Warm Rain

By Sage of Downtown Hyrule

Authoress' Note: This is my oneshot dedicated to Babykoalaprincess- the author of the SSBM romance series, Leave Nothing. It's one of the best Zelink stories I have ever read on this site. Period. And so, being the awesome person I am, I decided to make a oneshot for her starring her favorite pairing.

Warnings. It's rated T because I rate everything T, sometimes for good reasons, sometimes not. The only warning you really need is that it will be slightly angsty, and have angsty romance in it. If you DON'T like romance, or the Zelink pairing, then I suggest you either suck it up and read if you're curious about said pairing, or leave if you're just going to be grumbling about it throughout the whole story. If you are familiar with my writing, I find it kind of curious that all my oneshots have been angst... Oh well.

Disclaimer: If I owned SSBM, do you think I would be writing this? So no; I don't own this game trilogy, just the plot line of this oneshot.

Enjoy.

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

Rain.

It can be the words that go unspoken, and it can be the pain we have bottled up within. It pours down from the sky and effects every single thing it touches.

Soaked streets, houses, and people.

Rain brings out the sorrow in every one. And you can always tell if it's been raining by the look on some one's face.

Pain. That's what you see.

The aggressive water lashed on the Smash Mansion, allowing the pounding to echo through the many rooms. Some tried to be successful in being optimistic, but not many succeeded. It made you feel oddly sick, and you stayed in your room all day long hoping that the rain would go away, but, as most find out, it never does.

People do crazy things when it rains. They act completely cheery when they feel indifferent, and act sadly when they really want to be over-joyed.

Link looked out of the window, the dark clouds hiding the bright moon from the world. It was a large sliding door. Glass. It lead out to the two story balcony.

He was one of the fortunate ones who had gotten one of the balcony rooms.

It had been raining all day, and was supposed to continue throughout tomorrow, as a matter of fact. Link, who was usually very somewhat outgoing had been very unconcerned about every one else but himself.

Even though he hated the rain, it still had its reverse effect on him. He looked as the rippled water slicked slowly down the clear, fogged glass. It was odldy nippy outside, and that had kept even the boldest people from braving the weather. His finger traced an unknown pattern in the whitened glass as he looked intendedly out of it.

It seemed to him that he had almost forgotten what the warm sunshine felt like against his skin. The moon's weak shine was overshadowed by the dark storm clouds. Thunder rolled dully in the distance. Luckily there was no lightning.

Sometimes, he almost wished there were, so he could feel even worse. He had rudely driven his friends out of the room when they tried to help him feel better about his under-the-weather condition. And now that he thought about it, he selfishly didn't care about anyone's feelings.

He blamed the rain

The truth was, he was deftly afraid of the rain. He was afraid of what things would be like if it never stopped raining. He saw chaos.

He could feel the sticky feeling you feel when it pounds outside of your window on a chilly night, and doesn't show any sign of stopping. The way you could go on crying silently and contemplate closing the blinds to the window, but you choose to leave them open in the dark night, just so you can wallow in the pity of problems that don't exist.

You fall limply into a dreamless sleep, the weather outside still burning you from the inside out.

Then, you wake up to a bright sunny day, and you forget about all of your problems until the next rain.

That's not how he wanted to feel every time it rained. He wanted to be able to associate the rain with something he could enjoy.

Though, Link could think of no such thing.

He would give anything for the warm, spring weather. The kind that made people ignore you, so when you DID look out of the sliding glass door, nobody really cared. The way the sun made your hair look ten times brighter, and made a smile shine brighter than the sun itself.

Link leaned against the cold glass and looked as the rain soaked his balcony outside. There was really nothing you could do but look outside and wish that the rain would stop, and at the same time want it to go on forever.

He lightly tapped the sliding door, his nails making small clicking sounds which formed a rather weak and gloomy beat.

He looked out at the dark world outside. There wasn't much that he could see, besides the relentless water, but he still took interest in it. He couldn't tell you why, but he found himself unable to take his eyes off of it.

He finally turned his eyes away from the storm to look up at the ceiling. The white background was a small change from complete darkness, but it wasn't enough to lighten his mood, or make sense of the senial thoughts running through his head that never seemed to make any kind of sense.

