[ On Christmas morning, Link will find Zelda already awake, dressed, and cooking breakfast in the kitchen. She was up before dawn to deliver her Goddess Day gifts and has only one left.
On the kitchen table is a sizeable parcel, wrapped in parchment and sealed in crimson wax bearing the royal crest of Hyrule. Inside, Link will find the Champion's Leathers. ]
I had an entire surprise in store for you when we finished our investigation beneath the castle. I was so certain I had come up with a trick even you would never think of.
[ She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear self-consciously. After everything that has happened, she feels a little silly about the game she had in store for Link. ]
[Something tightens in his chest at the sight of the tunic within the box, and he finds himself staring at it for perhaps a few moments too long, awed and speechless. He knew about this, of course, he had pored over every trace of her left behind after she vanished, discovering her secret journal, the carefully-preserved hair tie, the note about this very item of clothing...
It had filled him at first with the determination to find her, to rescue her from whatever prison she had been locked in so she could be there with him. After his discovery of what happened to her...it became a quest of determination, one left unfinished by his sudden reentry into Reverein.
He touches a hand delicately to the leather. Another old friend lost to him through the events that brought on the Uprising.]
I... [He hesitates. She'll probably be angry at him for snooping, but he doesn't want to hide things from her.] I found your journal, after you disappeared. But I didn't...
[... he trails off there. He never found them, himself.]
[ Zelda has to clasp her hands behind her back to keep herself from fidgeting with them as she watches Link open her gift. But she still seems to vibrate with restless energy, struggling to suppress a smile. Back in Hyrule, she waited months for this commission to be completed, having to send it back several times for alterations until she was certain it was completely perfect. Even with everything that has happened since then, her excitement is just as fresh as it was back then.
But when he doesn't immediately react at the sight of the tunic, Zelda's excitement falters. Then a little more, and a little more, with each second that ticks by as he stares at it with his inscrutable expression. Uncertainty bubbles up to fill the space left behind by deflating excitement. He hates it. Doesn't he? He must. This is the same way he used to look at all those traditional votive candles she gave him out of obligation every Goddess Day when they were kids. Oh Goddess, why did she think he would like an exact replica of the same tunic he's been wearing for years? She should've gone with the green one Cece designed---
Link's voice interrupts the train wreck that is Zelda's thoughts and she snaps back to the present. ]
You... [ A block of ice drops in the pit of her stomach. ] You found my journal?
[ Not her reconstruction journal. Her private one. The one she keeps in her secret spot, which Link is under strict orders never to enter. The one that is a diary of her innermost thoughts.
Zelda stares back at Link, wild panic suddenly overtaking her features.
OhGoddesshedidn'tfindthehairtiedidhe? If he opened the chest by her desk and found his ratty old hair tie tucked safely inside it, then she just might die right here on the spot. ]
The difference in her demeanor, her expression, even her posture is stark and immediately noticeable. It's one thing to snoop around, but to --for all intents and purposes-- break into a private area and read a person's private property, no less a princess... No matter what their relationship or how close they might have been, nothing excuses that. And he's just admitted it. To her face. And now she probably hates him.]
I-- it-- [He clearly has no idea what to say, now, and indeed, he didn't even really know where he was going with this in the first place. It seems a bit pitiful to say I wanted something to remember you by -- and that's no excuse, besides. For just a moment, a sort of "lost puppy" helplessness bleeds into his expression under her gaze.]
I was looking for signs of where you might have gone. Anything that could help...
[He's fidgeting, now, nervously thumbing along the edge of a hem of the leathers. He cannot put into words the feelings that wash over him when he sets eyes on the precious gift she has given him, but also -- that moment has passed. Now, contrite in his expression, he bows his head a bit.]
[ Zelda's mortification evaporates in an instant as she watches Link, crestfallen, struggling for an explanation.
