#commission for

That did it. The steps stopped and Link’s shoulders stiffened, but Zelda didn’t expect the sudden dark, anger that flared in his eyes.  The expression was one she’d seen only a few times and each moment made the hairs on her arms and neck stand on end, sending a chill down her spine. Like staring into the eyes of a hunting wolf. Mouth suddenly dry, Zelda bit her lip, nervous. She knew this look. It was the look he’d given every enemy that was seconds away from meeting the end at the tip of his blade. 

“....Link?” She pressed, now tentative and regretting her earlier words. Did her words truly warrant such anger?

“Even Knights know when to rest.”  Link stated, his voice gruff from disuse. During the rare times he spoke, his voice always crackled as if he’d just woken, but the tone wasn’t unpleasant to hear. Under normal circumstances, Zelda would have been pleased to have finally heard it, but the mood had shifted and the tense expression he’d fixed on her felt like a smaller cage than the one his arms presented. “Uh,” She tried to find the right words, finding they’d suddenly left her at his willingness to speak and she swallowed, “What do you mean? Of course they would.”

He didn’t respond, not immediately. Instead, the gaze that trapped her speech swept away and Zelda relaxed. How monsters or other warriors could face Link without the slightest hint of intimidation was a marvel to her, even the Yiga had faltered under the strength of his gaze, but the other champions?  Perhaps it was a shared trait among soldiers… her inquisitive mind was starting to follow a path of thoughts and questions that could have kept her quietly distracted for hours, if not for the current predicament. That being the humid heat of the sun beating down on them and the arms still encased around her. Zelda revived her earlier ire, prepared to start wriggling again, when Link changed direction, steps taking them to a nearby rock shrine beneath a tree. The incline made his movements less smooth and Zelda’s fingers gripped the blue champions tunic reflexively. “Hold on, this is the wrong direction, what are you doing?”

She didn’t expect an answer, but it came a second later as he continued his advance, “We’re taking a break.” “- but we still have a ways to go to reach the others,” Zelda protested, craning her neck to look behind them back towards the beaten path, “They’ll miss us! Besides, I’m not tired, since you’ve been so inclined to carry me this entire ti-”

“I am.”

She paused. “You’re what?”

His lips curved into the barest hint of a bemused smile, but he didn’t stop to look at her. “Tired.”

“Oh.” Well, that was a different story. A strange moment of guilt washed over her as she struggled with that news. Somehow, it had never occurred to Zelda that Link could get fatigued at all. He seemed to always just move forward, never undaunted even by her own tantrums. 

Besides, ‘whose fault is it that he won't let me down? That’s right, his! So of course he’s tired since he’s too stubborn to let me -’

No. No. That wasn’t right was it? As much as Zelda complained, the quiet voice in the back of her head knew better. If she’d paid more attention, had been more careful while examining the recent shrine they’d come across… If she hadn’t missed a step and fallen, leaving Link to dive to her aid, unable to prevent the damage to her ankle…. Truth be told, and Zelda knew it to be true, any exhaustion on Link’s part was her fault. 

It failed to cross her mind, not until later, that this was the first time he’d admitted to anything that could be seen as ‘weak’ by others. Missing this change in Link’s demeanor towards her, Zelda stewed in her inner battle against pride and guilt right until he sat her down on the rocks, directly under the shade of the tree beside them. Clouds were rolling in to create more shade, but the heat continued to be stifling, she appreciated the slight protection of the sun regardless.

“Not… the most proper of seats,” Zelda muttered, considering what would happen if she attempted to stand. The way Link shifted next to her answered the unasked question. Any attempt to move would end in him setting her right back down again. 

It was hard to resist pouting. So she didn’t.

“It’s not good on your foot.” Link agreed, kneeling down to examine the swollen ankle with intense eyes. “We need to elevate it.” Glancing around, as if hoping a stool or properly sized rock would appear on cue, he ran his fingers through his hair in exasperation. 

“We can always do that once we’re back at camp,” Zelda said, shifting her weight on the rock as she struggled with the urge to pat Link’s shoulder. “I’m sure Impa will have lots to say about it.”

Link snorted, attention now on something in the grass. He turned his back on her to shuffle around and Zelda leaned as far as she could to see what could have distracted him. No such luck. Unable to see what Link was doing, he whirled back to face her with an excited gleam in his eye, hands holding a Restless Cricket for her to see. “Oh!” Her hands automatically moved to grasp the Sheikah Slate on her hip, pulling up the camera functions with ease, “that’s wonderful. I haven’t had a chance to capture one of these! They’re so hard to find-”

Picture taken, Link grinned, holding it closer for her to examine with her own eyes, excitement filling her. They looked rather.. Odd. And while many girls would shriek at the sight of a bug, Zelda found herself fascinated above all. “Did you know these can also be cooked to provide all sorts of abilities for someone when ingested?” Link grimaced, hands retracting slightly as if to save the cricket from her experimenting mind. It reminded her of the frog she had presented before him a week ago. He’d made the same expression. She laughed and pressed his hands from her, too amused to do much else. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to make you taste it.” For now, she added in her mind, giggling into her hand.  “Besides, if I tried to now, I’d only exacerbate my swollen ankle, and then you’ll never let me walk again!”

A few beats of a second passed between them and Link’s fingers loosened, allowing the startled cricket to hop away into the grass. He didn’t try to recapture it. Link’s gaze was far too busy meeting Zelda’s as he watched her laugh. She felt it, but the earlier tension was gone and this stare only filled her with warmth. Matching her smile with a lopsided one of his own, Link moved to rest his back against the rock, glancing out to the skies above them as he watched the clouds and wind rustle through the tree. It took Zelda a moment to realize that her consternation had long subsided and the need to stand was no longer there. She had to admit, the break was doing her leg some good, and Link’s relaxed shoulders made everything feel peaceful. A strange peace that couldn’t last, but she’d absorb the feeling into her memory and hold it tight. 

She rarely saw Link change his expression, or relax for any period at a time. There was always something to do, somewhere to be, people to put on a face towards. They didn’t have the time for luxuries. That knowledge froze the warmth in her heart, and Zelda’s frown renewed. Would there come a time where they could ever just… be themselves? 

The thought was interrupted by Link’s own sigh, as he nudged his shoulder against her leg; something she’d never have allowed a month ago, but was now a welcome touch. “Sorry, I was lost in my thoughts again, wasn’t I?”

He shrugged, eyes still searching her own for the worries that plagued her, before he looked out again, voice coming in quiet through the wind. “You’re the most capable person I’ve met.”

Zelda’s heart stilled, then sped up as heat flashed across her face. Staring at the back of his head, she wondered if she’d heard him correctly or if some strange illness had taken root in her ears to feed her words that didn’t exist. “- I am?” The doubt was there. A quiet, festering thing that latched onto her at every moment, but still, there was hope. And that hope sat beside her, with words barely said, but when he did choose to speak, they always held a treasure.  Link didn’t look at her this time, choosing to keep his gaze forward as the barest glimpse of pink graced the tips of his ears. Adorable came to Zelda’s mind, but she squashed the thought down and waited for Link’s reply with bated breath. ‘Please. Say something. Just a little more.’

He did, the curve of his lips seen barely, “You’re also the most stubborn.”

“Now, hold on! That’s a little unfair, don’t you think?” Zelda’s face felt as hot as the sun as she nudged him with her good foot. The reproach did nothing to harden his features, as she was too busy biting back a laugh to sound half as insulted as she acted.  Link chuckled, voice rumbling through his frame as he dodged another nudge from her foot and moved away from her, standing up to greet the rolling clouds darkening the sky.