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Link remembers the moment he had mentioned Tarrey Town to Zelda. She was jotting down her next set of plans in her quest to adjust Hyrule to a post-Calamity world, and the smile on her face when he’d mention how it was a town that he had helped built was something he treasured deeply. Why wouldn’t he? The Princess of Hyrule was his girlfriend — and he enjoys reminding himself of that whenever he can with a shy glance in her direction whenever she’s by his side, because sometimes it feels too good to be true.
“Is there children there?” Zelda had asked, twirling her short hair with her pencil. Link replied that he wasn’t sure since he hadn’t been there in a while, but that he wouldn’t be surprised if there were. It was an up-and-coming town, prospering thanks to Hudson’s business. Zelda seemed satisfied with that answer. “Then that settles it! Once Hateno’s school finds another teacher, we’ll head to Tarrey Town and establish a school there as well! We need to be supporting new settlements, after all.”
Link liked the idea of that. She’d never been there, and he was sure she’d love it. The lovely view of the ocean, the colorful houses, the culmination of different cultures all around Hyrule living in harmony — Tarrey Town’s life would surely bring a smile to her face.
But fate had other plans the next day after that.
It involved the Demon King reviving himself, sky islands rising above as his Princess disappeared into a chasm engulfed in red, a new arm borrowed from the first king of Hyrule, revelations about the Imprisoning War, the awakening of the sages, and Zelda…
It felt like a punch to the gut whenever he’d think about the years she spent mindlessly roaming the skies. The Master Sword had always been a heavy burden on his shoulders, but even more so ever since he stepped into a ring of his beloved’s favorite flowers and watched the Light Dragon carry it just for him. It was not only the sword that could seal darkness, but a symbol Zelda’s hope and trust in him; there was no way in hell that he was going to take that for granted. He carried it with stride after he got it back, vowing to Zelda that he was going to do whatever it took to bring the Demon King down.
Days had passed since facing Ganondorf, since riding on the head of the Light Dragon to defeat the Demon King in his draconified form, since he pierced through the skies and held out his hand towards Zelda’s until he was able to grab onto it and pull her close. He missed having her in his arms, missed her warmth, missed everything about her, and when her eyes sparkled and told him that she was home as they sat in the grass fields of a now-peaceful Hyrule, he couldn’t help but hold onto her tight. He didn’t want to let her go.
After Zelda had shaken off the grogginess thousands of years of slumber had given her, she took a look at her journal sitting peacefully in their Hateno home, of the things she had planned just before she slipped through time. When she read them, she turned to Link and said, “Let’s pick up where we left off.”
And so here they were, finally making it to Tarrey Town just as the dawn creeped in. They were standing in front of Link’s house overlooking the town, and Zelda puts her hands on her hips, a playful smile on her face. “It’s charming,” she says. “I don’t mind this being my base of operations for a bit.”
That makes Link wince a little, though he doesn’t let that show on his face. For a bit? She’d just gotten back. Where was she going —
He shakes his head. She’s the Princess of Hyrule — of course she’s going to continue her duties in serving it as best as she could. But what about them? What about the time they had spent just out of each other’s reach? She wasn’t just someone he was bound to protect by duty, but someone he deeply cared for as he gathered his scattered memories all across the land. The moments they shared together reveling in undone malice and banished calamity had made this Zelda his. Her soft breathing as she slept or her warm touch as she wiped the dirt off his face after a long day brought forth feelings he had only turned his head from before until it spilled over into a longing he’d discovered was love.
And when he had allowed himself to relent to that feeling — and thank Hylia she felt the same way — an unnatural selfishness took over him. Link shouldn’t hold her back from taking care of her people, but days spent without a moment to take in each other’s presence had left him wondering if maybe it was just him thinking this way and that she no longer felt…
It’s quelled for a brief moment, however, when they walk inside his house to stow their luggage and she sees a picture he hung on the wall of him sitting on the Light Dragon’s head. Her eyes soften, and the smile on her face is gentle. She turns to Link and says, “Thanks for spending time with me while I was away.”
Link always tries to stand tall, but that sort of look on her face always threatens to make him falter.
Their morning starts of Zelda becoming acquainted with everyone, and Tarrey Town falls head over heels for her. Back off, she’s mine, Link jokes to himself — or at least, that’s what he thinks, but when he finds himself meaning those words, he scolds himself for trying to hold the princess back from the land she ruled.
He does get a little bit of joy in showing the rail system that Hudson’s construction company had built, something that brings a glitter to her eyes that sends him to the moon and back. “Fascinating!” Her voice oozes with excitement. “What a smart way to use Zonai technology. Link, you have to show me how this works!”
