New Horizons - A Skyward Sword Aftermath Story

17 - Embarrassment

"I swear, you guys! I was just walking past, and then I saw them kissing!"

Since Link and Zelda hadn't awoken yet, Cawlin just HAD to tell the others about the things he witnessed the night before. Everyone leaned in closer, eager to hear the juicy gossip.
"Hah! I still can't believe it!" Stritch snorted. "That boy has been in love with her since day one, but he never actually had the guts to tell her."
Pipit added to the conversation.
"Well, I did feel like there was something kind of...different about those two, when they returned."
Karane crossed her arms and frowned.
"I'm a little offended that Zelda wouldn't tell me anything about it!"

Groose rolled his eyes. He found the conversation to be overkill. Perhaps it just wasn't the kind of conversation he of all people wanted to be involved in.
"Quick! Shut up! They're coming now!" Cawlin hissed. "Let's stop talking about it so that we make it less obvious-"

Before he could finish, everyone's heads snapped round in unison, and stared at Link and Zelda as they approached.

The pair looked at them all, confused, but even more creeped out by their wide eyes.
Cawlin facepalmed.

"Uh... Is everything alright, you guys?" Zelda asked, raising an eyebrow.
"O-of course! Why wouldn't it be?!" Cawlin stuttered. He gritted his teeth at the others, hoping they would get the message. "Right, guys?!"

The group enthusiastically reassured the pair, and greeted them with an unusual amount of friendliness. The two stared back, blinking in confusion, before shrugging their strange behaviour off and starting breakfast.

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Soon, everyone was working diligently on the construction of their new homes. The group often rotated their chores, and today the women were given the task of tree cutting, while the men were piling bricks and concrete.

The teenage boys grouped together to work on each house. Just like any usual team effort the boys ever did together, of course it was Link who did more work than anyone. He found his mind wandering as laid brick after brick, replaying memories of the night before. As much as he tried to hide it, the excitement of it all made him smile like an idiot. It didn't go unnoticed by the other boys, who exchanged playful smirks and walked over to him. Pipit rested his elbow on the stone wall he stood beside.

"You seem rather happy about something." He teased.
Link suddenly froze. His eyes widened.
"W-what?"
"Thinking about Zelda, are we?"
"Huh?! N-no!"
He snapped, his stuttering giving away his already obvious lie.
Cawlin and Stritch snickered.
"Oh really? Then what ARE you thinking about?"

All the blood in his body began rushing to his face. He had to think of an answer, and fast.
"I- uh... I was just thinking about a funny memory, is all."
Cawlin snorted. "PFFFT, I beg to differ. I bet you're thinking about something like 'Oooh, Zelda. You're the love of my life will you marry me~?"

The two best friends began to pull ugly kissey faces. Pipit chuckled loudly at the two. Link felt the bile rise in his throat at the sight of them.
"Why would they...?" He thought.

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"Soooo Zelda, it's been quite some time since we talked like this!"
Zelda noticed that Karane was much more bubbly than usual. She had been acting strange all day, in fact.

"Well...Pipit and I had the most romantic date by the Sealed Temple the other night. There's just something so peaceful about laying in the tall grass staring up at the billions of stars in the sky."
Zelda's lips curled into a smile. She thought about her recent journey. For once, she could relate to how her friend felt. "Yeah."