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best friends don’t look at each other the way we do

A Low stakes, high reward and self-indulgent Zelink fan fiction. Canon-compliant. Takes place between botw and totk

Chapter Seven: Best friends don’t look at each other the way we do

Read Chapter six here

My master list

Song: Infinite Love, Emile Mosseri

Summary: The routine is set, but are Link and Zelda really happy? Are they willing to risk everything for what they desire the most?

Warnings: Mentions of death and torture (water boarding, starting oneself, being hanged, throwing up, hair falling out, fertility issues)…zoinks

Word Count: 4.1k

Authors note: Confession time, I wrote this in October….. and I never published it for why? God knows. I’m sorry. Unedited. Be nice.

“I want to cut my hair.” Zelda says very matter-of-factly, her hands on her hips. Link looks up at her from his rice bowl.

He swallows his mouthful of food, “Oh?”

“One of the books you ‘borrowed’ from the castle says that if you want to start over with your identity, start with your hair.” She makes quotations with her fingers when she says borrowed.

“Hey look, everyone steals from the castle nowadays.” Link shrugs.

“Pish-Tosh.” Zelda huffs, “I suppose my old knickers are stolen, then?” She asks with a cheeky smirk on her face and Link almost chokes on his next bite of food.

“You’re trying to kill me?” He asks.

“No, I’m trying to cut my hair.” She says. “See if you want to reinvent yourself, start with something minuscule and semi-permanent. Besides, hair holds memories. I want to get rid of the memories I have made with this hair.”

“All of them?” Link raises an eyebrow.

“No… of course not all of them. Look, are you gonna cut my hair for me or are

you gonna make me do it myself?”

“Are you sure? I mean you’ve never cut your hair before, I know how big of a deal it was to you when we were young.” Link isn’t trying to talk her out of it, he just really wants her to be sure.

“Absolutely. Now give me your sword.”

“Woah, woah, woah.” He stands up as Zelda moves to the weapon leaning against the wall. “Okay, let's cut it.” She was sure. That was clear. The two of them face Link’s janky mirror.

“You want it here?” He asks, holding her hair at a length that was about her mid-back.

“Shorter.”

“Okay…” He pulls it up to her shoulders. “Here?”

“Shorter.”

“…okay.” Link cocks his head and brings up her neck.

“Shorter.”

“Okay, how ‘bout you show me how short you want it to be?” He drops his hands. Zelda playfully rolls her eyes and takes her hair in hand, stroking it. She then holds her hand to just under her ears, making a chopping motion with her hands.

“That’s pretty short, it’s gonna tickle your neck and you won’t be able to put it up at all.” Link says.

“I’m sorry, is it your hair?” Zelda turns around to ask him and she’s so cute when she’s angry he wants to lean over and kiss her but he doesn’t.

They‘ve been sleeping in the same bed now for about a month. They both sleep better that way, and the physical touch is very nice for both of them. They fall asleep faster, dream better, wake up later and feel more rested. The few nights they’ve tried not to, one or both of them have woken up in a fit of nightmarish sweat and tears. The beast in the woods heightened Link’s trauma response. They fall asleep apart on separate ends of the bed, but wake up in a tangled fit of slumber, holding one another. They then get out of bed and act like it didn’t happen, going on about their day as if they were just two roommates. Neither of them will deny the chemistry created between them from it, however.

Extra stolen glances, looking for too long, small touches here and there, one getting brave and rubbing the others back or tickling their arm as they fall asleep. It’s easier to act like it doesn’t happen until it happens, but both of them are miserable when they aren’t touching, but they’re also both terrified of ruining what’s been created.

“I just… like your long hair.” Link shrugs.

Zelda purses her lips, “Okay what about here.” She then makes the same chopping motion just under her jaw.

Link nods, “I like that. I’ll go get the shears.”

“Wait.” She stops him by grabbing his wrist.

“Second thoughts?”

“No.” She raises an eyebrow. “I want you to use the sword.”

“What? Why? That’s dangerous. You trust me too much.” Link scoffs.

“Exactly. There’s symbolism to it. The Goddess incarnate taking control of her own destiny.” She explains.

Link folds his arms, “okay… but why?”

“Link can’t you just accept that I have a flair for the dramatic by now?” She groans. He chuckles.