The rain always seemed to screw up his thoughts and actions, so people generally learned to leave him alone, but, it wasn't the greatest thing. On one hand, he wanted to be near someone, and on the other, he wanted to be completely isolated from all human contact.

A prolonged roll of thunder caused Link to stare out of the sliding glass door into the dark night behind it once more.

Again, the pitch black night was there to greet him once again.

He could hear the fragile thump of the rain against the glass door. I reminded him of a heart. Even though your heart is considered to be of more value than mediocre troubles, those tiny-in-comparison-troubles always seemed to damange him in the deepest ways possible.

Through his emotions.

Though, the rain was to be the problem he referred to, he just didn't why he hated it so much. Most do because it's cold and wet outside, preventing you from doing many activities. There were people that were interpersonal people, and preferred to stay inside, and the rain was a good opportunity for people to do so.

And then there were the few like him, who were indifferent; went both ways.

Fortunately, most people that knew Link knew to stay clear if they didn't want to get their heads bitten off for intruding on his misery, no matter how pure their intentions were. He didn't regret the silent warning.

Of course, nobody had bothered pushing him on that statement, knowing that Link could be very unusualy blunt in character during odd weather patterns.

The pattern he traced had been fogged back up long ago, and he looked up briefly at the door he was still leaning on to acknoweldge it. He had heard that it was unsafe to leave a window open during a storm, but sometimes he just liked to look outside and compare his mood with the weather outside.

He felt that the storm was ultimately dwarfed in contrast.

Link trailed a hand from his side up to his chest, and held it there, like someone would if they had a sudden jolt of pain.

He sometimes felt that there was a gaping hole in his heart where something- or someone- was supposed to be. And when it rained like this, each drop ripped it open a bit more, for everyone to see how weak a person he truly was.

He hated himself for acting like he was strong, when secretly, he was just as fragile as the glass door he leaned on, the small drops of rain beating it up like a punching bag.

He slid slowly and painfully down to the floor, hugging his legs to him allowing his cheek to rest against the cold surface that was the only separation from him and the dark, cold night ouside.

He ran a hand through his blonde bangs and inhaled deeply. Whatever was missing in his heart, he hoped that hit was make iself known to him soon, because he felt that he would forever be in misery without it. His hand flopped lazyly onto his knee, and his left arm loosened his hold on his other leg also.

The shadows that stalked dangerously around his room cast themselves along his face, making him look truly disturbed. Like somone would look in a horror movie and the killer finally emerged from the dark, bred from the depths of dim corners. The footsteps would sneak up on you as they got louder and lounder until...

The was a echoing knock at his door.

Link jumped and his dull ocean blue eyes raced to the door, and his heart began to pound in his chest for no apparent reason.

"Can I come in?" A feminine voice asked from the other side of the door. "I know that you don't like to be bothered when you're not feeling well, but I just want to talk..."

Either Link ignored the nervous question, or he didnt' hear it, because he didn't answer at first.

"I promise I'll leave if I'm bothering you," It pleaded softly. The Hero of Time was very fond of the owner of that voice

Link replied hoarsely. "Come in."

There was a click as the wedge in the doorknob twisted in, allowing the door to open. The slightly worn out hinges silently squeaked as long blonde hair was visible from behind the slightly ajar door.

It opened fully to reveal the very wise and beautiful Princess of Hyrule.

Zelda stepped in, and looked around the dark room after closing the door behind her.

"Why in the world are you sitting on the floor in the dark with the curtains up on your balcony door," She chided like a mother.

Link looked at her with somber eyes after her brief correction, and she could see that he wasn't in the mood for jokes right now. He felt like a thousand needles began to prod the side of his stomach, but he couldn't really tell you why.

It started the moment Zelda walked into his room.

The female Hylain made her way to Link and kneeled down beside him.

"You really don't like the rain, do you?" She asked with a hint of pity in her voice. She already knew that he wouldn't answer. She had started to feel really embarrassed, and she didn't know why she even bothered to come up here in the first place.

There was no reasoning with Link when he had set his mind to something, or was feeling awkward. He was the most charming person she had ever met, but, for as long as she could remember, he became very cold-hearted when it came to himself.

But, to her surprise, it made him all the more endearing.

