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Talking was the one thing Zelda could never stop doing. She talked a lot. Like, a lot, lot. Link talked too, but not as much as Zelda. He had a feeling her talking would be endless, even with the limited memories he had of her from the past. The bounds of her prattling was unknown, especially when the topic was about the things she was passionate about. But that was just scratching the surface of it all. Sometimes, she would even talk to herself － monologuing out loud either on purpose to let him listen in into her head, or subconsciously as a way for her to work through her own thoughts.
Nevertheless, Link gladly listens. As he always does. He liked the sound of her voice after all.
What Link loved to listen to the most was when she talked about moments from Before. Particularly the ones that made her face lit up. The stories retold were further exaggerated with the movements of her hands, the transitions of her facial expression, and the dancing she probably had no idea she was doing with her head, bobbing here and there － they were cute. He liked how much her eyes sparkled when she talked about the numerous memories of running around in the castle gardens when she was a child, or the various times she would slither out of balls or events to slip inside the Royal Scientists’ study and taking a peek at their latest projects, or the several times she would sneak in an extra slice of fruitcake into her chambers in the middle of the night because she “just wanted some cake, sheesh!” It was cute. She was cute.
She would tell stories about him from Before too. It didn’t make him feel like he was hearing tales of another man at all, despite his strong belief that he and him had two very different personalities. Maybe it was the way Zelda told those stories? She never made him feel like she was comparing him to him. Or maybe it was the fact that he and him were not that different at all at the end of the day? He often caught himself thinking, ‘That’s definitely something I would do,’ when hearing the stories of him. ‘Something I would do even today.’ Of course, there were moments where he would be baffled by his reactions, that he scoffed out loud, prompting Zelda to halt her narrative by grabbing her hands and leading her to the cooking pot outside of their Hateno home, because Goddess damn it all, he should have eaten that frog for her!
“If he won’t, I will!” he exclaimed, swiping through the Sheikah Slate inventory for that stupid Hot-Footed Frog as she burst in a fit of laughter.
The more time passed by, the less story she told. She didn’t stop talking, of course, but the memories from Before were getting more and more scarce.
It was when they were cuddling in bed together one lazy afternoon that she suddenly remembered something that made her gasp and her eyes glimmer in excitement. She started off by mentioning it was a story from Before, and it was during the time when she was still not fond of him (She kept apologizing about this even though he never blamed it on her).
✿
They had just set up the tents. He was quietly gathering up dried tree branches for a fire, to ensure warmth during the cold dead of the night and she was sitting on the ground watching him tentatively. Hours earlier, she had told him to stop following her, but of course, he never would. As much as she hated the ever-prodding sword on his back, drilling in her head that she was a failure, it wasn’t like she would shoo him away now of all times － she needed him to build that camp fire… it was getting chilly, and she needed him to cook something… she was getting hungry.
Try as she might, it was actually very convenient to have him around. His knowledge for survival was vast and it wasn’t limited to just swinging a sword around and dodging attacks with an impressive back flip; from fishing, to hunting, to cooking, to having an extensive understanding of the wilderness, he was without a doubt, a presence needed. Even if she didn’t want to admit it.
The crackling of a well-built ember snapped her out of her deep thoughts. She looked over to Link, who was poking through the blazed branches with an unreadable expression. He glanced over to her briefly, and then looked back at the fire. He then chewed his bottom lip, and inhaled deeply and held it. His eyes darted back to her for a few seconds that felt like a century. His orbs were filled with… something － like he had something to say. Letting go of his breath, he opted to looking away instead.
Zelda involuntarily growled out loud at that and his neck snapped back towards her, his eyes wide and filled to the brim with horror.
“What is it? What do you want to say?” she barked.
Maintaining the same expression as before, he simply shook his head.
“I know you wanted to say something. Spit it out already.”
A terrified frown formed on his lips as he slowly turned his head away from her. He contemplated for a while, blinking rapidly as he gathered his thoughts. She couldn’t help but stare at his long eyelashes.
“I’m sorry,” his voice hoarse from disuse as he continued, “for making you sad.”
And that was the last thing she expected to hear out of his mouth. An apology? She was honestly bracing herself for a scolding. Of course, he would not actually scold her like how her father would, every single day, but she was expecting it. She thought her Knight Attendant would lecture her, as polite as a lecture from a Knight to his Princess could be. She thought he would remind her that it was his duty to keep her safe and protected and－
✿
And then Link realized that Zelda has told this story before.
That was the time when she realized that having him as an Appointed Knight wasn’t such a bad idea after all. Because at that moment, one hundred years ago, she found out that the fearless Hero of Hyrule was actually scared shitless of the Princess’ wrath. He knew that he wasn’t exactly terrified of her anger, per say, it was more like he didn’t want to upset her, because her upsets usually lead to a moody Princess. He didn’t want to make her sad.
That was one of the things he had in common with him, he was afraid of making Zelda sad too.
In any case, the Princess of a hundred years ago took that knowledge and used it to her advantage. It was probably stressful for him then, but right now, he could only laugh at him. Who would have thought the Hero would cave in just from his Princess saying, “it’ll make me sad,” with a mock pout. It was revolutionary to her at that time. Asking him to let her outside of the castle after curfews, he would quickly deny the request, but the second she looked at him with big puppy eyes, cheeks puffed and lips scrunched forward, suddenly he was a pool of ‘yes, Princess’. He would even go as far as covering up for her when the King enquired of their whereabouts.
Actually, make that two things he had in common with him. He couldn’t say ‘no’ to those big greens as well.
Link remembered this story well enough because when she told it to him the first time, her face lit up, her eyes sparkled, and she was giggling in the most adorable way. The image of her was imprinted in his brain, sealed shut in the confinements of his Memory Storage, hoping to never forget it. And ‘forget’, he did not. Not any more.
He knew what happened next, and he probably should have just let her know to save her breath and time, but the fact that she had the same expression and glow to her right now as she did the first time she told the story, made him feel warm and fluffy inside.
So instead, he asked, “What happens next?”
She blinked at him and a grin broke across her face. Her story continued with more enthusiasm than ever.
He nodded as she eagerly told him the story that he already knew. Her arms flailed about, accentuating her words, and her smile was like the sun as she retold her favourite parts, and his heart sang a thousand songs at the sight.
“And then what?” he added in between her narration, and she beamed brighter.
Link continued to feint his lack of knowledge towards the story and watched her contently, giving her nods and hums to show that he was paying attention.
He was oblivious to the fact that Zelda knew she already told this story, but was telling it anyway, because unknowingly to him, every time she tells a story, his eyes twinkled with joy and the smile on his face reached both of his ears. She relished in the sight of him every single time.