#florielle

The four knights traded glances, wordless communication passing between them, before turning back to Fledge. “So Fledge…” asked Pipit carefully. “You like her then?”

Fledge sighed and nodded, staring at the grass and thinking of he and Orielle’s relationship. They had been friends since they were small, ever since the time Fledge was being bullied by Groose (now a close friend of his) and Orielle, then a three foot tall ball of feistiness with her hair in pigtails, had chased him off. “Wanna be friends?” she had asked Fledge, offering him a toothy grin, and he had nodded shyly, his eyes wide.

Ever since then, they were practically inseparable.

But as they started to grow up, to get to the age when feelings started to happen, things got….a little awkward.

Awkward as in Fledge blushed and stammered every time Orielle said anything to him.

Awkward as in he would make excuses just to get away from the nerve-wracking thing that was talking to Orielle.

Awkward as in they started talking less, to the point where Fledge would go and hide whenever Orielle came to see him.

They were drifting apart, and Fledge felt like it was his fault. But he just couldn’t gather the courage to talk to the girl who had been his crush for the past….eight years, was it? He wasn’t sure. He’d lost count a long time ago.

Anyway, they were drifting apart—that was all he knew.

And his crush on her was only getting bigger. Plus, he really missed talking to her. So, after a few weeks of debate, he decided to let his friends in on his dilemma.

They clearly thought that the solution was simple. “Ask her out,” was the first thing Link had to say.

Fledge jumped, staring up at Link. He stammered, feeling his ears turn red. “I-I can’t ask her out. She just sees me as a friend.”

“You’re no more a friend to her than I am to Zelda,” said Link with a smirk, shooting a look at his recently-turned-girlfriend. “You two are head over heels for each other and you need to do something about it.” He regarded Fledge sternly. “Come on! Pick her some flowers! Tell her her hair looks nice! Make her a sculpture!”

“I-I can’t do that,” said Fledge, looking scared.

“Sure you can,” chirped Zelda. “She’ll say yes, I know she will. Come ooonn, Fledge. You can do it!”

“Yeah, bro, you got this!” added Pipit. “A word of advice— try to act kind of aloof, then—”

“Pipit!” Karane smacked his arm, then turned to Fledge with a grin. “Don’t listen to him. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about. You have to let her know you like her, okay?”

Fledge groaned, dropping his head in his hands. “But it’s so embarrassing.”

“Embarrassing?” Link snorted. “Sure it’s embarrassing, but once you get through it and find out she likes you as much as you like her—” He looked bashfully at Zelda. “Then you’re both embarrassed, so it doesn’t matter.”

“That doesn’t help!” Fledge protested. “In fact it makes it w—”

“FLEDGE!” a voice boomed suddenly.

Fledge froze, then sighed when he recognized the voice. A moment later, Groose landed his Loftwing on the tiny floating island the friends were grouped on, hopping off and striding over to Fledge. “What’s this I hear about you and your girl problems?”

Fledge blushed to the tips of his ears. “I-I don’t have any,” he stammered.

“Don’t lie to me,” Groose said, raising an eyebrow. “I know you got a crush on Orielle. I don’t blame ya, actually.” He cracked his knuckles, then took a seat beside Fledge on the grass. “So what’re you struggling with?”

“Telling her he likes her,” said Pipit bluntly.

Groose snorted. “Do ya have to tell her? I mean she would be pretty dense if she hadn’t figured that out by now—” He cleared his throat upon seeing Fledge glaring at him. “Well, anyway, now ya got Groose to help ya.” He ran a hand through his hair.

“Actually, we’ve been trying to help him with that,” snickered Link. “And so far it hasn’t gone well.”

Groose pursed his lips, looking thoughtful. “Well…how about ya ask her out somewhere, making it sound like it’s just as friends, and then ya tell her? Just imagine. A dinner under the stars…just the two of ya….”

Fledge blushed. “It does sound rather nice,” he admitted.

“Of course it does!” Groose clapped him on the back. “So go and ask ‘er out!”

Fledge gulped. “Where would we go?”

“The Lumpy Pumpkin is your best bet. I mean, I doubt you’d wanna eat in Knight Academy’s dining hall for your first date, amiright?” Groose laughed and slung an arm around Fledge’s shoulders, resulting in an “ooof” from the smaller boy.

“Yeah, I guess that sounds good,” Fledge agreed hesitantly, nodding. “We like going there anyway. It’ll just seem like any normal thing.”

“You have to bring her flowers,” said Link.

“And pull out her chair for her,” added Pipit.

“And say a buncha sweet stuff,” Groose put in sagely.

Zelda giggled. “I’m so excited for you guys.”

Fledge blushed for probably the thousandth time that day and scratched his head. “Yeah, me too. I’m also really nervous.”

“No, you’ll be fine,” soothed Karane. “It’ll go well. I promise.”

Fledge smiled. “Thanks.”

Groose jumped up suddenly, grabbing Fledge and pulling him to his feet. “Come on, buddy! We gotta get you fixed up!”

