"Peach, that's far too tight!"

"I haven't even pulled it all the way!"

It was the middle of the afternoon, the sun shone brightly in the sky, the weather was a bit cooler than usual, and the birds chirped their song, adding a sense of serenity to the day. Alas, that serenity did not reach this room.

Link watched as Peach continued to tighten Zelda's, who was leaning against the railing of her end, corset. The brunette princess looked like she was in quite a bit of pain, but Peach kept pulling regardless. Zelda wasn't nearly as fit as Peach, being that she stayed inside more often than not, and she rarely wore corsets, so it was no wonder that she'd feel uncomfortable. Not to mention, that corset seemed like it wrapped tightly around the chest, so he didn't doubt that she was having trouble breathing.

"Um, maybe you should stop, Peach," Link suggested, "I think you're hurting her."

Peach immediately let go. "Am I?"

"Why do you think I've been screaming?!" Zelda wheezed. She groaned as she stood up straight, putting a hand on her stomach. Honestly, she felt like she was about to start panicking at any moment. But she breathed in and out, slowly, feeling as the oxygen filled her lungs and from there spread to the rest of her body through her arteries.

"Are you okay? I could loosen it if you want," Peach said.

Zelda breathes out. "I'm alright, there's no need to loosen it. I think."

"Could always ask Sir Ike to loosen it-"

"Link," was all that Zelda said, and he knew to shut his mouth. Zelda walked to her wooden vanity, which had a large, oval mirror decorated with vines and roses. She leaned down slightly, brushing away strands of hair that covered her forehead. She wasn't used to seeing herself like this. Pink cheeks that had required no blush, lips red and aching for touch, and eyes that sparkled at the very thought of going out. She felt giddy, happy even. She was holding herself back from running out of the room shoeless and into Ike's arms. Thinking about it, it didn't seem like such a bad idea.

"It's almost time to go," said Link. Zelda snapped out of her fantasies and quickly put on white heels that matched her dress and a straw sun hat with white satin flowers that decorated it on the side. She took one last glance at herself, smiled awkwardly, then bid her goodbyes to Peach and rushed out the bedroom doors.

Link and Peach looked at each other, knowingly. "You remember the plan, right?" Peach asked.

"If I get in trouble for this, I'm blaming you," Link said.

"Oh relax. I've already told my mother and she's perfectly fine with it."

"And His Majesty?"

"..."

"That's what I thought."

***

Zelda subtly rushed her way down the stairs and to the main hall of the castle. Well, she thought she was subtle, at least. That is, if the quick clacking of her heals and light panting as she sprinted didn't give it away. It was quite an odd sight for the servants to see. She was usually calm, collected, quiet. She never ran, sweat, or looked overly excited about anything. It was a nice change, really. They'd always thought she acted too mature for her age, even since she was child. To see her live out her youth, well, it made them happy.    

She slowed her pace as she reached the bottom of the staircase, looking around the main hall for any sign of the man she so loved. Finally, she spotted him near the main entrance doors, and her heart fluttered. He wore tight black pants and dress shoes, a white button-up with sleeves wrapped up to his elbows that fit tightly around his arms, and suspenders that were tightly held up by his shoulders. He also wore a white coat around his shoulders, which hung loosely down his back. He was looking off into the distance, facing the doors, but once his gaze landed on her, his eyes went wide. He seemed dazed, with a smile as wide as the crescent moon.

He walked over to her, offering a hand and bowing down slightly. "My Princess," he said in a low, smooth voice.

She felt her heart flutter again as she more than gladly took his hand, "Good morning, Sir Ike. I hope you slept well last night."

He wrapped her arm around his, keeping his hand steadily on top of hers as they walked down the rest of the steps together. "It was the most heavenly sleep I've had in a while, actually. Though, I must say, I had a bit of trouble actually falling asleep."

"Really? Was there something that bothered you? Perhaps, was the room not comfortable enough?" Zelda said, genuine worry oozing from her voice.

Ike felt a little guilty for teasing her. Almost. "Well, someone did leave me alone a little suddenly yesterday."

