The following couple of weeks after the party were some of the best Zelda had had in a long time. Once she sobered up the next morning, she realized she really did feel like she got some closure from that spin the bottle/truth or dare concoction Peach and Roy had invented. It was also kind of nice to know her feelings about Link were out in the open, though she was slightly embarrassed with how drunk Zelda had acted in front of him.

With all her best friends' blessings and reassurances that it wasn't too soon to move on, she was back to texting Link daily and hanging out a few times a week. He was so much fun to be around and she loved spending time with him.

Practices and games were a little awkward with Samus at first, after Ike had revealed that he still had feelings for Zelda and Zelda felt the same during the Halloween party, but she kept her distance and so did Ike. Though she still saw them at lunch and in the halls, neither made an effort to say anything to her. Was this whole debacle finally over?

It was the Tuesday before Thanks Giving, the last day they had to go to school for that week before they got the much needed break. With some of the college courses she took for her senior year and all the drama in her life, Zelda was exhausted with this semester already. It would be nice to get some extra days off that weren't thanks to a concussion or suspension.

The final bell of the day rang, much to Zelda's relief. She chattered with a couple of her friends at her locker as she loaded her stuff up into her backpack. They all planned to do something fun this weekend together and wished each other a happy, food-filled Thanks Giving. They parted their ways in the parking lot, each heading to their individual cars.

Once she got home, she completed the few assignments that she had and then plopped down on her bed in relief. Now she would have the entire break just to relax, hang out with her friends, and hopefully actually spend some real quality time with her parents over the holiday. Thanks Giving was always up in the air at the Gaepora house, what with her dad being constantly on call for emergency surgeries at the hospital and her mother relentlessly traveling to meet with other designers or members of her team and conduct whatever business deals that always seemed to be so important.

She found herself dozing off with thoughts of delicious mashed potatoes drowned in gravy, warm, buttery rolls, and pumpkin pie topped with sweet whipped cream.

She awoke with a grumbling stomach and the smell of food in the air. Wait, was someone actually cooking? She immediately shot up out of bed and ran downstairs.

"Mom!" She yelled gleefully as she spotted her standing in the kitchen. "You're home!"

"Zelda!" Her mother replied warmly, pulling her daughter into a hug. "It's been much too long, darling."

Zelda's looks took strongly after her mother's. They shared the same long, straight, blonde hair, big, blue eyes, and slender figures. Her mom looked like she could be Zelda's older sister, though some of her youthful appearance could be credited to her plastic surgeon.

"Ah, my two beautiful girls." Zelda's dad said contently, setting his wallet and keys on the counter as he entered the open kitchen.

"Dad?! You're home too?" Zelda whipped around in bewilderment. It was very rare for both her parents to be home in time for dinner. She ran over and gave her father a hug as well.

"Of course, I wouldn't want to miss your mother cooking dinner for once." He joked, earning a sarcastic glare from his wife.

"I'm just kidding of course, honey." He added quickly after, walking over and giving her a quick peck.

"You better be or you'll be going to bed hungry tonight!" She retorted, though a grin tugged on her gloss plastered lips.

Zelda was still shocked to have her parents home so early. They usually managed to be present on most holidays, but Thanks Giving was still a couple days away. It was almost too good to be true.

"Zelda, will you set the table dear? Dinner is almost ready." Her mother requested politely.

"Sure," Zelda chirped happily.

She set out three place mats, plates, napkins with forks on top, and glasses filled with ice water from the refrigerator's dispenser on one end of their large, black dining table in the formal dining room. She then returned to the kitchen where she helped make the salad and then brought the food out to the dining room.

Her mom had prepared a lasagna, salad, and some garlic bread. Zelda couldn't wait to dive in to the delicious and rare home cooked meal.

"So," she began once they had all sat down and started eating. "I'm surprised you guys are home so early. I was expecting tomorrow night or even maybe Thanks Giving morning."

Her mother and father exchanged a quick glance. "Actually, about that, sweetheart." Her father stated, looking over to his daughter. Her stomach dropped immediately. "Your mother has an important meeting in New York on Thursday and I have two major surgeries scheduled. I'm afraid we're going to have to miss this year."

