courage - a trans girl link fic

• 8 - heart •

Lynn sat with Zelda at the food court, eating a slice of pizza while Zelda ate a particularly salty soft pretzel.
Bags from their purchases sat at Lynn's side, a dollop of marinara sauce staining one of the bags.
Goddess, Zelda is cute.
Lynn couldn't believe her thoughts. She couldn't stop them either—
Again and again since seeing her lose her composure in the dressing room, Lynn found her mind sliding back to Zelda. The way she waved her hands when she talked.
The way she walked (purposeful, with a goal.)
The way her eyes flashed when she got an idea.
The way her triforce pulsated in tune with her bursts of energy.
The messy way she ate.
Her lips were covered in pretzel salt.
...I could probably find a way to get that salt off her lips.
OHMYGODDESSOHMYGODDESSOHMYGODDESS LYNN STOP
Lynn's mind raced, her slice of pizza suspended in midair as her face went blank with thought.
Was she gay?
She took another glance at Zelda as she took a sip of her smoothie.
Oh goddess Lynn was very gay she was so fucking gay.
Lynn hadn't really ever had a crush before. The idea of someone liking her as a boy was honestly disgusting to her. She avoided romance altogether. But now...
Zelda saw Lynn as a girl. Additionally, Zelda was amazing and gorgeous. And apparently Lynn was gay. Very gay.
Zelda was a lesbian.
What did that mean for Lynn?
She was a girl, and Zelda saw her as such, but.. Lynn still had a...
She gagged.
"You okay? That didn't sound good." Zelda offered out her smoothie.
Lynn dropped her pizza and blushed, pushing away Zelda's smoothie. "I'm good, I'm good, I just, uh, I don't know."
Zelda nodded and licked her lips, finishing off her pretzel.
Of course Zelda's composure had to come back as soon as Lynn's slipped away. What a fair place the world is.
Without another thought from Lynn, Zelda snapped her fingers.
"Now that we've done some shopping, it's time to talk destiny."
She gestured to Lynn's Triforce.
"You must have had some kind of.. experience.. with.. I don't know. The goddesses, Hylia, something. All I know is I watched you get shot and spring to your feet within a couple of days. I didn't even see a bullet wound when I helped you put on your bra."
Zelda stared into Lynn's eyes curiously, but not in an antagonizing matter.
"All I saw was a scar shaped like Farore's symbol."
Lynn snuck a peek under her sweater, seeing for the first time that, in fact, Zelda was right. The scar left after Farore's healing was a very clear symbol of her protection.
Lynn ran her fingers over the scar, feeling the ridges of the design and the scarred flesh composing it. It let out a faint flash of very muted green light, almost in recognition of her touch.
Lynn returned Zelda's gaze and started talking. She told her about her meeting with Farore. She told her about her experience at the orphanage. She told her about her job. She should have stopped after relaying Farore's intention, but she just couldn't stop. She couldn't stop herself. She just.. kept talking.

Word after word spilled from her lips. Emotions welled as she found herself talking about all the things she never talked about with anybody before. Zelda's hands drifted on top of hers, both resting on the table. Lynn choked on her tears a moment and looked at Zelda in silence. She gave a comforting look, urging Lynn to go on. And so she did.

An entire hour passed before Lynn was done. She'd never had anyone to talk about this stuff with before. She talked about Pumm and Kina, Groose and Fledge, Maron, Saria, and Nabooru. She talked about her parents, what little she knew about them and her life with them before everything fell apart. She fingered her heart charm, nearly having forgotten about it with all of the insanity going on. She talked about Ganondorf. Everything about him frightened her. Admitting it was scary. He killed her parents. He tried to kill her, too. Now he wanted to finish the job. And if Lynn couldn't find a way to stop him, she wouldn't only be endangering her own life, but Zelda's as well. And that was terrifying. That was the worst realization she'd come to. Zelda could likely fend for herself to some extent, but as the heroine of courage Lynn had to play some role in all this. If she failed, Zelda would be a goner. Hell, Hyrule itself could be a goner. Everything was dependent, at least to some extent, on her. And Lynn wasn't sure if she could bear that immense weight.

Lynn sobbed, drawn out and heavy breaths interrupted only by thick gasps for air as tears trailed down her cheeks. Sorrow, fear, anger, everything had been poured out of her. Every hidden emotion finally shared. Finally free.

Zelda squeezed her hands.

"I can't imagine what it's been like for you.. all alone and going through all of this. I don't think I could have handled figuring out about being the host for the Triforce of Wisdom if my family wasn't there for me. My family has always been invested in the legends of the Goddesses, Hylia, and Demise. My grandpa told me the stories about the Triforce. I always knew about it but.. I definitely wasn't ready to be the host of a piece of it. I did a fair share of dealing with my new role with help from my family while you were still asleep but it's still..."

She started to tear up as well. Her makeup starts to smear a bit.

"It's terrifying. I know how you feel. I'm terrified."

Lynn squeezed her hand back.

A soft, scared chuckle breaks through the tears.

"We can be terrified together."

Zelda laughed at this.

"Two clueless hosts to two pieces of the most powerful object in the universe.."

Circling to Lynn's side of the table, she embraced Lynn in a tight hug, getting some mascara on her sweater.

"...What could go wrong?"

Zelda stepped back from the hug a bit after saying this, looking into Lynn's eyes.

"I kind of.. like you."

Her composure was gone again.

"Even though I'm...?"

Zelda shook her head.

"Being transgender doesn't define who you are. It's just another part of you. You're a girl. Above all else, you're Lynn. And... I really like Lynn."

Flustered, she held her closer.

"I really like you too."

Lynn had her first kiss that night.

Zelda's lips were really salty.