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

Chapter Thirty Two

12/29/17

~*~
Friday

(7:30 P.M)

"The goddess of-" his voice faltered.

I took a step back. "No I-" the words caught in my throat. I took another step. "I didn't say that!"

A sharp intake of breath followed my denial. "... but you did."

"I-" Another step back. "Stupid..." I mumbled, staring down at the light glittering off the icy floor.

Link didn't move. "Zelda..."

I didn't respond except for moving back. Not now, not now, this isn't right. Another step. This isn't how this happens. This isn't where this happens.

My heart leaped into my throat as my foot slipped sideways. I had a brief moment in the air before my back hit the ground and I couldn't stop the sharp cry of pain and surprise.

Link rushed forward, skidding on the slippery surface of the deck. "Oh my gosh, are you alright?"

I didn't move except for the rise and fall of my chest. I was still. My eyes closed. My teeth were clenched and tears shone in reflective paths down the sides of my face.

"Zelda!" Link exclaimed, kneeling down beside me, putting his hand on my arm. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"-'s fine-" My words were ragged from the tightness in my throat. "Really, it's... fine..."

Pain.

I was used to it.

I could take it.

I could push it to the back of my mind.

I could forget it.

"You're not fine," Link replied. "You're crying..."

I shook my head; my hair sticking to the icy wood. Everything was cold... everything but him. His hand was like a soothing flame on my arm. It left a burning trail every time I shifted.

"Link, I'm sorry..." I began, and before he could tell me not to be I continued. "I'm afraid of falling..." My eyes were still closed. If I was looking at him I wouldn't be able to say anything more.

"You..." he faltered. "... what?"

"But it's already too late..." My voice was smaller now, and I wondered if he could even hear it.

"... too late?" he asked in a quiet voice.

"I already fell... and I don't think I can ever get back up again. Not along the same path I came down."

"We're... not talking about slipping."

I finally opened my eyes, and it felt like I was breaking open something else. Doors that had been shut for a very long time...

Locked doors without keys.

Doors that didn't even have a handle.

My gaze flicked to him and he caught it. His fingers tightened on my arm, but I could barely feel that anymore.

I didn't speak but that didn't mean he didn't have his answer.

"I want to know, Zelda," Link said. "I want to help." He sighed and moved his hand up to my shoulder. "All of this... you act like the truth would turn me away from you. Like if I knew I wouldn't like you anymore."

My eyes were still washed with tears, but I didn't look away from him.

"That's not how it works. I care, I care enough that I want to help you. But I don't know how to help you.... Especially if you don't allow me the honor..."

"Honor," I repeated. "What honor is there in-"

"Zelda, please-" Link said, leaning over and looking straight into my eyes. "You do not have to tell me anything. You do not have to relive it if you don't want to. You can ignore this for the rest of your life - but you don't have to. You're not alone."

My eyes widened. I opened my mouth but there were no words to give. No response that would be adequate. I don't have to...

I have a choice...

I looked at him, my eyes wavering slightly from side to side as I searched his face. The answers to all my questions were etched in his mixture of expressions.

My hands rose, almost without my directing. Moving before I even agreed to their plan. They settled on his shoulders and pulled him down.

He fell onto me with a complete lack of grace, but I doubt either of us cared. His head rested in the crook of my neck. My arms moved around his waist. His other hand grazed my side.

We lay jumbled on the cold wood, yet warmth was the only feeling between us.

"Thank you..." I said quietly. My soft words were heard clearly by ears mere inches away.

It was almost a minute before he finally responded. His hands shifted as he pushed himself up on his arms. He looked down at me, his lips slightly parted as he searched for the kind of words that took their time to be found. "I don't... want to be just your distraction..." he said.

I stared up at him. Stared with a hope that I hadn't dared feel in a very long time. It was like a living, heated thing in my chest. "You-" I swallowed and shook my head. "You're not."

Maybe... just maybe, this was actually it. But it wasn't a magical moment where everything was just right - a shining light, a look in their eyes, red cheeks and birdsong like I'd come to expect.

Oh, who was I kidding... yes it was.

It wasn't some stupid version of perfect where nothing bad ever happened. That wasn't perfect - it was fake.

I wasn't perfect, and he had been witnessing that for the first time - firsthand - for the last couple of hours.

No... It wasn't some picture book perfect.

It was him. It was me. And that's all it ever needed to be.

"You're not..." I repeated.

Link's lips parted again, as though he again had something to say but was at a loss for words. Instead of saying anything he reached up to wipe away my tears.

"You're not..."

His hand stopped, fingers lingering on my cheek. Link stared down at me. "I'm wasting time..." he said quietly.

I shook my head again, though I didn't know what he meant. Then a shiver that was no fault of the cold echoed down my spine to the tips of my toes. The movement had trailed one of his fingers onto the edge of my mouth.

His resulting expression made another shiver cascade. Link's hand moved, and his thumb rested on the corner of my lips.

My chest started to rise and fall faster. My brain was eating thorough oxygen by overthinking everything imaginable at this point. And nothing at all.

"Yeah... I am," he said, and it sounded quiet, even though he was coming closer.

My lips parted as I stared, though I had no words to give as a response. But I didn't need words... not at that moment.

Not when he kissed me.