(This bonus chapter is my Christmas gift to all of you ^^ I thought you'd enjoy a Zelink Valentine's Day chapter hehe. Merry Christmas my lovely readers!)

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February 14th. All these years I rolled my eyes at this day, thinking to myself that my classmates should focus on the teacher and the subject, rather than to ogle their crush and pass notes around. I would get so vexed, I nearly threw a tantrum each year. Impa always said I was jealous of all the couples at our school. That annoyed me even more. Looking back, maybe I did envy them in a certain way.

But that's in the past. Now is the present and the present gives me butterflies. I can't wait to spend the day with Link. Baseball season has started, so we haven't been able to see each other as much as we want to but when it comes to him it's worth the wait. Even though we didn't plan anything special, I'm sure the day will be absolutely perfect, especially since we didn't plan anything special. With Link, anything is a fun adventure. I don't need fancy dinners or a dozen roses. I just need him.

He told me to come over to the frat house after school. My guess? We will play some Mario kart, cuddle, and eat dinner at the house. Hopefully he is planning on cooking for us. I miss his food.

Father is gone for business. Somewhere in Asia. For once I am happy that he is gone during a holiday. I've already informed Cado and the maid; Link will spend the night. This time they weren't bribed to keep it a secret. They weren't asked to keep it a secret at all. I don't want to go behind Father's back like that or risk anyone getting fired. If Father finds out, I will take the blame. Oddly enough, I am not too worried about it. I even imagined this one scenario where Father comes home early and finds Link in my bed. For some reason that thought makes me laugh.

After my last class for the day, I drive home to change into a cute dress and do my hair. Maybe a touch of makeup won't hurt. When I'm done getting ready, I grab the little box of chocolate from the kitchen island and drive to the frat house.

I ring the bell and wait. The porch is littered with red cups and empty beer bottles from last night's party. I am so glad I don't have to deal with that stuff anymore. When the door opens, I grin up at the guy until, half a second later, I register that it is Revali. His eyes scan me up and down without as much as a hello.

"Hey Revali," I force him to greet me.

"Hi," he mumbles and steps aside so I can enter.

"Is Link home yet?"

"I don't know?" He shrugs. His face is nearly completely healed. Only one tiny cut remains above his eyebrow. Maybe it will turn into a small scar. His eyes fall to the chocolate and his hands immediately snatch it out of my grip. "What's this?" He asks, purposefully holding it out of my reach.

"Chocolate," I answer, stretching for the little box of sweets. "For Link."

"Why's it in Latin?"

"It's German you doofus," I reach the box and tuck on it. He raises it even higher, keeping it in his secure grip. "In Japan, the girl gives the guy chocolate for Valentine's Day," I explain.

"Valentine's Day?" He arches his brow, then the realization hits him. "Shit."

"Everything okay?" I ask. 

"Yeah, why wouldn't it be?" He says coolly.

"I don't know. Maybe you forgot to get a Valentine's Day gift for a certain swimmer girl with burgundy hair?"

"Valentine's Day is overrated. I don't need a holiday to tell a girl that I like her. It's so dumb how men spend money on flowers that literally die after a week. What kind of a message is that?"

"I agree on the flower part. They should be left where they belong; in the ground. I suppose a potted plant would be fine but it would have to be—"

"Yeah I stopped listening about three paragraphs ago," he interrupts me and walks away. He crosses paths with Link at the top of the stairs. "She got you chocolate," he spoils my gift to him, then disappears into his room. I hate that I don't hate him enough to cuss at him.

Link smiles down at me and gestures for me to come up to his room. I understand him without words. Excited and happy to see him, I hurry upstairs and hug him tightly at the top of the stairs.

"Hey," his arms hold me tightly.

"Hey, how was practice?"

"Painful. This week is called hell week. Lots of practice. Lots of really long, exhausting practice. I'm super sore in my arms and legs."

"Hell week, huh? That name should be reserved for next week," I mutter as our hug loosens.

"Facts. Can't wait to beat the Boars though."

"You sound pretty confident that you guys will be victorious."

"Yeah, I mean, we're much better at baseball, so..."

"Did you win against them last year?"

He laughs and shrugs, "Yeah."

"How did they take it?"

"Better than the year before."

"What happened the year before?"

"You really don't know?" He walks me to his room as I shake my head in curiosity. "It was all over the news, I'm surprised you didn't read about it."

