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A knee-length dress? Or a skirt, maybe? Now, a simple top? Maybe that cute thin cardigan too? Would those two even go well together?
Maybe the weather was too hot for that cardigan. Mipha scrapped that off her options, albeit reluctantly. She thought she looked cute in that cardigan… and wanted nothing more than to look her best for her date.
Her date?
She didn’t call it a date—maybe it was, maybe it wasn’t. All she knew was that she was that in exactly twenty minutes, she was to meet up with Revali Skye, ace archer, at The Hearty Brew in Castle Town Square, and that she still didn’t yet decide on a worthy outfit to wear. Mipha just couldn’t wrap her head around how she plucked up the courage to ask him out after the swimming tournament mere hours ago, and the fact that she’s stressing on her clothes isn’t helping it sink in either.
Or maybe it was that text he sent her two minutes ago, saying “see ya in a bit” that was sending her mind in a frazzle.
Either way, it was safe to say that Mipha Lightscale was in a frenzy.
Hylia, I forgot about my hair. How am I supposed to do my hair?
“Good goddesses, Mi, you really do look like a wreck,” she heard Kodah comment from her bed, on which was scattered several tops, loose jeans, skirts, and a few dresses. A couple cardigans as well. And sweaters. At this point, her whole closet. Mipha let out a deep sigh.
“Why wouldn’t I be?” she retorted. “Kods, I love you, but that isn’t helping. I have, like, twenty minutes—”
“Actually, you have eighteen—”
“Kodah!”
“I’m sorry!”
Mipha now let out an unrestrained groan.
“Look, this is your first date, right?” said Kodah comfortingly. “Technically it is!” she added after seeing Mipha’s appalled look.
“Anyways, just—dress in whatever clothes you feel good and comfy in,” she continued. Mipha noted the genuine undertones on which Kodah’s advice was laid upon.
“You think so? What if I don’t look good enough?”
“Are you serious? You look pretty already!”
“Oh, sure.”
“You look pretty already, Mimi!”
Mipha whirled around to see her little brother, Sidon, peeking adorably from her bedroom door. Sidon’s round, doe amber eyes held the kind of childlike sincerity that nobody could bring themself to deny, not even Mipha.
“You’re the prettiest sister ever!” Sidon exclaimed, now fully entering his sister’s room with unmatched enthusiasm. “If that Revali guy says no, I’m—I’m gonna fight him!”
Mipha’s heart warmed. Although she was well-aware of their—well, drastic—differences in strength, Mipha still smiled at Sidon’s brotherly chivalry. The fantasy fairytales she would read to him every other night really were getting the best of him. Maybe for the better.
“Thank you, Sidon,” responded Mipha, walking towards her brother and kneeling to his height. Sidon tilted his head in the cutest way. “Although I’m sure Revali wouldn’t do anything like that.”
She heard Kodah snort in the corner, yet chose to ignore it as she leaned in to give Sidon a little kiss on his forehead.
“Either way, I appreciate you wanting to defend my honor.” Sidon grinned a proud, toothy grin at that. “Now, what were you doing outside my bedroom?”
At this, her brother’s pride then turned to bashfulness in the blink of an eye. Mipha found it adorable, the way he shyly hung his head. “I wanted to play with Ruta again. Please?”
Mipha let out a tiny laugh at how innocent he looked. “Of course, Si,” she said, standing up once more to lend her brother her treasured elephant stuffed toy. Her mother’s childhood gift was something she could never give up, not even to her brother.
Not before giving his big sister a hug, Sidon yelled a “Thank you, Mi!” as he exited her room, happily clutching Ruta’s plushy body. As Mipha’s bedroom door then closed, Kodah proceeded to chuckle at the whole affair.
“Damn, you really do like him, Mi,” she said with a small smirk, and at this Mipha shot spears with her gaze.
“Kodah! It’s only the first time I’m hanging out with him! I don’t even know if I’m that attracted to the guy yet…”
Kodah smiled cheekily. “Sorry babe, I just haven’t seen you stress out about your clothes since that last Christmas party, and that was because you knew Link was going to be there.”
Heat crept up Mipha’s cheeks, and she looked as if someone was painting her face with overly pigmented pink paint.
