , him or her He let out another small whimper as she started to rub his cheeks. By now, his face was absolutely red as he tried to avoid her gaze. He was silent for a while, trying to form the words to answer her. But, after a few moments, he finally spoke.

“Y-you..”

He mumbled softly, the word leaving him before he had time for his mind to object. she had turned him so one of his sides was on the river bank, not looking to the best of her ability , she washed and massaged the first leg He let out another soft moan as she went to wash his legs now, his body relaxing against the river bank. He kept his eyes closed as he tried to focus on staying awake. But, as the warm water and her hands continued to work on his legs, that task was becoming increasingly harder. and as she finished her first leg , she kissed one of his larger scars, filling to his other side and did the same thing there , removing all tension in his legs, still kissing every scar she found He tried to keep his breath calm as she began to massage his second leg, but the constant presence of her hands on his skin was making it incredibly difficult. The fact that she was continuing to kiss his scars only added to that. By now, a soft stream of whimpering breaths and moans were leaving him with each kiss, his legs shifting slightly in the water.*she let him face away for, her gain putting his legs down she moved to his back*He was blushing and breathing heavily by now, his skin flushed from the constant attention to his scars. As she moved to his back, he couldn’t even try to hide the pleased hums and moans that he was letting out. His back was a sore spot, and her hands on his skin felt heavenly. 

she washed and massaged still kissing every scar she found , with care and attention to every fine detail

His breath kept getting more and more unsteady as she continued to work her way across his scarred back. He couldn’t help but let out louder and louder moans, his body becoming like puddy in her hands as she massaged the tense muscles. Her lips against his skin were sending small jolts of electricity up his spine. She let him soak for a moment as she went to get him clothes , he heard him lets out murmurs to himself 

He let out a soft whine as she left, his eyes flickering open lazily. He felt extremely relaxed, his body feeling as if it had gone boneless. But, when he heard himself murmur a protest against her leaving him, he quickly snapped his mouth shut, realizing that he didn’t mean to voice his disappointment out loud.

she returned clothes  in hand she  put the to the side and returned to his head He turned his head back to look up at her when he heard her return. His eyes were still half lids, tiredness and sickness and the attention she had been giving him slowly making him feel even more dizzy and tired. He wasn’t even really paying attention as she moved to his head, just letting out a quiet hum as she began messing with his hair again. she rinsed the conditioner out and massaged his scalp he  practically purred as he felt her begin to rub and massage his scalp, the feeling sending even more tingles down his spine and sending an even stronger dizzying feeling to overpower the exhaustion. His eyes had slowly fluttered closed again, his head tilting back into her hands as he let out a satisfied hum of pleasure. She  risned  out All the soaps she had put on him , she offered him support getting out , keeping her head turned as she did

He took her aid in getting out, leaning on her heavily as he shakily stood up. He wasn’t even really paying attention as she kept her head turned away. He was too focused on staying on his feet and not giving in to the dizziness that was trying to overpower him. she gave him every clothing item he wore to bed  only fulling facing him when his bottom half was clothed. 

He was just trying to focus on getting dressed, feeling far too tired and dizzy to focus on much else. He didn’t even notice that she was intentionally averting her eyes as he slowly clothes himself. By the time he was dressed, he slowly staggered backwards and sat down on the river bank again, a small groan leaving him as more exhaustion crept over his mind.she was made aware he was goons faint any second and had him  leaned his back towards her chest as she stared to brush his hair He let out a small whine as she helped him lean backwards against her, his head falling back against her chest. He was too tired to fight back against her, so he just let out another small hum and closed his eyes, slowly succumbing to the exhaustion and falling further into her hold. His head was starting to loll to the side as she began to brush his hair, exhaustion fully starting to cloud his mind she brushed his hair and lotined him up , putting creams in his hair , then tying his hair up He leaned back against her, letting himself fall further and further into the exhaustion that was taking over his senses. He mumbled incoherent mumblings as she put his hair up, the feeling of her doing these things almost lulling him to sleep. By the time she was done, he let out a small whine and buried his head into her shoulder, breathing slowly evening out into a slow sleepy rhythm.

with a tad of embarrassment she lifted him up and took him back to camp the supplies she used carried in her other hand He mumbled nonsense and leaned himself further into her hold as she picked him up, completely succumbing to the exhaustion as he allowed himself to collapse against her body. He was completely out of it at this point, his consciousness slowly slipping into sleep as she carried him back to camp.

