Goddesses, Link couldn't even believe himself after he had done this. Even though their last date was in January, he still felt a little sheepish about asking Zelda again.

Link was surprised that she even agreed to another lousy date with someone such as himself. But, another part of him was eternally grateful for Zelda and how she put up with him. The thought that maybe she actually enjoyed these outings with him did cross his mind, but he never bothered to consider them true.

Link was especially worried for their third date this afternoon. It was Saturday again, and this was one of the days that Telma worked part-time at that specific coffee shop—Hyrule Coffee, he discovered its name.

His first experience at that coffee shop with Telma was utterly embarrassing in many ways, but this time he had come mentally prepared. Now knowing most of sign language would make this date easier for him to talk to Zelda face-to-face. The only catch was that he wasn't very fluent, still, but he knew enough. Besides, he did fine when he was over at Zelda's house. Yeah, yeah, all is well.

With a sigh escaping his lips and forming a puff of wispy smoke in the cold, end-of-March air, Link begrudgingly entered the coffee shop when he saw no sign of Zelda and only Telma.

Sitting down at the table they had chosen last time, Link decided to not chat with Telma until he really had to—which would be when he ordered their coffees. Until that moment came, he would wait for Zelda to arrive.

Rather late, Zelda hastily entered the coffee shop with freckles of snow decorating her brown locks, the cold weather making her nose and the tips of her ears a reddish color. Her eyelashes held small particles of the small, glittering grains of snow, and when she batted them in the warmer environment, they melted in an instant.

Still, even with her tangled hair and the scarf that was slung halfway over her head, Link still thought she looked pretty. A wistful smile grew on his face as she hurriedly sat down in the seat ahead of him, still shivering slightly and removing the scarf from her head. Taking off her gloves, the warm air surrounded her once cold skin and provided her relief from her shivering.

Link sat his phone down, feeling a bit unusual talking to her like this in such a setting. He started simply, "Hello," is what he signed.

Zelda finally smiled for the first time since she had entered the coffee shop. "Hi," she greeted.

Footsteps approached the table, and only Link looked up, only to be disappointed when he saw Telma standing there with a cheeky grin on her face. It's not that he hated her—Telma was a lovely woman and she helped him immensely with just about everything—but when he didn't need her help, she could be, well, annoying.

"Greetings," Link greeted her sarcastically. "Please tell me you're just here to take our orders."

Telma nodded simply, placing both hands on her hips as Zelda finally looked at her. "What would you like, Zelda?" she asked the girl in questioning.

Zelda quickly took her order, Link ordering the exact same thing, since they had a similar taste in coffees. Telma did walk away eventually, and Link knew he had only precious time to talk to Zelda alone.

"Are you still playing that game I bought you last year?" he asked, the question alone making Zelda's eyes light up.

"Of course." Zelda rolled her eyes. "I've already finished it...five times? I think it's five. I'm playing it for the sixth time now and all I can say is that I need help."

Link laughed a bit at her response. "I'd like to try that game out at least once. Maybe I can—"

Zelda made an "ooh!" sound, clapping her hands together. "You could come to my place over the summer—I'll let you try it then." Her excitement calmed down, though, as she began to feel a bit embarrassed over her reaction.

"That'd be cool," Link signed. "I'm sure my parents would be fine with it."

"Same here. We can schedule something—" Zelda cut her signs short when Telma came back with two piping hot coffees in hand, placing them gently atop the table they sat at.

"Cool, thanks," Link quickly thanked her, trying so hard to give her the hint that he would like to be left alone with Zelda. Before he could protest any further, though, he suddenly had to go to the bathroom.

Embarrassingly, he stood up with the tips of his ears turning a red color. "Bathroom," he signed, rushing off towards the restroom. His only fear was that Telma would decide to stay around and chat with Zelda.

A smirk appearing on her lips, this is exactly what Telma decided to do. She sat down where Link had sat before her.

"What do you think of Link?" she signed.

Zelda grew a bit antsy at her question. "Link? Oh, he's a nice friend—"

"Zelda, honey, I can tell by your eyes that you're in love with him," Telma cut her off short, only making the teenager in front of her blush.

"Why do you care so much about how we feel towards each other?" Zelda suddenly asked. "I mean...I appreciate the cute things you told me about him in January—"

"You just admitted that he's cute."

