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How did she always get herself in these situations?
Zelda stumbled slightly, staring blearily up at the apartment complex in front of her. Where was she? This wasn’t her complex. Whose was it…?
Oh, a tiny voice in her head realized. This is Link’s place.
Her feet were stinging from the heels she’d stupidly decided to wear and she still smelled strongly of beer. The party she’d left hadn’t been anything to write home about, but now in her drunken stupor she’d wandered here. To Link’s.
Zelda giggled to herself. What would Link say if he saw her right now, at one in the morning and wearing a short black dress and heels? Would he look surprised? Would he roll his eyes? She wanted to know.
Plodding up a couple flights of stairs (and nearly stumbling off them a few times) Zelda found Link’s door. For some reason, even through her alcohol-hazed mind, she remembered every detail Link had told her about his place clearly. She chuckled at the doormat, which read, “Cats Welcome, Humans Optional.” He’s such a dork.
Raising her hand, she shakily knocked on the door.
There was no answer.
Put out, Zelda knocked harder. She’d come all this way to see him! He could at least answer the door!
Finally, after what felt like ages, the door was yanked open, and she could hear quiet grumbling: “Who the hell–”
Link froze as he took her in, blinking, his eyes doing a quick up and down before settling back on her face. His ears tinged red. “Zelda?”
He sounded completely shocked, which annoyed her. Why was he so surprised? Couldn’t she come visit him if she wanted to?
“Hi, Link!” she greeted, swaying on her feet. “I found your apartment!”
“Yeah, uh, you did.” Slowly, he moved to the side, brow furrowing. “Come in, Zelda. Are you okay?”
“Never better!” Zelda sauntered her way in, taking in the clean yet somewhat disorganized apartment. He had knickknacks lined up in every available space, with mismatched furniture and a variety of cookbooks stacked on the only bookshelf. Random sports equipment, including his hockey gear, was dumped in a corner. A cat meowed at her from the couch.
She was delighted.
Link had closed the door and was surveying her with a pinched expression. “You smell like beer,” he murmured, hands on his hips. “Are you sure you’re alright? Are you drunk?”
“Awh, what, I have to be drunk to see my favorite history pupil?” Zelda whined, flopping across the couch. The cat blinked at her. “I just wanted to stop by!”
“You are drunk,” Link affirmed, striding into the kitchen. “Hold on, I’ll get water.”
Zelda kicked her feet, smiling as she looked around. The apartment really did suit him, even if it did smell a little. Well, she smelled, too. So she couldn’t judge him for that. And he looked cute! His hair was all messy, probably from sleeping, and he had on a white hockey shirt and green flannel pajama pants, as well as a pair of mismatched socks. Who wore socks to bed?
When he returned with a glass of water for her, she blurted: “I like your pajamas!”
A blush tinged his cheeks as he averted his gaze, holding out the water. “Z-Zelda, don’t lay like that on the couch when you have a dress on.”
She pouted, but sat up and accepted the water. She hadn’t realized how thirsty she was from her walk over. Zelda scratched at her skin absently, trying to get rid of the feeling permeating her very being. Where did it come from? She couldn’t quite remember.
“Hey,” Link said gently, stopping her from scratching her arm so hard she’d draw blood, “stop, you’ll hurt yourself. Are you sure you’re alright?”
She tilted her head. Link was pink and looked very soft. She wanted to pet him. “Yep!”
He sighed, running his fingers through his hair. It allowed her to get a close-up of his arm, which she appreciated. He was very toned and athletic. You really wouldn’t guess it from his nerdy clothes! But, she mused, that just makes him cuter.
“Do you mind telling me what you’ve been up to tonight?” He asked, and his voice was so gentle Zelda agreed despite not knowing if she could remember all of it.
“Well,” she started, tipping her head back, “I decided to go to one of the local house parties. I think a fraternity was hosting…? I dunno! I just decided, hey, I don’t ever go to parties, and I have a new dress! I wanted people to see me in my new dress.” She gestured down towards herself. “Do you like it?”
“I–uh,” Link coughed, averting his eyes, “I like it. It suits you.”
Pacified, Zelda rambled on. “Other guys thought so, too! Except I didn’t really care what they thought, you know…” she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, thinking she was being coy. “But I still looked bangin’!”
Link looked like he was stifling laughter. “Bangin’? Where’d you hear that?”
“Purah,” Zelda said imperiously, and a few snorts escaped Link as he waved at her to continue.