"O-oh," Zelda stuttered, her cheeks flushing. "I'm sorry, I should've at least guided you back inside the castle or-"

Ike chuckled, patting her hand reassuringly. "I'm only teasing you, I found my way back to my room eventually." Zelda covered her face with her free hand and let out a low groan, cursing herself for being so thoughtless. Ike, meanwhile, watched her dearly as she succumbed to her own embarrassment.

"Ehem."

The lovebirds turned their attention to Link, who stood in front of the main entrance, unamused. Sometimes he wondered whether becoming a personal guard was a good idea. "We will now begin our tour of Castle Town, please, follow me," he said, beckoning the guards to open the large set of double doors.

Ike and Zelda looked at each other. He leaned down, close to her ear, and whispered, "He seems a bit grumpy, is he alright?"

Zelda felt a chill down her spine as his warm breath hit her skin. "H-he's probably a little tired. He had to get up early to plan out the route we're taking."

"I see," he said, glancing at Link, then back at Zelda. He smiled and leaned in closer still. He smelled of pinecones and sunflowers, a smell that could brighten her day instantly. She could feel his breathing now, it was slow, rhythmic, peaceful. That, combined with his smell and the fact that his lips were just centimeters away from touching her ear, started to make her feel a little delirious. He spoke in slow, clear words, "Did I forget to mention how stunning you look today?"

She was sure her face was as red as the roses in the garden. She was trying so hard to keep her composure, but she couldn't help but let out an awkward giggle. "Thank you, you look quite dashing yourself."

"I believe you're far more dashing than I," he smiled, making her giggle again. He liked to see her flustered, it was so cute. Everything she did was cute. He loved to see her smile, to hear her laugh, to watch the way her eyes would brighten and slightly tear up whenever she was complimented. He wanted to do nothing more than tell her how pretty she was, tell her how happy she made him, how she was all he could think about the past day and a half, how she was the moon that calmed him.

He wanted so much more than to just link arms with her. He wanted to kiss her, caress her cheek, hug her, hold her, feel her. He wanted her to hold him, kiss him, touch his hair, run her hands up and down his back. He just wanted her.

As they walked through Castle Town, he could see her energy slowly draining with how monotonous Link's tone of voice was as he explained each and every single little building and it's history. She seemed so happy and excited earlier, it pained his heart to see her deflate so quickly.

"And this is the bowling alley," Link said, turning to them. The look on Zelda's face was just as he had expected: bored. Now was time to commence Peach's plan. He was going to regret this so much. He sighed and held up a hand to his ear. "Did you guys hear that?"

Zelda, disinterested, remained looking to the side. Ike's, however, attention was peaked, he said, "Hear what?"

"Just thought I heard a loud bang, thought I might, you know, go investigate," Link shrugged. He stared at Ike, intensely. Clearly the blue-haired man had no idea what he was talking about, so Link could only hope that by staring daggers at him, he would get the hint.

He could see the wheels turning in his head, until he finally got it. His eyes went wide as he looked back and forth between Link and Zelda. He cleared his throat, "Yes! That's a good idea, don't you think so, My Princess?"

Zelda felt her heart jump out of her body and her eyes went directly to Ike. "Yes!" She said out of instinct. Then she turned to Link, a brow raised. "Yes?"

Link nodded. "I will do as you command, Princess. Then, please, DO NOT leave, stay HERE, and certainly DO NOT sneak off SOMEWHERE while I am gone. I will be back shortly." He gave Ike a look before walking off to the east side of castle town.

Ike looked after him as he went, all sorts of ideas flooding his mind on how to make this day better. Then, he heard the sweet voice of his beloved and all his thoughts were put on pause. "If I may be honest, Sir Ike, I've no idea what I've just agreed to and I fear that I made a horrible mistake," she said, a hand raised to her lips.

His laugh resonated through the air. "Don't worry, it's nothing bad. What Link has given us is an opportunity to run away."

"But he said we should stay here," Zelda said, completely clueless. She's so cute.

"I'm afraid I'm not a rule follower, most of the time," Ike winked.

She blinked rapidly, looking away. "Well, I did prepare a picnic basket-"

"You made a picnic basket?!" Ike said, astonished. "As in, you yourself?"

Zelda blushed, but nodded. "It's at the castle right now, I'll conjure a portal once it's time to eat. I know making a picnic basket is a little unbefitting of me, but I thought it might be nice."

