Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Two people were in an expansive field, clambering their way to a castle covered in an odd substance. It had black clouds surrounding it, one of the two members as wounded as he could be. The wounded man had his sword out, running in front of the girl. The girl was definitely under twenty, looking so young and so caring. She opened her mouth as she saw a large group of pig-like creatures. “Link, look out!”

Zelda awoke hurriedly, clearly a nightmare.

“Morning, sleepyhead.”

She opened her eyes to see Link leaning over her, analyzing with worry every inch of her to make sure she was ok. Her cheeks turned a twinge of pink, his mouth slightly open. The boy closed it quite quickly, only to reopen it again.

“So, how’d you sleep?”

“I slept well, Link. Mostly. Either way, I wasn’t expecting you to be here already!”

She had invited him over to come today to hang out a while. It had been a bit since they’d met up, considering they’d been good friends since 9th grade.

“Me neither, but I thought it’d be better for me to bring you a little surprise!”

“A surprise? What is it?”

“Well you’ll have to get up first, Princess,” he said in an almost childish voice. He was trying to get on her nerves, and he was succeeding. “Alright, alright, Link. I’ll get up,” she said, struggling to keep her eyes open. “I’ll be in the living room waiting for you to change. Don’t worry about putting on anything too nice, got it?” He smirked. Zelda now took a good look at what Link was wearing. His clothes weren’t anything too complex, just a hoodie shirt and the comfiest long pants he owned. It was truthfully quite comfortable to see one of her closest friends in such a casual outfit. She didn’t catch his shoes before he left, but she could swear he was wearing his favorite Crocs N’ Socks combo, mostly due to the squelching when he walked. He closed the door behind him.

Zelda could hear U2 blasting from a record player linked to a speaker set she had. That was only one of the many things she appreciated about him–his impeccable music taste. She went to her wardrobe and picked out her most comfortable but appropriate clothes. “I’ll be with you in a minute, Link.”

He heard her words and thus took out some nice waffles he’d made from a carrying bag he’d brought, almost burning his hands before placing it on a table in Zelda’s kitchen. The U2 song had ended and led into one of her favorites, an Aerosmith song from a movie.

As she left her room, she was met by the nice smell of Link’s waffles. “Mmmm, I see you brought waffles today!”

“I knew you’d like it. I did bring extra ingredients just in case you want more after you’re finished.”

She made it to her living room, where he was able to see her comfy outfit, a baggy blue shirt and some frog-themed pants. “So, fleece?,” he said while pointing at her pants. “Yep. You do have quite a keen eye,” she smiled. She made her way to the small kitchen, sitting on the one free stool and lightly elbowing Link as she sat next to him.

The song’s chorus was about to come up and Zelda, excitedly, stood up and sang along.

“I don’t wanna close my eyes

I don’t wanna fall asleep,

cause I’d miss you babe,

and I don’t want to miss a thing…”

Link could only smile at seeing her sing the song so passionately (and in tune too!). He expressed light concern at her getting jumpy this early. “You should sit down and eat your breakfast before running around and getting too tired. You did just wake up.”

“Yeah, you have a point there.” She sat next to him again. He seems to already have finished his portion of food. “Hey, Z, I’m going to turn down the music. It is a tad loud, and I don’t want to have to talk over it.” Zelda nodded in agreement. He stood up and turned the speakers down, then walked back to her and sat down again.

“Hey, how did it give you time to fix your hair?” He asked. “You really weren’t in there that long.” He tilted his head slightly to enunciate his interest in obtaining an answer. “I really just ran my hand through it a bit to get it in place. I don’t have plans of going out today anyways.” She smiled at him before going back to face her food. Link leaned back as if there were a back rest. There wasn’t. He almost fell off his chair backwards. He stumbled a bit before regaining his (and the chair’s) balance.

“I’m OK! I’m OK! Barely, but I’m OK.”

“Jesus Christ, Link! You could’ve gotten hurt.”

“But you see, I did not.” He smiled at her.

“I see. I see, Link.” She smirked back to him. “Although, I am curious:” she said, stuffing a bit of waffle into her mouth. Zelda swallowed after chewing a bit and then continued. “Why did you ask me about my hair anyways?”

“I thought it looked nice.”

She was quite noticeably flustered, a tinge of pink growing in her cheeks. “I’m glad you like it. Thanks,” she continued awkwardly.

“Hey, when you finish that, wanna play some Team Sonic Racing?”

“And beat you for the third time in a row?” She smirked, continuing: “Why wouldn’t I want to?”

They both shared a short laugh, interrupted by Zelda taking her last bite of waffle. She still chuckled while chewing, which made Link laugh even more.

“It had really been a while since we were able to hang out together.”

“It really has been so long, I’ve been starting to miss you, Link!”

His ears started glowing pink. “That’s quite nice to hear. I did miss you too.”

“Well I’m done, let’s go race to see if you can finally beat me after my unbroken streak!”

“Bet, Zelda. Bet.”

Chapter Text

Later that afternoon, after many (and I mean many) consecutive rounds of Team Sonic Racing, Zelda suggested they watch a movie. Link, being the nerd he is, suggested Lord of the Rings. She protested because of its length, suggesting to watch Mean Girls. He simply responded: “it’s not bad as long as you choose the old one.” However, it wasn’t available on Zelda’s television, leading the two to compromise on Home Alone. December had just begun so it was fitting. Surprisingly it hadn’t snowed yet, so there wasn’t much satisfaction in turning on a fireplace or getting the hot cocoa out… yet.

As they sat on the couch, Link was visibly sweating, his body tense, even if he wasn’t doing anything. What is he thinking about? He’s not usually this concentrated on movies. This piqued Zelda’s curiosity, who as she looked at him, she asked: “You seem oddly… controlled.” He looked at her, smirked, and let his body relax and sink into the couch before straightening his back. “I’ve been thinking about questions and answers a lot . I can’t get the music studies out of my head and I really can’t unhear the jazz lick.”

“Are the questions all about your music studies?”

He slumped further into the couch and sighed. “I wish.” He groaned in what seemed like anger. “I have questions about everything and I only have answers to the musical ones.” Zelda had never seen him so tense before, which was surprising, especially considering how much their high school classmates picked on him. “Maybe I could answer some of those questions for you.” She smiled. He smiled back. “That’d be nice.” He calmed down noticeably enough for her to prompt him to ask. “Well, ask away!”

Link’s ears started to redden, with his eyes darting across the room. He had many questions. They were so large in number that he didn’t know which ones to ask. He thought for a second, until he found his first question. “Well, Zelda, I was thinking about this recently… There are so many people in this world, each of them with so wildly different lives…” He went quiet for a moment. “I don’t know, I guess I want to know what goes on in people’s minds.”

Zelda seemed surprised by the question. She had been reading a lot of books on psychology recently, so she had just the answer for Link's question. “That’s a very interesting question! We can’t know for sure what’s going on in people’s minds. That’s the beauty of individualism. Everyone expresses themselves in different ways, and so we can feel emotions differently.”

Link hummed, amused by Zelda's professional sounding answer. “Ok then, I have an even more important question.” Link smirked. “Why is the sky blue?”

Link chuckled, knowing Zelda would be angry at him. However he had never really looked for an answer to it and thought she could answer his question. On the other hand, Zelda couldn’t believe what she had just heard from his mouth. “Link, you’re in college!” She shouted almost angrily, Link trying to contain his laugh. “How the hell do you not know this?!” Link finally cracked and started to laugh at the stupidity of his question, while Zelda looked at him unamused. She sighed and proceeded to look it up on her phone. She did not want to admit she had forgotten the answer to his question. “It’s because of the scattering of light,” she remarked. “Blue light particles are scattered more because they travel in shorter, smaller waves than other colors. You happy now?”

“Ooh, I see now. Pretty cool!” He seemed like a little kid taking science class. Zelda appreciated that, though. She just didn’t want to admit it. “Z, to be honest, I know that you’re studying biology, so I do want to learn more about bacteria.”

“Sure, go ahead!” Link smiled. “Ok, hear me out on this: can bacteria survive in space?” He was staring at her with anticipation and excitement. Zelda chuckled, letting her inner nerd out to answer his question. “Yes, bacteria can survive in space, but only a select few can. These are called extremophiles. These bacteria can survive in boiling areas. They also are the creators of the vibrant colors you see in places like the waters of Yellowstone here in the States, or Geysir in Iceland.” Zelda was always excited to rant about something that interested her. You could see a spark in her eyes as she talked about many things, especially her studies in both biology and engineering. Link always liked to see her get excited, as it created a sort of sense of pride within him.

After Zelda finished this segment of her rant, Link continued with follow-up questions. “I have another question to follow my last one: what are the most resistant bacteria?” He knew she wouldn’t stop talking about it for another hour, and he loved every second of it. “The most resistant bacteria is deinococcus radiodurans . It can survive almost anything, plus it’s the most resistant to radiation,” Zelda remarked. “Interestingly enough, most bacteria are quite resistant to radiation.” Link’s mouth dropped in surprise. “Wait really? That’s actually super interesting!”