Kodah then smiled reassuringly at her friend. “Let Skye know the real you, even in the way you dress.”
Mipha sighed, thankfully feeling defeated—she hated stressing about her clothes. Having a crush is hard.
“This is exactly why you’re my best friend,” she said gratefully, before getting up and grabbing a plain pleated skirt and a simple white blouse. Mipha entered her bathroom, quickly put on her clothes, and admired herself in the mirror while accessorizing with a few bracelets and a minimalist necklace. Her gaze lingered on the charm adorning her necklace—three moons that faced opposite each other. A smile tugged on Mipha’s lips.
Moments after, with a confident aura, Mipha came out of her bathroom. Her graceful smile lingered.
“Oh, my little baby Mimi’s all grown up!” Kodah teased, a huge grin on her face as she stared. “Just how gorgeous can you get?”
Mipha blushed the tiniest bit, until a sudden thought abruptly brought her fingers to her—
“Hair! Goddesses, of course,” Kodah exclaimed, seeing the look of alarm on her best friend’s face. “It’s a good thing we already did your light makeup. What about a twist on your classic updo? Thank Hylia your hair’s fully dry.”
Mipha exhaled a breath of relief, sitting on the bed with her back to her now-hairstylist.
No—thank Hylia for you, Kodah.
~
Walking to The Hearty Brew has never given Mipha this rush of nervousness before—not even when she heard they were almost out of her favorite wildberry crepes. Despite that, her rush of nervousness coursed through her veins with a burst of excitement at seeing Revali once again. No matter how corny that sounded.
She’s never felt this way since Link, she mused, but she and Revali weren’t even friends in the first place—why did she grow to harbor an unusual attraction to the guy? Was it their embarrassing first meeting at the archery locker rooms? Or the way she’s gotten to know him all while helping him recover from his arm strain? Or maybe the way she found him attractive when she first bumped into him—
Mipha’s cheeks turned pink at the thought.
Finally arriving at the cozy coffee shop, Mipha took a deep, agonizing breath before opening the glass door to the familiar scent of caffeine and toasted bread. As any coffee shop, of course, but there was a sense of belongingness in the way the cafe’s plants hung about the ceilings, across and atop pillars, and how she admired everyone in their own little space, unwinding with their own pick-me-ups.
Scanning the spacious cafe, she finally caught a glimpse of a tuft of blue hair right in the back where a cushion connected to the wall, his back facing her as he sat in the chair opposite the long cushion. He was wearing earphones, she noticed as she carefully walked up to where he was seated, catching him hunched over a notebook with a pen on his hand. I wonder what music he listens to.
Moving closer, she saw that what he held was a pencil, not a pen. And that he was flicking his pencil about, in messy yet calculated strokes. She peered over to see sketches of various birds scattered around his open sketchbook, and Mipha couldn’t help but stare in awe.
He liked to sketch… and is he an ornithology enthusiast?
Distracted by his works of art, Mipha’s little reverie only ended when a hand suddenly closed the little sketchbook shut with a thud.
“Goddesses, Lightscale! Do not sneak up on people like that!”
Snapping back to reality, Mipha’s eyes widened as she met Revali’s gaze. She sensed his mild embarrassment at the sight of his alarmed expression, and she couldn’t help but chuckle.
“I’m sorry, Revali,” she apologized with a soft smile. She then sat across him, on the soft and comfy cushion with her back to the wall. “You sketch really well, though! I’ve never seen anyone draw birds that detailed.”
“Don’t flatter me,” Revali deadpanned, rolling his eyes with the ghost of a tiny grin. Then he turned to glance at the counter in the light of their short silence.
“Do you want anything?” he asked in a nonchalant tone. Mipha nodded.
“I’ll line up in a while, just getting my wallet,” she replied, putting her tote bag down beside her and fishing it for her wallet.
“What are you getting?”
Mipha, still unaware, looked back at him with a wide beam. “My usual. Regular iced latte and a wildberry crepe. So so good.”
Looking back to her bag and finally reaching her wallet, she glanced up to see Revali already walking to the line. Mildly surprised, Mipha hastily put her bag to the side and—not so gracefully—raced to join him letting out a soft “hold on!”, only to see him shake his head as she appeared beside him.