"I think it's wonderful, I'm excited to try it," Ike said. Her eyes lit up as her lips turned up into a shy smile. How he loved to see her get excited.

She cleared her throat. "We could go to Hyrule Field and have our lunch there."

"That sounds wonderful," he smiled. He lead her through the crowd of civilians, the direction opposite of Link's. It was quite crowded out, though, considering the princess of the country was out strolling with some random stranger, he wasn't awfully surprised. He could hear the people whispering to each other, "who is that?" "He seems scary." "Is the princess alright? What if she's being kidnapped?" "She looks quite happy, what if they're a couple?" "She's too good for him." And while he agreed for the most part, he started to worry that perhaps he was intimidating. With his natural downturned lips and bushy eyebrows, he certainly did look like he was angry all the time. What if he scared her?

"Oh, Sir Ike, look!" He heard her say cheerfully as she tugged on his arm. She wasn't scared of him. "A puppy!" He looked at his side and indeed, there was a puppy following after them. It had a big fluffy face with an equally fluffy body, and a short tail. It was brown with a big white spot on its left eye, and as the two stopped to admire it, so did it.

"Well hello there, little guy," Ike said as the two crouched down. Zelda wearily put her hand out to touch it, but before she even could, it had already leaped and landed on her lap. She nearly fell back once she caught the puppy, but thankfully Ike wrapped his arm around her waist, keeping her steady. They looked at each other for a moment, blushed, then looked back at the puppy. He didn't move his arm.

"Perhaps, do you want to come with us?" Zelda said as she cooped up the dog in her arms. It licked her face, making her giggle as she patted its head. She looked at Ike, leaning her head on the puppies, and gave him eyes that begged. Uh oh. "May we take it with us, Sir Ike?" Odd. This was the cutest thing Ike's ever seen, yet somehow he was feeling jealous of a dog. A dog. What was wrong with him? Well, it's not like he could say no. He could never say no to her, especially with those sweet eyes of hers.

"Of course, I wanna play with it," Ike half lied. He wanted to see her play with a puppy. It sounded cute. Just like her. Cute. And pretty.

"Shall we continue, then?" Zelda said as she stood up, holding the puppy. He nodded, standing, then allowed her to lead the way out of Castle Town, all while keeping his arm wrapped around her waist.

He looked at her the entire time they walked. Her turquoise eyes had a soft peach hue over them as the afternoon sky slowly turned into sunset. Her hair blew in the wind, sometimes right over her face. At those times, she would laugh nervously and move it away, trying to sneakily wipe it off her mouth. There were times when she would stop in her tracks and look around, then gasp and furrow her eyebrows, then after a little more looking around, sigh and smile, then continue on.

The puppy hopped out of her arms as they neared a large redwood, with tall, olive grass surrounding it. Besides it, there was a small field of countless flowers, with a few butterflies finding house within them.

"Woah," Ike gasped he looked at the scenery.

"This is the place I was looking for!" Zelda laughed as she ran after the dog, all while holding her hat. "I used to come here often when I was young! The grass is a little overgrown, but it should still be a comfortable spot to sit at!"

"As long as I'm with you, I could sit on fire for all I care," Ike smiled. Even from afar, he could see her face light up in a blush, her body tense up, and the shy smile that adorned her face.

She raised her right hand and a small green portal appeared beside it. She reached her hand in, grabbed around for a few moments, then took out a weaved picnic basket and closed the portal within a couple of seconds. "Come on, I'll set up the tarp," she said. She placed the basket down on the grass and out of it, she took out a long, checkered tarp, which unfortunately had its folding come undone. She yelped as it flowed in the wind, out of control.

Thankfully, Ike came to her rescue as he grabbed a chunk of the tarp and held it down. He placed it on the ground, as did Zelda, and said, "Quick, get on!"

The two of them let go of the tarp and quickly hopped on to the tarp, just as the wind stopped. The looked at each other, a bit astonished, then laughed. "Perhaps we were a bit dramatic," Zelda said.

"I don't know, it did seem like it was gonna fly away," Ike said.

"I suppose so," Zelda smiled. She sat down, on her knees, then grabbed the picnic basket and placed it in front of her. She looked up at Ike and patted the space beside her. "Come, sit."

