zelda (hylianruler) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2014-06-16 16:33:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, link, navi, zelda |
Who: Link, Zelda and Navi
When: When Navi came back into town
Where: Link and Zelda’s place
What: Dinner together
Rating/Warning: Low/None
Status: Complete!
What Link was feeling wasn’t anxiety, but his stomach was in knots. He couldn’t sit down and he didn’t know what to do with himself. He had lived through bad things before, terrible things. His own parents hadn’t lived to see his seventeenth birthday. He regularly faced and battled demons and monsters in his dreams. But never before had he felt quite like this. Angry. Furious and sick.
He hadn’t said anything, nothing at all, for hours.
Zelda wasn’t thinking about what’d happened to Navi. Her brain simply skipped over that part. In the Dreams she may have been wise and considerate, all-knowing, even. But here in this world she was still quite a bit naive and innocent. She didn’t think about bad things, even when they were presented in front of her nose. She’d skipped over the bad stuff and moved straight onto the part where Navi was back. That was all that she cared about.
She had the pizzas she’d ordered sitting in the warm oven, and was busy trying to baby-proof the living room. Of course, she’d gone all out. She’d raided the local Target and bought everything from a bouncer to a play gym for Zellie. And diapers, wipes, baby shampoo, a hoodie towel and spare clothes… just in case.
“Link?” She called out to him, completely unaware of his current state. “What time is it? I can’t see the clock from in here!” Navi would be there any minute.
She was already there, actually. Zellie was strapped to Navi’s chest in a Snuggli, and she had a diaper bag loaded with the essentials over one shoulder. Who needed a purse when one had a diaper bag? Her hair was in a high ponytail, off her neck because of the heat. She was nervous as well, if only because she didn’t want to talk about the bad things that had happened. They’d happened, and they had broken her heart, but she didn’t know how to fix them. Which she hated. So she’d rather ignore it.
Link didn’t need to check the clock. He told time by the position of the sun. So he looked out the window and announced that it was a little after five o’clock. His mouth felt stiff from not talking, and the tension of anger itself. He walked downstairs. He could hear noises outside. “I think she might be here already…”
“Go answer the door, then, silly!” Zelda said. It was almost as if nothing could spoil her mood. Not even the sight of Link looking so stressed. She glossed it over. Things like baby-proofing and checking on dinner and making tonight perfect took the front burner. Everything else was pushed back. “I just want to get these power outlets covered before Zellie comes inside!” She ducked back down under the sofa to try and get the plastic cover in the last outlet.
When Navi saw the door open and saw her boy behind it, she couldn’t help herself and burst into tears. “Hi,” she murmured, reaching out for a hug. Albeit a small hug, so she wouldn’t squish the baby.
It had been months since they’d seen each other. The little baby Link remembered wasn’t so little anymore. Navi looked different, too. He couldn’t decide if she looked older or just tired. It was still good to see her, alive and in one piece. He hugged her quickly, because he knew Zelda would come bounding through the door any minute. He almost envied her ability to be happy right now.
Link was absolutely right. Zelda gave a high pitched squee at the sight of her friend (after climbing out from under the sofa, obviously) and came flying across the room to fling her arms around Navi and Zellie. Of course, she was careful not to hurt either of them, or knock them off balance. But she was so absolutely thrilled to have Navi back that she could barely contain herself.
Sniffling and smiling, Navi hugged Zelda back. She smiled at Link over Navi’s shoulder, wanting to acknowledge that he was upset without words since there really weren’t any to be had in that moment. “Someone told me there would be pizza?”
Link nodded and tried to smile, but ultimately stepped aside so that Zelda could do the talking. He would need her to take the lead for a little longer while he pulled himself together. Now that Navi was safely inside his house, he could finally feel some of the tension begin to dissipate.
“Of course there’s pizza.” Zelda said, brightening. She released Navi and then took Zellie into her arms to escort her friends into the kitchen. But the baby was so beautiful and so happy and so distracting that Zelda simply left Navi and Link side-by-side in the entryway. She headed straight into the kitchen to put Zellie into the brand new high chair she’d purchased for this occasion.
Zellie was an abnormally happy baby, enough where Navi sometimes felt guilty for being gloomy around her. Zelda was making her giggle, and Navi took the moment to wrap her arms around Link once more. “Thank you. For thinking of helping me.”
“I tried,” he said. The words sort of felt like they had slipped out, lubricated by strong emotions that were bubbling to the surface. The anger was subsiding now that Navi was here, but he had a hard time putting his finger on what he was feeling now. He fell silent again and followed them into the kitchen. For Zelda’s sake, he attempted a smile.
Zelda had settled Zellie into the high chair by now, and the baby was smiling and giggling as Zelda made funny faces at her. She’d completely forgotten about the prospect of pizza, though her stomach was grumbling rather audibly by now. The idea of having babies had never really occurred to Zelda, but now that Zellie was here in front of her… she couldn’t help but want one of her own.
Squeezing Link’s hand, Navi let go of him. “You’d have saved me if I’d been slower.” She ruffled his hair and smiled when she heard Zelda and Zellie giggling in unison. “Uh oh. I might have given her the baby bug.”
Link blinked, taking it all in, and wondered how long he’d been in a fog. Now it was like he was seeing everything for the first time. “You got all of this for the baby?” he asked, sounding confused but not as lost as before.
