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You were just getting your basket set for your morning deliveries when the bell at the front door rings, alerting the shop of a customer. You internally sigh and set down the baskets you had strategically set up in your arms. You paste on your customer service smile and turn to face the front counter. "Welcome in, how can I-- Oh!" Out off all the people to see in the bakery, the young man, Link, wasn't one of them. You don't think you'd ever seen him come into your family's bakery in the whole time you'd been working there; which was your entire life. He wasn't a full knight yet, but you knew a few details about the boy due to the fact he was close friends with Zelda; and everyone in Skyloft knew of her. He was also the partner of a rare red loftwing, which didn't go unnoticed in town. You also thought you remembered hearing that he is quite the sleepyhead... "How can I help you?"
The young man in front of you pulls out a crumpled piece of paper that was not so gracefully shoved into his pocket and reads what is most likely a list. "Sorry, um--I got stuck running errands I normally don't do." His eyes dart up and down the list.
"Give it here." You pluck the paper from his hands to glance over to see what he needed: several loaves of bread for the knights' academy. It was one of the orders you were supposed to deliver this morning, so you were glad someone had actually come to pick them up for once. "Many of these baskets are for your delivery. They usually don't send a person to pick them up, though."
"That's because Groose tries to come up with 'alternative solutions' when it comes to certain chores and errands." Link rolls his eyes. "I can take those." He steps forward to you as you struggle to pull the multiple baskets of bread from behind the counter. He easily takes them all in his arms and looks back to you. "Thanks! I can't believe you were going to deliver these all by yourself!" Link gives a small wave goodbye, almost dropping everything you just handed over, and lightly kicks the door open upon his exit.
The interaction was quick, but you were glad; even though he lightened the load, you still had several deliveries to make and you knew there were a couple of customers that would be grumpy if you were late. Taking the several baskets into your arms once more, you start your trek around Skyloft. First to the old couple that always generously tipped you in both rupees and allowing you to pet their cat. Then to the mother of five that always looked like she was about to collapse from the chaos that was her household taking place behind her front door. Next to the opposite end of the sky island to a grumpy man who always seemed to have something to complain about when it came to your product. Yet, he still continued to keep his weekly order in your rotation. Your family weren't the only bakers in Skyloft, but there still weren't many to begin with. Which meant there weren't really many other options.
After bouncing between several houses, you took your usual break in the graveyard. You'd definitely gotten several strange looks from other townspeople, but you were generally left alone to your devices. After snacking on some extra bread you packed for yourself, you stand back up to finish your delivery route. You needed to head back to grab your final batch that you'd be taking to the Lumpy Pumpkin. Inside contained several rolls that matched perfectly with their signature pumpkin soup.
You're greeted by your father when you enter the bakery one again. "Back so soon? Normally you're out all into noon." He crosses his burly arms and leans in the counter.
"That one boy, Link, stopped by and picked up the bread for the knights' academy. Apparently the guy they normally send is supposed to pick them up but he just decides to make me deliver them instead." You shake your head. "Link was in charge of those errands today so he took them back himself." You shrug and start to load up a small crate full of the dinner rolls for The Lumpy Pumpkin.
"Oh, that boy? He returned those baskets while you were gone. Said he'd start picking up their order from now on." Your father nods towards the pile of baskets that you recognized Link taking from you earlier that day. "He seemed mighty interested in you, though. First thing he asked was where you were. Poor thing didn't even know your name." He adds with a teasing lilt to his voice and your own words catch in your throat.
"I'm sure he was just looking for a familiar face is all. Seemed like he doesn't normally do this job." You shake your head and try to load up the Lumpy Pumpkin's order faster so you didn't have to deal with your father's teasing any longer. He relents with a chuckle and waves you out the door.