“What are you doing here?”
Mipha was taken aback. “I—”
“I’m treating you! I have manners too, you know.”
Now that really took her aback. “But didn’t I ask you out? It’d seem rude and improper and—and—!”
“I’m doing this out of my free will, Mipha Lightscale,” Revali replied coolly, albeit avoiding her eyes. Mipha blushed lightly as the sound of her name in the tones of his voice reached her ears. “Besides, you should be thanking me. I’m letting you save your money. You’re welcome.”
“Are you sure?”
Revali gave her a flat look.
“Oh, alright. Thank you, Revali,” Mipha finally said, smiling gratefully. Internally, she was flattered at the fact that he was being a gentleman.
After a few lingering moments, she walked back to their seat, looking back at Revali who waited patiently in line. He wore a graphic tee—a Radiohead band tee—with a dull blue button-up shirt above it, paired with dark jeans. His casual style was cute, Mipha thought with her chin on her hand, unaware of how long she’d been staring at Revali until his eyes suddenly met hers. Mipha’s eyes widened, the apples of her cheeks turning quite literally into the scarlet red shade of actual apples in her immediate embarrassment as she averted her eyes towards the woody brown tabletop her elbow’s been leaning on for the past few moments.
A small crevice on the wood left a little mark that Mipha noticed with mild dismay, and with her attention held by that little red hue on her elbow she didn’t catch the warm blush that rose on Revali’s normally cool-toned features, and the unusual smile that he didn’t care to suppress.
~
“So, what did you order?”
Mipha tilted her head to the side in a curious manner, seeing Revali return to his seat after lining up to order their drinks and snacks.
“Just a hot cappuccino,” he replied, putting his sketchbook back in his bag. “Oh, and a slice of nutcake.”
“Mmm,” Mipha hummed, then pondered for a moment. “Now that I think about it, I actually haven’t tried their nutcake yet.”
“You should,” said Revali. “Y’could take a small slice off of mine if you want, you know.”
“Oh I couldn’t… it’s yours anyway.”
“Nahh.”
Mipha laughed at his slight insistence. Revali ended up chuckling as well. A great start, I hope…
“Soooo,” Mipha then began, “you listen to Radiohead, I assume?”
Revali cocked an eyebrow, then in realization looked down on his shirt with a tiny grin. “Yeah, great music. Do you?”
Mipha let out another laugh. “Creep’s the only song I know.” Revali rolled his eyes, his grin slowly growing.
“Of course, the average person would,” he replied, then looked at her once more after comfortably leaning back on his chair. “How about you? What do you listen to? You look like you’d be the type to listen to Taylor Swift or something.”
Mipha’s mouth gaped slightly, eyebrows raised in mild perplexity. “Is that such a bad thing? Taylor’s music is versatile and catchy and her lyricism is like no other, you know,” she said in a jokingly sassy manner.
A chuckle escaped Revali’s mouth. “And I listen to other artists too, for your information,” she added, somewhat proud at the thought of having a diverse taste in music.
“Like who?” Revali asked, and it wasn’t as if he was pressing her on. He seemed genuinely curious, despite the indifference masking his tone. Mipha smiled.
“Well, Mitski, for one,” she replied. She loved Mitski’s music. “She’s more on the alternative indie side.”
Revali hummed. “Never heard of her.”
“At least that beats me just knowing one Radiohead song,” Mipha quipped, giggling slightly.
“You’ve heard of the band, doesn’t count,” Revali countered.
“Still does,” Mipha returned with a grin. “But I’d recommend Francis Forever if you really wanna get on my level, you know.”
“You’re so funny,” Revali sarcastically remarked. “But I guess I’d take it.”
Mipha just laughed in reply. Conversations with Revali came and went with ease, which was something she really enjoyed when it came to him. Hearing him laugh and knowing it would be because of something she had said would send her mind reeling, her chest bursting with happiness and excitement at having caused him to laugh that cute laugh of his, chuckle lightly, or even just crack a smile. She hoped he thought of her the same.
She really did.
As her thoughts raced in the midst of their conversation oddly centered on music, the pager between them on the table suddenly buzzed, signaling the two that their order awaited atop the counter. Revali then, quick on his feet, grabbed the pager and headed for the counter. He returned with a tray of Mipha’s order—her regular iced latte and a wildberry crepe—and his slice of nutcake, with a dainty cup of hot cappucino.
