Zelink Short Stories - Chapter 4: Chapter 4

Christmas songs guys. All of them.
I check my watch yet again. His flight must be late. He was supposed to be here two hours ago. It must be the stupid snowstorm. I've been staring out the large windows, watching the thick, heavy flakes fall to the ground. It's been piling up since last night, burying my excitement with worry. I don't think I can go another day. He already stayed all summer and fall, enjoying his last few months of being with his team and friends. But now it's my winter break and I've been dying for him to come home. I haven't seen him since spring break because I couldn't make it to his graduation. We knew there would be times we'd miss important events. He went to California after accepting a full-ride athletic scholarship and I stayed here, accepting a full-ride academic scholarship. But now he's coming home and he'll be here for my graduation. He said that's the more important one anyway. I knew he said that in an attempt to keep me from feeling bad about missing his. It didn't work.
The airport is busy today, full of people coming home for Christmas. No one in the crowd is the blonde boy I love so much though. The snow has to be backing up the flights. I love snow but I want to kick it right now. It's keeping me from giving my boyfriend a long awaited hug. All I want for Christmas is him.
I listen to the next Christmas song playing through the airport, watching other families meet again. I smile a little as I watch a woman in a military uniform kneel on the ground, opening her arms wide for two young kids to run into. I couldn't imagine not seeing your kids while on active duty. That must be a hundred times harder than having a long-distance boyfriend. But he won't be long-distance for much longer!
I pull my phone from my pocket when it buzzes, expecting it's Father asking what's taking so long. He likes Link now. He didn't at first. He thought he was too quiet-or too loud-and immature. Link is just a kid at heart, something Father didn't understand. But after seeing how happy he made me, he gave in and tried to like him. After a couple years of forced patience on Father's part and way too much fun on Link's, they finally get along fine.
I check the text message, sitting straight up in my seat with excitement. It's Link! He's finally here!
I stand up, bouncing on my toes and straining to look over all the heads. He's easier to spot after he had a growth spurt. He used to be shorter than me and now he's just a few inches taller.
My grin widens when I catch a glimpse of his honey blond hair. Another thing Father didn't approve of. Link keeps his hair long enough to tie it into a ponytail, leaving out bangs and sideburns. I love his messy unkempt hair.
He comes into view, dressed in plaid pajama pants and a coat. He also has his backpack and two large suitcases. I can't believe he's staying after this! I don't have to say bye at the end of break!
I wave frantically, grinning from ear to ear. He smiles back, dancing a little as he makes his way over to me. He's already acting like a dork.
I skip to him, unable to wait any longer. He lets go of his suitcases, leaving his arms free for me to dive into. "I missed you!" I say, throwing my hands around him and squeezing him. I bury my face in his shoulder, taking a deep breath to smell him. He always uses the same cologne.
"I missed you too...are you smelling me?" he laughs. I've been suffering, forced to listen to his laugh only through phone calls. It's nothing compared to how it sounds in person.
"Yes!" I smell his neck now, nuzzling my nose into him. "I missed your scent!" I don't care how weird that sounds to the people walking by. Everyone should have someone they love so much that they miss their scent.
He buries his face in my hair, taking a deep breath himself. "What is that, vanilla?"
"Warm vanilla sugar," I correct him, trying to keep a straight face when I meet his gaze.
"Well excuuuse me, princess. Didn't mean to offend." Hylia, his smile! He called me a princess but I let it slide. I couldn't care less right now. All I care about is that he's home for good.
"I'm so glad you're back."
"I'm glad I'm back and I'm glad you're glad I'm back," he smiles.
"You're such a dork!" He laughs and I kiss his cheek. He's going to drown in my kisses today.
"I'm your dork."
"That you are." I kiss his cheek again. "Now come on! I want to hear about California!"
It's about an hour to my house from the airport but the snow makes it longer. We filled the time by telling each other everything, even things we've already told each other over our FaceTimes. It's like hearing it for the first time. He made a friend named Sidon who took him surfing. He said he has a video to show me of him wiping out on a big wave. I can't wait to see that. He also had a grumpy roommate named Revali. I met him over spring break. He's definitely a character.
"How tired are you?" I ask when we get closer to my neighborhood.
"Not too tired for you. Why? You got plans?"
"I have all the plans!" I giggle. It's really only Christmas related activities. We have to make the ceremonial snowman and place our bets on if he'll survive until Christmas. Then we have to sing songs at the top of our lungs while we bake cookies to annoy Father. After we annoy him, we force him to watch a movie with us and we gorge on the cookies. We haven't strayed from our first day Christmas break traditions yet and I don't intend to.
Link parks my car in the snow filled driveway. The Christmas lights always look prettier in the snow. They'll look even prettier tonight.
