Raising the Stakes; Zelink Coffee Shop AU (The Legend Of Zelda)

Chapter Fourteen

(8/19/17)

~*~
Wednesday
2 Days Left

"The best day, huh?" he said.

I glanced over at Link to see him watching me with a silent smile.

You can't look at me like that, I thought as my heart gave a twinge. Looking back at the screen, I grabbed the controller and unpaused the game. That would force my attention off of the amazing day I was having.

Yeah, that'll work.

After only a few minutes of playing, and fighting against it, I flicked my eyes back to him.

He was still looking at me, and I quickly focused back on the screen again. I don't know how to respond to this.

He yawned, and I looked back at him again.

"Are you tired?" I asked.

He shrugged. "Early morning. Late night."

"Late night?" I repeated. "Were you playing video games?"

He shook his head. "No, I went shopping after closing up," he replied. "I got things for the shop as well so it took longer than I expected." He paused and smiled. "Plus it's hard to get the groceries up the stairs."

I wasn't sure if that was a joke or not, so I didn't laugh. "Do you have a car?"

"It's my grandma's, I use it for supply runs cause I need a lot of room."

"...do you drive a minivan?" I asked, my hand over my mouth to stop the chuckles.

He grinned. "No, I do not," he laughed. "It's just got a really big trunk." He yawned again.

I pressed my lips together. "You know if you're tired I can go-"

"You don't have to leave," he replied before I finished.

I raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, no I... I didn't mean-" he said, almost tripping over his words. "I meant... don't feel like you have to leave right away just because... I'm tired."

I shook my head. "It's not right away, Link, I've been here for hours." I looked down at my watch and raised an eyebrow. Time flies when you're having fun.

"Oh... then you do want to leave?"

"No!" I replied, then my eyes widened; I hadn't meant for it to come out so loud. "I... I just said I was having the best day, how does that translate to 'I want to leave'?"

He nodded. "Right... sorry, I'm tired."

I shook my head. "You have nothing to apologize for, you're a very good host."

Link sat up straighter at that. "You think so?"

I smiled. "Yes, I do."

He looked down at Farore for a moment, a smile on his face. "Well... you are the perfect guest."

"Thank you..."

He nodded and leaned his head back against the couch. "You can play for as long as you like," he said.

It seemed a little redundant to thank him again, so I just nodded and resumed playing.

Was he so comfortable around me already? Literally, it had only been one night of dinner and games and it seemed like everything had changed.

But... I suppose it has. Before it was only me and him in the coffee shop. It was obvious that it was just an arrangement... but now, here in his house... It feels so different... but I can't, I can't just assume anything.

My mind was split on this. Half of me just wanted to let go and see how things unfolded. The other half really didn't want to get hurt.

In the game, I opened a treasure chest and was met with the annoying 'your inventory is full' for the fifth time in a row. Seriously, I had only just started the game and it was full? I sighed and shook my head, then glanced at Link.

His eyes were closed, his breathing calm.

Did he.... did he fall asleep? Seriously, how can someone fall asleep that easily?

As I watched him I realized I didn't have that tingly heat in my face that always made me look away. With his eyes closed as they were, I could take the opportunity to look at him without getting embarrassed. To really look at him.

Because it was relaxed, his face looked soft. I almost wanted to reach out to it, but no way in heck would I actually do that. His mouth opened a little as he took a shallow breath, and I had to tear my attention away from his lips as they pressed together again. I purposefully flicked my attention to his ear.

I had never really realized that he had his ears pierced...

The things I hadn't noticed before.

I looked up at his eyes and noticed that his lashes were LONGER THAN MINE. WHY.

I started laughing from the reaction, but silently because I didn't want to wake him up. Then I felt a sharp pain in my legs. Looking down, I realized that it was the cat, annoyed at my movement.

Farore looked up at me with her eyes half closed.

"Sorry," I whispered as I set the gamepad aside to pet her again. The cat or the game? The cat. There was no question. A video game, or the affection of a living thing?

I'd take Link over a video game, I thought, then smacked my hand against my face and groaned. Stop that, I told myself. Stop it, stop it. You've gotta protect yourself better than this.

Farore flicked her tail and jumped out of my lap and onto Link's.

"Oh no, I'm sorry!" I said quietly.

Too late, the cat wasn't coming back. And with a twitch Link woke up. He looked down sleepily at Farore, and then over to me.

"... Fell asleep didn't I?"

I nodded, not looking at him. "I should go and let you actually sleep. You've got to open the shop tomorrow and I'd feel guilty if I kept you awake any longer."

Link seemed to understand that it was no use arguing; not when I was right. "Okay... I'll drive you home."

I raised an eyebrow. "It's really not that far."

"It's late, you're not walking home."

"You're tired, I can manage-"

He fixed a determined stare on me, with no hint of sleep in his eyes. "You are not walking home alone."