zelda (hylianruler) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2013-04-01 12:51:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, link, zelda |
Who: Zelda and Link
When: Saturday, 4pm
Where: Coffee shop
What: A coffee date!
Rating/Warnings: Low. They're pretty adorable.
Status: Complete
Zelda didn’t mean to come off as rich as she was. She wasn’t the type to flaunt it, though sometimes she did inadvertently. It was difficult for her to tone it down, as she’d lived her whole life with personal trainers, chefs, drivers and tutors. Even now she had a PR Rep helping her with her public image, a singing coach (she’d found on Valarnet, actually) and an acting teacher, helping her with her new career direction. Acting. It was exciting and a little surprising, but her PR Rep said that’s what the public wants. More Zelda.
Today she arrived to the coffee shop at the chosen time. The private car with the tinted windows pulled up and Zelda climbed out the back door. She appeared to be all legs at first, but she was actually quite short. She was wearing a white skirt and purple blouse, and pulled a tiny clutch along with her as she exited the car. It drove off as Zelda approached the front door of the coffee shop, looking for Link. Hopefully there wouldn’t be paparrazi there today to bother her.
It wasn’t that Link was poor. He had a thriving business, a considerable amount of land; but Zelda’s world and his couldn’t have been more opposite of one another and there was no pretending otherwise. While she was dressed to the nines, even his best clothing was still weathered and worn. She arrived in an expensive car, Link drove himself in a pickup truck. He was a farmer and she was social royality.
So the cup of coffee he was already half-way through wasn’t the only reason his heart was pounding when Zelda walked through the door. Every head turned in her direction and Link could hardly look at her. He gulped and tried to smile.
It wasn't a surprise to Zelda that all the heads turned when she stepped into the room. That came any time she went anywhere, really, along with whispers, clicks of phone-cameras and sometimes even flashes of paparazzi. She'd learned to tune it out, to focus on the more important things. In this instance, it was Link.
After a quick scan of the cafe, Zelda bee-lined to Link, grinning brightly. "Hi!" She noticed he was already almost finished with his coffee, and her face fell a little. "Am I late?" She thought she'd been running on time today. Did he have to leave soon?
He’d guzzled the coffee, nervously needing something to do, even though he’d only been waiting ten minutes. Possibly less. When he stood, his head swam from the caffeine. “Hey... Hi.”
“Hi.” Zelda repeated. Her grin came back when he stood. He wasn’t too tall. Actually, he was a good height. She herself was a fairly short girl, so if he’d been a giant they might have had neck-crick problems. Though, sitting usually helped that. “...Do you want... another?” She asked, motioning toward his coffee cup. She was looking forward to a sugary, coffee drink herself.
Link moved to the other side of the table to quickly pull out Zelda’s chair. “I’ll get you something. What would you like?” He cleared his throat and told his heart to slow down.
“Oh, you don’t have to do that,” Zelda said, shaking her head a little. He was certainly kind, but looked so nervous. “You already gave me those artichokes.” It didn’t stop her from moving to take the seat he offered her. “I suppose I’ll have a mocha, then?”
He was young, but he was a little old fashioned about these things, which meant that since he’d been the one to call and ask Zelda out, that he should rightfully be the one to pay. “Sure,” he said and returned a few minutes later with her drink. She’d often proclaimed her love of coffee on the Network, so Link made sure to get her a large one.
The patrons whose eyes weren’t locked on Zelda followed him closely, no doubt wondering who he was.
Zelda had an urge to get her phone out and twitter or something while he was gone getting her drink. She held it back, though, and simply left her clutch sitting on the table, holding her phone and wallet inside. Her eyes followed Link, too, completely ignoring or unaware of the other patrons who were staring at her.
She found herself checking out his backside while he waited in line for her drink, then went a little pink at that thought. She sat up straighter when he brought her mocha for her. “Thanks,” she said as she accepted it. There was an “aww” tone of a girl looking at a cute puppy when he gave her a large mocha. He remembered she liked lots of coffee! So sweet.
“Hope that’s not too much for you,” he said, smiling shyly. Very shyly. But finally smiling. “This time of day.” He glanced sideways as someone taking a picture of them with their fancy camera phone. “I guess you’re used to this kind of attention.”
He had a really fantastic smile. Zelda couldn't help but notice when he smiled at her. Even the shy smile was adorable. She nodded. "Shouldn't be too much. I don't have anything planned tonight, or tomorrow morning, so I can be up late." She would probably get dragged to church by some friends, but that wasn't until mid-morning. Even being up until midnight she'd still have plenty of beauty rest.
