It had been four days since that conversation in the elevator.

Four days. And of course, when Zelda saw Link the morning after, waiting for her in the apartment building lobby, he acted as if, well, the confrontation hadn't even happened to begin with.

Not that she honestly expected any differently; leave it to Link to make a moment awkward and just move along in his woe-is-me life of a reluctant heir to a family fortune. What a hard existence that must be.

To tell the truth, though, Zelda breathed an inner sigh of relief when she saw him sitting at one of the benches by the entrance and all he said was his normally curt good morning. It never came up that whole day, or since for that matter. And if he wasn't going to mention it, why should she?

Zelda sat at her desk, staring at the list of interview questions she was trying to put together for one of her feature stories. She had been assigned to write a spotlight on a senior, Marin Tarin, who earlier in the semester had designed dresses for a fashion show fundraiser to benefit the Saint Hylia Children's Hospital. Zelda twirled her pencil between her fingers; "trying" was the operative word.

Four days. Zelda spent them dodging questions from other members of the staff about what position she was going to try for. "You didn't put your name in there? Why not?" "Hey, Zelda! You gonna try for chief?" "Maybe you can still slip your name in. I don't think the editors made their decisions yet!"

Nervous laugh here. Shrug of the shoulders there. "Anyway, can I see your lecture notes for Hylian lit?" Pivot, Zelda. Pivot.

Once again, for the millionth time, Link was right: it really did seem like everyone was expecting Zelda to become next year's chief. Which, quite honestly, made her begin to want it even less. How could they, really? Sure, she knew the business side to the whole newspaper, since she had been working directly with the publishing company the whole year. But she didn't know anything about the actual leadership of the whole production. Assigning responsibility, and taking responsibility; creating deadlines, and enforcing those deadlines—and doing it every month for an entire school year? Because… nine months is a long time.

She reached for her phone that laid face-down on her deck and turned it over, and the screen automatically lit up displaying the time. It was 3:48. Twelve more minutes until the end of the day.

With one more hard look over her notebook, she sighed softly and mindlessly tapped her mechanical pencil between her fingers against the paper before her. Twelve questions were enough to ask and gather enough material for a decent article, she figured. If anything, she could just come up with some follow ups on the fly when she was scheduled to meet Marin during lunch next Monday—

"Hey everyone!"

The entire classroom looked up and over to Saria as she waved a hand in the air, her eyes scanning over her computer screen.

"The Student Journalism Award nominees are up!" She exclaimed wide-eyed. She quickly input the keyboard command to print the webpage she was looking at and scrambled over to the printer as it started up with a loud whirring, printing numerous copies of the page.

"Finally," Midna drawled out, leaning back in her chair. "Time for another clean sweep, eh, Link?"

Zelda chanced a quick glance at Link, who sat at his desk at the head of the editors' table. He just watched Saria quietly, almost stone faced, with his cheek resting on his knuckles.

"Hmm," was all he muttered as his eyes followed Saria, maneuvering between the desks to the front of the class.

"Awards for what?" Colin asked. Zelda couldn't help but smile; leave it to Colin to always ask questions.

"These awards recognize high school and college newspapers all across the country," Saria explained as she pulled the podium from the side over to the middle point of the front of the white board. "And the nominees and winners are chosen by the Hylian Association of Professional Journalists, so these are like the top heads of newspapers and publishing, and all the best journalists that decide these awards! They're to student journalism like what the Picto-Box Awards for movie industry and the Golden Ocarinas are for music.

"Winning, or even just being nominated for any of these awards, is like a free pass to some of the best journalism programs in the country," she went on. "It's instant name recognition. So for anyone looking into following a journalism career, this is kind of a big deal."

"The awards cover general categories like best overall newspaper, layout, and art design," Link added. The class turned to him, as everyone always did whenever he spoke. "And they recognize individual articles and individual editorships. Editors for sections in News, Sports, Features, Opinions and Editorials, Entertainment—"

"And Editor of the Year," Midna interjected, giving the teen a pointed look. Zelda glanced over from her to him; he barely even seemed to acknowledge the comment.