We take off our slippery shoes by the door and hang up our coats. Then Link runs to the stairs, preparing to announce his presence. He does this each time he comes home.
"Old man!" he shouts up the stairs. I laugh and shake my head at the nickname he gave my father. "I've arrived!"
"I hear you!" His office door opens and closes, his heavy footsteps coming down the hall. "Not even here for five minutes and he's already yelling," Father mutters to himself as he comes down the decorated stairs. I didn't leave a single surface undecorated this year. Every arch, cabinet, and railing is dressed in lights and garland.
"Oh heavenly Father!" Link continues. "I have missed you dearly!"
"Will you ever act your age?" Father asks, letting Link hug him. He pats his back, his version of returning a hug.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Uh huh. How was your flight?"
He shrugs. "It was fine. I slept." Of course he did.
"Of course you did," he sighs. "Do I have time to finish a few things for work before you start in on your shenanigans?"
"You have at least an hour while we build our snowman," I explain. "But then your fate is up to us." He waves his hand at us in tired annoyance and heads back up the stairs to his office.
"Can I eat first?" Link asks. "I'm starving."
"You're always starving." I was amazed at how much food he could eat in one sitting when I met him. He'd eat until everything was gone. Leftovers isn't a concept he understands.
I get the leftovers from last night, splitting the pasta onto two plates. While I heat up our food, he raids the cabinets looking for more snacks. He opens a bag of fruit snacks, dumping at least half of them into his mouth.
"Were you dying?" I laugh. "Couldn't hold out any longer?"
He smiles like he's proud. "Nope."
We sit at the kitchen island with our leftover pasta. He sort of stares off into nothing, mindlessly bringing huge bites to his mouth.
"Are you okay?" I ask and he snaps out of it.
"Yeah, just thinking." I get ready to ask him what he's thinking about but he doesn't give me the chance. "Are we building the snowman in the front yard or in the back?" I'm a little thrown off by his quick change of subject. I choose not to worry about it. He was just on a plane for several hours and is probably more tired than he's letting on.
"We built him out front last year and then he was attacked by the kids down the street. I say we build him in the back so he at least has a chance of surviving until Christmas."
"Already placing your bet?" he teases. "Usually you check the forecast about a hundred times before you decide."
"Maybe I already have."
"Wow. But so have I. He's going to live."
"No he's not." It's going to warm up above freezing. He'll melt if it stays that way.
"Jeez. Give him some hope."
"I'm being realistic. You can be delusional if you want."
"It's called being positive, you weirdo." He finishes his last bite. "Are you gonna finish yours or can I have it?"
Rolling my eyes and smiling, I push my plate in front of him. He does a little happy dance, taking another bite. "Thank you," he says with his mouth full.
"Don't talk with your mouth full."
"I'll do what I want, woman." He's something else sometimes.
We put our coats back on along with hats and gloves. Just looking out the back window I can see how deep the snow is. It's at least four feet deep, maybe more in other spots. That doesn't stop Link. He goes out the back door, jumping off the deck and falling face first into the snow. His body sinks into the snow, leaving a Link shaped hole. He stands up carefully, preserving his outline.
"There," he says. "Looks like I fell off the roof."
"What is wrong with you?" I laugh. I can't help but laugh harder when I see his face and his entire front covered in snow. I join him in the yard, brushing all the winter fluff off his face.
"I'm going to throw you next." He grabs my waist and lifts me.
"Don't!" I shriek. He swings his arms, getting ready to toss me. "Link, don't!"
He sets me back down, laughing shamelessly. "You know I wouldn't throw you into the snow."
"Just like I didn't think you'd throw me into the pool?" I cross my arms, looking up at him, my expression full of annoyance. "Or how I didn't think you'd spray me with the hose? Or how I didn't think you'd shoot me with your Nerf gun?"
"Remember when I shoved that cupcake in your face?" he laughs, missing the point of why I was bringing up all the times he's messed with me.
"On my birthday!" That only makes him laugh harder. He's so proud of himself.
I scoop up a handful of snow and ball it up with the intention of throwing it at him until he makes his own snowball. I didn't think this through. He's a baseball pitcher. What am I doing trying to start a snowball fight with him?
"This is for the snowman," I giggle, taking a couple small steps back.
"Mhm. That's what I thought." He snatches my snowball, combining it with his. "Trying to start stuff."
"No I wasn't," I lie, still giggling. "It was for the snowman, I swear."
"Lies!"
We roll the snowball around the yard, making a giant ball for the bottom. Then we do the middle, Link stacking it on the first. The last ball ends up a little lumpy. I do my best to pack the low spots with snow, attempting to smooth out his head.
