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"Link?"
Zelda's curious tone did not startle Link as he flipped to the next page in his textbook. The pair sat cross-legged under the shade of a tree near the creek, trying to stay cool while studying for their final exams.
Link was counting down the eleven short days until he was free from school, teachers, and homework for three blissful months. He'd have his knight training still, but he couldn’t deny there was something oddly enjoyable about pushing his body and feeling his improvement. This essay on Skyloft’s agricultural and horticultural developments in the first decade after The Rise, however…
No, Link was all too eager to pull his eyes away from the dusty textbook to look at his companion. She wore a light pink dress that perfectly complimented her blonde locks and gave her eyes a uniquely iridescent quality.
She is exceptionally lovely today.
He blinked when he noticed her severe look and the almost ruthless way she gnawed at her lower lip.
"Um, yeah?" Link raised an eyebrow when Zelda didn’t respond. “What? A remlit got your tongue?”
Zelda's cheeks flushed, and she averted her gaze from her closest friend in favor of looking up at the leafy branches sheltering them. When Link's voice softly prompted her again, whispering her name so gently and sweetly Zelda wanted to shudder, she took a deep breath before returning his gaze.
Get control of yourself.
But then, Link’s navy eyes, which were usually wide-eyed and perceptive, gave her this look. One of his sandy eyebrows was bent, his brow slightly furrowed, and it set Zelda’s heart aflutter.
All Zelda could do was sit there, mortified, as her cheeks flamed and emotions raced through her faster than she could recognize. She knew she felt frustration at this ridiculous situation and her absurd attitude.
Insecurity was also among them, as she felt herself whither at her inferiority and what Link might think. Anger was there, too. How could she worry about what Link, of all people, might think? He was her best friend since they were seven years old.
This is just Link, for goddess’ sake! Never before had Zelda felt such an urge to bury herself deep in the ground for all eternity. What is wrong with me? Link has never made me feel nervous before.
If this was what being grown up entailed, Zelda wasn't sure she wanted any part.
Link didn’t like studying at school, but he didn’t mind studying his best friend. And Zelda…didn’t look so good. She looked stressed and, maybe, nervous? But what would Zelda, of all people, have to be anxious about?
Link decided he was a fool. With final exams approaching, there was a much more obvious reason for Zelda’s distress than Link secretly hoped for. Still, it was a comfort that he knew precisely how to chisel through the tough exterior she was prone to retreating to whenever she was troubled.
Link scooted closer to Zelda and slid his fingers up and down her side in the way he knew would always elicit giggles from his ticklish friend.
"Zeldaaaa," he intoned, joining her contagious laughter. "C'mon! Tell me."
Zelda tried to control the laughter bubbling out of her chest and pushed Link's arm away with a huff. "Link! Stop! Stop! I'll tell you, I'll tell you." She couldn't help the grin spreading across her face as their eyes met, glittering with fondness.
He nudged her again when she didn't immediately speak, and she huffed and rolled her eyes.
"It's embarrassing."
"Embarrassing," he repeated back to her, his tone as flat as the look he gave her. He pointed at her goddess-like perfection and then back at himself. "You're embarrassed...with me?" Link laughed and shook his head, scratching the back of his neck. "I find that hard to believe, considering someone has been saving me from being late to class since before the teachers even started grading on attendance. And should I mention what happened at the Bazaar after last year's Goddess Festival?"
Zelda broke out into a wide grin, and they fell into each other, giggling once more. Unknown to the other, each basked in the warmth radiating from where their shoulders touched.
"Alright, alright! You may have a fair point," Zelda acquiesced. "It's just...Karane was talking today and...Well, it's just that…You see, she made an excellent point to me. And I haven't been able to stop thinking about it because she's right, you know? Yes, my father is the headmaster, and yes, I want to be a teacher at the Academy someday, but life still has to occur, right? Even though I may not wish for the more dangerous knight assignments, I should still take risks and live, right?"
Zelda didn't stop for Link to validate her rambling before she breathlessly charged on. Her eyes focused on her hands, which were gesticulating wildly in tune with the half-finished thoughts trailing from her lips.
