escordvi | log 🌻 in the absence of sunshine

Entry tags:

darin altway,
zelda

log 🌻 in the absence of sunshine

Who: Zelda and Darin
Status: Closed
Where: Zelda's apartment on Eltrut
What: (Backdated to August 15) The aftermath of their fight with Ganondorf the previous night.
Warnings: Major injury, probably some PTSD, and other such warnings that come with hurt/comfort threads (edit: now with themes of self sacrifice, self loathing, and some surprise UST 🌶️)

[ These past twenty-four hours have been the longest, slowest hours Zelda has had to wait through in a very long time. After her century sealing Calamity Ganon, the princess has developed patience in spades-- in stark contrast to how she was before the Calamity. But now, that patience seems to have evaporated and she feels just like that girl she once was, standing impatiently for hours in the Goddess's springs straining to hear Her voice. Time passes with agonizing slowness, and each hour that Darin does not wake feels somehow slower than the last.

Zelda has seen firsthand how quickly his injuries heal, no matter how severe. When she rescued him from the ocean after his fight with Garuda, it took less than an hour for his broken bones to heal. So although the severity of the injuries he sustained from their fight with Ganondorf were deeply upsetting to Zelda, she expected him to heal through the worst of them before the following dawn.

But that wasn't the case. When dawn came, not only did his injuries barely look any better, but he hadn't hadn't regained consciousness. Dawn turned to day to afternoon to dusk and to night again and still Darin did not wake.

Throughout those long, long hours, there was nothing Zelda could do but wait. Wait and try to treat his wounds as she would anyone else's. She cleaned and bandaged his injuries as best she could, and at least that helped set her mind slightly at ease. She didn't know why this was taking so long, but she could care for him through that time. Goddess knows she had done so for Link countless times in the past.

But first aid only went as far as normal wounds. It was all but useless for treating Gloom burns. Usually, the cure for Gloom sickness was sunlight; Gloom faded away in the light and a person's vitality returned over time. Zelda had never seen Gloom burns before she and Link found the corpse of the Demon King below Hyrule Castle. She had an idea how to treat them-- a poultice made of sundelions might work like a concentrated salve of sunlight. But there are no sundelions in this world and the process for trying to fish for them through the rift was tricky and time consuming. And even if it wasn't, Zelda couldn't risk leaving Darin alone. If something happened... If she wasn't here...

These are the thoughts that have gone round and round in her mind all day, interspersed among memories of that fight with Ganondorf. Everything he said. Everything he did. How even the combined efforts of Darin, Ranma, and Zelda were barely enough to injure him at all. She couldn't get these thoughts out of her head.

Now it's nighttime again. Zelda has barely eaten and she has staunchly avoided sleep-- not just because Darin is on her bed, but because if something were to happen and she was not here beside him.... Well, she wasn't willing to risk that. But after twenty four sleepless hours, even anxiety isn't strong enough to keep her awake. The princess finally nods off sometime in the middle of the night, sitting in her chair at the bedside and leaning against the edge of the bed, her head against his shoulder so that, if he shifts, the movement will wake her. ]

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[Darin finds himself nodding when Zelda tells him that he can sleep there. In her bed. And for a moment he didn't even hear the rest of her statement.]

[But then it hits him like a slap in the face and jolts up, the blush on his cheeks spreading to encompass his entire face.]

[What was he thinking?! And what did he think he was about to agree to?! She's a princess! She's his friend! This is wrong on so many levels! She saved his life! Treated his wounds! And this is how he thinks to repay her?? Darin's never had respect for nobility bit this is a whole different level of disrespect! He should know better!]

W-What?? N-No! No, I can stay on the sofa chair...! I'm not about to kick you out of your own bed...! I've slept in it enough...!

[He pushes himself off of the bed a little too quickly and hits the floor with a heavy thud.]

I-I'll even take the floor!

[DAMMIT, LEGS!! HE NEEDS TO GET OUT OF THIS BEDROOM RIGHT NOW!]

Darin!