Zelda honestly wasn't all that surprised, but she still felt a pang of hurt. Of course they wouldn't be here, why would they? She really needed to stop getting her hopes up with them.

"Ah, of course. How could I assume my parents would actually be around for once? So silly of me." She told them bitterly.

"Now, Zel. Don't be upset. I'm sure Peach's family wouldn't mind having you over again this year?" Her mother said calmly. Suddenly her sweet voice irritated Zelda more than anything else. Leave it to her fake ass mother to act like there's nothing even wrong.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll be fine." Zelda grumbled, really not even having the energy to keep up a conversation with them at this point.

"And look at the bright side, we're having a nice family dinner tonight. That counts for something, doesn't it Zel?" Her father added, sounding almost as sickeningly chipper as her mother.

Zelda just shrugged, focusing on the food on her plate. Throughout the rest of the dinner her parents attempted conversation with her, but she only offered short, dry responses in return. She didn't care if she was being rude, she honestly felt like they deserved it at this point. Would there ever be a time when they cared about anything more than their jobs? Maybe after retirement.

As soon as she finished the meal, she muttered an excuse and rose from the table. She quickly grabbed her dishes, rinsed them off in the sink and placed them in the dishwasher so her parents would have no excuse to call her back to the table. She ran up to her room, slamming her door closed behind her.

She sent Link a quick text, asking if he wanted to call right now rather than later tonight like they had originally planned. A few minutes later, her phone began to buzz and Link's name popped up on the screen.

"Hey," she said, answering the call.

"Hey!" Link replied happily. "How did dinner go with your parents?"

"Turns out there was an alternate motive behind it." She recounted, unable to hide the bitter twinge in her voice. "I'm not sure why I'm surprised."

"What do you mean?" Link asked worriedly.

"Let's just say it'll just be me, myself, and I this Thanks Giving." She sighed.

"Ah..." Link replied after a brief pause, figuring out what she meant. "I'm sorry Zel, that really sucks." He added sincerely.

"It's okay, I'm pretty used to it. Like I said, I don't know why it surprises me anymore."

"You know, you could always come over to my house for Thanks Giving?" He asked hopefully.

A smile crept onto Zelda's face. "Are you sure? I wouldn't want to intrude on your family."

"No intrusion at all! My little sister and grandma have been dying to meet you. Besides, my grandma is a really good cook. Trust me!" He assured her happily.

"Wait, your grandma and sister know about me?" She asked, butterflies erupting in her stomach.

"Of course they do," he said. "I talk about you all the time..." he added, much more quietly. Zelda could almost picture his face turning pink and him rubbing his neck sheepishly as he always does.

"Alright...you've got a deal." She agreed finally.

"It's a date then!" Link exclaimed gleefully.

The conversation moved on to something else and they ended up talking for a couple hours before she finally insisted that she should probably go. Their conversations often wandered to this and that seamlessly and hours always felt like minutes when she was talking with him.

~*~

It was Thursday afternoon and Thanks Giving. Zelda pulled up to the quaint brown house. It was about a ten minute drive from her house in a cute neighborhood full of small houses with large yards. Many even had horses, goats, chickens, or other farm animals roaming on their fenced-in properties. It was kind of strange she had been close with Link for about two months now and she hadn't ever been to his house. She wondered if he was embarrassed by it since it was so much smaller than hers, but it was absolutely adorable!

Link walked out to greet her as she got out of her car. "Hey!" She called, slamming her passenger side door closed with one hand, holding the plate of chocolate chip cookies she had grabbed from the seat in the other.

"Hey!" He greeted. "Here, I can take those." She passed the plate of cookies over to him, muttering a thanks.

"So are you excited to eat possibly the best Thanks Giving dinner you've ever had?" He asked with his signature smirk.

"A little nervous actually." She admitted.

"What for?"

"Just to meet your family, I guess. I hope they like me." She answered quietly.

"Zelda," he said, placing a hand on her arm to stop her from walking. "They're going to absolutely love you. I promise."