"I don't keep up with sports. At least I didn't use to."

"But it's your dad's school. You'd think he'd tell you."

"Just tell me now. What happened?"

"I wasn't there when it happened but that year, when Lorule lost against Hyrule, they made sure Hyrule's batter won't ever hold a bat again." My eyes widen in shock and Link quickly adds, "He didn't die. They broke every finger on his hands and threatened to kill him. He never played baseball again."

"That's horrible," I say under my breath, covering my mouth in shock.

"Hyrule needed a new player. And that's when they offered me a scholarship."

"I think Impa did tell me about that last year..."

"Pretty fucked up, right?" He takes a seat on his bed and pats the space next to him.

"That's an understatement," I sit down. When he sounded so confident a minute ago I felt at ease, knowing that he will effortlessly win and rid our minds of Lorule for the remainder of the semester, but now I am drowning in worry again. "Did they threaten you last year?"

"They threaten everyone," he shrugs. 

"I can't decide if you are brave or oblivious."

"Maybe a little of both."

"If you win next week, walk out of there as fast as you can."

"If?" He smirks. "We're gonna win."

"Link, this is serious. I can't watch you get hurt again."

He focuses on my furred brows, my frown, and my pleading eyes. "I'm sorry. I hate to see you worried. I'll try not to get hurt."

"Thank you..."

He puts on a smile and lays his arm around my shoulders. "So! Ravioli said you got some chocolate for me?"

"Oh," I almost forgot what I came here for. I hand him the box of Lindt chocolate. "It's from Switzerland. Father gave it to me but I kept it to give to you today."

"So technically this is from your dad?"

"Maybe I should have kept that information to myself," I chuckle. "But it's the thought that counts, right? A while ago you told me that in Japan, the girl gives chocolate to her crush, and then one month later, he gives something back."

"So this is you telling me that you have a crush on me?" He smirks.

"You really are oblivious," I shake my head amused. "Yes, Link, I have a crush on you." Woah–all the butterflies just flipped in my stomach; an Olympics-level tumbling performance. Apart from the one time that I told Impa about my feelings for Link, I have never actually said it out loud. Especially not in front of Link. Not without overthinking every word and analyzing and calculating every possible outcome. It just... it just sort of slipped out.

"I am shocked," Link jokes, his cheeks slightly pink.

"I know, it's crazy," I roll my eyes at him.

"I appreciate it, but I think we should just be friends," he tries to sound convincing. I decide to go along.

"Sure, no, I understand," I say disappointed. "Friends. That's... no, of course, that sounds great. Friends."

"Friends," he smiles and leans in.

"Friends," I kiss him.

His hand cups my cheek and his lips embrace mine like a warm hug. A gentle kiss; so much affection in a simple gesture. When he slowly backs away, he bites his lip and gazes at my eyes in the most loving way.

"Let's not be friends," he lightly chuckles.

"Yes, let's not," I whisper and resume kissing him.

Lately, everything has been nothing short of perfect. My grades are excellent, I enjoy my classes, Impa and I laugh and have fun the same way we always have, Mipha and I talked at the science fair and even exchanged a good amount of sincere smiles, and Father and I have been working on our communication. Father's and my relationship isn't consistent and far from healthy or happy, but so far whenever we got into fights or unnecessarily vocal disagreements, we have been able to talk about it and find a solution to the problem that would give both of us a sense of equality and justice.

And then there is Link... The cherry on top of the ice cream. He has been the perfect boyfriend without being my boyfriend. Yet. I am planning on changing that very soon. Now that everything seems to be going well at home and at school, I finally feel the stability and courage to take the next step. Two months have passed since the crisis at the lodge and I believe we have given Mipha enough time to heal. I don't doubt that it will hurt her to find out about our relationship, but perhaps she feels a little more ready now than she did back in December.

I haven't thought about the wording, but I think I have an idea of when to ask Link. I thought about doing it on the day of his big game against the Boars. Not to call myself a trophy, but the idea behind it is that even if he loses against the Boars, he still wins. On the other hand, I am worried that if I ask him out on a game day, it might distract him and influence his performance. I also remember painfully vividly how cold and reserved he gets on game days, so I fear that he might even reject me if I ask him on that day. I don't think my heart could recover from that kind of rejection.

In situations like this, I sure wish I could talk to Mipha about it all. She knows Link better than anyone. She knows how he thinks, how he thrives. She would know exactly when, where, and how to ask him out. Perhaps not. She did kiss Link at the most inappropriate time possible.