she laid him back on to her bed roll gently covering him up and letting him sleep , she noticed one of the others waking up He mumbled something unintelligible as she laid him back down, burrowing himself further beneath the bed roll with the last of his strength. His eyes were half open for a moment as she laid down beside him, but they soon fluttered shut again as he continued slipping into the sleep he desperately needed.warriors sat up since he smelled something like flowers and her wondered why not really caring why legend  wasn’t in his own roll 

Warriors sat up in his bed roll and sniffed the air for a moment, trying to figure out what was off about the scent that was around in the air. It was probably the smell of the lotions and creams, the scent of which was clung to legend . He looked across the camp for a moment as he sat up, his eyes catching of where legend was currently asleep in a separate bedroll from his own.

“He got sick in the night just cleaned him up a bit  , he’s gotta a fever going which isn’t a good thing gotta see if he sleeps it off” Warriors got up and started walking over, taking note of where legend  was feeling a bit warmer than usual. He could tell he had a fever by just touching his forehead and looking at his flushed and warm skin. With a sigh, Warriors gently sat down beside him and reached up to start to brush a few strands of loose hair from out of his face.” You can go back to sleep , I’m just making sure your alright” Warriors hummed as he kept himself sat beside legend , slowly running his hand through his hair as he watched him. He gave a small nod in response to her and kept his focus mostly on keeping his hand in the Hero’s hair as a small  comfort for him.

Warrior’s slowly started to drift off sitting where he was, slowly leaning back against the ground.  His hand was still slowly running through the Hero’s hair, the motion helping to keep him still somewhat conscious as he slowly began dozing off himself.

“its just a chain of sleepy boys not hero’s”  she said to herself, with a chuckle she put some blankets on him.

Warriors was very much falling asleep where he sat,  legend  was sound asleep despite the fever he was sporting. Luckily, they both looked quite comfortable at the very least, the Hero burrowing himself into the blankets given to him

The pile just kept growing , someone would wake up notice legend not in his roll and Join  next  to wars.  they just kept coming!, and every time she would cover them up with Blankets

 the group continuing to join the pile of sleeping boys. It definitely was a very unusual occurrence, especially considering the fact that almost every single one of them were supposed to be very serious and strong heroes. Yet, here they were, completely out like a light in a pile of blankets and limbs.

Eventually it reached time, and instead of seeing a grown man with a  level head you say a mischievous little  boy in him , and he did too join the pile of men

as he stumbled over to the rest of the sleeping boys. He didn’t even really say anything as he joined them, slowly falling into the pile with a yawn and closing his eyes to try and go back to sleep.

and it was just her left to sleep , staying true to her word , that she would hear the monsters before she could see them, she joined the pile leaning up towards legend , feeling him snuggle up to her, she leaves a kiss on his head, and she joins the sleeping world too

Once she had joined the pile with the rest of the sleepy boys, the whole group was practically cuddling with each other. Time was snuggled up on her left, with Warriors snuggly wrapped around her arm on her right. On the other side of Time, Wind was tangled around his feet, Legend’s head resting against her stomach. And on all sides of Wind, the rest of the heroes were either cuddling each other, or snuggled against her. It was a very comfortable and warm group of sleeping boys. Legend subconsciously muttered in his sleep as she kissed his head, snuggling closer to her out of instinct.

[vonabel]

it's always been you, you, you, you.

Link had never been in love as far as he can remember, which honestly isn’t very far. Love has no place in a world like this, not in his mind. But when he thinks about love, it's only natural that he distantly thinks of you.

Link/Reader

true love, very little dialogue, emotional hurt/comfort, open/happy ending, fluff, Link talks, the moon is reader's bff, reader uses she/her pronouns, no smut, short and sweet oneshot, takes place during BOTW

1.5k words | complete

ao3

♡♡♡

Link had never been in love as far as he can remember, which honestly isn’t very far. But he likes to think he’d remember anyone he’d been in love with. He knows and remembers a few girls that loved him. Mipha comes to mind first when he thinks of those girls. He remembers the tight feeling he used to get in his chest every time Mipha said something vaguely romantic to him. He remembers the guilt he held, and still holds, at not loving her back the way she so deeply deserved.

