Category: The Legend of Zelda

Rating: T

Summary: If someone had told her a year ago that she would be seriously discussing her relationship with Link with Groose of all people, Zelda would have laughed. Strangely enough, however, the big guy makes for a good ear. *Prequel/Companion piece to The Groosefather*

Building Blocks

"We really appreciate this, you know," Zelda says to her companion as she hands him a glass of water.

"It's not a problem, Zelda dear," Groose says as he takes the water from her and eagerly drinks it. "Building things is my specialty. Watch, Zel, when I'm done you'll have the best house you've ever seen. Intricate designs, perfect materials, spacious living quarters! It'll be Groosetastic!"

Zelda giggles into her hand. "Link tried to get Gondo first."

Groose huffs. "Well then he's an idiot. No offense to Gondo but when you need to build things from scratch you leave it to the Grooseman! The Groosenator is proof enough!"

Zelda shakes her head fondly. "I'll keep that in mind, Groose."

Groose nods enthusiastically as he sits down on the steps of The Sealed Temple. "Man, how long is Link gonna take to gather supplies?"

"Knowing him, he probably got caught up helping out the Kikwi elder again," Zelda sighs.

"That guy is too soft," Groose scoffs, conveniently forgetting that he's usually the one moved to tears by touching events. He turns to stare at Zelda directly. "So since I'm helping you guys build a home, I assume I should expect a Grooseling running around soon?"

Zelda manages to keep her voice steady even as blood rushes to her cheeks. "Don't let Link hear you call our future children Grooselings."

Groose laughs. "Will do, Zel. But really, should I start saving for baby gifts?"

Zelda looks down at the ground, a frown on her face. Then, her eyes fiery and face determined, she stares down Groose with an intense gaze. "Can you keep a secret?"

Groose gulps as he takes in the change in demeanor of his friend and nervously styles his pompadour. "Whoa, things just got serious." He nods.

Zelda looks down at the ground and begins speaking, her tone hesitant and unsure. "Link...Link and I haven't gotten past light kisses."

Groose makes a disbelieving sound and Zelda's head whips to glare at him with such ferocity that he can see his entire life flash before his eyes. After making a note to buy more hair gel (the flashback reminds him he's nearly out), Groose raises his hands in surrender. "My bad, Zel. It's just that you and Link have been here alone in Grooseland for 6 months!" He suddenly smirks. "Who knew Chosen Boy was a prude?"

"It's not him," Zelda grounds out miserably, "it's me."

Groose's eyes widen before he begins to apologize profusely. Zelda waves his apologies off. "It's fine, Groose. It's actually really stupid." She pauses. "You know I'm the mortal reincarnation of Hylia and thus while I'm Zelda some part of me is Hylia as well?"

Groose nods, confused. "Yeah, so?"

"Well, Goddesses are supposed to be pure."

Groose looks at her confused. "I don't see what the problem is."

Zelda lets out a sigh of irritation. "Whenever I start having...indecent thoughts, my memories of Hylia resurface. Her vows of purity, her thoughts and beliefs, all of that. It makes me feel incredibly guilty which is why I stop Link before we go any further. I can't bring myself to do it even though my body heats up and all I can see is his lips or his body and this heat pools-" She cuts off abruptly, remembering who she is talking to and seeing that Groose is looking at her in both horror and extreme discomfort. "Sorry. I just haven't talked about with anyone outside Karane. It bottles up."

Groose nods dumbly, unsure of what to say.

"And the worst part is that I hate myself for it! Hylia took away my innocence, Link's innocence, Impa and Fi and now she's taking away my relationship with Link!" Despite her attempts to prevent it, she can feel tears of frustration beginning to gather at the corners of her eyes. "I'm not Hylia! I'm Zelda! I just want to be me! I don't want to be ruled by the memories of a dead Goddess!"

She takes a deep breath and furiously wipes at her eyes. "Sorry again, I don't know what's wrong with me."

"I don't either," Groose says lightly and Zelda stares at him. "When I look at you all I see is Zelda. The same girl who enjoys pushing her boyfriend out of high altitudes and makes sure my ego doesn't go unchecked when I start turning into a real jerk."

He hesitantly places a hand on her shoulder. "You're you, Zelda. Not Hylia. I can see that and Link can definitely see that and uh, darn. What else am I supposed to say here?"

Zelda giggled. "Nothing at all. Thank you Groose."

Groose smiled. "So I helped?"

She nodded. "A little. I haven't really broached the subject with Link and other than him and you no one else knows what I am, not even Karane. To her it's just me being nervous. It's nice that I haven't changed in your mind."

"It's because I always know what to say to the ladies," Groose says with a wink. "But seriously Zel, I know you're you and I'm sure Chosen Boy does too. So it's all up to you to..uh...find yourself. Or something. And when you do," Groose paused, "I get to be godfather. Fair trade, don't you think?"