“It really is! I actually learnt that in one of my most recent experiments at the university lab.” 

Now that caught Links attention. “That sounds really interesting! I’d like to hear more of that!” He could hear the quiet celebration from Zelda. This was her moment to rant. “I exposed the E. Coli bacterium to simple radiation. The machine I used was a mammography machine, which to be fair, has a low radiation capacity. Nevertheless, I expected it to kill at least some of the colonies in the petri dish, but all of the colonies survived! How cool is that?”

Link had to hold the urge to continue with the lyrics from a Weezer song. Anyways, his feelings of pride grew tenfold. He couldn’t believe how smart his best friend was. He’d always admired her intelligence, but the way she was practically an expert on the topic left him speechless. They shared a moment of silence after Zelda’s rant. You could see Zelda growing more embarrassed about it. “S–sorry Link, I–I tend to get excited when I’m asked about stuff I love.” She stuttered while speaking. “I just want everyone to know how cool bacteria are, and especially how resilient they can be, even in the toughest of situations.” As she mentioned that, her thoughts came back to her nightmares.

If only, she thought. If only she could be as resilient as the bacteria she loved. 

Link noticed her shift in emotions, which led him to decide to ask her what was going on. “Well, Zel, going back to our first question. I kept thinking about it.” He mentioned, with a small smile trailing across his face. “What’s been going on in your mind recently?”

Zelda paused, the thought of her nightmares running through her head. She thought of telling Link about them, finally confiding in her closest friend. She decided now was not the time. “Oh, nothing much,” she said. “Just a bit of stress from college, that’s probably why I’m jumpy, but hey. You’re here.” She smiled, causing Link to also smile in return. “You being here is quite comforting to me, Link.” She told him softly, her pupils dilating as she stared into his eyes.

Link started to get nervous as he stared at Zelda’s green eyes. He always thought they were beautiful, considering them emeralds, shining brightly. He just didn’t tell her. “Alright, I have one final question.” Zelda recognized his playful tone of voice and gave him a side eye. He’s going to say something stupid , she thought. Her thoughts were correct. “So, do you think the moon landing is fake?”

Zelda facepalmed and visibly cringed. “Link, you can’t be serious. Please.”

After how long Link and Zelda asked each other’s ears off about many random things, she was tired. Link took notice and simply said to her: “Hey, if you want to go to sleep you can pause the movie and I can leave.”

“I’m determined to finish it.” She yawned, slowly falling into sleep. Once she finally fell asleep Link smiled at the sight of her resting. He went to her room and picked out her blanket, slowly draping it over her. All he did was lock the door and sit next to her, to finish the movie. Even though they’d asked many questions to each other, they were still involved in the movie during that, and Link wanted to see the ending.

He looked at a sleeping Zelda again, and smiled. He decided to give her a hug, knowing she wouldn’t realize. He simultaneously wished she would and that she wouldn’t.

The movie ended, and Link simply turned the television off. He laid his head back, and saw it was snowing outside. He smiled to himself in the silence, and said one word: “Goodnight.” He spoke quite loudly, now wishing she heard him. No reply. Now Link closed his eyes.

Chapter Text

Only two days had passed since that first snow, and it had been awkward. However, Link was sitting on the piano, at his apartment, frustrated. He had an assignment due next week, which involved a full song with piano arrangement and lyrics. “Let’s see here. “I can try a moving bassline and a static right hand, maybe in A.”

He fiddled around with the octaves on the piano until he found the sound he wanted. “There we go! It was actually quite simple. Just a simple A and C# with a moving bassline, and the C# moving down to C to accommodate for the F in the bass.” He played around with the rhythm and found a nice melody. “Ascending through the third, fifth, and sixth is actually a great sound.” As he continued working on the song, he heard the door open.

“What’s up Link? Working on another song of yours?” It was Sidon, his roommate. He was a calm guy, a fan of sports but very much unlike other people on the teams. He wasn’t rude like most of the others. Luckily. He’d been a great roommate to Link so far. “You’d be wrong, because this time it’s for the teacher. I need a full song by next week and I’m kinda stuck on the lyrics side of things.”

“So it’s still a song you have to write?”

“Yeah.” Sidon chuckled. “Why don’t you talk to your girlfriend for inspiration?” Link blushed very harshly in response to Sidon's teasing tone. Standing up, slowly turning to face Sidon, he menacingly said a single sentence. “I don’t have a girlfriend.” After a short pause, Sidon laughed, with Link joining in moments later. “I know you don’t have one, but seriously, it’s so obvious you like her. What I don’t know is how she hasn’t noticed.” Link sighed.

“At least let me get back to writing this song.”

“Sure thing, bud. I will say though, Zelda can be a great person to get inspiration from. She’s helped sis more than you’d think.” He smiled at Link, and left him alone.

He, sitting on the piano, took out his phone and texted Zelda.

< hey z hows stuff goin

< i need a bit of help

> Oh, hey Link! everything’s good here

> What do you need help with?

< so i need to write a song for an assignment

< and i have the music down

< but i need lyrics and havno idea where to start with tyhem

< theyre not flowing like the yusualjy do

> Hm…

> What’s the vibe the music has right now?

< rn it has anix of that coldplay piano and radiohead videotape vibe

< *a mix

> Ah, I see

> A good starting point would be like a question

> Or a setup for one

< so like a love song or smth

< ?

> Kinda

< doesnt sound bad

< thanks z!

> No problem, Link!

> Let me know how it goes

> :3

< HAHAHHHAAJAHS

< thats actually very funny

< :3

> LOL

> Anyways Link, go finish your song!

< alright, see ya

< o7

After that conversation, Link heard a voice in the back of his head. If I asked you to stay the night, what would you say? He stopped himself because he didn’t want to write about anything too personal to him. The few times he had, the songs had become burdens to him. However, he’d entertained the thought long enough that now he couldn’t get it out of his head.

He reluctantly began to write. The song suddenly grew into an entire two verses, seemingly out of nowhere. “And if I said I’d miss you, and all your light, would it change your mind?” He began to sing, and the next words simply flowed out of his head into the vibrating air.

“What if I changed the bassline to ascend upwards here? Four to flat six to flat 7? Let me try that.” His modifications to the song continued, and the song had grown into a full 5 minute epic. He picked up his phone to tell Zelda about it.

< so its been less than an hour

> …

> Link, what did you do now?

< the song is kinda

< a 5 minute prog rock like epic

< so oops i guess

> I see.

> I’m excited to hear it though!

> what’s it about?

< its kind of a love song but not really

> Of course you wrote that :P

< fair enough

< anyways im gonna record the song

< i am a tad congested so mind my voice

Here’s the audio file, you can hear him sing the song and play the piano!

> Wow Link

> That’s actually really pretty!

> I like the vibe and I can sense the inspirations

> Little bit of Beatles in there maybe?

< im surprised you caught that

< lucy in the sky has a fun progression which i accidentally used so i threw in a nice callback to it

> That’s very nice!

> You’re good at this yk

> You should release some of that stuff

< im actually working on forming a band

< saria already agreed to do bass

> Oh really?

> She is good at it to be fair

< im trying to see if hestu joins on percussion

< if he joins then mekar might also join in on guitar which is very useful

< im still trying to find another guitarist and time to practice lol

> Maybe you should ask Robbie

> He’s in engineering with me but he’s a guitarist

> I’ve seen him walking through the halls with a guitar

> Sometimes he’s next to Jerrin playing her songs

> I’ll see what I can do though

< thats actually super helpful

< so thanks!

Link had finished writing his song. Sidon walked in curiously. “Hey Link, whatcha up to?” His trademark smile caught Link off guard. “I’m working on memorizing the song now. I finished surprisingly quickly.”

“How long is it?”

“5 minutes. So uh, oops I guess?” Sidon laughed. “I’ll leave you alone, buddy. Keep going!” Link began to ingrain the song into his memory, and as the sun began to set, after countless hours practicing, he stopped. He was hungry. He simply went to the kitchen, took out some bakery bread and slapped some butter onto it. He didn’t even toast it.

This was one of Link’s biggest gripes with his local society—there was almost no fresh bread anywhere. He was against this quite strongly, so he always bought bread at a local bakery. He actually went so often that the clerk just took out the usual amount of bread Link bought the moment he entered. He nibbled the bread quickly, considering his consumption a success.

To finally end his day, Link took a shower, put on some nice pajamas and jumped to his top bunk.

Chapter Text

Link was stressed. He couldn’t leave his apartment room at all. The reason was learnt when he put on the news earlier today. He heard a fear-inducing story.

“Dangerous criminal Ganondorf has escaped from prison. The entire Cambridge area has been placed under lockdown, and people are discouraged to move about.”

