Travel Buddies: LinkxReader (EDITED)

4

I woke up to the sound of Eva neighing and huffing outside. I groan knowing she must be irritated and wanting to leave. I groan and stretch as I begin to gather my things and head outside with my bag and lantern. "Good morning Eva." I yawn as I head towards her. I set my bag and lantern down to properly get her saddle back on. Afterwards, I grab my bag and lantern tie the lantern to the saddle, and begin leading Eva to a small pond across from the cabin. I let her drink from the water and graze as I wash my plates and face. I then hopped back on Eva and continued our trip. "Almost there!" I pat her. "Ouu I'm so excited! What should we do first?" I ask. "The beach? Explore the town. Maybe chat with the locals?" I laugh. "I hope you're having as much fun as me." I say as we speed up to a trot. "I'm sure you wanted to get out of Akkala just as bad as I did." She snorts. "I know, that place was lame." I mumble.

We trot all along the trail up the mountains. I admire the scenery, some old collapsed buildings, and even some monster camps in the distance. The first thing I'd do is grab a bite to eat. I didn't have a lot last night. I could feel my stomach rumbling, we trotted by an apple tree and I plucked one off to munch on while we arrived at the village.

About two hours had passed when I could hear voices chattering. We had made it. The trail passed through a small wooded area before I saw the sign welcoming those into the village. I patted Eva's neck as we entered the village. Where do I even go from here? First a store, no first I drop Eva off at a small stable then I find a store. To do that I need to find the Inn, they usually have stables. We walked through the village until we reached the inn at the end. I hopped off and led Eva to what appeared to be the stables. "Hello!" I looked to where the voice came from to see a guy about my age standing up from one of the stables. "How can I help you?"

"Hi." I pause to look at him. He's in stable boy attire, his boots are muddy along with his hands. He's on the heavier side, his face is riddled with freckles and even his brown hair is muddied. I smile. "Um, I just need to keep my horse here for a while."

"Yeah, of course." He says. "What's the name?"

"Eva." I pat her. "How much?" I sling my back done to the floor to look through my wallet.

"Don't worry about it. It's on the house."

"You sure?" He nods.

"Thanks." I smile and hand Eva to him before I walk off back to the store I saw. I walk inside and I'm greeted by the owner. I walk around by store for something to make a quick meal, a salad seems like my best bet. I bought some tomatoes, lettuce, and a few other greens before heading out to put it all together. I walk outside and stand next to the store as I place my things into my bag again.

"(Y/n)?" I hear my name be called and look for the source. Who knows me from here? "Over here." I hear a guy laugh. I locate the voice coming from my left and smile when I see Link riding in on Epona. It was so good to see a familiar face again.

"Link!" I wave at him as he walks over.

"What are you doing here?" He laughs.

"I could ask you the same thing."

"I have a house up that path." He says. "I'm glad you made it here safe, I've been thinking about you." I feel my stomach flutter.

"I uh.. this seemed like an easy trip." I laugh softly.

"Yeah, which way did you take?"

"I went through Kakariko village. I was gonna stay there but they were booked up for the night."

"Yeah. They usually are." He smiles looking down at me. We stay silent as his blue eyes stare calmly into mine. "Uh-um.. do you wanna head to my place? I'm sure you're tired." I feel myself blush.

"Yeah." I smile.

"I have an extra stable if you wanna get Eva."

"Ok."

"My place is right across the bridge, I'll go get Epona in the stable and wait outside for you." I nod before I walk back to the stables I left Eva to get her back.

I watch as the stable boy sits up once I make my way over. "Back so soon?" He asks.

"Yeah, a friend offered up his stable."

"Really? She's been great company." I smile.

"Thanks for taking care of her." I say as he gets her out of the stall. Take her by the lead and begin walking to where Link said his house was. I passed some modern-looking houses before reaching the bridge and seeing Links house up ahead. I saw him outside by the stables and made my way over.

"This is your house?" I ask looking at the large house.

"Yeah, my little retreat." He says before turning around and taking Eva to place in the stable. "Let's go inside, looks like it's about to rain." We look up at a grey cloud rolling in. I follow him as he holds the door open for me. "How long were you planning on staying in town?" He asks.

"I don't know. A few days." I say watching him tidy up the house.

"Yeah? I'm glad I was in town today then." I feel myself blush.

"You never mentioned you had a house."

"I'm not often here. I'm usually out, helping friends around Hyrule." He says washing some dishes in the sink. "Are you hungry?"

"Yeah, a bit."

"Then good thing I'm about to make lunch. You like duck?"

"I'd love to try it." I watch him as he preps his cutting board and kitchen knives.

"Eva's doin pretty good."

"All thanks to you." He chuckles.

"How was the trip up here? Did you run into any trouble?"

"No, it was pretty serene. A lot lonelier than I thought it would be."

"Tell me about it." He continues dicing some tomatoes before moving on to pouring some rice into a pot.

"You like cooking?"

"Yeah." He nods and looks back at me. "I recently got into it. It's fun experimenting with ingredients and flavors."

"Well, I can't wait to try this duck then." I say and hear the rain start pattering on the roof. The rumble of distant thunder echoes through the house.

We continue chatting as he cooks. We talk about some of his travels, and he opens up a bit more about himself. Once the food is cooked he plates it and sets it on either side of the table. The whole house smelled delicious, the duck breast was perfectly grilled, which paired well with the fried rice. "I hope you like it." He sits down across from me.

"I'm sure I will." I grab my fork and cut into the duck breast and take a bite. It was delightfully moist which went well with the slight sweetness in the seasoning. I looked back up to see Link enjoying his meal. "It's really good," I say.

"I'm glad you like it." He says before a clap of thunders rings throughout the house. The storm is pretty much on top of us.

As we continued eating the house would practically shake with the roar of the thunder. Once we finished we continued chatting for a while. Mostly about ourselves and our horses. I help him clean up the dishes and then start gathering my things. "You're gonna leave during this storm?" Link asks as he dries his hands.

"Yeah. I don't wanna be a bother. I was gonna stay at the Inn anyways."

"You can crash here, no need to get soaked out there." He says.

"You sure? You've done so much for me already."

"I insist, I got a bed upstairs so help yourself and I'll stay down here." He pauses. "Plus the stable guys' a creep."

"Is he?" I laugh. He seemed nice enough when I went over. "Well, I'm really grateful for your hospitality."

"Anytime." He smiles. "Rest up." I walk up the stairs and place my bag beside the bed then lay down on the bed. I listen to Link cleaning around downstairs before I hear him unroll a sleeping bag. The lights turn off downstairs before I hear him lie down on the bag. "Goodnight (Y/n)." He yawns.

"Goodnight Link."