Oh Goddess, why didn't she stop and think before overreacting like this? From his perspective, she had simply vanished without a trace after falling into the depths below Hyrule Castle. Of course he was going to search through all of her things to find any possible clues about what might have happened to her! Even her most personal possessions, if it meant saving her. If their roles were reversed, Zelda would have done the exact same thing.
Guilt wells up inside her as Link offers his apology. Without another thought, Zelda rushes around the table and grabs Link's hands. ]
No! No, I should be the one to apologize. [ She squeezes his hands and looks at him with a pleading expression. ] Please forgive me, I did not stop to think. You did the right thing. Why, if you had been the one to disappear, then Iā!
[ She cuts herself off, aware that she's getting herself all worked up. Loosening her grip on his hands, she takes a steadying breath. ] It's all right. It's only a journal.
[In a way, it speaks to Mipha all over again, doesn't it? By the time she had finally been able to say don't you dare read my diary!...he had already done so. Even knowing it's an invasion of privacy... Curiosity has always been as much a vice as an asset to him, it's just-- he's never had to face up to that. Until now.
Zelda's abrupt change in tone makes him wonder, however, if he wasn't just misunderstanding something. If you had been the one to disappear...
Perhaps he's-- somewhat grateful to hear her say that.
She squeezes his hands, and all is, for a moment, forgotten. As soon as her grip loosens, he moves, taking her hands in his, holding them to his heart. If the gesture is too bold, he's clearly not thinking about it just now.]
Thank you. [He may not say much, but his tone speaks to gratitude.
... All the same, he does decide not to bring up the hair tie. For the moment, at least.]
and they mutually decided to never speak of the hair tie
[ Zelda somehow hadn't fully realized that she had grabbed Link's hands until he rotates his hands to take hers and presses them against his heart.
Oh. Oh.
Oh she is in so deep...
A blush of self consciousness rises to Zelda's cheeks at the intimacy of the gesture, but she doesn't pull her hands away. Her visage softens, her myriad emotions quieting, and the corners of her lips turn upright in a little smile that she isn't even aware that she's making. Goddess, how does just this little touch effect her so strongly?
She hears Link's 'thanks' and acknowledges him with a quiet nod of the head. A few silent moments slip by, completely unnoticed, as she simply takes in the sight of him. ]
[ A few moments is all they get before her mind turns on again and Zelda realizes the position they're in. Cheeks reddening further, she clears her throat awkwardly and slips her hands out of his. ] Ex-excuse me.
[ Immediately, Zelda flinches at her own words. What a stupid thing to say. ]
A-Anyway! Do you like it? If not, I can take it back and have it adjusted until it suits you. I realize now that perhaps you might prefer something different from the Champion's tunic you've worn so long.
[His breath catches in his throat, and yet, his hands remain on hers for perhaps a moment too long; longer than they should, at any rate, but he...he can't seem to pull away. Not with that smile tugging at her expression, the softness in her eyes. Not when she feels so warm. Link could remain here for ages like that, and somewhere in the back of his mind, that thought feels frightening, like he's falling, but without his paraglider to grab onto.
It's only when her hands slip away that he realizes his face has flushed so intensely, all the way to his ears, and he awkwardly clasps his hands behind him.
"In so deep." She is not the only one who feels that way.
His eyes return to the tunic, packaged so carefully on the table, and he doesn't respond for a moment, but-- there is a fondness in his expression.]
No, [he says at first, lost in his own thoughts, and then his head jerks sharply in her direction.] --That is. I do. I love it. [Ahem.
He might have left it at that, but he's not entirely certain she understands just how much it means to him. How much it had hurt, not being able to retrieve it at home. He...he thought he might never see it again, this piece of clothing. It seems so foolish, but it does mean quite a lot to him.] It's perfect. I wouldn't want anything else.
[ Zelda feels herself swell with joy at Link's words and clasps her hands together against her chest, beaming at him. He really likes it! ]
Really? Oh, I'm so glad! I've had it in mind for quite some time now. At first, I thought to simply sew you a new one, but we were always so busy with the restoration that I couldn't find the time to spare for it. Especially because I wanted it to be a surprise, which meant I would only be able to work on it when we were at home in Hateno and only when I was certain you would not accidentally interrupt me while I was working on it.
