After buying a postcard at the pier, Link drives us back to the frat house. The door is locked, suggesting that everyone's gone by now. We enter with caution. The house is quiet, a bit messy, but nobody other than Revali can be found upon stepping into the living room. He is lying on the couch, lifting weights with one hand while holding his phone in the other.

"Welcome home," Revali says without making eye contact, already sounding annoyed by our presence.

"Hello Revali," I greet him. He sits up in a heartbeat and looks over the back of the couch to gape at me.

"You," he peers at me.

"Me," I press my lips together, trying not to look awkward.

"You're the reason I had to send everybody home?"

"I'm sorry about that."

"Both of you owe me," he reminds us.

"Where are the others?" Link asks Revali. I'm guessing he means their roommates.

"Out."

Without another exchange of words between the two, Link makes his way upstairs and I follow. He unlocks the door to his room, letting me enter first. I take my backpack off and place it next to his desk before I take a seat on the bed. It's a hot mess in here but I don't mind. It feels more like home than my own room.

"Are you feeling a little better?" Link asks, standing in the door.

"A little," I nod.

"I'm going to make you dinner. You can stay up here or you can join me in the kitchen. Ravioli is the only one home so you don't have to worry about anyone else."

"Thank you... I think I'll stay up here and write my letter for Impa."

"Okay. You know where to find me. I won't be long," he says and leaves.

He's so sweet to me. Pik's words still echo in my mind. You deserve better. Not even a saint deserves Link's heart. He should protect you and make you happy. If only he knew. Link has done more for me than I will ever deserve. I've been unfair to him more times than I would like to admit and yet he was patient and never failed to be there for me when I needed him. The same goes for Impa. All my life she has been there during my lowest times as well as during the highlights of my life. She has been the best friend anyone could wish for and I basically disregarded her for months. I've never seen her so down, I don't know how to handle it. How can words repair the damage I've caused?

By the time I'm done with the postcard, Link returns, informing me that dinner is ready. A wave of different smells sneaks into the room and fills my nose with a foreign scent, making my tummy grumble. The sound of my starving organs is drowned by the buzzing coming from my phone on Link's desk. I ignore it.

"Do you want me to hand you your phone?" He sweetly asks but I shake my head.

"It's my father. He has been trying to reach me."

"I take it you don't want to speak to him?"

"Do I have to answer that?"

He shakes his head and offers me his hand. I take it and get up from his bed.

"Done with the letter?"

"I think so. I hope it will work. I really screwed up this time. I hope she won't be upset for too long. I know she didn't mean to end our friendship, I know she'll come around, but it still hurt so much to hear her say those things to me..."

Link doesn't give me a verbal response but he looks at me with undivided attention. He may not have much wisdom to share with me but he is there for me. And I am grateful for that.

His hand is warm and rough from the scrapes on his knuckles. "Let's eat. You will feel better."

He leads me to the dining room. The table is already set with plates and silverware.

"We don't have candles," he says shyly. "I can turn on the flash of my phone and dim the lights?"

My heart! I think it's melting. I chuckle lightly and kiss his cheek. "It's fine, we don't need candles, but thank you." I don't consider myself the romantic type but this thoughtful gesture just makes my stomach flutter.

His cheeks flare in reds and he turns to hide his smile. He's adorable when he tries not to blush.

We sit down across from each other. I don't recognize the food on my plate but it looks delicious.

"It's called Nikujaga. It's a traditional Japanese dish. I figured you'd like it since you eat at Daruk's restaurant all the time."

"I love Japanese cuisine. Even though I've never been, I think I'd really like to visit Japan one day. Its culture interests me."

"I will take you to Japan. I want to show you Omatsuri. It's a festival with lots of good food and really nice performers."

"Sure," I stretch the word. "And while I'm there I'll make an American dish for you. Fries and a burger for the irony, what do you say?" I shoot him a smile across the table and take the first bite. Even though my nose still feels stuffy from crying, the amount of flavor in this dish blesses my tongue.

"Oh my goodness," I mumble, covering my mouth full of food. "It's amazing."

"Thank you. Food always helps me feel better," he looks pleased. "I'm serious. I will take you to Japan if you want that."

Suddenly the room feels like an oven. Can he really be serious about traveling to the other side of the world with me next summer? We have only known each other for a couple of months, why would he want to go on such a journey with me of all people? Father would laugh at me if I told him I was going on a little trip with my not so official boyfriend. The thought alone scares and amuses me at the same time.