Sidon had been next to Link for the news, and was trying to keep cool. “Hey, Link, if your worry is Zelda, she’ll be fine. You know how Rhoam is about her.” These words, although slightly harsh, were comforting to hear. Her father was quite protective of his daughter, and would easily give up his entire fortune just to protect her from harm. Plus, Link trusted the man with his life. He was quite a respectable fellow, even if he pressured his daughter quite a bit. He never had ill will, but he was sometimes misguided. Link decided to message Zelda to make sure all was well.

< hey z

< hows it goin after the lockwodn

< *lockdown

> Surprisingly all ok

> Dad called and said he was going to send an escort to take me home

> Which is nice of him I guess

> Either way I still feel like this whole escape thing is being overblown

< zelda.

< you dont think the government is that competent do you

< :,)

> I mean, we had this situation twice last year

> They got them back in within a few hours

< fair enough

< :3

> I made a big mistake sending you the colon three face once

> Now you won’t stop using it

< yeah it was definitely an error on your part

< anyways hows it goin over there

< Everything’s fine, surprisingly

< I’m just reading some psychology books

< It’s fun

< Definitely not going to study that though

< I already have enough on my plate

> i really dont know how you survive studying TWO majors at the same time

> you have to be tired to death

> I most definitely am tired

> Oh, the escort car seems to be here

> I’ll talk later, see you in a bit!

< cya z

< :3

> …

> Big mistake indeed

After the interesting interaction and the discovery of Link’s newfound love for the colon three face, Sidon offered Link a chance to get the chaos out of his mind, inviting him to some Street Fighter, which he accepted.

As Zelda made her way out of her apartment building, she saw a black car covered in dark windows. It was a secure transport vehicle, with one-way glass and bulletproof windows. She sighed and thought: Of course he paid for an excessively secure car. This was not unusual for her father.

She got into the car, expecting to see just some paid driver. However, she was quite surprised to see who was actually driving her to her dad. It was Purah, a close friend of Zelda’s and a trusted advisor to her father.

“Glad to see you’re doing great, Zeldy!” She enthusiastically smiled at Zelda. Zelda couldn’t help but smile back. “I wouldn’t say great. I’ve, uh, had problems sleeping recently.” Purah turned back to face Zelda. “What’s it been? Nightmares?” She only responded with a nod. Purah turned back to the front and set off. “Not the first time. Let’s go over our usual protocol for these. What do you think’s been causing them?”

“I honestly can’t tell. It could be so many different things, I can’t come up with a full answer.” She sighed. “What’s coming up in them though?”

“Well, a lot of things. However it has a recurring segment.” Zelda saw Purah’s reflection in the mirror and noticed her usual head tilt, the one she used when she was going to ask an either complex or very personal question. “And what may that be?” Zelda sighed again. She reluctantly answered.

“There’s two people in a big field, and there’s a, uh, castle in the back. I think. The castle is surrounded by these weird… glowing, magenta and black clouds, with smudges of orange. One of the two people in the field is a young woman, and the other person is a man that seems around the same age.”

“That’s interesting. Is that all?”

“No, not at all.” Zelda started sweating. “The man is very clearly injured, bleeding out. The woman calls to him as he rushes a large group of, uh, pig-beings. I don’t know how to describe them, they’re like red and blue colored bipedal pig creatures, a-about a meter tall. Oh, also the man is shorter than the woman.”

“What does that have to do with the nightmares?”

“It doesn’t. However, it reminds me a bit of Link.”

“Is this another one of your height jokes about him?”

“ Maybe ,” Zelda said within a chuckle. Purah laughed. “Anyways, that’s a very interesting nightmare sequence. It seems so… random.” Zelda sighed and responded. “Yes, it is quite random.”

“Hey Zelda, have you considered the source to be relating to him?” Zelda looked menacingly into the mirror, trying to see Purah’s face from the back of the car. “Please. We’ve known each other long enough. Do you really think he’d cause them now?” She sighed. “Well, Zeldy, it’s definitely possible. Think about it.” Zelda took Purah’s words to heart.

She thought back to just three days ago. The way she and Link exchanged questions like it was nothing. The way she’d smile uncontrollably. The way her pupils dilated. What was she actually feeling? What was Link, and Link specifically, doing to her? She snapped back to reality and placed her right hand on her chest. Her heart rate was accelerating, her breath rate was intensifying.

She tried to calm down with deep breaths, but her attempts were futile. What caused her this sudden anxiety? What caused this sudden jump in her? The thoughts kept ramming into her head, almost as if they were bullets shot into her chest. Why did it happen at the thought of Link? He’d been a great friend for so long, and he’d thought of him before. However, this had never happened.

The harshness of the pain from the fast heart rate kept growing, until she took out her phone and saw she had two missed messages from Link.

> if you feel stressed or need anything just tell me

> im willing to break the curfew lol

She smiled, realizing it wasn’t Link—it was the lack of him. Zelda had realized one very important detail about what she was feeling. She was now, certainly, definitively, and 100% in love with him.

Huh.

Her best friend for years. Only now, a year after they’d graduated from high school, four years after they’d initially met, only after so long Zelda had fallen for him. Through this realization, she was finally able to control her heart rate. One question still remained unanswered—what were these nightmares about? The answer would still not come, as Purah had taken notice of Zelda’s sudden panic attack. “Hey, Zeldy, are you good back there? Don’t want you stressing out over anything right now.”

“I think.”

“Don’t worry, You’re safe. Everything’s okay.”

“You promise?”

“I promise.”

Chapter Text

A few weeks had already passed since the lockdown on the university campus area had been placed, Zelda was still at her father’s place. December had advanced so far that classes were fully suspended. However, Rhoam had attempted his best to accommodate her in a way she wouldn’t feel sad. The holidays were approaching, and Rhoam settled on a Christmas dinner with Zelda. He offered to invite friends of hers but she strangely declined.

She wanted to know one thing—her father’s opinion on Link. She and Link have been close friends long enough for romantic feelings to have developed already. The issue? It’s also been long enough for those feelings to have dissipated. Even through Zelda’s concerns, it was indeed quite nice to sit down next to her father and have a nice dinner on her favorite holiday.

Christmas Eve had arrived. The day of the dinner. Zelda was already awake by 7 AM. She’d been reading psychology books on her phone all night, trying desperately to find the source of her nightmares, trying to get rid of them. They’d become even more frequent during this long stay at her father’s house. To say she was awake was an overstatement.

She groggily made her way to the kitchen, where she made herself an excessively strong cup of coffee. Rhoam came up to her in the midst of the coffee-making, and greeted her. “Good morning, my dear.”

“Good morning, father,” Zelda responded. “I can tell you barely slept last night, especially since you’re making yourself what seems to be a very strong coffee at this time.”

“Yes, I had a… quite strange night.” Rhoam laughed. “Don’t worry, my daughter. You’re not the only one. I’ve had nightmares recently, and have had to sneak off into the cathedral at night. It’s hard to roam the streets of Boston incognito, but I’ve somehow managed to do it.” He softly patted Zelda’s back, and continued. “I will add, I am very surprised you said no to my offer of bringing a few of your friends here. It could’ve been a single person! How would you not want to spend another Christmas with Link?”

Zelda blushed. “I would want to, but this year I preferred to choose a Christmas with just us two.” Rhoam smiled. “I respect your choices though. You are an adult now anyways.” They both laughed. “I’m still not fully an adult. I still can’t drink coquito .” Rhoam looked at her. “How many times has he already joked he’d make it?” 

“Surprisingly none yet. Not like he can drink it either.” She chuckled as she took the mug of coffee into her hand. “Actually, father, you might laugh at this, but I’ve also been escaping to a parish at night.” Rhoam looked at her for a moment in silence, before shouting at full volume. “That’s my daughter!” Zelda looked back at him confused. “You’re not worried I’m escaping at night instead of sleeping?”

Her father laughed. “Of course not. You’re actually leaving your apartment to go someplace. Now, if I may ask: where do you go?” Zelda took a sip of her coffee and responded without hesitation. “I sneak off to St. Paul’s to find solace. Once or twice a week though.” Rhoam wiped his eye as if he were removing a teardrop. “I wouldn’t have protested if you snuck out to party, but that doesn’t sound too much like you. You like silence and lack of noise.”

The daughter smiled at her father, putting the mug on a nearby table before continuing her earlier statement. “Apparently, Link also escapes to the same place, but on a different day of the week to me.”

“That’s a fun fact. I wonder how you know this.” Zelda almost spit out her coffee, but swallowing it instead. “He tells me a lot of things. I somehow retain most of the finer details.” Her father smirked at her and changed the topic. “By the way, you don’t have to say father every time you address me. Feel free to just say dad. After all, your mom would’ve preferred it over the formalities.”

“You have a point, especially considering it’s just us two. Thanks for that, dad.” Rhoam smiled once more. “So, what do you want for breakfast today? Pancakes? Some toast? Feel free to tell me. I’ll make it!”