"I'm pretty sure lots of people think that," Zelda signed with an obvious look on her face. She sighed, returning to the main topic. "So, why do you care about how I feel towards him? Or how he feels about me?"

Telma just smiled. "I'm not going to say things Link wouldn't want me to say about him, but I've grown to care about that idiot. I've only known him for a year, as I am his therapist, and I care very much about his happiness and such."

"That's great and all, but what do I have to do with this?" Zelda asked.

"Honey, he always talks about how happy you make him," Telma said, "and that he is very grateful for you and all his other friends."

"That could be in a friendly way, too, you know," Zelda chimed in with her signs, then crossing her arms over her chest.

Telma exhaled a sigh. "I'll just say that you should keep him in your life. He's a good kid, but I'm sure you know that." Zelda just nodded, eternally grateful when she saw Link return to the table.

He groaned in annoyance when he laid eyes on Telma—sitting in his seat. Urgently, she moved away from the chair, allowing Link to sit back down.

"What were you telling her this time?" Link immediately asked after sitting down.

"Nothing," Telma replied. "Can't I just chat casually with her?"

"I feel like you're lying."

"You don't trust me?"

"I—I do, but—just—never mind."

Telma rolled her eyes at him, walking back behind the counter, only to be greeted by a new customer who just entered the shop.

Zelda smiled sheepishly at Link, trying to ignore everything that Telma had confronted her about. She knew good and well that she liked Link, but would she go as far as to say she loved him? Love was a very passionate and strong word. Shaking the words from her head, she regained her relaxed composure.

"What was Telma talking to you about?" Link asked out of the blue—well, she expected him to ask something like that, so it wasn't really out of the blue.

She bit her lip, trying to think of a good way to put her answer into words. "I'd rather not talk about it."

"C'mon," Link begged. "You don't have to tell me everything, just a basic explanation of what you guys talked about."

"Link, I don't want to share that with you," Zelda said. "I promise, it had nothing to do with you."

Link always believed Zelda's words, but this time he didn't know whether or not he should. "Whatever," he said with a flat expression.

"Anyways, let's talk about something interesting." Zelda wanted to restart this conversation on a better topic. "I remember you like writing. Have you written anything since our last..." She couldn't get herself to sign the word "date."

Link shrugged. "Not really. Before our date," he signed it so effortlessly, "I did write something, but I haven't had the motivation to write since."

"Oh," Zelda drawled out, thinking of what to say next. "What did you write about? Was it a poem, a story?" Her eyes had grown giddy with excitement.

"A poem," he answered simply, not furthering his answer.

"What was it about?" Zelda inquired. "If I had the ability to write, imagine the words my hands could create! I could write about fairies and meadows and — oh! I could write about the legends of Hyrule!"

Link could only smile thoughtfully at her giddiness, finding it absolutely adorable how her eyes lit up and her cheeks became a rosy red color when she became excited.

With a sheepish grin, she calmed herself down, trying not to delve too deep into her writing fantasies. "Sorry. What was your poem about, though?"

"Eh, nothing important," he answered with a dull look on his face. "Just me rambling about...stuff."

"Hm, sounds interesting," she replied, her smirk looking incredibly sarcastic as she signed.

"But you can draw, Zelda!" Link suddenly signed with glowing eyes. "You can draw fairies and meadows, even the legends of Hyrule."

"Oh, I would, but I can't draw scenery very well," Zelda said with disappointment in her eyes. "I wish I could. All I can draw is people, and only females. Drawing dudes is hard..."

"Have you ever tried to draw a guy?"

"Twice. Both were terrible; anyone could've mistaken it for a monster, I'm sure."

"I think not," he said. "I bet all of your drawings are good."

"I'm flattered, but I'll have to disagree." Zelda placed her over her heart, a dramatic look on her face.

"I beg to differ. I've seen your art! You're so talented, Zelda!" Link signed, his eyes exclaiming those words without them actually being said.

Zelda chuckled. "Definitely not."

"Definitely yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"Are you an idiot?"

"Yes." Link slapped his hands down when he signed his agreement to her question on instinct, only making Zelda laugh her bubbly laugh. The laugh where her hand covered part of her mouth, nose crinkling up at the slightest and her cheeks turning that rosy red color again.

How can one person be so utterly flawless? Link thought angrily to himself as his cheeks flushed.

