Metal Chocobo: It's been months and months since I last posted a Zelda fic. I've felt terrible about this fact and have wanted to do something for ages. Problem was that all of my ideas have been going into this lj claim (and they're too short for me to bother posting them here). Finally though, this idea hit me and it actually lasted longer than a thousand words. Expect this to be a two-part story, although I have no idea when the second half will be written.
DISCLAIMER: I can't believe I forgot this before. I don't own Zelda or anything within Zelda. I really wish I owned some stuff, but I don't own any of the series, nor am I making any money off of this. Please don't sue.
Fundraising for Rockets: Chapter #1, The Pet Wash
Most school clubs sold candy bars to earn money. Others sold coupon books, wrapping paper, or held bake sales. None of these were options for the Ordon Gamer's Union. Oh no, they were operating a pet wash; most of their customers were dogs, but some cats too.
This was not Link's idea, or Kafei's (the club president), or even Sheik's (the vice-president) idea. It was Malon's idea and she proposed it forcefully enough that no one dared to suggest anything else. Her plan landed Link and the other boys next to tubs of soapy water while Malon happily collected money for their labor.
Link sighed as he finished drying off a Chihuahua. This was the seventh dog—although Link privately counted it as six dogs and a Chihuahua, as Chihuahua were too small to be proper dogs in his mind—he had washed this morning. He needed a break. His hands looked like they had become red wrinkled raisins and it hurt to put his hands in the soapy water. One look at Malon told Link that the longest break he'd be allowed was the time it took to fill his tub with clean water.
They had been having steady business all morning. Malon had been certain to get their pet wash in the school paper and to have the boys put up flyers across town. They had gotten a much bigger response than expected. Colin, their newest member, had just been sent to buy more shampoo. So far they had washed forty-two dogs (three Chihuahua), eight cats, and a pair of ferrets. Considering the fact that they were charging $10 a dog and $15 a cat (the ferrets were priced at $12 each, the little bastards tried to take off Sheik's arm), they were making a tidy profit.
When Link returned to his station with a tub of clean water, he found an extremely pale girl with red hair with a giant beast waiting. The girl grinned strangely at Link when she handed over the lease.
"Be a good boy, Link," she cackled, patting the wolf's head.
Link was more than a little surprised that the girl knew his name. He had never seen her before in his life. The redhead left before Link could ask her anything though. Link stared at the very wolfish looking dog. He was a large brute, and looked like he might weigh as much as Link did. The blonde was amazed that the petite girl could control such an animal. He decided that it had to be a wolf, since no dog could possibly be that vicious.
"Well there…" Link addressed the wolf, fumbling with its tags. "…Link? Oh, you can't be serious. Your name is 'Link,' wolfy?"
Link-the-wolf snorted in response. He then buried his snout in Link's groin.
"Great," Link sighed, removing the wolf. He stuck the canine in the tub and an epic battle ensued.
Apparently Link-the-wolf did not like taking baths. As soon as the water touched his coat, the wolf started barking and thrashing about. Link was pulled into the tub with him. After they were both thoroughly soaked, Link managed to get a hold of the soap. He scrubbed the gunk in as best as possible, working the stuff into a foamy lather in the wolf's fur. They both got soap in their eyes, which got them howling.
Link had had enough and the same seemed to be true for Link-the-wolf. With one great leap Link-the-wolf bounded out of the tub and pulled Link into the tub. If there had been any dry spot left on Link, that wasn't the case anymore.
A moment later both Links were yelping as cold water slapped them. Sheik had decided to take 'pity' on Link and help him get the soap off the canine. A lot of the cold water from the hose also hit the boy. To try and get away from the water Link-the-wolf trampled the blonde. That didn't endear the animal to Link.
After Link had finished drying the wolf, the pale redhead took him back. Link couldn't say he was sad to see Link-the-wolf go. The beast had chewed up Link's arm as he dried the animal, but he couldn't complain, since the wolf hadn't broken his skin. Malon would only call him a baby.
Sighing again, Link stripped off his now soaked shirt. He didn't need his now wet shirt to get ripped up by another dog (or even worse, a cat). After stretching, he went and refilled the tub. At the moment he was cursing Malon's name for having chosen this as the way for the Gamer's Union to earn its money.
Several hours passed as the boys scrubbed more pooches. Starting at noon, Malon allowed one person at a time to have a lunch break. She didn't want to spare anymore than that at a time, it would bring down their productivity if her slaves… err, friends talked during their breaks. By luck of the draw Link was last in line for lunch.