[ Immediately, her intrusive thoughts are swept away and replaced with concern. Zelda jumps out of the bed and hurries to him, dropping to her knees beside him.

Her expression floods with worry as she looks over him, praying he hasn't reopened any more of his wounds. ]

Don't be absurd. You're hurt; you need to rest in a proper bed if you're to recover. I am uninjured; a sofa chair is hardly the most uncomfortable place I've ever slept in.

[ Please don't fight her on this, Darin. She really doesn't want to have to shackle you to the bed... for multiple reasons Zelda really doesn't want to think about right now. ]

But you're exhausted, Zelda...! If you don't rest properly, you'll get sick...!

[His face is still flushed red but at least he's managed to put together a cohesive argument this time. And, fortunately, he doesn't seem to reopened his wound.]

I won't argue that we both need rest but of the two of us, I don't get sick...

[Darin drags a hand down his face. There's one very easy solution to this but acknowledging it is...well, given what just happened...]

[...But Zelda would never suggest it. Hell, he'd never suggest it! But it's the only way that they both get what they want. They only way they'd both get a proper night's rest after the events of the previous night.]

...Zelda.

Let's just...sleep together.

[ Zelda stops breathing right then and there.

Oh Hylia, is this really happening...?

A dozen different thoughts suddenly crowd their way into her head all at once, making impossible for her to do anything other than stare at Darin, mouth agape. He... He can't possibly be suggesting......? ......Could he? Well, would that really be so unexpected? Average folk aren't so strictly bound by the same rules of propriety as nobility, especially royalty, and Darin, effortlessly charming and attractive as he is, has without a doubt taken someone to bed before. Maybe several someones. How else would he be so casual about inviting her to sleep with him?

And it's certainly not that the idea isn't appealing! In fact, the more she sits here staring at him and letting that thought run rampant in her mind, the more she likes it. This certainly isn't the first intrusive thought she's had about him, especially considering how often he ends up being in a state of undress around her. It's like the man is allergic to shirts! So how is she not supposed to notice his well defined musculature and--

Stop, stop, stop! Pull yourself together, Zelda! ]

I-- I-- I-- I am flattered, t-truly! But I--... It-It is not that it is unappealing but I--... W-Well, a princess can't-- shouldn't.... Th-That is--!

[ Oh what she wouldn't give for the floor to open up and swallow her whole. ]

I-I know that!

[Darin's cheeks are burning so red hot it's a miracle steam isn't pouring from his ears.]

I know what I'm asking for probably goes against any sense of decency but...

[He drags a hand down his face. He can't look at her.]

L-Look, you and I are going to argue in circles all night about this because neither one of us wants to see the other uncomfortable. But...after everything that's happened we need this...otherwise, things are just going to get worse.

[They need a good night's sleep, otherwise they'll be no good to anyone.]

[But Darin has no idea what's going on in Zelda's mind. How could he? Why would anyone ever think of Darin in such a lascivious way? His hands are rough, he's sweaty, he probably smells...he's lucky Zelda even wants to be near him let alone share a bed with him.]

You know I'm right...if we don't do this, we'll regret it...

[ Maybe she should've tried sealing Ganondorf last night. Everyone would be safe. He would no longer be a threat to this world. Zelda could slip peacefully into that semi-slumbering state where she wouldn't be assailed by this deluge of inappropriate thoughts.

Thoughts that are running completely out of control right now, because not only has no one ever propositioned the Princess of Hyrule, she has never felt so tempted to say yes.

She wrenches her gaze away from him, fixing it on some indistinct spot on the floor to her left as if it was suddenly the most fascinating thing in the room.

"after everything that's happened we need this,"

"if we don't do this, we'll regret it,"

Her mouth feels dry. He's completely serious. And she... well, Zelda is not ignorant to her own needs. After all, she grew up with the Chief of the Gerudo tribe. Gerudo culture has always been more... liberal than Hylian culture and Zelda was always an inquisitive girl. The princess had a more robust education than most Hylian girls her age.

What she wouldn't give for Urbosa's advice right now. ]

W-We.... I... I-I've never.....