He gets a kick out of stepping onto the platform and holding out his hand to help her get on, something that gets her to giggle. He wraps and arm around her shoulders — he could’ve sworn her cheeks had gone pink at that moment — before telling her to hold on tight as he hits the wheels above to whir them into action.
They glide down the railway with comfortable speed, the breeze reminding Link of all those times he’d make his way up to the sky islands. He wonders if there’s a way to bring Zelda up there, multiple contraptions forming in his head, although he grins to himself when he realizes that perhaps he should let Zelda make her own. He knows she would love it. She’d have to tinker with it, too, since Rauru had taken back his arm and he can’t build anything anymore, but there’s nothing she can’t handle —
He almost misses their stop, but he pulls himself out of wishful thinking and smacks the Zonai devices just in time for them to gracefully stop at the construction site below Tarrey Town.
Zelda’s eyes widen as she takes a look around, trotting over to Hudson, who was overseeing the whole site in their base of operations. He waves to Zelda and Link, and Zelda happily skips over to him, eager to learn more about what he was able to uncover.
Hudson gives a whole rundown of the area, gesturing to the Gorons continuously digging up Zonai devices to their left, and to the racetrack just behind them. “But there is still plenty of space,” Hudson concludes. “And I hear you’re thinking of setting up a school here?”
“Yes,” Zelda says. Her face grows serious in moments like these, and every time Link can feel her undying passion in pursuing prosperity for Hyrule. “I believe the children already here can greatly benefit from having one, and I’m sure some families would considering settling down here for that reason as well. Plus, I’m more than certain that these young minds could create amazing things with the Zonai devices you have around here. I would love to have a special curriculum for that!”
Hudson nods. With her enthusiasm alone, it would be difficult to say no. “Then I would love to set one up. My wife has a list of all the available land. Just pick one and we’ll set it up in no time — son-and-done!”
Link loves when Zelda plasters a smile on her face that shines with unbridled gratitude that so many of Hyrule’s people go along with her vision for them, tinged with excitement for what’s to come. She thanks Hudson for the pointers, but puts her hands together and asks, “I would love to see some of the Zonai devices you’ve recovered so far, to see just how in-tact they are. Would you mind if we roamed the site for a bit, Hudson?”
“Not at all, Princess,” Hudson says. “Link knows his way around, so I’m sure he knows where everything is.”
Zelda turns to Link, eyes gleaming with anticipation, and before he could say anything, she’s already tugging at his arms towards the piles and piles of Zonai devices.
Link tells himself that he should be happy with this arrangement — it is, now, even if it’s just a brief moment, just the two of them, something he’d realized that he'd grown a craving for (how despicable of a knight to think that way, he tells himself). However, it was strictly business for Zelda, her gaze immediately gravitating towards the mountain of wheels in front of them.
“From what I remember, these need batteries,” Zelda muses to herself, her journal now open in her hand. It would be difficult to pull her away from that. “Hmm. We’ll have to coordinate a way to get some here, then. Okay, that’s note number one. The second note should be…”
Zelda starts to mutter to herself as she walks through the different Zonai technology, occasionally showing familiarity to some devices and talking about what she remembers Rauru and Mineru telling her about them. Of course she’s greatly knowledgeable about the subject, and it makes him groan a little when he thinks about the makeshift vehicles he would make just to high-tail it away from monsters in the Depths, because it surely doesn’t compare to Zelda’s ideas on how to use the materials. It’s amazing what she could think of, and it never fails to leave him in awe.
Link likes hearing Zelda talk about her interests, her propositions, her big plans. He likes how animated and enthusiastic she sounds, how she often gestures wildly over a big idea or how she hums happily when she feels like she’s come to a satisfying conclusion about her plans. It’s all so endearing, but…
He finds himself wondering if he’s allowed to feel that way at all.
Dinner is a helping of fried greens and leftover chicken. Link scarfs it down with little hesitation, garnering an eyebrow raise from Zelda, and he would usually tease her for it had it not been for the fact that she would immediately turn away and put her nose back in her journal.
After coming back from the construction site, Zelda beelined it to Rhondson, and she was able to pick a spot right then and there. When she was finished, she looked up above and said, “Oh, it’s still bright out — surely we can do a bit more before heading back!”
Before long, Zelda was inquiring about Fyson’s plans for expanding the general store, and watching Pelison demonstrate how he breaks things apart. She finds herself taking notes about the architecture — “I’m sure Hudson will add his style to the school,” Zelda said, “but if I could convince him of this type of layout…” — before being sucked into gossip by the elderly near the goddess statue in the middle of town, who were talking about Hudson and Rhonson’s wedding.
