Never Without You │ BOTW modern AU fanfic

A Complex Puzzle

*Can we talk?* Revali's message says.

I want to prioritize Revali but the door to Father's office swings open before I can respond to the text. Father greets me with a confused look on his face.

"Zelda? What are you doing home so early? I thought you had your counseling appointment today."

"I did," I say, "Two hours ago."

"Ah."

We look at each other in awkward silence for a few seconds, then he asks, "How did it go?"

"It went well," I say hesitantly.

"Yes? It went well?" He asks with a smile. I appreciate Father's interest in my well-being as long as he doesn't ask about any details.

"Yes. I opened up to Dr. Deku about some of my concerns and he gave some really good advice."

"Did it help?"

How fast does this man think therapy works? Dr. Deku is good but he's not a miracle worker.

"I don't know yet," I say calmly, "We'll see. For now it certainly didn't exacerbate the problem."

Father nods understandingly. He's in a good mood, I can tell because he hasn't brought up school or politics yet.

"So why did you knock?" He asks.

"Oh, right," Revali's message almost made me forget, "I was going to talk to you about something."

"I see..." Father steps aside, "Come on in then. Let's talk."

And just like that, my heart begins to throw itself against my ribcage, trying desperately to escape this situation before it's too late. Ignoring my rising pulse, I enter his office with leaden steps. No turning back now.

As we settle into our seats, facing each other on opposite sides of his desk, I open Revali's chat and quickly respond: *I can't talk right now. Would tonight work?*

Father clears his throat in irritation. He despises it when I'm distracted by my phone, particularly during our conversations. Without even glancing at Revali's reply, I put my phone away, not willing to risk Father's good mood for a text.

"Sorry," I offer, watching his smile return.

"It's alright," Father nods. "I understand."

That's a first.

"Were you texting Link?" He asks. "Did he manage to secure a place to stay?"

"Er..." Is this one of those rare moments of Father showing concern for someone other than himself? "Not yet," I say.

I suppose I should call myself lucky to have caught Father in a good mood today. If he shows concern for Link's living situation, perhaps he will consider Malice's situation before completely rejecting my proposal of letting her stay in the guest bedroom. Though Link got kicked out of his fraternity, his situation is similar to Malice's in the sense that neither one has a place to stay.

I should explain that to Father. He needs to understand that Malice really needs our help even more than Link. Link's predicament weighs heavily on my mind too, but at least he doesn't have a drug problem on top of his living situation.

This is why I worry that Father will say no. Not only because Malice is friends with Karusa and might interfere with the trial, but because she is battling addiction on top of everything. If I mention that to Father, he will surely say no to all of this.

I glance at my phone, flipping and turning it over in my hands. Part of me wishes I could freeze time and focus on Revali right now. The fact that he asked to speak to me twice now worries me. He is not the type of person who asks for help easily, he will usually wait until the very last minute to ask anyone for anything, like with Mipha or that time when Anju and Kafei were fighting. I wonder what it could be about this time.