Link grinned as he watched Ralph trot back to his tub. Since Ralph was finally back it meant he could go and eat. 'It's about time,' Link thought, glaring at the redhead. 'Ralph eats faster than a starved pack of dogs. I bet he wasted half an hour just to torment me.'
Since the only clothing Link had on were a pair of soaked swim trunks, Link figured he'd mooch off Sheik and his lovely refrigerator. One of the few benefits of washing dogs in Sheik's front yard was that Link had access to Sheik's food. Unlike Link's family, Sheik's family could actually cook. Link had been eyeing a slice of gooseberry pie he had seen earlier, and if anyone had eaten it he was going to scoop their eyes out with a spork.
"Umm… excuse me," a woman started, just after Link had taken a step away from the tub.
He turned, recognizing the voice. It was Zelda, a girl he knew from his English class. She didn't sound like her usual confident self. It fact, Link noticed she was chewing on her lower lip and looking at Link as if he would leap out and bite her. She was holding a cat.
"Do you see that handsome albino with the blonde dyed hair?" Link asked, pointing out Sheik. "He is just the man to wash your cat for you." He was not getting stuck washing a cat before he ate lunch. The little monsters took forever and were dangerous. Kafei nearly had his throat ripped out when the cat he was washing decided that severing the artery in Kafei's neck would be fun.
With a wave, Link walked away from Zelda and her cat. He got halfway to the house before Malon noticed and pounced on him.
"Just where do you think you're going?" she demanded.
"Into Sheik's," Link answered, jerking his thumb at the door behind him. "For lunch."
"You have a cat to wash," Malon said. "You can't leave a customer waiting. That's bad for business."
"Have Sheik do it," Link snapped, "or Kafei, or Colin, or Dark, or one of the other guys. You could even do it."
"I'm management; I don't wash cats," Malon explained slowly, as if talking to a two-year-old. "You have to do it, Link, because I promised everyone that no one would have to wash a second cat before everyone had washed one. And you, my friend, are the only one who hasn't washed a cat yet."
"But I don't wanna," Link whined.
"Tough cookies," Malon said. "Now go do your job."
Link unhappily dragged himself back to the tub. After staring critically at the cat for a moment he said, "Your cat is deaf."
Zelda blinked in surprise before nodding. "How did you know Blizzard is deaf?" she asked, handing Link the purring cat.
"Blizzard here," Link began, flicking the bell on the cat's collar, "is a white kitty with blue eyes. Most cats with white coats and blue eyes are deaf. It seemed like a safe assumption. Is he de-clawed?"
"No," Zelda said, "she isn't."
Link just shook his head, smiling bitterly. The Goddesses really seemed to want to give him a trying day. 'At least I can take a long lunch break after this,' Link thought.
He carefully lowered the cat into the waterand started to wash her. She took the washing relatively well, with no real amount of struggling to get free or yowling. Blizzard did sink her teeth into Link's hand and attacked his wrists, but she only seemed to do it for show.
Since she was being such a good kitty, Link was able to wash her quickly and then gently dried her off. Unlike the other owners, Zelda had stayed by his side to be moral support for Blizzard, although Link doubted the cat appreciated it.
"Blizzard's a good kitty," Link said, stroking the cat's head.
"Thanks," Zelda smiled, reaching out her hands for her pet.
This was when Blizzard decided that she had enough. She leaped out of Link's arms, zigzagged around several people, and escaped under Sheik's fence. As the hind end of Blizzard scurried under the fence, Link realized that Blizzard was still technically his responsibility. Then he took off after her.
Vaulting over the fence, Link scared the cat, who was recuperating her pride on top of the sundial. She took off again when Link got up, fleeing through the garden into the neighbor's yard. Link followed in hot pursuit. The chase lasted a little over three blocks. By all rights Link should have caught her before she made it out of Sheik's yard; he was bigger, faster, and had a longer reach. Still Blizzard was able to swerve and weave her way about, eluding Link every time he had almost gotten a hold of the cat.
Finally, Link chased Blizzard up a tree. She was securely connected to one of the branches above his head and didn't look like she was moving anywhere anytime soon. Keeping an eye on Blizzard, Link pulled out his cell phone and called Sheik.
"Kakorki Graveyard," Sheik answered. "ReDead free since 1833."
"It's Link," Link said. "Is Zelda still there?"
"Huh? Who?" Sheik asked, confused.
"Zelda, the blonde girl, who's fracking cat I'm chasing," Link growled a little. "Now is she there or what?"