"Don't mind if I do," Ike smiled as he lowered himself down, crossing his legs over the other and taking off his coat as he leaned on one hand, closer to Zelda.

She opened up the basket and took out two sandwiches, one full of meat and the other quite bare of it. She handed him the one full of meat. "I noticed you took a lot of meat yesterday during lunch, s-so I figured-" She met his eyes, noticed how full of love and adoration they were, and tensed up. "W-why are you looking at me like that?"

Ike shook his head, still smiling, though a lot wider than before. "No reason," he sighed merrily. He took the meat-filled one from her hand, gently brushing his fingers against hers, sending sparks through both of them. "So, this one's mine?" He was teasing her. She knew that tone by now. "You were watching me so closely to know that I like meat?"

She pouted. "Well, it's a bit hard not to look at you when you shine so radiantly." Well darn now it was time for him to blush like a rose. He laughed and looked away to hide his embarrassment, unwrapping the sandwich from its paper wrap. The meat was neatly packed and contained quite the variety, from pork to beef, and it was balanced with a healthy dose of vegetables like lettuce and tomatoes. It was much larger in comparison to Zelda's, who's sandwich seemed to only contain vegetables with a few thin slices of meat. He was sure to it slowly and meticulously, after all, he wanted to enjoy every single bite of this food his dear princess made for him. He was sure it would be delicious. Even if it wasn't delicious, which he highly doubted, he would eat it all anyway. Because she made it, she put so much work into it, and he was not about to let her down. He took a bite.

There were stars in his eyes, he could see the universe before him. "This is delicious!"

"Really?" Zelda grinned, putting her own sandwich aside as she watched him scarf his down.

He nodded. "It's the best sandwich I've ever had! The meat has been roasted to perfection, the vegetables are fresh, and the bread is crunchy on the outside but soft on the inside." He hummed as he took the last bite. "I love this. You did so well, My Princess. Would you make me another one at some other time?"

The smile on her face brightened up his whole day. She was ecstatic. Her eyes were closed as she laughed, but he could see the joy held within them. "Of course! As many as you'd like." She opened her eyes, the tips of her mouth tilted up into an adoring smile. "I'm so glad you enjoyed it, Sir Ike. You've no idea how happy it makes me to see you smile because of something I made for you."

"My Princess," was all he managed to say before Zelda quickly stood up and rushed to the small flower field beside the redwood. She picked up a couple of flowers from there, even played with the butterflies as they emerged from hiding, then came back to Ike with a clump of flowers and vines in her arms. At first, he was a little confused as to why she had randomly ran away to pick up some flowers, but after seeing that joyus look on her face, he completely disregarded his confusion and smiled back at her.

"I will teach you an old Hyrule tradition now," she said as she sat back down on her knees and placed the vines in front of them. "Flower crowns! Typically, they are worn and made at festivals for all to wear, but it's also a fun pass time." That was part of the truth. Flower crowns were usually made for festivals, but they're typically made for family and significant others by fellow family members or their partner. Usually, if you made a flower crown for someone who you weren't in a relationship with, it was seen as an act of love and affection. In other words, she was practically confessing to Ike right now. But she doubted he knew about that part of the tradition, so to him, this was just a fun activity and an opportunity to learn of Hylian culture.

Except, he did now. He had read a book on Hylian traditions the previous night, and flower crown making was on the first page (thankfully for Zelda, the book made no mention of the handkerchief system). So he did know, what he didn't know was if those were actually her intentions. He felt bad saying this, but Zelda did seem somewhat oblivious to subtle social cues, romantic ones specifically. But considering she was Hylian, and had grown up in Hyrule, he assumed she knew. And if she did know, well, his heart would not be able to handle it, to say the least.

By the time he had snapped out of his train of thought, Zelda had already completed a flower crown and was holding it up to him. "This one has gladiolus and bluebell buds in it, what do you think?"

He was still in a bit of a daze, so his words ended up coming out all jumbled up. "I-it's, uh, beu-ah- beautiful." Zelda raised a brow and her smile faltered a bit. Oh no.

She cleared her throat, holding the crown close to her chest as she looked away from him, blushing. "Would you... like to wear this?"