She matched his reassuring smile and they continued onward, up the few porch steps and into the house.

It literally reminded her of a cottage. The interior was packed with worn furniture and all sorts of trinkets either hanging on the walls or filling every table. It was cluttered, but so cozy and homey, just as she imagined any grandmother's house would be. The front door opened into a small entry way with a living area on the left, a staircase on the right, and the kitchen through a doorway straight ahead.

A short elderly woman with gray hair pulled into a tight bun rushed through the doorway at the sound of the front door. "You must be Zelda!" She greeted the blonde ecstatically.

"Hello," Zelda greeted warmly. She made a move to stretch out her hand for a handshake, but she was engulfed in the small woman's frail arms before she could hardly straighten her arm. She hugged his grandmother back slightly hesitantly and awkwardly-- she was not expecting that.

Link gave her an apologetic look from behind his grandmother's back, but Zelda just smiled. It was sweet really.

"My name's Eleanor, but you can just call me grandma if you'd like." She told Zelda, pulling back so she could look up into her eyes.

"Nice to meet you, Eleanor." Zelda said nicely. She felt weird calling someone grandma who a) she just barely met and b) was not her grandma.

"Come, come darling." Eleanor rambled happily as she led the way back into the kitchen. Link squeezed Zelda's plate of cookies onto the small round table nestled in front of the sliding back door of the tight room. The table was already set and full of so much food. There was such an abundance that several dishes were set on the counter because they couldn't possibly fit.

"Link, go fetch Aryll will you? She's out back feeding Epona." Eleanor instructed the boy as she moved rolls from a pan and into a basket for the overflowing table.

Link nodded obediently, disappearing out the back door. He returned moments later with a young blonde girl. She looked to be around eleven or twelve with cute little braids and electric blue eyes that matched Link's.

"Hi!" She said sweetly when she spotted Zelda.

"Hey, Aryll!" Zelda replied with a warm smile.

"Wow. You really are pretty." The young girl observed in awe.

"Awe, thank you. You're quite the stunning young lady yourself." Zelda replied, her smile growing.

"Let's eat!" Their grandmother chirped, finally taking a seat at the table. The other three sat down soon after. They all held hands as Eleanor said grace over the food. "And bless our food in the name of Hylia," she finished.

They began to fill their plates with turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans, stuffing, yams, rolls, and more. The options felt practically endless. Zelda had to get tiny portions because she wanted to try everything. It all looked and smelled incredible.

"Mmm," she hummed after taking her first bite. "This is amazing, Eleanor."

"I told you it would be the best Thanks Giving you ever had." Link reminded her cheekily. She immediately nodded in agreement.

"Why thank you, Zelda. That's very kind." Eleanor said, clearly looking very pleased.

"So your name's Zelda just like the princess in the movie Hero of Hyrule!" Aryll spoke up.

"Yeah, I love that movie." Zelda replied. "I actually dressed up as Princess Zelda for Halloween a couple of weeks ago and Link dressed up as the hero."

Aryll looked over to her brother smirking. "Of course he'd wear a matching costume because he lov-"

"Aryll!" Link interrupted loudly.

"Link, please don't shout and Aryll don't antagonize your brother." Eleanor chastized the two. Aryll smiled over at him smugly as he rolled his eyes in annoyance. Zelda couldn't help but crack a grin at the small quarrel. She often wished she had a sibling, even a younger, obnoxious one.

Eleanor changed the conversation over to Zelda, asking her about school, her hobbies, and all that generic get-to-know-you type stuff. Zelda also asked some questions, finding out that Aryll played soccer, was in fact 12, and super artistic. It was evident that the grandmother was very proud of her two only grandchildren. From the sounds of it they didn't have any other family.

After dinner, everyone helped clear the plates and some of the dishes. They decided to take some time to digest before diving into the two homemade pies Eleanor had made, one apple and one pumpkin, and the cookies Zelda had made.

"C'mon, I want you to meet my favorite family member." Link told Zelda, grabbing her hand and leading her through the sliding door and into the back yard. It was super spacious with a cute garden off to the left, a fire pit surrounded by lawn chairs off to the right, and a huge fenced in area on the field straight ahead. A small structure, similar to a mini barn was in the corner of the fenced in area.

