"Dear Zelda," the maid says, evidently uncomfortable reading a personal letter written by her boss.

"Wait," I interrupt. Maybe I should read it myself. "No, keep going, please."

"Dear Zelda—"

"No, wait." I don't have time to doubt myself. There are more pressing matters waiting. "I'm sorry, please continue."

"Dear Zelda," the maid begins for the third time. "I sincerely apologize for my absence. I know you wished to spend this day together. I wished for it too, perhaps we can spend next year's holidays together at your lodge. I hope this present symbolizes more than just real estate. It is my way of showing you how much you mean to me.

If I could, I would give you the entire mountain. Memories lie up there, good as well as bad, I treasure them all. Your mother was in utter admiration for the mountains, the same kind of admiration I see in your eyes whenever you do your research. When your Mother passed away, your conduct was truly that of a born leader. Your strength gave me hope. Suddenly, I had to raise you all alone... Only I remained to prepare you for your future, a future I chose without consulting with you.

I left no room for weakness, even on behalf of my beloved daughter. My heart broke for you but I was sure that I had to act strong like a leader, not a father. I thought it was what's best for you and chose that path despite knowing that you would come to despise me. Losing you was a sacrifice I was foolishly willing to make. There is no excuse for that. I was falling apart after your mother's death and the only way to keep my head up was to work relentlessly to ensure a good future for you.

I was convinced that you would follow in my footsteps and when you began to spend more time with research, I felt I had no choice but to confront you. I now realize that I may have observed the world as black and white when there was much more to you than the gift of leadership. Your heart, your boundless compassion, with those precious gifts you have saved me from a narrow-minded life while I accused you of evading your duty. In truth, perhaps I was guilty of the same. Forgive me.

I understand how you feel. Painfully so. You lost your mother before you could learn from her. Ten years of self-training while you grew up without a parental figure. And while others talked behind your back, I, your only family, scolded you for your shortcomings. No wonder you wish to hide away in your research. I'd love nothing more than to console you. From now on, I shall speak kindly with you. I want to encourage you to keep researching your beloved sciences. They may lead you to answers I can't provide.

For now, I sit anxiously, more a father than a leader. I sit and await my daughters return. Zelda, you are my pride, and indeed the pride of all Hyrule.

Merry Christmas.

Love,
your father"

"Thank you," is all I return to the maid. I hang up and place Impa's phone back on the nightstand. I'm glad she's asleep already, for I lack any composure to carry a conversation right now.

My mind is too scrambled to process this. I feel touched, I am sure of that, but I can't collect a decent thought or truly comprehend any of Father's words. Did he mean what he said? Am I naïve to believe that he did? I will have to call him back in the morrow to thank him. Right now every part of me is focused on Link.

My mind is racing, thinking about him. I want to go back to his room this instant. I couldn't bear the look on his face when I left. It was heartbreaking.

I enter his room and quietly close the door behind me. He's pacing back and forth, clawing his hair. When he looks up at me, he stops. His chest falls, his eyes soften.

"Everything okay?" Link asks. "With your dad?"

I nod and walk over to him to hug him. "He gave me a Christmas gift," I say, leaning my cheek against his unsteady chest. "He gave me this property."

"That's nice," Link says breathlessly.

"It's more than just nice. He is giving me a place full of memories. Memories of Mother, memories of you. Of us."

"Sorry, what was the gift?" His mind is somewhere else.

"This property. The lodge," I repeat.

"Oh, that's insane. Did he know we came here so you could say goodbye?"

"He doesn't know that we are here. But he must have noticed how disappointed I was when he told me he was selling the property."

"That's sweet of him," Link says in a timorous voice but shakes his head. "I'm sorry Zelda, I can't pretend that everything's fine. It's nice of your dad but... fuck, I know I said I won't make you talk about it but... are you okay? I have to make sure that you're okay."

"I'm okay," I promise, gently rubbing his back. He hugs me tighter, careful not to hurt me. "Are you?" I ask back.

"I don't know what to say. I'm literally at a loss of words."

"I'm sorry to burden you with this..."

"Stop," he shakes his head and lets go of me to take a seat on his bed. "Stop saying sorry. I'm the one who wasn't there for you... I'm the one who made you uncomfortable."

I take a seat next to him and take his trembling hand into mine. "You've been the perfect pillar in my life," I say, waiting for his eyes to find me through the shock. "It's thanks to you that I feel okay."

"No, this shouldn't have happened. I should have protected you."

"You couldn't have. I should have just paid more attention during your self defense classes," I try to joke and offer him a weak smile.

"Zelda..." Link turns his head away from me and clenched his fists. "Was it me?"

"What?"

"Am I the guy who kissed and touched you against your will?"

"Goodness, no. Don't even think that," I tie my arms around his torso. He is stiff and doesn't hug me back.