"More specifically, I have to live," she said firmly, almost as if trying to convince herself. Which, she supposed, she was. "Life has to be experienced. And I must experience life." Zelda looked back at Link. "You understand me, right?"
Link opened and closed his mouth and blinked a few times. While it wasn't entirely unheard of for Link to miss something Zelda was saying because he was too focused on the elegant way her blonde tresses fell against her shoulder or the beguiling glimmer of her blue eyes that matched the mid-morning sky that Link was so partial to waking up during, the knight-in-training was sure he hadn't been distracted. This time, he was missing some piece of the puzzle that upset his friend.
"Right," Link said slowly, carefully.
He knew his friend well, and while he always wanted to support her, Link knew better than to agree with something Zelda said just because she said it. Years of scolding that he really ought to have a mind of his own because she could handle him disagreeing with her led to the development of their current relationship where Link was still happy to defer to Zelda mostly—she was usually right!—he felt confident to stand his ground when he wished.
"I think," Link started again, slowly, holding Zelda's gaze. "I'm missing some information about which part of life you are supposed to be experiencing?"
"Oh," Zelda chuckled and brushed her hair behind her ears. She could feel her cheeks pinkening again and hoped Link didn't notice. She also hoped he would overlook her ambiguity, but she should know better by now than to try and sneak something past her friend.
Link has changed a lot over the past few years. He had all but taken to knight training like a Loftwing to air, and he was no longer just the sleepyhead she woke in the mornings. Sure, that was still some mornings, but he was changing. And everyone noticed.
Knights noticed how he excelled at sparring practice, his movements fluid and precise, if just slightly slow. Knights-in-training noticed how Link racked up points, complaining loudly and somewhat enviously to whoever would listen.
Even Zelda’s father noticed his new-found and seemingly single-minded focus regarding training. Suddenly, the short, quiet boy was seen at all hours by Skyloftians, running and training when the other students skipped out for fun or to catch up on homework and sleep.
It wasn’t just Link they noticed, of course. For Skyloftians who favored the male physique, there was a time in every knight's career when people would begin noticing how their training toned and hardened their maturing bodies as they prepared for rigorous schedules and agile Loftwing maneuvering.
It was all part of the grander river of change Zelda felt herself swept up in, and she couldn't entirely be sure when the switch happened. All she knew was the changes seemed to happen quickly and simultaneously.
Suddenly, time spent with other girls her age revolved around conversations about who likes who. They would still ask her about Link, and they were still the same questions they always asked—"How is he?" "Are you two going to the Bazaar together later?" "Is he still your 'best friend’?"—but it felt different, somehow.
Instead of the annoyed complaints about why Zelda would ever choose a boy best friend when girls can make friendship bracelets, it was a blush and soft giggle followed by the strangest requests to tell Link hello or ask if he wanted to go walking sometime—as if they didn’t also see him at the academy every day!
Zelda did not know precisely what was different about the interactions, but they inspired an angry twist in her chest that they hadn’t before. The feeling claws and shreds at her insides, and she can’t seem to talk about it or get rid of it.
That’s another change. Now, she has secrets. Zelda doesn't like having secrets. She has always complained they were too much to keep track of, and what was the point of her and Link’s promise when they were eleven if not to prevent her from the weight secrets always carried for her?
So what is a girl to do when her best friend asks her, "What's new?", other than pass along invitation after invitation to walk by the waterfall or plan a picnic? If Link could visualize the words stuttering off her heavy tongue, they would surely be blackened with this unfamiliar emotion eating her alive.
Although Link never turned down an invitation, it gave Zelda some hope that he always managed to transform the would-be date into a group activity with their core friends—Pipit, Fledge, and Karane. Zelda couldn’t help but hope it was on purpose, but then again, it's not like Link ever asked her to spend time together alone.
She looked back at Link, and he was waiting for her, like always. Ever since they were children, they had a second sense for each other and could intuit when they needed time to collect their thoughts before returning to the conversation. Zelda returned his smile. She knew she could trust him.