"We always win every award we're nominated for," Midna added with smug, matter-of-fact tone. "We won Chief and Paper of the Year the past five years running! I dunno why they bother nominating other schools at this point."

"…So what are we nominated in?" Pipit asked Saria, ignoring Midna's quip.

"We're up for…" Saria paused to glean over the paper, and her face gradually brightened as she did. "…Newspaper of the Year… Achievement in Art and Layout… Darunia for Editing in Sports, Midna for Entertainment, Link for News… Pipit for Features, me for Opinions…" Saria couldn't help but jokingly flip her short hair, earning a couple of laughs from the staff. "…Our editorial against the proposed ban on Labrynnian refugees is nominated for Single Subject Article… and Link, for Editor of the Year."

The staff erupted in waves of congratulations to each other and pockets of discussions over the awards as Saria passed out the copies of the nominations. Zelda looked over the list of categories and nominees. Sure enough, The Gossip Stone popped up in all nine categories:

—Presented by the Hylian Association of Professional Journalists—
63rd ANNUAL STUDENT JOURNALISM AWARDS—SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL DIVISION
Ceremony held at the Grand Hylia International Hotel, Ballroom H
Central Hyrule Castle Town, Light Prefecture
Saturday June 3, 20XX 7:00 PM

HIGH SCHOOL NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR

The Lens of Truth, Central Castle Town High School, Light Prefecture
The Monthly Ordona, Ordon High School, Ordona Territory
The Sand Goddess Gazette, Gerudo Vale High School, Spirit Prefecture
The Gossip Stone, East Castle Town Preparatory Academy, Light Prefecture
The Monthly Serenade, Saint Rutela Senior High School, Peak Prefecture

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF THE YEAR

Ilia Eponine—The Lens of Truth, Central Castle Town High School, Light Prefecture
Fado Green—The Monthly Ordona, Ordon High School, Ordona Territory
Nabooru Sage—The Sand Goddess Gazette, Gerudo Vale High School, Spirit Prefecture
Link Avalon—The Gossip Stone, East Castle Town Preparatory Academy, Light Prefecture
Sidon Zorana—The Monthly Serenade, Saint Rutela Senior High School, Peak Prefecture

ACHIEVEMENT IN WRITING: SINGLE SUBJECT EDITORIAL ARTICLE

"The Justified Use of Guardian Weapons in Warfare," The Sand Goddess Gazette Editorial Staff
"The Unconstitutionality of Banning Labrynnian War Refugees," The Gossip Stone Editorial Staff
"The Efficacy of Chu Jelly Cell Research," The Lens of Truth Editorial Staff

ACHIEVEMENT IN NEWS EDITING

Fyer Falbi—The Monthly Ordona, Ordon High School, Ordona Territory
Link Avalon—The Gossip Stone, East Castle Town Preparatory Academy, Light Prefecture
Mipha Grace—The Monthly Serenade, Saint Rutela Senior High School, Peak Prefecture
Peatrice Flye—The Loftwing, Skyloft Academy, Water Prefecture
Ilia Eponine—The Lens of Truth, Central Castle Town High School, Light Prefecture

ACHIEVEMENT IN FEATURE EDITING

Piper Phoenix—The Lens of Truth, Central Castle Town High School, Light Prefecture
Hestu Korok—The Monthly Ordona, Ordon High School, Ordona Territory
Pipit Flock—The Gossip Stone, East Castle Town Preparatory Academy, Light Prefecture
Ichiro Mutoh—The Sand Goddess Gazette, Gerudo Vale High School, Spirit Prefecture
Cojiro Mutoh—The Sand Goddess Gazette, Gerudo Vale High School, Spirit Prefecture

ACHIEVEMENT IN OPINION AND EDITORIAL EDITING

Mila Mako—The Loftwing, Skyloft Academy, Water Prefecture
Nabooru Sage—The Sand Goddess Gazette, Gerudo Vale High School, Spirit Prefecture
Fado Green—The Monthly Ordona, Ordon High School, Ordona Territory
Saria Childs—The Gossip Stone, East Castle Town Preparatory Academy, Light Prefecture
Tetra Fore—The Lens of Truth, Central Castle Town High School, Light Prefecture