He remembers enough about the love in his life to know he had never loved anyone before now.

His lifestyle, his destiny , isn’t exactly forgiving enough to allow him to love. Not with the way he isn’t even home most days, and certainly not with how often he is extremely lucky that he even got to return home at all. A life like that isn’t a kind one. It isn’t one he’d want to give to someone he loves. The way he can never promise a safe return makes something heavy and dark settle in his chest.

And he distantly thinks about you .

The pretty village girl that didn't want anything from him. Everyone else has a task, a request, something they need him to do. But you're there to offer a break, with a fresh loaf of bread and maybe, if he's lucky, a kiss or two. You have no quests, you just want him. With you he isn't the Hero and the title of Champion doesn't settle heavy on his shoulders. With you he is just Link.

In the beginning, he tried hard to keep you at an arm's length, even when his heart screamed at him to do otherwise. He still aches for a day when he can set his sword down for good, a day where his destiny to the Princess and to Hyrule is complete and he can live a normal life in Hateno Village. In the back of his mind, he knows that's an unrealistic wish. He knows he'll never be able to sheath his sword and pack it away, left to be forgotten and collect dust.

And, okay, maybe he lied. But just a little. He says he kept you at a distance, but truthfully , he hadn’t actually tried that hard. If you happened to slump in through his front door and dramatically collapse over him on his bed to press kisses across his face, all the while giggling, who was he to turn you away?

Despite himself, he begins to look forward to nights like these.

He knows he shouldn’t. He knows that by letting things like this happen, things like dancing around his kitchen with you, after the sun has already set and the stars begin twinkling in the sky, he’s just making things harder in the long run. He'll inevitably have to leave, whether to free another Divine Beast or to eventually go fight Ganon and rescue the Princess. He knows one day he'll leave for good.

But, by Goddess, on nights like these, he doesn’t care. When you’re here with him. Letting him touch you and kiss you and fall in love with you more and more and over and over . He can’t help but not care, for just a moment, about anything his fateful future holds. The only thing on his mind is your smile, your hand in his, your lips on his, you, you, you, you.

And he knows you know.

He knows that you know that this won't last forever, you’re a smart girl. That this - whatever this is between you both - can never be anything more than a fleeting romance, despite how much his heart swells and fills up with you. Because he has a duty to the Princess and to Hyrule. And he knows you think about it far more often than you let on.

And you do know. You're well aware your heart happened to pick the most unavailable boy in all of Hyrule. But, frankly, you don't care. Link says this can't be more than what it is. He says there will come a day where he won't return. And while you know that statement is true in some sense, you also know that he does come back to you. He always has, and you have an inkling that he always will.

You still whisper pretty little lies to the moon on those days. The ones where he leaves, unsure when or if he'll come back. (He always, always comes back.) You pray to Hylia that he's safe and unharmed, though you know he probably isn't. Sometimes you even pray to the Princess, hoping that she can hear you and listens, keeping him safe and protected against the evil in Hyrule.

He's leaving again tonight. He doesn't know how long he'll be gone, he never really does. But something in your chest is twisting and aching and you're more afraid than you've ever been. You watch him wander around his home, taking weapons from the wall and food from the table. He packs his saddlebags quickly, too quickly - the faster he packs, the faster he leaves.

You're standing in the doorway to his house, watching him pull at his saddle and make sure everything is in its right place. Watching him prepare to leave always hurts a little too much, so you tilt your head up to look at the sky. It's warmer out tonight than it has been in weeks, the humidity thick in your lungs and the clouds rolling overhead are a sure sign of an incoming shower. Link says your name and you don't look at him. Your tears will certainly fall if you do, and you don't want him to feel any worse about leaving than you know he already does. So your chin stays pointed toward the sky.

Naydra splits the moon in half, glimmering with snow and ice. She dances her way across the sky, and you watch in muted awe as she disappears into the mountains. Link says your name again and this time you do look. The smile on his lips is the softest you've maybe ever seen. You blink twice, forcing away the stinging sensation behind your eyes as he steps forward to stand in front of you. He doesn't have to say it, you already know. It's time for him to leave. You can guess where he’s going this time. The Divine Beasts have all been freed, the Shrines have all been completed, there’s only one thing left for him to do now.