“So then, just as I was really getting into the swing of things, this one guy asked me to dance! Which is fine, y’know, ’cause I was anyway. But then he–” Zelda paused to make a face. Link’s smile immediately dropped.
“What did he do, Zel?”
“He–” Zelda hiccuped. “He started being all touchy-feely, which I didn’t like. So I said stop, and he didn’t. He kept grabbing my arm, and telling me he’d get me a drink…” She trailed off, frowning, hand drifting back towards her arm to scratch it. “And I didn’t like it…”
Link looked angry now, and Zelda didn’t like that. She hadn’t meant to make him upset! She patted his knee. “Don’t worry! It’s all fine now!”
“But it isn’t! He shouldn’t have touched you,” Link protested. “He was taking advantage of the fact you were drunk. Didn’t you have any friends there?”
Zelda shrugged, and Link sighed. “If something like that happens again, you should call me, okay? I mean it.”
“Oh.” Zelda stared at him. A thought occurred to her. “Do you like me?”
Link sputtered, his face going red, and Zelda was distracted by his flustered face. He was adorable! She grinned, reaching forward to pinch a cheek.
He stilled, staring at her, and Zelda was filled with affection for him. She’d forgotten about her question already, because the only thing she could focus on was how blue his eyes were and how soft he looked. Such a strong boy with a gentle heart.
“’Cause I like you, y’know,” she murmured, tilting her head. “You’re polite. And nice to me. And you don’t tease me about being a nerd. And your hair’s soft. And you get all excited when I bring snacks for us to eat. And you sneak new pencils into my bag when you think I’m not looking. And you feed those stray cats by the math building.”
Link’s face was on fire. She hadn’t released it yet. “How’d…you know about that?”
“I watch you,” she said simply, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. “You watch everyone else, so I thought it was only fair. Plus, you’re funny.”
Link seemed at a loss. He opened his mouth, closed it, and seemed to flounder. Finally, he raised his hand to sign, You watch me?
Zelda blinked. It took her a second to register his switch to sign language, but she picked it up relatively quickly. Yeah! You’re cute!
Link seemed to not know what to do with this information. He scratched his head, burying his red face in his hands for a moment and releasing a long breath. Slowly, he signed, I wish you weren’t drunk right now.
Zelda tilted her head. Why?
He smiled, gently. I’ll tell you later.
She huffed. Fine, he could keep his secrets! Setting her half-finished water glass down, she scooted closer to him on the couch, cuddling up to his side. This was much better. He was warm and cozy, and she just wanted to be near.
Link bent down, and she was afraid he was going to leave, but he only moved to take her shoes off for her. He frowned at the blisters forming on her skin, but Zelda just tucked her feet into her legs so he couldn’t see. She was fine! She just wanted to cuddle!
Slowly, he leaned back into her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. Oh, that was lovely! Zelda smiled, burrowing closer. He smelled good, too. Like pine and soap and boy.
He chuckled as she sniffed, then froze when she pressed a kiss to his clavicle. He didn’t move as Zelda took it upon herself to get as close as she could, practically climbing on top of him.
“Zel,” he whispered as she kissed the base of his neck, “what are you doing?”
His voice was deep and throaty and she liked it. She liked him. Zelda never thought she would like a boy this much, but she did. So she did the only thing her alcohol-hazed mind could think to do: she kissed him.
Well, she kissed his throat, to be more precise. He’d fallen back enough where she was pretty much just lying on top of him on the couch now, and his hands floundered as she bent down to press kisses along the column of his throat.
He swallowed, and she watched his Adam’s apple bob. “Zel,” he croaked, “you’re drunk.”
She knew that! Silly boy. What did he think she’d been doing all night? Chuckling, she dipped down to bite just above his collarbone as punishment.
The low groan he let out was delightful. Zelda wondered what other noises he could make. She’d just have to kiss everywhere to find out.
Her exploration took her higher, until she was nibbling along the underside of his jaw. It was flexing under her lips in a desperate attempt to stay quiet. She moved slowly up, until she could tilt her head to nip his earlobe. He whined, and she kissed just under his ear in apology. Zelda could feel his shudder move down his spine.
At some point his hands had found their way to her waist, holding her lightly. She liked it. She kind of wanted him to move his hands, too, but she took what she could get. Lifting her head, she stared down at him with lidded eyes. His face was bright red and he was panting slightly, pupils blown out. A good look on him.