ACHIEVEMENT IN SPORTS EDITING

Darunia Stone—The Gossip Stone, East Castle Town Preparatory Academy, Light Prefecture
Sidon Zorana—The Monthly Serenade, Saint Rutela Senior High School, Peak Prefecture
Revali Rito—The Dragon's Breath, Mount Valoo High School, Fire Prefecture
Daruk Gonguron—The Biggoron Sword, Goron City Prefectural High School, Fire Prefecture
Urbosa Vaati—The Sand Goddess Gazette, Gerudo Vale High School, Spirit Prefecture

ACHIEVEMENT IN ENTERTAINMENT EDITING

Ralis Prince—The Monthly Serenade, Saint Rutela Senior High School, Peak Prefecture
Linebeck Jolene—The Loftwing, Skyloft Academy, Water Prefecture
Ebizo Liggs—The Biggoron Sword, Goron City Prefectural High School, Fire Prefecture
Styla Combsly—The Lens of Truth, Central Castle Town High School, Light Prefecture
Midna Darke—The Gossip Stone, East Castle Town Preparatory Academy, Light Prefecture

ACHIEVEMENT IN ART AND LAYOUT DIRECTION

The Gossip Stone, East Castle Town Preparatory Academy, Light Prefecture
The Lens of Truth, Central Castle Town High School, Light Prefecture
The Sheikah Tablet, South Kakariko High School, Shadow Prefecture
The Monthly Serenade, Saint Rutela Senior High School, Peak Prefecture
The Monthly Gale, Faron Springs Academy, Forest Prefecture

Zelda thought back to what Link said the first day they met: that every year The Stone is nominated and recognized for excellence in student journalism. She glanced over to the bookshelf by the printer, where it stood proudly adorned with trophies, plaques, and framed certificates—and photos of former staff members posing with those awards.

He really wasn't kidding.

"So the awards are in two weeks," Link announced, his deep voice cutting through the scattered conversations like a hot knife through cucco butter. "The Saturday after our final issue goes live. It's gonna be at the Hylia Hotel near Hyrule Castle. The nominees and their immediate families are invited for free, and admission for anyone else who wants to go is 10 rupees for students and 15 for your family members.

"Consider showing some support for your senior staff," Link added as he stood up. Zelda couldn't have rolled her eyes faster. Leave it to Link to blow on his own ocarina. Just because he was nominated twice—

"Saria, Darunia, Pipit, and Midna all worked their asses off this year," he spoke again, catching everyone off guard. The four editors stared at him, almost in disbelief that he was openly giving anyone that kind of praise that didn't sound at all backhanded or self-serving. "And they deserve the recognition." And with that, he unfolded his arms and clapped his hands in a soft applause. "Congrats, guys."

The room was silent, save for Link's clapping. But soon enough, the rest of the staff joined him. Zelda couldn't believe what she just heard. Did Link really just say all that? Now if that came from anyone else no one would really bat an eye at it… But Link hardly—no, he never gave that kind of praise. And honestly, it was… refreshing to hear it. A little strange, honestly, but she couldn't help but smile to herself. To see Link come from where he was in September was, well, a little incredible.

"And some applause for Link, too!" Saria exclaimed, gesturing to the dark blond haired one across the room. "He got us this far! And he's nominated twice!"

Almost immediately, Link awkwardly turned his head downward and sat back down, clearing his throat as he did so., but the staff's cheering grew louder in response. Link glanced over to Pipit and Darunia, who just laughed at his attempts to cover up his obvious embarrassment.

Soon enough, Link raised and waved his hands dismissively in an attempt to calm everyone down. "All right, that's enough! …Uh… Thanks, everyone…" He looked up at the clock. 4:06.

"Well it's already past four," he started again, clearing his throat. "We can call it a week and we'll meet back next Monday. Everyone don't forget that your guys' first drafts are due next Wednesday so don't slack off just because it's the end of the year!"

With that, the classroom quickly scrambled to put their books and notepads away. More scattered chattering of their plans for the weekend; the final projects they've been putting off and are due the coming Monday; the latest word from their college applications.

"One more thing!" Link raised his voice one more time, and again the class fell silent. "We're announcing next year's staff positions on Wednesday as well, so whoever gets picked will be working with our editors now on putting together the senior issue."