I've always wanted to see the world, and while Father has taken me to a couple of countries in Europe in the past we never did any sightseeing. We would stay at the airport; spend our days in tiny conference rooms and our nights in five star hotels, only to leave the next day. Visiting a country with a native who speaks the language and knows the area would be a whole new experience.

Going to Japan with Link... What a peculiar and truly tempting thought.

"Father would never allow it. Would be nice though."

"Pik has a point," Link says quietly and I almost choke on a piece of potato. Did he just say Pik?

"Come again?" I croak.

"You thought about your dad's approval before anything else. The thought of it being nice only occurred to you after you had already accepted that it's not going to happen."

"I mean..." I don't even have a counterargument. I just can't believe he just agreed with Pik after everything he said today. "No, you're right. You're right... It's just, I can't just go to Japan with you."

"Doesn't have to be Japan. There's like what... 200 countries? Choose one."

"Link..."

"Switzerland is pretty neat."

"You've been to Switzerland?"

"Yeah, the alps are my favorite place to go snowboarding. And their chocolate is straight from heaven, I'm telling you."

"We don't have to travel across the Atlantic Ocean to eat chocolate."

"I know, but like you said, it would be nice."

Where is this coming from? "I'm serious."

"So am I."

"I've never gone anywhere without a parent present. Or without one's permission for that matter."

"There is a first time for everything," he smirks.

My cheeks are hotter than the plate in front of me.

"Seriously though, think about it. No need to book a ticket tonight."

He really is serious about this. Has he been thinking about this or is this a spontaneous idea of his? This is the first time he talked about us in the future. I have no idea what I will be doing next summer or where I will be. Hopefully I can move into my own apartment before my second year at HU. That would make this an actual possibility. Wow, Link and I in a foreign country, I can't even wrap my head around it.

After dinner I help Link clean up the kitchen. I hate to admit it but I have never cleaned my dishes, let alone the kitchen. The maid takes care of such chores... I hope Link doesn't notice it. I am not exactly proud of it.

"Want some dessert? I'll serve you ice cream on a fork," he laughs.

"I'm full. And please forget I ever told you about that," I hide my face.

"Who the heck eats ice cream with a fork?" he continues to tease and I swat his arm lightly.

"Careful now or I'll use my martial arts moves on you!" I warn with a smirk.

We go back upstairs and play cards on Link's bed while I open up about my family. I tell him about my mother; how much I admired and loved her. Only then do I notice that I keep talking about her in the past tense, yet Link has no idea that she is no longer with us.

"I've been meaning to tell you this, I just didn't know how... My mother passed away when I was six," I finally tell him after all these weeks.

"Oh... I'm sorry," he frowns.

"Ever since then, Father has shifted to this overprotective, punctilious dictator. I think he was overwhelmed and afraid of the responsibilities that came with her death. Mother used to be very laid back and gave me the freedom to develop my own skills and interests. She let me make mistakes and guided me like a guardian angel, not like a supervisor."

I haven't told anyone about my family. Impa knows about it all but only because she was always there with me. Whenever I do tell her about my feelings, she interrupts me to tell me what to do. I love her, I love that she wants what's best for me, but sometimes I just need to be listened to, nothing else. That's what I love about Link; he just listens. When he speaks, he only speaks his mind. He doesn't ever demand I do something.

"Father was very different from Mother... he didn't like the way she raised me and when she was gone he began to overcompensate. He set all these impossible goals when I was still a child. I had to practice and perform with a variety of instruments, get trained in dressage, attend golf meetings at the country club, talk like an adult, and do a bunch of other stuff I was too young to grasp. I think I turned into a project of his... A dysfunctional object that had to be fixed."

Shivers run down my spine. I feel awful for talking about Father in this way but it is how I truly feel, lately more than ever.

"The stakes got so high that Father would expect me to fail before I was given a chance to prove myself. Even now he doesn't believe in me. I'm not sure that I do either but I wish he would at least show some sort of pride or satisfaction toward me. I haven't failed yet, I haven't done anything to cause these trust issues between us. Or perhaps I have, but certainly not intentionally. All my life I've been following his rules. I can't say they were all bad, I graduated at the top of my class but there are still things I wish he had permitted. I would have liked to attend prom or... travel with a friend."