Nearing the end of the dinner, Rhoam addressed his daughter again. “Well, Zelda, I’m glad you stayed until now, even though the lockdown was lifted earlier.” He smiled. “A Christmas miracle, if I may,” he continued. “It’s been a great time with you, father.” Rhoam looked her in the eyes, almost menacingly, before laughing. “Old habits die hard, huh?” Zelda joined in the laughter. “I guess they do.”

“It’s been a great time here, but I should go back home now. My boyfriend is waiting for me.” Rhoam looked at her. “You have a boyfriend?” Zelda now realizes the slip up, before admitting. “Honestly, I wish.” Rhoam began to question her. “Now hold on here, there’s only four people you let go in your apartment–and I’m one. The others are Mipha, Purah, and… Link?” Zelda gulps. “It’s him, isn’t he?”

“Yes, dad, it’s him.” He lets out a very hearty laugh. “I was told a secret some time ago, and while I know I shouldn’t tell, it is quite appropriate to divulge right now.” Zelda began to blush.. “It’s still a secret, dad!” He sighed. “It’s better for you both if I tell you this story. One time that Link was here, he actually told me something quite funny.”

“And what was it?”

“He had told me that he was quite in love with you. He simply wasn’t sure when to say it.” Zelda’s face and ears turn a bright pink. “How long ago was that?”

“Two years.” Two years , Zelda repeated in her mind. He’s loved me for two years and I hadn’t noticed. I’m sure he’s waited, because he still acts like a careless child around me. He doesn’t let any of his responsibilities get in way of the way he talks with me. Maybe I should just tell him next time…

“I’m sure he’s been patient enough to wait. He’s a very smart kid but sometimes he’s too quiet and stoic. You almost never know what he’s feeling! All I’ll say is, don’t waste your opportunity. If you feel your wait has been long, imagine what his has been like.”

She hugged her father. “I love you, dad.”

“More than Link?” He said as they both laughed. Zelda controlled her laugh to simply say: “Know your limits,” before continuing to laugh.

“Also Zelda, I have some simple words of advice. Most of these things you shouldn’t let linger.”

“You’re right. However, I’ll stay here a few more nights. I’ll head back after Christmas, when traffic goes down.”

“I see. No issue then, just try to get some sleep. Maybe if I find you awake tonight I could take you to the cathedral along with me?”

“Sounds like a plan!”

Chapter Text

Zelda was sleeping peacefully in the inner side of her bed. Until she wasn’t. Her beauty rest was interrupted by a familiar voice. “Morning, Z!” She opened her eyes and stretched, now seeing the familiar voice’s attached face. “You’ve gotta be kidding me, Link. Why the Santa beard?” He simply laughed in his best impression of the Coca-Cola man. “It’s Christmas Day! You know I’ve wanted to do this stupid little thing for a while now.” They both laughed.

“But in all seriousness,” Link began to say as he took off the fake beard, “I did want to wake you up with something special.” Zelda got up to sit on the bed, then smiled at him. “I wake up every day with something special.” Link smiled. “Plus, where’d you even get that beard?”

“Rhoam.” Zelda facepalmed. “Of course you did. He’s even more of a prankster than you, somehow. Especially now.” Link chuckled. “I already made breakfast. Waffles!” She stood up and hugged him. He hugged back with a slightly tighter grip than hers.

“Ow!” Zelda let go of him for a moment after hearing his cry of pain. “Link, is the prosthetic arm giving you problems again?” He sighed. “Yeah. It’s annoying. Every once in a while it seems to act up. At least the arm didn’t affect my ability to play music. That would’ve been worse than death.”

“Don’t say that! “ Zelda said angrily. “It’s better you’re alive, especially now that you’re my husband.” He smiled, then sighed. She continued. “This arm of yours always seems to act up near the anniversary of the incident.”

“It’s now a reminder of it,” he said as tears began to well up in his eyes. “I want to forget.”

“We both do, Link. I assure you.”

“At least we made it,” he said. Out of nowhere, she pecked Link on his cheek with a kiss. He smiled. They went to their kitchen, where Link had already laid out two plates of waffles. “Fun fact Zelda, today I made extra! So come on and stop waffling about.” Zelda stopped walking.

Silence.

“I’m going to throw you out the window, Link.”

“Don’t defenestrate me yet. There’s a small window for that in a bit.”

“At least you’re short enough you’ll fit.” He cackled at the joke, but Zelda kept a straight face. Link realized. “Oh, shit, you’re not kidding.” Zelda cracked and laughed. “Of course I am. You may be smaller but you’re still stronger.”

“At least in heart.”

“Nope, definitely physically stronger.” Link arrived at the kitchen, Zelda walking next to him. “And yet I act more like a housewife than you do.” Zelda sighed. “That’s because you’re the better cook.”

“I’m shook.”

“Link, please, for goodness’ sake, stop with the puns.” He smirked. “Alright, fine. Fine.” They both chuckled. “Now get your 5-foot-2-height ass in that chair.”

“I can’t with your snide remarks about my height.” Zelda looked him in the eye. “You’re my short guy. I can joke about it.” Link had half a waffle in his mouth. He turned to Zelda, waffle hanging out his mouth. “Touché.”

Once they both finished their waffles, Link put on some music. He held his hand out to Zelda. “May I have this dance?” She sighed, then smiled. “Of course, my dear.” The moment Zelda took his hand, Link locked lips with her. After they released, Zelda lightly fisted Link’s shoulder. “Sneaky bastard.” They both laughed and continued the dance.

Their day continued on.

Chapter Text

Zelda was relaxing in her apartment, drinking some coffee. She was waiting for Link’s phone call. However, her patience was dwindling. What could be taking him so long? She wondered.

Today was the first time in a few months that the two were going to their favorite café. This place held emotional significance to them. A few years prior, when they were still in 9th grade, Zelda and Link accidentally encountered each other in the café. They studied in the same school and were even in the same group, but hadn’t talked much.

“What are you doing here?”

“I could say the same thing for you, uh, Link? I think that was your name.”

“Yep. Zelda, right?”

After exchanging pleasantries, they walked over to a table and sat to talk, mostly due to the fact they didn’t have much better to do. They soon found out they actually had quite a few interests in common. Both were extremely nerdy, loving Sonic and music. The pair of new friends ended up staying in the café for longer than intended, but still thought they had more to discuss. Thus, they exchanged phone numbers. Ever since that moment, these two became inseparable.

They had a few classes together, but they both preferred to pay attention to it, leaving them with only an hour at lunch to interact. After convincing both of their parents, they decided to meet up monthly at the café, so they could laugh about the drama that happened in their classes and discuss their favorite games’ lore.

This tradition persisted through the start of college. Even now that they had cars and managed their own free time, even as they met up more frequently and spent most of their time in each other's apartments, both Link and Zelda still went to the café monthly. Now, after the lockdown was lifted, they decided it would be fun to meet up in their favorite cafe again to relax and spend some time outside.

That is, if Link calls on time. He’d easily distracted by things he does. He tends to be responsible about his actions, but he is sometimes clumsy and distracted, forgetting most things, sometimes seeming as if he forgets especially when it’s of great importance to him.

So Zelda waited. And waited

No answer.

As Zelda continued to wait for Link’s call, she thought back to one of her favorite antics of his. One time, Link had lost his favorite hairband. He called her frantically, saying he’d looked all over his place, made a huge mess, and even searched in Sidon’s godforsaken room. After hours of searching with Zelda on call, he had completely lost hope of ever finding it again.

While Link fell into a state of silent despair, Zelda calmly asked: “Have you checked in your pockets?” Link didn’t respond. There was only an almost perfect silence, telling her the answer immediately. Zelda sighed. “It’s in there, isn’t it.”

More silence.

“I found it. Thanks, Z.” He was definitely about to die from the embarrassment.

Zelda laughed to herself while she thought about that day. She wondered what kind of situation Link had gotten himself into now.

Link was in the middle of fixing up his most recent piece. He was really focused on it, perfecting every note and lyric. Even if it was meant to be turned in as a college project, he seemed to have a somewhat sentimental attachment to the piece.

“It’s finally done!” Link shouted, while stretching his arms. He had been sitting in what was definitely an uncomfortable and unhealthy position, making his body (and his back) all sore. Sidon walked into Link’s music room, eating his favorite fish flakes. “Hey Link, you still working on that project of yours?” Link walked up groggily, insanely tired. “Yes.” He sighed. Sidon looked back at him, saying: “I can tell you didn’t sleep last night. Why the sudden urge to finish it so completely?”

“I thought about showing it to Zelda.” Link's eyes widened in realization of what he’d said. Sidon looked back at him. “You forgot, didn’t you?”

“Shit.”

Sidon chuckled and told him: “I’m going to leave in a bit, so you lock the door today. I’ll be back at the same time as always.”

“I completely forgot about the outing to the café.” Link said in an annoyed voice, now extremely stressed. Sidon laughed heartily. “You mean your date?” Link stared at him annoyed, before smirking evilly. “Shut up, Sidon. You’re one to talk. You still haven’t confessed to Yona.” Sidon looked defeated and decided to just keep eating while he left the room. The munching noises continued for a few more seconds while Sidon awkwardly walked out backwards, staring Link in the eye almost menacingly.