"But I've kissed your neck before and... fuck... I'm such an idiot..."

"Link, I promise, it's not you."

"Then who?"

"Please... I can't talk about this." I'm already struggling to breathe.

"It's not Revali, is it?" Link glances at me but looks away before my answer arrives.

"No, of course not. Revali wouldn't do that."

"When did it happen? Was it this year? Was it Pik? Ganon? One of his guys? Karusa?"

My body turns numb and the room temperature appears to shift to freezing degrees.

"Link, I know you care about me. Please hear me when I say that talking about this right now will only hurt me more. I will tell you when I am ready... okay? Can we please drop it?"

"I can't just—What do you expect me to do?" He asks, searching my eyes for answers.

"Nothing. I need you to lie with me and hug me. That's all I want."

"Zelda, that asshole has to pay for what he did. I'll make sure he never even thinks about doing anything like that again. Just tell me who it was."

Hesitantly, I shake my head. His hand cups my cheek gently and I'm confronted by a gaze so full of emotion.

"Please, Zelda. I have to make sure that you'll be okay."

"I am okay. But if you keep pushing me I won't be. Telling you about this was hard enough as is, please respect that I don't want to go into detail. We had an amazing yet long day and all I want and need right now is to end this night in your arms."

Link let's his head fall into his hands and sighs. "I just want to protect you. I don't ever want to see you get hurt. I know it's selfish but this hurts me so bad."

"I'm sorry."

"None of this is your fault. I just feel like I failed."

"You couldn't have done anything." If I tell him he was playing soccer when it happened he will only blame himself more... or blame me for showing up that day... I just wanted to support him. Am I the one time blame for all of this? "I'm okay, really. I feel safe with you. It's just that when you kiss my neck I panic."

"I will never kiss you there as long as it makes you feel uncomfortable. Where else can't I touch you?"

"Er..." I'm not sure I understand his question. I tense and try not to blush as I think about it. "Everywhere else is fine I think."

"Can you promise me something?" He looks at me with such an intense earnestness that I can only nod. "If I ever do anything you don't want or don't feel comfortable with, tell me. Tell me immediately."

"I will."

He pulls me into a hug. "I'm so sorry this happened to you. It's not fair! Makes me so sick!"

"Me too." His hug feels amazing and I wish it could last forever. "Can you promise me something too?"

"Anything. Anything at all."

"Don't tell anyone. About this."

"Am I the only one who knows?"

Impa knows Karusa's face but she never saw what happened. But there is one person I told. "Father knows."

"Did he.." Link pauses and his breaths quicken. It takes me a second to understand his implication.

"No," I gasp. "He didn't."

"Fuck, sorry, I can't even really think right now."

"Father knows as much as you." Is that a lie? Father knows that the hickey connects to it. I don't think Link has figured that out yet. "Apart from Father, you're the only one who knows that something happened, so please keep it to yourself."

"Okay. If you want that I won't say anything. What about the cops though?"

"That's my responsibility. For now, can we just not talk about this anymore? It's mentally painful. Saying it out loud was incredibly difficult. Even if it doesn't seem like it, it's a big deal to me to tell someone. Even without any details..."

"Shit, sorry. You're right. You're so strong. I just feel useless. Is there anything I can do?"

"Can you give me one of your hoodies for the night?" Link gets up without hesitation and grabs a folded hoodie from his bag. It has a fencing logo on it and japanese lettering on the back. "Can we cuddle?" I ask as I pull on the hoodie.

Silently, Link lies down on the left side of the bed, knowing that I like to sleep near the window. I join him under the sheets after turning off the lights and place my head on his chest and my leg around his hips.

He is still so stiff. I know his mind is stuck on the nameless man. I can't help but feel guilty for his sudden change of mood. We could have just had a lovely night, but I had to ruin everything. Again. Maybe I shouldn't have told him. Or maybe it was just poor timing. But I had to rid his face of the guilt when I pushed him away. I didn't want him to think he did something wrong.

"Link," I whisper. I want to tell him how deep my feelings for him really are but now is not the time for that. "I need you," I say instead.

He exhales and kissed the top of my head. "I'm yours."

"Tell me about Japan," I bid, closing my eyes.

As Link describes random cultural differences such as the school system and annual festivals, his fingers draw small circles on my back while his other hand rests on top of my hand that I placed on his chest.

I want to stay awake and listen to the words he whispers in my ear when I'm asleep, but the exhaustion gets the best of me. It takes a while for me to fall asleep, but eventually his soft voice guides me into weightlessness.

✤ ✤ ✤

I wake up on my side, facing the window. Link is spooning me tightly. His arms are wrapped around my stomach and his legs aligned with mine. I can feel his calm breath against the back of my neck. He is fast asleep.