So I thought, "Oh, I will commission Cece! It will be the perfect thing to help her out of her creative slump." And it certainly did the trick, because she had all sorts of unique- [ read: wild ] -iterations on the original design. We went back and forth for quite some time before I finally realized I actually didn't want to change the design at all. Cece even suggested a different color and I immediately nixed the idea. I am so fond of the Champions' garb, you know.
[ Oh, is she babbling? Zelda's story stumbles to a rather abrupt ending. Link probably didn't need all of this background information about his gift. But her words are proof of just how much she has thought about this gift, how special it is to her. She's happy to know that he feels the same. ]
She's babbling, and Link takes it all in anyway, absorbing every word; listening, really listening, as she goes through the whole story, as if he really can't think of anywhere else he'd rather be or anything he'd rather be listening to. Perhaps he can't. He is quite fond of her, after all.
He's terribly fond of the Champion's tunic, too, which is usually less evident but no less true. Like the Master Sword, it carried him through so much -- a companion, one lost to time, or so he thought. Being reunited with it, even here...it's more special than he will put into words. More special than he could put into words, perhaps. There is a faint hint of smile in his expression, though -- soft, subtle, but no less there.
... All at once, he stops, pulls his hand back, looks to the stairs.]
I'll be right back.
[He's been making (you know, his version of) doe eyes at this present without retrieving hers for long enough that it just feels rude. She'll hear him take the stairs by twos and then shuffling around in his room.]
[ Link's version of doe eyes does not go unnoticed by Zelda, even amidst her rambles, and the sight makes her stomach fill with butterflies. She loves that look. Especially when it's directed at her. She can get lost in it.
So it feels abrupt when he suddenly retracts his hand and announces that he'll be right back. ]
Hmm? Why--?
[ And he's already gone, leaving Zelda staring blankly at the space he just vacated.
Because it hasn't occured to her that he might have a Goddess Day present for her too.
So she goes back to the stove (oh shoot, breakfast got a little burnt while she wasn't paying attention) while she waits for him to return, listening with amusement to the thumping and shuffling noises above her. ]
[It is possible, perhaps, that he had not yet wrapped her gift before charging up the stairs.
It is possible, as well, that he had been keeping this gift for some time, tucked away under his bed. It does seem somewhat dusty.
What is nonetheless true is that he comes downstairs with a package, one that looks hastily-wrapped (and indeed there is a piece of loose tape stuck to his sleeve, which he quickly retrieves and shoves into a pocket) but still well cared for. He hands it to her.
Inside, she will find a wooden box emblazoned with a woodburned Sundelion. Inside the box is a set of gardening tools: sharp shears for propagation, a shovel for replanting, cloths for wiping leaves, an elegant spray mister, and a watering can -- each with a similar Sundelion in their wooden handles.
Four years have changed many things, but...her care to the plants that have survived their various absences has not gone unnoticed.]
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On the kitchen table is a sizeable parcel, wrapped in parchment and sealed in crimson wax bearing the royal crest of Hyrule. Inside, Link will find the Champion's Leathers. ]
I had an entire surprise in store for you when we finished our investigation beneath the castle. I was so certain I had come up with a trick even you would never think of.
[ She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear self-consciously. After everything that has happened, she feels a little silly about the game she had in store for Link. ]
no subject
It had filled him at first with the determination to find her, to rescue her from whatever prison she had been locked in so she could be there with him. After his discovery of what happened to her...it became a quest of determination, one left unfinished by his sudden reentry into Reverein.
He touches a hand delicately to the leather. Another old friend lost to him through the events that brought on the Uprising.]
I... [He hesitates. She'll probably be angry at him for snooping, but he doesn't want to hide things from her.] I found your journal, after you disappeared. But I didn't...
