Link's POV
Just as I'm about to leave Zelda's house, the front door opens and Zelda walks in.
"Goodness, Link!" She gasps, surprised to find me standing in the foyer. "You startled me!"
"Sorry."
I'm so glad she made it home safe. I take in her appearance to make sure she's not hurt. No injuries, but she's wearing a guy's shirt, her hair is crazy messy, and her makeup is smudged all over her face as if she's been crying.
"Were you waiting for me?" She asks, sounding out of breath.
"Yeah, where have you been? It's like 2 in the morning, are you okay?"
"I went to a bar with Impa, Revali, and Mipha," she tells me super casually.
"A bar? I didn't know you were going to drink tonight. Did you drive?"
"I only had two drinks," she says and I don't know if I can believe that. The smell of beer and smoke on her is strong. "I need your help with something. Can you come with me please?"
"Right now? Can we talk first? I've been kinda worried about you."
"I'm sorry for worrying you," she says. "I didn't know I was going to be out this late. And Impa took my phone, so I didn't have a way of reaching you. But I can tell you more about that later, I really need you to come with me right now."
"Where are we going?" I ask.
"My car," she says, pulling me by my wrist. The fresh air is like splashing cold water in my face. I didn't mean to pass out on her bed earlier. I had a wild dream though, I think it ended with some robot spider dude shooting laser beams at me. Sounds like a fever dream. It's fading the more I try to remember it.
I'm still confused about the whole guy's shirt and messy hair thing. I'll ask her about that later. At least she's not hurt or anything. I wish she didn't drink and drive though.
When we get to her car, I look for scratches and dents. Maybe she crashed her car or hit something? But her car looks fine, the same as when she left.
"What do you need help with?" I ask her.
She opens the door to the backseats. I stand back, unsure what to expect.
I spot two feet laying on the backseat. I know it couldn't be Impa because she's with Kiroh, and I know it's not Ravioli because those are some really skinny girl legs.
Curious, I get closer to see if it's Mipha, but it's not. It's a total stranger. A reeking stranger that needs to practice some personal hygiene.
"Did you run her over?" I ask Zelda. It's obviously meant as a joke but if she says yes, I don't know how to react.
"No, I found her in an alley."
"Please tell me she's alive."
"Yes, but she's completely knocked out. We tried to wake her up but she wouldn't."
"We?"
"Pik and I."
Hearing his name is so unexpected. "What were you doing with Pik?" I ask.
"We were catching up."
"At 2 in the morning?" I try not to sound jealous or angry but come on, I thought we talked about being more open with each other. "Was hanging out with him tonight part of your plan?"
"No, I didn't know any of this was going to happen tonight. Pik invited all of us to the bar where he was performing live. I probably wouldn't have gone if Impa hadn't convinced me. And if I would have known beforehand, I would have told you, I promise."
"It's okay, I believe you. I just got worried is all."
"I understand. And I'm truly sorry for worrying you."
"So..." I try to focus on the actual problem at hand. "You brought home a homeless person. Now what?"
"It's not just any homeless person," she says. "It's Malice."
My eyes widen and I take a second look at the girl. "Holy shit."
"Yes..."
I'm speechless. It's shocking to see Malice like this. Even though she's associated with Ganon and always treated Zelda like shit, I feel really bad for her.
"We have a spare guest bedroom," Zelda says, "I thought maybe she can get some rest and recover."
"That's nice. But... Is your dad not gonna say something?"
"He won't. Because he will never know. We have 2 more days until he comes back from his business trip. Hopefully that will be enough time for Malice to sober up."
"And then what? Take her back to the streets?"
"Of course not."
"Well, did you think this through?" This isn't like her at all.
"No, I just... I saw her on the streets and I couldn't turn my back on her. I couldn't... I couldn't just walk away without helping her. She needs a bed and a meal. And once she feels better, I will figure out how to proceed."
I let out a long breath. Her mind is all over, but at least her heart is in the right place. "Okay. How can I help?"
"I need help getting her inside."
I give her an understanding nod and reach into the car for Malice. I slide my arms under her back and knees, and pick her up bridal style. She's short and underweight, making it easy to carry her inside.
