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Hateno Village was always a perfect balance of lazy and bustling. While there was a merchant or bard constantly passing through, there was never a rush to get anywhere. It was as if time slowed down inside the boundaries of the village. And with Ganon banished just a couple of weeks ago, the world had started to reawaken with purpose and peace.
The clouds rolled by slowly, adding to the lazy feeling of the village. It was as if each cloud was taking its time to count every leaf on every tree as it drifted by. You watched them as you were sprawled out in the grass and tried to figure out what each one was shaped like.
"That's definitely a lynel." You turned to look at your fiancé, who was lying right beside you in the grass. Link was pointing up at a large cloud above the both of you. You scoffed and shook your head.
"You're ridiculous. That looks nothing like a lynel," you replied.
"Trust me, I've seen one up close and personal. That cloud is definitely a lynel," Link argued. You just chuckled and laced your fingers together. You watched the clouds go by for a little while longer, enjoying the companionable silence. Your household had been a lovely peaceful place ever since you returned from the fight against Ganon. Link was enjoying a break he hadn’t experienced since he was a child and you were happy to live the peaceful domestic life with your husband-to-be.
"You know, we should start on the renovations to the house before the weather gets too much warmer. Summer is coming," you said. Link hummed in reply.
"I know you want to put the washroom in under our bedroom. What else did you decide on?" he asked as he continued to stare up at the sky, your hands still entwined.
"I think I want a fireplace," you said after a moment of thought.
"That shouldn’t be too difficult. We already have the chimney. What else does my lovely future wife want in our house?" You could hear the playful tone in his voice.
"Maybe a couch, so I have somewhere to go when you snore," you joked, barely able to contain your laughter when Link sat up on his elbows and glared at you. You let go of his hand and placed your hand across your stomach.
"I do not snore."
"Oh darling, you do," you replied when you could breathe again. Link huffed at you and rolled his eyes.
"Well maybe I'll go sleep down on the couch then so you don’t have to hear my snoring."
"So this means we're getting a couch?" you asked hopefully.
"Sure, my flower. We'll find something. Anything else?"
You thought carefully for a moment and closed your eyes. You could picture the first floor of your Hateno home, which in reality sat less than a hundred feet away. Currently, it had a small kitchen counter, a set of shelves, a dining table and chairs, and some houseplants you'd brought in. The weapon mounts had disappeared last week after most of the stuff was put into storage. With Ganon gone, the threat level had plummeted in Hyrule.
You tried to imagine the room being a little more full. "The fireplace would sit right across from the front door, against the wall," you thought aloud. Link rolled onto his side next to you. He gently played with the engagement ring on your finger as you spoke.
"I'm listening."
"The couch would be in front of the fireplace. A lighter colored couch, maybe," you said and tried to picture the sofa sitting in the house. "There would be a rug under the couch too. Something really soft, so when we fell asleep on the couch and one of us accidently rolled off, the wooden floor wouldn’t hurt so much," you said, making Link laugh.
"I'm not sure whether to admire your thoroughness or be insulted that you think I'm going to push you off of the couch."
"Oh, it's not me that’s ending up on the floor," you replied and cracked an eye open at him. He chuckled again and lied back down beside you.
"Alright, you liar. Keep going."
"Then there's the kitchen. I'd love a little more cabinet space and a bigger countertop," you explained and closed your eyes again. "We're going to need something durable, so when you distract me while I'm cooking and the knife slips out of my hand, I don’t damage the counter too much."
"How would I manage to distract you that much while cooking?"
You peeked an eye open at him again. You raised a brow, challenging him to remember the events of last week. When his slightly confused expression didn’t change, you reminded him. "I believe there was an incident last week where my face ended up pressed into the counter and my clothing on the floor?" you asked in an attempt to jog his memory. Link's cheeks flushed red all the way to his ears.
"Ah. Right," he coughed and rubbed at the back of his neck. "Are you complaining?"
"I am not," you said with a smirk. Link returned the smirk before he rolled over on top of you and started to place kisses down your throat. "Hey, if we're going to start this, we shouldn’t do it on the front lawn," you joked.
"Why? Are you shy?" Link snapped back, although you knew he was playing with you. You started to laugh when he left butterfly kisses along your collarbone, his breath tickling you slightly.
"I didn’t think you were willing to share me with the rest of the world," you teased. Link leaned on his elbows and hovered over you.
"I am not willing to share," he said firmly. "Any idea what to do with the space under the stairs?"
"It can probably stay as storage for now," you shrugged. Link looked at you curiously.