Zelda opens her mouth to respond but whatever she is going to say when Link bursts into the scene, carrying wood and the yellow fruits found in Faron Woods and looking thoroughly exhausted. "Sorry I took so long, guys. Bucha need some help. I picked up some fruit though."

"I would have finished a lot faster than you, Link," Groose comments, smirking. Link glares at him and Zelda takes the fruits and places them on the ground as Link and Groose argue their way towards the home the three of them have been working on. Her gaze lingers on the Statue of the Goddess before she catches up to the two men, who are still arguing.

An hour later, Zelda finds herself and Link painting the exterior walls as Grose hammers away on the roof while whistling a merry tune. Zelda stares at Link as he paints, quite obviously trying to stop himself from joining Groose in his whistling. He is her best friend and more and he has been patient and understanding with her hesitation without having been given a reason to and after talking to Groose she cannot comprehend why she hasn't explained herself yet.

"Link, do you think I've changed?"

Link gives her a puzzled look as he stops mid-stroke. "What do you mean?"
She avoids his eyes, feeling unusually shy. "Because of this whole adventure, I mean."

Link looks at her thoughtfully. "I think we've all changed because of this, Zel. Some of us for the better." His eyes flicker towards Groose, knowing that the man can hear them but not see them.

He steps away from the house and at distance so as to give the two of them some privacy and Zelda follows. "But in the end we're still us. Groose is still Groose, I'm me, and you're you."

Zelda smiles at that and her eyes meet Link's. "I'm still me? But you know that's not true."

Link frowns at her. "Are you talking about Hylia? Come on, Zel, yeah you have her memories but you're you. To me, you're still that little girl that I used to pull pranks with back in Skyloft. Nothing's changed."

A surge of relief passes through her and she hugs him, catching him off-guard. "Has it been bothering you that badly? This identity crisis of yours?"

"It's not that, exactly," she tells him, feeling a lot more confident now that she has his view on the matter. "It's just that," she pauses and gazes quickly towards the house. Groose is still whistling and not looking at them but she can see the amused smirk forming on his face and realizes Link has miscalculated. She does not care, however and continues on. "I know I've been a bit cold when we...well you know..." Link raises an eyebrow and suddenly this is proving to be a lot more awkward than she had pictured a second ago so she decides to rush through it. "And well it's not because I don't want to because Gods, I want to but her memories have teachings against this sort of thing since she was supposed to be pure and it kinds of gets in the way and-"

"Whoa," Link stops her, looking alarmed. "Relax Zelda!" She takes a deep breath and he gently cups her face. "You don't need to explain yourself to me. You'll be ready when you're ready and I can wait. I do appreciate you telling me this and we can talk more tonight so I can help you with getting over those memories. Let's get back to work and give this the proper time it deserves later, alright?" She nods quietly and he presses his lips to her. It's a quick and innocent kiss but when he breaks away she feels the heat in her cheeks and a fire everywhere in her body, pooling in her lower stomach and when he moves to walk away she stops him by grabbing his arm. Her body is burning and half of her is begging for more while memories assault her and a voice chides her about decency and purity. Her mouth works furiously as no sound comes out and Link is looking half-concerned and half-amused as she struggles between Hylia's morals and her own desires, a blazing battle raging inside of her head. Before she can finish the battle, however, Groose's singing voice break through the air, startling them both.

"My mind's telling me noooo...but my body! My body is telling me yeeeACK!"

Thud!

"Nice accuracy!" Link exclaims, looking impressed as he rushes to check on Groose, who is lying on the ground with Zelda's paintbrush next to him and looking dazed.

Zelda stares at her hand in shock and she can practically hear Hylia shrieking about improper conduct in her head but the sounds of Link assuring Groose he's alright and Groose screaming "She got paint in my pompadour!" help her squash down Hylia's voice.

Suddenly the prospect of breaking away from the Goddess seems incredibly easy and she can't help but skip as she joins her two companions on the ground.

A/N: R Kelly has been around forever, don't you know?

This was written more for me than for you guys since I wanted a bit more about why Groose was chosen as godfather, though it didn't really go into detail and was mentioned at best. It isn't as good as The Groosefather IMO and a serious Groose is quite difficult to write but I don't think I could have written it much better than this at my level so I'm somewhat pleased.

And I know some of you might remember Link thinking "Zelda is Hylia" in Groosefather but that's not what he actually believes. It's just him being grumpy and pessimistic lol

I actually got the concept of Zelda having an inner struggle with Hylia regarding a physical relationship with Link from the author Kidosta-The Freak Gamer and his/her story "Skyward Sword: The rest of our lives" which you should all check out! It's a much more serious and in-depth struggle for Zelda and worth a read! I thank Kidosta for giving me permission to borrow the concept and give him/her all credit.

Please leave a review and constructive criticism. The latter is always welcome so don't be shy.