“I didn’t know you liked your coffee hot,” Mipha mused, noting the warm weather, as Revali set down the tray on their table and started taking out their food and drinks. He went back to the counter to return the tray, then quickly got back to his seat.
“There’s a lot of things you don’t know about me, Miss Lightscale,” Revali quipped, taking a little sip of his coffee.
“Well in that case…” Mipha replied, “tell me about yourself.”
Revali chuckled. “This isn’t a job interview, you know.” Mipha rolled her eyes, smiling. The way he could make a joke out of any situation would never fail to amuse her.
“Of course I know that… but why in the world would you want your coffee hot in this weather?”
“To be fair, the weather isn’t that hot,” Revali retorted, “but I had to get used to cold weather where I came from. A taste of home, I guess.”
Mipha felt the topic suddenly shift. “Where are you from then?”
“Rito municipality, in the Hebra province.”
In sudden wonder, Mipha’s eyes widened. It really was cold out in the Hebra province. “That’s… actually really interesting.”
“Sure,” Revali shrugged.
“Why’d you move to Castle Town?” Mipha then asked in curiosity, sipping her iced latte.
“A new start with new opportunities, according to my aunt… after my parents passed.”
Oh my goddess.
Mildly choking on her latte, Mipha’s eyes bugged once again, realizing she accidentally walked down the wrong path. She, shameful and pathetic as ever, sputtered out her apologies as her brain tried to process his words.
“Oh—goddess, I’m so sorry—my condolences—”
“It’s nothing,” Revali then cut her off, calm as ever. “It was a long time ago, don’t worry.”
Mipha found it incredibly hard to match his calmness. She let out a sigh. “Sorry for bringing it up. I didn’t know…”
“Nah, it’s alright,” replied her companion. He did seem alright, at least. Just bar the fact that he doesn’t look pleasant.
“Okay,” Mipha then said, mildly relieved, yet mildly concerned at the same time. She almost wanted to bring up how she knew exactly how it felt, how she knew the pain he must’ve gone through, but decided not to for the sake of their little date. Date? Get-together? She didn’t even know anymore.
An awkward little silence ensued, until the mood suddenly shifted with—
“Hey Revali, you still up on that nutcake offer?”
A tiny smile crept up his face.
~
From that point on, anything and everything served as a catalyst for never-ending conversations, from more music taste to hobbies to preferences to first impressions—Mipha’s most yet least preferred topic. As she and Revali soon found themselves away from the ambience of The Hearty Brew and now soaked in the soft late-afternoon sun walking side-by-side around Castle Town Square, she recalled the humiliating predicament she was in when she first ran into Revali, cringing awfully at the memory.
“Please don’t make me remember that day,” Mipha groaned. Revali laughed from her right.
“Ah, but you said yourself that—and I quote—you ‘treasured the day that we met’!” he teased, mocking her by poorly imitating her normally high-pitched voice. Mipha scoffed.
“Excuse me, I sound nothing like that!”
“You didn’t deny saying it though! This only means we must revisit the nearby past with grace and fondness.”
“Oh, what fun.”
“Hey, if it makes you feel better, I didn’t think you were someone with ill intentions when you bumped into me—”
“I did not bump into you!”
“You wish you did though.”
“Hylia help this child!”
Although mildly annoying, warming up to each other and leveling up their silly banter was something Mipha was really glad about. Being free to joke around and make some fun out every little conversation they’d have was slowly becoming something they shared, almost always ending with Mipha playfully hitting Revali in the arm and Revali only carrying on with his silliness.
That was exactly what happened after Mipha’s joking plea to Hylia, until Revali’s laughter soon died down and he continued his prior statement.
“But seriously, I didn’t think you were the type to purposefully walk in on me, you know,” he said. “I can still remember the look on your face.”
Mipha let out a moan of humiliation, both her hands reaching to cover her face. “Goddesses, we don’t have to talk about that…”
“I swear you looked all shy and blushy and cute if you know what I mean—”
“Cute?”
They both stopped in their tracks. Literally. Mipha stopped walking to face Revali and tilted her head in a slightly curious manner. He found the gesture—
“Cute?”