Maybe I should focus on kissing Link instead of planning out our, and everyone else's, future.

Link breaks our kiss and smiles. "Your lips taste better than any candy."

"Wait until you try the chocolate," I tease.

"Are you saying this chocolate is better than your kisses?"

"Maybe."

"Let's see." He rips the box open and eats one of the little balls of chocolate. "Damn. It's good. But," he picks up another one and catches it with his mouth, "your kisses are still better."

"Lucky me."

"I have something for you too," he grins.

I wait a couple of seconds but he doesn't move or reveal any gift so I shrug with a look full of expectations. "Okay?"

"It's in the bathroom," he laughs.

"Yeah, no thank you."

"Okay, I did get a backup gift just in case you'd decline a breathtaking shower with your crush. You're totally missing out by the way," he gets up and pulls out a small, aesthetically pleasing gift box from beneath his bed. The wrapping paper is beautiful, so is the little bow shaped like a heart.

"Did you wrap this?" I ask impressed.

"Do I look like a unicorn?" He laughs. "I chose the gift, the cashier wrapped it."

With much care and patience, I open the gift without tearing the gift wrap. It's an assemblage of products from Bath & Body Works. Soap, body lotion, body wash, face masks, and a lavender candle.

"I love it," I beam.

"I thought it might inspire you to take that shower."

I open the bottle of body wash and hold my nose to it. It smells fantastic. "It does."

"Really?"

"Oh, yes. A steamy shower," I smirk at him and watch as he turns crimson. "Alone," I add and laugh when his shoulders drop in disappointment.

"You're killing me, woman."

"It's okay, I already know how to make it up to you."

"I'm listening."

"A sleepover. At my house."

"Are you for real though? We're sleeping at your place tonight?" I nod and blush. "Shit. I forgive you, kill me any time," he laughs and gives me four small kisses.

It's already 6 PM and the sun is slowly saying goodnight. Link convinces me to spend the evening at the pier. Instead of riding the Ferris wheel and playing games at the arcade, we find the perfect spot beneath the pier, where the music is faded, the laughter is drowned out by the crashing of waves, and the lights are locked away behind the wood. In the shadows of the approaching night, we walk hand in hand as the sun is kissing the surface of the water. Nobody is down here, it's as if we rented the beach for ourselves.

Just as those thoughts travel through my mind, a person calls out Link's name. We turn around to see who it is and instinctively let go of each other. It's a man with two little girls.

"Link?" One of the girls asks again, gaping at us in wonder. "Wow!"

A fan?

"Do you know him?" The father asks his daughter. He looks familiar, but I can't recall where I've seen him before. 

"Dad! He's my idol!" her voice cracks in embarrassment.

"Oh yeah, he's the guy on your posters," he notes. Posters? Of Link? That makes sense, but it's still so surprising. I have never thought about Link's pictures on the walls of strangers' rooms. 

The girl steps closer, her eyes glued to Link and her mouth agape. "I started fencing because of you," she says in utter admiration. I feel invisible right now, like the only person who doesn't look at Link like he is royalty. "I-I can't believe I'm talking to you."

Yes, you're talking to him. Unfortunately for you, the same can't be said about Link. Though he is giving you his full attention, he doesn't say as much as a word. He doesn't necessarily look overwhelmed, but he doesn't look comfortable either.

"Can I have your signature?" she asks Link, frantically searching her pockets for a pen. Link nods. "Dad, do you have a pen?" she asks him, almost panicked at the thought of not getting Link's signature.

"Sweetie, I didn't bring a pen to the beach, I'm sorry," the man answers kindly. 

She turns to her little sister. "Koko, did you bring your markers?" But the sister only shakes her head and tightly holds on to her father's hand. "No!  This can't be happening right now!"

"Calm down, Cottla," her father says.

"I have a sharpie," I shyly speak to the family. Everyone is suddenly staring at me as if I grew a third eye. I open my purse and reveal the pencil case I always carry with me. In it, I have a pen for taking notes, a highlighter I use when I'm reading books, a number 2 pencil with an eraser for exams, and a black sharpie in case I need to label something. I hand it to Link who then proceeds to sign the girl's shirt.

After a dozen thank you's, two dozen selfies, and the attempted invite to an upcoming birthday party, the family finally takes their leave. Link takes his first deep breath and looks at me in relief.