“Fine, but if it's an uneven cut you can’t blame her.” He refers to the sword and turns to get it, Zelda has to shout from the other room.

“What, like she has a mind of her own?”

“Hey, you’re the one who talks to her, not me.” Link smiles as he walks back into the room with the sheathed blade. “I was advised only to use this on evil, so I’m breaking a rule for you.”

“Oh I’m sorry, was a hearty durian evil? A fortified pumpkin?” Zelda teases, tongue-in-cheek.

Link frowns, “hey, it's not fair that you got to spy on me! Those were private situations.” The both of them laugh.

“I liked spying on you.” Her inexperienced attempt at flirting.

“That’s not creepy at all.” Link teases.

“Oh what, like opening all my drawers in my room at the castle wasn’t creepy?”

“I was looking for arrows!”

“Righttttt.” Zelda squints.

“Hey, I’m the one with the sharpest sword ever made in hand.” Link raises an eyebrow and Zelda winks before turning around.

Link unsheathes the weapon, “Kneel.” He commands her and they both blush at it. He clears his throat and tries to ignore the subtext. “Here?” He holds her hair at the spot with his left hand.

Zelda hums, “mhm.”

“Okay, stay very, very still.” Link concentrates, Zelda holds her breath. Link takes some time to line it up, trying to get the right angle. It’s hard with the length of the sword.

“Any day now.” Zelda sarcastically says.

“Will you shut up?” Link playful says, they speak that way with each other all the time nowadays.

“Make me.” Zelda flirts back and they both hold their breath. She wanted to believe Link felt the same way about her but wasn’t sure. She didn’t dare risk it. Link figured that if they were sharing a bed together, they could probably stand to do more, but he didn’t want to overstep. He didn’t dare take advantage of her. He awkwardly chuckles. His response makes Zelda cringe, and she closes her eyes tight wishing she hadn’t said that. Link just didn’t know how else to respond.

‘Idiot’ He thinks to himself, ‘I am an idiot’.

“Okay… Here I go.” Link says and then in an instant he’s pulling the master sword through Zelda’s hair and it’s cleanly sliced off.

Her long, gorgeous locks fall to the floor by their feet, and Link is just impressed with his ability. “Master Swordsman, Hero of Hyrule… Hairdresser.” He wolf-whistles at himself and spins the sword by his side.

“And soooo humble.”

“And insanely handsome.” Link tongue clicks twice.

“Can’t argue with that.” Zelda says as she’s standing up but before either of them reply, she sees herself in the mirror. Her breath is taken away, she looks at her new cut with awe, her green-eyes blowing up wide. She runs her fingers through it a few times, brushing it out.

“So, how’d I do?” He asks, leaning against the hilt of the sword.

“I love it.” She beams, seeing herself as Zelda for the first time. Not Her Royal Highness the Princess of Hyrule. Zelda then giddily jumps up and down a few times, squealing with delight. Link hums.

“I’m happy you like it.” He smiles.

“Do you like it?” She asks, turning around to show him from the front. Link smiles, examining her.

“It’s beautiful… You’re beautiful.” He admits.

They look at each other for a long time. They always give each other that look. A look of longing, of despair, of wanting to say something but not being able to. They look at each other.

Zelda pulls her eyes away.

“It’s market day, should we get ready?” She changes the subject, Link nods and she moves past him and this time Link is the one to cringe. He shuts his eyes tight, she probably didn’t want to hear that from him.

They have their little routine now. On Wednesdays they go to the pop-up market on the hill by Purah’s house. The Lurelin fishermen bring their fish and tropical fruit and trade with the Hateno farmers for milk and cheese and whatnot. Link and Zelda go there on Wednesday’s, on Thursdays they take Epona out into the forest and Link practices mounted-archery while Zelda reads. Mondays are for Hateno Favors. Getting rid of wasp nests, cleaning wells, killing bokoblins, telling stories to the little kids, in return they usually get offered rupees but the pair always refuse. The villagers started giving them eggs and herbs and spices instead. Link has started experimenting with cooking immensely.

Tuesdays are for house chores, cleaning up, building Zelda a little study in the well, Link has even taken up farming and last week he planted his first seeds for tomatoes. He doesn’t know if they’ll take root but every night he tells Zelda about how much they’ve grown or wilted.

