Chapter 38 - Rito Village

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I woke up during the night, just once.

It'd been an incredibly restful night, all things considered. The bed was warm and the cabin cozy, the fire's dying light casting dancing shadows through the cabin, and my belly was full.

And yet though I knew that the blizzard had raged all through the night, it wasn't until the shutters about one of the windows came loose and began to whip about in the wind that I was reminded of it.

It had been easy to forget about the storm raging outside because of the company I kept, and in how I was keeping.

Startled when the shutter came loose, I had woken up; yet soon soothed by the warmth of the bed and the familiarity of my company, and since I was so tired and bleary that I had not yet noticed the proximity or situation, I had begun to doze off immediately once more... only until my mind caught up with the fact that I was awake.

The rattling of the shutter against the window became as the wind and fire crackling had been - background noise, that which only added to my lullaby. And for a few minutes, I was content with that. I tried to fall back into the dream I had been experiencing, which by all accounts had to be a pleasant one for how warm my heart still was from it. Whatever it was, it was good, that I knew for sure.

I gathered up that which I was cuddling up closer to my chest. I settled my chin against it, and began to settle back in to fall back asleep. My mind began to race with ideas of what I might have dreamt about and what I might like to return to. Daydreaming was, of course, a wonderful way to set up that which one actually dreamed about and as I thought about it more, I realized that the way my heart was so warm was indicative of something in particular.

It was the way my heart would warm when I was around Link. It was a general comfort by now, one I was getting increasingly flustered by as I became more aware of it - but it was true. Simply being around him made me feel warm and safe, content and comfortable. It was a truth that I was equal parts comforted and flustered by, and I was less and less aware of how to deal with such a thing.

Regardless, I felt warm in the way I always would when with Link, so the dream I just emerged from had to be about him, right? Er, maybe not about him, but at least including or featuring him, right?

...Right?

I sighed a little, and the bundle set securely against my chest seemed to sigh in response.

...

What?

My eyes, heavy though they were, snapped right open at the realization that what I was cuddling was in fact cuddling back. I began to call Link's name, but upon looking down only slightly and seeing a mess of unruly blond hair, my breath caught in my throat and I realized that doing so would be useless because why call for help from the one who was in fact holding me in place?

Because, oh yes, I could feel it now: Link was holding me here. Perhaps not purposely, but he was. He had tucked himself - or perhaps I had done so - against my chest. Because I was wearing such a thin shirt, I could feel his gentle breaths ghosting down towards my stomach, disappearing within the confines of the thick covers. He was all but pressing his face to my chest and he seemed perfectly content - his arms around me kept me from going anywhere, but I tried anyway. I didn't get very far.

As soon as I started sitting up, he was pulling me back down, letting out a discontented little groan at having to do so. I did not resist any longer - I relaxed back against the bedding and when I let out a resigned sort of breath, Link in his slumber seemed to take that as permission to get a little closer, though how that was possible I had no idea, and I realized with a start why this was such a well-beloved trope in fiction, the whole "there only being one bed" thing.

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