In the meantime Zelda distracts Cado by showing him some "Suspicious" footprints in the backyard. If anything, they'll find my footprints. But at least it gives me enough time to take Malice upstairs unseen. Fingers crossed Zelda's dad won't check tonight's surveillance footage.
Zelda meets me in the hallway upstairs and opens the door to one of the guest bedrooms. I walk up to the king size bed and let Malice down gently. I'm surprised she hasn't woken up yet. She's probably drugged up or something. Whatever she took must be pretty strong.
"Now what do we do?" I ask, standing next to Zelda as we take in the sight of Malice's small body curled up on the giant bed.
"Now we wait for her to wake up."
Zelda and I close the door on our way out and return to her bedroom, which is right across from the guest bedroom. I join Zelda on her bed, taking a moment to breathe and process the situation.
"What have you been up to tonight?" She asks. "Did you miss me?"
"I kept myself busy," I say.
Her tired eyes gaze at me and she smiles exhausted. "I love the fit, by the way," she tucks on my hoodie. "I haven't seen you wear this in a while. It looks good on you."
I wish I could return the compliment but she's wearing a shirt I've never seen before. I try to force myself not to stare but I can't help it. That shirt is screaming for attention.
"Is that Pik's t-shirt?" I ask, hoping she'll say no.
She looks down at the vintage design and back up at me with an apologetic face. Oof.
"It's not what you're thinking."
"I'm too tired to think anything," I say. "Just asking where you got it."
"It's from Pik," she nods and quickly adds, "But I can explain."
"Okay?" Just hit me with it already.
"Somebody threw a drink at me. My top was drenched and my underwear was showing, so Pik gave me a spare t-shirt to cover up."
So he saw her in his underwear? I don't say anything. It's better if I don't.
"Are you angry?"
"No." I'm mainly just relieved that she's okay. "I'm glad you're safe. Don't go downtown at night, okay? Especially not alone."
"I wasn't alone."
"Yeah, you were with Pik. Not safe."
"He wouldn't hurt me," she says, completely missing my point.
"You told me he's losing his eyesight, am I right? So he wouldn't be able to protect you much if something happened."
She's quiet for a second. Then she nods. "Okay..." She looks so guilty and apologetic, I feel the need to lift the mood a little.
With an understanding smile, I place my hand on her shoulder. "You smell like Oktoberfest."
She chuckles and pretends to clink glasses with me. "Prost."
"What do you say we go take a hot, relaxing shower together?"
"Good idea," she says, sounding a bit more happy.
I smirk at her. "Want me to soap your back?"
She nods and gets up. I think she's joking but then she actually walks toward the bathroom, stops at the door, looks over her shoulder, and gives me a teasing smile. "Are you coming?"
I press down on my lips, still sitting on the edge of her bed as if I needed a written invitation. "Hm?"
"You can shampoo my hair too," she says.
"You're joking."
She bites her bottom lip with a smile that is everything from cute and shy to playful and sexy. She shakes her head. "Unlike you, I wouldn't dare jest about that invigorating shower."
I finally get up and walk up to her, trying to figure out if she's messing with me. I don't want to seem desperate if it turns out to be a joke like usual.
She's patiently waiting by the bathroom door with that flirty smile. When I pass her, she closes the door behind us and slowly takes off Pik's t-shirt.
Her top really did get soaked and I can see her bra through the thin fabric. It's pink. I mean green–because I'm definitely looking at her eyes, duh.
Zelda steps closer to take off my hoodie. Guess this really is happening. I take off her top and drop it to the floor while she folds my hoodie and places it on the counter next to the sink.
She takes off my sweatpants, I take off her shorts. Then our socks. And then her underwear. I drop all her clothes on the floor and she folds all of mine, even my boxershorts.
"Are you OCD or something?" I ask, nodding at the pile of folded clothes.
"You've known me for a year, you should know."
I hug and kiss her, only looking at her eyes and lips. Her cheeks are bright red but she plays it cool. She turns on the water and returns to my arms while we wait for the water to get hot. I hold her, looking at her back through the large mirror behind her.
I've been in this bathroom so many times but I've never really looked at the shower before. I've never noticed how goddamn huge it is! It's probably as big as the whole bathroom at the frat house. It has marble tiles and a glass barrier, and at least fifteen different buttons and settings, my favorite being the rainshower.