Fridays are for stargazing and astronomy lessons. The two of them climb onto the roof and try to remember all the constellations together, Zelda has started to map them back out, this causes a lot of debates between the two of them, but it's fun.

Saturdays are Zelda’s favorite days, it's when Link takes her up to Purah’s and the two of them talk about science and inventions and Link spars in the yard. He never wants to freeze up again like he did a month ago at Dantz’s. He never wants to feel as rusty as he did again. He has never told Zelda what he saw, in fact he’s told no one, and at least it hasn’t shown back up.

And lastly, Sundays are for worship. Sunday’s are Link’s favorite day. They’ve started going to the services at the Mayor’s house, and they are very pleasant. No one knows Zelda is the literal personage they are worshiping, which it feels nice to have the anonymity that she’s gained. After worship, they come home, and Link teaches Zelda how to cook. She still hasn’t gotten very good at it, but it usually ends in laughter and an opened window and playful nudges and side aches.

And every night, Zelda sits at the table and Link paces back and forth in the room while he tells her about every adventure, every battle and every dungeon he came across over the last three years. Well… not every adventure. He leaves out details like those drunken nights of passion, or the few times he almost died, or the times he got lost.

Zelda writes it all down. It’s very important to keep records, she reminds him. Besides, she’s found that it helps her memory and motor skills, which are still lacking.

The fainting has subsided, at least a little bit. Zelda doesn’t cry every day anymore, she can bathe without feeling watched and think about her past without feeling as much guilt. It’s refreshing.

It’s refreshing for both of them, a domestic life was never something either of them were raised for, and they are both as happy as ever with their routine.

Zelda wears a pretty straw hat as she and Link head to the market. She blabbers on about the theory of gravity to Link and he’s just happy to listen. They know the villagers names now, and Zelda happily calls out to all of them as they walk by:

“How do you do, good day, so glad to see you Mrs. Faido, thank you I just cut it this morning, pleasant afternoon isn’t it?” And so on. She’s so cheerful, so full of decorum. Link gets awfully stoic as he’s seen in public, but it’s okay because Zelda does all the talking for both of them. He sometimes even reverts into his three-paces behind her, but she always stops and waits for him until he remembers to walk side-by-side these days.

Link’s stomach drops when he sees Savi at the market. It’s his first time seeing her since the night they kissed, and she meets his glance far too quickly. She smiles and waves, and he waves back like an idiot. Zelda notices.

“Who’s that?” She asks.

“No one.” Link swallows.

Zelda raises an eyebrow, she knows he’s lying. She tries to push down any jealousy she had but fails. She lifts up her chin and walks over to the girl. Link wants to reach out and stop her, but he freezes up again. Some knight he is.

“Good afternoon.” She says to Savi, “How do you an Link know each other?” Zelda says in a cool-tone. Sometimes her royal qualities came off a little too strong.

“Zelda-“ Link tries to stop her but she doesn’t allow it.

Savi almost stumbles over her words, “He helped at my father's farm some weeks ago.” She manages to get out, but she looks at Link as she says it, and Zelda is biting her tongue.

“Interesting. He never told me about you.” Zelda turns to Link.

Savi blushes, “And you are?”

“I’m his…” She stops. What was she? His Roomate? His century-old babysitting assignment? His God-Given soulmate of sorts?

“She’s my friend.” Link just smiles and nods, “My…best friend.” He walks past the women wanting to go look at the fish for dinner tonight as an escape.

The girls make eye-contact.

Zelda tries not to let that hurt her. Just a friend? They’ve been sleeping in the same bed for a month and he can’t come up with anything better?

Savi’s dark eyes get mischievous, and she takes a step to Zelda, “Just friends, hm?” Her arms fold.

Zelda frowns, “Does it offend you that we live together?” She asks, “I know the morals of Hateno Villagers like yourself are…outdated.”

Savi visibly tenses, “Have you kissed him?” She asks.

“Excuse me?”

“Cause I have.” She grins, “So even if you’re ‘best friends’, you better not act like you get some special treatment from him.” Her voice lowers as Zelda’s stomach drops. She must have shown it on her face because the girl is egging her on more after that. “Oh, he didn’t tell you? Some best friends you are.”