After Sidon’s odd exit, Link grabbed his phone, proceeding to call Zelda. The phone rang a few times. “Please don’t tell me I’m late,” He whispered to himself, his heart rate increasing, thinking he had accidentally ghosted his best friend.

Zelda picked up. “Link? Are you alive? What took you so long?” She tried her hardest to act annoyed, but she simply couldn’t help but be worried that something had happened to him. After realizing her feelings for him, she’d become slightly overprotective.

Link had gotten extremely flustered with Zelda’s sudden clingyness. Even Sidon could hear the call from outside Link’s room and was cackling loud enough for him to be heard. “I’m sorry, Z, I got distracted with a project of mine. However, I’m sure you’ll love it!”

“Oh really?” She responded, mildly intrigued by this mysterious project. “What’s it about?”

“I’ll tell you about when I arrive at the café. I promise I won’t be late this time” 

“Fine, this project better be good or you’re paying for both of us!”

“I wouldn’t really mind that, Princess.” Link remarked snidely. “I—I uh—I—I’ll see you at five.” Zelda hung up as fast as possible. She couldn’t let Link realize how flustered she was. Zelda tried to compose herself but her face grew redder, her mouth quickly forming into a smile.

“I’ll see you there, Link,” she said to herself.

Link arrived at the café after breaking what seemed like every speeding law known to mankind, all in a desperate attempt to arrive in time. When he opened the cafe door, Zelda was already sitting at their usual table. This brought a sense of nostalgia to Link. Just a few years ago, he had never imagined Zelda would become so important to him, even less so his favorite person in the whole world.

Link made his way to the table, anxious for his tardiness. The two had known each other for so long, yet he still felt incredibly nervous just by approaching her, mostly due to the fact that he found Zelda somewhat intimidating. Not in a bad way, of course, but he just found her presence imposing, and he kind of loved that about her.

No matter the place, he could sense where Zelda was. She was the first person he’d spot in a crowd, no matter the size of it. Link felt a strong attachment to Zelda, but he did not want to admit that it was romantic. Even to himself. He just knew it was. As a matter of fact, he’d felt the roots of his infatuation ever since their first encounter all those years ago in that exact coffee shop.

Link had (surprisingly to him) easily kept this a secret from Zelda, but he always noticed her, even before they started talking. Whenever he saw her in class, he felt quite flustered and intimidated to talk to her. That day, when they first met in the café (after meticulously planning everything that they’d do), they kept locking eyes. He was happy to see her in the shop, almost shouting internally from joy. He fell in love with her that day, with her smile, her laugh, her eyes, her everything.

Yet, he was always a bit shy with his feelings, never confessing to Zelda. Link never thought she shared his feelings. Nevertheless, she had just realized her infatuation with Link. 

Today was just not the day they’d confess.

“Hey, Link. You’re a hundred years late!” Zelda joked with a wide smile across her face, a sight that made Link's eyes shimmer.

“Well, excuuuuuuuuse me, Princess! I didn’t break thirty traffic laws for you to complain!”

“W—well fine!” Zelda stuttered. Link had recently gotten a habit of calling her Princess, and it made her extremely flustered. “A—anyways,” she continued, changing the topic, “what was this surprise project you were hyping up during the call?” Zelda was extremely curious, especially since Link had brought his bag where he kept his numerous notebooks filled with songs, lyrics and concepts. “You’ll find out soon enough, but let’s eat first, I’m starving!”

“Well, Link, if I remember correctly, I said if you arrived late, you’d have to pay.” Zelda chuckled and smirked. “Fine, a deal is a deal.”

The waiter arrived shortly afterwards with the food they’d ordered. Zelda asked for a coffee and some pastries, while Link bought an egg-dipped ham and cheese sandwich with coffee. “Wow, you really needed that food, huh?” The girl remarked snidely. “You don’t understand, Zelda.” He said almost menacingly. “This project mentally drained me.” Zelda stared in disbelief as Link finished his food in mere seconds, then turning back to her plate, eyeing her pastries as if they were a Michelin star dish. Suddenly, she noticed her short friend looking in her direction. When she looked up, however, he was looking at her plate. “No, Link, I’m not giving you food.”

“Dammit,” he chuckled. “I really wanted a bit of the puff pastry.” Link stared at her defeatedly, his stomach still rumbling. Zelda couldn’t help but feel bad for him. He must’ve worked tirelessly to complete his projects, she thought. “Fine, I’ll give you half of it. Just this once though!” A lie. This wasn’t the first time and she was sure it wouldn’t be the last. At least she hoped.

Either way, Link let out a quiet cheer and quickly ate half of the puff pastry. “Now, do enlighten me on this… mystery project of yours.” He chuckled, Zelda confused by his reaction. “It’s not really a mystery. You’ve heard it already.”

“Oh, I remember that song! The draft you sent me sounded amazing!” His ears began to redden as he started his next sentence. “I didn’t exactly tell you the full story behind the song. I… skimmed over some details.” She looked toward his bag. “I’m guessing you finished the sheet music?” He looked at Zelda. “Oh, I just threw my wallet in there. I really just brought the bag because I got lazy.” They both laughed.

“So then what’s the details?” She smiled, turning back to face him. “Well—uh, you were a, uh, massive inspiration for this song.” Her face turned red, but it got worse as he continued to speak. “I may have spent all of last night in my studio room, recording the whole thing, working out the details, and touching it up.” Link placed his phone on the table, took out a pair of headphones, plugged them in, and pushed both the phone and the headphones toward Zelda, who had reddened so much both her face and ears were glowing a bright pink. “Go ahead and press play.”

Zelda couldn’t believe what she was witnessing. A whole song inspired by me? She had already been flustered during their call earlier, but this was too much for her. She pressed play and listened through the (now much longer) song. She took in the ballad, the ambient soundscape formed from Link’s signature style of production fully enveloping her ears and mind, the guitars and the synthesizers joining the drums and the bass in a coherent cacophony of sounds that just made sense, until finally…

It was over.

“Th—this is— I—I c—can’t—” she stuttered for some time, barely getting a sentence across, until she took a deep breath and finally spoke a full sentence. “This is one of your best songs yet!” His face began to glow with joy, a smile forming on his face. “Maybe I’ll post it online.” He said, while munching on a pastry. Wait, munching on a pastry?

“Link, did you just eat another of my pastries?” He looked back at her awkwardly, swallowing the large chunk of pastry in his mouth. “ No ?” He said in a guilty voice, before choking and coughing a moment because of how large the pastry he swallowed was. Zelda only facepalmed. “I’m sorry, okay? I was still hungry.” She laughed at him. “I’ll buy you two to make it up! I have to pay anyway.” Laughter consumed them both. Zelda just couldn’t help but laugh at the exchange. Link started laughing from hers, staring at the girl he’d kill a thousand people for.

“Hey, Zelda?” He stopped laughing and spoke to her. “What’s up, Link?”

“I’m glad we could do this again. I’ve only recently figured this out, but I kind of… have more mental issues than I thought I did.” Zelda slapped him in the face. “Ouch! What was that for?”

“That’s for saying you have mental issues.”

“I’m diagnosed with autism though?”

“When has that been an issue?” He sighed. “10th grade, when—“ Zelda cut him off. “That was a rhetorical question. Also, this isn’t exactly the time to reminisce.” They both laughed. “Yeah, I guess you’re right, Princess .” His tone of voice was sing-songy, almost as if he was saying it just to get on her nerves. She sighed, but continued speaking. “I do understand what you mean though, but guess let me guess: seasonal depression?”

“Fuck you.” He laughed, then continued. “You’re almost right, though. I just wouldn’t call it depression. I know what depression is, and this is not that.” Zelda’s smile from earlier had faded by now. “12th grade was tough for both of us.”

“I have to be honest, Z, I only survived because of you.” They both smiled. “Hey, it’s all fine now.”

“It’ll be okay.”

Chapter Text

A buzzing noise was heard while Zelda was reading a book on the psychology of school shooters on her bed. She’d always had an almost morbid interest in the thoughts of perpetrators, but she never truly thought of pursuing it as a career. Either way, she was hoping the little buzz on her desk was a message from Link. As she opened her phone to check, she felt it vibrate in her hands again.

> hey z mind if i go over todya

> today*

> i have nothng better to do lol

< Doesn’t sound too bad! I was planning on going out to buy some food, so I could get some for you too

> dw abt it ill prob cook or bring the ingredients for it

> plus i do have the ingredients to make fruitcake on me rn just in case youd prefer that

< Well, that was unexpected, but I’ll take it!

< See you in a bit!

> im probably going to walk over

> maybe also put in a good word w the staff so they let me pass lol

< Link…

> ?

< They already DO let you pass

< And they have a while now

> oh yeah i forgot lol

> but yeah see you there

< Same to you too!