"For now? Do you have something in mind down the road?" You felt the heat creep across your cheeks. You suddenly felt like you were put on the spot.
"Oh, um," you trailed off. "I mean, it might make for an okay bedroom?" you suggested and bashfully looked anywhere except at your husband. When he kissed your cheek, you felt him smile.
"I'll keep it in mind. Anything else you’ve thought of?" You looked beyond Link's blond hair and up into the clouds rolling by. You tapped your chin and thought.
"A bookshelf maybe? Something smaller we could keep by the couch. I know how your collection of very exciting Hyrule history books is growing," you teased. Link scoffed and rolled off of you. He sat beside you and stretched his legs out in front of him in the grass. You took it as an invitation to place your head in his lap.
"When you sleep for a hundred years, there's a lot to catch up on," he replied. "It's not like your collection of novels is getting any smaller. I swear you're going to own a copy of every single book in Hyrule at this rate."
"Every book except the boring history ones. Those will be yours," you said with a smile. Link rolled his eyes.
"What makes you dislike a hundred years of history so much?" he asked and started to comb his fingers through your hair.
"Oh, it's not that I dislike history. It's just that I don’t need a history to book to know what happened in the past. I'm engaged to you, the walking museum exhibit of Hyrule," you joked. You could barely get through the last words of your sentence before bursting into giggles. Link glared at you, clearly unimpressed.
"You know what? I think you're too young for me. Give me the ring back; this isn’t going to work out," he said and reached for your hand. You snatched your hand back with laughter, tucking your hand and engagement ring under you.
"Too late, no take backs," you said as your giggles died out. Link smiled at you and pushed your hair back from your face.
"Well that is a shame," he muttered, the smile not slipping for a second. He leaned down and softly kissed your lips.
“You’re stuck with me,” you whispered against his lips before stealing one more kiss. He leaned back on his palms as you rested in his lap.
“Certainly, there is no worse fate,” Link replied and smiled down at you. You stuck your tongue out playfully at him. “I look forward to baking with you in this larger kitchen of yours. More room to make a mess out of your hard work,” he teased.
“Well at least you’re honest about it,” you scoffed. “I look forward to the fancy dinners we get to cook for indoor date nights, too. Especially during the rainy season. Making soup with you in that kitchen on a cold day warms me up more than the soup itself,” you said and let your eyes slip closed. Link took it as an open invitation to play with your hair some more.
“You know what else we need?” he asked and tapped your nose, making you scrunch your face slightly. “Somewhere to nap out here. Hateno is too lovely not to nap outside during the summer afternoons.” Link looked across the yard, trying to mentally figure out where his napping spot would be.
“No naps until the roof gets fixed. Plus we have the grass to nap on,” you said with a shrug. Link shook his head.
“We’ll get dirty and you’re going to be all itchy from the grass. I can’t wait to hear you complain when we go back inside. I guess we’ll have to keep our eye out for something,” he said and continued to comb through your hair. “Do you want a garden?”
You thought for a moment. Gardening had been your hobby as a child and your passion as an adult, but the destruction of your home village had put an end to it. Starting a new garden might help with the fresh start in Hateno with Link. “That sounds nice,” you agreed.
“What would you like to grow?” Your mind wandered to your journey across Hyrule. You’d seen so much in the last year that the garden you once had now seemed so small. It was exciting to think how exotic your garden could be now.
“Pumpkins definitely. Do you think wildberries would grow out here? It’s not snowy year-round.”
“We can certainly try. You have a very talented green thumb my dear. What else?”
“Apples are a given. We already have the tree.”
“I know you’re going to take great care of it,” Link said with an encouraging smile.
“If we can get wild berries to grow, we can probably get spicy peppers to grow. I wonder if placing one of your frost weapons out back by them would help the plants grow better…” you trailed off as you bit your lip in thought. You heard Link chuckling above you and you focused your gaze on him. “What?”
He shook his head at you. “You’re just really pretty when you start thinking really hard. I like watching your brain work,” he said and brushed your hair from your face. “Not to mention I can already tell this household is going to be full of shenanigans, and not just caused by me.”
“Are you calling me an instigator?” you accused playfully.
“Not at all, my flower. But your… creativeness is bound to lead us to some interesting scenarios and conversations,” he teased. You sat up from his lap and were about to protest, but Link interrupted you. “And I am looking forward to every moment of it. Life would be so boring without you.”
“Says the man who traveled across Hyrule on a grand adventure,” you scoffed. Link chuckled and stood up from the grass, dusting himself off. He offered you a hand and helped you up from the ground, pulling you against him tightly.
“And yet nothing is as grand of an adventure as you are, my love.”