Zelda dipped her head lower. “You look cute like that,” she whispered, and watched him shiver again. A smile quirked her lips. “I think you do like me.”
“Zel,” he choked out, clearing his throat. “Zel, I-I want to…I can’t. While you’re drunk. But Hylia, if you weren’t right now…”
His eyes moved lower, practically devouring her, and it was Zelda’s turn to shiver.
“If I wasn’t…?”
He reached a hand up from her waist, trailing along her body until he reached her face. He cupped her cheek, eyes burning as he tried to regulate his breathing.
“We wouldn’t be on the couch anymore.”
Tension hangs in the air between them, but just as she bent lower to kiss him, he moved his hand to cover her mouth. “But…you’re still drunk. And I care about you too much, Zel. So…let’s sleep for now, okay?”
Zelda pouted a bit. He looked so appealing, pink and warm and cute, and she could see the spot where she bit him already purpling into a nice bruise.
But when he mentioned sleep…Zelda realized how tired she was. Her head bobbed in a nod, and he removed his hand. She bent to snuggle into his chest, his arms now securely wrapping around her.
This was nice. Kissing was nice, but so was this. Zelda would accept this for now.
“Night, Link,” she murmured drowsily, already starting to nod off.
He released a soft chuckle, reaching to plant a kiss on the top of her head. “Goodnight, Zel. Get some sleep. I’ll see you in the morning.”
With that, Zelda dropped into a dreamless sleep.
~
Her bed was moving.
It’s rising up and down slowly, and Zelda groaned quietly. It’s warm, too, so that’s not so bad. But why is it moving in the first place?
She rolled over, eyes opening as she looked down at her mattress.
To see Link staring back at her.
Zelda shrieked, jumping back, but Link’s hands kept her from falling off the couch. “What–where…?”
Slowly, memories started to resurface from last night, and she felt the blood rush to her face. Oh, right. She’d walked to Link’s apartment instead of her own.
Why did I do that?!
Link is still groggy as well, but awake. His hands tightened around her waist. “Zel? You awake?”
Slowly, she nodded, not quite able to meet Link’s eyes. “Y-Yeah.”
Link yawned, not dissimilar to a cat, and grinned up at her. His sharp canine teeth were also not dissimilar to a cat’s. “You feel any better?”
“Um…” She twisted her hands together, an embarrassed flush crawling up her neck. “Yeah, I don’t…feel sick or anything. Um, Link?”
“Yeah?”
“What exactly…did I say? And do? Last night?” If her face were any hotter, she’d burst into flames.
Instead of answering, Link pretended to mull over it, a smirk stretching across his face. “Well…let’s see. You barged into my apartment at one in the morning, proceeded to tell me about your night, and then physically assaulted my neck.”
“I–” Zelda couldn’t even come up with a response for that, because she could see the bruise on his collarbone. “I-I’m so sorry!”
He studied her for a few seconds, then lifted his hand to pull her head back down to his chest. “Don’t worry about it. You were drunk.”
Zelda released a whine into his chest, beyond mortified. While it was true she’d thought Link was cute for a while now, it was totally unacceptable for her to just show up on his doorstep in the middle of the night!
“Although,” Link continued, and Zelda peeked an eye up at him. “Last night…you mentioned that some guy kept coming onto you even though you said no.” He pressed his lips together, his arms tensing slightly. “He really didn’t hurt you in any way, right?”
Zelda racked her brain, coming up with disjointed images from last night. She did vaguely remember some sleazy guy insistently trying to dance with her, but she was pretty sure she’d managed to shake him off fairly quickly.
“Uh, no? I don’t think so? I don’t really remember…” her voice cracked, and she swallowed. “Sorry.”
Link didn’t answer for a long moment, and Zelda cringed. Was he angry?
“Do you remember who he was?” he finally asked.
Zelda blinked. “I…I don’t think so. I don’t think we knew each other to begin with.” A beat of silence. “Why?”
“I wanted to have a fuckin’ word with him,” Link growled, the hand on the small of her back drawing her closer. “He shouldn’t be takin’ advantage of drunk girls.”
Zelda raised an eyebrow. “He was probably drunk, too.”
“Doesn’t matter. It’s gross.”
She couldn’t help but to be secretly amused. Link never got angry, and she could count on one hand the number of times she’d seen him grumble under his breath. It was cute.
“Thanks for defending my honor,” she said dryly, “but don’t worry about it. I don’t remember much of it anyway.”
His attention shifted again, this time directed at her. “So how much do you remember?”