"I think that's as good as he's gonna get," I say, taking a step back to admire our half-finished snowman.
"That's okay. His head looks like yours now." I'm going to beat him.
"You're so mean!"
"What'd I say?" He knows exactly what he said.
He snaps a couple sticks off the barren tree and shoves them into the sides of the snowman for arms. "There. Now he has skinny arms like you too." My jaw drops yet again and he cackles, proud of his tormenting.
We decorate the face and give him a scarf. By then, we're both freezing. Link's cheeks are rosy and I'm sure I match. We hurry back inside to the warmth and take off our wet gloves and coats. My fingers and cheeks prickle as I warm up. We're going to bake next so we'll warm up fast.
Link puts on Christmas music and I get out ingredients for sugar cookies. His voice cracks as he sings as loud as possible. Father stomps on the floor above us, telling us to be quiet. We don't. We turn up the music and sing louder.
Link cracks eggs one-handed, wiggling his gooey fingers at me after like he's going to touch me with them. I hold my spatula up as a weapon. I've whacked him before and I'm not afraid to do it again.
I roll out the dough and Link hugs me from behind, resting his head on my shoulder. He's clingy. I don't mind. I never run out of hugs when I'm with him. He kisses my cheek too and makes me sway with him to the music. Christmas was never this fun before when it was just Father and I. He didn't see the point in traditions and we never decorated. Then I started hanging out with Link in high school and he thought I was crazy for not doing Christmas. It's safe to say he fed my love for the holiday.
I get out the cookie cutters and Link goes to town, cutting out cookies without properly planning the space in between. "You have to put them closer together," I say, trying to stop him from cutting out another cookie that's at least an inch away from one he just cut.
"Why?" he asks, pressing the metal shape into the dough despite my attempts to stop him.
"Because we could get more cookies out of this before we roll it again-Stop it!"
"No!"
He continues cutting out cookies haphazardly. I shake my head, putting the cookies onto the baking sheet. He dances with me after, swaying us around the warm kitchen that's quickly filling with the scent of baking cookies. I'm so glad he's home.
I get out the tubes of store bought frosting once the cookies are cooling on the counter. It never turned out right when I tried to make homemade frosting. And it's fun to get all the colors.
"What if I just..." Link says and I look at him, frowning when I see his hand raised over the counter. Then I see his hand is raised over an open tube of frosting, the end pointed at me.
"Don't you dare!" I flinch when I brings his hand down. He stops just above the tube, laughing at my unamused expression. Maybe he is a little immature.
We frost the cookies but not without smearing some on each other's cheeks. Link kisses off the green frosting he put on my cheek, calling me delicious after.
Once our cookies look like they were decorated by kindergarteners with the messy frosting and sprinkles, Link rubs his hands together with a mischievous smirk. "I'm gonna go get your dad."
"Come back alive!" I call after him when he runs away. I hear his feet pounding up the stairs and down the hall, stopping outside my father's office.
"Old man!" he shouts, knocking loudly on the door. "It's time for you to come out and watch a movie with us!" When Father doesn't show himself, Link resorts to singing at the top of his lungs again. Father's door opens not long after that. "See, that wasn't so hard," Link says, his voice calm now when he was just shouting moments ago.
Father comes down with Link and I pile our competition worthy cookies on a plate to eat while we watch our movie. Link is scrolling through movies on the couch while Father puts on his reading glasses and picks up his latest book. He's not much of a movie person but it means a lot to me that he sits down here with us when we watch one. I offer him a cookie and he stares at it with a worried expression before taking it. They taste good, they just look a little wonky.
I sit on the couch with my legs across Link's lap. He takes a cookie without his gaze leaving the TV. "The Polar Express or The Santa Clause?" he asks.
"The Santa Clause." I rest my head on his shoulder and he puts the movie on, holding me close to him. I missed the cuddles. I might fall asleep from the pure comfort if I'm not careful.
About halfway through the movie, Link types on his phone. He tilted it just enough so I can't see what he's doing. I don't ever try to look at what he's doing on his phone but he also never hides it on purpose. It's not normal for him.
Curiosity gets the better of me. "What are you doing?"
"Oh um...just telling my mom we'll be over there tomorrow." He flushes a light pink, also odd for him. We always go to his mom's after he stays with me for a night. Why is that making him blush all of a sudden?
"Okay?" I laugh. "Or are you trying to sell the last of your drug stash?"
"No, I already sold the rest in California. It wouldn't get past airport security, you know?"
"Oh so he's a drug dealer now," Father sighs, shaking his head at the joke. Had Link said that several years ago, he would've believed him as an excuse to forbid me from seeing him. But now he knows that Link is just a goofball.