"Yes," he said instantaneously. "I would love to wear it." Zelda's bright smile returned as she scooched up closer to him. She sat up on her knees as she held up the crown, indicating Ike to lower his head, and so he did. She gently placed it, feeling his soft, blue hair brush against her fingers, making them tingle. As she lowered her hands, she deliberately brushed her fingertips against his cheeks. Just to get a reaction out of him. And a reaction she got.

Her fingers lingered on his cheeks, they were soft to the touch, long and thin. The way they caressed his cheek drove him crazy, he wanted more of it. His skin burned, it ached for more with every gentle she bestowed upon him. Her touch was like a miracle from the gods, and he wasn't a religious man, but he would more than willingly accept it. The fire contained in his heart traveled through his lungs, through his torso, through his hands and feet, to his head.

Then he did something he might regret later. But then again, he might not. Zelda had suggested to make flower crowns in the first place, perhaps, she also felt the same way he did. At least, that's what he tried to reassure himself with as he slowly leaned in, looking back and forth between her lips and eyes. She didn't know what to do at first, which nearly made him want to pull back, but as her hands snaked down his neck and rested on his shoulders, her lips parted, and her eyes began to close, he knew that now was the moment he had been so desperately been waiting for.

Then, seemingly wanting to add to the romance of the situation, the wind started up again, far stronger this time. Zelda's hat blew off her head and into the flow of the wind, startling her. "My hat!" She said, keeping on hand on Ike's shoulder while the other one went to her head. They both looked behind Zelda, where the hat was wildly flying around, further and further into the distance.

Ike frowned after having their moment ruined, but regardless, he pushed himself off the ground with a groan then offered his hands to Zelda. She looked a little confused but took them regardless, then he pulled her up, with a lot more ease than she expected. He gave her a gentle smile before running past her- his flower crown falling off in the process- and after the hat. Zelda turned around and watched him flail around for the hat, jumping and crouching all in hope to catch it in its wild trajectory.

She couldn't help but laugh at this grown man run around for a simple hat, one that could easily be replaced. She loved that about him. He would rather risk an injury than allowing something that belongs to her be lost or broken. It was clear to her that he cared about her, about her things, and she loved him for that.

Finally, after minutes of running around, he walked backwards, slowly, as the hat made a slow decent down as the wind calmed itself. He jumped up, grabbed it with both hands, than looked at Zelda with the widest grin. "I got it!" He cheered. She smiled warmly, giggling, and clapped. He was so wonderful, everything about him was. She loved his smile so much, it was far more beautiful than anything she had ever seen. She wanted him to keep smiling, always and forever.

Unfortunately, Ike was not looking as he walked back to her, and ended up tripping on the puppy, who had been sleeping not too far away from their initial location. The puppy was startled and jumped up from its sleep, then it ran away to the flower field to play with the butterflies.

"Sir Ike!" Zelda shouted as she quickly walked towards him. She sat on her knees and put a hand on his back, worry written all over her face. "Are you alright?"

"Just, ugh, dandy," Ike said as he turned so he laid on his back. He held the hat up to her with a tired smile. "Here's your hat."

She took it from him and placed it aside. "Thank you. Oh, your nose is bleeding a little," Zelda winced as a streak of red dripped from his nose.

"Really? Well, no big deal," he said as he wiped it away casually. "Could've been worse."

"That's true, but," her words fell off. She knew no matter how much she tried to counter him, he would only say that he was okay. She'd experienced it before, after all.

"My Princess," he hummed. He wrapped his arm around her, his hand snaking up from her upper thigh and settling on her waist. Zelda felt like she was burning. Despite the cloth between his hand and her skin, she could feel the warmth that came from his hand, his gentle and careful touch. She felt dizzy, and the smirk spread across his face certainly didn't help her feel better. "If I may be so bold, I believe we have... unfinished business from earlier." Her heart burned in her chest.

But just as he said that, the puppy ran right over his face, making sure to step right on his mouth. After it had moved away, Ike huffed and shook his head, wiping away the dog hair that riddled his face. Zelda laughed and helped wipe some of it away too. "Well, I'd rather not kiss someone with potential dog fur in his mouth."

"Fair enough," Ike coughed.