"You know," Zelda started.

The blonde walked a few steps ahead of Link and stopped in front of him. He just looked down at her, cocking a curious eyebrow back at her.

"What?" He shrugged, shrugging his left shoulder to adjust his book bag that he kept slung over to the side.

She stared at him in the eye for a second before letting loose the laugh she held back at his confused reaction. "Just… congrats. On your nominations."

He eyed her with a look that groaned, 'You're so stupid,' as he shook his head at her. "That's it?"

Zelda just rolled her eyes at that with a knowing smile. "You're welcome," she shot back in a sarcastic but playful tone. She returned to his side and they continued their lazy crawl down the sidewalk.

"Hmm… You're in a good mood," Link observed. They made eye contact for a second at that. Zelda looked up at him as her smile softened a bit before she turned back, facing forward.

"I dunno," Zelda shrugged. "I guess it's just the weekend kicking in."

She ran her fingers through her long hair, combing it backwards before her locks fell back into place. "But you know, you surprised me a bit earlier."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean giving the other editors the credit that you and I both know they deserved," Zelda responded, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "The way you congratulated them on their work the whole year… I mean that was just really nice."

Link's expression didn't change at her words, though. He reached over his shoulder to scratch the area of his back over his spine. "…Well, what can I say? They deserved it. They all really came through—"

"Your friends." Zelda cut him off, stopping again. She moved in front of him again, earning a cocked eyebrow from him.

"Your friends came through," she added. "Yeah, they're your editors. But they're also your friends, aren't they?"

Link stared at her blankly, but Zelda could tell he was thinking over what she just said. Yeah, they were friends, weren't they? Link was great at what he did at The Stone; even Zelda couldn't deny that. But even he had to admit that sometimes he took it just a little too seriously… Right?

"Yeah…" He muttered, looking down at the pavement. "I guess so."

"You guess so?" Zelda laughed softly, almost incredulously. "Link, how long have you known Pipit?"

He furrowed his brow. "I dunno… Third grade or something?"

"And Saria?"

"…First grade, I think?"

"And you've known Midna and Darunia since middle school, right?" Zelda asked with her hands on her hips, nodding her head towards him.

"What's your point?"

The shorter blonde rolled her eyes at him. Link could be so clueless sometimes.

"My point is that you've known them for years." She said flatly. "You grew up with them. You've spent days in and days out in classes with them. Yeah, you've been their boss at The Stone for, what, a year?"

He nodded silently.

"But you've been their friend for longer than that," she added emphatically. "And I get The Stone is important to you; it's important to all of us. But you guys are only going to be working on the paper for a couple more weeks now. And then you graduate, and then what? College, right? You guys are only going to be around each other for less than a month. Maybe a couple more if you plan on seeing them over the summer… Don't you think you owe it to them to be their friend first and their boss second? For once?"

Link said nothing, but Zelda could tell he heard her. And that he was processing everything she said. And she could tell that, somewhere in the back of his thick skull, he knew she was right.

"They like you, Link." She added after a couple seconds' pause. He looked up at her from the specks in the concrete he had been focusing silently on. "They look up to you. They respect you. And I know I can't speak for them, but I think they needed that encouragement earlier from you more than you know. Not as their boss. But as their friend."

Link stared at her quietly for a couple of seconds, until he finally took a deep breath and nodded slightly. "…I get it."

Zelda raised an eyebrow at him. "Hm?"

"I'll… I'll be more encouraging," he shrugged. "…You're right."

Zelda looked at him curiously, waiting to see if he'd say anything else. But, in true Link fashion, he took another breath and continued walking forward, moving past her down the stairs that led into the subway station. He said nothing, but Zelda knew him well enough to know that he was listening. And she knew that inside, he knew she really was right.

They tapped their subway passes against the validation machine and the card reader panel pinged twice, flashing green as they heard the train barreling down the tunnel towards the boarding platform. The train was considerably less packed than it usually was; they were actually able to secure seats for themselves, as opposed to having to stand and hang on to the overhead rails. They sat in silence the whole ride, as they normally did. But after they reached the station by their apartment building, Link spoke again as they ascended the stairs to the ground level.