“When?” Zelda couldn’t care less about Link’s… activities before she was saved, but now that she’s back, everything has more weight to it.

“Oh not long ago,” She acts like she can’t remember when, her eyes tracing the outline of a thought, “Oh yeah… it was just a month ago or so.” She smirks.

Zelda’s face goes flush. Had he kissed her when he helped at the farm? When Zelda was at home alone, crying in bed because she’s broken in more ways than one? And Link decided to go out and kiss some girl?

“Link’s personal affairs are none of my business.” Zelda tries to stay relaxed but in reality she is crushed.

“Oh good. So you don’t mind if I do it again?” The girl teased.

Zelda frowned, and looked at Link who was laughing with a Lurelin villager. His laughter had a cadence of joy that filled her spirit. She doesn’t think she ever heard him laugh before the slumber. He looked at her and they made eye contact through the market.

“Excuse me, miss.” Zelda says to Savi, “But I don’t need to condescend other women to know my relationships are secure.” She returns. “Good day.” Zelda walks away, filled with gumption.

The walk home is done in silence, Link doesn’t think anything of it, and that’s what really upsets Zelda. How could he not see she was upset?

He starts dinner, she stays silent. Link whistles that same song, the one that came to him in a dream. It’s incessant. He’s clueless and it drives her insane. She’s filled with a feeling of frustration and anger. Feelings she hasn’t felt in hundreds of years. Literally. She rubs the pages of her book, not even reading a word on the page even though she stares at it.

The whistling keeps going.

She glares up at him.

Why didn’t he tell her? Why didn’t he just kiss her? He probably doesn’t want to. She’s been filling her mind with nonsense all this time. Link likely doesn’t see her as anything other than a nightmare blocker.

Or a nightmare causer.

The whistling keeps going.

Her heart rate rises. Why was this so upsetting to her? She tries to swallow her pride but can’t. She feels embarrassed. Was Link dishonest? Has he really changed that much overtime? He never would have lied to a soul in their youth, much less his Princess.

The whistling keeps going.

It rings in her ears in an unpleasant way that makes her want to bite into wood. “Can you shut up?” She blurts out in a tone that reminded both of them of their time together early on, when Link was just a silent knight who followed her everywhere.

He stops, frozen as he turns around slowly to look at her, sitting at the table and glaring up at him. “I’m sorry?” He says, clueless.

“Thank you.” She looks down at her book, a little embarrassed now.

“Is everything okay?” Link asks.

“Yes.”

“…Okay.” He turns back around to continue on dinner. Zelda slams her book closed. He turns back around. The air is thick. The tension is high.

“No. I’m not okay and it bothers me that you can’t see that.” She says.

Link blinks awkwardly. “Was I supposed to?”

“Yes!” Zelda says a little too-shrilly. She takes a breath and tries to compose herself.

“What did I do?” Link asks, trying to comprehend the situation.

Zelda sighs, “Well, lets see, you left me at home, sick, while you went into town to kiss some random girl a hundred years younger than you and then acted like it didn’t happen. I mean, did Dantz even need your help?”

Link's face goes flush, “Savi came onto me.” He feels the need to defend himself because of her accusatory tone.

“And you let her?”

“I’m not proud of it, Zel, that’s why I didn’t tell you. It was a mistake.” He keeps a level head.

“Don’t call me Zel.”

“My word, what has gotten into you?” He asks, putting his utensils down. “Why does it bother you that I kissed her?”

She can’t answer with what she really wants.

“Because it just feels dishonest! It implies you keep secrets!” Zelda huffs.

“Well… I do keep secrets.”

“Goddess, Link, did you even fight anything that night?” She asks, “Or was it all a farce?”

Link feels angry at that, how dare she say something after what Link saw, after what it did to him physically… emotionally, “Zelda you’re tired.”

“Stop telling me what I am or what I am not.”

“Stop acting like I’m some monster!” Link raises his voice for the first time.

“Stop pretending everything is fine!” She says and her voice breaks. It’s quiet for a moment.

She stands up, “I am sick, Link. You don’t even see half of it. You don’t see my hair falling out, you don’t see me throw up after almost everything I eat, you don’t see the bloody noses, you don’t see the fact that my womb is literally rotting inside me and I feel it. I am dying, Link. Calamity Ganon took every chance for full recovery I had, and left me a shell of a person who failed her kingdom.” She sobs.

