Thank you for protecting me from that bad pot Who: Link and Zelda When: First week in August Where: Zelda’s place What: Hot tub, talking, future-seeing, & clay pot smashing Rating/Warning: Low, But there's some flirty talk Status: Complete when posted
seem</i> longer. She was doing more meditating, more focusing on the visions. And she’d been really looking forward to Link coming over. She missed him.
Link would be joining her there shortly, after taking a the time to shower. He worked on a farm. He didn’t want to bring any parts of the farm into Zelda’s hot tub, smells included.
He stepped onto the patio, a towel over his shoulder. “How is it? Still hot?” The question was innocent, referring entirely to the water temperature, and an apology for keeping her waiting.
Zelda didn’t really mind the smell. It was a Link-smell. She was thankful, though, that he decided to shower as it was better for the hot tub not to get dirt and gunk and stuff inside. She didn’t insist, but didn’t argue about it, either.
When she heard his voice, she turned to look. Every time she saw Link, with or without a shirt, she couldn’t help but think gimmie gimmie gimmie! A bright smile crossed her features. “Still hot. I didn’t even turn on the jets, I was waiting for you.”
He’d never imagined there was a hot tub and a girl like Zelda in his future, but it was starting to feel blissfully familiar, now. Like this place was another form of home. Link draped his towel alongside Zelda’s and climbed into the water. The cool water from the shower made everything feel especially hot for a few seconds, so he lowered himself gingerly.
She waited for him to lower into the water. Once he was settled, she scooted over to him and attached herself to his side. "How was your shower?"
Link chuckled softly. “Refreshing, but now my hair smells like a perfume store.” It didn’t really, but Zelda had a lot of girly-smelling products in there. He didn’t mind using them, but now he smelled a little less than masculine.
A little less than masculine was better than dirt, sweat and cow. Zelda didn’t mind, though. He was still Link and she was crazy about him no matter what. “That’s okay. I’m sure a couple hours back on the farm will take care of that for you.” She teased, then leaned in to kiss his cheek.
“Yeah, I’ll smell like manure in no time.” He found her hand beneath the water as she kissed him, and still chuckled to himself, though the sound became lower, warmer. And regardless of what he smelled like, Zelda always smelled waaay better.
“Well, I hope I don’t sound too girly when I say I’m glad that you don’t smell like manure right now.” She broke into a grin. “Okay, even if it does sound girly. I’m okay with that.” She laced their fingers together.
“Oh!” A thought occurred to her. Zelda pulled away from him and climbed out of the tub. She had to adjust her bathing suit as it’d shifted in the water. “I found these...” She moved to the far side of the patio, and brought out (with considerable effort) a huge, clay pot. Straight out of her dreams.
Blinking his eyes, Link stood straight up in the water--which ultimately meant it slipped and made an ungainly splash. He waded forward, fighting against the bubbles. He’d immediately recognized the style of the pot with it’s wavy design. “Where’d you get that?”
“It just... it showed up...” She said, giving one last grunt and settling the pot down near the hot tub on the patio. “I had a repeat of a dream last night, and suddenly there were these pots... I’ve got a few of them.”
Link climbed out of the hot tub, dripping water across the patio as he went. He felt... an urge, like an instinct, when he looked at the pot. It was almost like a voice whispering to him. It made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, even though they were still wet.
And then Link picked up the pot and threw it against the wall. It shattered into dozens of pieces.
“Oh... oh wow. I’m sorry,” he said, catching his breath. “I don’t know what came over me.”
Zelda took a couple steps back when he picked up the pot and gave a jump when it smashed against the wall. She was staring, gaping, almost. “You... what was that?” ...it kinda felt familiar.
He blinked in amazement at what he had done, picking up a shard of clay from the patio. “I just felt... compelled to break it. Crap. I’m so sorry, Zelda.”
“It’s okay. Really. There are a couple others.” She said. She wasn’t about to show him those now, though. Not until she could figure out why he’d just smashed that pot. Strange thing to do, right?