"Hmm? Oh." Zelda turned to glance where he was looking, and gave the man a smile and a wave. "Yeah. Um... I'm sorry if it makes you uncomfortable." She forgot that other people didn't live like she did. "Do you want to go somewhere else?"
Naive bumpkin that he was, Link wasn’t entirely sure Zelda’s mention of being free until tomorrow morning wasn’t a insinuation of something else -- which really didn’t help the matter of his pounding heart. He swallowed and told himself that he was probably reading into things; anxious as he was, he wasn’t that anxious.
“No, it’s fine,” he said about the cameras and peering eyes, even though it wasn’t the truth. He had enough on his plate just being on this date. “Do you stop noticing after a while?”
Zelda had really just been talking about the caffeine! It was a lot for a girl of her size so late in the day, she was bound to be up and jittery until all hours. But that didn't matter to her. She was used to it. Besides, she could put on exercise videos at home and work off some of the energy and sugar later.
"Yeah, I don't even take notice anymore unless someone actually stops me. Though it's hard when I see those terrible pictures online... you know, where my hair's a mess, my make-ups running, and I look fat and bloated." She emphasized the point by filling her cheeks with air and making a funny face.
“...Jeez, I can’t picture...” He blushed. “Well, I’m sure even then the photos are cute.”
Link lifted his coffee cup back to his lips, even though he probably should have been taking a longer break from it. He needed something to do with his hands or he’d fidget. “So, your parents own... hotels?”
Awwww! Zelda blushed deeply. He thought she was cute! And it sounded so genuine. Not like a drunk guy hiring in her in a bar, saying how hot she was, or how great her legs or breasts were. It was sweet and flattering.
"Yes," she said. "World Wide. I'm not sure how many there are, exactly. We opened a new one in Japan not too long ago."
This was not to say that Link hadn’t noticed her legs and breasts. He was a good boy, but his blood was red. The difference was more that he was able to notice them without objectifying them. They were part of a girl that he felt drawn to. They were very nice details.
But yeah... they were nice.
“Have you been to Japan?” he asked, thinking about how he’d woken up a few weeks ago suddenly speaking the language, although he didn’t want to draw attention to that weirdness.
"No, actually. I'd love to go. My friend Yuka is from Japan. She's been to our hotel there. Some day I'll go, though. I think the architecture looks so pretty! Have you been to Japan?" She asked, smiling at him over her coffee cup.
"I've never been outside the US," he said simply, matter-of-fact. "I've only been outside California for conventions. Farming conventions."
“Oh, wow.” Zelda had been all over the world. Paris, Sydney, Mumbai, Rio de Janeiro... It was hard for her to imagine not travelling. It hadn’t yet pressed upon her the way it’d pressed upon Link how different their worlds were. But she was starting to clue in. “Do you wish you could travel?”
Link shrugged a little. "I don't think about it too much. I mean, I can't leave the farm for long unless I hire someone and that's expensive. I've... been to Disneyland. My parents took me there a lot to make up for it, I think."
Zelda nodded. "I love Disneyland," she said, softly. Almost shyly. She felt like she couldn't show her age often, she had to put in a show almost all the time. Being in the spotlight for so much of her life made her grow up very quickly. Beyond her years. "Tell me more about your farm."
Link's eyes lit up. That was something in common: Disneyland. He felt something like relief.
“Well, it’s mid-sized. About twenty-five acres. I only grow artichokes, but I keep cows and chickens. It’s been in the family for three generations.”
Maybe they’d have to go together there sometime! Zelda was totally a VIP at Disneyland. Led around by a Plaid Vest, cutting the lines short, avoiding adoring fans and paparazzi... It was a completely different experience to go through Disneyland as a celebrity. But just as much fun--especially with Zelda. She was fun in a box.
“That’s wonderful! That’s how long the hotels have been in my family, too!” She said, brightly. At least that part of it she could understand. “Cows and chickens?” She asked. “I met a cow once. I mean, I’ve seen them at the County Fair and everything, but I actually met one face to face once on a farm. I got to milk her and everything.”
Link giggled softly, amused by the expression met a cow. “Really? You’ve milked a cow?”
"Briefly." Zelda said, both humble and proud of herself at the same time. Interesting combination. She was grinning, cheeks slightly pink. "She was really nice!"
"Some cows are friendlier than others, I guess." Link was laughing easily for the first time. "I have about twenty. They have... personalities. Or moods." He decided to leave out the part about how some of the cows were giving sparkling Lon-Lon milk.
