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It all started thanks to an accident, one brought on by sleep deprivation and no filter.
Link had finished fighting Bellum not more than a few months ago, and currently was going around with Tetra, living his pirate dreams of exploring, raiding ships and islands, and fighting other pirates.
At the moment, he was busy sitting on a crate by the starboard side of the ship, on lookout for anything dumb enough to attack their ship. It was a fairly dull job, but he would argue that it was better than doing the dishes. Maybe they didn't thank Nico enough.
Overall, Link sat there feeling content, eyes half closed while watching a flock of seagulls soar overhead, their V-shape wobbling and shifting as they flew. He was absolutely not falling asleep. He had maybe, possibly, stayed up for a few nights now, a little too scared to sleep.
His dreams had been less than pleasant lately. Thank you, Hylia, for the trauma.
Maybe I can kill Hylia and get away with it? Tetra would approve at least. We can burn that pink dress while we're at it…
CRASH
Link jumped--no he did not screech--and took deep breaths, trying to prevent his imminent death via cardiac arrest. Turning around, he found none other than his captain, looking startled but not too worse for wear. She sat up, hair disheveled, rubbing her head, and glaring at the crow’s nest like she had just fallen out of it. Which, she had.
Of course, being a good friend, Link started cackling.
It wasn’t every day that Tetra fell from the mast of the ship. It was a sight too, with most of her hair sticking out in all directions, and the most bewildered expression on her face. So naturally, wanting to tease her, Link said the first thing that came to his tired, slightly delirious mind.
“You fall from heaven there, Captain?” He wheezed out.
Her neck could have snapped with how quickly Tetra whipped her head to look at him, mouth opening and closing as she gaped, staring like he had grown an extra head. Then, not breaking eye contact--but now glaring at him--Tetra stood up, and slowly stalked over to him.
Link noticed that her face was unusually flushed. Tetra’s arms were crossed, her face was pink, and she looked two seconds away from punching him. To be fair, she did always look like she wanted to punch him, but this time she seemed a bit more menacing than usual.
“Oh yeah?” Tetra asked, glaring at him.
Link, still caught up in the hilarity of Tetra falling cackled, “Yeah, cause, y’know, you fell from the sky?”
He wasn’t too surprised that Tetra continued to glare at him--that was her default facial expression--but Link couldn’t get over why her face was still tinged pink. Anger hadn’t ever made Tetra flush, and he could count on one hand the times that she had been embarassed.
Was it something I said?
So, pausing, Link replayed the conversation that just happened.
Oh. whoops.
Blushing slightly himself, Link stuttered out, “I didn’t mean it like that, Hylia Tetra, I was just thinkin’ you fell out of nowhere, and I was thinking before that it's nice Hylia’s left me alone for a sec, and y’know what with everything, and…yeah…”
There was an eerie quiet as Link awaited his punishment.
Tetra’s eyes narrowed for just a moment, taking in his slap-happy, tired expression, nonsensical response, and now red face. She paused, considering something. Link started sweating.
Too bad there weren't crickets in the middle of the ocean, they would have added to the silence quite nicely.
After a minute of standing there awkwardly, Tetra stood up straight, smiled viciously, and crossed her arms. She had the same look in her eye as when they fired him out of that cannon.
Lovely, I'm going to be dead before we reach Outset.
“Don’t worry, I'll have my revenge,” she promised. “Watch your back, weather boy.”
Turning around, she walked off, leaving Link to wonder what her revenge would entail.
----
Link spent the next week of his life in fear. What was he supposed to say? Sorry, I didn’t actually mean it like that, you’re a great friend--my best friend? Maybe, I don't know--and I really don’t want to get stabbed, I like my organs where they are, but it was kind of funny seeing you flustered? Yeah… that wouldn’t work at all.
Currently, he was using the Wind Waker to help guide their ship, maybe in the hopes of earning back some goodwill.
It was while Link was lost in these morose, pointless thoughts that he felt a tap on his shoulder. Startled, he spun around from where he had been staring at the ocean, finding none other than Tetra herself staring back at him. She had a pleased smile. Link was mildly terrified.
“Great view today, isn’t it?”
Link turned around, now thoroughly confused, and looked back at the ocean. The same ocean as yesterday…and the day before…and really for the past week, except when they stopped by Dragon Roost Island maybe three days ago.
Believe it or not, Link was very aware that this was a trap. He squinted at Tetra.
“I mean…sure?”
Her grin widened, and she stared him straight in the eyes.
“Not that view.”
Link looked behind him again, checking he hadn’t missed something.
What other view is there? It's just the ocean…?
Turning back, Tetra was still staring at him, face smug.
And then the implications of what she said hit him all at once.
His face reddened spectacularly, heat creeping up his neck, and his ears turning pink to match. He made some vague sputtering noise, and Tetra cackled, pointing at him and bent over laughing, absolutely revelling in her victory. Meanwhile, Link tried and failed to calm his racing heart, not entirely sure why he was so worked up.
