Link yanked on the rope, still crusty with salt, every muscle in his upper body bulging. Little by little, he pulled the chest out of the hole.
"C'mon, Link! Put your back into it!"
Link glared over in Tetra's direction. She, of course, was sitting quite comfortably on a rock. "Just for that, I'm tempted to drop it."
Tetra laughed. "You wouldn't dare. You're too eager to please."
Link turned his attention back to the rope, fighting down his anger. She was right. He was too eager to please. At least to her. If it was Gonzo or Senza asking him to do it, he would have made them help, but Tetra just had an air that made everyone scamper to do her bidding.
Growling, Link put his frustration into the rope, succeeding in exposing another foot of it. "What the hell's in this chest?" he grunted.
Tetra shrugged. "Gold's heavy. Deal with it."
Link ignored her and turned back to the chest. She could help him, and was quite capable of doing so, but that wouldn't be very chivalrous of him, would it?
Sighing, he resigned himself to the sweaty, backbreaking task, cursing his slavish obedience.
Finally, after nearly an hour, he strained one last time and heaved the chest out of the hole. He dropped the rope and backed off, collecting his discarded shirt off the ground.
Tetra walked over and placed a hand on his bare shoulder. "Nice job."
Link nodded wearily. And, to be honest, he was rather pleased with himself. He'd put on quite a bit of muscle over the last few years, since becoming a bona fide member of Tetra's crew Before, he would have gone searching for his Power Bracelets before even considering lifting something like that.
"And you know what?" Tetra continued. "I'm feeling nice today. Because you did all that hard work pulling that chest out of the ground, you can have three full shares."
Link raised an eyebrow. Now that was strange. Usually, as Tetra's right-hand man, he was only entitled to a share and a half.
"What's the catch?" he asked warily.
Tetra shrugged. "I'll tell you later. And by the way..."
Grinning, she pressed her body to his, twining her arms around his neck. She kissed him hungrily, swirling her tongue against his.
She broke away, still grinning, albeit a little short of breath. "Happy birthday," she purred.
Understanding flowered on Link's face. He'd completely forgotten. "So that explains the stripper cake Niko tried to hide," he said dryly.
Tetra's brow furrowed. "Stripper cake?"
Link laughed. "I'm just teasing. But still, thanks for remembering. Even if I didn't."
Tetra shrugged. "You're seventeen today. Most societies would consider you a man now."
Link snorted. "And yet, here I am, kowtowing to a girl the same age as me."
She grinned and batted her eyelashes in a mockingly flirtatious gesture. "I thought that's how things were supposed to be."
"You wish," Link said. "The only reason I keep you around is for eye candy."
Tetra's grin widened. "And the only reason I keep you around is because you do anything I ask."
Link shrugged again. "Eager to please, remember?"
Nearly three months ago, Tetra had finally acknowledged Link's painfully obvious feelings for her, and agreed to attempt a romance. Which seemed to be working out rather well, in fact.