[ She's never even kissed someone before. Going to bed with him?-- the thought is terrifying and appealing all at the same time. And maybe it's because she hasn't slept in over thirty six hours and the way her blood is rushing through her is making her feel very light headed, but........... ]

[Darin winces. Yeah, of course she would 'never.' Would anyone ever consider something like this with him? He doesn't blame her in the slightest but it still stings.]

[Though why it stings is a mystery to him. He's never been bothered by people being offended by his appearance before...]

[But he's not surprised Zelda would be so disturbed by the prospect of sleeping next to him. She'd have to endure the cramped space, he's bloody and gross...not to mention she's a princess and he's a commoner at best. The fact that she even let him rest in her bed is a charity in and of itself, one that he's about to impose upon more.]

[But they need to rest. His eyes are already burning and if he's this tired, Zelda must be ready to drop.]

[He spares a glance over at her and his eyes widen with alarm. She looks like she's about to faint dead away!]

[This wasn't the time to worry about how she might see him. He'll apologize as many times as it takes once she's rested. Once they're both rested.]

[He pushes himself to a kneeling position and turns to Zelda.]

L...Look, I know you probably hate the idea but...I'll be alright as long as it's you.

[He doesn't wait for an answer. He scoops her up and wearily pushes himself to his feet. His knees are knocking and he's only got so long before his body gives out. He's got to get her to bed. He wouldn't be able to do this if he didn't trust her implicitly. If she didn't make him feel so safe.]

[So, he takes the two or so steps necessary until he's standing over her bed, awash in the moonlight with a determined, resolute look on his face.]

[ Zelda is trying very, very hard to convince herself that the floorboards in her bedroom deserve her intense scrutiny, but her own body is working very, very hard to sabotage her. She is immensely worked up, her face bright red and burning with a prickling of sweat forming on her brow.

She'd be lying if she claimed the thought of being intimate with him had never gone through her mind. This sort of thing has been happening repeatedly in her months here, both with Darin and with other attractive people the princess has met. It was easy to avoid these kinds of thoughts in Hyrule-- people tended to keep a courteous distance from the princess and thus her mind rarely wandered further than the realization that the people she met were quite attractive. In this world, where Zelda is not a princess but a simple researcher... well, she's found herself in a few situations where her thoughts have wandered beyond simple appreciation for another's form.

But nobody has tried to invite her to bed before. No one has even tried to kiss her before--

--No wait a minute, what about that time two months ago when Louis suddenly pinned Zelda to her dining room table?

...

Goddess above, she needs to stop thinking about this. But Darin is making that impossible!

She hears him shift position and her traitorous eyes immediately flick back to him. There is just enough time for his words to puncture the hazy warmth filling her head, and his assumption that she is going to hate being with him sparks the urge to argue--

But then he sweeps her up in his arms and that thought-- all of her thoughts-- fly straight out of her head. Her gaze snaps to his, wide eyed and a cacophony of nervousness and excitement and embarrassment playing across her face in quick succession.

Oh sweet Hylia this is really happening..... ]

[He's thankful, for once, that she's not arguing with him. Mostly because it's taking every ounce of his draining strength to even stand, let alone carry her. He has no idea of the wild trains of thought crashing about in Zelda's mind and assumes her complicit silence is her merely accepting the offensive inevitability of this situation with regal grace and poise.]

[He truly hopes she can forgive him for pushing this upon her.]

[Carefully, he lays her in bed as far against the opposite edge as he can. He even offers her a reassuring smile as sweat borne of exertion pours down his face. Gloom really does seem to sap your vitality. Darin wonders if anyone else could survive what he has.]

[Then, with a nod and the last of his fleeting strength, he turns and sits on the edge of the bed beside her. He lifts his legs up onto the bed and rolls onto his side with a pained wince so that his scarred back is facing her.]

[He cranes his head over his shoulder to address her at last, his voice bashful and awkward.]

Please try and get some sleep. If you hate me in the morning, I'll find some way to make it up to you...

G'night.