"Ready?" I ask. She nods and gets in first. I follow.
The water is steaming hot, fogging up the glass wall and mirror. While she tries to dodge the boiling water, I enjoy the burning sensation on my shoulders for a couple of seconds before I turn down the temperature for her. I also switch the setting to the rain shower. She joins me under the stream, finding comfort in my arms again.
I'm starting to think she's trying to use me as some kind of way to cover up and hide her body. I want her to know that she doesn't have to hide it from me. I cup her cheek, forcing her to look at me. Then I kiss her. First on her lips, then her cheeks and then her nose. I kiss her forehead, her ears, and her jawline.
She kisses me back.
I continue to kiss her shoulder, then I move down her arm. Her body is beautiful, and I love every part of it. I leave a kiss on her elbow, one on her wrist, and one on each knuckle. I plant an extra kiss on her ring finger.
She kisses my head as I lean down to kiss her chest, right where her heart is. Water is running down her skin. Her hands claw my hair. She's nervous.
She doesn't have to be.
"Which shampoo do you use?" I say, eyeing the 5 different bottles.
"The rose colored one with the silver top." She points at the bottle, and when I grab it, she says, "But I can do that myself."
I grab the bottle. "You asked me to do it. That was the deal, and now I must fulfill my duty." To make her feel more comfortable and distract her from the fact that she's fully exposed, I take the hand she is using to cover her chest and squeeze some shampoo into her palm. "Can you do my hair while I do yours?"
She gives me an ambitious nod as if I just commissioned her to build me a whole town.
I massage her head with shampoo and rinse it out with warm water after. She does the same to me and I don't know what it is but the way her fingers run through my hair feels so relaxing!
When she's done, I pick up the bottle of body wash and squeeze out enough to scrub her whole body.
I start at her shoulders, then I move to her arms and then her chest. I stop there for a second to draw a little heart shape with my finger. A heart on a heart, get it?
I get down on one knee and watch as her eyes grow huge. No, I'm not proposing. Just scrubbing. Her waist, her hips, her legs, her thighs, and even the top of her feet!
Bet she's never been this clean in her life!
"Link..."
I look up at her to see what's up. She's looking back at me, fully covered in foam and bubbles. How can someone be pretty from every angle...
"Yeah?" I ask.
"My turn," she says and grabs the loofah to return the favor. She scrubs all the places on my body that I left out on hers, starting at my toes and my heels, and moving up to the scars on my knees. She gets my armpits and each gap between my fingers. She also cleans my chin and the tip of my nose, which makes me sneeze. Soapy bubbles are now floating through the air.
She cleans my earlobes and eyebrows too. I probably look like Santa with so much foam on my face.
"Ho, ho, ho," I joke. "Have you been naughty or nice?"
A giggle slips out of her but she tries to keep a straight face. "Nice," she says.
"Nice girls don't party," I say in a deep, christmassy voice and try to clean the smudged makeup off her cheeks.
"So I'm naughty?"
"Naughty girls don't help those in need."
"So what does that make me?" She asks amused.
I continue wiping away the smudged makeup. "Well," I reply with a smirk, "I'd say you're a delightful mix of both. A nice girl who knows how to have a little fun, and a naughty one with a heart of gold."
"You're not wrong," she admits, her eyes sparkling. "Life's too short to be all good or all bad, right?"
"Exactly," I agree, nodding like a wise, bearded monk. "Balance is the key to happiness, and it seems like you've mastered that art."
She laughs, which warms my heart a little. I don't ever want her to stop laughing.
As the playful mood settles, we look at each other, and for a moment, there's a shared understanding between us. We've been through so much together.
"Aristotle was once asked what a friend was," she tells me out of nowhere. "He replied: A single soul residing in two bodies." Okay I see where she's going with this. "Even though you're more than just a friend," she whispers, "I love the friendship we have. And the soul we share."
I don't know why she's frowning when she says that. There's no reason to be sad right now. She must be tired, she's been through some stuff today. I didn't even ask why she got a drink thrown at her.
I counter her frown with a smile. "You didn't get my back yet."
"Oh." Her eyes stop looking at the soapy puddle at our feet, and the ambition to build me a town has returned. I turn around, but instead of cleaning my back, she goes straight for my butt.