She bent down and picked up a piece of the pot. “...I think it’s a goner.”
Link scratched his head. He’d half-expected there would be something inside the clay, and he was disappointed now to see that there wasn’t. Although, to be honest, he didn’t know what he would have done with Hyrule money if he’d found any. He was pretty sure the exchange rate was too high to be worth anything.
Nope, no Rupees inside this clay pot. Zelda wasn’t too fussed. She’d had no idea where it came from, the only thing she could think of was the Dreams. She’d been having repeats, as the prophetic visions became more frequent, and she was learning her best to control them.
“Thank you for protecting me from that bad pot.” She said, taking hold of his hand in hers and dropping the shard of clay she’d picked up. She didn’t really care about the smashed pot. She was honestly more concerned about how he was feeling. He looked really confused and concerned.
He squeezed her hand, straightening up again. “In the dreams, there are things inside them, like money and arrows.” Link wrinkled his nose, wondering why he never just lifted the lid first to look inside.
Zelda nodded. “It seems like a good place to store things. I’m not sure why people would put money in them, but I guess it’s as good a place as any.” She shrugged, then took hold of his hand to lead him back to the hot tub.
But something stopped her. She stopped dead in her tracks, her eyes sliding out of focus as she had a vision of the future. She was hoping that she’d have a little more control, but at least it was happening in her yard, by the hot tub, instead of while she was in the car driving, or something.
Link felt her hand go cold in his. Icy, actually. “Zelda?” It was enough to make him circle around her and take a look at her face. Her eyes almost looked blank. His dilated with fear. He took her by the shoulders. “Woah. Zelda?”
Zelda just stood there for a moment, as if she was completely gone. Her body stood rigid, eyes out of focus. She was living through a moment in the future, something that had not yet come to be.
Link began to panic. Was this some kind of medical thing? Did he have to call 9-1-1, like, now?. He gave her a firm shake.
Zelda snapped out of it. The shake coincidentally coincided with the end of her vision, and she reached both hands up to take hold of his forearms, blinking her eyes back into focus. “What... sorry, I... I saw something.”
"Saw something?" He repeated. His eyes were still narrow with concern, because what it looked like Zelda had seen was the inside of her own skull. "Saw what?"
“It was the future. I saw the future.” Zelda said. “I’ve been trying to control it. Trying to... y’know... stop it from happening, or at least be able to control when it happened...” She sighed, then shook her head. “Navi says I can see the future in her dreams.”
At last, his arms fell back to his sides. Link straightened up. Yes, in his dreams, Zelda could see the future, and she bore the Triforce of Wisdom. She had many magical gifts. “What did you see?” he asked again, this time he sounded pensive, but not afraid.
“It’s never anything important,” she said, sounding apologetic. She hated that she’d worried him--she could see it on his face. “Just mundane things from the future. I saw myself in the shower once. Just now I saw you sleeping. We were cuddled together. I guess you’re going to spend the night tonight.” She gave him a shy but cheeky grin.
His lips parted with a smile. “Well, that’s a given. Just sleeping?” he asked slyly. At last, he was starting to relax, knowing Zelda hadn’t just had a seizure. Or worse.
Zelda blushed just a little, still grinning that shy grin. “Well, you were naked and covered in sweat, so... I have a feeling what we’d just done was a little more than brush our teeth and climb between the covers.”
“How far into the future was this?” He half-chuckled, half-winked. If Zelda didn’t stop describing it in detail, it was going to end up being the immediate future.
“Far enough.” Zelda said, then she stepped over to him and wrapped her arms around him for a big hug. “I’m... a little confused and a little scared about this power. I don’t want to see... There are things I don’t want to see.”
Seeing her so upset was enough to bring him back to the moment. Link enfolded Zelda in his arms, resting his head atop hers. He released a sigh and frowned. “Well, how often does it happen?”