Mipha repeated herself with a grin that emanated knowingness. “You just called me cute.”
Revali opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. It seemed that he didn’t want any more unnecessary thought spillages about the girl in front of him, an intolerable all-knowing look on her cute little face.
A tiny giggle escaped Mipha’s lips. “This is the first time I’ve ever seen you speechless, Revali Skye.”
The boy in question took a moment to recollect his normal thought process, only coming out as hopeless sputters. Mipha’s giggle soon turned into a laugh at Revali’s current state, until he finally gave up.
“Okay fine," he conceded, “but to be fair, you really are cute.”
That was when Mipha’s laughter finally died down, only leaving her smile behind as she blushed, flattered at the sincere compliment. She turned to Revali, who was already looking at her with his sharp, emerald green eyes that seemed to cut through the whole of her being. He bore a tiny smirk.
“I—thank you,” Mipha replied, flushed.
Revali laughed. “Who’s speechless now?”
“Oh, shush.”
As their conversation drew on, they soon caught sight of a nearby bookstore. Mipha, eyes bright with enthusiasm, almost dragged Revali to the entrance after seeing one of her most wanted books on display. Upon entry, she glided on over to the front shelf, scanning the aforementioned book among the newly released reads as Revali tagged along, curiously studying the novel she clutched in awe.
“’Love and Gelato’?” he read, cocking his head as his eyes moved to his companion, who bore a wide smile.
“I didn’t know they had this!” Mipha squealed. “I’m always a sucker for a good romance.”
“Well, all I know is that I certainly love gelato,” Revali joked. Mipha laughed, then looked back at Revali.
“Could we look around for a while?” she asked excitedly.
“Isn’t that why you practically dragged me in here?” Revali deadpanned sarcastically, as his eyes soon turned to the classics section.
“Oh… I’m sorry, Rev,” Mipha apologized sheepishly. “I’ll just try to be quick.” It was at this that Revali looked at her once more, taken aback the slightest bit.
“Hey—I didn’t mean it that way,” he said, mildly softening his tone, “I’d like to look around too.”
Mipha let out a little “oh!” in realization, then said, “Alright then, but I’d like to come with you first.”
Revali was taken by surprise. “Any particular reason?”
Mipha shrugged slightly, looking down as her cheeks tinged with red. “I’m just—curious about you, I guess.”
“You—you are?”
She nodded shyly, a tiny smile on her face.
“I’d like to get to know you a bit more, is all. May it be through your favorite literature or music.”
Revali felt like an arrow had just shot through his chest. His insides suddenly felt warm, and he let a small smile creep up his face. Still looking at Mipha, whose eyes seemed to be drawn by anything but her companion, Revali, gathering the courage that seemed impossible to find within his sea of nervousness, then took her dainty hand in his and slowly led her to the where all the classics were shelved. He refused to look at her, already freaking out at what he just willed himself to do, and only hoped she didn’t seem repulsed by the act.
He couldn’t see it, maybe sense it, but Mipha was freaking out all the same—the mixed emotions whirring in her head making it hard to concentrate on even walking, and she was glad her legs still managed to cooperate as Revali’s hand held hers.
His hand in mine, was the thought Mipha fixated on the most. He just held my hand! Now what do I do?! Do I intertwine our fingers, or—or—try to match his pace? Because it looks like I’m tagging behind him—
“Ever read The Alchemist?”
Mipha was brough back to reality when Revali, now pulling away from her hand, pulled out a small book with an interesting cover.
“The Alchemist?”
“Really?” Revali asked, mildly surpised, “Haven’t heard of it?”
Mipha shaked her head. “Maybe a bit familiar, though.”
“I could lend my copy if you’re interested.”
“I honestly never pegged you as the type to read classics,” Mipha mused, shaking her head. “But I’ll accept your offer.”
“What can I say, I’m one unpredictable young man.”
Then it was at that when he started taking her through a few trips around his genres of books, pulling out novels and recommending so much that Mipha had to pull out her phone and list them down on her Notes app to keep track. She found it endearing, though, that Revali was sharing a little part of him through his favorite literature. Topping all that would be Revali taking her hand every once in a while to lead her through the shelves, which never failed to send Mipha’s face flaming red.