Zelda winced. “Not…a lot. After I got to your apartment, I mean. I didn’t make you uncomfortable, did I?”
“Do I look uncomfortable?” Link asked, amused. She took in their position, biting her lip, and squirmed slightly. “Okay–I might get a little uncomfortable if you keep doing that.”
“Sorry! Sorry, I–” Zelda squeaked.
Link laughed, pulling her up so she’d stop. “I’m kidding, Zel. You could never make me uncomfortable.”
Why was he being so relaxed about this? Zelda couldn’t understand. Even now, her brain was working at a thousand miles an hour trying to figure out what she’d done and how they got into this situation. But also…? It was kind of nice, and she wanted to enjoy it while it lasted.
They laid there in silence for a while after that, just enjoying the quiet.
“You said you liked me,” Link murmured, and Zelda tensed. He continued before she could overthink. “You said you watched me, and you noticed things about me. Like how I sneak pencils into your bag, and I feed the stray cats by the math building.”
Color rose to her ears. “Well…you do.”
“Yeah,” he laughed, breathless. “I do. And I never thought anyone else would notice that.” He nudged her, and Zelda finally looked back at him. “I’m glad you did, though.”
Her breath caught. “Really?”
“Yeah.” His face was so close. “Because I watch you a lot, too. And I would’ve felt like a real weirdo.”
“You are a weirdo,” she pointed out, and they both giggled.
“Hey, c’mon,” he complained, threading his fingers through the back of her hair. “Cut me some slack, I’m trying to confess to a cute girl.”
Zelda’s heart skipped a beat. “Confess–?”
There was a pounding at the door. “Hey! Zelda! You in there?!”
They both blinked, turning to look at his front door at the same time.
“Impa?” Link asked, and Zelda nodded.
“Impa. I should probably let her see that I’m alive.”
He nodded, letting her slide off him. Zelda flushed, straightening her dress, before plodding over to the door. “Hey, Impa–”
Her friend flew at her, gathering her in a large hug. “Oh Hylia, thank the goddesses you’re safe! I was trying to reach you all night, and I was going to call the police–” she pulled back suddenly, scanning her from head to toe with a critical eye. “You’re not hurt, right?”
She shook her head. “No, I’m fine. Sorry for worrying you, Impa.”
Her friend waved it off. “No harm done. Link texted me when you came over here, so I at least knew you’d made it somewhere safe.”
Zelda blinked. “Hey, yeah–you’re at Link’s. You guys know each other?”
“Yeah, we have the same calc class.” Link came up behind Zelda, leaning in to rest his head on the top of her head and wrapping his arms around her loosely. “Hey, Impa.”
Impa didn’t answer, studying them intently. She eyed Link’s arms on hers, then narrowed slightly at their proximity. “Is there…” she pointed a finger up and down. “What’s all this?”
Zelda opened and closed her mouth in chagrin, but Link just laughed. She could feel it from where his chest was pressed against her back. “We were just getting to that, actually, before we got a visitor.”
“Ah.” A gleam that Zelda didn’t like entered Impa’s eye. “Gotcha. I’ll leave you to it, then.” She saluted, marching off down the hall, waving a hand behind her.
“Wait, Impa!” Zelda shouted after her. “I need a change of clothes! Can you bring me one from my apartment?”
“Ask your sleeping buddy for some clothes! I’m late for class!” Her traitorous friend tossed back.
Silence had never been so loud as the door closed behind her.
Zelda swallowed thickly, turning her head to glance behind her. “Um…”
Link had the most smug grin she’d ever seen on his face, eyes watching the door close behind Impa. He turned to meet her gaze, eyes teasing. “So…you need some different clothes?”
“If you wouldn’t mind,” Zelda squeaked.
“’Course not.” He finally released her, standing up and heading down the hall. “Mind feeding Epona for me?”
“Epona…?” Zelda turned slowly, making eye contact with the one-eyed cat sitting on the kitchen counter. “Are you Epona?”
The cat meowed, shoving a set of keys off the counter.
“Ah.” Zelda stifled a laugh, fumbling her way around the kitchen. “I’ll take that as a ‘hurry up, please.’”
Five minutes later, Epona was fed and Link had emerged with a bundle of clothes. “They’re the closest things I have to your size,” he murmured, embarrassed. “Sorry.”
“It’s fine. Thanks for letting me use them,” Zelda replied, taking them with a smile. “I’ll be right back.”