"So what about you?" He asked her. Zelda raised an eyebrow at the question as she caught up with him at the top of the landing. "You never submitted a position request."

Once again, Zelda went quiet. To be honest, she had actually forgotten about the talk regarding next year's staff; she had been so busy with her article drafts, not to mention all the other classwork that teachers for some reason loved to pile on during the closing weeks of the school year.

"…What about it?" She asked, and almost immediately she noticed him eyeing her from his peripheral vision in a way that it was most certainly his trademark eye roll.

"You tell me," he replied with a bit of incredulousness, as if it should have been the most obvious thing in the world. To be fair, it kind of was.

Zelda paused for a couple of seconds. Maybe even a minute? Honestly, she couldn't tell because the silence felt like it dragged on for seven years. She stared off across the street, her eyes not really focusing on anything in particular: the school children across the street skipping down the sidewalk as their indistinct chatter rang in the breeze, the cars whizzing by so fast the draft picked up her skirt ever so slightly and blew a couple of strands of hair into her eyes.

"Why so quiet all of a sudden?" Link cut through the silence as he turned his body to her. But to her surprise, his tone wasn't accusatory. It wasn't even taunting in the slightest. That wasn't sarcasm. It was concern.

She looked over to him, and suddenly she realized that they were still at the top of the staircase landing. She noticed a couple of people coming up the stairs and she hurriedly moved to the side out of the way, bowing her head slightly and apologizing quietly to no one in particular. To be honest, she didn't even know to whom or why she was apologizing.

Link followed her to where she stood next to a couple of newspaper stands and he stuffed his hands in his pockets. He scratched his thigh through the fabric, cocking an eyebrow at her. "You should know," he said again, "We're making you chief whether you want it or not."

A sound shot out of Zelda's mouth at that, somewhere between a scoff and a gasp. "Why?"

"Why not?" He shot back. The concern was still in his voice, but mixed into it was a clear sense of annoyance. "Isn't that what you wanted?"

"Yeah!" She blurted out. "But—"

"But what?" He cut her off. "So what if you've only been around for a year? So what if someone else wanted it?

"And if you must know," Link added, not breaking eye contact once, "No one else wanted it. Because everyone knows you're the most qualified for it."

Zelda stared at him silently.

"Who gives a rat's ass about how long someone's been on the staff, or who takes seniority, or any of that?" Link asked rhetorically.

Her face almost twisted in confusion at that. Was he even serious?

"You did."

Her tone was flat, and shouldn't drop her brow and lower if she tried. And with that, she turned on her heel sharply and marched off hotly towards home. Her cheeks felt hot, and her hands trembled from the adrenaline. "Who gives a rat's ass!?" Him! He! HE off all people gave Lord Jabu Jabu's ass about seniority! All that crap he gave her the first day they met, and the literal hell he made her life for months! For what!? Because she was the only person to ever call him out on his shit!? And now, less than a week before positions for the following school year are supposed to be filled, was he changing his mind!? Goddesses, to even think that there was a chance she was even starting to like—

"Zelda!"

She froze in her tracks. The sound of his voice uttering her name, even after all this time, was so foreign.

Zelda didn't turn around, but she heard his footsteps growing louder as he approached her from behind.

"…Zelda," he said again. But not in a yell to get her attention. It was in quiet, so that only she could hear him. Goddesses, the sound of his voice saying her name, ever after all this time was so foreign. But there was something also, bizarrely enough, comforting about it.

"...What?" She finally asked him in a tone that sounded a little more hostile than she meant it to. She tilted her head to the side ever so slightly. Not to make eye contact with him, but enough that if she looked over her shoulder from the corner of her eye, she could see the silhouette of his tall frame.

"…You're talking about everything I said at the beginning of the school year, right?" He slipped his hands into his pockets again as he spoke after another couple of seconds of silence. "I know I said all that shit… And I know I was being a dick about it. And throughout the whole year, I've been an ass."

Zelda, with her back turned to him still, couldn't help but roll her eyes. 'Link Avalon Admits He's an Asshole.' How's that for a senior feature on the front page of The Stone?