"But," Zelda said quietly. She leaned down, her eyes remaining on his, her hair cascading down, surrounding them in a small space. She hovered over his face for a moment, her nose slightly bumping against his. Ike raised his head slightly, allowing for their foreheads to touch. She glanced at his crimson lips, feeling every urge in her body tell her to kiss him there, and she was sure he wanted the same. But, after all the teasing she had been victim to today, it was only fair she did the same to him. She tilted her head and kissed his cheek, leaving behind an imprint of her lips. As she sat up, she saw the astonished look on his face as it turned a deeper red. She smiled sweetly, her hair a bit of a mess. "But, I hope this is enough, for now." 

Before she knew it, she was now the one laying on the ground, her hair spread all over. She looked up, seeing Ike's eyes. The expression on his face, she couldn't read it. He was flushed, his eyebrows were furrowed, and his lips were pressed in a thin line. He seemed... overwhelmed. "It's not enough," he whispered. He interlocked his fingers with hers, all while putting his other hand perfectly around her waist, like it was meant to fit there. "It's not nearly enough."

"Sir Ike...," she said, placing her hand on his cheek. 

He smiled, leaning into her warmth. "I am not noble, I have no title. Please, just call me by my name."

She smiled, almost sadly. "Only if you call me by mine, Ike."

His heart jumped out of his chest at hearing her say his name, and only his name. He leaned down, making sure not to put his whole weight on her. He kissed her collarbone, feeling her flinch at his soft touch. He moved up to her neck, just bellow her lips, and finally, her cheek.

"Of course..."

***

Marth glared at his friend, still holding the eye mask over his head. He had just been quite rudely woken up by him, just after midnight, after said friend entered his room without permission and leaped unto his bed. His friend looked stupid, as he always did, but he looked a little more stupid than usual. And annoying. Marth wasn't an angry person usually, but this guy really knew how to bring out that built up pressure out of him.

"I think I have a thing for older women," said the friend, completely serious.

Marth put his eye mask back on and slipped back into the soft sheets of his bed. "Ike, I don't need to hear about your affair with the Queen."

"I am not having an affair with the Queen."

"Then who?" Then it clicked. He threw the eye mask away and sat up, eyes wide. "Zelda?!"

Ike nodded. "You don't understand, man. She's wonderful, she's amazing, she's everything I want."

"You've known each other for two days!"

"Oh so an affair with the Queen would make sense after two days, but not a possible relationship?"

Marth sighed. "Okay you got me there, but are you sure about this? It's not just, I don't know, fake attraction, or something?"

"Marth, I am madly in love with her."

The king blinked. "Well, good for you, I guess. But as Zelda's honorary uncle, if you hurt her I swear to the goddesses I'll-"          

"I would kill myself if I ever hurt her."

"See that's a bit much-"

"She makes me so happy, so overwhelmed, so... joyus. I love looking at her smile, I love hearing her talk, I love being with her. I don't want to be away from her, not even for a second. It's killing me that I'm not at her side right now."

Marth couldn't help but smile at his love-struck friend. Ike had always been stoic, kind, but stoic. He was never really the type to show his emotions too much, and the few times he did, well, it was quite the rare treat. It made Marth glad to see him be so open about how he felt, especially since he was so happy. He leaned forward, placing a hand on Ike's shoulder.  "Well then, why don't you ask her out?"

"I want to, but I don't know how," Ike sighed. "We had such a wonderful day today, I don't know how I could possibly top it."

"Welllll, it's her birthday tomorrow, and there's going to be a ball in the evening," Marth said, making sure to annunciate his words. "See where I'm going with this?"

Ike nodded. "Yeah, yeah I do. But doesn't that mean I won't see her until it's time for the ball since she has to get ready?" He frowned and flopped down on the bed, sighing. "That sounds miserable."

Marth chuckled and patted his friend's shoulder. Seeing him now reminded him of himself and Caeda. Usually, couples get out of the honeymoon phase after a couple years, but he had never gotten past it. He adored his wife with all his heart, she was his whole world. And it was clear to him that Ike felt the same for Zelda. Protective of Zelda as he may be, he knew Ike was a good match for her, he knew he would make her happy. And he wished nothing but joy and love for the two of them.