Free to Love - A Zelda x Link Fanfiction

IX: Not Close Enough

Zelda's Perspective:

I couldn't focus on anything during the ride. It wasn't the fight that consumed my thoughts, but rather how close I was against Link's chest. Embarrassingly, this was the closest I had ever really been to a man with the exception of hugging my father. How silly. Seventeen, nearly eighteen, and never been close to a boy, never mind been in a relationship.

Link's warm breath tickled my neck as he leaned over my shoulder to guide Epona. One hand was gripping the reins tightly, the other wrapped securely around my waist as a precaution. My hands, very pale compared to his tanned skin, gripped the horn of the saddle tightly.

We were closer than we should've been. I could feel his heartbeat thrum against my spine as we slowly made our way towards town, soothingly rhythmic. There was very slight room between us, only a hair's breadth that kept us from being pressed together. I felt strange, my face beginning to flush in both shame and embarrassment, as I secretly hoped the distance between us would disappear.

It was so easy to imagine Link's hand, wrapped around my waist now, sliding up and down my sides and holding me close at night and cupping my cheek should he kiss me. It was so easy to imagine him, being so close and touching me so intimately, even with our long time friendship.

I felt guilty for wanting to know what his lips tasted like, or how his skin would feel against mine, or what he would sound like if he were to say, "I love you". It didn't make me want to explore his body any less, though. His chest was very firm against me as he held me steady.

I found my hand sliding from the pommel of the saddle to my thigh until finally resting a top his hand. His breath hitched slightly, but he didn't say anything. I ran my thumb over the imperfections of his skin, the small scars and scabs, the calloused knuckles. He didn't say anything, but his breath grew warmer or my skin as he leaned slightly closer.

What I would've done to touch him more.

His finger twitched, meeting mine. I smiled, flushing. He didn't say anything. He didn't need to.