They realized how the hours had passed by, resulting in this third date of theirs lasting as long as the others.

Patting her chest and recovering from her laughter, Zelda stood up and wrapped her scarf around her neck firmly. Link stood up next, walking Zelda outside and in to the cold March air. The wind had increasingly grown stronger during the time they spent sheltered inside, making the bitterness of this weather even worse.

Zelda put her gloves on successfully this time, already feeling her nose run due to how cold it was. Fixating her earmuffs on her head, she waved a goodbye to Link and was on her way. She ran over to her car and opened the door, closing it and driving off.

With every breath he made, a white cloud emerged and showcased the carbon dioxide he had exhaled. He walked back inside the coffee shop, sitting back down at the table. He hadn't finished his coffee, and he had walked here this time, so walking home in the cold while drinking his coffee would be very unpleasant, he imagined.

Staring aimlessly into the void of his coffee, he remembered something very important. He still had to ask Zelda to prom, and that day was approaching rapidly—quicker than Link had thought.

How would he even do that, though? Just asking her to hang out with him was hard enough, but asking her to prom? It was simply unimaginable.

However, he knew that asking her would be the right thing to do. After all, attending prom alone would be no fun—or not attending at all. Staying home and doing absolutely nothing for prom again wouldn't be a wise choice.

Glancing to his left, he saw that Telma was still here. It looked like she was getting ready to leave for today, and Link wouldn't be able to see her until next week during his counseling session.

Standing up, he grabbed his half-empty cup of coffee and walked up to Telma. She was a bit surprised to see him talking to her, after how upset he had become from her interrupting his date.

"This is just a quick question," Link began, "so, do not overdo the answer. I just need help."

"Hm. Now what do you need my help with?" she asked.

This made him feel a bit guilty, but her voice held a hint of jokiness to it. "I want to ask Zelda to prom—I've told you this—and I don't know how I should."

Telma thought about it for a second. "I don't really know how to help. I know it seems nerve wracking to do such a thing, but you got this. She'll most likely say yes, anyway, I guarantee you that."

"Okay, but how should I ask her?" he inquired again.

"Don't overdo it. Just simply ask her when it's just you two," Telma said, walking towards the door. Link followed after her.

"And that's all the advice I can offer you," she said, then waved a sweet goodbye to him. "Take care!"

Link waved half heartedly back, his hand dropping back to his side when she disappeared from his sight. Staring down at his coffee again, he decided to just leave. The snow had seemed to calm down a bit in just the short amount of time he had stayed here.

Exiting the coffee shop, he saw Telma getting picked up by someone. Curiosity took over him, and he managed to snag a glance of the person driving the car. Midna.

Why was Midna here? They could be related, possibly. Telma had mentioned her wonderful niece frequently at times.

Deciding not to intervene or get noticed by either of them, Link put the lid back on his coffee and carefully ran down the sidewalks, trying to get home as soon as possible.

When he did, he was greeted with Aryll and another girl with blonde hair playing together.

"Aryll," Link greeted her, and his little sister perked up at his voice.

She waved. "Oh, hi Link! You must be wondering who my friend is—this is Tetra!"

The other girl, who Link assumed was Tetra, looked over her shoulder at Aryll's older brother.

"Hello," she said a bit awkwardly, beginning to blush and turn back around.

Aryll rolled her eyes. "Tetra! Why does everyone think my brother is hot, including you? He's disgusting!"

"Thank you," Link mumbled, taking off his coat and hanging it up on one of the coat racks. He removed his earmuffs, the blue scarf he wore, and the brown mittens on his hands, putting them back where they belonged.

He walked over into the living room and jumped on the couch.

"I didn't say he was hot!" Tetra exclaimed, sitting the doll she was using on the floor. "Don't accuse me of stupid things like that."

"Your face says otherwise!" Aryll triumphed, raising her fists in the air, and then lowering them.

Tetra looked humiliated.

"I'm sorry," Aryll quickly apologized, hugging her friend after finishing her words. "I just don't understand how people think this—this creature is attractive." She eyed her older brother.

"I don't know how anyone thinks you're 'adorable,'" Link retorted, sitting up from the couch. "You're far from it."

Aryll squinted her eyes. "Keep one eye open when you sleep tonight."

Link just shut up after that.

••

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