In response to her question, Link shook his head. She looked as the darkness made him look like he was going to break down crying any second. She wished she could help her friend, but she knew that he would kick her out of the room first.

She was pretty adapted to the bipolar mood swings; he just was scared stiff of the rain. Though, she knew that he would never admit it, and she couldn't blame him. She was up there because she was scared of thunderstoms as well, and she knew she wouldn't bother Link by telling him her petty troubles, even though he shared this particular trouble with him.

She wasn't one to burden anyone with foolish whims.

"Well, why exactly are you up here anyway?"

Link soft, melodic-like voice tore her from her thoughts. She looked up at him with a darker shade of blue eyes he owned.

"Uh... I just thought that you wanted some company," She lied slowly. Zelda knew that Link despised company when he was in these moods, but she was going to stick to her story; it was better than being embarrassed.

"Oh," He said quietly, "Well, I guess I am a little lonely up here..."

Which, was the truth. Even though he wasn't fond of thunderstorms, it was no reason to take it out of Zelda; it's not like she was as spiteful as he was, anyway.

The princess looked up at his slumped form, which was still intent on squeezing as closly to the sliding door as possible.

"Are you scared of storms?" She asked. He wasn't one to answer such a foolish question, but at his hollow stare and downcast nod, she knew that something more than the rain was bothering him.

"Well, I am too."

Zelda's statement caught Link a little off guard. He wasn't used to people not heading his warnings, much less confessing the same fear. He felt oddly... relieved.

"Really?" He inquired, looking up from the dark glass, allowing her to catch a glimpse of his handsome features. Her brain seemed to go to mush at his voice.

"Yes," She answered. "I guess I was just to embarrassed to tell you,"

Her companion chuckled humorlessly, as if he found her explaination funny.

"I'm the one who should be embarrassed," He insisted. "I'm the Hero of Time and I'm frightened of storms... How pathetic is that?"

Just as she was about to reply, an loud crack of thunder sounded. Apparently the storm was right above them now. Both jumped slightly; they felt incredibly childish. They both waited for the small shock to subside.

"Do you know the best way to get rid of your fears?" Zelda asked, swallowing hard. She doubted this would work, but she would give it a try. Link shook his head in reply, and she could see that he was still relatively ashamed of his behavior.

His friend stood up and grabbed his hand, urging him to stand up. She really had no reason to be angry at him; he had done nothing but be himself, as apposed to her, who lied and said she was primarily worried about him, when she selfishly just wanted to be near him... For whatever that was worth; Link had never shown any interest in her before.

The Hero of Time slowly got to his feet, and silently studied her with curious eyes.

'What is she planning?'

"The best way to get rid of your fears," She continued, "Is to face them head on... with someone you trust"

Link looked at her for a moment, as if trying to figure something out.

"So," He began, "does that mean you trust me?"

Zelda couldn't help but grin.

"With my life,"

The swordsman pushed back stray strands of hair, and chuckled icily. "That's very bold of you to say... especially since I can't even comfort you through a thunderstorm... I'm such a coward,"

Zelda took his hand and squeezed it.

"Don't say that," She whispered. "You've helped me a lot... More than I could ever repay you for."

Link went slightly quiet. "It's not enough to prove that I'm not a coward," He insisted. Even in the darkness, his orbs seem to hold a light.

Zelda tried her best to smile, but she merely gave him a soft apologetic look. There was really nothing that could be said at a moment like this; you could just tell them that they're worth more than they think, or try to reason with them, but, that never worked.

People want to be shown their worth.

She felt that Link's worth to her was something that couldn't be seen, that it only could be felt... Or, maybe he was just blind to the fact. Most people were.

"Are you okay?"

Zelda looked up from her thoughts at Link, who stared down at her with mild interest. "You looked really deep in thought... What are you thinking about?"

The Princess of Hyrule smiled sadly. "It's nothing that you would understand..." She said, "I don't even understand it really,"

Link peeled his eyes away from her and watched the rain once again. He could feel the cold air around his room from the freezing rain ouside. It felt like he had on an air-conditioner.

"I'm sorry it's so cold in here," He apologized. "I'm so used to it I guess that I never really payed any attention to whether you were comfortable... Are you okay, or do you want me to try and find the thermostat?"