You stumble for a moment with the crate, but find a secure grip on your way over to the ledge where you always called your assistant, Stormy. He was a light blueish-gray loftwing with a docile but needy attitude. No matter how heavy the load he almost always seemed happy to help you with your deliveries. After setting down the crate, you fish out the special delivery harness that stays housed nearby the landing pad and pull out a beautifully hand-carved bone whistle in the shape of a loftwing from your pocket. It was a gift from your mother that she had made when you first got Stormy as your partner. You had trained him to land on the island instead of catching you whenever he heard the whistle. You let out a gust of air into the whistle and shortly after you can hear the beating of wings against the air coming towards you.
You greet your steed with a smile and gentle pets on his beak before rigging up the delivery harness to him. It takes a few minutes, but after securing the delivery you fly your way over to the small sky island that houses the popular dinner spot. Nearly everyone in Skyloft was enamored by the signature pumpkin soup, and at one point had tried it. The young waitress, Kina, thanks you for the delivery as always and employs her father to lug the large crate back inside. You bid your farewells and return home, giving Stormy a nice treat for a job well done.
And the next day you did it all over again.
This was your routine, either helping father baking the goods, or acting as delivery girl for Skyloft. It was tiring, but honestly you weren't sure what else you'd be doing on this peaceful island. It was expected you'd take up the family business when you grew up, just as your mother had been passed the torch when she was grown up. The business had been in the family for several generations, and they wanted to keep it that way.
About a month or so passes. You started to see Link more often after that day, and he would come once, sometimes twice, a week for the knights' loaves of bread. Sometimes he'd come on his days off to get some treats for himself. He seemed to really like the chocolate croissants you liked to make. It took him a while to realize he didn't even know your name, so after a couple visits you finally brought it up and he blushes profusely.
"It's Y/N, by the way." You tie off his chocolate croissants in a cloth and hold it across the counter for him.
"That's a nice name." His smile just as sweet as, if not more than, the croissants you just gave him.
"Thank you, I was born with it." You joke and feel your heart beat a bit faster when he laughs at this.
"Thanks again, Y/N. See you later." He waves as he walks out the door and you sigh.
"That was quite the sigh." Your mother startles you which causes you to nearly fall over from leaning on the counter on your elbow. "Is my baby developing a little crush?" She nudges you and your brows furrow as you pout.
"N-No. He and I have become friends is all."
"Friends are nice, dear." Mom leans down and gives you a kiss on your forehead. You're surprised it doesn't burn her with how hot you feel your face is at the moment.
A few days later you hear rumblings of the Wing Ceremony taking place soon. It was that time of year, after all, and you wonder if Link would be among the participants. He'd chatted your ear off about his time with the knights, and he seemed confident he'd be winning this year. You knew that the Race was important for the knights in training, because if they win they finally become a full knight. You gathered quite quickly that Link was working hard to make his dream a reality.
The Wing Ceremony meant more work for you, though. It was a day that you all tried to capitalize on, and provided many treats and breads for the citizens of Skyloft. You had to bake many cookies and loaves of breads that resembled feathers in honor of the participants' loftwings. On top of it all, you still had to make your usual deliveries just to come back home and do more baking. As fun as the Wing Ceremony was, it was so much work for you and your family. During the few days leading up to the ceremony, you rarely saw Link, and when you did it was in passing as you scrambled around Skyloft making deliveries or when he came in to pick up their order for the academy.
During one of your few moments of rest, you met up with Link at a tree by the large goddess statue. The two of you sit in the grass and chat all the while snacking on some of the treats you've brought to share between the two of you. "You ready for tomorrow?" You ask with a mouth full of chocolate croissant (Link insisted you bring some).
"I'll be fine. I'm more than ready." He puffs out his chest and you can't help but laugh at the spectacle. "I'm honestly more worried about Groose cheating. He's a bit of a sore loser."
"I'll say." You roll your eyes. You'd never cared for him, based on Link's accounts of him. He was always picking on him and never hid his crush on Zelda. You had a sneaking suspicion that Link could relate in that aspect; he'd told you that the two of them were childhood friends and had always been close. It made you somewhat envious; you had realized later on after meeting Link you had started to feel stronger romantic feelings towards him. He didn't seem to notice any attempts, you always teased him in a friendly manner, but he also tended to be pretty oblivious to the world around him if it didn't involve wielding a blade.