Zelda was already very excited, distracting her from basically everything as she lay on the bed, kicking her feet joyfully. At least this awful day was coming to an end. She put on some Radiohead to await him. Clearly his music taste was being absorbed by her, as she could only listen to these songs and think of him. However, only halfway through the song, she heard a knock on her apartment door. “I can’t believe Link is here already. He really is a madman,” she said to herself. She opened the door, unsurprised to see her tiny blonde friend. She knew his style was quite immaculate, but she hadn’t expected him to arrive in his favorite blue and white shirt, even less so with his cream colored pants. It was unusual for him to arrive at her place in such casual clothing, even if he always suggested she do that. Either way, he was here.

His immediate reaction to the door’s opening was to look into her emerald green eyes, drop his small duffel bag on the floor, and hug her. It was short, but it left Zelda with a lasting smile and slightly reddened ears. The exchange was silent, yet warm and inviting. He picked up the duffel bag again, and the two walked into her apartment. She finally broke the silence. “I think you’re crazy, Link.” He only smiled back.

Link walked directly to the kitchen, and took out the ingredients for the fruitcake he was going to make. She was surprised with his silence, something quite unusual for him when he was near her. She chose to not say anything about it, assuming he was purely focused on making sure the bake would go well. He quickly whipped up the batter in a bowl he’d brought, fully preparing the pan in mere seconds before dropping the batter and the fruits in. To Zelda, it was like watching a magician at work.

After Link put the pan in the oven, he looked at Zelda, finally breaking his silence. “Excuse my quietness, I had to make sure the cake was in by now. It’s going to take a few hours to fully bake. In the meantime, you can try the batter.” He held up the bowl. “Don’t I have a chance to get salmonella?” He chuckled. “It’s a small enough chance to not have to care.” Zelda took her finger and moved it over the bowl, to stop with her hand midair as images flashed through her mind. She’d love to take Link’s hand like she was holding hers, but didn’t know if it truly was the right time to tell him. Her feelings for him were quite new anyways, she didn’t want to risk anything by telling him. However, she took quite a long time to process everything, and he had seen her freeze on the spot.

“Everything OK, Z?”

She snapped back to reality at his words. “I’m the one who's thinking a lot now,” she said under a chuckle. “I’ll try the batter.” She scooped up a small bit of it, and put it in her mouth. Her expression changed many times in the few seconds before she’d swallowed it. “It’s perfect, and the cake itself isn’t done yet. I don’t know how you do it, you’re always amazing at this.” He simply looked, smiled, and said: “Thank you. It means a lot, especially from you.” He also continued, saying: “If you want you can put a movie on while the cake bakes. Your choice this time.”

“Really? Last time we compromised on something we both liked, I don’t see why we can’t do that again.” She smiled at him. “I insist, it’s your place anyway.” Zelda laughed at the comment. “This is basically your home, you seem to spend more time here than at your place,” she retorted. “That’s a blatant lie.” He laughed as he continued. “However, it doesn’t sound too bad, does it? Moving in with your best friend.”

“Like the movies. Life’s not like them, though. That I’ve learned because of the classmates I’ve had the… interesting experience of sitting next to.” She sighed as she finished, and he responded simply. “It does feel like we’ve been fed lies our whole life, but if the opportunity presents itself I’m willing.”

“I’ll make sure to let you know, Link. I promise.”

As the fruitcake finished baking, and as Wicked was almost over, Link went and pulled the pan out of the oven. The smell filled Zelda’s small apartment with the fruits and cinnamon he had put into the cake. “I can’t believe you brought all the ingredients to make fruitcake for me.” She looked him in the eyes a moment before turning away to the television, so she could pause the movie. As he placed the cake on the small table, he cut it into slices and took the smallest one for himself, giving Zelda the choice of the slice she wanted. She chose the smaller one. After the two finished eating, Link spoke knives to Zelda.

“I have to leave now. Sidon said he’d be arriving at 8:30 to our room, and I have the keys. I don’t want to leave, I’d stay here forever if I really could.” Zelda could only muster a few words. “I’ll see you later then.”

Link surprised her as he hugged her in silence before walking out.

Link made it to his place, just in time to greet Sidon as he arrived. He was tired, so he simply ran to bathe and rest. As he got into his bed, he could only wonder if Zelda missed him as much as he missed her. Regardless, he closed his eyes and drifted off.

A ringtone from a phone woke Link up.

“Hey Google, what time is it?”

“It’s 2:07 AM,” the mechanized voice responded.

However, there was still a ringtone to pay attention to. Except it had stopped. Until it started again. He went to check his phone, and saw what it was. Link had just received a call from Zelda. He was confused, because not only did he know he’d brought everything back (for the first time in a long time, usually leaving his wallet), but also that it was 2 in the morning. So, he picked up her call anyway.

“Hey Zelda, what’s up?”

There was no answer.

He waited.

“Zelda, is everything ok?”

Silence again.

“Zel—“

“Do you hear it?”

She spoke under her breath, voice shaking, fear so clearly visible, Link felt a chill down his spine.

“Hear wha—“

He heard a series of loud noises from across the phone. People screaming, being cut off by that awful sound.

“Link, I—I need you to call for help.”

The call ended.

He started running back to Zelda’s apartment, calling 911 while starting his run out of his room.

“911, what is your emergency?” Link almost fell running down the stairs, but started speaking. “There’s a shooting in the apartment building opposite the Hyrule Industries complex, downtown Cambridge.” He tripped again, almost dropping his phone this time. He regained control of his arm as he pushed the swinging door and continued outside. “Please, send everyone there, fast. There are too many lives on the line.”

To any outsider, Link looked like he was running for his life.

He simply wasn’t.

He was running for Zelda’s.

Chapter Text

Link dashed past the dark streets, memories of his time with Zelda flooding his head with tears. He could lose her. He passed by the café where they’d meet up once a month, and he could only continue his desperate clambering to her apartment. It was quiet in his head for once, the days of music removing the silence within his ears had ended. He’d already called 911, but as he ran past the Polish parish he’d often go to for solace, he was more sure that he’d made the right choice by mindlessly sprinting to her. The boy’s mind only pulsed with dread.

As he closed in to her apartment, he recklessly crossed streets and even jumped over cars to continue his journey. The lights were all out in Zelda’s apartment building—all 6 floors of it. He crossed the street without looking even with a green light. He grasped the front door’s handle the moment he was within reach. Link could hear the distant firing of this mass destruction machine. He pulled with all his strength.

The door was locked. He kept pulling and gave up until he kicked the door down, but the second, glass, door was also locked and he was unable to open or shatter it. However, he was able to look inside, and could only cry at the numerous bodies of staff members on the floor, with their blood staining the black and white tile in the sterile, almost yellowed interior. Link gagged at the horrifying sight of bits of brains that had been blown out of people’s heads, with some even having exit holes twice the size of their respective bullet entrances. His legs weakened, but he turned around, the sight still aching him, and ran once more.

He took a run for the back door, but paused as he both heard and saw a person land on the floor with a crunch, outside, in the darkness of this now… cursed building. He looked up to see a window from the 6th floor open—this person had jumped, in hopes to escape. It was only futile to jump from that height, unless they wanted to suffer less. His pause was a mistake, as he now saw the numerous holes in the person’s chest, right before seeing her face…

It was Mipha. He’d known her since long before even Zelda. But now, here she was, dead from the impact and bleeding out, right in front of him, in the middle of the now bloodstained lawn. Here his face was not only covered in tears, but rage. He knew that Mipha was on the 6th floor. Zelda was on the 3rd. If the ones on the bottom are gone, but the ones on the top are also gone, that means…

His heart sank to the depths of his chest. Link kicked down the back door and ran up the stairwell. He saw two people resting on the wall, almost as if they’d fallen asleep. But they were dead. He knew from the bleeding bullet holes in their foreheads. His heart rate, blood pressure, and legs were all crippled from the run, though the blood on the floor, his constantly growing anxiety and adrenaline repressing the fact he hadn’t warmed up, nor expected to be running at 2 AM. He heard cries and a shot fired, increasing his pace up the stairs.

It hurt his legs to climb so fast. He could only keep pushing, or risk what would hurt so much more—losing his princess.

Once Link made it to the third floor, he ran to Zelda’s room, near the end of the hallway. As he went past the other rooms, he could not only see closed doors with gunshots through them, but the horror of open doors with bloodstained walls and windows. Link finally made it to Zelda’s room from his dash—except that he saw the door was open. He was thinking in tears and in anger. The moment he looked into the room he saw the girl clambering for fear on the floor next to her bed, and she could clearly be heard screaming her pain.

“WHAT HAVE I EVER DONE TO YOU?! LEAVE ME ALO—“

Two more gunshots. He saw the flash of the gun, the blood on the floor and the wall, the horror in her face as she launched back to the wall, her eyes then looking into his, as if to plead for help. Link couldn’t think and he ran to Zelda and covered her with his body. She can make it, I can protect her. I can keep her safe. Even if it costs my own life. He could only challenge the invisible assailant.