The laugh was nice, and she joined in for a moment, mostly laughing at herself. She was good at that! It was a rare occasion when she took herself so seriously that she couldn’t have a good chuckle at her own expense. But Zelda stopped and blinked when he said he had twenty cows. That was a lot! She really had no idea what that must be like. She didn’t even have a dog or a cat at home... twenty? Wow. "Wow, twenty?? How do you have time to milk them all every day?”
“I employ a few farm hands,” he replied. “So they still get milked, just not always by me. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be able to ever leave the farm.” He lifted his coffee and finally took another sip. It was cold by now.
"Well, I'm certainly glad you do. Otherwise we couldn't have coffee." Speaking of, she lifted her own for a sip. It was the perfect temperature. She thought it was very kind of him to buy it for her. And she was absolutely going to be up until all hours from the caffeine. "Or do other things, even." She may have been hinting. Just a little.
Link chewed on his bottom lip. He wasn’t good with hints, no doubt due to the large amount of time he spent on his own. He always found himself making second guesses, nervous about misinterpreting things. “Other things?” he dared to repeat.
She thought he was so cute. Far too cute. It wasn’t fair for him to be this cute. Her smile spread and her cheeks went slightly pink. “Oh, well other things, like, if you wanted to say, ask me to a movie or something.” She said, hinting a little more strongly. “Or dinner, or... y’know, that sort of thing.”
His heart kicked back into high gear. There was no mistaking her now. “Or maybe... Disneyland.”
Zelda let out a peal of laughter. It was light-hearted, surprised, and very happy. “Disneyland! That’s an amazing idea!” If it wasn’t obvious by her tone and her smile, the answer was yes, I would love to go to Disneyland with you.
Of course, Link had to officially ask, just to make sure; even if her eyes had just lit up like fireworks. “So, you want to go to Disney sometime?”
“Yes!” Zelda said, the laughter dying down but leaving behind a huge smile on her face. “I would love to go to Disneyland with you.” She found her heart was thumping with excitement. She could never get enough Disney in her life. And going with someone handsome and charming? Even better!
Around them, onlookers turned back to them with renewed interest. Link’s cheeks turned red and hot. “I haven’t been there for a few years,” he admitted. Not since his parents had died. He’d been so busy putting the farm back together, not to mention feeling emotionally compromised for some time. But now, Link was smiling broadly. “I heard they fixed up California Adventure. There’s this new Cars Land, I think.”
“Yes! I’ve seen it.” Zelda went to Disneyland fairly frequently. Without a job and with only part-time school, she had a lot of off time to do things like go on adventures and play. The girl did a lot of playing. Especially amusement parks. And Disneyland was the best, because they had the “plaid vests” that could take her around and avoid the crowds/adoring fans/paparazzi. “It’s pretty amazing. If you like Cars... it’s just like stepping into the movie.”
Like most boys, Link had gone through a cars phase, which definitely included a love for that movie. He’d been wanting to check out the new section of the park since he’d heard about it opening. “I’ve seen photos. It looks awesome.”
“Well, then, we’ll have to go. Sometime soon? Whenever you can get some time away from the farm, that is.” Was it strange that she really wanted to see the cows on his farm? Zelda loved all animals, even though she didn’t have any herself, and was curious how twenty cows lived. They must take up a lot of space. But, anyway, Disneyland! She added, thoughtfully, “I’ll set up the tickets. I know a guy.”
Link pressed his lips together, nodding quickly. The idea of having her pay or set things up made him anxious, but Zelda probably was the one to handle this one. She had connections. “Okay. Yeah. I’ll set it up so I can take a full day off.”
She had connections, for sure. And this was one of those dates that she’d need a little special attention. She didn’t want to have to hide in a hat, scarf and dark sunglasses for Disneyland! She wanted to look cute for Link, and to have a good time. That meant a little extra help from the Park Employees. And that cost big bucks to arrange. Thankfully, Zelda had those big bucks to spare.
“Good.” She could even arrange for a ride to the park, too. Probably should. That way he wouldn’t have to pay for parking, either. Her car service could handle that, unless he wanted to drive them? They could talk about that later. “Ooh, I can’t wait to go! I love the Little Mermaid ride! And the Pirates ride!” They would have to get park-hopper passes. For sure.
“My favorite is the Matterhorn.” It wasn’t the fastest roller coaster, but it was a lot of fun. And at night, it was beautiful to watch the park from that height. And... it was a snug fit inside the car. He could already imagine zipping around inside the mountain, his arms around Zelda in front of him.