"Zelda keeps scolding him, which sorta helps, but when she's not around he's relentless." Link laughs nervously and you give him a pointed stare.
"If you need someone to knock some sense into him, I'd be glad."
"You don't need to!" He frantically waves his hands in front of him with a shake of his head. "It's fine, really. He's harmless."
"Until he isn't." You hand him a piece of the chocolate croissant and he happily takes it. "Zelda's not always going to be there to keep him from wreaking havoc."
"It's fine, trust me." He looks back at you and you clearly see the confidence behind his eyes.
The two of you continue your conversation until the sun starts to set and he offers to walk you back home. Tomorrow was the big day. "See you tomorrow, big guy. Don't sleep in." You playfully poke his chest and he laughs.
"I promise, I'll wake up on time."
"You better. Or I'll have to be forced to cheer on Groose or his henchmen." You shudder at the thought and reach for the doorknob on your front door.
"No, I need you to root for me, or I won't have any chance at winning." His voice falters, just briefly, but you choose to ignore it. "I'll wake up on time." Link's sweet smile melts back onto his face and you feel the butterflies form in your stomach.
"Night, Sleepyhead." You enter your home and give one final wave before he wishes you goodnight.
The next morning was a whole fiasco. Link comes pounding on your door in a panic. His beloved crimson loftwing has gone missing so you join Zelda on the search to find him. He only had a couple hours until the Wing Ceremony, so it was imperative that you found him. After searching high and low for it, Link ends up finding his partner hidden away in a cave behind the waterfall.
There was only one person who would do such a thing, and you were marching across the Plaza to give him a piece of your mind; and possibly a knuckle sandwich. "You!" Your voice pierces through the throng of Skyloft citizens gathered to see the ceremony. Your parents were somewhere with their stand set up, probably selling the feather-shaped cookies and breads, and most definitely heard your call. "Groose! Of all the low things you could do--" You approach with eyes lit with rage before Link himself jumps between the two of you and holds you back. "You know you're going to lose so you resort to cheating! I hope you fall off--"
"Y/N! It's okay! Don't get yourself in trouble over me." He mutters to you and you sink back, feigning a calm demeanor for his sake. Inside your belly rages with the fire of injustice and the urge to knock Groose's teeth from his stupid mouth. Link guides you away but you're sure you can hear Groose and his minions snickering behind your backs.
"You better kick his ass in this race, or I will." You glare back over your shoulder and, surprisingly, a laugh escapes Link's lips.
"Don't worry, I'll make sure it doesn't come to that." He gives you a pat on the head and rushes off to the platform where he'll summon his loftwing. The crowd buzzes with excitement once the participants mount their birds and fly off to the area where the race will start. You help your parents best you can, but you're much too distracted with the prospect of the race to focus much on your work.
A loud whistle signals the start of the race and Link takes off at an alarming speed. The others tail him, but Link maintains his speed for quite a bit of time. He gets close to the golden bird to snatch the statue, but as soon as he reaches out for the statue Cawlin and Stritch flank him on both sides and steer him away from the bird. It's hard to see from where you're standing, but you see them chucking small objects to Link, and you can't believe they haven't been disqualified yet.
"They're clearly cheating!" You gesture towards the sky but no one seems to be listening to you. Their attention is set on the event in front of them. Though it deters Link for a moment, he catches up to Groose with haste, all the while avoiding the items being thrown at him. The race is over almost as quickly as it started as Link reaches for the statue and holds it high in the air to show proof of his victory. The crowd cheers once they see the statue in his hands.
As he nears the platform on his loftwing, you gently push through the crowd to congratulate your friend. Suddenly you hear someone yell or for Zelda, who jumps off the platform yelling out the soon-to-be knight's name. There are several gasps but an equal amount of amused laughter at the sight. You stand at the edge of the platform staring out to the pair while gripping the cloth tied around a bundle of chocolate croissants tight enough to cause your knuckles to go white.