[And with that, he turns back away so all she sees is his scarred back and fluffy, blue hair resting on the very edge of her pillow.]

[ Zelda's heart is positively thundering in her chest as Darin lays her down in the bed, so loud is almost deafening. If he can't hear it already, he certainly will when he climbs over her.

There's a brief moment where he pauses while looking down at her and she stares right back up at him with her wide green eyes. This is really going to happen. She is really going to give herself to him. Is it a good idea? Absolutely not. This is extremely reckless. She's only known him for a few months. A princess shouldn't be sleeping around. She should be saving herself for the person who will be her consort. And Darin isn't even of Hyrule; he can never be that person, even if he wanted to be.

But when she sees him smile at her, her breath catches in her throat.

Didn't she promise to be honest with him? And doesn't that mean she has to be honest with herself too?

The most selfish, reckless want fills her head: I want him. ]

[ And then...

...he turns away and lays down on the opposite side of the bed with his back to her.

...

... ...

Wait.

...

Zelda turns her head to the side and stares at his back in confusion.

Is... is he not--....? Are they not--??? ]

[ Oh.

Oh, she... she wildly misunderstood what he meant by "sleep together" ...

Oh...

Zelda sees him start to turn and hastily schools her expression as he looks back over his shoulder at her. She feels the small urge to call him out on his assumption that she's going to hate him in the morning, but that urge is so completely dwarfed by the absolute mortification she feels that it's little more than a blade of grass in a wide open field.

It's all she can manage just to answer him at all. ]

G-Goodnight...

[ As she turns her head to stare up at the ceiling, she feels a lump of disappointment sink in her stomach.

...

Well then.

She certainly has a few things to think about, doesn't she?

...

... She's never going to fall asleep. ]

[Gods she sounds mortified. Why wouldn't she be? She's a princess and she's forced to share a bed with his big, stupid, half-dead frame. If he had the strength he'd get up and leave right now.]

[Even though after everything she's endured he doesn't want to leave her alone...]

[But gods, he's going to have to make this up to her! He can't sleep like this and judging from her breathing, neither can she!]

[With a huff, he rolls onto his back so that they're shoulder to shoulder. It's tight and they're both practically hanging off the opposite sides of the bed. It'd probably be more comfortable if they got closer but that's not happening with this tension...]

[Come on Darin, think...you gotta dispel the tension. Take her mind off of having to share a bed with you.]

[...An idea pops into his head.]

...So did you know that Ranma changes into a girl when he gets wet before the fight started or did you think Ganondorf punched him so hard he sprouted boobs?

[Look, he's worried about Ranma too and this is the first thing that popped into his head.]

[ Zelda initially expects "goodnight" to be the end of things, so when he rolls onto his back, she looks over at him in confusion. Did he change his mind...?

Of all the things she might have expected to hear from Darin, a question about Ranma's breasts is not one of them. ]

Ranma?

[ She can practically feel the exertion of switching gears in her mind as the conversation takes a complete 180°. ]

I... I hadn't even thought about it.

[ But she sure is now. Not only because it was really jarring to see Ranma transformed into a petite girl with a significant bust, but because Zelda would rather think about anything other than how dramatically she misunderstood Darin's meaning when he suggested "sleeping together."

Zelda's brows draw together. ] Wait a minute, you said he changes into a girl when he gets wet? How is that possible?

I think he said something about a curse? I was pretty shocked when I found out too.

[Oh thank gods, she seems to be focusing on the topic. Okay, he can work with this. As long as she doesn't hate him after this, he'll happily make it up to her in the morning.]

[He laughs a bit and lets his head fall to the side, facing her.]

We were looking for that ghost pirate treasure a couple of months back. He fell into the water and changed which was...crazy. I didn't focus on it too much, though. Ranma is Ranma after all.

[With the tension starting to ease, he yawns.]

Plus, there were ghosts...and I'm kinda terrified of ghosts...

[ Goddess bless Darin for changing the subject. Zelda will absolutely take it with both hands and run with it until she can rid herself of this awful self conscious awkwardness settling into her mind.