“Where are you going this time?” you hum and smile, ignoring the burn in your nose. He rarely tells you where he's going, probably to avoid you, or anyone else, trying to find him. So you have a hard time concealing your surprise when he speaks.

“A fairy first,” he says quietly, hand touching at your elbow. You barely suppress your shudder when it slides down until he's holding your wrist, and then he continues, “The one in Kakariko. After that, I'll head west.”

“You're going to the castle,” you say, ignoring the way your heart flips when he nods to confirm, “Come back, okay?”

“I will,” he hums, “I'll always come back to you.”

It's an empty promise, you're well aware. When he saves the Princess, and you’re sure he will, he won’t come back this time. But you let the words comfort you, let them echo in your head as you watch him ride away into the dark, twisting branches of the forest. You wait until he's out of sight completely to turn and step back into his home. His bed still smells like him, warm and melancholy, and you wrap yourself up in it to cry at the moon. The rain begins and the moon is weeping with you, you think, for you and your heartbreak.

And miles away, Link can feel the rain before it starts, humid on his skin with your face burned into his mind. He tilts his chin up, letting the cloudburst wash the salt from his face. It's then that Zelda lets him in on a secret, she tells him that you speak to her, ask her to keep him safe and cry to her when he comes back. She tells him she’s proud of him, says he knows what this feeling is, and Link learns, for the first time in all his years, what love is. Love is the moon, love is the sun, love is Zelda watching over him. Love is you, you, you, you . Allowing himself to love you opens his chest up in a way he's never felt before. This time when he thinks about love, you come right after, no longer held at a distance.

He'll make good on his promise. He will be back for you. Calamity Ganon will fall at his sword, and the Princess will be saved, and Link will come home to you.

[wild-dagon]

There is one amazing linked universe fanfiction on AO3 that I can’t remember the name of but it’s a Wild join the chain story.

Wild’s slate goes crazy and 8 of his shrines are different colors. He goes to investigate the one closest to Kakariko and finds Wind and a broken shrine. He then goes on a journey to find all the other members of the Chain through Hyrule (with a lot of Wild angst) I just can’t remember the name of it (it haunts me)

However it has birthed my own brain child. What if it’s not the chain that gets scattered across Wild’s Hyrule but their loved ones.

Botw has a lot of locations that call back to old games that could make this very fun.

Let’s say the Chain arrived in BOTW and Wild is so relieved because the step out of the portal just outside of Hateno village and he’s like “what a stock of luck” and takes everyone to his house. They are all able to relate and they think the goddess is giving them a break.

But while they are relaxing Wild’s slate starts beeping. He pulls it out only to see something weird. There is a new glowing symbol on his map. One he recognizes but shouldn’t be on his map. He calls Time over and shows him his slate, he wants to confirm what he’s seeing. Time looks at the slate to see Lon Lon Ranch’s little cow symbol flashing on Wild’s screen.

After a little bit of discussion (no that’s not supposed to be to be there. Yes it just appeared) they decided to go check it out. Wild can only teleport with one passanger and there is no way Time is letting him go alone (these are his kids) and the isn’t letting anyone else go (it has to do with Lon Lon ranch)

The two of them teleport over to the Wetland stables and start making their way over to the Ranch Ruins. Wild tells Time that they have to be cautious because there is a Guardian in the area. But as they approach they can see that the guardian is already on alert and the Bokoblins near by are also agitated.

Wild and Time pause to try and take in the situation when Time spots a flash of red hair. His heart drops because it can’t be. He points it out to Wild and asking him to use his slate to get a better look. As soon as Wild does he can see a terrified Malon hiding in the ruins of the ranch trying to stay as quiet and still as possible.

The two rush in to save her (wild handling the guardian with an ancient arrow and time quickly dispatching the Bokoblins). Malon is shaken but unharmed. She tells them that a portal opened up under her feet and dropped her into the ranch ruins.

They make their way back ti the stable. Time wants Wild to teleport her to Hateno immediately but Wild and Malon are both against leaving him alone in Wild’s Hyrule. They agree to make it back to the safety of the stables and then Wild will take Malon to Hateno before returning for time. (Deportation with passengers is also hard in his body and he doesn’t want to take the risk of passing out in a dangerous location when he’s their only way out).

They call Wind on the way back so the Chain is waiting for them at the Shrine. Wild’s exhausted from the teleporting and Twulight helps him back to the house as the boys lead Malon to Wilds home. They whole way there they are wonder why Malon is here? And more importantly will anyone else come through?