"The part of life I haven't experienced yet," Zelda began slowly, maintaining eye contact with her best friend and pulling from his energy to bolster her tongue. "I am the only girl left in my year not to experience…kissing.”
Link swore by the way his vision flickered and the subsequent hallucination of his best friend demurely whispering the word "kissing" in his direction that he must have experienced a minor stroke. Link swallowed thickly as he tried to get ahold of himself.
"Er-um. Sorry," Link shook his head. He had to be sure. "What was that?"
"Kissing," Zelda repeated, and this time there was no possible mistake. His best friend was talking about kissing.
Best friend.
Link wanted to scoff.
Maybe that's what I am to her.
Link wanted to shake the bitter thought out of his head. Zelda was his best friend for years, and he couldn't help falling head over heels for her. She was beautiful, patient, kind, intelligent, strong-willed, and stood up for others when needed. She was there for him when he lost his mother; they'd been inseparable ever since.
Well, until recently. Link knew it would inevitably happen—at least a bit. As much as they had in common, he always felt fate called them on different—and he hoped parallel—paths. Link knew in his heart that their different strengths made them the best team. He hoped Zelda would see it one day, too.
But with each passing day, his hope grew a little dimmer. Zelda never showed any interest, and okay, maybe he was a little shy and didn't know how to make a move. Or when he did make a move, Pipit and Fledge would scoff and swear it didn't count because he was too subtle.
But how was he supposed to set up a romantic scenario for the two of them when she was always trying to set him up with her friends? It was so awkward. He didn't want to be rude, but he wasn't particularly interested, and surely, if Zelda liked him, she wouldn't put girls in his path...right?
But sometimes, there would be a moment. They would be alone or catch each other's eyes across a crowded classroom or group hangout, and Link swore she must feel his love pulsing between them. But he couldn't be sure.
Either way, he was running out of time.
Link refused to be one of those guys who only followed a girl around and pretended to be their friend, hoping they would change their mind. Knights liked to talk, and one guy in particular, Telyn, was all too willing to talk in the changing room after sparring practice.
It hurt Link to think about any girl, but especially Zelda—pure, kind Zelda who would invest her entire soul into another person if she thought it would help them grow—finding friendship with someone, only for it to be some scheme.
No, Link already planned what he would do when he gathered enough evidence that Zelda wasn't interested. If he didn’t have any indication she liked him three weeks before they returned to the academy in the fall, he would take two weeks and fly his Loftwing to the outer skies. He would eat bread, cheese, and soup there, probably have several good cries, and return as a new man.
A man who was completely ready to be Best Friend Link; Wannabe Boyfriend/Loser Link would be left to the outer skies, only a distant memory.
Link closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Unfortunately, it appeared time to bring out his Best Friend Link persona a little earlier than he was ready since his best friend, Zelda, wanted to discuss kissing.
"Oh," Link said, thinking he could only echo her. “Kissing?”
"Yes," Zelda's gaze returned to her hands, folded in her lap. "Karane said I'm the only girl in my year who hasn't been kissed. Can you believe that?" Her blue eyes whipped back to Link, filled with a strange look he couldn't quite place.
"No," he said, honestly. His voice sounded hollow. Is there sand in my mouth? Why is my tongue so dry?
Zelda's gaze fell back to her hands. "I had no idea I was so behind. I mean, I knew father kept me from certain things. I was told I must always behave and hold myself apart, but," she shook her head. "I had no idea it went this far."
Her head snapped up like in class when a particularly intriguing question came to mind, and she couldn't hesitate to ask the teacher. Her gaze struck fear in Link's soul.
"Link, have you...kissed anyone?"
Link paused. He didn't want to make Zelda feel any worse about not fitting in, but the truth was, he had. Just once. He, Pipit, and Fledge were at the Lumpy Pumpkin, listening to Pipit bemoan his love for Karane. She agreed to go to the Goddess Festival with another older student, and Pipit was sure they'd be married before the festival's end.