Zelda gives an understanding nod of her head at the remark "Ranma is Ranma after all." He (she?) (they?) certainly is something... Zelda's every interaction with him has been strange, but not in an unpleasant way. He's just... unusual. 'Cursed to turn into a girl when wet' somehow feels par for the course with him. ]

A ghost pirate treasure? [ Zelda is unaware that she actually already knows what Darin is talking about, despite the fact that this occurred before she arrived here. ] What were you doing looking for that if you are afraid of ghosts?

[ He did mention something like this on the day of their big falling out, but Zelda wasn't entirely clear if he meant he was scared of all ghosts or just the one of his brother? ]

[He snorts and scratches at his nose.]

I uh...I heard 'treasure' and didn't really read the rest of the posting...it seemed like an adventure so I kinda went for it...

[He laughs and gives Zelda a sheepish grin. It seemed like she was feeling a little more at ease which, to Darin, meant that he could relax a bit.]

[He turns a little more to face her.]

But...Ranma was there and we managed to return the treasure to the pirate's widower so the place could stop being haunted. Ghosts aside...it was kinda fun.

[He yawns again. With the tension dispelling, his body is beginning to feel heavy. Absently, he reaches down and grabs the blanket and pulls it up partway over Zelda, as if wordlessly coaxing her to start drifting off as well.]

[ Zelda laughs along with him, feeling some of her awkward tension start to fade. It's amazing how easy it is to slip back into that comfortable companionship she has come to feel with Darin. It's one of the reasons why she always fights with him, to pull him back to this feeling when his own insecurities push him to sabotage their friendship.

She rolls onto her side and faces him, folding one arm beneath her head to support it. All the adrenaline in her blood is evaporating and without it to fuel her, thirty six hours' worth of exhaustion is taking hold. ]

So, if getting wet turns him into a girl, does drying off turn him back into a boy? [ She asks sleepily as Darin pulls part of the blanket over her. ]

No...I think it's...temperature based? Cold water turns him into a girl and hot water into a boy...

Not exactly what I'd consider a 'curse' but...not everyone can be born with a demon god inside of them...

[There's no self-deprecation in his voice as he muses about the nature of 'curses.' Honestly, it's thanks to his 'curse' that he's even alive right now— twice he's been cut down and should have died. And twice now he pulled through. This time, however, he feels a strange sort of accomplishment.]

[As he looks at Zelda, as the tension melts away and begins to give way to much needed slumber, he's thankful that his 'curse' has afforded him the opportunity to be here.]

[His 'curse' allowed him to save her.]

[And maybe it's the flashes of fever or the exhaustion, but he feels a certain heat wash over his face and seep into his chest.]

[Gods...she's really beautiful isn't she...]

[That's the last thing he remembers thinking as their conversation melts into a blur. A patchwork of half-remembered words and anecdotes as they talk like schoolmates at a slumber party. Like friends telling secrets in the night...words that will only be half-remembered by them when they awake.]

[At some point, Darin only barely remembers muttering something to the extent of 'come here'; beckoning Zelda a little closer so they could sleep more comfortably. And that was that.]

--- --- --- ---

[Late the next morning, or rather almost-noon, Darin awakes as sunlight streaming in from Zelda's window catches his face. He reaches up to rub at his eyes with his one hand, the other only slightly pinned by Zelda's sleeping form. As the sleep clears from his mind, he recalls the events of the previous night. He wipes his hand over his brow and is thankful to realize he's no longer sweating profusely; the fever apparently broke. He looks down to see Zelda sleeping, nuzzled against him, and that heat rushes back almost immediately to his face.]

[Oh gods, that's right. We slept in the same bed. Gods she's never going to forgive me!]

[Hopefully, she's still fast asleep. Enough that he can slip out of the bed without waking her. When he does, he hurriedly tucks her back in to keep her from waking, then tiptoes out of the bedroom.]

[He glances around, scratching at his stomach. All at once, his stomach growls loud enough that Darin peeks back into the bedroom to make sure it didn't wake Zelda up. Gods, he hadn't eaten since two nights ago before they infiltrated the Desert Wind.]