Our luck doesn't last long; on our way back to my car, a group of teenage girls are chatting right next to my car. My feet turn to stone and only when they have seized to walk altogether does Link look back at me to find the reason for my sudden transformation to a frightened statue. I dread the questions those girls will ask when they see Link getting into my car.

He gives me a questioning look as he waits for me to come back to life. "What's up?" He asks calmly. Now those girls have noticed us. Great. Just... great.

"Don't look but they're filming us," I whisper and nod at them in such subtlety that I am not nodding at all.

"Who?" He turns his head in their direction and triggers an avalanche of giggles among them. "Hm okay. What should we do?"

"Nothing. Let's just go."

"Together?"

"Of course together." I push my shoulders back and raise my chin in hopes of gaining or at least faking some confidence.

I want to take Link's hand as we walk up to my car but decide against it. I don't need to provoke anything or claim him as mine just because some girls are fluttering their eyelashes at Link and licking their lips when we pass them.

We get into my car and quickly drive off. I'm more than glad that those girls didn't start gushing over Link by asking him for his signature and pictures. Now the rumors are going to turn from meaningless theories to stories supported by pictures. I can't wait to see just how fast the word will travel. Link, the popular bachelor, mysterious and dedicated solely to his performance in sports, is suddenly taking sunset beach walks with a female creature. Insert excessive gasp.

My eyes leave the street, only for a second to give a subtle glance at Link. Unbothered and carefree, he is looking at his phone. Sometimes I would like to get a VIP backstage pass to his mind space. What is he thinking about? Did those girls or the potential rumors visit his mind? Or did he think about it as briefly as he looked at those girls without ever worrying about it?

"How are you feeling?" I ask Link. It couldn't have come out any more random.

"Great," he looks over to give me a smile. "You?"

"Yeah, same I guess."

"You guess?"

"I mean I'm fine. I'm just a tiny little bit concerned about those girls."

"Because they were taking pics?"

I nod and press my lips into a thin line. I thought I had finally stopped worrying about things. But if those girls are Hyrule students, they might have recognized me, which will only solidify those rumors.

"Don't worry," Link places his hand on my thigh, cutting the air from my lungs. I don't mind the breathlessness–when his hand is on me, when his eyes smile at me, Link is all I need to survive. "I've dealt with rumors all my life."

"So have I. That's why I worry."

"Yeah but..." he thinks for a moment. "I don't know what else to say honestly. Just don't worry." He gives me another one of his soothing smiles. Easier said than done, but... I will try. For you.

The first thing Link does when we get to my house is open the fridge to drool all over the food. He opens every cabinet, twice, trying to memorize where everything is stored. Then he turns to me, his hands on his hips.

"What would you like for dinner, m'lady?"

"Well, Sir Link, I was thinking of baking a fruit cake."

"Fruit cake," Link nods thoughtfully. "But that's more of a dessert. Any requests for a meal for before the dessert?"

"We could order pizza again," I jest. "No, it's up to you. We don't have many Japanese spices, but I am confident you will find another delicious dish to whip up. See what I did there?"

"You're cute when you try to be funny."

"I am funny," I cross my arms. "You said so yourself."

"Got proof?" He arches his brow. "That's what I thought."

While Link prepares lamb chops, I try my luck with the cake. The kitchen is bigger than Link's living room but we still keep bumping into each other. Probably on purpose. I keep mixing up ingredients and messing up the measures because my eyes refuse to abandon Link for more than twenty seconds. He is just so attractive when he is focused on cooking.

We eat in the dining room where Father and I typically dine. This is the first time this room is witnessing actual conversations, hearty laughter, and genuine affection. Our legs are hugging under the table. This reminds me of the many times we would sit down and do homework together at his desk. Since he writes with his left hand, his right hand would hold my left when we sat next to each other. It has never taken me longer to finish my biology worksheets.

A beeping from the kitchen sounds just as we finish our food. "That's the cake," I peep and get up. "I'll be right back."

I hurry to the kitchen, turn off the oven, and take the baking pan out of the oven–OUCH! Ratter and clanks sound, followed by Link's voice.

"Everything okay in there?" He asks from the dining room.

"Shit," I cuss at myself. How stupid am I not to wear mitts? "I'm fine!" I lie but Link is already at the door, looking down on the cake, if you can even call it that. It's black pieces of a broken dessert scattered all over the floor.