He and Fledge tried to cheer Pipit up and encouraged him to talk to other girls, but when that failed, and Pumm was glaring at them because Pipit's open-mouthed sobs were scaring the other patrons, Fledge suggested they take Pipit to get a sweet at the Bazaar. While they prepared the Loftwings, Link went to the counter to pay. That's when he ran into Kina, the restaurant owner's daughter.
She watched the three boys all evening and complimented Link on his kindness and friendship with a heartbroken soul. Kina told Link she could understand, being one such heartbroken soul herself, and wouldn’t he come upstairs to her family's loft? It’s just above the restaurant, and she’d love to send him off with a pumpkin pastry for his heartbroken friend. Link agreed and followed Kina.
It was there, in the dim loft above the restaurant, that she leaned forward and softly pressed her lips to Link's.
He hadn't expected it, and it was over quickly. Kina bounced back down the stairs and sent him away with a sweet "Good night!" before he entirely pieced together what happened. He wasn't sure how he felt about it, but he never told anyone.
Whenever he saw Kina, she would smile at him like there was a secret just the two of them shared. And while she wasn't exactly wrong, he didn't particularly like it. It made him uncomfortable to think about what Zelda would think—or how she would react if she saw Kina smiling at him like that.
As he looked at Zelda, who was still waiting for him to answer whether he had kissed anyone, he thought maybe it was time for that to change. Then, her face crumpled, and Link realized his hesitation had given his answer away.
Zelda looked back at her lap with a soft "oh."
Her heartbeat hammered in her ears. It wasn't the quick fluttering like before. No, this was hurt, confusion, and frustration at herself for feeling this way. Zelda wanted to scream. Link would think of her as a child if she couldn't handle the thought of him kissing someone else. Was she really so reticent to change?
Zelda knew there was something more, something deeper under the frustration, but no. She had no right to think that way; he was not hers.
Link watched his friend bow her head again, and he wished he could thump himself like Master Eagus did when Link forgot his footwork. He desperately tried to think of something to say when Zelda looked back at him with an unsettlingly calm look and a smile that was a little… Oh.
Link knows she’s faking, and his heart twinges. He didn’t think Zelda would care if he kissed someone else unless…Link mentally reprimanded himself before he was carried away. She was probably just angry he was keeping a secret. He knew how she felt about secrets.
"Sorry, I just..." Zelda forced a laugh and waved her hand in the air like she was not about to cry. She swallowed the inclination down. She can sob later in the privacy of her room. She started again, this time trying for a steadier voice.
"I just wasn't expecting that. You are my friend, and I thought you would tell me if—No. Um, I mean, it was just a little surprising. That's all." Zelda ended what she hoped was a compelling speech with a persuasive smile.
Link didn’t know what to say, so he began to apologize.
"No!" she interrupted him. "Please, I couldn't stand it if you said sorry for kis-...for that.” Zelda laughed again, and it took on an almost hysterical tone. “I mean, you're nearly a grown man. Of course, you’ve been out…kissing. Just because I haven't doesn't mean anything. For either of us,” Zelda added quickly before continuing with a sigh.
“It's just growing up that's hard to get my head around. I'm not used to it. Everything is changing, you know?"
Link nodded and slumped back against the tree.
"Besides,” he perked up a bit at the sudden sparkle in Zelda’s tone. “Just because it hasn't happened yet doesn't mean it won't, right?"
Zelda and Link looked at each other, and he nodded. Zelda sat back against the tree, their shoulders brushing. Silence filled the space as each was lost in their thoughts of what the other may be thinking. Finally, Zelda interrupted the peace with an elegant noise made by sticking her tongue out and loudly blowing. Link looked at her in shock, and they dissolved into giggles.
Before long, they found their way to the ground, lying side by side in the clover as they pointed out animal shapes in the clouds and outlines of the tree leaves. Any adults who happened to pass by would find their attention drawn by the pair's loud guffawing and protestations of ridiculousness. It wasn’t an unfamiliar sight; it seemed Link and Zelda had been doing this since they could toddle.