Link put his hands over his mouth and made the most beautiful, unique whistle Zelda had ever heard. It was more like a short song than a whistle. Immediately a reddish brown mare trotted out from the structure in the corner and came up to the edge of the fence, whinnying happily.

"Zelda, this is Epona." Link introduced, nuzzling the mare's nose affectionately.

"Link... she's gorgeous." Zelda breathed. She slowly reached up a hand toward Epona's nose. The mare seemed to grow impatient by Zelda's cautious pace and thrusted her snout forward, closing the gap between her and Zelda's hand.

"Wow, she really likes you already." Link observed, obviously impressed. Zelda stroked Epona's nose gently, smiling.

"I always wanted a horse, but we wouldn't have enough time to give he or she the proper attention they deserve." She told him sadly.

Link nodded his head. "I take care of Epona primarily, but if I'm ever not around for whatever reason, my grandma and Aryll know how to do everything too. She was my mother's horse...so she's very special to us."

Zelda nodded solemnly, looking over to see Link's pained face, though he tried to hide his emotions. "I'm sorry, Link."

"Ah, no worries. We're just lucky to have the spunky gal in our life. Isn't that right Epona?" He said the last part in a silly voice, like he was talking to a baby. The smart mare whinnied in response, throwing her head back in what almost appeared to be a nod.

Zelda laughed in amazement. "She's so smart!"

"Oh, she's definitely the smartest in the family." Link joked, throwing Zelda one of his cute winks.

The two stood in silence for a couple moments, each admiring the beautiful horse before them, taking turns stroking her nose and seeming lost in their own individual thoughts.

"You know, Link." Zelda started, turning to face the shaggy haired boy.

"Yeah?" He responded, looking over to her as well.

"I'm really happy you invited me over today. It means a lot."

"Of course, anytime." He said warmly. "I love having you here."

"I love being here." She replied softly.

"Oh yeah? Link's casa treating you well?" He inquired with his cheeky grin.

"Well yes...but I more meant..." She trailed off, suddenly growing embarrassed. "Nevermind."

"What? Now you have to tell me." He demanded with wide eyes. She shook her head, her face growing pinker by the minute. "C'mon, please?" He begged.

"I love being here with you. Wherever we are as long as I'm with you." She finished.

Link looked taken aback for a moment and then a blush deeper than her's crept onto his cheeks and his hand shot up to rub the back of his neck, just as he always did.

"I don't want to be too forward, but I've liked you from practically the first night we met and every time we hang out my feelings just grow stronger and stronger and now it's been like two months so I'm almost to the point where I just can't take it anymore. I--" Link rambled quickly.

"Wait, what're you saying?" Zelda interrupted, lost in his jumbled speech.

He finally looked up from the ground he had been staring at sheepishly and met her gaze with those powerful eyes. "Would you...maybe wanna be my girlfriend?" He spurted out finally after a long pause.

"I...yes. Yes I would like that very much actually." She said grinning broadly. Link's cheeky grin overcame his own features. He placed a hand on her cheek and leaned in, kissing her softly. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her body against his and deepening the kiss. It was just as magical as the first one, if not more so. It was as if butterflies and sparks were erupting and her lips were tingling and everything felt so warm and safe. Nothing had ever felt more right in her entire life.

"Ooooh!" A small voice cooed in the distance. Link and Zelda pulled away immediately and turned to see Aryll standing a few feet into the yard, that smug smirk encasing her lips.

"Aryll! Are you spying on us?!" Link demanded hotly.

"Grandma sent me to fetch you guys for dessert. Not my fault your mackin in the backyard." Aryll defended herself.

Link rolled his eyes in frustration. "Ugh, I'm going to kill you." He muttered practically under his breath. Zelda giggled, though she was slightly embarrassed that the twelve year old had witnessed their intimate moment, it was amusing to see Link get all flustered.

They headed for the house, Link threatening Aryll with several different punishments if she even dared hinting about this in front of their grandma and Aryll negotiating what she would get in return the entire short distance.