I LIVE! This is a little something inspired by my quick stint slanging fragrances and cosmetics. On a military base. Surrounded by sculpted muscly tattooed men.

I do not own The Legend of Zelda.

Eau so Fresh
SirJoshizzle

"And there you go!"

Zelda Harkinian tore the receipt from the printer and, grabbing an uncapped highlighter, circled a paragraph near the bottom of the receipt and laid it on the countertop facing her customer, an elderly black haired woman.

"Please be sure to complete our customer service survey on the website listed here," Zelda started, "and you'll have a chance of winning a 50 rupee gift card with us." She stuffed the receipt into the shopping bag before handing it to the woman by the handles. "You have a good evening, ma'am!"

"Thank you, sweetheart," the elderly woman smiled through her wrinkles as she frailly took the shopping bag and placed it into her shopping cart. Zelda nodded back with an equally bright smile as the woman slowly began to wheel the cart away from the counter.

"Thank you, ma'am, good night." Zelda greeted her again as she logged out of her account on the register. She walked away from the check stand and casually towards one of the make up counters in her department.

"How much longer until closing?" Zelda groaned, combing her fingers through her long blonde hair. Telma, one of department's make up artists, looked up from where she was cleaning her foundation and contour brushes and laughed at question.

"Got forty minutes, babe," Telma replied in a sing-song tone. She was an older woman, maybe somewhere in her early to mid-forties. She wore her long dark brown hair tied back and in clean corn row braids, and her make up was equally sharp. She straightened the white blazer she wore over her simple black dress, not bothering to button it up because her ample bust would barely allow it.

Zelda sighed at that; not the response she was looking for.

Business that day in the cosmetics department at Malo's Department Store had been ungodly slow; she'd actually jump at the sight of a customer walking into the area, just so she would have someone to talk to. Zelda actually wished it had been busier; at least that way it'd justify her being at work on a school night, but as a university student, she had readings to do and outlines to type. On the other hand, at that point she was pretty much getting paid to stand. Easy enough work, she supposed.

She scanned the sales floor: not a single customer in sight. The other make up artists were all at their respective counters. Some were recording their sales for the day in their log books; others were looking into their pedestal mirrors to touch up their own make up or do each other's faces. Slow as it was, Zelda couldn't really complain about the work. She got free makeovers and facials from the various brands' beauty advisors, and could use the store's perfume and make up testers instead of using her own at home.

"Well, this register's closed," Zelda heard a voice from behind her say. She glanced over her shoulder to see her coworker Malon Ranche clipping stacks of cash and receipt copies together. "We can get by on one register tonight, you think?"

Zelda chuckled and dramatically raised her arms in and looking around her, referencing the fact that the only people on the floor were the store's associates. "You might as well have closed my register too."

Malon feigned a moment of thought before shrugging. "Mm… Nah. Too much work. You can do that."

Zelda rolled her eyes with a smile as she watched Malon stuff the money into a pouch and zip it closed.

"I'm gonna take this upstairs and take my last break, yeah?" Malon told Zelda as she held the money pouch up. She didn't wait for a response, though; she just shut the register drawer closed with her hip and turned to walk away. "Wait," she stopped and looked back at her. "You took your last break already, right Zel?"

Zelda nodded, and Malon continued on her way.

"Enjoy!" Zelda called out as she watched the redhead rounded a corner and make for the escalator.

"So, Miss Zelda," Telma started. Zelda turned her attention back to the older woman, taking the hair tie she wore on her wrist and began tying her locks back into a ponytail. "Ya got any plans for the rest o'the night?"

The blonde just shrugged her shoulders, swinging her arms back and forth. "Study. I have midterms in two weeks." She walked over to the wall of fragrances and started organizing the perfume boxes, front facing and straightening them out so that they stood right on the front ledge of the shelves.

"Sounds like one eventful evenin'," Telma laughed. She pulled open one of the drawers on her counter's display fixtures and scanned her brand's assortment of mascaras.

"How about you, auntie?" Zelda asked back as she continued front facing. She watched from the corner of her eye Telma tap a manicured fingernail to her lips in thought before choosing an appropriate mascara. Opening the tube with one hand, the brunette took one of her clean tester wands with another to dip into the bottle.