I can’t believe that was her revenge, I thought she was going to skin me alive or put rat poison in my dinner, not-- hold on, that sounded familiar…
Link took a moment to steady himself before turning to eye Tetra suspiciously. Then, it clicked.
“Wait a minute,” he realized, his own grin spreading--his face still very red, mind you, “was that the line Niko used on the bartender the other day?”
Tetra hesitated a moment too long, and this time it was Link who burst out laughing.
He giggled, watching as Tetra’s own face started matching his in shades of color.
“Well, I still got you back!” she practically shouted while grinning triumphantly. Her flushed face, unfortunately, ruined the effect.
“Yeah, yeah, congrats, Captain.” But Link was already thinking of ways to plan his own revenge for this. Link’s own blunder had been accidental, and Tetra’s had been on purpose. Link had a feeling he could do better than a line Niko had used.
She won’t see this coming.
And so it was that Link started an eternal prank war of flirting with his captain.
---------
“Hey, Tetra,” Link said, peering over Tetra’s shoulder.
“What?” She replied curtly. She was leaning over a map and had her compass and sextant out, likely trying to figure out where they were as they explored uncharted waters. They hadn’t seen an island for a few days now, and Tetra would rather she and her crew not get lost and stranded at sea.
Link smiled innocently, not that Tetra could see it from where she was glaring at longitude lines.
“Do you have a map?” he asked.
Tetra stilled. Hand still on the map laid out very visibly in front of her, she turned slowly, glaring at Link, who was fighting to keep an innocent expression on his face. She was going to punch his lights out. The nerve of this guy--
“If you ask another stupid--”
Link interrupted her.
“‘Cause I just got lost in your eyes.”
There was a pause. Slowly, a deadpan expression overtook her face and her eye started twitching. Much to Link’s chagrin, Tetra did not turn into an embarrassed mess. Shame, he thought that one was pretty clever.
Meanwhile, Tetra was planning a homicide.
“Get out,” she growled, “You’re swabbing the deck today.”
Link turned away, sulking. He was going to have to come up with a better line.
--------
Tetra barged into Link’s room, slamming the door open.
“You must be exhausted, you’ve been running through my mind all day,” she said, with an attempt at being coy.
Link just snorted.
“Gotta try harder, pretty princess.”
Tetra flushed, and Link cackled, pointing.
“HA I win this time SUCKER!”
Tetra stalked away, throwing her hands in the air. She was too annoyed at having lost to assign Link a proper punishment for winning.
---------
It was a hot day in the middle of summer, and Link was sweating as he hoisted the sail. He had at some point ditched his green tunic in favor of a tank top. A cold breeze swept through, and he praised all the goddesses for the small respite as he yanked on the rope again. Being a sailor built excellent muscle, but that did not mean that the sail wasn’t incredibly heavy.
There were footsteps behind him, and Link glanced over his shoulder to see who had come to watch his misery. Naturally, it was none other than Tetra. After a few moments of her just standing there, watching, Link shrugged and went back to his job, pulling and straining for a good few minutes. Eventually, Tetra spoke up.
“It's a good thing I have my library card,” she said, and Link turned around to see her eyes roaming slowly down his arms.
“‘Cause I am totally checking you out.”
Link blamed the heat for how his face exploded.
“Oh, come on!”
Tetra walked away smugly. She was noticeably in a good mood the rest of the day.
And despite his embarrassment, Link may have worn his tank tops more often from then on.
---------
It was a lovely day, and Tetra knew personally that these things were too good to be true. So, when Tetra heard certain footsteps behind her, she had a good guess at what was coming.
“There must be something wrong with my eyes,” Link said as he stopped in front of her, leaning into her space. Tetra resolutely did not pull away. “I can’t take them off you!”
Forcing down a blush, Tetra grabbed his shirt, pulling him close and glaring at him.
“One of these days,” Tetra said, “I will get you.”
Link smirked, staring her in the eyes. Then, reaching up, he cupped her jaw with his hand, tilting her face closer. Their noses were brushing, and Tetra could count every one of his freckles. Her breath caught and her heart started racing.
“Tell me when you do that, won't you?”
Tetra won't lie, she almost kissed him then and there, her mind going blank for a good half a minute as she tried frantically to rein in her impulse control. Fortunately--or unfortunately, really--she quickly remembered that she had “somethingveryimportanttodo” and dropped Link like a hot coal where she was still holding his shirt, pushing him away from her.
Her face was red--again.
She could be heard screaming as she stormed off, head in her hands, annoyed at how insufferable Link was. However, if Tetra had looked back, she might have noticed that Link’s own face had bloomed in an impressive scarlet.
---------
It had been around two months since Link--now Wind--had been whisked away by a mysterious portal and met his ancient and future counterparts--his fellow heroes of courage.
It was an understatement to say he was happy to be back home. It was even better to land on an island with a familiar ship docked not far from the beach. Wind went off at a sprint--knowing the others would eventually catch up--before waving down the ship. A familiar face waved back and turned to shout something. The ship started drawing closer, and Wind was nearly jumping in excitement.