“Go ahead, do your worst.”

He hadn’t heard anything. In this moment the only thing that he felt was the most grueling pain he’d ever sensed all over his body. Worse than when he broke two of his ribs by accidentally falling off his roof. His leg had been barely shot once, but his dominant arm had received two. The worst sensation was that of the bullet next to his skin on his chest. It had come from his back and made its way through his body, only stopping at the final layers of his skin. At least his plan had worked. He’d saved her from anything worse.

His breath was running out, but he felt her heavy breathing even as she was limping on the wall. Link could hear her voice, as she prepared to say the three words she had been holding in for months now. Zelda opened her eyes, looking at a wounded Link, who was protecting her at all costs—those costs including his own life. She was able to smile a moment and look into his eyes, all to say those damned three words she’d hoped to say elsewhere.

“I—I love you, Link.”

“I love you too, Zelda.”

Zelda closed her eyes and her muscles all weakened. She had passed out.

He heard one final gunshot, followed by a loud thud. His head turned to face his behind, and he looked to the ceiling to witness a bloodstain. Only then he saw the gray matter fall to the floor with a squelch. He found it revolting, so he turned back to Zelda. It was over. No more pain. They were going out, but they were going out together. Link smiled and sat next to her lurched body, and hugged her, all in the tightest embrace he could manage. He was bleeding out and he’d go out soon, hoping for the arrival of the authorities. But he wouldn’t know.

Link went unconscious.

Chapter Text

A consistent stream of high-pitched sounds. An ascending and descending tone. White noise of crowds muttering. People crying. People screaming. People horrified.

Two survivors, identified. A female unconscious, a male in a coma. In the same room as the perpetrator’s corpse.

The man’s coma led to stories being told, created out of thin air. Thus the world and its ruckus faded into another foreign land, far from this time and space.

“We’ve been going down so long, I’ve lost track of time,” Link felt himself say. He tried to stop his legs’ movement, but he was completely unable to. All as if he was trapped within his own body—except it wasn’t his. Similar, yes, but not his. He could only look around, which is how he saw a slightly taller female figure next to this male body he was in. Both him and the other person were inside a cave, full of sculptures and lightly glowing rocks. The cavern was dark, spacious enough that even the torch she was holding barely lit up anything. “It’s been three days, but I’m not stopping. We have to find the source of this, I feel we’re so close to it…” she said, in a distinctly British tone. They kept walking down the incline, the tunnel shrinking in size until the torch lit up most of the area. He shuddered, shivering from the cave’s cold air.

“I have a bad feeling, Princess. A very bad feeling. I’m so cold.” She stopped, then turned to the man. “I’m freezing too. We’re just in too deep now.” The air filled with red and black, smoke and dust, a man-made stairwell leading further down. As they continued down, they encountered a more brightly-lit room than before. Within it, a small pool of water. The male pointed to it and spoke to the woman. “Zelda, we should fill our flasks with water now. They’ve been dry for what feels like weeks now. I didn’t want to have to rely on drinking…” He stopped there. She–who was conveniently named Zelda like his best friend–looked at the man, or looked at Link trapped within this person. Her gaze was piercing, green eyes he swore were the same shade as his Zelda’s… Then reality struck as she remarked back to the man. “If you didn’t want to rely on drinking your own piss you’d have hated what I was considering an hour ago.” He looked at her as she observed the cave walls. “Wait, what were you even considering, then?” She brought her gaze back to him. “Don’t worry about it.” He simply shrugged and stretched. “Fair enough.”

“This… gloom… this substance, it’s horrifying.” She motioned to the plants on the wall and the roof, while continuing on. “Look at how the plants are all wilted. Look at how they seem to fade away within our eyesight, all after being left undisturbed for possibly thousands of years…” She turned back to the man. “Link,” she called to him.

Her mouth moved as if she were to continue, but the only sound was that of a ringing in his ears, which concluded with the closing of his eyes into a silent void. He hoped that whenever he opened them he’d be fine. However, there was no escape from here, three days down into darkness, into insanity, into madness, into a cave. Even these two people (conveniently named Link and Zelda) seemed to be struggling to stay awake. However, our Link could only control his breathing and his eyes. He was like a puppet on strings. If only someone could come and throw a boomerang to break his strings, he’d find an escape. Even if it meant running up stairs for days. 

“Link, do you see these stairs, this entrance? I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s a surprisingly sturdy-looking architectural style.” She stared intently, before taking out of one of her many bags what looked like a mix of a game console and a tablet. “I’ll hold the torch. You can take a few pictures.” She smiled back, “Thanks.” She handed him the torch before beginning to hold the pad with both hands. The man peered into the entrance, noticing the stairwell was lit, going much further down. “How the fuck does the cave keep going down? How large is the Earth’s crust here anyways?!” This Zelda laughed as if it were a challenge.

“Since the grand majority of the kingdom is elevated a few meters above sea level, and since we entered from the castle, the crust in total should be about… thirty kilometers? Considering how long we’ve been going down at an incline of about twenty degrees with a relative speed of about 1.2 meters per second for two days nonstop… we’ve gone down only two kilometers.”

“How—how did you do the math so fast?” He stared towards her. “We’ve been going down so long, there really hasn’t been that much for us to do.” He looked back down. “Well, let’s keep going. Have the torch back.” And as soon as the torch returned to her hand, he heard a noise from his back. Instead of turning around, he reached behind his back, lowering a sheath with his left arm and raising a handle with his right. He pulled a masterfully crafted sword, glowing a blue, which he held in front of him, a form of guarding his front. He only looked back at her, where she nodded and he turned back. They went on.

Link realized that although he was barely in control, he could control his breathing. Maybe, just maybe, there was an escape. It was risky and stupid, yet he chose to go ahead. One, two, three. Breathe out, and don’t let it back in. Use all your strength.

The other Link suddenly dropped and rolled down the stairs. He winced in pain, his Zelda running down to him. “What happened to you? Are you fine?” He coughed and took a deep breath, almost overriding the held breathing. “It was like someone took hold of my breath. I couldn’t breathe in. Maybe we should rest, my lungs genuinely hurt.” She placed a hand on his chest, checking for his pulse and blood pressure. “How did your pulse become so high? Shouldn’t it slow down to ration its oxyge—” 

“I don’t know!” He shouted, and then sat up. “You’re the one who knows about this, I’m just here to protect you. Keep you safe. I say that we should sleep. If not, you should sleep. I’ll keep watch.” She reached her arm out to him as if she were to say something, but he continued on, almost angrily. 

“Here’s the thing. I care about you . When you needed rest after 100 years fighting the Calamity, I let you move in with me. When you needed help finding the remaining soldiers and familiars of them, I helped you find them. When we needed to train new knights to defend our people, I helped train them. If I hadn’t cared, I’d have left you to it. Even after 100 years of sleeping, I was tired of everything. Yet, I still helped with everything you needed. Even through seven years of this, I’m still with you .” His tone softened with these words, and he almost began to cry. “Maybe I did learn to love you after those years. Maybe I did gain a soft spot for you and how you are. Maybe I did finally find peace when we sat down in our house in Hateno. Maybe… I should have given you another chance when we were up there.”

He simply sighed, then looked down and tried to hide his tears from her. All she did was sit down next to him and clamp her hands around him in a hug. “It’s never too late, Link. That chance hasn’t been wasted.” He hugged back. “I guess I can finally say it: I’m kind of in love with you.” The hug tightened. “I can say the same, Link.

“In that case, Princess…”

“Queen,” she interjected. He smirked. “You’re still the Princess to me,” he said. She sighed in response, her pointed ears slowly turning pink. “As I was saying, in that case… May I have the honor of kissing you?” She chuckled at his odd phrasing. “Of course, Link. Go ahead.”

He lightly pressed his lips to hers. His once accelerated heart rate dropped to a calm low. Hers, on the other hand, grew faster and her ears and cheeks turned red.

It was short, yet lingered on both Links’ minds. “I have to thank you for that, Zelda. Could I maybe try it again?” He chuckled while she laughed at his continually worsening phrasing. “You don’t have to speak like that. Besides, you can always try one more time.”

Time stopped.

You can always try one more time.

He breathed in.

You can always try one more time.

He breathed out.

I have to try. One more time.

Our Link breathed in, and held his breath again. One, two, three.

An oscillating tone sounds, and this world goes dark.

Chapter Text

Link exhaled as he opened his eyes, to see himself strapped to an IV bag. A good two different tubes were stuck down his throat, and saw his left index finger with a pulse checker connected to a display. “Holy shit, I’m alive!” He moved in joy, unable to jump from the bed, only to turn right and see Zelda running toward him in place of his right hand. “Link! You woke up!” She hugged him. He tried to reach for her with his right arm, but couldn’t. He looked at her. “How long was I in here, and what happened to my arm?” She sighed, knowing this was coming.