Zelda shook her head. "Thank you Link, but I don't want you to go through any kind of trouble... My room stays cold as well,"

Her friend shook his head slowly. He knew she was lying.

In fact, Samus would often complain about it being too hot in Zelda's room.

"Aw, come on," He said slowly, "You can't tell me you don't find it the least bit cold in here... Even I do,"

"Well, it is a bit nippy," Zelda finally admited, "but it's not your fault, so don't worry about it."

Link went quiet, so she guessed that she had won the argument, to her relief. That is, until she felt arms wrap around her waist from behind.

Her body didn't warm up; it felt as if it had caught on fire.

Zelda's heart stopped as she felt his head nestled in the crook of her neck, his hair tickling her cheek. She even felt the cold metal of what she guessed was his blue earing against her jawline.

She suddenly felt a little short of breath.

"Uh, L-Link..." She stammered, breathing heavily, "What are you doing?"

"I'm warming you up," He replied as if it was the most obvious thing ever. "I know you wouldn't have taken a blanket if I had offered you one,"

His warm breath tickled her neck, sending chills up and down her body.

Link took in her scent. She smelled very distinctly, like shampoo, but he couldn't quite place the kind... He just knew that he liked it, not matter how... odd... it sounded when he said it to himself.

To tell the truth, he didn't know what he was thinking when he decided to become her human blanket... He didn't want her to be cold, but the answer he had came up with made him question his own motives.

There was the very slim chance that he might have been a bit more selfish than he let on... Was it so horrible that Link might have developed feelings for the Princess of Hyrule?

Of course it was. That's why he let go of her after a few more minutes of 'warming' her up. It was disgraceful to even think of such an angel like that.

"Link?" Zelda said quietly, her voice almost unheard over the roar of the rain outside.

"Hmm?" He answered, a bit more dull than he had wanted to. It was something that he couldn't help... All it took was to hear her voice, and he melted from the inside out.

Feeling her heart and judgement clunk down to the bottom of her feet, she boldly spoke out:

"You must be a bit cold too, right?"

Link barely had time to turn around before her lips crashed against his. His brain temporarily shut off as he felt her hands grab on to the collar of his tunic, pressing him closer against her.

He felt her soft lips brush against his, and he could have sworn it was pure silk.

Link's hand subconsciously slid up her side, until he rested it on her cheek, his hands played with the hair that was in her face as his fingers traced a pattern on her jawline. This cotinued for a few more moments.

Zelda was the one to pull back, and she did so a little too fast for his comfort. Her eyes were wide, as if she couldn't believe what she had just done.

"I'm so sorry!" She cried, backing away from a downcast Link, "You must be pretty disgusted with me right now!"

Link reached out and grabed her hand, to stop her backing into a wall, and he looked down at her.

"It's fine... really," He insisted slowly. "You didn't do anything wrong,"

"Didn't do anything wrong?" She asked incredulously, "I just invaded your personal space in one of the most horrible ways possible!"

Truth was, she didn't want to pull away. Kissing Link was something that she had always imagined herself doing when she told him her feelings, but not when he was trying to answer a question. She cared for him so much, and yet she had the nerve to behave so horribly. She never even considered how he felt about her.

Link pulled her into an embrace and rubbed her back in comforting circles, as thunder sounded above.

However, neither paid any attention.

"Hey," He comforted, "There's nothing to be sorry for-"

"I kissed you!" Zelda interrupted, her light blue eyes full of confusion. "I did something that I didn't have a right to do-!"

Link slipped two fingers over her lips to quiet her. Her apologies stopped, but Link could see that she was ashamed of herself.

"What if I told you that I didn't mind?" He whispered in her ear, "What if I told you that I had always wanted to tell you that I had feelings for you?"

Zelda went silent for a few seconds before answering.

"... I'd tell you that I had started having feelings for you too..."

Link smiled and kissed her on the cheek.

"Well, one thing's for sure," He stated with a new-found happiness, despite the storm.

"What?" Zelda asked, her innocent curiousity shining through her usually serious face.

"I don't think I hate storms anymore."

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

Well, that's it for my first Zelink oneshot! I hope you all enjoyed, and again, this is dedicated to Babykoalaprincess, even though this deranged oneshot doesn't do her work justice.

Anyway, Hit the review button on the way out and leave a word or two!

-Sage