“I love that one!” Zelda said, brightening again. This whole conversation had her giddy and excited. “I love the feel of the wind in my hair, and the view of the park from the top! It’s great. There’s this stand right behind the Matterhorn that has Turkey legs. Do you... um...” She paused. Maybe he was a vegetarian? Had she asked him that before? She couldn’t remember. “We could have lunch there. They also have corn,” she added quickly, just in case. “Or we could go somewhere else.”
Link laughed. “No, I eat meat. I eat everything. I eat too much.” For some reason, the idea really amused him. “And the turkey legs are awesome. Also, I love the gumbo in the New Orleans section.”
"I love the clam chowder." She loved the sound of his laugh. It felt like there was a little less pressure now they were talking about something they both loved. "And the Haunted Mansion!"
His cheeks turned red again, thinking about cuddling up in the dark. Yes, he needed to get to Disneyland with Zelda as soon as possible. “Yeah. That’s awesome, too. I’m definitely going to get a day off soon.”
"Just text me when!" Zelda said, excitedly. "We'll go as soon as they open and stay until close! Unless you get sick of me," she added, almost uncharacteristically shyly.
Link lifted his cup again and fidgeted with it. The eyes he was looking into were the eyes from his dreams and his heart was jumping up and down. “I really don’t anticipate that happening...”
She flushed deeply at his words. "Good." She was flattered, and honestly felt the same way about him. .. even though he wasn't in her dreams. Yet, anyway. "Sometimes I worry about. .. Over exposure." It wasn't something she often admitted out loud.
“Well, I don’t have cable and I only just got a computer, so I’m pretty much a blank slate,” Link replied. He wasn’t ashamed of being being everyone else, nor was he proud of it. It was just the way things were.
That was refreshing. "Wow, you don't have cable?" Zelda asked, playfully. It wasn't often she met people who didn't have cable who were so open and honest and genuine about it. Usually they were the cultish, 'grr kill your tv' kind of people. "What do you do with your time?" She tossed him a wink.
Link’s eyes widened, again not sure if she was hinting something. “Aside from farming, I... Well, I do watch the regular TV. And I have an old Nintendo. I play the guitar. Kind of.” He also trained as a swordsman, but that wasn’t something to bring up just yet.
For the most part, when Zelda flirted it had nothing to do with sexual activity. She was far too innocent for that sort of thing. "Ooh, you play the guitar?" Zelda wished she had more patience to learn an instrument. "Will you play for me some time?"
The bigger problem was that Link had no idea how to flirt. “I play pretty bad, but... yeah, sure.” He nodded. “Just don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
He'd learn, if he wanted to. She'd help him. She was grinning, now, as she talked to him. "I'm taking voice lessons. Have I mentioned it? Through the college. Well, someone I met on Valarnet, actually. My singing voice is probably... Well, it needs work. That's why I'm looking into acting instead."
“Yeah, I remember you writing something about an album...” Link tilted his head, sort of stopping suddenly. “Uh, how old are you, by the way? I mean, I realize that I didn’t ask.”
Zelda grinned. He obviously didn't have cable, or didn't do his homework, or both. Her age was pretty much common knowledge to anyone who watched TMZ. "How old do you think I am?" She asked, playfully.
Right now, Link was just hoping she was eighteen, so that’s what he guessed. “Eighteen?” He was only twenty, so the difference wasn’t the issue. But if Zelda was too much younger, it might make tabloids for another reason.
“Good guess! I like that!” Zelda said, brightening. She shook her head a bit. “I’m twenty. But I like that you went younger. Means when I’m fifty, I’ll look like I’m thirty.” She lifted her coffee for a quick sip. “Wait, how old are you?”
“I’m twenty, too,” Link said quickly, definitely relieved. He even made a funny face to show it. Phew... He chuckled. “I was nervous there, for a moment.”
“Twenty, too or twenty-two? Uh oh,” Zelda said, breaking into a little grin. She assumed the former, though she could have been wrong. “You know I’ve never dated a younger guy before. As much as the tabloids might say to the contrary. When’s your birthday?”
“January twentieth,” he said. “Twenty, also. Not Twenty-two.” Turning twenty, too, on the twentieth. Oh my. That was a mouthful. He giggled.
She beamed. His giggle was precious. “Well, I suppose there’s a first time for everything. I’ll be twenty-one in September.” She had a couple of months on him. So strange. Normally she chased after older men! Link was an anomaly. But a good one.