“It’s a long story, but I’ll try to keep it concise. It’s been a month. You were in a coma for a while. Your arm had to be amputated because one of the gunshots severed its primary artery, and another of them shattered your humerus to bits. You still made it, though. That’s what matters.” He sighed. “That’s not as humerus as I’d expect. There go my music dreams,” he quipped. “Link! This isn’t time to be joking around like that!” He laughed. “It always is, Zelda, especially for me. It’s how I cope when I don’t have a guitar on me. Humor is a cure for the soul.” They exchanged looks in silence for a moment. She spoke. “Listen, you may be my best friend and one of my favorite musicians I’ve met, but you’re still as stupid as you were back in 9th grade.”

“Well excuse me, Princess. It’s not my fault I overthink the wrong things.”

“I hate that nickname, you know? It makes me too flustered.” A laugh was shared between the two, before another man came in. Link and Zelda knew him perfectly. It was Dr. Fado, one of the medical professors, who usually spent his free time wandering the halls of the university and hanging with the students. He was well known and stayed out of trouble, earning him most students’ respect. Outside of this casual relationship with the university, he took his job incredibly seriously. To see students who he knew well suffering in hospital beds broke his heart, and he often checked up on them. “Looks like ol’ Link’s finally awake! Took ya long enough.”

“Of course he had to be here,” Link quipped at him. The doctor laughed. The boy turned back to Zelda. “How long were you here? I’m sure after a month of me in a coma you’d be somewhere else.” She stammered. “Uh—u— about that… I’ve kind of… lived on this chair since I woke up from my, uh, extended rest.” Fado interjected in their conversation, saying: “She was also in a coma, just for a shorter period of time.” 

“Well, at least we both made it,” the boy continued. Dr. Fado turned back to Link. “By the way, Link, if you want to know more, you can ask me. I was with the people who found you. If I were to tell you both a secret, I was kind of happy to see you two in a hug.” He turned to Zelda, but continued talking. “You were both knocked out, but Link here’s hug kept holding you, Zelda. It was kinda hard to pry him off.” He chuckled, prompting the other two to laugh. She looked toward her best friend. “Link does have a sense of duty, don’t you?” He nodded.

“Please, tell me what actually happened there. So many bodies. Who’d do such a thing?”

“Glad you asked. The escaped criminal, Ganondorf, came into the building at 2:00 AM, on the clock. He shot everyone dead with horrifying precision. Somehow he left Zelda’s room for last, for currently still unknown reasons. After shooting you both, he took his own life.”

“Holy shit. I saw people I knew had jumped.”

“You two were the only survivors.”

A moment of silence between the three people in the room was enough.

“There’s still so many things I’m worried about… like the hospital bill. I don’t really have that much money, and the main reason I pay for a room with Sidon is out of need.”

“You won’t need to worry about that. Rhoam paid both of your bills,” Fado said. Link turned to his best friend, and asked menacingly. “What did you do?”

“I didn’t do anything! He did it of his own will!”

“I could’ve called Rusl! Your dad knows that!” Fado slowly backed out of the room’s slowly heating ambience with an excuse. “I’ll be going now, there’s a few other patients I have to check up on.” He was ignored. “He visited you, Link. Dad called him and brought him here for a while. And besides, it’s fine. One less worry.”

“One less justified worry cleared by an unjustified reason.”

“What makes you say it was unjustified? He had to have his reasons for it!”

“After what you’d told him two years ago, I’m completely sure he did it of his own free will!”

“Wait, which of the things I said to him two years ago? I said a lot of things.” His eyes shot to hers while she responded. “Link, please answer me. Do you remember those last words you said?” She started holding her crying in. He nodded in response. “Did you truly mean that, Link?” She slowly let the tears consume her. “Please, tell me you meant that, Link!”

“Please, Link… please.”

She broke down in tears.

He looked at her eyes and reached out with his remaining hand. He placed it on her shoulder and held tightly, but not tight enough to cause her pain. He pulled her toward him and laid her on his chest so she could feel his calm breathing and pulse. He whispered into her ear.

“I meant every letter.”

“Thank you, Link,” she said while wiping a tear off her right eye. “You know, my insomnia got worse this month because I was worried for you.” The two separated from the hug. “Then don’t worry. I’m feeling fine, which is very surprising. Maybe a little fat because I’ve barely moved a muscle. Slightly less though, because I’m kind of missing a few.” He knew he was making horrible jokes. “Oh, Link,” she facepalmed. “We might have to do something about that missing arm.” Link physically recoiled. “For God’s sake, Zelda! And you were the one telling me not to joke about it.” They both laughed. “I did one thing which I hope you don’t kill me for.”

“What did you do now, Z?”

“I told Dad you’d finally said it. No idea if you thought you were dead for sure, but at least you did. He was kind of proud of you but also not? If I remember he said something along the lines of ‘He’s a great kid, he’s super smart, but he’s also incessantly stubborn and incredibly stupid. I do kind of miss the rascal.’ Sounds about right for how he speaks.” The laughter continued. Link interjected a moment. “Zelda, can you go get Dr. Fado to see if they can get these damn four tubes out of my throat?”

“Is that a Sonic joke?”

“Maybe.”

“I’ll go get him.”

“Thanks, Princess.”

Thus she left the room, leaving him to contemplate life. Maybe, the suffering was for the better. Maybe, he’d been chosen to survive by the world. Maybe, just maybe, Ganondorf had chosen not to immediately kill both Zelda and him. Zelda and Dr. Fado returned to the room. “We’ll get you out of here soon after some quick tests to make sure you’re fine. Shouldn’t take too long though, probably two to three hours.”

“Perfect, Doc!”

“I’ve told you like seven times now, never call me ‘Doc’. Never.”

Both Link and him laughed while Zelda stood and facepalmed.

Two years later…

Link picks up his phone and dials a number. The phone rings for a little while. The person on the other side picks up. “Hey, Rusl. How’re you doing?” The response, a mumbling from the phone. “I called you because I had something urgent to say.” More mumbling. “Oh really? Then you go first.”

“If you insist. I uh, am wearing something you wouldn’t expect me to wear. That’s a fair point there, actually. OK, fine! I’ll tell you! Zelda proposed.” Cheering from the other side of the call. “Thank you! Your turn now, though. What’s so urgent?”

His expression dropped.

“What do you mean they found him? Is he alright? Is he alive? Is he on his way? That’s all you were told? Damn it.”

“You sent a surprise my way? Did you actually set up an engagement present during this short call?” Silence followed by a knock at his door. “Hold up, someone’s here. I’ll call you back in a moment.” He hung up. “Who’s there?” No answer. He looked through the peephole. Nobody there. “Must’ve been the wind.” As he looked away, he heard the same knock again. “Tell me who you are or the door stays closed. I’m warning you.”

“Jeez, no need to get all roughed up,” a female voice said from outside. This was a voice Link recognized and knew well. He opened the door. “I was wondering when you’d come to visit me, Aryll. Perfect timing, actually. Rusl called, and I got some news from him.”

“About that… I also have news from uncle.”

“How about we count down and say it at the same time? It might be the same thing,” he chuckled. “Sure.”

“Three, two, one.”

“They found Dad,” they said in unison. “That’s all we know, though,” she added. “I know that’s important, but I have some other news that might be even more important.” She smirked. “Is that so? What can be more important than the person you take after the most?” He laughed before continuing. “First off, I always get told I take after mom. Second off, there’s one thing that’s more important. You won’t believe this, but…”

“Your prosthetic arm is worsening?”

“No, not that.”

“Zelda left you?”

“Are you crazy? It’s the exact opposite! I’m getting married!” Her mouth dropped. “Bro, Link. Fuck you.” She laughed and leaned down to hit him in the shoulder. “That’s insane! Congrats!” She placed her hand on the same shoulder she hit before he pushed it away. “Please don’t keep making me insecure about my height,” he said while chuckling. He continued. “A few years ago you said you’d probably get married before me. You were somehow very much wrong.”

“She’s been staying with me since the incident. Sidon doesn’t mind, surprisingly. He is a bit insane anyway.”

“So why is she not here?”

“Visiting her dad. Or, well, my soon-to-be father-in-law. You should probably meet him soon.”

“I did, a few years ago when you were stuck in the hospital. He’s a funny guy. Maybe too serious at times but he likes to have a good laugh.”

“That sounds like him, alright.”

“How’d you propose to Zelda anyway?”

“I didn’t. She proposed to me.” She facepalmed. “You had ONE job. One job.” He was appalled. “Do you really expect me to propose after slightly less than two years of dating?”

“Yes.”

“I mean she did so touché. Anyway, wanna go get ice cream?”

“Really? You know you don’t even have to ask. Just say you’re taking me to eat ice cream.” A laugh was shared. “You know, the future isn’t as dark as people make it seem.”

“Why did you suddenly start being so philosophical?” He ignored her. “I personally see that the light at the end of the tunnel is the light of the greatest of people. What do you think?” He said as he stared off into the distance. “Link, who are you talking to?”

“Sorry, I have to take another English course and I’m practicing a monologue. Let’s go get you that ice cream.”