Remember When...(Link x Reader)

|| Chapter 21 || Bazaar Looks

Edited 03.12.23

You sigh heavily, plopping down next to the water of the oasis. Without daring to waste a single second, you take off your boots and socks, dipping your bare feet into the cold water which feels like heaven. Link collapses next to you with a groan, equally exhausted.

"No matter how hard I try not to, I still manage to get sand stuck in my boots whenever I come here!" You complain mostly to yourself, pouring the grainy contents out of your boots.

"My feet feel like they're on fire," Link whines, sticking them in the crystal water as well.

The Gerudo Desert is yet another place not many travelers visit if they don't like warm weather. It's nowhere near as bad as the volcanic Eldin Region, but the desert is still blazing hot during the day. A further problem with the weather here comes at night when the temperature drastically drops to below zero which can be just as miserable while wandering through the dunes.

The Kara Kara Bazaar is located at the halfway mark to Gerudo Town, acting as a nice rest stop for travelers heading that way like the two of you are. Here, there's a few market stands set up around the water selling a variety of items and a shady inn built nearby.

"...We need to figure out how we're going to go about this..." you mumble after several minutes of quiet relaxation. You're laying on your back, your hood folded and utilized as a pillow to keep your hair out of the sand as you splash your feet in the water.

"Aren't we just going to Gerudo Town?" Link, who's lying right beside you, can't even bother opening his eyes. That's probably a good thing since he'd just be immediately blinded by the sun above.

"Well, yeah, but there's one big problem: Gerudo Town doesn't allow men inside -" you sit up, dusting the sand from your torso, "- and you're a man which means we'll have to find a way to sneak you in."

"Sneak me in? Like have me hide the entire time?"

You hum in thought, looking him up and down carefully, "...You know, I think with the right clothes, you could pass as a girl."

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Finally he opens a single eye to peek at you with a frown.

"I don't mean to insult your masculinity," you roll your eyes, "I'm only saying that with a veil to hide your face, you could pass as a flat-chested girl. As long as you at least look a little feminine, no one should question you. If they do, act as offended as you just were. They'll drop it."

Link sits up, shaking the sand from his hair to distract himself from his own blush, "Does that mean I have to borrow your clothes then?"

"No, I only have one outfit for this environment and as happy as I would be to let you have it, it doesn't have anything to cover your face with...It'll probably just be better in the long run to get you your own," you give it some more thought, "I can go into town myself and buy you something while you wait here...But first, let's get something to eat. I'm starved!"

There's a variety of items sold at each market stand, however one in particular catches your attention as it sells tons of fruit from both the desert and high mountain regions. There's voltfruits, hydromelons, wildberries, and even spicy peppers (which must not be that popular around here, you'd guess).

"Sav'aaq," you bow your head to the stand owner in greeting and she repeats the action, welcoming you to look over the fruits with assurance that everything is fresh.

While you gratefully do so, Link stands right off to the side, studying the surrounding bazaar quietly. It's then that he notices something you had failed to mention beforehand about this place: there's men everywhere.

Maybe you forgot or simply didn't think it was anything worth mentioning that Gerudo Desert is a popular 'tourist' destination for the male population. Since arriving, you haven't seemed to show any notice towards the crowd and honestly, Link hadn't either, although that's changed now. How could he not start paying attention once realizing that half of these men are staring directly at you - especially where they're staring! Needless to say, it's making his blood boil.

Subconsciously, he steps forward and grabs your free hand, leaning arm-to-arm with you. Under his dark glare, most of the men seem to get the idea, scurrying off to find someone else to gawk at, however Link doesn't miss the few who look back with smirks as if to get one last glimpse of you and, most irritatingly, of the places they definitely shouldn't so focused on.

Blissfully unaware of the issue at hand, you simply glance at Link after he moves closer to you, "What should we get?"

"Huh - What?"

"I can't decide. I'm so hungry, everything sounds good. Any preferences?"

"Um..." Usually, he wouldn't care. Food's food, but he also wants to get away from all these perverts surrounding you guys as quickly as possible, "How about hydromelons?"

You nod, relaying the order to the patient Gerudo merchant. You're about to take some rupees from your wallet, but Link beats you to it. He hurries to pay himself despite your protests, taking the hydromelons, thanking the woman, then dragging you away to the furthest side of the bazaar where you both can sit in peace by the water again. Once there, he carefully cuts the melon, passing you a piece and taking one for himself.

Thank Hylia you don't seem fazed by anything other than the heat, waving a hand in front of your face and chewing on your juicy melon slice, "As uncomfortable as I find warm weather to be, I actually used to come here quite often. At least this oasis and the town aren't too bad temperature wise."

You continue chatting as you normally would, stopping every now and again to take a bite of melon while Link remains right by your side, practically leaning against you. From where you sit, there aren't that many men in sight, most staying on the other side of the oasis where they can harass the Gerudo women passing through. Either way, even their distant presence makes Link feel angry. The knowledge that they would ever dare ogle you while possibly thinking dirty thoughts makes him crazy. Who do they think they are anyways?!

Internally, Link wonders if you're really that oblivious to the inappropriate stares you've been receiving today or if you're simply ignoring them. Based on the way the local women shoo these men off with little concern hints that this is a regular occurrence and likely the reason they come here in the first place since there is a town of women nearby. If you've been to the desert before, surely you'd be aware of that, right? Is it just not as big of a deal as Link's making it?

"Earth to Link!" You flick his forehead, "Are you even listening?"

"Yes!"

"Then what did I just say?"

"U-Um," he hesitates, "That you used to come here often."

You roll your eyes, flicking his forehead again for punishment, "I said that like five minutes ago, yeah, but what I just said was that I'm going to start heading to Gerudo Town to get your clothes. It should only take me maybe a half an hour to an hour -"

As you stand up, Link does too - well, he more so shoots up to his feet, earning himself a strange look from you, "- I can go with! I'll wait outside the town for you. No one should suspect that, right?"

"...You sure? It might get pretty hot -"

"- There's no point in making you walk all the way there and back just to give me clothes," he bites down on his lip, hoping you'll agree. Yes, he'd feel bad making you trek through a desert for him especially since you hate the heat, but what if some guy from the oasis follows you when you're alone and gives you trouble? You can easily protect yourself as Link's learned, however would it really be that bad if he's there to chase someone off for you?

You consider his suggestion then nod, "...Well alright. It's not like it matters to me. Off to Gerudo Town we both go then, I guess."

Spinning on your heel, you led the way, missing Link's relieved sigh from behind. With Gerudo Town not letting any men inside, he hopefully shouldn't have to worry about anyone looking at you inappropriately.