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It’s evening, though not too late. Link sits on the bed in his home with Zelda, tending to a somewhat-recent wound on his arm that hadn’t quite healed yet. The light is low by a candle, but still sufficient.
The brush of an antiseptic-soaked cloth stings, and even after all of the pain he’s experienced in his lifetime, Link still winces.
He hears the creak of the stairs as Zelda ascends to their bedroom loft. Link packs up the first aid kit, not wishing to worry her. He pushes the kit beneath the bed.
“Oh, are you hurt, Link?” Zelda sits beside him. She’s still overly worried about Link’s injuries even to this day, even when he’s made an effort to be more careful purely for the sake of easing her mind.
“I’m alright, don’t worry,” Link says, voice a bit rough as the day ends. He finishes taping some gauze to the wound. “Just a cut that wasn’t healing fast enough.”
Despite his assurance, Zelda still frowns, grabbing ahold of Link’s hand. There’s not much to examine with the injury covered in gauze, and Link thinks Zelda does this to alleviate her own anxieties. Not that he minds, however, as any opportunity for Zelda to hold his hand is one he will enjoy.
“Hrm… As long as you say so,” Zelda says, sighing as she eyes Link’s other scars. He has an innumerable amount at this point, the colors varying by the centimeter. They vary in shape and size, some hypertrophic, some layered on top of others. Link has grown to be neutral on the appearance of his body, as he doesn’t mind the visibility of scars, but thinking too hard about the years and years of battle to gather all of them is… difficult, at times.
“Link,” Zelda says, stroking her hand down her knight’s back. Her voice has changed tone; it’s lighter, more inquisitive. “Do you remember where all of these scars came from?”
Link looks up at her. “Not all, but most of them, I know. The older memories are a bit fuzzy, though.”
Zelda breathes. She runs her hand across his marred skin, admiring the proof of battle. She traces a particularly large one down his back. The sensation leaves Link with shivers.
“What’s this one from?” she asks cautiously.
“Moblin slashed me. Took a while to heal. Should’ve been more careful.”
“Well, it’s not your fault,” Zelda assures him, shifting her head to view Link’s front. She takes note of the large darkened patch of skin on his chest, mimicking a burn scar.
“Is this…?” She touches it tenderly. Link doesn’t wince, but he feel like he might.
Link nods. “Guardian beam.” He acts like his voice doesn’t catch in his throat.
Zelda’s heart twists. She was already aware of how Link had taken the hit for her over a century ago, and had seen the scar before, but it was too painful for her to think about it for very long. Despite this, she couldn’t imagine the memory was any less painful for Link.
“You don’t have to apologize,” Link says, predicting what Zelda may say next. “It’s not your fault.”
“I know,” Zelda’s voice cracks. “Still, I just wished you wouldn’t have. You didn’t deserve pain like that. You didn’t deserve any of the pain you went through, everything you sacrificed.”
Link looks into her eyes. “I would take that beam a million times more if it meant you weren’t hit by it.”
Zelda runs her hands up Link’s sides, feeling the uneven skin littered with scars, some slashes, some puncture wounds, some burns. Link watches her throat bob as she swallows.
“You’ve been through so much, Link. More than you deserved.” Her voice is quiet, devastatingly vulnerable.
“Both of us have.”
Zelda looks pained. “I know, I know, but… all the time I wasn’t here, you were out there getting hurt like this, and I—”
“It’s okay,” Link says, voice low, leaning into Zelda. “It’s really okay. I would do all of it again for you, I would.”
Zelda chuckles wetly. “Stop saying those things. I know you would, silly, but that doesn’t mean I want to think about it. Nor does it mean it will ever happen.”
Link’s face broke out into a small lopsided smile. Zelda so badly wished to kiss it.
So, she did.
It was quick and chaste, catching Link off-guard. Before he had the chance to grasp Zelda’s face and pull her in closer, she had pulled away. Link whined softly at the loss.