"I got me a date," Telma replied in an excited voice. She pulled a pedestal mirror towards her and batted her long lashes before applying the thick jet black product. "Nine o'clock sharp!"

The blonde giggled at that, cocking an eyebrow. "Isn't nine a little late for a Tuesday night?"

Telma looked up from her magnified reflection in the mirror and stared at her pointedly, shaking the wand in her direction. "When you get to my age, sweetie, you take what you can get." And with that, she continued applying mascara.

Zelda just chuckled to herself in response before discreetly pulling her phone out of her back pocket to check the time, glancing around her to make sure a manager wasn't nearby. 8:30 PM, half an hour to closing. Honestly, she didn't know why they stayed open on slow nights like this. At that point, the store was probably spending more on payroll than it was making on a dead Tuesday night.

And just when she thought no one was around…

She saw from the corner of her eye a figure slowly walk in her direction. She slowly stood up from her crouching position to reach the bottom shelves and put on her customer service face and readied her matching tone of voice. "Hello!"

The figure looked up from scanning the endless wall of fragrances to make eye contact with her, and he smiled softly. "Hi."

It was a man maybe in his mid-twenties, no more than a year or two older than Zelda was. His dark blond hair was medium length, his fringes brushed to the side and the back tied into a low ponytail. Most notably about him was his clothing: he wore a blue camouflage uniform, tailored perfectly to his tall frame. The blue suggested he was in the Hylian Royal Navy; Zelda was able to confirm as much when she saw the patch embroidered "H.R. Navy" over his heart. He wasn't overly muscular, but his broad chest and strong forearms exposed from his rolled up sleeves suggested a decent grade of fitness. Perhaps more suited for swimming or cardio more than straight weight training.

"How are you this evening, sir?" Zelda asked as she took a step toward with her hands clasped behind her back. His eyes were a striking cobalt blue, popping even more in contrast to his healthily light bronzed skin, no doubt from days working in the sun.

"Ah not bad, not bad," he nodded, his voice deep and firm. "How about you?"

"I'm well, thank you," she replied politely. She watched him scan the perfume boxes and tester bottles before them, and she couldn't help but chuckle inwardly: he was obviously intimidated by the number of brands and fragrances they carried. "Is there anything I can help you find tonight?"

The question snapped him out of thought, and he laughed nervously as he flashed a lopsided grin. "Oh, uh, no, just browsing for now. But thank you, miss." He held his cap by the bill in his left hand and flapped it against the palm of his right.

"All right," she nodded. "Well I'll be around, just let me know if you have any questions or if there's something I can help you find." She drummed her fingernails on the glass top of a display table behind her. "There are blotter cards in a basket here for you to spray any of the fragrances on."

His eyes followed her hand, and they fell on a small basket of cards with various perfume brands and names printed on them.

"Oh nice." He leaned forward to take a couple in his right hand.

"Take your time," she smiled before walking away back to Telma, who shot her a knowing smirk.

"Ain't he a cutie," the older woman said to her in a low voice after puckering her lips to spread the ruby red lipstick she had just applied. Zelda just rolled her eyes and shook her head with a smile.

"Whatever, auntie," the blonde giggled. Telma was right though; the man was rather handsome. Zelda stared at the man's left forearm, covered in an elaborate tattoo sleeve. A tall, attractive and tatted up sailor? It was as if the goddesses were so annoyed with Zelda's internal complaining about how much she didn't want to be at work they took everything she found attractive in a man and had one walk straight into her department just to shut her up.

"Hmm…" Telma leaned her elbow against the countertop, resting her chin on her knuckle. "No ring," referencing the lack of a wedding ring on his left ring finger.

Zelda just rolled her eyes, although she couldn't help but take the same mental note.

"Just because he doesn't have a ring doesn't mean he's single," the blonde stated bluntly. "He's looking at women's perfume; he's probably shopping for his girlfriend or something."

The two women watched him, his back turned to them. He tossed a saturated blotter card into a nearby trash can, shaking his head and his nose twisting in disgust at whatever it was he had just smelled. A tester bottle at the bottom shelf seemed to catch his eye, and he lowered down into a squat to pick it up and examine it.