[... he trails off there. He never found them, himself.]
no subject
But when he doesn't immediately react at the sight of the tunic, Zelda's excitement falters. Then a little more, and a little more, with each second that ticks by as he stares at it with his inscrutable expression. Uncertainty bubbles up to fill the space left behind by deflating excitement. He hates it. Doesn't he? He must. This is the same way he used to look at all those traditional votive candles she gave him out of obligation every Goddess Day when they were kids. Oh Goddess, why did she think he would like an exact replica of the same tunic he's been wearing for years? She should've gone with the green one Cece designed---
Link's voice interrupts the train wreck that is Zelda's thoughts and she snaps back to the present. ]
You... [ A block of ice drops in the pit of her stomach. ] You found my journal?
[ Not her reconstruction journal. Her private one. The one she keeps in her secret spot, which Link is under strict orders never to enter. The one that is a diary of her innermost thoughts.
Zelda stares back at Link, wild panic suddenly overtaking her features.
OhGoddesshedidn'tfindthehairtiedidhe? If he opened the chest by her desk and found his ratty old hair tie tucked safely inside it, then she just might die right here on the spot. ]
no subject
Oh, Goddess, why did he say that??
The difference in her demeanor, her expression, even her posture is stark and immediately noticeable. It's one thing to snoop around, but to --for all intents and purposes-- break into a private area and read a person's private property, no less a princess... No matter what their relationship or how close they might have been, nothing excuses that. And he's just admitted it. To her face. And now she probably hates him.]
I-- it-- [He clearly has no idea what to say, now, and indeed, he didn't even really know where he was going with this in the first place. It seems a bit pitiful to say I wanted something to remember you by -- and that's no excuse, besides. For just a moment, a sort of "lost puppy" helplessness bleeds into his expression under her gaze.]
I was looking for signs of where you might have gone. Anything that could help...
[He's fidgeting, now, nervously thumbing along the edge of a hem of the leathers. He cannot put into words the feelings that wash over him when he sets eyes on the precious gift she has given him, but also -- that moment has passed. Now, contrite in his expression, he bows his head a bit.]
I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done it.
no subject
Oh Goddess, why didn't she stop and think before overreacting like this? From his perspective, she had simply vanished without a trace after falling into the depths below Hyrule Castle. Of course he was going to search through all of her things to find any possible clues about what might have happened to her! Even her most personal possessions, if it meant saving her. If their roles were reversed, Zelda would have done the exact same thing.
Guilt wells up inside her as Link offers his apology. Without another thought, Zelda rushes around the table and grabs Link's hands. ]
No! No, I should be the one to apologize. [ She squeezes his hands and looks at him with a pleading expression. ] Please forgive me, I did not stop to think. You did the right thing. Why, if you had been the one to disappear, then Iā!
[ She cuts herself off, aware that she's getting herself all worked up. Loosening her grip on his hands, she takes a steadying breath. ] It's all right. It's only a journal.
[
And hopefully not a hair tie.]no subject
Zelda's abrupt change in tone makes him wonder, however, if he wasn't just misunderstanding something. If you had been the one to disappear...
Perhaps he's-- somewhat grateful to hear her say that.
She squeezes his hands, and all is, for a moment, forgotten. As soon as her grip loosens, he moves, taking her hands in his, holding them to his heart. If the gesture is too bold, he's clearly not thinking about it just now.]
Thank you. [He may not say much, but his tone speaks to gratitude.
... All the same, he does decide not to bring up the hair tie. For the moment, at least.]
and they mutually decided to never speak of the hair tie
Oh. Oh.
Oh she is in so deep...A blush of self consciousness rises to Zelda's cheeks at the intimacy of the gesture, but she doesn't pull her hands away. Her visage softens, her myriad emotions quieting, and the corners of her lips turn upright in a little smile that she isn't even aware that she's making. Goddess, how does just this little touch effect her so strongly?