Zelda giggles. “Don’t worry, that won’t be the last time I kiss you,” she teases. “You always act like I’m cutting off some life force of yours when I pull away.”
“You are,” Link says, voice barely a whisper. His fingers grab the bedsheets beneath him in a fist.
Zelda laughs again, bright and hearty, and Link wishes to be able to bottle the sound up to play whenever he would like. Trying to induce her laughter, though, seemed to be the only way to be able to hear the lovely sound, so he always felt good inside when something resulted in it.
Link’s eyes flit between Zelda’s scrunched eyes and her mouth. Conflictingly and selfishly, he pulls Zelda in for a second kiss, releasing his hand from the sheets and placing it on her shoulder.
Letting out a soft moan, Zelda melts into it, letting Link have what he needs. It’s not rushed nor too languid, and Link tenderly strokes her cheek with his thumb, cupping her face and pulling her closer.
Zelda painfully pulls away to breathe. “Needy, aren’t we?” She strokes his face in amusement, watching his eyebrows pull together, knowing how he longs for her again.
“I’m not going anywhere, my knight.” she assures him. Link keens at the name, leaning into her touch. It’s pathetic of him, Link knows this, but still does nothing to stop his reactions. He doesn’t bother hiding himself when he’s around her.
Zelda backs away slightly — much to Link’s dismay — in order to view his scar-littered body again. She twists Link around on the bed so she can face him directly. Leaning down slightly, she begins to leave light kisses on each scar. Link jolts, holding back a noise in his throat.
“Tell me about how you got some of these,” Zelda says between kisses, looking up from Link’s chest. She turns back down to him again, pressing kiss marks atop the scars.
Link breathes heavily. “That one, I— I got from a Lizalfos, and, um…” he clenches his fist in overwhelm, eyes flitting between Zelda and elsewhere in their home.
“Keep going, love,” Zelda says between kisses. The pecks were featherlight, tickling him, making it hard to focus on words. Link’s head spins.
“And, that one, was from a Lynel sword, and… and that burn was from a fire arrow, and— and…”
Zelda kisses each one reverently, running her hands down Link’s body, feeling the way his breath hitches adorably with each kiss.
“A-And— oh—” Link groans as Zelda begins to suck a small hickey on Link’s chest. It’s as if they’re teenagers again, fooling around in Zelda’s bedchambers far later than they should be.
Zelda releases Link’s skin from her mouth, looking back up at him. She kisses it gently. “A wound from love, so they’re not all from pain,” she says teasingly, before returning to her ministrations.
Link can’t speak at this point, simply letting Zelda continue her kisses. She makes her way up to Link’s neck, giving it light pecks that make him shiver. When she ascends to his mouth, Link nearly inhales her, kissing her deeply and threading his fingers in her hair.
“I love the way you act when I kiss you, Link,” Zelda says, pulling away briefly with a smirk. “You act so deprived of affection, it makes me worry I don’t shower you with enough of it.”
Link pulls Zelda back in, holding back as much as he can but failing still as he accepts he needs her. His hands shake as they hover above Zelda’s skin, wanting to touch yet refraining from it.
“Calm down, love,” Zelda whispers. Hylia, she’s so attuned to him it makes Link’s heart lurch. Her recent uptick in the usage of the word love is not helping, either. “You can touch me, it’s okay.
Link carefully rests his hands on Zelda’s sides, wishing he could pull her closer. He instinctively begins to lean back on the bed, nearly pulling Zelda with him.
Zelda pulls away, letting Link fall back by himself. “Advancing this, are we?” she says cheekily, her shadow over him.
Link gulps and scrambles back up. “No, sorry, I just— I don’t know why I did that.”
“It’s alright, Link,” Zelda reminds him again. “You know I like seeing you all needy like this. It’s cute, when you act all composed otherwise, but become a mess when I start kissing you.”
Link flushes. “Must you keep reminding me.”
Zelda laughs, and once again, Link revels in the sound. “I just thought it’d be a comfort to know I like it when you do these things. You’d know I’d stop you if I were uncomfortable, yes?”