It comforted Zelda that while change was inevitable, they would always have these moments between them. She couldn’t help thinking about kissing, or rather, her lack of it and the teasing she received during lunch when other girls found out. Zelda hadn’t known it would be an issue, or she wouldn’t have readily admitted it. While Karane told them off and tried to comfort her, Zelda couldn’t get the matter out of her mind.
"I just wish I didn't have to keep waiting for something that has already happened to everyone else. I just wish..." she trailed off, her arm outstretched to the sky. “I don’t know what I wish.”
Link looked over at her from where he was lying next to her, and his heart broke a bit. He hated seeing her so sad. All this over a silly kiss? Well, Link blushed. He supposed he wouldn’t think of a kiss as silly if it were between him and Zelda.
As Link tried to find the words to suggest a rather obvious but somewhat crude solution to her so-called problem, conveniently located not a tailfeathers length away, she continued.
"I suppose I could always just make it happen."
"Make it...happen?" Link wasn't following, and Zelda rolled her eyes. She couldn't help it. She was just so filled with frustration. Link clearly wasn't interested in her, and she was the only one who hadn’t done it yet. Logic followed that she may as well pick someone and get it over with!
"Well, surely someone would be willing to kiss me,” Zelda said, with a faux tone of offense, sitting up and twirling a white clover blossom between her fingers. “I just have to find that person and...ask, I guess." Zelda shrugged.
"But you can't just ask someone!" Link cried out, sitting up and shaking his head. Goddess, is it somehow getting warmer as the sun goes down? The heat is unbearable.
Link’s stomach turned at the mental image of his best friend sauntering up to some tall, faceless knight and asking, “If he didn't mind, would he deign himself to kiss her?” Bile rose, and he felt like throwing himself to the ground and whining. Zelda was talking about this experience like a pragmatist instead of the romantic he knew her to be, and it killed him.
This was Zelda—his Zelda—they were talking about—a scholar among fools and a goddess among men. When whatever bastard was finally worthy of kissing her was found—which was a fat chance as far as Link was concerned—she deserved perfumed flowers followed by an evening of rich food.
"T-That's not how this works," Link argued pitifully.
"Oh, and I guess you would know, wouldn't you?" Zelda couldn’t help the pinched glare she was giving him. "What with all the secret kissing you've been doing?"
Link shook his head desperately. "No, I—."
'Well, it doesn't matter what you think," Zelda huffed, crossing her arms. "It's my body and my first kiss, which means it's my decision. I just hoped my best friend would support me."
Link rubbed the back of his head. He felt like an ass.
"Zel, I-Of course I support you," He put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed. "I just care about you, and I…," Link took a deep breath. The cliff was before him. Was he finally making the leap? "I just know how much you love those romantic books we grew up on together," his voice was soft, and he squeezed her shoulder. "You deserve something magical like those fairytales. That's all I mean."
Oh. Zelda softened and uncrossed her arms, looking back at Link and giving him a sincere smile. "I appreciate that, but I think it's been long enough. If something romantic was going to happen by now..." Zelda trailed her fingers through the clover at their feet, letting out a small huff. "I think it would have."
Link sighed, and Zelda met his gaze. "I still think you should wait for something or someone special. No one will ever deserve you, but you deserve that."
Zelda's eyes hardened. While she was trying to move past the revelation of his mysterious encounters, the wound was still too fresh, and the pain still had a sharp sting. She was confident it would fade in time, and they could return to being friends, but a girl still needed some time to recover. With the kindest voice possible, she replied.
"Link, let it go. You have your secret kiss. Let me have my planned-out kiss."
Link nodded. This wasn't a fight he could win, and really, it wasn't his place. They were friends. They were best friends who loved and supported each other through all things. He smiled at her. "Ok, Zel," he nudged her shoulder. "Surprise, surprise, but you win again. No one ever could beat you in a battle of logic." He loved to see the slight look of pride in her eyes when he said that. "So, who are the eligible bachelors?"