I yawn at the end of the movie, snuggling into my boyfriend. He's like a human heater and I fit perfectly against him. It's late but I'm tempted to stay down here and sleep. He has to be exhausted as well. I'll regret it tomorrow if we don't sleep in my bed though.
"Ready for bed?" I ask him with my face buried in his chest.
"Not yet..." How is he not tired like I am? And I'm not one who was on a plane today.
"What do you mean not yet?"
He kisses my head. "I'm taking you somewhere," he says softly.
"I don't want to leave. You're too warm."
"I promise it's worth it." Well now I have to see.
I reluctantly get up and go to get my coat. For some reason, Father doesn't object to us leaving. He doesn't even question it. He only tells Link to drive carefully since it's still snowing.
I put my hat on as well and follow Link outside to my car. The lights look beautiful in the dark with the snow falling around them. It brings me back to before Mother passed. She used to decorate like this. I think she would've loved Link.
"Where are we going?" I yawn, cranking the heat in the car. I blow into my already cold hands. I forgot my gloves.
"You'll see." I hate vague answers.
We point out decorated houses on the way. I always prefer the multicolor lights over plain white ones. Not that white lights aren't pretty too. I used them in the dining room to make it look more elegant.
"We're going downtown?" I say when I notice the street he's driving on.
"You can't take a surprise, can you?" he laughs. "I promise it's more exciting than just going downtown." He knows I can't take a surprise. I can't stand not being informed.
He parks on the snowy street next to a decorated lamp post. I stay in the car while he walks around to my side. According to him, I'm not supposed to open my own door, especially when we're on dates. Once, he pushed me back into the car and closed the door just so he could open it for me.
He holds my hand, helping me hop over the slush by the curb. I stick my other hand in my pocket to keep it warm. It's even colder than it was when we built our snowman.
There's not many people out as we walk deeper into town. They're smart and went home when it got late unlike us. I want to know why he dragged me out in the cold when we could be at home, snuggled under my layers of blankets.
I smile at the giant Christmas tree the city puts up every year. "Is this why we're not in bed right now?" I say, getting closer to the bright tree with ornaments as big as my head.
"Partly." He stands next to me as I admire the tree. But he's not looking at it. He's looking at me.
"Couldn't wait until tomorrow?" I joke, trying to ignore the butterflies he's giving me with his gaze.
"Maybe," he says, taking both my hands and turning me to face him. "But this couldn't." I'm confused for only a moment until he sinks down onto one knee.
I cover my mouth with both hands, my eyes already welling up. I can't contain my happiness. He reaches into his pocket, pulling out a green velvet box. Tears pour down my cold cheeks when he opens it, revealing a delicate gold ring. There's a green gem in the middle, surrounded by smaller diamonds. It's beautiful.
"I knew you were the one after our first date," he says. "I realized I'd found the perfect girl and my heart has been yours ever since." All my love for him feels as though it's spilling over. "I love you more than I could ever put into words." He wipes his own eyes, smiling up at me. "Zelda Marin Hyrule, will you marry me?"
I nod under my hands and through all my tears, I manage to say, "Yes."
He gently pulls my left hand away from my face and takes the ring from the box, sliding it onto my finger. It fits perfectly. The diamonds reflect all the Christmas lights, only making this moment more beautiful.
He stands with the happiest smile I've ever seen and I lean into him, wrapping my arms around his neck and crying into his shoulder. "I love you," I say between tears. I love him more in this moment than I ever thought possible.
"I love you too, baby." He pulls away just a little bit. "So much." He kisses me next, ignoring all my snot and tears. It's impossible to feel the cold. All I feel is his warm love. I want to freeze this feeling in my heart and never let go of it.
He holds me close when we finally start the walk back to my car. I admire my ring, tilting my hand to watch how it catches the light. The diamonds are small and there's at least five on each side.
"Don't tell me these are all real diamonds," I say, my voice still thick from crying so much.
"I have a certificate of authenticity for it." It must have cost a fortune!
I might cry again. "You didn't have to get something so expensive. I would've been happy with anything." But I can't deny how beautiful this ring is. He knew I'd love it.
"I wanted to. You deserve it." What did I do to even deserve him? "That's why I didn't come home after graduation though," he adds, smiling to himself.
"What do you mean?"
"I wasn't spending the summer with my friends. I was working to afford to come back home." He bought this months ago?!
"Link! You really didn't have to spend so much-"
He kisses my head. "Yes I did." He's too stubborn for his own good.
"Well I love it." I hold my hand out to admire it some more. "I really love it."
"Then I got the right one." He kisses my head again and I lean against him. I can't believe we're going to get married. He's the love of my life and now I get to spend forever with him. No Christmas gift I receive will ever top the one he has given me for the rest of my life.