Yes.

I think Ravio will come through for Legend (his little bunny symbol appearing in the map) he appears on Eventude Island because of course he does and Legeand is flipping out because that’s the name of HER island and he can’t lose anyone else (you could also have Marine appear here or just do the angst of Legend worrying about losing someone else to the island)

For Twilight you could do it one of two ways the Oridon symbol appears and they go to find Rusl (and maybe his whole family) if it’s them I would put them in one of four places: by the broken mirror by Lurelin village. Maybe in the Faron woods or the Damel forest as they are both in the Faron province. Or somewhere in Akkala because u want someone to go to Tarry town. But I think the best place to put them would be Arbiter’s ground just because it’s such an iconic place in TP. (You could also do Midna near the mirror)

For Sky it’s obviously Sun (his Zelda) and I would put her in the forgotten temple. It’s to perfect and almost tomb like plus with all the guardians it makes for a stressful place for her to be. Especially if you put the shrine on the fritz. Even if it’s not she probably would have triggered some of the guardians but trying to leave.

Wind would be Tetra or Aryll and I would put them near Lurelin village as it is the most like their game or you could throw them somewhere completely different and put them in the dessert. (I need a good place to put them)

For Hyrule you could put Dawn (the princess from his first game the red head (right I’ve never been sure which was which)) or Aurora (the Zelda from Link’s adventure the one who slept for 100 years, the brunette?) or both in to the Typhlo ruins (the island that is shrouded in darkness) I think they would be really freaked out by that place.

For Four you could do Dot (or maybe Shadow) I’m not sure where to put them. Maybe somewhere cold since Four struggles in cold environments or maybe they are the ones that go to Akkala.

For Warriors it’s either, Artemis, Lana, or Linkle and they are in the castle. Or the Garrison ruins but I think the castle is the worst location for them.

Basically the links are rushing to their loved ones side and Wild is tagging a long as guide and transport. The bigger the group the harder it is on Wild and they have to do some traveling to get to a safe place to teleport the group one at a time. Some will have more travel time than others.

You can also have Flora trying to help out and find loggings for everyone.

[thezoraprince]

Little Accidents - Link (BotW/TotK) x reader

“Hi! I was wondering if I could request Link (and Sidon too if you get the chance, separately) x reader where he accidentally hurts them. Like they’re fighting a monster and reader gets too close and he accidentally hits them with his sword or something. The boys would feel Sooo bad and probably be crying their poor eyes out more than the reader😭” - anon

both of these boys would be a mess, for SURE!!! Link would be so overwhelmed with guilt, and Sidon would be sobbing for well over a year.

i amy work on Sidon at a later date, but i HAD to write one for Link!! i don't get enough Link requests, so i was so excited to for this one!

i hope you enjoy!! <3

it’s a training day

you find yourselves just outside the home in Hateno

Link has taken it upon himself to help you master your sword skills

I mean, would he really let anyone else do it?

you both pick your swords

and then it’s time 

he wants to go easy on you, but he knows you’re more skilled than you let on

he’s watched you fight before, and let’s just say you always impress him

the duel goes on

you block his every move with ease

it’s almost like you know his next move, as if you yourself choreographed this graceful dance

but in a twist of events, you step back and lose your balance, dropping your weapon… just as Link lunges forward

his sword slices your palm, and you gasp involuntarily

blood pours from your hand and onto your clothes

Link sword falls to the ground with a thud as he rushes to you 

he quickly takes you to inside and sits you down at the table, not caring if blood stains the freshly washed tablecloth

it’s odd to see him this frantic, running around the home grabbing bandages and other medical supplies

he cleans your wound and begins to wrap it tightly

his eyes won’t meet yours

he’s scared; ashamed

“Link, it’s okay. It was an accident.”

after he’s finished wrapping your hand, he pulls you close

and once he has you in his arms, his emotions come in like a tidal wave

his grip is tight around you, scared to let you go

you try to reassure him that it’s okay

but he hurt you

and that hurt him

even if it was an accident

he manages to pull you closer, tears welling in his eyes as he nuzzles his face into the crook of your neck

you can feel his heart racing as he sobs

after a bit, you both walk up the stairs and lay down on the bed

he’s still holding you as close as he can

and he never wants to let you go