"Look at me? …Please?" He asked in a murmur so low that his baritone voice rumbled even more.

She furrowed her eyebrows as she slowly turned around and looked up to him to make eye contact. As alien as he sounded actually saying her name, him sounded as earnest as he just did was almost enough to make her wonder if suddenly something was possessing him.

He stared down at her. "I'm sorry."

Link Avalon? The Link Avalon? Apologizing? Like, for real apologizing? Zelda honestly couldn't believe it. But his tone, and the look in his eyes, both told her there was nothing there but sincerity.

"For everything I put you through," he continued. Oh wow, there was more? She had her doubts, but Zelda was certain now: the subway didn't take them home, it shot them straight into the Twilight Realm.

"…Sorry, Zelda." He said again.

Zelda just stared back, not breaking eye contact. For what felt like the millionth time in probably less than 15 minutes, silence fell between them. She stayed quiet, partly because she wanted him to be able to say whatever he needed to get off his chest uninterrupted, but mostly because she was, frankly, pretty speechless. It wasn't every day that Link admitted he was wrong. In fact, Zelda could probably count on one hand how many times it happened over the past nearly nine months.

Finally, Link was the first to look away. His eyes fell to the ground, his gaze shift from his loafers, to her knee-high socks, to a couple of cracks in the pavement, to a dried leaf blowing lazily off the curb.

"…You know," Zelda spoke quietly. He looked back up to meet her eyes, but she was looking over his shoulder absent-mindedly before making eye contact with him again. "For a while, I had completely forgotten how we had gotten off on a pretty rough foot when we first met… Okay, maybe not forgotten, but I didn't really think of it until just now, you know? Honestly, you're not the same person from back then."

She smiled slightly for the first time since they got off the subway. "Well, you can still be a pain in the ass sometimes. That hasn't changed."

Link couldn't help but chuckle and just ever so slightly roll his eyes at that, biting softly on his lip with a nod.

"But…" Zelda added slowly. "I dunno, I think what I'm trying to say is that… I'm thankful that you think I'm capable of being chief. That all of you think that, really." She crossed her arms over her chest and shrugged. "I dunno, I guess I'm just… What if I'm not?"

She slowly turned around to begin walking back towards their apartment building, and Link followed suit.

"…Not what?" Link asked. "Capable?"

They glanced at each other as they match the other's slow stride, and she shrugged her shoulders quickly as if to say yes.

"We wouldn't have chosen you if we didn't think you were," he told her. "Really. You know the process; I mean, you've seen it eight times already. You already have an established relationship with the publishing company. What else is there to know?"

Zelda scoffed at that. "You say that so casually, 'what else is there to know?'"

"It's not like you'll be alone," Link told her as they entered the lobby to the apartment building and they moved towards the mail room. "That's why we take the senior issue to walk it through all of you, so you know what to expect next year."

Zelda reached into her book bag for her keys and opened her family's mailbox. More junk mail, of course. She flipped through the envelopes quickly before stuffing them into her back and closing the box. "I guess it's just something that I'll just have to start doing to learn more about."

She walked over to Link, who was still reading through his mail. "Anything good?" She asked him casually.

His back was turned to her as he read through an important looking letter. At the top of the paper in his hand was the insignia of the University of Hyrule.

Dear Mr. Avalon,

Congratulations! It is with our utmost pleasure to inform you that you have been accepted to the University of Hyrule's Light Campus as part of the incoming Class of 20XX! We look forward to welcoming you to join UH's vibrant and esteemed community as a music major in the College of Letters and Sciences' Department of Arts & Humanities.

Enclosed in this letter you will find…

"Link, you got in!" Zelda exclaimed happily. "Congrats!"

He glanced over his shoulder to her and cracked the faintest smile before folding up the letter and stuffing it the large manila envelope it came in. "Ah, thanks."

She cocked an eyebrow at him as he locked up his mailbox and watched him start for the elevators, following closely behind him. "What, you're not excited!?"

"I already knew," he shrugged coolly. Zelda just rolled her eyes at him as he pushed on the 'up' button and took a step back to wait for the elevator.