Link froze. Why did I ask that? I don’t want to know that. Of all things, that’s the last thing I want to know! A sly voice at the back of Link’s brain helpfully supplied him with Tuesday’s lesson from Master Eagus—to know the enemy’s plan is to be able to sabotage and plan for contingencies—but he banished the thought.
Whoever Zelda chose to love would not be his enemy. Not unless they hurt her.
Zelda looked a little surprised at the question but then hummed; her brow furrowed in thought. “Well….I suppose I was thinking Pipit would be a safe option. We are friends, and I could trust him, but..."
"Karane," Link finished for her. "Yeah, that wouldn't work."
"Or maybe Fledge? But," Zelda trailed off with a small sigh before beginning again. "I don't know. Do you ever get the sense…Well, that he likes girls ?"
Link looked at her with confusion. "What do you mean?"
"Never mind," Zelda said quickly. As much as she didn’t like secrets of her own, she would never reveal a friend’s secret, known or not. She barrelled forward, quickly throwing out the next name that came to mind. "What about Telyn?"
"Telyn?" Link echoed disbelievingly. "No. No way. He's like...four years older than you and a full knight!”
Link hesitated on what to say next. Telyn had a specific reputation with the knights-in-training and was known for “helping” young lovers find each other. Link ignored him in favor of strength exercises, but the bastard's voice carried. And no, Link did not use the word lightly, but there was little else he could think to call that man who left so many maidens' beds cold after a single night in them.
Telyn even had it down to a science—the Telyn Method, he called it. Take a girl out on a Loftwing, blow their mind with the view, kiss them at sunset, and they’d turn to clay in your hands. Or that's what he said. Link hated him and the way he talked about the girls on Skyloft.
"What, you think he's too good for me?" Zelda retorted.
"Please," Link scoffed. "Hardly. More the other way around. He's kissed half the girls on Skyloft. Why would you want him to be your first kiss?" Link’s subsequent thought made him see red, and the words were out of his mouth before he realized the implication of his statement. "If he'd even be satisfied with one kiss."
"I can handle myself," Zelda stood quickly, dusting her skirt off. The tears from before returning in full force. "How dare you say such wicked things to me, Link! You are supposed to be my friend."
"I am your friend," Link insisted, getting to his feet quickly and grabbing Zelda's hand. He squeezed it once. "I am your friend. It's just..." He tapered off. How did he tell her the truth about Telyn's character without demeaning the women he was with? He swallowed thickly. "Just not...Telyn. Please."
Zelda huffed and pulled her hand from Link's grasp but didn't leave, which Link took as a positive. "I don't know what you have against him, Link, but Telyn and I are friends now and…"
Link stopped listening, reeling from this new information. Zelda continued, pacing back and forth under the tree grove, likely regaling him with the story of how this unholy match came to be formed.
Link knew he needed to formulate some thoughts if he had a chance to structure the logical arguments necessary to convince Zelda. Whatever he was going to say, he needed to present dispassionately so she could see the truth of the situation, which was that this course of action was untenable and must be reversed immediately.
Instead, Link said, "Telyn has many girlfriends."
Zelda stopped short in pacing and snapped her eyes to glare at Link. Oh. He'd interrupted her. Link cringed.
"So?" was Zelda's incredulous reply.
"So?" Link repeated hollowly, blinking a few times under her intense gaze before continuing.
"So do you," Zelda responded so emphatically Link began searching his memory to be sure he did not, in fact, have some string of girlfriends he misplaced somewhere like his socks.
Link was just stuttering out a “No, I…?” when Zelda interrupted him, this time with a distinctly hysterical inflection.
"Oh, of course you do. All you knights-in-training attract attention, but you can't seriously expect me to believe you never noticed the attention you attract?"
When Link shook his head, Zelda sighed. This wasn’t how this conversation was supposed to go. She just couldn’t believe how oblivious he could be.
"Why are we doing this? Why are we fighting?” Zelda’s voice broke, and the next question came out as barely a whisper, her eyes trained on the ground. “Why do you care so much?"
It was on the tip of Link's tongue, but he couldn't say it. Not yet.