"…Wow…" Telma's sharp eyebrows went up, watching his butt stick out, the shape of it clearly defined despite the bagginess of his pants. Even Zelda couldn't help but look.

Yeah, the goddesses were definitely tired of her complaining.

Usually the closer to closing customers came in, the more it annoyed Zelda. Her personal rule of thumb was that at whatever time a store said they closed, they actually closed half an hour before that; and the only people who didn't observe that rule were people who have never worked in retail themselves. But for a customer as… well, sexy, as this man was…

She watched the man reach behind him to scratch his back, and she couldn't help but notice his tattooed bicep flexing through his rolled up sleeve.

Oh yeah, she could make an exception.

Zelda had left the gentleman alone for a few minutes to help a teenage girl asking for help finding an eyeshadow palette at another counter. When she came back, though, he was still at the fragrance wall, looking just as lost as he looked when she first greeted him. Telma had already gone home; she was only scheduled until 8:30; she had only stayed around long enough to finish doing her make up. Malon wasn't around either; Zelda supposed she was still on her break.

She slowly approached him, and he noticed her presence behind him. The man set the blotter card he had been sniffing on the shelf and turned to her.

"Are you still doing okay, sir?" She asked. He nodded in reply with another lopsided smile.

"Oh, yeah… Actually, do you have, like, those, um…" He trailed off and paused for a second, trying to find the words. "Coffee beans?" He chuckled once he got them out.

"Oh, no we don't," Zelda answered apologetically. "I'm sorry, sir. We're not allowed to have them because they're a safety hazard."

His brow went up a little at that. "Really? I wouldn't have thought."

"Yeah," she shrugged. "But I suppose they could fall on the ground, and you know kids… That's what I was told, at least."

"Ah…" He nodded slowly. He crinkled his nose with a small laugh. "They're all starting to smell the same."

She couldn't help but laugh as well. She noticed a few stray used blotter cards on the rows of boxes in front of her and started picking them up. "Oh yeah, that tends to happen." She watched him throw away the strips of paper in his hand and dust his palms off on his pants. "…But what also works is smelling your own clothing."

He tilted his head at that and hesitantly pulled the lapel of his button up, glancing to her before pressing his nostrils against the fabric and taking a deep inhale. "…Oh, that actually worked a little."

Zelda chuckled, tucking some of her fringes behind her ear. "Yeah, most people don't seem to know about that… Did any of the fragrances catch your interest so far?"

The man shrugged indifferently. "Not really… It's a birthday gift for my mom… Belated, I mean. Her birthday was last month but I didn't come home for deployment until two weeks ago."

Ah, so he wasn't shopping for a girlfriend, Zelda thought to herself. Still, that doesn't mean he's single. That doesn't mean he's single, Zelda!

"I see," she nodded slowly. "And welcome home, by the way." He smiled thankfully at that. "Do you know what she owns at home, if I may ask?"

He chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his head. "Honestly, no…" He gave her a sheepish grin. "She already has so many perfumes, and I don't really know about any of this… Maybe this wasn't the best idea for a gift."

Zelda couldn't help but take sympathy on the guy, giggling at his dilemma. She couldn't really blame him for being so overwhelmed, though; who could expect a straight guy to know anything about this kind of stuff?

"Hmm…" She hummed in thought, eyeing the fragrance wall. "Do you at least have an idea of what she might like?"

His eyes shifted back and forth at the question and he furrowed his brow in thought. Shifting his weight on one leg, he crossed his arms over his chest. "…Well, whenever I'm around her, she smells… floral, I guess? Like a light kind of floral. It's never anything too strong."

Zelda nodded her head slowly as she listened to his description. It was a start, she supposed. She took a few steps along the wall of women's perfumes, trying to find one that seemed suitable. Light and floral, he said?

A light blue flacon caught her eye. She grabbed a stray blotter card on the shelf and, first sniffing it quickly to see if it had been used and confirming it was clean, picked up the bottle and sprayed the end of the thin strip of paper twice.

"Try this one for me, sir," she said to the man as she waved the paper delicately to let the wet end dry.