“Oh, I remember Link being there,” one of them said, waving a hand toward his direction, and when Zelda looks at him and asks if he can tell her that story some time, he nods, a blush spreading across his face.
(Don’t think too deeply about that, he tells himself, don’t do it.)
Link’s glad that Zelda finds Tarrey Town to be a wonderful place — he surely does, because why else would he set up his home here? He wouldn’t dream of moving away now, but Zelda’s belongings and remnants of times before she disappeared were in Hateno, and with her earlier implication that she would not be staying long…
Although it was quiet, although she had her face buried in her notes, Link likes the gentle, comforting presence Zelda had in his home. It felt so natural for her to be here. It was something he could find himself never getting enough of…and that terrified him. The idea that one day she won’t occupy a space here makes him feel even worse than when facing the Demon King for the first time, and that’s saying a lot.
…But he can’t find it in himself to hold her back. Too many people have done that in the past. Link would hate to be the reason that she doesn’t reach for her dreams. Zelda has a vision for Hyrule, and above all, it was his duty to help her achieve that. He swallows his greed — and the last bit of chicken — and resigns himself to the responsibilities of a knight.
Link gestures to the bedroom, which had only one bed in it (he didn’t think things would end up like this), telling Zelda that the room is all hers while she’s in Tarrey Town. He’s about to go downstairs and sleep under his mounted shields and weapons when she grabs onto his hand…and frowns.
“Where are you going?”
“…Downstairs?” He tilts his head. Perhaps the early morning wake time was finally taking a toll on him, because his tiring brain couldn’t possibly piece together why she looked upset. “I have extra blankets and pillows.”
“You’re not going to…” She trails off for a minute, and again, could it be an illusion that her cheeks were turning pink because of him, or was it actually real? “You’re not going to stay here?”
“Why would I…?”
“W — why?” Zelda’s grip on his hand tightens, and her lips are pressed together. Okay, he was definitely not imagining it — her whole face had become red, and it felt like there was a warmth radiating from her. The gaze that they had held so intently since she reached out is broken by her turning away, muttering, “You’re my boyfriend, so isn’t it obvious that I want you here with me?”
…Oh. Now Link could feel his own face turn red like the Hylian tomatoes growing back in Hateno. He can’t help himself from feeling happy, from feeling giddy, from feeling his heart leap with excitement at those words. Even after all this time, she felt the same…and he wants to smack his head against a wall for doubting that even for a second.
His silence does not bode well with Zelda. “…Right? We’re still…together, right?”
“Yes.” The words tumble out before he can even think about it, but he wouldn’t have, anyway. Immediately, an apology follows. “Yes, we…you must scold me, Princess, for ever thinking that we stopped.”
This makes Zelda’s face smooth out into an expression so soft that he just wants to stare at her forever. “No,” she says, shaking her head. “No, I…I never stopped caring for you, Link. What makes you say that? Tell me so that I can fix it immediately. I don’t want you thinking that I don’t. I do. I really do.”
Link takes a big gulp, because the answer is so incredibly selfish. Still, it’s his duty to oblige, albeit unwillingly. He looks down at his feet. “How am I supposed to say that,” he whispers to himself, hoping that she doesn’t hear. “It’s because you started right back up from where you left off with your plans that we’ve barely had a moment to ourselves…”
Hearing this makes Zelda’s hand pull her hand out of his, and for a moment he’s afraid that he’s just screwed everything over because he can’t help but be greedy, but her hands find their way on his face, guiding his gaze back to her. “I thought going back to how things were would make it easier on you to transition back to…life. Just everyday life.” Her eyes flit all across his face, gleaming with empathy, with care, and Link is just too tired to come back to his senses and snap him out of this dazed state he’s in. “You deserve that much for saving Hyrule twice…but that isn’t what you want.”
Link shakes his head. He can’t hold back now. He doesn’t stand a chance when she’s holding him so lovingly. “What I want…”
“Tell me.” She squeezes his face. It feels nice. “I should be granting the hero of Hyrule anything he wants…he just also happens to be my boyfriend.”
“Well, I want to change that.”
Zelda blinks. “What do you mean by that?”
Her gentle gestures have broken down every barrier he’s put around himself. Her words of encouragement could pick him up even in the most dire situations. Her touch could pull him through hardships if it meant he could hold her once more. He wanted Zelda, wanted everything about her, and if that’s the clutches of greed, then he’ll let them make him if it means being with the one he loved.
Link holds one of her hands, hoping his feelings for her — unwavering, steadfast, and true — could be conveyed properly. “I’d like to tell you a story about a wedding here…”
From there, Zelda sputters out of embarrassment, but she quickly smiles, and it absolutely melts his heart. She promises eternity with him, and he does the same. He wouldn’t have it any other way.