"What happened?" He chuckles.

"I dropped the cake."

"How?"

"I..." I can't come up with an excuse that doesn't make me look like a complete moron.

"Your hand," Link gasps. I look down against my will. My palm is glowing red, the skin is shiny and rigid, and white bubbles are already rising. Shit shit shit– "Cold water," he advises and pulls my wrist toward the tap. 

"I'm such a fool," I scold myself, looking at what's left of the cake.

"It's okay."

"I ruined the cake..."

"That's the cake? Yikes, it definitely deserves to be on the floor," Link says, making me laugh despite the pain radiating from my hand. "Where's your first aid kit?"

"Bathroom. Upstairs..."

"And where's your wine?" he laughs.

"You're an arse."

"An arse," he repeats, laughing even harder. "Stop trying to insult me in royal fish and ships language. "Let's go upstairs, I'll fix Your Highness up."

"Why are you being so mean, I'm injured," I whine, striving not to laugh.

"To distract you from the pain."

Oh.

Never letting go of my wrist, Link takes me upstairs, grabs the first aid kit, and walks me to my room. We take a seat on the carpet by the windows. While Link is searching for a lotion to apply on my hand, he suddenly falls into laughter.

"What?" I want to know.

"Take off your dress."

"Huh?" I am prepared to smack his head.

"This is exactly like the first time I was here. But the roles are reversed. Now you're the injured one. When you patched me up that day, I was shirtless, so you have to recreate that. You also have to sleep on the floor."

"That time seems like forever ago, honestly." I chuckle, "Remember how Malice would always claim I stalk you?"

"I mean... You kinda did."

"No, don't even–" I warn him with a playful smile.

"I'm just saying."

"I did not stalk you."

"Eh... kinda did though."

"Where's the evidence?"

"Well," he grins and cracks his neck.

"Oh-ho he's getting serious," I laugh.

"Yeah time to pop your cute little bubble. So one day after we met you suddenly joined my gym class. Then you followed me into the equipment room and to the pier–"

"We both know that's not how it went down–"

"You forced me to go home with you and you kissed me first."

"You kissed me back!"

"You kissed me first," he exclaims and shakes his head in a smug motion. "You also followed me to Vah Rudania, came to my house, stole my clothes–"

"I get it," I stop him from humiliating me any further. "You're such an idiot."

He plants a gentle kiss on my wound, "but wouldn't falling for the idiot make you an even bigger idiot?"

"No."

"Denial is the first step of acceptance. Wait no, the first step of getting better. No, wait, it's the first step of something though." He applies a cooling lotion on the burned skin. I suck a breath through my teeth as I force myself not to look at my hand.

"Grief," I correct him.

"Yes, grief. See? I knew that." He grabs a bandage. "Did you know that elephants are the only animals that can feel grief?"

"That's not true. But they are indeed very compassionate animals. They mourn for dead relatives."

"Aren't elephants also the only animals that can cry?"

"Cry? As in weeping from sadness?"

"Yes," he wraps the bandage around my hand.

"That's also incorrect. Actually, scientists are not 100% certain, but most agree that elephants are not able to produce emotional tears."

"Wikipedia said they're the only animals that can cry."

"Wikipedia also said you're Chinese."

"You read my Wikipedia page?"

"Really? That's more shocking than the nationality mixup?"

"People mix up China and Japan all the time. But you reading about me– now that's a phenomenon worth talking about."

"Please," I roll my eyes at him. "I made that up. I never read your Wikipedia. My point is that Wikipedia can't be trusted because any sod can edit and publish false information."

"Sod? Swearing like a sailor today, are we?" he laughs. "But hey, totally off-topic–-wait, it's actually on topic; today I discovered something pretty cool."

"What did you discover?"

"When you're focused on correcting me, your pain tolerance is much higher. Your drive to be a know-it-all is like a secret superpower."

"You made me correct you so I don't feel the pain?"

"Yup. Distraction; my superpower."

He has no idea how right he is. I look down at my bandaged hand. I really didn't notice much of the pain. All thanks to Link. I look back up at his eyes. I find no fault in them. No lies, no regret. Pure love. Loyalty, honesty, warmth, and home; I can sense all that by a mere look at his beautiful face. I still can't believe that he is mine... My perfect, charming, idiot. Please wait for me. Just a little longer. One week and I'm yours.