"Oh her," Sheik laughed. "Sure, I'll put her on." Link heard voices and fumbling noises as the pone exchanged hands. Then Zelda was on the line.
"Link?"
"I've got your cat cornered," Link said, before correcting himself. "Actually, she's up a tree, but Blizzard isn't going anywhere."
There was a pause before she asked, "Where are you?"
"We are," Link glanced around, noticing the street sign, "just off the corner of Ginko and Deku."
"I'll be right there… Don't do anything stupid." She hung up, leaving Link with a dial tone.
Link waited impatiently for Zelda to get there. He just wanted to get that stupid cat out of the tree and go eat. A speedy obstacle course on an empty stomach was not what he had in mind when he had gotten up that morning.
"Where is she?" Zelda inquired, climbing out of her car.
"Shall I go up now?" Link asked lazily, rubbing one of the cuts on his chest that he had gained while chasing Blizzard.
"Umm… sure," Zelda replied, attention now focused on Blizzard. "Try not to drop my cat. Probably don't want to fall either."
Link smiled thinly as he grabbed onto the tree's trunk. "I just love how your only concern is for dear Blizzard," he drawled.
"I warned you not to fall," Zelda reminded him. "But seriously, Link, be careful."
Link hid a real smile as he started to climb. Climbing a tree—especially one without any low branches—was difficult barefoot. At least it was difficult for Link. He had very little callous build up on his feet, so his soles were extremely sensitive and were having a hard time gripping the rough bark.
It was slow going getting up to that first branch, but once Link was on it he could easily grab the other close branches. As he edged closer to Blizzard, the cat carefully crept away. When they were both on the last branch, Link made a swipe for her. Blizzard made a swipe back and then leaped onto another tree.
Cursing bitterly, Link climbed down the tree. Unlike Blizzard, Link couldn't leap from tree to tree. After he climbed up the next tree, the same thing happened. When Link had climbed up the third tree, he stopped and stared at the cat.
"Hey Zel?" he called out.
"Hmm, what's up?" Zelda asked, walking toward the tree.
"Can you shimmy up that tree there?" Link asked, pointing at a nearby tree. "I think she'll be making her great escape over there."
Zelda gave him an incredulous look before walking over to the tree. "You really want me to climb this tree?"
Link shrugged before saying, "It's your cat."
Grumbling, Zelda started climbing the tree. She wasn't as efficient as Link, although Link had to admit she was making excellent progress considering the fact that she was in a dress. Panting slightly, Zelda climbed up onto the branch her cat was most likely to lean on to when she tried to escape from Link.
Since Zelda was in position, Link made his move. Blizzard saw him sneaking forward, so she turned to leap to the next tree, but faltered when she saw Zelda on her landing pad. This was the weakness Link needed. With lighting speed he wrapped his hands around Blizzard's middle. The cat had finally been caught!
Smiling cheerfully, Link leaned back. Only, there was nothing behind him, so he fell off the branch. Link landed on his back, still holding Blizzard up in the air. Zelda slid down the tree and rushed over to Link. He refused to let the cat wriggle out of his grasp.
"Are you alright, Link," Zelda asked, touching his neck.
"Take the cat," Link groaned.
"What?" Zelda yelped, not expecting him to actually say anything.
"Take the fracking cat," Link growled. "I don't want it getting away."
Zelda carefully pried Blizzard out of Link's hands and stuck the cat in her carrier. Then after the cat was securely in the car, she returned to Link's side. He was lying on the boulevard. She touched his shoulder, but then removed her hand.
"What are you doing?" Link asked, watching Zelda's expressions change.
"I'm trying to figure out if I should turn you on your side or not to check for breaks," Zelda said. "If your spine really is broken, I should really just call for an ambulance and not mess with your back."
"I'm fine," Link laughed. "Really, it was just a ten or fifteen foot fall. I've had worse. Everything feels fine." Actually everything felt numb, but Link wasn't going to mention that. "Just had the wind knocked out of me, that's all."
"You're lucky you landed where you did. If you had been over a couple of inches either way, you would have hit either the street or the sidewalk, Link." Zelda shook her head. "I'm taking you to the hospital."
"I'm fine," Link insisted, starting to get up. He barely managed to hold in a scream when his back lit itself on fire.
"So you're fine, I can totally see that," Zelda agreed sarcastically.
"Okay, you're right, I'm not fine," Link admitted. "But nothing's broken. I can feel and move everything. See?" Link wriggled his fingers and toes in demonstration.
"Fine. I won't take you to the hospital," Zelda conceded. "But I'm taking you home and making certain you don't have any serious injuries."
