Hearts of Stone (BOTW Modern AU)

Chapter 9

Link was pleasantly surprised by the manageable load of work he had to handle that week. Without the added headache of Zelda's meddling, it was quite bearable- boring yes, but not overwhelming. Pushing around numbers and schedules wasn't all too exciting, but at least now he was allowed and even welcomed in the labs. Now that they'd had their major breakthrough with the Divine Beast's power core, work was moving along swiftly, their understanding and ability to control said power source growing each day.

It was another boring day in the office. Link's eyes were aching from staring at a computer screen for hours, and his fingers tired from jamming irritably at the keys. Again he'd been trying without success to find a backway to access some of the restricted files, his curiosity getting the better of him. Of course, there were hundreds of other ways he could, and should, have been spending his time, but none of them were nearly as intriguing.

He muttered a curse under his breath as a warning flashed across his screen in a sickly blue until he wildly pressed the escape button. He popped his knuckles and stared at the screen, racking his brain for another way in. For all he knew they might be something completely insignificant, and it would be best to use his office time for actual work. Then again, why should he?

"You piece of junk," he grumbled when the same warning flashed across his screen again.

There was a soft knock on his door frame, "Is there a problem in here?"

Link's head snapped up, mind scrambling for a response as Zelda waited with a smile, leaning casually in the doorway.

"Uh, no, just," he motioned to the computer and chuckled nervously, "the computer is..." he trailed off when he noticed the badge she was holding loosely in her hand, an idea coming to him. "I'm having trouble accessing some files," he explained as casually as he could, leaning back in his chair, "maybe you could just," he waved his hands and shrugged, "get into them for me?"

She bit her lip and frowned, walking behind his desk and leaning over his shoulder. She typed in a few things and clicked the files again, humming when the warning flashed blue, "Well, it seems you don't have access."

Link nodded slowly, blissfully distracted by the sweet scent of fruit and coconuts from Zelda's long blond hair practically hanging in front of his face.

"That just doesn't seem right though," he murmured, "after all, I am the lead of this project. You'd think I'd have access to them, right?" he asked innocently.

Zelda glanced down at him, seeming to consider this. She didn't look completely convinced but gave a small nod, "Perhaps," she muttered, "maybe it's just a system malfunction. Or maybe it's a file of research and you were locked out of."

She quickly typed in her own name and employee ID and pressed enter, face falling when it showed her the warning yet again. She tried it once more, and the screen went blue, to her dismay.

"Strange," Zelda rubbed her bottom lip, staring intently at the screen. She glanced to Link again, eyes wide, "this stays between you and me, ok?"

"What?" Link asked, thoroughly confused.

She covered his screen with her hand and typed something in, glancing fervently his way. Again it failed and Zelda's brows nearly touched as they stooped deeper. She pushed back from the desk and crossed her arms, mumbling something to herself.

"What did you do?" Link asked, still puzzled. He squinted at the screen, but it was still the same blue warning he'd been getting all day.

"I tried logging in as my dad," Zelda admitted softly, lip caught between her teeth as she thought for a moment, "but it still didn't work."