“A couple times a day, maybe.” Zelda said, cuddled close in against him. The air was chilly, and the warmth from the hot tub was fading now. She gave a little shiver. “Nate taught me some meditation things that are supposed to help, but so far I haven’t seen much progress. He says it’s going to take some time to learn to control it.”
He moved a hand upward to comb through her hair, which was still damp. Link wasn’t sure who Nate was, but he felt he’d heard the name before. He had a bad memory for some things. But what he did know that in his dreams, Zelda had a lot of powers, and she was very in control of them. “I’m sure you will. I’ve seen you do it, you know.”
That surprised her. She turned to look up into his face, her own expressing the shock she felt. Almost in a cartoony way. Though she was a bit less cartoony than when they’d first met. The Dreams were mellowing her out a little. Making her a bit more mature. She blinked at him now, though. “...you have?”
He nodded soberly. “I’ve seen you do amazing things. Not just see into the future, either. You can save people’s lives with your kind of magic.”
“What? Really?” Zelda asked, blushing and smiling as she looked up at him. “How?”
“You saved mine,” he said, tucking a finger beneath her chin. He took in the beauty of her wide eyes. “You held down Ganon, so that I could get in the final blow. And if you hadn’t, all of Hyrule would have been destroyed forever. And I’d be dead.”
Ganon. That terrifying monster. Zelda felt pride well up inside her at the thought. The smile that crossed her features was genuine, and a little bright. “I did?” She nodded once. “That sounds like something I’d do.” The fake ego wasn’t easy to keep up, and she gave a little laugh, shaking her head. “No, that sounds like something I’d wet myself in fear of doing.”
Link shook his head. “I think you’d be surprised what you’re capable of, under pressure,” he said, kissing her forehead. His voice was gentle. “I always surprise myself.”
“You wouldn’t surprise me.” She leaned up and in and tapped a kiss against his jaw, lightly. “Everything about you is brave, and strong.”
"Because I have something worth fighting for." At last he kissed her lips.
He made her knees weak. Zelda leaned up and in and returned his kiss, hungrily, though she was shivering from cold and emotion. He brought it out in her. It was almost overwhelming.
Link’s eyelids fell closed as he breathed in her closeness. Even though she smelled of chlorine from the hot-tub, it was heavenly. He liked the way the droplets of water between them felt like a physical bond, too. Being in love was like someone had turned up the volume on everything that was amazing about being alive.
It was all those things and more. Zelda couldn’t believe how she felt. It was like sunshine coming from her insides, like glitter glue and starlight and forget-me-nots and freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. And she felt like it’d happened with her best friend. Her arms tightened around him and she broke the kiss so she could nuzzle into his neck, hugging him tightly.
“Do you... want to...?” he asked, without fully completing the question, tilting his head toward the door that led back inside. He wasn’t in a rush to end the hug. He was only eager to deepen it.
“Well, I did see it.” The after effects, anyway. Zelda grinned against his neck, then pulled back and looked up into his eyes. She gave another shiver from the cold. “Maybe we should go get under the covers.”
“Yeah... let’s warm you up,” he said. His tone was more gentle than sexy, to be honest. There was a very warm feeling in his heart right now. Link’s hand drifted down to hers, so that he could hold it on the walk inside.
But out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that the shards of the pot were gone. The pot, however, was still there, in one piece. It stopped him in his tracks.
Zelda’s fingers threaded through his, and she turned to head inside. But this time he was the one to stop in his tracks. She turned around to face him, and saw the pot sitting behind him on the patio. In one piece. Her eyes went wide, and she gave another shiver. “...did that?”
“Yeah...” It was all Link could manage to say. He was stupefied and his face showed it. The pot had just put itself back together.
“How?” Zelda let go of his hand and took a step closer to better inspect the pot. It was exactly the same.
Link reached both hands into his hair and gave a tug. “You know what... let’s just go in.” There was a nervous laugh in his voice. Some magic he would never understand.