“B-but—” Fledge’s protests were in vain. Groose practically shoved him off of the island, so he gave up, whistled for his Loftwing, and followed his friends back to Skyloft.

~~~

Back in his room at Knight Academy, Groose, Pipit, and Link rummaged through Fledge’s wardrobe for something he could wear. They finally decided on a pale orange, long sleeved shirt, dark brown trousers, a red stomach warmer, a belt, and shoes. Fledge stubbornly kept his scarf (it gave him courage). Then he wrestled his hair into some kind of style, picked some flowers from down by the waterfall, and received his friends’ moral support.

“Ya got this, buddy,” cheered Groose.

“It’ll be fine! I’m sure she likes you back, Fledge!” added Zelda.

“Go get her!!” said Pipit and Karane at the same time, then they laughed.

“Let us know how it goes!” Link put in.

Fledge drew a deep breath, nodded, and offered them a wave and a smile before turning and walking down towards Orielle’s house.

The flower stems were clinging to his palms when he arrived, his hands shaky and slightly sweaty. He raised a hand and knocked loudly on the door, then stepped back, wanting to run and hide.

A few beats passed, and then the door creaked open to reveal Orielle, who stood before him with slightly messy hair and a sleepy expression. “Hmm? Oh, it’s you, Fledge.” She yawned and rubbed a hand across her face. “What’s up?”

“Oh…uh….” Fledge gulped, shoving the flowers behind his back. “Sorry, if now’s a bad time I can come back—”

“Oh, gosh, not at all,” Orielle said, blinking. “I was sewing a bandage for an injured loftwing’s foot and I must have fallen asleep.” She chuckled wryly, then tilted her head. “You look nice. What’s going on?”

“I—I was wondering if maybe you wanted to go out to dinner tonight. We haven’t been in a while, I thought maybe—”

Orielle brightened so visibly that Fledge felt compelled to blush. “I’d love to!” she exclaimed. “Just let me get ready real quick.”

The door swung shut in his face, and Fledge was left to stand with his face burning.

A few minutes later Orielle opened the door again, and Fledge’s breath caught. She had braided her hair and wound it into a bun at the back of her head. She had changed into a lovely yellow dress with orange accents, and brown leather boots. She smiled at Fledge. “Ready to go?”

“Oh, uh, actually—” He paused, then thrust the now wilted flowers in her face. “I picked these for you,” he squeaked.

Orielle reddened, taking the flowers. “Oh, thank you so much,” she said, then re-entered her house to put them in water. She returned a second later and pulled the door closed.

“Shall we go?”

They leaped off of Skyloft and flew to the Lumpy Pumpkin, where they took a table on the top of the restaurant. “We’ve never eaten up here before,” Orielle commented, glancing around.

“Yeah,” Fledge said nervously, noticing that there was no one else up with them. He swallowed, then grabbed the menu and paged through it, wondering what he should order. He could go with his usual, pumpkin soup, but at the moment he was more inclined to get something else.

“I think I’m going to get the cheese soufflé,” mused Orielle, staring at the menu. “What about you, Fledge?”

“Oh…ah….” He frowned, concentrating. “I think I’ll get the lasagna. Wanna split a pie for dessert?”

“Yeah,” she agreed, setting down her menu and glancing into the distant sunset.

A few minutes later Kina emerged on the roof, bearing a notepad. She smiled at Fledge and Orielle. “Hey, guys! What do you wanna order?”

“Cheese soufflé,” Orielle said, “and a glass of pumpkin cider.”

“I’ll have the lasagna and some hot tea, please,” Fledge added.

Kina wrote their orders down, then nodded. “Be back in just a sec!” She disappeared into the restaurant again, leaving them alone.

Fledge gulped.

Orielle turned and smiled at him. “So!” she said cheerfully. “Why the sudden invitation to dinner? It’s been a while since we’ve really talked.”

“Well…I…” Fledge scratched the back of his neck with his hand. “You see…” He could feel a blush staining his cheeks. “Orielle, what I really asked you out for is….”

She looked at him expectantly.

“Ok, well, for a date,” Fledge said desperately, wanting to bang his head on the table. “I asked you out on a date. I…I really like you, Orielle. As more than a friend.” He bit his lip, staring at his hands. “I know you probably don’t feel the same way, but that’s why it’s been so awkward lately, why I haven’t been talking to you. I…I was scared. I’m sorry…”

“Fledge,” Orielle interrupted, causing him to look up at her. She was staring at him with a huge smile on her face.

“W-what?” he said tremulously.

“I like you too, idiot. As in, a lot. I’ve missed talking with you. I’ve missed being around you. I can’t tell you how much my heart leaped when you asked me out for dinner.” She reached across the table and grabbed his hand in a gentle squeeze. “I’m glad you said something. I was starting to think you never would.”

“Wait,” Fledge said, his ears turning pink. “You knew?!”

“Of course,” she laughed. “I think everyone did.”

“Omigosh, this is so embarrassing,” groaned Fledge, and this time he did bang his head on the table.

“Fledge, look at me,” Orielle said with a laugh. After a long moment he raised his head to do so.

She giggled at him. “It’s supposed to be embarrassing, Fledge.”

“Y-you’re embarrassed, too??”

“Of course, silly,” she said. “Can’t you see me turning twenty different shades of red?”

Fledge stared at her, and sure enough she was the color of a tomato. He snickered, and before long he and Orielle were wheezing with laughter.

Kina abruptly showed up, bearing glasses with their drinks. She paused and stared at them. Fledge looked at her and grinned sheepishly. “Hey, Kina.”

“Wait so….” Kina raised an eyebrow, setting their drinks down. “How did it go?”

“How did what—”

Orielle chuckled, catching onto what Kina was hinting at. “It went great, Kina. We like each other.”

“OH HYLIA,” shrieked Kina, and turned and bolted back down into the restaurant. A moment later, a resounding cheer echoed from the interior. Fledge could distinguish the voices of Groose and Link among them.

He turned and grinned at Orielle. “I guess our friends followed us,” he said with a laugh.

“I guess so,” Orielle shrugged, smiling back. She raised her glass of pumpkin cider. “A toast?”

Fledge raised his own glass of tea. “To what?” he asked.

Orielle smiled, blushing a little. “To my best friend— and, er, boyfriend— Fledge.”

“To my best friend, and girlfriend, Orielle,” Fledge returned shyly.