[...Well, since Zelda was out cold, the least he could do was start making food. Hopefully a nice brunch will ease the expected repercussions of sharing a bed with her. With a grin, Darin begins raiding her pantry and fridge.]

[Before long, the scent of breakfast begins to fill the apartment and should Zelda awaken to see what's going on, she'll find Darin sashaying in front of the stove. He's eaten half a loaf of bread's worth of toast and is currently alternating between bites of an apple and half of an omelette while simultaneously stacking pancakes. He's using his torn coat as an apron which...considering he's not wearing a shirt is probably a hell of a sight.]

[ Zelda is usually an early riser, not because she has a particular affinity for morning time, but because ever since being freed from the seal, she's found it difficult to sleep for more than five or six hours at a time. It's as though her body has a century's worth of sleep surplus.

But today, morning comes and goes and Zelda is still out cold. She has been in a deep, dreamless sleep ever since she nodded off somewhere in the middle of a conversation she and Darin were having. She doesn't react at all when he leaves the bed and any noise he makes in the kitchen goes completely unheard.

It's the familiar smell of breakfast that finally rouses Zelda from her sleep.

Waking up is like swimming to the surface from the depths of a lake. Her mind feels sluggish, her memories hazy and distant, like she's waking from a deep dream. Zelda remains curled up under the blanket with her eyes closed, allowing her sense to slowly wake. What happened last night to make her sleep so heavily? All she can remember is a vague sense of feeling warm and secure while she slept.

As she tries to jog her tired mind into wakefulness, her nose once again catches the scent of breakfast.

Goddess, she must have really overslept if Link is up before her. Zelda opens her eyes and throws off the blanket--

--the room that greets her is not the loft of the home she shares in Hateno with Link.

This is her apartment on Eltrut.

Zelda can't help but deflate a little. This isn't the first time since arriving here that she's woken up thinking she was at home and this whole mad world was just a dream. It happened in ancient Hyrule too.

She sniffs. But wait, if she's not in Hateno, then why does it smell like breakfast?

She climbs out of the bed and heads towards the kitchen, wondering if she somehow sleepwalked and started cooking herself breakfast. But once she sees the kitchen, the answer-- as well as her memories of the previous two nights-- hits her like a brick. The Desert Wind, the battle with Ganondorf, the frantic escape, Darin...

Darin, who, as last Zelda recalls, was so weak from his injuries and fever that he could barely stand, is happily cooking up a storm in her kitchen with what looks like half of the contents of her pantry and icebox.

For a minute, Zelda just watches him. The sight is simultaneously incredibly familiar and completely foreign that her sleepy mind is having trouble rationalizing it. Is it possible that she's still asleep? Is she so homesick that her subconscious is trying to craft something familiar out of the strange mismatch of people and experiences Zelda has lived in this world?

But no, she's awake. This is real.

(If she was still dreaming, Darin would probably be wearing a proper shirt rather than a makeshift apron made out of his poor torn coat.) ]

Good morning. [ She offers as she approaches.

Darin will find the princess looking uncharacteristically disheveled. Her face is mussed and blotchy from crying last night, her short hair in tangles and one half of her braid crown completely undone. Her clothes are rumpled and soiled, stained here and there with blood from treating Darin's injuries. But despite this, she looks tranquil and well rested. ]

[Darin jolts and almost misses catching a flipping pancake. Hurriedly, he snaps the plate with the stack beneath the airborne flapjack and manages to catch it right atop the tower of fluffy carbs. He whips around, cheeks puffed up from food and half a slice of toast with a fried egg sticking out of his mouth looking both pleased to see her and surprised as if he were caught red-handed raiding her kitchen.]

M-Mmf! Gff mrnnin—

[Wait, he places the plate and pan down and turns the burner off before finishing his toast and egg in two large bites. He thumps his chest, forcing it down, the act of which showcasing just how much better he's doing. The wound is closed up and no longer seems at risk of reopening and while the gloom still flares at the edges of the wound, its spread is not nearly as dramatic as it was for the thirty six or so hours.]