"Why, didn't think that UH could say no to the son of a famous publishing family?" Zelda asked sarcastically. He glared at her for a hot second, and she almost immediately regretted the joke; of course, any talk of his family still remained a touchy subject.

"I'll have you know I got in on my own," he retorted. Zelda apologized quietly, and he just waved it off, but who was he kidding: no matter how good his grades were, his last name—and the tens of thousands of rupees his family donated to the school over the years, had to have pulled at least some weight.

"And there's a cool invention called email," he added but in his signature sarcastic, chiding tone as the elevator rang and its doors opened for the two. "I found out last week, the letter came in late." Zelda couldn't help but smile and shook his head at him as they both stepped onto the lift.

"…Well, congrats anyway." She said to him after a short moment of quietness. "Really."

He looked over to her; she smiled at him, and she was absolutely sure she saw his lips curl upwards in return.

"Thank you."

"Everyone give it up for your Gossip Stone editors for next year!" Saria cried out as the entire classroom erupted in applause.

Saria, Darunia, Midna, Pipit, and Link all stood together in front of the editors' table in the back of the classroom, joining the rest of the staff in clapping for those who were chosen to lead the following year's paper. At the front of the room, Zelda stood in the middle, smiling sheepishly, as next year's editor-in-chief.

Believe it or not, Colin actually made it as Saria's successor to editing the opinion and editorial sections. He could hardly believe it; he had thought everyone was playing some wild prank on him and was reluctant to stand up when his name was called for a good minute or so before Link himself had to convince him that they were all serious. The others were from the executive staff: Teba was chosen to succeed Pipit as the features editor; Riju would succeed Midna for the entertainment section; and Yunobo taking over for Darunia's sports section.

"Congrats to the five of you," Link said as he made eye contact with each of them from across the room. "We wouldn't have chosen you all if we didn't think you could handle it, so good work."

As reluctant as she was to take the position, the conversation Zelda had with Link that past Friday helped her come to terms with the fact that the entire staff really did want and expect her to take the position. There was a small part of her that was still uncomfortable with it… Okay, maybe a fairly big part of her was still uncomfortable. But there was something Link said to her before they parted ways that afternoon that made it all easier to digest.

...

"You may be the leader of the staff, but you're not alone," Link said as they stood in front of her apartment door. "Your fellow editors, whoever they may end up being, are there to support you as much as you're there to support them.

"I know I've done a pretty shitty job of showing it," he shrugged, "but trust in them. It's not going to work unless you and your staff trust each other. And most of all, trust in yourself that you can do it."

...

That resonated with Zelda. Hearing Link himself acknowledge his own trouble expressing his emotions—surprise, surprise, was admittedly a little funny, but his honestly was what counted. And wasn't it her who told him to lighten up and not treat everything so business-like all the time, anyway?

"For those who hoped to make the editor staff next year and didn't," he added, before pausing for a second. "…Don't get discouraged."

The room was quiet; some people were visibly taken aback by what he had just said. Link being empathetic? Yeah, Zelda couldn't help but laugh to herself. Join the club.

"You guys are still senior staff," Link said as he folded his arms over his chest. "There are gonna be newbies next year that are gonna look up to you guys for answers. So be sure to set the example, keep improving, and maybe you can try again next year."

The staff stayed silent, before Colin started clapping. Pipit followed suit, and before long the rest of the staff joined in applauding him. Link cleared his throat quietly and looked away, scratching the back of his head. Zelda chuckled inwardly at Link's visible awkwardness.

Nice words of encouragement, Link. Little late in the year to be the cool boss, but better late than never.

"…Ah, anyway," Link shrugged as he waved everyone to quiet down and turned his direction back to the new editors. "Like I said last week, the five of you will be working with us on this last issue so you all can learn the ropes." He clapped his hands loudly. "So let's get to work!"

Sorry, but I find it extremely hilarious and maybe a little sad that the in-story time jump between the last chapter and the beginning of this one is four days, but it took me three years to get this one out. But I told you all I haven't forgotten, and here I am! 8)

I hope everyone has a happy and safe holiday season. I PROMISE that the end is in sight for this story, and that you won't have to wait another three years to get closer to the end!

Feedback is of course always welcome. :)

Enjoy Life and Smile.