“Well, she had to have somewhere to sit, obviously. And things to play with, and diapers, just in case. And there’s a Pack-And-Play in case she needs a nap. It’s not a big deal, we can just put it all into storage when she out-grows the stuff.” Zelda didn’t think that was weird. Though, wandering around the baby aisles at the Target (yes, Zelda loved Target) made her uterus start ticking. “Then pull it out again later when we have a baby.”
Blue eyes went wide and Navi couldn’t help bouncing up and down, her wings fluttering out and smacking Link on the side of his body with a fine spray of glitter. “Oh my gosh you guys are planning on having a baby if it’s a boy can I train him I want to babysit a lot can they be friends with Zellie you should get started on your honeymoon eee!” The sentences came out in a mishmashed blur, and she glomped her friends together in one big hug. This was a perfect way to get her mind off of awfulness.
Link blinked and the corners of his mouth twItched as though they were unsure what expression they wanted to make. He was happy to see a real smile on Navi's face. But all this talk about having babies was more than he was capable of processing. He walked to the stove to make himself useful.
Zelda yelped and then laughed when she was squished into a hug. "Well you knew it would happen eventually, right? I can't imagine Link growing old and not being a father." She turned her attention back to Zellie. "He's going to be an amazing daddy some day. And of course he it she will grow up with Zellie. That's a given."
“Well, good. But you might want to tell him that you’re not planning on it anytime soon, he’s got his confused ‘I just swallowed a bug’ face on.” Navi mimicked it, but exaggerated it so it looked confused yet somehow constipated.
Link’s pointed ears had turned bright, Fire Temple-Red. He kept his back toward them as he worked, but a smile was working its way onto his face. A nervous, awkward smile, but anything would do. “One thing at a time,” he said, with a little chuckle in his voice. “The wedding, first.”
Zelda laughed at the sight of Navi mimicking the look on Link’s face. Navi’s ears weren’t as red, but that was a good mimic of his reaction. Zelda nodded to Link’s words. “He’s got a point. We should probably get married before we start popping out babies.” Her attention was back on Zellie now, playing with a toy she’d purchased for the little one.
“And it’s not like you can’t practice with Zellie whenever you get the bug.” Navi smiled at her daughter, glad that she was already making herself at home. “If she gets really cosy, you can see her wings.” They were as red as Navi’s wings were blue, and it made Navi happy that even though her husband hadn’t turned out to be real (or something), Zellie helped her remember the good times.
“Absolutely. We’re absolutely going to practice with my favorite Zellie in the world,” Zelda said, slipping into an almost-baby-talk tone as she turned back to the infant in the high chair. “I would love to see her wings! Do you have wings, Zellie?? I want to see them! When you’re ready to show me, of course.” Zelda said, bringing another toy onto the tray table of the high chair for the baby girl.
Navi looked over at Link and smiled. “How are you doing with your training?” She wanted to make sure he’d kept up with it. She was sure he had, but what kind of fairy would she be if she didn’t check?
Link shuddered a bit. The truth was that he hadn’t been keeping up like he should have. The wedding plans had taken the front seat and his business had picked up so quickly. When he turned around to carrying things to the table, he was chewing on his lip. “I don’t get much time.” Although maybe if he had been keeping up on that, he would have been more help to Navi. Link couldn’t help but think about it.
Navi hugged him, and ruffled his hair. “Well, you have been planning a wedding.” She looked at both of them. “Speaking of - what can I help with? What do you need from me?”
Zelda chuckled. “I think Link and I are going to fight over who gets you to stand beside them on the big day,” she said, giving Navi a bright smile. “I mean, whether you’re going to be Maid of Honor or Best Woman.” She reached forward and tickled the baby, who giggled.
“I could switch?” Navi was super helpful like that. “Like, in the middle, just swap sides.”
“Zelda says we don’t have to stick to tradition,” Link interjected. He was still learning all the ins and outs. He had only been to one wedding before and that was when he was only nine. He could barely remember it now. “I think being both works. But what do we call you?”
“The fairy of honor, duh.” Navi giggled, her wings fluttering a bit as she hovered over her chair. When Navi hovered, it was a clear sign she was delighted.
Zelda laughed. She loved seeing Navi flutter like that. A sure sign that things were okay. Not that Zelda needed a sign. Just the fact that Navi and Zellie were here in her kitchen was enough to convince the blonde that everything was going to be all right. “Hey, I’m okay with that. You’re welcome to stand by Link as I’m walking down the aisle, and then switch over once I’ve arrived at the altar.”
“Just as long you’re there.” Link looked at Navi earnestly. He didn’t care what role she played. He only wanted she, and Zellie, to be with them. He wanted his family to be safe.
“Of course I’ll be there. I was going to be there before.” Navi felt loved and content, and she sniffled a little. “We’re family, you know?” She felt like she had to look after Link and Zelda, and not just because of the dreams. “I love you guys.”
Zelda turned to give Navi a bright, warm, happy smile. “We love you, too.” She said, nodding emphatically. “And we love Zellie.” Of course, Link and Navi were family. Sometimes Zelda felt like she was marrying in. This was the family that she chose, though, and that made it special. Better than blood, even.
Her stomach rumbled, and Navi giggled. “You should know that this family can eat. A lot,” Navi warned. Zelda needed to be prepared to cook a lot, or order a lot.
“Don’t worry. Zelda’s had to learn that quickly,” added Link, his first natural smile beginning to appear. He chuckled a bit, too, and looked more himself as the color returned to his cheeks.