You could wait. He still had to do the actual ceremony. You didn't know much of it except that the newly appointed knight and someone, in this case, Zelda, would act out the parts of the Goddess and her chosen hero. The mystery of not knowing what this ceremony entailed ate away at you while you helped your parents sell more goods and pack up once the plaza started to thin out. The small bundle of croissants meant for your friend stayed with you all the way until you heard a knock on the door. Your mother is the closest so she swings it open and your face slightly falls at the sight of a young man in a knight's uniform, but his Tunic is not green but a mustard yellow.
"I'm sorry to interrupt, but is this where Y/N lives?" You recognize him from the deliveries you used to do to the knight's academy, but never caught his name. You're mother nods and opens the door wide to reveal yourself to him. "I'm Pipit, a friend of Link's. I know the two of you are close so I thought you might want to hear this news as soon as possible." The look on his face seems pained and hesitant to share whatever he had to say.
"Well? Out with it then!" You urge and your mother lightly, but swiftly, hits the back of your head to chastise you for your rudeness.
"Link and Zelda were flying together around Skyloft and a strange tornado came and blew them out of the sky. Link tried to get Zelda but he fell unconscious and fell towards the surface."
"What?!" You immediately push past Pipit and run to the nearest platform to jump off and call for Stormy. Your mother and Pipit try to stop you, but you only wanted to find Link safe and sound. You and your loftwing solar the skies for a few minutes before you are met with the reality that you weren't going to be able to find him. By the time you return home, hanging your head in defeat, Pipit has left and your parents are chatting at the front counter of the bakery. They console you with big hugs and words of encouragement that Link was capable of taking care of himself, but you still worried for where he was and if he was safe.
About a week later after returning for your afternoon deliveries, you come to find that there are none on the counter. Maybe Father wasn't done with them yet? Or maybe he just forgot to get them prepared. You head behind the counter and look for him by the ovens, pulling out some flaky croissants. "Dad?"
"Yes?"
"Where are my afternoon deliveries?"
"Oh, right. I have a little helper for today." His words are laced with mischief. You frown in confusion and hop in the back to help with some of the baking duties until this "helper" returns. A fresh batch of normal and chocolate croissants get baked while you help with any customers that come throughout the next couple hours. The bell at the front door rings and you give your unenthusiastic greeting before you look up from the counter and see a sigh you didn't think was possible.
"Link!" He almost loses his balance as you tackle him in a tight embrace and lets out an amused chuckle. "When did you get back? What happened? Is Zelda alright?"
Link holds you tight in your hug for a moment longer before gently pushing himself from you. What follows next is the story of a wondrous journey which involved various monsters and adversaries on the surface. You stare on as he animatedly retells everything from when he fell to the surface world until now and how Zelda is still out there somewhere. "Oh Y/N, the surface is amazing. There's still plenty of dangers down there but it's so different than up here."
"So... I'm assuming I won't see you again for a bit with this important journey of yours.” You sigh and kick at the ground. Your eyes find a particularly interesting dust bunny rolling on the wooden floor.
“Well, maybe not. I won’t be around as much, sure, but I’ll still be coming back often.” He tries to reassure and you keep your eyes on the ground. You were glad he was okay and that he was back in Skyloft, but you would be lying if you said you weren’t disappointed in that answer. “I’ll be back, don’t worry. I gotta make some rupees somehow.” He jokes while gesturing to the counter where your deliveries usually reside. “Oh, these are for you, by the way.” Link reaches into his pocket and pulls out several rupees. “I thought if I’m taking your deliveries from you, you can take the tips. Your parents are going to pay me whenever I help out anyways.” You accept the tips with gratitude, but it’s obvious that you’re still disappointed by the news of him not sticking around permanently.
“Hey,” Link calls out and breaches your thoughts, “let’s go hang out for a bit. I’ve got time.”
“A-Are you sure?” You didn’t want to impose on your friend’s important mission.