Link is quiet at first, time passes, it’s only a few seconds but it feels like an eternity, “How do you want me to respond?”

“I want you to acknowledge it!”

“Okay! This is me acknowledging it, Zelda! Why didn’t you tell me about any of that?” He asks, also emotional.

“Because I don’t need you to baby me.”

“What do you want, then? Because you’re giving me very mixed signals.” He responds. “It’s not just about you, Zelda-“

“I don’t think it is!”

“Let me speak.” He stops her, barely raising his voice and staying cool, staying collected and analytical in contrast to her pain, “I have died. I spent four months lost in the Gerudo desert and was captured by Gibdos and survived by starving myself until I was skinny enough to crawl through a hole in the ceiling of their cave. I have been poisoned, shot with arrows, waterboarded, and hanged. I know what it's like to know you are literally dying because I feel it once every few months. So don’t-“ His voice cracks and he has to take a deep breath to finish his sentence, “So don’t preach to me about life and death because if there's anyone left in this world who can empathize with you…” His last few words are swallowed in the emotion of his throat. “I am trying.”

They both cry now.

“Just because you have had it worse doesn’t mean what I am experiencing isn’t valid.” Zelda says in a quieter tone than before.

“I would never suggest that.” Link defends. “But you have got to communicate with me. My entire purpose in life is to make sure you are safe. And I cannot do that if I do not know. Everything has seemed normal, we’ve been farming and stargazing together. How was I supposed to know?”

“I don’t want you to worry about me.”

“Of course I worry about you, Zelda.” He wants to tell her it's because he loves her, but he stifles the sentiment. Padding it instead with, “You’re my best friend.”

There it is again, she looks down, “Is that all I am to you?”

“What?”

“Just your best friend?”

“Zelda-“

“Best friends don’t look at each other the way we do.”

Their eyes meet again. They look at each other that same way. That look of longing. Their hearts begin to beat in sync. Link takes a single step to her.

“Zelda I- I can’t.”

“You can't do what? You can’t look at me as more than your princess? You can’t hope for more?”

“I can’t lose you again.” He says. “If we get any closer, it will make everything hurt more.”

“So let it hurt!” She gets worked up again. “We have nothing to lose at this point!” She fights with him, she fights for him, “Why can’t you love me the way I love you?” She asks.

They stare at each other. Silent again.

The tension builds, they feel it in their muscles.

Teary, green eyes find his crystal blue ones. Chests rise and fall, fists ball and loosen.

And then, like perfect clockwork they are stepping towards each other at the same instant and they are meeting in the middle, clashing together like two planets, grabbing onto one another hungrily, desperately as they kiss.

The first kiss is gentle. It’s soft and short. It’s sweeter than fruitcake and they pull away and look into one another's eyes. Link is sure his heart is going to burst out of his chest. They get dizzy, and pull into one another again.

Link’s hands cups her face, pulling her into him as much as he can. Their lips lock and pull apart and lock again. It’s full of desire and brokenness and a starvation for the other. Their breath gets heavy, their tongues meet. It’s a clash of need and thirst.

Their limbs tangle and he pulls one hand to the back of her head and the other hand moves to her hip. She wraps her arms around his shoulders. The kiss deepens and it’s like the entire world seems to stop spinning at that moment. They pant into one another’s mouths, Zelda bites his bottom lip, he groans quietly. He starts to push her backwards into the wall, and she hits it, gasping when she does. Link is putting his weight into her and it's sweaty and they both know they should stop but can’t. Both of them have been wanting this for as long as they can remember. The stars align, the window bursts open with a gust of wind, and they both pull away with tears in their eyes.

“Link I… I.”

“I’m sorry.” He steps back, “Shit, Zelda I’m so sorry.”

“What?” She asks and when she notices he’s walking away she’s pulling him back to her, hugging him tightly, wrapping her arms around him and burying her face into the crook of his neck. “Don’t you ever apologize for that.” She whispers. He sighs. “I was wondering when you were gonna do that.”

Link chuckles. “No more secrets, okay?” He mutters as he holds her by the waist. “It’s just you and me, okay?” Their foreheads meet.

“Okay.” She says.

“The fish is burning.”

They laugh.

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