[Darin downs a glass of juice to clear his throat.]

G-Good morning...! How are you feeling...?

[He's a little nervous; after all he expects Zelda to be cross with him for imposing so heavily on her personal space. But...he can't help but let his eyes wander over her disheveled appearance. Despite the stains on her clothes...most of which were his fault, there was something...something about her. It was this strange sense of domesticated bliss permeating the air. It almost felt like...]

[Like...lovers after their first night together.]

[Darin hurriedly dismisses the thought with a rapid shake of his head, doing his level best to force the color from his cheeks.]

I uh...I hope you don't mind but I made us some food...

[He gestures to her table where there's two plates set. And a...little 'thank you' card? That he made for her? It's nothing more than a folded up piece of notebook paper but it reads 'Thank you for saving my life and also for tending to my wounds.' And it has a little smiley Darin face surrounded by swords and flowers.]

[He moves to the table and begins to serve up pancakes and eggs and toast, sparing her glances repeatedly, trying to gauge her reaction.]

[ Zelda chuckles softly as she watches Darin's impressive juggling act in her kitchen. Well, he certainly seems to be feeling better. Her gaze drops to his chest and she carefully examines what she can see of his injury. It looks much better than it did yesterday, fully closed and well on its way to healing, much more consistent with what she knows of Darin's usual rate of recovery. The Gloom poisoning seems to be lessening as well. Thank goodness... ]

I am feeling much better, thank you.

[ And she looks it too, in spite of her mussiness. She's back to her usual bright eyed, amiable self... albeit still a bit on the foggy side from how long she slept. Whatever displeasure Darin expected to find in her countenance is absent; she looks as comfortable in his presence as she normally does.

Zelda turns towards the dining room table, adorned in a yellow tablecloth sewn with a cheery sunflower motif. As she sees the two place settings upon it, she's suddenly hit with an overwhelming wave of nostalgia. Suddenly, it isn't her Eltrut apartment before her eyes, but the house in Hateno, with its square table set for two and Link setting down dishes heaped with food he cooked for them.

Her hand rises to her chest and she looks from the table to Darin, eyes wide with astonishment. He... He made breakfast for her? And the food he's prepared, it looks so much like something Link would make. She hasn't eaten anything like this since before she came here-- no, since before she was sent back in time. Zelda's cooking skills are basic at best and ancient Hyrulean cuisine does not include things like pancakes. ]

You... you made all this? For me?

[ Most people probably wouldn't be so moved by a surprise breakfast. But Zelda looks at it like Darin has just spread the wealth of nations in front of her. For the moment, she's too stunned to even sit down. ]

[Darin tilts his head, puzzled by the question.]

I...yeah? Of course I did...

[Why wouldn't he? Even if he felt he didn't have a mountain of things to apologize for (which he knows he does), she took care of him when he seemed like he could die at any moment. And even besides that, she really exhausted herself, not just in the fight but in watching over him. Not to mention her grief over Sonia...]

You...You spent a lot of strength fighting Ganondorf and then looking after me. And considering...erm...

[He doesn't want to bring up Sonia's death by name so he tries his best to allude to it.]

...Sometimes when you're feeling sad the best thing you can do for yourself is eat a good meal.

[With her plate served, Darin pulls her chair out for her politely, smiling bashfully.]

I uh...I hope you don't mind but I've been grazing on food ever since I started cooking. Apparently eating helps me heal up quicker so...

I'll replace everything I used up, by the way...

[She seems in a good mood but gods he'd give anything for her to give him a clearer sign of her state of mind towards him.]

[You know what? Screw it. Honest with each other, and all that, right?]

I um...Zelda, I'm...sorry for everything I put you through...I know I said so last night but...

[He releases her chair and does the one thing he can think to do in this situation.]

[He bows apologetically at the waist. A full bow. Darin, a man who notoriously doesn't bow his head to anyone, is bowing his head to Zelda in hopes of forgiveness.]

I'm so sorry...!

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