Link nods. “I know. I just— hadn’t meant to imply, when I fell back—”
“Oh I know, I know, Link,” she smiles. “Not that that would be an issue anyway, but I simply didn’t want to overstimulate you. You were shaking already, it felt best not to advance.”
Link looks at his hands. He’s more stable now. “I’m okay, I— I was doing what I wanted, It felt good.”
Zelda chuckles. “I could tell that much. I would have expected your skin to be calloused and numb at this point, but you seem as sensitive as ever,” she remarks as she runs a hand down Link’s side. He shivers.
“Sorry for the sudden kisses earlier, as well. I just wanted to… make sure you knew I loved your body, not despite your scars, but for their very existence,” Zelda continues. “You’re quite the warrior, Link. I know it isn’t easy to live with everything you’ve been through.”
Link looks up at Zelda. “I’m not… bothered, by my scars. I just don’t think about them very much.” He looked at the same hands he checked earlier for shaking. “I take care of them when I need, but let them be otherwise.”
“Perhaps that’s an alright place to be,” Zelda says. “But, still, even if you’re neutral on it, I wanted it to be clear how much I love your body.” She holds up Link’s hand and gives a gentle kiss on the back of it. Scars lie there, too.
Link flushes. “I’m flattered,” he pushes out. He misses the feeling of Zelda’s lips against his skin when she pulls away. Zelda, of course, knows this about him and can tell when he instinctively follows her touch.
“Now, as much as I like reminding you of how pretty you are, and being all sappy about you,” Zelda starts, “would you like me to go back to kissing you?”
Link nods aggressively, surging forward to meet Zelda’s lips. She leans into him, pushing him back on the bed the same way he pulled her moments ago. A high-pitched whine leaves Link’s throat as she does this, his hair splaying beneath him on the sheets.
“Is this what you wanted?” Zelda teases. Hylia, she looks even better above him like this. Link gulps, knowing he’s flushing as she stares down at him.
“Speechless, hm?” Zelda fills in for him, leaning down to kiss his neck once more. She knows he’s sensitive there. “It took you so long to open up to me, Link, remember back then? It’s such a privilege to hear your lovely voice.”
With a light nip to the skin on his neck, Link whimpers, instinctively setting his hand on the back of Zelda’s head as she buries it in his neck. He still doesn’t speak. He’s too overwhelmed.
“Are you alright, Link?” Zelda asks, feeling his apprehension and pulling away from him slightly.
Link nods. “It’s just— a lot,” he pushes out. His breaths are heavy and his face is flushed from his cheeks to the tips of his pointed ears.
Zelda pauses. “How about we stop for today. I’ve teased you enough already, no need to torture you further,” she decides.
Link whines quietly as Zelda pulls away, but he acknowledges all of the affection is quite a lot for him to handle. He does enjoy it, but all of the sensations tend to feel overwhelming at times.
Link stays laid back on the bed, though, wordlessly looking at Zelda with half-lidded eyes.
Zelda giggles. “Are you ready for bed already? Tired after all of that?”
Link nods, adjusting his position on the bed and making space for Zelda beside him.
“You’re adorable, you know that?” Zelda says with an adoring smirk as she slips in bed next to Link, letting him pull her close.
Sometimes Link liked to be held, and sometimes he liked to hold. Zelda was perfectly content with either configuration, but feeling Link grasp his arms around her and pull her close enough to hear his heartbeat and smell his scent was something she thoroughly enjoyed.
She took a deep breath, in, and out. Link’s heartbeat was still fast — it seemed he took a while to calm down. Another thing about him to be enamored by.
“Link?”
“Mh?” She heard Link grunt from above her.
“I love you.”
Link had a bit of difficult saying the big three words, much preferring to show his affection through actions and service over any kind of verbalization.
Despite this, Link acknowledged the times he could push himself.
“I love you, too.”
And Zelda could only think about how lucky she was.