She hears Link's 'thanks' and acknowledges him with a quiet nod of the head. A few silent moments slip by, completely unnoticed, as she simply takes in the sight of him. ]
2/2
[ Immediately, Zelda flinches at her own words. What a stupid thing to say. ]
A-Anyway! Do you like it? If not, I can take it back and have it adjusted until it suits you. I realize now that perhaps you might prefer something different from the Champion's tunic you've worn so long.
no subject
It's only when her hands slip away that he realizes his face has flushed so intensely, all the way to his ears, and he awkwardly clasps his hands behind him.
"In so deep." She is not the only one who feels that way.
His eyes return to the tunic, packaged so carefully on the table, and he doesn't respond for a moment, but-- there is a fondness in his expression.]
No, [he says at first, lost in his own thoughts, and then his head jerks sharply in her direction.] --That is. I do. I love it. [Ahem.
He might have left it at that, but he's not entirely certain she understands just how much it means to him. How much it had hurt, not being able to retrieve it at home. He...he thought he might never see it again, this piece of clothing. It seems so foolish, but it does mean quite a lot to him.] It's perfect. I wouldn't want anything else.
no subject
Really? Oh, I'm so glad! I've had it in mind for quite some time now. At first, I thought to simply sew you a new one, but we were always so busy with the restoration that I couldn't find the time to spare for it. Especially because I wanted it to be a surprise, which meant I would only be able to work on it when we were at home in Hateno and only when I was certain you would not accidentally interrupt me while I was working on it.
So I thought, "Oh, I will commission Cece! It will be the perfect thing to help her out of her creative slump." And it certainly did the trick, because she had all sorts of unique- [ read: wild ] -iterations on the original design. We went back and forth for quite some time before I finally realized I actually didn't want to change the design at all. Cece even suggested a different color and I immediately nixed the idea. I am so fond of the Champions' garb, you know.
[ Oh, is she babbling? Zelda's story stumbles to a rather abrupt ending. Link probably didn't need all of this background information about his gift. But her words are proof of just how much she has thought about this gift, how special it is to her. She's happy to know that he feels the same. ]
no subject
She's babbling.
She's babbling, and Link takes it all in anyway, absorbing every word; listening, really listening, as she goes through the whole story, as if he really can't think of anywhere else he'd rather be or anything he'd rather be listening to. Perhaps he can't. He is quite fond of her, after all.
He's terribly fond of the Champion's tunic, too, which is usually less evident but no less true. Like the Master Sword, it carried him through so much -- a companion, one lost to time, or so he thought. Being reunited with it, even here...it's more special than he will put into words. More special than he could put into words, perhaps. There is a faint hint of smile in his expression, though -- soft, subtle, but no less there.
... All at once, he stops, pulls his hand back, looks to the stairs.]
I'll be right back.
[He's been making (you know, his version of) doe eyes at this present without retrieving hers for long enough that it just feels rude. She'll hear him take the stairs by twos and then shuffling around in his room.]
no subject
So it feels abrupt when he suddenly retracts his hand and announces that he'll be right back. ]
Hmm? Why--?
[ And he's already gone, leaving Zelda staring blankly at the space he just vacated.
Because it hasn't occured to her that he might have a Goddess Day present for her too.
So she goes back to the stove (oh shoot, breakfast got a little burnt while she wasn't paying attention) while she waits for him to return, listening with amusement to the thumping and shuffling noises above her. ]
no subject
It is possible, as well, that he had been keeping this gift for some time, tucked away under his bed. It does seem somewhat dusty.
What is nonetheless true is that he comes downstairs with a package, one that looks hastily-wrapped (and indeed there is a piece of loose tape stuck to his sleeve, which he quickly retrieves and shoves into a pocket) but still well cared for. He hands it to her.
Inside, she will find a wooden box emblazoned with a woodburned Sundelion. Inside the box is a set of gardening tools: sharp shears for propagation, a shovel for replanting, cloths for wiping leaves, an elegant spray mister, and a watering can -- each with a similar Sundelion in their wooden handles.
Four years have changed many things, but...her care to the plants that have survived their various absences has not gone unnoticed.]