The Chain caught up with Wind just as Tetra’s crew was pulling out the gangway.
“Friend of yours?” Legend asked, and Wind just nodded--too excited to do anything else--as he ran to the ship.
“Tetra!” Wind called out, excited.
A few members of The Chain perked up at the name; Wind had mentioned her before.
“Heya, Link,” she replied, smirk on her face as she peered down at him. “Nice tunic there. Can I talk you out of it?”
From behind him, Wind thought he heard Warriors make a choking sound.
“Depends,” Wind replied, his own smirk present as he walked up the gangway towards Tetra, “on a scale of 1 to treasure sitting around, how free are you tonight?”
Wind was now fielding a few scandalized looks.
“I mean, it depends on you,” She replied, “You must be very busy with being sexy for a living.”
Tetra only had eyes for Wind, completely ignoring the jaws dropping around her. The crew was dutifully ignoring the unfortunately common occurrence. Tetra propped herself up on one arm, smirking in a way that--if you knew her--was fond.
Now standing in front of Tetra with his arms crossed and ever so slightly leaning into her space, Wind’s eyes sparkled before replying, "I dunno, I was wondering if you had an extra heart, mine was just stolen.”
Tetra hummed, eyes lidded.
“Y’know,” she said, keeping her voice low, “I’d take you to the tavern over there, but they don’t let you bring your own snacks.”
That one almost got him, and Wind has to take a moment to school his expression.
“Well,” Wind replied, “if you were a vegetable, you’d be a cute-cumber.”
There was a snort. Then Tetra flushed and scowled at Wind.
“Come on!” she raged, throwing her hands up. Wind cackled, bent over laughing.
“That’s what gets you? Seriously?!” Wind was wheezing. “Well, you owe me a drink then, oh lovely captain.”
Tetra’s flush calmed down a little.
“Don’t worry,” she muttered, “only the best moonshine for you, hero.”
She paused a minute, then, and looked at him with a real smile.
“Good to have you back, sailor,” Tetra said, punching him in the arm.
“Good to be back, Captain,” Wind replied with his own sappy smile. He crossed his arms. “Boy do I have some stories for you, you won’t believe what Hylia’s thrown at us this time--”
And just like that, the two walked off, talking animatedly and leaving the rest of the group stunned.
“Are we--” Legend cut off, still processing, “are we going to just, ignore that?”
No one replied, for various reasons. Time was reminiscing about his own early days with Malon, Sky looked the slightest bit traumatized, and Four was clearly cackling quietly to himself. Unbeknownst to the others, Vio was ranking the pick-up lines by how well the pun worked while Red was taking notes. And poor Hyrule was very confused. Considering he grew up in a cave, he sadly had little appreciation for puns and had no clue what had just happened.
“So they're definitely dating, right?” Wild asked.
There is a pause before Twilight responded with a shrug.
“I mean, they could just be really good friends.”
Six and a half pairs of eyes turned to stare at him. There was a tense moment before the fighting broke out.
“That is not friend behavior--”
“Are you crazy??”
“Surely, I misheard you--”
-----
Tetra and Wind were lying side by side in the crow's nest, squished together a little uncomfortably, but enjoying the others' presence all the same. Wind shifted, adjusting his arm to wrap around Tetra's waist. She leaned her head onto his shoulder in return, looking up at the stars.
“So,” she started, and Wind tilted his head to indicate he was listening to her. “Your friends absolutely lost it.”
Wind nodded solemnly in return.
“It was beautiful,” He agrees.
Tetra cackled in amusement.
“Bet you fifty rupees they ask about our relationship tomorrow,” she said, and Wind snorted.
“For being the heroes of courage, they're a bunch of cowards. fifty rupees says they ask the crew instead.”
“Deal,” Tetra said, snickering. She lies back and lets herself just enjoy the company.
Tetra closed her eyes and relaxed as the ship rolled through the water, dipping and weaving through the soft waves of the night. It was one of her favorite things about being on the water, the way the ship rocked and swayed. It was comforting, and to her--though only a few people knew this--it meant she was home.
“Also,” Wind muttered, eyes fixed on the stars, though Tetra couldn’t see that, “I thought of a better one.”
Tetra hummed questioningly.
“A better what?”
He smiles, looking at Tetra now.
“Instead of a cute-cumber,” Wind started, and Tetra shook her head fondly, “what about a fine-apple?”
There was a pause as Tetra considered.
“Cute-cumber was better.”
Wind huffed in fake annoyance, muttering something about not being appreciated. Smiling, Tetra grabbed his free hand and kissed his palm. She opened her eyes and looked at him, still holding his hand.
“Don't worry, you're the real cute-cumber.”
Wind rolled his eyes, but nothing could stop his own fond look. He sat there for another moment, Tetra lying there, curled up beside him with her eyes once again closed, breathing softly as she drifted off to sleep, sea salt on the breeze, and stars in the sky.
As he closed his eyes, Wind thought about how much he loved his wonderful partner.