He took the strip between his index finger and thumb, silently thanking her with a nod of his head. Pulling his shoulder towards his nose to sniff his top first, he held the paper up and inhaled softly. His eyes widened a bit at the scent. "Oh, wow."

It was a soft but fragrant aroma, mixing notes of blooming spring flowers and summer fruit: rain kissed jasmine and sun ripened peach. Their essences danced around the distinct scent of red roses to create an aroma that evoked the feeling of standing in a breezy rose field in the Hylian countryside. It was light and feminine, yet universal in its appeal in terms of age; like a high school teenager and a mature woman could wear it and it'd be almost like a second skin.

"What do you think?" She asked, although judging by his reaction he seemed to more than approve.

"That's really nice…" He replied softly, waving the blotter strip in front of his nostril. "What is that?"

"It's called Nayru's Love." Zelda showed him the front of the bottle. It was shaped like a narrow four sided diamond that was twice as taller than it was wide, almost as tall as the palm of her hand. The bottom was flat so that it could stand on its own, and around the base of the bottle the glass was shaped like soft waves that gave the appearance of the diamond emerging from the ocean. The base was a frosted ice blue, which transitioned into a clear glass towards the top. Surrounding the bottle were rounded ridges that looked like soft winds eroding at the surface, numerous at the base but fading out at they swirled upwards towards the spray head.

"Does it smell like something she'd like?" Zelda asked again as she set the bottle back on the shelf.

"Oh yeah," he nodded with a cocked brow. "I've never seen that bottle before either, so I'm sure she doesn't own it."

"Own it yet, maybe?" She quipped, and he couldn't help a joking laugh in response.

"How much is it?"

She glanced to the row of the Nayru's Love's boxes on the wall, and picked up the largest size and scanned it for the price sticker on the side. "The biggest size we have is 125 milliliters, which is the size of the tester… And it is 85 rupees." She showed him the tall rectangular packaging, which featured an outline of the bottle with a silhouette of a woman dancing elegantly in the middle of it.

The man leaned his head to the side, showing a bit of uncertainty at the rather steep price. "…Does it come in a smaller size?"

Zelda nodded and tapped her fingernail on top of the row of boxes the next size down. "It also comes in 60 mil, which is 60 rupees."

"But I mean," she added quickly. "The larger bottle holds twice as much liquid, but it's only, what, 25 rupees more?" She shrugged with a matter-of-factness. "So 85 sounds like a lot up front but you'd be getting more for your money if you think about the price per mil."

The man just burst into jovial laugh at that, flashing his straight white teeth. "I guess it is, isn't it? You're driving a hard bargain here."

Zelda grinned back knowingly. "So the large one it is?"

He just cocked a thick eyebrow and shook his head, but they both knew it actually meant a nod. "Yeah, why not? My mom's worth it."

"Sounds good," she chuckled, and right then the store's speaker system beeped and a male voice boomed over the intercom.

"Attention shoppers, the time is now 8:45 PM and your finest Malo's Department Store will be closing in 15 minutes."

"And right on time," she added and pointed to her register. "I'll ring you up over there, sir."

She walked over behind her counter as he followed, reaching into his back pocket for his wallet.

"Sorry for taking so long, by the way," he apologized with embarrassment. "I know you guys are trying to close and everything."

"Oh, no!" She quipped hastily. "It's really slow tonight, anyway." She tapped her fingernail against the computer monitor to wake it up and quickly typed in her login information.

Yeah, and she had all that to stare at. Definitely not bad at all.

"Will it be cash or card tonight, sir?" She asked him as she picked up the scanner and held it against the barcode on the box. He showed her the debit card he held between his index and middle fingers.

"Card, miss."

Zelda nodded in response and got a paper bag from under the register. "Okay, it'll prompt you when to swipe."

She opened one of the cabinets under the counter and rummaged through all the gift with purchases they had in stock. Just as she found what she was looking for, she heard the machine chime, signaling that he had swiped his card.

"And for buying the largest size of the perfume, sir," she started. The man looked up from signing his signature with the stylus on the touch screen. "It also comes with this gift box and cosmetic bag for free."

"Oh, damn!" He blurted out in surprise, pressing the stylus on "OK" to confirm the transaction. "Nice, thank you!"