“Of course. I’ll always have time for you, Y/N.” Link’s smile helps cheer you up and you agree to walk around Skyloft with him. The two of you roam around catching up on the past week that he’s been gone and on how everyone’s been worried about him and Zelda. After Link goes into the bazaar to purchase some items for his quest you walk out and stand by the lake with the water for a bit before moving on. Eventually you find yourselves sitting in the courtyard at the base of the Goddess Statue and you pick at some blades of grass while enjoying the peaceful silence between you.
The time was ticking away as the end of the day neared and you knew that your friend would be leaving in the morning to continue his journey. You had this selfish thought of keeping him with you here on Skyloft. To forget whatever was going on down on the surface world. But, the problem of Zelda’s disappearance would never be solved, so you knew that, realistically, it was never going to be a viable option. “Y/N,” Link nudges you with his elbow and you gaze up from the blade of grass between your fingers, “I want to show you something.” He stands up suddenly, and runs up the steps of the Goddess Statue. You stay seated in your spot against the tree and look up as he waves to you from the top of the statue. “Watch this!” He pulls out a cloth from his pack and jumps from the ledge of the statue. Your stomach drops as he falls for a second before the cloth in his hands unfolds above his head and he slowly drifts to the ground with his sailcloth.
“You nearly gave me a heart attack!” You rub your eyes and take a few deep breaths before he ends up back in front of you. Link holds out his hand to help you up to your feet and holds on firmly before you can let go. Without a word he leads you up the stairs of the statue and you start to put together what he plans on doing.
“Here,” he holds up the white cloth to demonstrate how to hold it then gives it to you, “try it!” You stand at the edge of the Goddess Statue and look down towards the ground that seems to just keep going the longer you look. Why are you afraid of the height? You were used to throwing yourself off the edge of Skyloft to fly with Stormy, was this so different? Well, in this case, you could fall to your death. “Don’t worry, just hold the sailcloth tight and you’ll be fine. I’ll be here to catch you if you need it.” He gives a whistle and shortly after Link’s scarlet loftwing comes soaring by, around the statue, and finally lands on the platform with you.
Though hesitant at first, you feel a wave of determination pass through you and with a final deep breath you jump off the statue and hold the sailcloth above your head. Your eyes slam shut and you feel your stomach drop as gravity takes a hold on you, but the wind catches the cloth and slows your descent. Link cheers down below and you let out the breath you’d been holding in. “That was amazing! But don’t make me do it again.” You add pointedly and hand Link back the sailcloth. As you glance into the horizon your shoulders sag at the sight of the sun lowering itself down below the clouds. Link follows your eyes.
“Y/N,” Your attention is brought back to your friend. In an attempt to hide your true emotions you give him a gentle smile. “Let’s go.” Without waiting he grasps your hand in his and leads the way back to your home. The entire way back he doesn’t let go of your hand. and you can feel your skin getting hot and clammy the longer he holds on. This couldn’t be happening… right? Oh goddess, what if he thought your sweaty hands were gross? What if you were breathing too hard?
You blinked and found yourself outside the front doors of the bakery. Your far off stare must’ve been apparent, because Link leans down to where your noses are practically touching. “Hey, why the long face?”
“I don’t want you to leave again…” You rub your arm with your free hand and look to the side to avoid his bright blue eyes that are set on you.
Link pats the top of your head with a smile. “Hey, don’t worry; you’ll see me again soon.” You pout. He tilts his head to the side. “Well, I have to come back. I’ll miss your chocolate croissants too much. You can’t get any of those on the surface.”
A chuckle bubbles up from your chest and you shrug with a nod. “Yeah, you’re right.”
“I’ll be back in a few days. Promise.” Link suddenly leans closer to you and plants a quick kiss on your cheek. “See you then.” He lets go of your hand and swiftly makes his exit and you’re left in a daze to process what just happened. When your brain catches up your face turns beet red and your hands shoot up to cover your face. It seems you were the oblivious one this whole time. Though you were disappointed you wouldn’t see him again for a few days, the memory of his quick kiss plays through your head, giving you something to look forward to for your next reunion. And you knew you would need to have a large bag of chocolate croissants ready for him to give him a taste of home while he’s on his long journey.