Our eyes meet.

I used to ponder so much about his thoughts when he would look at me in silence like this, but now, even without words, I can see what he is thinking. Although I can't see his thoughts exactly, I can see how he is feeling. I can feel his compassion and frankly that is more than any words could give me.

"I love my father, he's all the family I have left, but... ah... Sometimes I... " I take in a trembling breath. "Sometimes I question... if he loves me too."

I almost expect Link to disagree with me and tell me that a father always loves his daughter, but he doesn't say anything. Why would he? It would be a lie; not every parent loves their child, but Father hasn't always been cold to me. I know he cares, he just shows it the wrong way. Link doesn't know my family, he doesn't know our history or even our present. I don't expect him to give me advice, I'm just glad he's by my side, looking at me as I wipe another tear from my cheek. I think he doesn't quite know how to react to my tears. Neither do I, really. I wish I wasn't so emotional all the time.

"Lie with me," he says, patting the blanket next to him.

In a calm motion, he pushes the cards off to the floor even though we aren't done with our game. He looks thoughtful as he exhales and lies back on his bed, staring at his homeland flag on the ceiling. I join him, our elbows touching slightly.

"What about your family?" I ask him. I wonder which of these signatures are his family's. "What's your father like?"

"He's an admirable man," is the first thing Link says about his father. That already says a lot. "He was an athlete and a coach. He started training me at a young age; fencing and yabusame were his passion."

"Were? Is he... I mean... Did he..."

"No, he's alive. Still kicking," Link chuckles and adds, "Martial arts pun," when I don't laugh along.

"Clown," I roll my eyes at his wordplay. He smiles next to me.

"But yeah, no he's still alive. When he joined the military though an injury ended his career as an athlete. I guess fencing and yabusame are still his passion, I just used past tense because he can't compete anymore."

"What exactly is yabusame?" I've never heard of it.

"It's horseback archery."

"You do archery too?"

"Not competitively."

"Do you think you could beat Revali?" I smirk at him.

"Not sure but he's eager to find out. He challenges me on a daily basis."

"You never accept? I bet you could beat him. But call me when you do, I want to see his face."

"Eventually I will have to, just to shut him up. He's getting on my nerves."

"Just ignore him, that's what I do with Malice."

"Trust me, I do. Somehow he finds ways to get into fights with me without me saying a single word."

"It's a gift," I jest. I can't take Revali seriously. Even when he is rude to Link, I know that in his own way he cares about him, just like Father cares about me. After all these little things Revali has done for me and Link I could not see him as a bad person.

I roll on my side to look at Link.

"You're very beautiful," I say my thoughts out loud and shriek. I didn't mean to actually tell him that! He looks surprised, diverted, as if he needs to translate my words in his head.

"Right back at you," he replies with a slanted smile.

"Sorry! I don't know why I said that." It came out of nowhere too. "Tell me more about your family," I hope to distract him from my weird comment and my even weirder reaction.

"When my dad came back home from the military my mom was pretty relieved. She had never been a fan of his sports career, knowing the risks and all. He was just injured enough to stop competing but healthy enough to live a normal life."

"What does he do now?"

"He's home, taking care of our horses, our land, and especially my little sister. Aryll tells me that she secretly trains with him when my mom's not home. She wants to beat me at fencing."

"Does she stand a chance?" I ask. I love watching him talk about his family. He looks so content, he must really love them deeply.

"Ha, probably. She's ambitious. And feisty."

"What does your family think about your career as an athlete?"

"They support me. They want me to succeed. I want to bring honor to my family but I know that if I failed they'd love me the same. I'm not worried about that, but I still won't allow myself to fail."

"That's good..." I try to be happy for him but part of me is just reminded of the miserable relationship I have with Father. "It makes me really happy to hear that your family has your back."

"Thanks Zelda," he tilts his head to the side to look at me. My cheeks are probably still flushed.

"I... I have a weird... question," I stutter. "Please don't think I'm a creep."

"I'll try," the corner of his mouth lifts as he waits for me to assemble my question.

"Can I... Do you by chance... have a hoodie for me to wear?" I use a pillow to hide my embarrassed expression. This is so humiliating, who says that?

"Sure," he smiles. Oh. "You can choose anything from my closet."