Making her way into the bathroom, Zelda held up the selected clothes. He’d given her a pair of tan sweatpants–which she had to roll up to keep from falling on her feet–and a blue shirt with a weird stitching pattern. She pulled it over her head, giving herself a once-over in the mirror.
She fixed her hair the best she could, hurriedly wiping off any leftover makeup. Luckily, she hadn’t worn much the night before. Satisfied with her appearance, she walked out of the bathroom, tucking her dress under her arm. “I’m back. Thanks for the clothes.”
“No problem. Did they–'' Link turned around, suddenly stuttering to a stop midsentence. Zelda blinked at him.
His eyes were wide, pupils dilated, and his arm frozen in whatever he’d been in the middle of doing. She watched him swallow, then pull back slowly.
“What’s the matter? Do I look weird?” Zelda looked down at herself. “The clothes aren’t that big…”
“No,” Link squeaked. He cleared his throat. “No, you look–you look great. Amazing.” He turned away quickly, his ears red.
Deciding to leave it be, Zelda started hunting for her purse. She was sure her drunk self had just flung it somewhere, but she was hoping that somewhere was Link’s apartment and not the frat house.
She was just starting to lose hope, hands on her hips as she scanned the bookshelf in the living room, when she felt a presence behind her.
“Zelda?” His voice was too close to her ear. Her shoulders stiffened. “Can we talk?”
She gulped, turning around to meet Link’s stare. “Um, yeah. Of course. I did invade your home last night.” As she so often did, Zelda started to ramble. “And I’m really sorry! I know we aren’t especially close, or anything, and I shouldn’t have bothered you! I understand if that weirded you out, or if you want me to leave, I just–”
The last thing she heard was Link’s chuckle before he leaned in to gently press her against the bookshelf, stealing all the breath in her lungs with a kiss.
Zelda whimpered despite herself, hands immediately coming up to loosely wrap around his neck. He tilted his head, and his hands found purchase against her hips.
He pulled back slightly, letting their breaths intermingle for a moment as they stared at each other. “Do I look like I mind?”
“N-Not particularly,” Zelda squeaked. She could imagine how red her face was. “I just wanted to make sure I didn’t annoy you. I mean, I know I can be…a lot …when I drink…”
Link’s grin was too smug for her liking. “Nothing I can’t handle.”
Zelda huffed. It wasn’t fair that he got to tease her while she was flustered and unsure. To even the playing field, she gripped the hair on the back of his head and brought him back down for another kiss.
He seemed a bit surprised–she couldn’t fathom why–but melted into it all the same. His mouth was soft and moved gently against hers, but she quickly grew impatient. Zelda nipped at his lower lip, eliciting a soft gasp, and she grinned in victory.
That victory was short-lived, however, when he used that to his advantage by opening his mouth and prying hers open as well. Zelda whimpered again, fist tightening in his hair.
They managed to wrench apart for air, and Link was relentless. She got the distinct impression this was payback for last night as he trailed kisses along her jaw.
“Do you have any idea,” he breathed, “how awful last night was for me?”
Her heart sank into her stomach, but then he followed up with:
“I mean, you were kissing me, saying I was cute…and I couldn’t even do anything! Stupid alcohol…”
Zelda laughed as he grumbled into the hollow of her throat. “Sorry. I didn’t realize that would be so bad for you.”
“It was torture,” he groaned.
A small part of her was touched; he'd thought of the fact she was drunk. She had a feeling if she’d pretended this all never happened, Link would’ve gone along with it so as not to embarrass her.
“I’ll keep that in mind in the future,” she whispered, voice catching as he bit her collarbone. Payback indeed.
Link’s hands were not idle either, one loosely holding the base of her neck and the other wandering down her back to her ass. Zelda tilted her head, swallowing as she felt his tongue poke out to lick across an expanse of skin. A soft, pleased hum emanated from his throat.
Zelda was sure her legs were going to give out, but then smelled something…odd. Her eyes snapped open. “Is something…burning?”
“Shit!” Link was off of her in a flash, hurrying back towards the kitchen. Zelda took a second to adjust and compose herself–seriously, her hair was a disaster yet again–then followed him, taking a seat at one of the bar chairs.
She watched as Link salvaged the cinnamon rolls he’d left in the oven, muttering under his breath as he flipped the oven fan on. Leaning her chin into her palm, Zelda smiled at his turned back. He was feeding her now? If he kept this up, she’d never leave.