"My pleasure, sir," she smiled as she wrapped the perfume box and bag in sheer tissue paper neatly in the gift box and closed it. The printer shot out a long receipt, and Zelda grabbed her highlighter and circled the same paragraph from earlier. "And if you complete the customer service survey listed here, you have a chance of winning a 50 rupee gift card with us."

"Thank you very much for everything," the man beamed brightly as he took the receipt and folded it up. His eyes fell on her name tag: ZELDA HARKINIAN. "…Miss Harkinian."

"No problem," she returned the same friendly smile. "And Zelda is fine." She noticed his last name embroidered over his chest on the right side of his button up: AVALON.

"…Mr. Avalon," she finished. The printed shot out a much shorter piece of paper, which she took and stuffed it into the bag. "And I printed out a gift receipt for you, just in case."

"Thank you," he nodded again. "…And Link is fine."

She raised her eyebrow at his last comment. "I'm sorry?"

"My name is Link," he clarified.

"O-oh," she chuckled. Link, huh? That was nice, fitting name. "Then, it was my pleasure Link." She took the paper bag by its rounded handles and presented it to him. "Was there anything else I could get for you tonight?"

Link took the bag with one hand and laughed nervously at the question. "Ah, yeah, actually… I'm really sorry, but I was just… I was just wondering if you were, um… If you were single."

Zelda's breath hitched in her throat, suddenly speechless. Whoa, where did that one come from!? She had to fight the urge to laugh at the question—not because she was somehow offended or repulsed by it. Oh goddesses, no! But more of because it was just almost too good to be true.

"I-if I'm single?" She couldn't help but stammer the words out. Link just shrugged and shook his head.

"Wow, that was really rude, wasn't it?" He asked aloud with a hint of regretfulness, although it seemed the question was aimed more toward himself than it was to her. "I-I'm sorry, I shouldn't have. If you're already taken, or uninterested, then I completely understand—"

No-no-no-no-no-no-no-no-no I'm interested, I'm interested! …Is what she wanted to say.

"Oh no, it's not that," she laughed anxiously. Her eyes darted around with what she could only imagine was the stupidest grin, trying to find the right words to say. "I-I mean… I mean no I'm not… I mean I'm not single. Wait—I mean, I am single!"

He cocked an amused brow at her flustered reaction. "…So you are single?"

"Yeah!" She blurted out goofily. Oh wow, real smooth, Zelda. "Yeah—yeah, I am."

"Oh…" He scratched the back of his head again. "Um… Perfect!" He chuckled nervously for what seemed to him like the 50th time that night. "In that case… I was, ah, wondering if I could, um… If I could possibly get your number? …Maybe we could text and go out some time."

Goddesses, was this real? She eyed him for a second, and he had the most earnest smile that she could see even through just his eyes. The real question was why was this man even single at all?

She opened the drawer under the register for a sticky note and pen. "…Sure, why not?" She wrote her name and cell phone number on the small yellow sheet and handed it to him. He grinned from ear to ear, like a kid walking into a theme park for the first time and slipped the note into his wallet.

"Great!" He laughed as he extended his forearm out for a handshake. Zelda glanced at his hand before taking it, and he clasped her palm in his firmly. She couldn't help but think to herself, wow were his hands surprisingly soft.

"I'll, uh… talk to you later then," he said. She nodded her head in reply, smiling back at him.

"Sounds good."

Just then, the voice on the intercom spoke up again.

"Attention shoppers, the time is now 8:50 PM and your finest Malo's Department Store will be closing in 10 minutes."

"…Okay," Link started. "That's my cue to get out of here." He picked up the shopping bag he placed on the ground next to his feet. And with that, he gave her a small wave goodbye. "G'night, Miss Zelda."

Goddesses, he was so adorable.

"Good night, Link," Zelda smiled back. She saw him flash one last smile to someone behind her before turning around and walking away. She glanced over her shoulder to see who it was he looked at, and saw that it was Malon. She was holding a small shopping basket half-filled with various fragrances and cosmetics, each with red slips rubber banded around them.

"He was cute," Malon quipped with a smirk. She set the basket on the counter next to the blonde. "Returns from customer service. Wanna help farm them back?"

