#soh39

[katedoesfics]

Shadows of Hyrule | Chapter 39

Link walked alone to school that morning when Mipha was nowhere to be found. He had waited for her like he usually did, texting her when she did not show, but after receiving no response (and realizing he would be late if he didn't get moving), he decided he couldn't wait any longer. He got into the school just as the first bell rang and managed to get to his first class before the late bell rang. Mipha was already at her desk when Link entered the room, her nose buried in her phone. Her fingers flew across the screen and she seemed incredibly focused on whatever text she was sending. So focused that she hadn’t heard Link’s greeting, or perhaps she was ignoring him. Link sat down at his desk and watched her. When she finished her text, she let the phone drop to the desk, but she did not meet Link’s gaze.

“Too good to walk with me now?” he asked playfully, but she did not appear to be in a joking mood. She did not answer him.

Link narrowed his eyes at her. “Are you mad at me?”

Mipha glanced at him quickly and let a soft sigh escape. “No,” she said quietly.

“What’s wrong?” Link pushed.

“Nothing.”

“Something is. I can tell. I read you like a book, you know.”

Mipha’s brows furrowed together but she did not respond.

Link’s gaze softened as he tried to guess at the problem. “Did I do something wrong?”

Mipha hesitated. She looked down at her lap. “No.”

He held his gaze on her for a moment before turning away. Clearly she wasn’t going to talk about whatever was bothering her, and he wasn’t going to keep pushing it. He figured she'd talk about it when she was ready; she usually did. And then everything would be back to normal.

He dug through his bag as their math teacher entered and he pulled out his textbook. The binding made a snapping sound as he opened it, giving it its first crease in the spine. The pages were still fresh and white, never seeing the light of day until that moment. He squinted at the equations across the pages and sighed. It didn't seem likely that he would get any help from Mipha today. He was on his own for class. On the plus side, he had a folder full of make-up homework and extra credit that he hoped would give him the boost he needed to pass the class in these final days of school.

When the bell rang to signal the end of the period, Mipha was one of the first out the door, not bothering to wait for Link, or even say goodbye. Link watched her leave, but made no effort to chase after her. Whatever funk she was in, he was certain she would shake off by lunch time.

But when lunch came around, Mipha was not in the courtyard with the others. To his surprise, however, Zelda was.

“Where’s Mipha?” Zelda asked as Link swung his legs over the bench beside her.

He shrugged. “She’s been avoiding me.”

Zelda raised a brow as she took a sip from her water bottle. “Why?”

“I don’t know,” he said with irritation. “She’s mad about something but won’t tell me what.” He put his chin in his hands and sighed. He just did not understand women. He turned his gaze up as he noticed Urbosa watching him. “Do you know something?”

Urbosa looked away from him, but he could not read her expression. He suspected that she did, in fact, know something, but wasn’t about to tell him.

“Did you do something to piss her off?” Zelda asked.

“No,” Link said quickly, getting defensive. “I didn’t do anything. We were fine the other day.”

“Sometimes you think that,” Zelda said pointedly. “But most of the time, you probably did something and don’t even realize it.”

Link searched his mind frantically, but nothing struck him as something that could have ticked her off. He watched as Urbosa stood, and now she was glaring at him.

“I need to talk to you,” she said shortly. Without waiting for a response, she moved away from the table and headed for the back parking lot.

Link hesitated a moment, looking to Daruk who simply shrugged. He followed her out quickly into the lot where she waited, her arms crossed.

“Is it something I did?” Link asked warily. “Something I said?”

Urbosa sighed. “It’s not your fault,” she said.

Link narrowed his eyes at her and waited.

“Mipha saw you and Zelda,” she said, pausing for a moment. “Kissing.”

Link’s brows furrowed together at this bit of information. “What? Okay. So? Who cares?”

Urbosa stared at him blankly for a moment, then narrowed her gaze back on him. “Are you serious?”

“Serious about what?”

“What’s going on with you and Zelda?”

Link blinked at her. He did not expect to be interrogated about his relationships. Not that he exactly had an answer for her. “Nothing,” he muttered, averting his gaze. “I don’t know. What’s it to you? It’s none of your business.”

“Maybe not,” Urbosa said. She sighed. “Look. I can’t believe I have to spell it out for you. I don’t want to do that to Mipha. But clearly you’re an idiot.” She put her hands on her hips and leaned closer to Link. “She likes you, you fucking moron. A lot.”

Link laughed. “What? No she doesn’t.”

Urbosa rubbed her forehead with her fingertips. Hylia was this boy dumb. “Link,” she started softly. “You relationships aren’t my business. But you need to be straight with Mipha. And with Zelda, too, for that matter. Don’t lead them on.”

“Your sister gave me the same speech,” Link muttered, folding his arms over his chest.

“You need to figure some shit out,” she continued. “I won’t sit back and let you toy with them and hurt them.”

“I was never trying to do that,” Link hissed. “I would never do anything to hurt Mipha.”

“Well,” Urbosa said. “She’s hurt. And I know you can’t help that if you don’t feel the same way about her. But just tell her the truth. She deserves that.”

Link pinched his lips together and turned his back to her. He shoved his hands in his pockets as he looked towards the building.

“Figure it out, Link,” Urbosa said. “Don’t be that guy.”

“I’m not,” Link muttered.

“So what is it?” she asked. “What are you doing?”

Link turned back towards her angrily. “I’m trying to save this damn world and keep everyone else from dying.”

“You’re avoiding it.”

“Avoiding what?”

“Your feelings.” Urbosa sighed, annoyed. “You’re such a typical guy.”

“No,” he muttered. “I’m just not telling you.”

Urbosa smiled slyly, as if she got what she was looking for. “So, you have feelings in that stupid, empty skull of yours?”

“Why do you women always want to talk about everything?”

Urbosa let a hand rest on his shoulder, sending him a slight shock as she did so. She tilted her head at him and smiled as she walked by. “I have to act as your mother and try to make you a more sympathetic person, because Hylia knows your father won’t.” She winked at him. “You’re just like him, sometimes.”

“You know,” he started, “I'm never sure of how to take that.”

Urbosa laughed. “Well, he got the girl in the end, so I guess there's something to be said for that.”

“I turned Zelda down, okay? Happy?”

Urbosa considered this for a moment, then smiled. “Yeah. Okay. I wasn't on team Zelda, anyway.” She left him standing alone.

“What's that supposed to mean?” he barked to her, but she ignored him. He shoved his hands in his pocket, muttering under his breath. When did his love life suddenly become an episode of The Bachelor? And why the hell was everyone watching?