What time is it? I don't want to move and risk waking him up so I just lie with him until he wakes up from the sunlight raining down on his face.

When he groans and moves, I take one of his hands and kiss it. "Good morning," I whisper. He tries to pull me close but there is no space to close between us.

"Come here," his raspy voice requests. I turn around to face him. His eyes are closed and his hair is a hot mess. He rolls on his back, pulls me on top of him, and snakes his arms around my back to keep me close.

"Are you ever going to let go of me again?" I chuckle lightly.

"Mh-mh," he shakes his head lightly and kisses my cheek a couple of times before opening his eyes. "How do you wake up looking this pretty?"

"How are you a flirt this early?" I counter.

"It's easy when you wake up next to a goddess."

I can't come up with a comeback. I just bury my face in his collarbone and listen to his calming heartbeat.

"How did you sleep?" I ask after a minute of joyful cuddles.

"Fine. You?"

"I slept good. I always do when I'm with you."

"When you get your apartment, can I stay over sometimes?" He asks so sweetly that I can feel my heart melting.

"I've actually been thinking... I might go back to living with Father."

"For real?" He is as surprised as I am. I told myself I would never return to that house, yet here I am, using Father's letter as reason to give it another shot.

"Father and I have hardly talked at all in the last two months. We've both had space and time to think. He has been putting in a real effort to show me that he cares about me and I have been hiding and pushing him away. I want to have a real conversation with him and see what he thinks about me returning to the house. I'd want us to find a compromise, of course. No more curfew. And I want to study biology free of the pressure of maintaining a perfect GPA."

"What about the no boyfriend rule?" Link asks, not moving a single muscle as he waits for my response.

"That is history," I assure him. He exhaled and relaxes his muscles.

"But..." his voice is shrinking again. "If you go back to living with your dad, we won't see each other as much."

"We will still see each other during and after school."

"I meant at night," he says under his breath.

"Trust me, I don't want to be separated from you any more than you do. I'll still stay over some nights. If that's okay with you."

"Yes please." I smile and plant two small kisses on his jaw. "When are you moving out?" He wants to know.

"I haven't even decided on living with Father yet. But it would be logical and most practical to find a more permanent home before the new semester starts."

"So you're leaving me in two weeks?"

"You make it sound like I'm moving to a different continent."

"Might as well," he pouts.

"Fine, of it doesn't make a difference, I'll move to Kenya."

"Nice try," he locks his arms around my body, "but it'll be impossible to get past airport security with a funny looking guy attached to you."

"A handsome guy," I correct him.

"You're too cute. If you're leaving, the least you can do is make me hate you."

"And how do I do that?"

"It's impossible. So don't leave." It takes me a second too long to come up with a witty remark, so he boasts; "Check mate."

A knock on the door draws our eyes away from each other. "Hey, you guys alive in there?" Impa asks. "It's 1 PM already."

"1 PM?" I gasp and wiggle myself out of Link's grip to get up. I have never been in bed this far into the day. I rush to the door and rip it open.

"You are alive," Impa cheers in a sarcastic tone. She peeks her head into the room. Link, still in bed, raises his hand for a lazy greeting. She waved back at him. "And so is Link," she adds. "Everyone else is on the slopes already. I just thought I'd check if I have to call 911 before I go skiing."

"No, we are good. Just lost track of time," I chuckle.

"Right," she nods, her eyebrow arched as her eyes rake my body. "Nice hoodie by the way." I cover my chest as if that would hide the fact that I slept in Link's clothes. Impa bursts into laughter and turns away. "We are all going ice skating tonight since it's our last night here. 6 PM."

"We'll be there," I answer.

"Really?" Link and Impa say at the same time.

"Yes, of course, it'll be fun!" I smile.

Both Impa and Link seem pleasantly surprised. While she heads to the basement to get ready for the slopes, I return to Link and spend another hour in his arms until our hunger grows beyond bearable.

Link cooks breakfast for me while I sit at counter with a blanket wrapped around my body. The view holds my eyes captive. It's another perfect day and the mountains look so crips and untouchable. I sip on my tea as my eyes return Link's back.

"I'll make you the best omelette you've ever had," he says, seasoning the eggs in the pan.

A sight like this, a house so quiet, a furry blanket wrapped around my shoulders, and a handsome man cooking breakfast for me... a few days ago, this felt like it could be ours. Today, it is ours. His and mine. All of this. Just the two of us. I get up, walk around the counter, and hug him from behind. He smiles when I plant a kiss on the back of his neck.

"Deja vu," he chuckles.

I wrap my blanket around his arms and kiss his shoulder. "You are perfect," I tell him.

He sucks in a sharp breath and turns around to face me. His arms move to my waist to lift me up. Before I know what is happening, my legs are hooked around his waist and his arms around my back hold me up securely. This is new.

