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Zelda really wished Link would stop running around the forest and smelling things. He had recently vanquished Ganondorf, and now he was being even weirder than usual, and she decided she would have to break it to him. “You’re being really weird. Stop it.” She said, with all of the grace of a princess that had just spent the last ten thousand years flying around as a dragon with a fucking sword lodged in her head. She, naturally, had a bit of a headache right now, and Link climbing up trees to get a better vantage point for his nose wasn’t exactly helping the situation.
Link blinked at her. ‘Be more specific?’ He signed at her with a cheeky grin. Zelda felt the need to suppress a smile, because while her knight was charming and cute like usual he was also going around smelling things. She sighed. She was vaguely aware of her Zonai dress accumulating dirt as they walked, but she wasn’t particularly worried about it, all things considered.
“You’ve been running around smelling every weed, tree, and flower in sight for the past 20 minutes.” She said, doing her very best to sound cross with him. It was clearly not working because he just furrowed his brow. He had the nerve to look at her like she was the one being weird.
‘You don’t smell them?’ He seemed genuinely puzzled.
Zelda sniffled for a few seconds. She didn’t smell anything out of the ordinary. “Okay, I’ll bite. What am I supposed to be smelling, exactly?” She asked, frowning. He made a gesture similar to the name sign he used for her, but it wasn’t quite the same. “The…the princesses?” He nodded, and then brought a finger to his lips. She nearly admonished him for shushing her, but in her defense, her mind was probably still adjusting to being in such a tiny fleshy body again. Hylia knows her legs still weren’t working quite right. It only took her a second to understand properly.
“You smell silent princesses?” She asked, and he nodded enthusiastically.
“Everywhere.” He said simply, bringing his hands apart, as if to mimic a big bowl. Then he squinted at her. She suddenly felt very self conscious. She brushed her hair behind her ear, trying to fix it up a little bit because maybe she looked a little messy after having spent so much time as a glorified lizard. Link’s scrutiny didn’t stop, though. He looked at her long enough she was nearly blushing. Then, he smelled her.
“Link!” Zelda yelled, bringing her hands to her face, which was probably the same color as marbled rock roast. “What in Hylia’s name are you doing!”
Link stumbled back, waving his hands apologetically. He stared at her for a second. She was worried he was going to try smelling her again.
“You smell.” He said instead.
Zelda felt her eye twitch a bit. Which was actually a fairly good sign, because she was pretty sure she hadn’t blinked once as a dragon, or even since she’d returned to her body. She almost wanted to go back to being a dragon. This might have been the most embarrassing thing ever, which is exactly why she shoved her hands back into her face.
“Wait, that's not what I meant-” Link said quickly, but she also got the distinct sense he was holding back laughter, which she did not appreciate. “You smell like silent princesses. A lot.”
That didn’t make any sense at all. She’d been trekking through the dirt and the mud for roughly ten minutes at this point on the way to Lookout Landing. Flowers were the last thing she should smell like. She meant to ask Link if he was sure. What came out of her mouth was as follows:
“I think the hero of Hyrule is full of shit.” She would admit later that being a dragon for a few thousand years may have made her a little grumpy.
“I’m serious.” He protested. “I lived in the wild for months before I made it to the castle, remember? I know what silent princesses smell like, and right now, that’s you, Zel.”
Zelda blinked. Then she blinked a few more times just because she could, now. “Do you think,” She said slowly, parsing her next words out. “Do you think maybe a side effect of reversing Draconification- don’t you dare laugh, Link, I can see your lips turning upwards.”
‘ Staring at my lips?’ He smirked. Zelda groaned. “I used to be a dragon, you know. Show me some respect.”
‘ I know. Now you smell like flowers.’ He signed cheerfully. Zelda sighed.
“And now I smell like flowers.” She agreed. She felt his fingers brush against hers. It was an offer of comfort. A question. She answered by linking their fingers together.
“I like the smell of silent princesses.” He said, looking at her. She understood him perfectly.
“Well then,” She said, remembering the flower field where she had shed her last tear. “Well then. That’s that, isn’t it?”
He answered with a kiss. Zelda preferred it to when he was running around smelling things. She much preferred it, in fact.
Link pulled away after a moment. After the last ten thousand years, she felt like the kiss was too short. They had time now, she supposed. Something about Link’s expression gave her pause, though.
“What’s wrong? Are you still hurt from the battle?” He had looked relatively unscathed when she had come back to her senses, but still. She worried.
Link shook his head. ‘ I thought you would taste like flowers, too.’ He admitted. Zelda stared at him in disbelief for a second. Then another, and another. Then, against all odds, after ten thousand years, the princess of Hyrule laughed. She laughed, and her knight smiled, and still she smelled like flowers.