Work Text:
It started with a smile. A cute, crookedly drawn smile on the side of Zelda’s coffee cup, to be precise.
She had been looking for a place to study that fateful Tuesday, when she came across a cafe she’d never seen before. It wasn’t that far from her college campus, sandwiched between a bookstore and an antique shop. The soft lights strung in the windows and the large chalkboard proudly boasting the day’s specials in a variety of vibrant colors drew her in.
Stepping inside, Zelda was hit with the smell of freshly ground coffee beans. Faint music played from a speaker set on the counter next to the cash register, and a few customers chatted quietly at one of the tables. The bell above the door jingled to announce her entrance as she stepped inside.
“Welcome to Secret Stone Cafe!” The bright cheery voice brought Zelda’s attention to the woman attending the register. The tall lady with long golden hair smiled at her as she waited patiently for Zelda’s order. On her black apron was a name tag that read ‘Sonia’.
“Um…hello. May I just have a…” Zelda glanced at the menu. The number of foreign drinks on it was astounding, but it intrigued her. She scanned the menu before eventually settling on, “Light Dragon Blend?”
“An excellent choice! That’s one of our fan favorites.” Sonia replied, before calling to a boy in the back, “Link! One Light Dragon Blend!”
Zelda glanced past Sonia at the boy. She recognized him from her college campus, though she’d never known he worked at a cafe. He had his long blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail to keep it out of his work, and his deep blue eyes were focused as he mixed the drink together. He looked so serene as he worked, with steady, experienced hands that made him look far more confident than she would have expected. Every movement he made seemed to draw her in, entrancing her more and more.
“Your drink will be ready in a few moments. Feel free to take a seat somewhere!” Sonia’s words snapped Zelda out of her reverie.
“Right, thank you,” Zelda said. She quickly paid for her drink and sat down at a secluded table in the corner, opening her laptop to study.
While she worked, she saw out of the corner of her eye that someone had placed down her drink in a plastic cup. She glanced up to see Link walking back around the counter, having delivered her coffee. She felt a tingling in her stomach at the idea of Link having handed her the coffee. Of him personally delivering it just for her.
She shook her head, shaking away the feeling as she reached for the cup and looked at the drink in fascination. It was a milky white drink, swirling with what looked to be caramel and light blue boba. It wasn’t the liquid that caught her eye though. It was the words written on the cup in a slightly sloppy script: “To Zelda” and next to it was a little drawing of a heart and a smiley face.
Zelda felt her face heat up as she quickly looked around. It was just a coincidence that Link gave her the cup. It was just a coincidence there was a heart on it right next to her name. Surely that happened with everyone. But as she looked at the other patrons around her, she didn’t spot a single drawing on their cups.
She glanced back at the counter where Link was. He was making another drink, nothing out of the ordinary. She was thinking too far into this. The drawing wasn’t for her. He must have just had free time. She tried to shake the thought of him purposefully drawing it out of her mind.
It was easy enough until the next day, when she returned to the cafe and there was another cute drawing on her cup, a flower.
And then the next day and the one after that and the one after that until she couldn’t ignore it anymore. “Excuse me…” Zelda said softly as she approached the counter, catching Link’s attention, “You…you drew this, yes?”
“Oh…y-yes.” Link replied. He seemed so nervous, it made Zelda feel more comfortable. “I’m sorry if it…bothered you.”
“Oh no, I just wanted to thank you. I really liked it.”
“R-Really?”
“Yes, really.” A brief silence passed between the two of them before Zelda asked, “Why did you…draw them?”
Link mumbled, “I…well, I think you’re pretty. And you deserve it.” He blushed as he looked away, seemingly realizing how forward it sounded.
“Oh…I-” Zelda felt her face heat up. Link really did feel the same? She blurted out, “Can I have your number?” before she could even process what she was saying.
Link’s head whipped toward her, “What?”
“I’m sorry-that was silly, I-”
“Here!” Link interrupted her as he thrust an empty cup into her hands. On it, he’d written his number in that messy scrawl she’d gotten so familiar with.
Zelda chuckled as she looked down at the number in her hands, “A cup?”
Link fidgeted with his fingers in a flustered manner as he replied, “It’s just…what I usually use. For you, I mean. Not for writing my phone number.”
Zelda smiled as she heard his explanation. She’d never heard someone sound so practical and so silly at the same time. She supposed that’s what she liked about him. She felt her cheeks warming up again and she quickly pressed forward, “Well then, you should have mine. It’s only fair.”
She picked up the pen, looking for something to write on- before Link held out his hand. She stared at it for a beat. What was he doing? She could just as easily write on a cup like he did. Still, she quickly wrote down her phone number on it. “There. Now we can keep in touch. Beyond the cafe.”
Link blushed as he looked at the numbers on his hand like they held the secrets to the world. He nervously said, “Thank you…Zelda. I’ll-I’ll see you tomorrow?”
Zelda smiled as she replied, “See you then.”