“You wanted to talk about last night?” She prompted as he plated some food, and she watched his shoulders stiffen, then roll back into a set confidence.
“Yeah.” Link walked over to set the plate in front of her. “I know you don’t remember a lot of what happened, but I’m hoping what I’ve told you today makes it obvious how I feel about it.”
Pink rose to her cheeks as she bit into a roll and chewed. “Y-Yeah.”
“I guess what I’m asking is…” He set his hands flat on the counter, staring at her. “What are you looking for from me, Zelda? What do you need? Because whatever it is, I’ll be it for you.”
She was stunned. Surely he couldn’t mean that? But one look at his face assured her he did. His eyes were blazing, bright and burning with intensity. He didn’t look away, maintaining eye contact even as she blushed and looked down.
“I, um…” She cleared her throat. “To be honest, I-I don’t know what I was thinking. I know I like spending time with you, and I find you really attractive, but I guess I didn’t realize…how much I liked you until last night, when I wanted to go to your place instead of mine.”
Link hadn’t moved a muscle, staring. He didn’t speak, waiting for her to continue.
“Um, I guess what I’m trying to say is…I like you. A lot. And I want…to be with you. Please.” Zelda zipped her mouth shut, her blush spreading to her ears and neck. Way to sound like an idiot, Zel. Please? Really?
But Link didn’t look weirded out. On the contrary, his eyes were shining as he practically beamed at her, quickly coughing to cover it up. Moving suddenly, he sped around the counter to stand before her, caging her against it with his arms.
Zelda expected a reply, or perhaps a smile, or maybe a gentle rejection.
“Fucking finally,” Link groaned, before swooping in to catch her mouth in another kiss.
She didn’t even have time to react to his words, as Link was insistently trying to get her to open her mouth.
But she had to make sure first.
Ignoring Link’s whine as she moved her face back, she cupped his cheeks in her hands to make him look at her. His eyes softened at her determined expression.
“What is it, Zel?”
“Link,” she started, then swallowed. Why was her throat suddenly so dry? “Does this mean that, you, um…want to…?”
He tipped his face forward suddenly, pressing a chaste kiss against the corner of her mouth. She squeaked.
“Yes, Zelda,” he whispered. “I want to be your boyfriend. I want to take you out on dates, buy you flowers, listen to you talk about history, and be there to tell drunk guys to fuck off. I’ve thought about it for a long time. Ever since you walked into the tutoring department to help me with my history class.”
Her face was radiating heat now. “Since then? Really? But I told you when we first met–”
“‘I don’t know what preconceived notions you have about history, but if I hear one complaint about how it doesn’t matter, you’ll need to find an alternative tutor,’” Link recited without pausing. “Boy, did you put me in my place.”
Zelda’s eyes darted away. “That was unfair of me. I’m sorry.”
“Nah, I needed it. Hockey was taking over my life anyway. I might not have the passion for that subject you do, but I wanted to improve my grades to impress you. So it was a win-win.”
“O-Oh.”
“What about you?”
“What about me?”
His eyes were teasing. “When did you start watching me so closely?”
Zelda refused to back down this time, although she was already blushing. “You forgot your notebook after a session one day, so I ran after you. I was annoyed, to be honest–I was running late for something, and I thought you must not care that much about your grades if you ran off like that. I remember it was starting to rain.” Her voice softened. “And then I found you behind the math building, kneeling next to a cat. You were checking to make sure they were okay since it was about to storm. That’s why you left in a hurry.”
Link’s eyes flickered down to her mouth, then back up to her. “I didn’t even realize you were there.”
Zelda shrugged. “I tucked your notebook into my bag and left. It felt like something I shouldn’t see for some reason. Ever since, I told myself to stop jumping to conclusions about people. I saw kindness from you. No matter how hard I pushed you, you never complained. You were always kind and gave it your best. And you liked those awful cookies I made.”
“They weren’t that bad!” he protested.
“I used salt instead of sugar,” Zelda deadpanned, and he winced.
“Well, yes, but…”
She laughed, running her fingers up through his hair. “It’s okay. That isn’t the point. The point was you were kind to me despite the fact I was a know-it-all. I felt comfortable with you. You became a safe place to be myself, which I guess is why I found myself coming here last night. That was enough.”
“I like that you’re a know-it-all,” Link murmured, nuzzling into her palm. “Hey, Z?”
“Mm?”
“Can I kiss you now? Please?”
She laughed. “I thought you’d never ask.”