Zelda shook her head. "You can't...You can't do this, Link." She looked at him, and he was shocked to see tears in her eyes. "You can't give me hope. You can't pretend to care what someone—what I do—when you don't even want me."
Tears dripped down her cheeks, and suddenly, he was standing in front of her, fingers wiping away the streams on her face.
"I do," Link whispered, and Zelda's green eyes met his as his thumbs rubbed over her cheekbones. She leaned into the touch. "I do want you." He said seriously, brushing a bit of hair behind her ear.
Zelda shivered. Her eyes flitted down to Link's lips before returning to his eyes.
Link looked down at her lips. "I know this isn't romantic or what you deserve," Link started before he allowed himself to drink her picture in. She was still a vision in pink against the sun's setting rays, and the slight red around her eyes seemed only to serve them, making the blue even more crystalline in appearance.
Link moves his hands to hold her forearms. “And you can stop me if this isn’t what you want,” Link whispered, and Zelda’s mouth opened slightly, her tongue darting out to wet her bottom lip.
The knight-in-training couldn’t help it. He was utterly sucked into the magnetism of her eyes, of her lips, of her. He continued, and the longing in his voice was crushingly evident to his ears.
“In fact, you probably should stop me, but I’ll always be your friend.” He squeezed her arms. “I’ll always support you. I’d do anything for you,” his brow slightly furrowed, and he looked at the ground beyond Zelda’s left shoulder. “Even if it’s supporting you as you pursue…Telyn.”
Although Link meant the words, he couldn’t help the sour note his voice took on at Telyn’s name. Their eyes met again, and he looked at her lips, his arms shaking. Zelda realized two things simultaneously: Link was holding himself back, and she didn't want him to. It felt like jumping off the platform and hoping her Loftwing waited below, but she leaned in and whispered.
“I don’t want Telyn.”
Zelda felt the shape of Link's mouth against hers when he responded.
"Can I kiss you?"
Zelda nodded before pulling back with a soft inhale. Link searched her eyes for any sign of fear or hesitation, but he only found nervousness and excitement.
"It's just...remember, it's my first time. I might not be very good and..." Zelda’s anxieties slowed as she got distracted staring at Link's smile. It's mischievous and a little mocking, but when she looks into his eyes, all she can see is adoration and love. "Just...be gentle with me? Please, Link."
He nodded, and when Zelda closed her eyes, Link gently pressed his lips to hers. The first time, it was just a brush of lips, leaving Zelda tingling and wanting more. Then, Link leaned in firmly, and Zelda felt a peculiar pull at the base of her spine when he lightly tightened his hand in the hair at the base of her neck.
She pushed into him for the third kiss, a firm mashing of lips which didn't bring the same flutter to her stomach but satisfied a carnal need to touch and to touch for a long time. After a few seconds, Link pulled back, and although the kiss hadn't been greedy in the slightest, they were both panting hard.
"Are you okay?" he asked softly.
Zelda nodded, and Link smiled. "Better than okay."
"I'm really glad I was your first kiss."
"Me too," Zelda murmured, feeling a little bold. "Would you…like to be my second kiss?" She looked at Link, who was beaming back.
"It would be my utter and complete honor."
Zelda laughed. They must have really gotten in his head at Knight Academy if he's talking like that.
She leaned in and kissed him soundly. He might be goofy, but he was her goofy, honor-bound best friend. And now her first kiss.
And second.
And third.
Zelda stopped counting after the tenth kiss, when she and Link decided they were boyfriend and girlfriend, and began counting the days they had been together—and then the days until they’d be reunited.
Link didn’t stop counting until after the two-hundredth kiss when Zelda insisted between giggles because surely he had better things to do. Link disagreed but eventually acquiesced. He was always happy to defer to her.
One thing he never allowed, however, was a single day to pass without a kiss, until she was pulled from his arms by that thrice-damned black tornado.
He fought like hell to get her home. Once they were reunited, the hero never let a day go by without sprinkling his best friend, life partner, and goddess with as many kisses as she desired.