Soon enough, it was Mipha’s turn to lead, and within a few moments she and Revali found themselves within general fiction.
“Got anything other than romance?” he asked sarcastically, while watching Mipha carefully search through all the book spines until she finally pulled one out.
“I’m not all about fictional romance, you know” defended Mipha. “Japanese classics are a favorite of mine.”
“Japanese classics? Interesting,” Revali commented, examining the seemingly short novel Mipha held—Snow Country.
“But okay, you caught me,” Mipha confessed with a sheepish smile. “This is actually more of a sad romance story.”
“What a surprise, Lightscale.”
Rolling her eyes in the slightest, she then put back the book and, out of obligation and sudden impulse, grabbed Revali’s hand to lead him back towards the classics section. For the first time, she intertwined their fingers, and even as her eyes hesitated to meet his, she could feel him pull a tiny smile. Mipha refused to pull away, even as she grabbed Little Women off the shelf.
And after all that browsing through contemporary, romance, and poetry, she still hadn’t let go of his hand.
~
“That was fun.”
Mipha and Revali were back outside once more, admiring the setting sun as they sat side-by-side on a bench within the center of Town Square. Once in a while they shared comfortable silences, while store lights littered their peripheries and the moon came welcomed by the hues of orange and yellow in the sky. Mipha, in her immense contentment at what transpired in the day, had to express her happiness at what fun she had.
“It really was,” Revali replied, looking at Mipha, who’s eyes were glued to the warm palette that was the sky. He admired the way its colors seemed to reflect themselves on her, as if she was glowing in the beauty of the sunset while awaiting the dim twilight. She smiled, that sweet, sincere smile of hers, and Revali felt like he wouldn’t want to be anywhere else in this moment.
“Isn’t the sky so pretty?” Mipha then asked, her voice soft as the breeze that swayed her sidebangs.
Revali couldn’t tear his gaze away from the beauty that he was lucky to be seated next to. “I think she’s really pretty.”
“I really don’t wanna leave.”
“Me neither.”
“…But my father is expecting me at this hour.”
“Oh… do you want me to drive you?”
Mipha was taken aback at the sudden offer. “W-what?”
“I said, do you want me to drive—”
“I heard you… but are—are you sure? I can walk.”
“Walk?!” Revali said with surprise. “At this hour?”
Mipha sighed sheepishly. “Well…”
“That’s it. I’m driving you. Who knows what’ll happen to you?”
“You’re sure?”
“Yes, Mi, I’m sure.”
Mipha smiled. She wasn’t sure if it was the nickname he just called her or the fact that he was going to drive her home, but she felt her insides bubble with euphoria. After a while, she and Revali then stood up to walk back to his nearby car.
“I like that nickname,” Mipha expressed, as Revali unlocked his car. “I’m so used to you calling me Lightscale, it was almost as if you forgot my first name.”
“Well,” Revali muttered, “I remembered that time you called me ‘Rev’ back in the bookstore.”
“I did, didn’t I?” Mipha mused in reply. Passing behind the car to get to the passenger seat as Revali—rather quickly—went the other way, she was startled when she already saw him leaning on the now-open door frame.
“You sneak! I thought you were going to the driver’s seat!”
“It doesn’t hurt to be a gentleman, Mi,”
Mipha laughed, then patted his cheek before entering the car. “You’re too cute.”
Luckily for Revali, Mipha couldn’t see the way his cheeks suddenly turned red, eyes widening in the slightest at her little gesture. She called him cute for Hylia’s sake! Who wouldn’t melt at that?
Coming back to his senses, he let out a little breath that disguised the giggle he so badly wanted to release along with the swarm of butterflies in his stomach, and practically skipped to the driver’s seat. Getting ready to drive, he was taken aback when his car’s radio suddenly started playing a song from one of his Spotify playlists.
“Oh—my bad—”
“It’s Radiohead!” Mipha exclaimed, eyes widening at the artist name displayed on the panel. “I guess today marks my first time listening to a song of theirs that isn't Creep.”
Revali sighed as the slow beat of Fake Plastic Trees played in the background. “I guess we’ll keep it.”