"Thanks," Link managed weakly. "I don't think I could make it home on my own right now."
Zelda helped him into her car. There was no mention of the fact that his entire backside was covered with mud. After a very illegal and seatbeltless ride to Link's house, the teenagers stumbled through the front door.
With Zelda's help, Link managed to get up the stairs and into the bathroom. Link took a bath. He wasn't really certain what Zelda was up to while he was in there, but Link's main concern was scrubbing off the mud, blood, and plant stains that he had collected. The hot water also helped relax all his strained muscles. By the time Link left the bathroom, he was clean, warm, and doped up on Tylenol.
Link poked his head into the hallway to look around. When he didn't see Zelda anywhere, Link scurried across the hall and into his bedroom. He quickly locked the door and started hunting for clean underwear. Once he was dressed, Link was ready to face Zelda.
Link found Zelda sitting at the kitchen table with a box of delivery pizza. She smiled at him, but quickly stopped when she realized that gooey cheese was trailing from her slice of pizza to her mouth. Link sat down across from her at the table and took a slice.
"I didn't hear the bell ring," Link said.
"It didn't. Since I needed your address, I just waited outside for it," Zelda explained. "How's your back?"
"Much better," Link grinned. "Pain meds are a wonderful invention." There was a silence as they both ate pizza. "How much do I owe you?" Link asked.
"How much do you owe me…" Zelda trailed off, before realizing what Link meant. "Oh! Don't worry about it. You saved me thirty bucks washing Blizzard and then you went to the trouble of catching her after she escaped. Pizza's on me."
"Where is the little darling anyway?" Link asked dryly, glancing around. He didn't need the cat getting revenge upon him by puking on his favorite hat or something. That would be really gross.
"Sitting in her carrier by the front door," Zelda answered promptly. "I hope you don't mind me bringing her into the house. I didn't want her frying in a hot car."
"That's fine as long as she isn't let out." Link winced suddenly. He had just remembered that he was due back at Sheik's for more animal washing.
As if reading his mind, Zelda said, "While you were taking a bath, I called Malon to let her now you hurt your back catching my cat. She says you're off the hook, but she expects you to do extra work for the Union. What did she mean by Union?"
"Gamer's Union," Link explained. "We play D and D, a lot of computer and video games, and host large battles with miniatures. The fundraising is so that we can build several rockets and launch them next month."
"You're going to be shooting off rockets?" Zelda asked excitedly.
"Yeah, I guess you could call it fundraising for rockets," Link laughed. "It's gonna be a ton of fun."
"Can I come?"
Link scratched the back of his head. "Well, you'd probably have to join the union before you'd be able to come. We can always use more members. You'd certainly be welcome and I'd love to have you there. It's gonna be better than Narnia."
Zelda's jaw dropped. "Nothing's better than Narnia," she insisted in mock seriousness.
"I-I've got a copy of the movie if you'd like to watch it," Link offered hesitantly.
"I'd love to," Zelda said.
They hung out together in Link's living room and watched the new Narnia movie. It was a bit weird watching Aslan leap about on screen next to Zelda. Sure he had class with her, but Link had never really interacted with her. They just moved in different circles.
After the movie was over there just wasn't any reason for Zelda to be at Link's house. Link carried Blizzard back out to the car for her.
"If I had any idea you were a fan of Lewis, I would have invited you over ages ago," Link grinned, sticking the carrier in the back seat. "You know I've got a copy of the British version of the later Narnia books."
"I'll definitely have to check them out. Maybe next time we get together we can skip the cat chase," Zelda agreed. "And about Gamer's Union?"
"We meet on Wednesdays. Just show up and that'll be great. Everyone will love you," Link assured. "Malon's been insisting that we need more girls in the club anyway."
"Hmmpf, well I'll see you on Monday, Link," Zelda said. Then she drove off as Link waved goodbye.
When Link got back into the house he found a note on the counter. It wasn't very long, but it did leave Link with Zelda's phone number. One part of the note surprised Link though.
'It wasn't a mistake she didn't show up with Blizzard until after all the other guys had washed a cat.' Link pondered over this statement. After thinking for a while he started laughing. A though had popped into his head that made his crappy day good. 'By the Triforce, I think Zelda likes me.'
So this was the first half of Fundraising for Rockets. Sorry there wasn't a lot of Zelink stuff going on in this chapter, but there will be a lot more in the second half. If you read it and liked it (or even if you didn't) I hope you'll review. It really doesn't take a lot of time and really means a lot. If you leave a signed review or an email address, I will reply.