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2021-07-29
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The Champion's Tunic

Summary:

Zelda thought it was silly. Link couldn’t remember the old honor code, yet, he insisted he not sully her good name and high honor by public announcement of their relationship. When they were alone, he was nauseatingly sweet to her, a perfectly doting boyfriend. In public, however, he was carefully distant, a perfectly dutiful guard. It was a crisp fall day in Zora’s Domain when she broke.

“Who made you that Champion’s Tunic you’re wearing right now, Link?” She asked.

Notes:

(See the end of the work for notes.)

Work Text:

Zelda thought it was silly. The world she came back to was a hundred years beyond the one she left, and while almost all of the changes were bad (crumbling infrastructure, high monster population, fractured and paranoid tribes), there was at least one change that was definitively for the better. Like the once-glorious Hyrulean Postal System, the etiquette and societal norms Zelda grew up with were now firmly in ruin. People still called her Princess if they knew her title, but nobody batted an eye at just using her name. Others were allowed to sit in a room while she stood. Best of all, not a single soul in the kingdom would care a bit if she started seeing her appointed knight. Well, many souls cared, actually, because if Zelda began courting Link, then Link would be off the market, and that would actually be quite disappointing for a good many of the kingdom’s inhabitants (and Zelda couldn’t blame them one bit), but it wasn’t a scandal the way it would have been before.

Link hadn’t required any convincing. Not that she would have tried to persuade him, were he to not want her; she would respect his rejection if that was his choice, but she could barely even call what had happened a confession. She had waited a hundred years for him, and when he finally returned for her, she had no patience for coy games with him. She told him she loved him. He had the audacity to tell her he already knew. She asked him how, and he told her about a musician named Kass who she had yet to meet, but had apparently already aired all her dirty laundry to her knight without her knowledge. She took note to confront this Kass about his disrespect, but then Link said he loved her too, and Zelda forgave Kass for his transgressions.

That was when Link had gotten silly. He couldn’t remember the old honor code, the way Zelda’s virtue had once mattered, the way her name without her title was reserved for a select few elite, the way he had never even been allowed to look at her like that. She didn’t want him to remember that part; she loved the way his hand always found hers, the easy smiles and quick kisses her gave her, the way he so easily pulled her into a strong embrace. That hadn’t been allowed before, and she was quite happy they were allowed now.

All his waking memories occurred in this new Hyrule, a Hyrule where Princesses were Princesses in title only, and could stay at stables with common folk, and spend all day tinkering with a busted Skywatcher without sending a single prayer to the Goddess. And yet, he insisted he not sully her good name and high honor by public announcement of their relationship. When they were alone, he was nauseatingly sweet to her, a perfectly doting boyfriend. In public, however, he was carefully distant, a perfectly dutiful guard. It wasn’t like before; he still walked beside her and elbowed her and smiled at her, but he was almost so good at it that she doubted his feelings for her at all.

Of course, the moment they were alone again, he would drop the façade, and she felt silly for ever questioning him. That is, until they returned to town, and he would remove his arm from her waist and never once lay with his head in her lap.

“You are the Princess,” he would tell her. “It’s not appropriate for me to touch you like that in public.”

He made it sound like she was asking him to grope her in front of all the villagers and not just hold her hand. “Times are different now,” she would say to him. “People don’t care anymore.”

“I don’t want anyone to think less of you because of me,” he would answer.

She would scoff. “You’re the Hero of Hyrule, Link, if anything, the public would congratulate me.” She knew she wasn’t wrong.

“It’s not forever; once things are settled politically and you are secure in whatever position you choose to have, then I will personally tell everyone in the kingdom of our love.” He would say.

“Are you embarrassed or ashamed of me? Do you want to hide me from the world?” She would challenge. She knew his answer, but she would challenge him anyway.

He would take great offense at this, and, given their surroundings allowed it, scoop her up into his arms to kiss her furiously. She would let him, never one to deny any gesture he made to prove his devotion, until he broke long enough to tell her, “You know better than to think I don’t want to show you off.” And then he would kiss her more, and she would give up the fight for the time being.

Until, of course, they would be in town somewhere, playing platonic, and some admirer would come on to Link. He would pretend to be entirely oblivious to their advances (or perhaps he truly was, Zelda couldn’t tell), and Zelda would have to watch, mouth firmly shut, lips pressed together tightly, as a beautiful young woman, handsome young man, or any other hopeful tried desperately to get his attention. Zelda would always be a bit possessive after someone confessed their love to the Hero of Hyrule. He had never once given her a reason to doubt his loyalty, but she was unable to shake her jealous streak, and the argument would begin again.

It was a crisp fall day in Zora’s Domain when she broke. The innkeeper raised his eyebrows when Link asked for two rooms, but wandered off to grab the keys anyway. Link didn’t understand the confusion. Zelda did. She didn’t even bother lowering her voice.

“If anywhere is safe to drop the façade, Link, it’s here,” she told him matter-of-factly.

He widened his eyes at her, surprised at her boldness. Though she thought his hesitance to be open about their relationship in public was silly (and she reminded him of it frequently), she’d never done anything to reveal their affair to anyone. Until now, at least. “Of all the tribes, the Zora are the most traditional,” he argued.

“Yes, but most of the Zora think we’re married, you know,” she continued. “Two rooms this early in the relationship is a red flag.”

“Why would they think we’re married?” He asked, frowning at her. “Have I—did I do something?”

Zelda let her eyes drop to his blue tunic for a moment before meeting his eyes again. He blinked. “Who made you that Champion’s Tunic you’re wearing right now, Link?” She asked.

“You,” he said flatly, not following.

“How many times have you worn it into battle?” She asked.

He frowned. “At least a hundred, easily. What does this have to do with anything?”

His ignorance was almost cute, Zelda thought. “What did you receive from Mipha when she was going to propose to you?” She continued. The Zora innkeeper returned to the counter with their keys, but Zelda paid him no mind.

His frown deepened. “The Zora Armor…” He mumbled.

“And how would you have formally accepted her offer?”

Link’s cheeks blushed furiously. “I would have worn it into battle…” His eyes were round on hers, almost apologetic. “That’s different, though, Mipha was—”

“A Princess?” Zelda interrupted.

“A Zora,” he said.

She raised her eyebrows but smiled. “Are we not among the Zora right now, adhering to all of their customs for which our bodies can tolerate?”

His blush deepened. He seemed to take a moment to deliberate, chewing on his bottom lip before turning back to the innkeeper. “Actually, we’ll only need one room for the night.”

The innkeeper rolled his eyes, turning to trudge back to the key rack. “Newlyweds.”

Notes:

I wrote this last night and I have not proofread it so apologies if it's messy. I just felt like posting it now.

For the record, I don't think the Zora would expect their marriage proposal tradition to transfer to other cultures but I just think the idea that they all think Link and Zelda are married because she made him a set of "armor" was too cute to pass up on.

I hope you liked it!