I hate being this shy and insecure around him. Everything I do feels awkward, meanwhile he looks so relaxed and doesn't seem to have these problems at all.

I get up and walk over to his closet and open it. There is the blue hoodie he lent me the first time I got into an argument with him at the pier. I don't even look at the rest of his clothes, that's the one I want for the night. The night... Am I really going to stay here until the morning? I should probably go home and make sure Father--

Pain strikes my foot, wiping my mind of its anxious thoughts. I stubbed my toe on a cardboard box on the ground. I groan and lose my balance.

"You okay?" Link reaches out to support my balance.

"Hylia! Do you store bowling balls in here?" I open the box out of curiosity. Gold and silver greet me; dusty medals, rusty trophies, and crumbled certificates fill the box to its rim.

"What's all this?" I remove a trophy with Link's name engraved on a golden plate and a fencer on top.

"Just some stuff."

"Just some stuff?" I pick up a heavy gold medal from the winter olympics. "2018 Halfpipe Gold? Link... this is formidable! Incredible... Why are these stored away? Why don't you display them?" I know so little about his career, I didn't realize he attended the Olympics.

"I used to when I was younger but I don't really care about trophies anymore. Now I keep them in boxes."

"Boxes? Plural?"

He joins me on the floor and pulls more boxes from beneath the bed, all filled with awards from snowboarding, fencing, baseball, soccer, climbing, swimming, tennis, and martial arts. Is there anything he hasn't mastered? I almost lose my breath just from listing his skills. I even see a handful of horseback riding ribbons. I have awards too, an entire folder with them, but they are strictly academic. This is out of this world. How is this man still standing?

"We should watch a movie," he says, taking his hoodie off and throwing it into the corner of his room. When his t-shirt lifts up for a second I can see his scars again. His body carries the signatures of many sports accidents. I worry about his health.

"Have you ever broken a bone?" I ask when he returns to his spot on the bed.

"Plenty." I'm not surprised.

"Have you ever been injured so badly that you could not compete anymore?"

"Yes, I got knee surgery though so I'm all good now. Just gotta wear my knee support when I work out."

"Do you get scared of hurting yourself when you attend these competitions?"

"Sometimes, sure."

"People die," I stress. How is he so calm.

"I'm aware."

"But you still do it?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

He takes a short moment to think.

"Fear is your body telling you that you can't do something... But I know I can."

My mind goes to Father in an instant. I am terrified of speaking up to him even though I know I am capable of supporting my argument. The consequences are what I am more frightened of.

Link sure is courageous. And for somebody who has achieved so much he is nothing short of humble. He is generous, reliable, patient, kind, and witty. He is perfect in every way. His silence, his discipline, and all the other traits I once marked as flaws are really some of his best qualities.

I push the boxes back under his bed and join him under the sheets. This is the closest we've ever been. Even when I slept in his bed last time, we didn't lie under his sheets. I like being this close to him. I feel so warm and loved unlike anything I have ever felt before. Only he could make me feel this way, I'm sure.

"Are you comfortable?" I ask him, my arm on his chest and my leg across his thigh. Why is this so comfortable? I feel like a puzzle piece that found its perfect spot.

"Very," he replies for both of us.

We use my Macbook to browse through Netflix. Link recommends a couple of movies, mainly sports related like The Blind Side or The Karate Kid, slowly fading into historical genres with suggestions like Cinderella Man and Excalibur for a twist of fantasy. My list contains movies he has never even heard of like The Theory of Everything and A Beautiful Mind. He is kind enough to let me choose the movie but I don't want to watch something he would get bored of, so after much debate we blindly select a random show and end up falling asleep to the first season of Adventure Time. Turns out it doesn't really matter what we watch, being together is what matters.

Tomorrow I will have to fight for my friendship after hurting Impa greatly and keep it together when talking to Father after I disrespected and disobeyed him. All these worries swirl in my mind but for as long as Link is by my side I can sleep soundly and dream of nothing but traveling the world with him.

I likely won't remember the episode we watched tonight, but I will always remember how Link held me all night and kissed my forehead when he thought I was asleep. I will always remember how we faced each other, the tips of our noses only an inch apart, how his breath tickled my skin, and how his smile was the last thing my eyes looked at before drifting off to sleep. And how my hand searched for him each time I woke up in the night just so I could fall back asleep holding his hand.
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