“It works,” Mipha shrugged with a little smile. “You can drop me off in front of Z. Domain Residences, by the way.”
Nodding, as well as gawking at how Mipha lived in one of the richest subdivisions near Castle Town, Revali then made his way into the main road. From his periphery, he could see his companion slowly swaying as the song’s instrumentals started to hit harder. He found himself softly singing along as well.
“You have a nice voice,” Mipha commented. “And the song is really catchy.”
Revali flushed in mild embarrassment, then shrugged to hide his reddening ears. “What can I say, I just so happen to possess great music taste and a wonderful singing voice.”
He caught Mipha rolling her eyes.
“Wanna play something of yours? I’ll unlock my phone real quick,” he then asked.
“Really? Is that okay with you? Oh and be careful—you’re on the road for Hylia’s sake!”
“I literally just said you could and please, we were about to stop anyway.”
Mipha gave him a flat look. “Haha, but I’ll gladly accept your offer, thanks.”
Carefully taking Revali’s phone with his Spotify already opened, Mipha searched up a decent Mitski song and added it to the queue.
“It’s Mitski,” Revali noted, eyes moving to read Francis Forever on the radio panel. “Wasn’t this the song you recommended earlier at The Hearty Brew?”
“Mhm!”
“I guess we’ll be going back and forth with our favorite music now, huh,” he then said, “depending on if there’s any more traffic at all.”
Mipha laughed. “Stop making me wish for more traffic, Rev.”
A chuckle escaped Revali’s lips as he found himself wishing the same.
~
After a while of Arctic Monkeys, Taylor Swift, and Coldplay subsequently, they soon arrived outside Mipha’s subdivision, where she agreed to be dropped off. Pulling over and with Sparks—volume turned a bit down—still on the radio, Mipha grabbed her tote bag and let out an exhale. After the short drive that Revali filled with all his music recommendations, Mipha made a mental note to listen to all of them the minute she steps into her home. Maybe she should make a whole playlist of songs Revali would recommend.
“Thank you for agreeing to go out with me today, Revali,” she expressed, sincere as ever. “I had fun.”
Revali grinned. “I suppose I did too.”
A little awkward silence followed.
“…I guess I’ll get going now.”
Reluctance laced her tone while melancholic smile crept up Mipha’s lips, and as her downcast eyes met Revali’s she wished she didn’t have to go so soon.
“Guess I’ll see you at school tomorrow,” Revali said, almost as if reminding her that they’d be seeing each other again regardless.
Finally stepping out of the car, Mipha looked back at Revali and beamed. “See you soon, Rev.”
“You too, Mi.”
And it was at those words that she finally turned her back to walk to Z. Domain’s gate, its luminous stone arches faintly glowing in the dusk. Revali watched her dainty figure leave, sharing that same downheartedness at having to wait to hopefully see her the next day within Castle Town High’s expansive campus. He turned the volume of the radio back up, grateful at having Sparks match the slow, mellow melancholy he was starting to feel at driving alone once more. A familiar sense of quiet surrounded him, only his music and slow breathing filling the emptiness of his car.
It wasn’t until a few moments later that he suddenly heard a familiar voice shout out his window.
“Revali!”
Revali looked out the passenger window to see Mipha—I was just thinking about her!—with a panicked expression on her face. Surprised but undeniably happy to see her again just after she left, he rolled down his window.
“Miss me already?”
Mipha rolled her eyes at the smirk he bore, although smiled at his rather silly joke. Her breaths were frantic, as if she came running back. “Thank Hylia you’re still here—I came back for my phone.”
Revali, after a quick search, then spotted her phone in a little compartment below the car window. Stretching and successfully grabbing it, he handed it back to her.
“Thank you so much,” Mipha breathed, relieved. “Now I’ll really get going.”
“But you only just got here!” Revali quipped, fully knowing he was half-joking.
“Miss me already?”
“Haha.”
“Okay but for real now.”
For the last time that day, they exchanged genuine smiles. The last embers of twilight around them dissipated as the sky gave way to the nightly stars, the low gleam of the luminous stone lights around them illuminating the pavement on which the two bade their goodbyes. Mipha took one last glance at Revali, smiling once more at the emerald green eyes that shone in the dim indigo night.
“I’ll see you when I see you, Revali.”