Zelda nodded quietly, picking some boxes of liquid foundation and walking them over to their respective counters. Out of the corner of her eye, however, she couldn't help but watch Link pull his cap back on his head as he walked walked through one of the automatic exit doors.

Zelda leaned against the wall as she absent-mindedly watched the time on the clock-in machine. 10:53 AM, seven more minutes until she had to clock in for the day.

Two days had passed since she met Link, but she hadn't gotten any call or text from him. Not that she was holding her breath over a call or text or anything.

She pulled her cell phone out of the see-though plastic pouch she kept her personal belongings in to take to the sales floor. She pressed the wake button to check the lock screen—no missed calls or unread text messages.

…Okay, so maybe she kind of was.

Still, she knew better than to put her entire life on hold for some boy. Especially one as good looking as Link. That nervous front he put up was probably just some trick he always used to pick up girls he thought was cute and leave them bending over backwards waiting for his call. She was mentally kicking herself for not getting his phone number in return; at least that way it would have been somewhat even.

"Hey, Miss Zelda!" She heard Telma's voice from around the corner.

Zelda followed the source of the older woman's voice and poked her head from around the wall, and saw Telma looking at one of the many bulletin boards in the employee break area. Telma made eye contact with her and pointed at the board. "You got a comment card!"

The blonde cocked an eyebrow and she stepped over to stand next to Telma and followed where her finger was pointing. On the bulletin board the staff recreation committee regularly updated any comments left on customer service surveys. Her brow shot up when she saw one that, sure enough, was addressed to her, and her eyes widened when she saw the name of who it was addressed by.

"Zelda in fragrances was extremely helpful, polite, and personable. She was extremely patient with me when I had no idea what I was looking for, and showed no signs of rushing me even though I was in the store near closing. Zelda provides textbook customer service—please hire more associates like her!"

-Link

Wow, he actually did that survey? Nobody did that survey!

"Good job, hun," Telma smiled warmly as she pat the younger woman on the shoulder and started for the exit to the sales floor. "I'll see you downstairs."

"Okay!" Zelda called back. She couldn't help but smile to herself at Link's comment; at least he acknowledged her enough to leave one, right?

She heard a buzzing sound come from her small tote bag, and saw her screen lit up signaling an incoming call. She furrowed her brow in slight suspicion at the caller ID: it was from a number she didn't recognize. She slowly swiped her thumb across the screen to answer it, and held the earpiece to her cheek.

"…Hello?"

"Hey… Zelda?"

She froze. That voice…

"Hey… It's Link."

"O-Oh, um… Hi," she stuttered out, not quite sure what to say. Wow, was this even real?

"I'm really sorry I didn't contact you yesterday," he started in that familiar booming tenor. "I had a 12 hour shift on my ship and forgot my phone in my barracks… I passed out at soon as I got home last night." He finished with a nervous laugh.

Even over the phone, Zelda could picture what he probably looked like as he said that: weight shifted on one leg, scratching the back of his head with his free hand and that goofy boyish grin on his face, probably.

"Oh, no," Zelda quickly replied, shaking her head. "No, don't worry about it. I was in class most of the day yesterday anyway."

"Yeah? Where do you go? I-if you don't mind me asking, I mean."

"U.H." The more common abbreviated name for the University of Hyrule,

"Nice," he chuckled, but his nervousness was evident. "…So I'm on my lunch break right now… Maybe if you had a couple minutes, we could talk? If you want, that is… I-I didn't catch you at bad time, did I? Wow, maybe I should have texted…"

She couldn't help but giggle at him. He must have not known just how endearing he came off.

"You're fine," she assured him through her laugh. "I mean, I'm actually about to clock in for work."

"Oh, I'm sorry… Maybe I should let you go then?"

Zelda glanced over to the punch in machine. 10:55 AM. A smile crept on her lips.

"I have five minutes."

Not quite TGS chapter 12, but hopefully it was nice quick tide over. And a sign that after 12 years, I am actually quite still alive and writing.

Comments and constructive criticism are of course always welcome, and you'll have a chance of winning a 50 rupee gift card with us. No, not really. But wouldn't that be something?

Enjoy Life and Smile.