His eyes settle on my lips and my heart is somersaulting. "You are perfect," I repeat my thoughts out loud.

His breaths are impatient and he doesn't hesitate to kiss me. I tighten my legs and snake my arms around his neck as my pulse exhilarates to keep up with his.

He walks a few steps and sits me down on the kitchen counter, never breaking the kiss. I'm making out in the kitchen of my house. If this is a dream, I never want to wake up.

Next year, I want to come here again. Maybe we can spend every Christmas up here. Maybe one day I will finally make that dream of drinking hot chocolate by the fireplace a reality.

I just realized... last night, when we were all sitting by the fireplace, exchanging gifts and playing games, we drank hot chocolate. Without even noticing it, my dream became reality. Just not the way I had imagined it. Franky, it was far better. The addition of the others made this vacation perfect. And next year, if we really do come back to celebrate Christmas in Mammoth Lakes, I'd want everyone else to be here too. They are part of my family now and it wouldn't be the same without them.

Link backs away by an inch, just enough to look at my eyes. "I'd kiss you all day but the eggs are going to catch fire."

"That is the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me," I joke.

"Really? Sweeter than 'I don't hate you'?"

"You remember that?" I blush. It's been over three months since he said that to me on my birthday.

"How bad do you think my memory is?" He laughs and kisses my nose.

"Not bad at all, apparently."

"But seriously, unless you want your pretty lodge to burn down, you should let go of me."

"Admit it, you secretly want that fire to ignite, arson boy."

With a grin, he untangles himself from the blanket and returns to the stove to flip the eggs. Not soon later we are finished with breakfast and I can confidentially say that this was not his best omelette. It certainly wasn't bad, but the eggs were slightly overcooked. I'll take the blame for that one. 

We spend the rest of the afternoon walking around the house in an contest of who can find the biggest icicle, I win, then we compete against each other to see which one of us can throw the longest snowball, Link wins, and then we build a snowman—or should I say a snowmonster... it seems neither of us is a skilled sculptor.

Link kisses me in the snow, only to distract me enough to shove snow down my neck. I shiver and gasp at his bold move. "You'll get that back!" I warn and pick up a good hand full of snow. Link laughs and tries to get away but the deep snow is making it a real challenge to run or even walk anywhere. I throw a soft snowball at the back of his head and watch as he spasms.

"Ah shit that's cold!"

"You don't say," I mock and shape another ball of snow. Link's strategy of defense is to walk up to me and kiss me some more in hopes of distracting me just enough. Not a chance. I want to bring my hands up to his neck but he pushes me down to lie in the soft snow. Okay, his strategy isn't bad. I kiss him back as he lies on top of me. Walls of snow surround us and all I can see is the pink sky aloft.

When we can hear Mipha and Sidon's laughter, we freeze. They're not too far a way, walking back to the lodge.

"If we're quiet, they won't see us," Link whispers with a smirk. He is not wrong, but kissing him only feet away from Mipha would be—no, acting all careful around her is exactly what got us into this mess.

"True," I kiss his chin.

"You missed."

I roll my eyes and kiss him properly. His lips are cold and feel almost foreign. I'm getting pretty cold too lying on the freezing ground and we still have to get ready for ice skating, so I sit up and give him one final kiss before we return inside.

Since Revali insists on taking a prolonged, steaming shower when he returns from the slopes, we run late and don't get to the ice rink until nearly 7 PM. The town has a magical atmosphere; Christmas lights decorate each building and thick layers of snow hug the pine trees. The sky is free if clouds, displaying a night sky unlike anything I have ever seen before. Tonight, all the beauty around us is touching my heart.

We rent our skates and enter the rink. It's lit by a dozen strings of lights that give the illusion of a starry ceiling. At 7 PM, the clocktower sounds its beautiful bells.

I admire Mipha for her skating skills. She can skate backwards, on one leg, and even spin like a professional ice skater. Sidon is pretty good too. He tells us that he used to play ice hockey but as he grew older and took sports more seriously, he had to decide on one sport. Swimming was his choice. Not everyone can be a multi-talented sports prodigy like Link. Of course I keep those thoughts to myself.

Mipha teaches me some easy tricks to keep my balance. Now I can actually go a lap without constantly falling on my butt. The awkwardness has finally become so minor that it is hardly noticeable at all. When she shows me how to skate, and laughs and cheers when I get it right, I realize how much I missed her as my friend.

———-
(Hey guys :) yay I managed to post this chapter on time! Starting next week I'm home again so I'll be able to reread and edit my chapters before posting them hehe sorry for any typos in this chapter! Thanks for your support and all those sweet Tweets and Instagram stories saying you like Thinking About You! Always makes my day!!!!! Love you all soooooo much xoxo Ace)