"What are you doing?" I laugh, not intervening.
"I'm making sure you're sparkling clean!" she says.
"Well that's very nice of you. And very naughty, too."
She rinses my back until all the foam is gone. When she's done cleaning me, her finger starts to draw shapes all around my back while I'm still facing away from her, drawing my own shapes onto the fogged up glass.
"You have so many scars..." She says, probably circling them all out.
"I prefer the term 'battle wounds'."
Her finger traces along my spine. "This is where they operated..."
"It's where they saved me."
She hugs me from behind. "I'm glad you're here with me..."
"It's my favorite place to be."
"Sometimes I get so scared of losing you... Even just the thought, I... I can't handle it..."
I sigh. "To be honest... I was a little scared of losing you today."
"Today? Why?"
"I don't know. I called your phone and some guy answered..."
"Oh..."
"It turned out to be Impa's boyfriend but... I don't know what went through my head at that moment." I pause, drawing another smiley face on the glass. "I'm not proud of how I reacted. When I get angry or protective, I shut off my brain and always make irrational decisions. Today, I freaked out over a stupid misunderstanding. I'm sorry that I act like that sometimes."
At first I thought someone was hurting her but once I knew she was safe... Ugh, I hate that even just for a second I thought that she was sleeping with a Boar. Intimacy is a great deal to her and I should really be honored that she is comfortable sharing that experience with me, and me only.
"We're always apologizing to each other," she mumbles. "Can't we just be thankful instead?"
"I'm thankful that you came home safely," I tell her relieved.
"And I'm so thankful that I have someone in my life who cares about me coming home safely."
"I care so much more than you know..."
"Link?" her voice is low and hesitant. "There's something I have to tell you... A confession..."
My heart skips a beat. What is it this time? Something with Karusa again? Or something with Pik...
I turn around, expecting to find the face of a guilty person, but there's a playful smile on her pretty face. "I have a huge crush on you!"
I gasp to play along, "I already have a girlfriend!" I say. "But between you and me, I have a crush on you too."
She nods excited. "I've had a crush on you for a long time!"
"How long?"
"Almost a whole year!"
I know she's just goofing around, but if that's at all true, I'm gonna be pretty surprised. "A whole year?" I ask.
"I said almost!"
"When did you first catch feelings for me?" I'm so curious now. "Like for real."
She's thinking...
"Maybe around October," she says but I don't buy it.
"Nah, you started liking me way before then."
She laughs, her whole face turning red. "When did you start liking me?"
"I'll tell you if you tell me."
"Fine! You go first though!"
"Not a chance."
She gives in, "I realized that I was in love with you around my birthday."
"Woah, I thought we were talking about an innocent little crush! Now you're suddenly talking about the L-word?" I joke.
She shoves me lightly. "Come on, tell me!"
"Don't shove me, we could both slip and die naked in the shower!"
"Link!" she gasps in between laughter.
"Imagine if Cado found us like that. Or your dad!"
"Come on, tell me!" She persists. "I told you, now you have to tell me!"
"Okay okay, fine," I shrug coolly. "I started being interested in you sometime around November or December I guess."
"Such a liar!" She calls me out on it.
I let her beg for the truth a little longer. It's amusing. But I don't torture her for too long. After a minute or so I decide to finally tell her.
"I started having a crush on you when you first asked me out on a date," I admit.
"Really?" She grins. "That long ago?"
"Yeah..."
"And how do you feel about me now?" she asks. "After all this time?"
I pull her into a soapy, slippery hug. "Now my crush has developed into love. What about you?"
"Eh," she shrugs. I guess this is payback for teasing her. "Let's just say I wouldn't mind going on another date with you."
I smirk and take the opportunity. "Wanna go on a date this week?"
"Sure!" she chirps, all happy and carefree as if she had planned this outcome all along. She leans her head against my shoulder and continues grinning to herself.
"Can I confess something too?" I ask. She doesn't move, she just nods against my shoulder. "I've never told this to anyone but... I always knew there was something special about you. Ever since that first date I just kinda knew you were going to be in my future. And my gut feeling was right."
I almost go on and tell her that I plan on marrying her one day but I decide to keep that one to myself for now. She'll find out when the time is right.