Chapter Text
Zelda was on the verge of sleep when she felt her mattress depress beside her. Startled, she sat up, blinking blearily at the figure who was crawling into her bed beside her.
“What do you think you’re doing?” she said, narrowing her eyes at her betrothed. (Her betrothed! She still had not gotten used to the word, even after Ganondorf had proposed to her officially.)
Ganondorf’s eyelids were heavy with tiredness as he looked to her. “Bad dreams – Twilight Realm,” he mumbled. “Want to hold you.” He reached towards her.
“You shouldn’t be here,” she said sternly, even as she let herself be pulled into his embrace. “It’s the middle of the night.”
“Who will know?” Ganondorf began to stroke her back as she rested her head on his chest, placing her own arms around his torso. “Do people often come into your rooms unannounced at night?”
“I suppose not,” she admitted sullenly.
“Besides,” Ganondorf said, “if someone catches us, what would they do? Make us move up the wedding? I would welcome that.” She felt him kiss the top of her head. “I cannot wait to be your husband.”
Whatever remaining resistance she was feeling promptly left her at his words. It surprised her still at times, how physically affectionate Ganondorf was when the two of them were alone. In public, he was the picture of professionalism (well, when he was not angry about something, at least), and she had overheard more than once the knights or castle staff gossiping about how harsh and frightening their king-to-be was, but as soon as she was alone with him, Ganondorf would take any excuse to touch her. She did not think he would want to talk about it, but she suspected his long stint in the Twilight Realm as nothing more than a spirit had something to do with his constant desire to touch and to be touched. Whatever the reason, Zelda did not mind. She found that she never felt as safe as when she was in his arms.
Now she kissed his collar bone where it peeked out from under his night shirt (he must have put it on before warping into her room in attempt to make her more comfortable, she thought warmly; she was quite sure that Ganondorf usually slept without a shirt on). His arms tightened around her.
“Sometimes when you say things like that,” she said into his skin, “I cannot tell if you mean it, or if you are just trying to manipulate me in to doing what you want.”
He laughed softly. “Can it not be both?”
She rolled her eyes, before pushing him down into the mattress. He let her push him onto his back, a triumphant smirk on his lips.
“Oh, alright,” she said, then kissed him briefly. “Just this once.”
“Just this once,” he repeated as she cuddled into him.
They both knew that he was lying.
***
Ganondorf was used to waking early – it was typical in the desert to get up and moving before the heat became unbearable, and the habit had stuck with him even now – so he was surprised to see light peaking in through the curtains when he opened his eyes. He was also surprised to see that they were not his curtains, before remembering that he had gone to Zelda’s room to sleep.
She was asleep still, sprawled out on top of him. Her head was resting on his upper chest, using him as a pillow. He was stuck, then; there was no way he’d be able to get up without waking her.
Well… that’s alright.
He was still shocked on occasion at just how much he cared for this woman, wanted to make her happy. Me, in love with the Princess of Hyrule, he thought. The him of only a year ago would have been horrified. But I am getting Hyrule out of this. So he wouldn’t be able to complain too much. And anyway, after everything that Ganondorf had been through, didn’t he deserve something sweet in his life? He rather thought he did. And if having her in his arms helped to chase away his nightmares, then all the better.
Eventually Zelda stirred, lifting her head to look at him. She smiled sleepily at him, and he could not stop himself from kissing her.
“Good morning,” he purred, enjoying the way her cheeks had pinkened from their kiss.
“Good morning,” she replied. “Have you been awake long?”
He hummed. “A while.”
She frowned. “You could have woken me. I hope you weren’t bored.”
“How can I be bored when I have the most beautiful woman in all of Hyrule in my arms?” he teased.
She shook her head. “Flatterer,” she said, though he could see the pleased smile on her face. “Did you sleep well?”
Now he hesitated, wondering how to respond to this. Saying what he was thinking would make him look vulnerable, which he despised. However, it would make Zelda dote on him, and he was finding that he liked that very much.
“I sleep poorly most nights,” he said eventually. “I find myself back in the Twilight Realm in my dreams.” He ran a finger along the edge of her pointed ear. “It is… better… when I am with you.”
Zelda gave him a concerned look, just as he had expected. “You have nightmares about the Twilight Realm every night?” she asked softly.
He shrugged. “Occasionally they are about the Demon King, though those ones have become less frequent.”
She put her arms around him, hugging him tightly. When she raised her head again, she had a slight blush on her face, though her eyes were narrowed in determination.
“Well,” she said, “if you really sleep better here – with me – then I suppose it is alright. To continue.” Her blush became darker, and wasn’t that a lovely thing to see first thing in the morning. “As long as you are discreet about it.”
He smirked, glad then that he had chosen to tell her about his dreams. “I can be discreet.”
“Although,” she added, glancing down at end of the bed to where his feet were hanging off the edge. “Perhaps in your room.” She turned her gaze back to him, and gave him a playful grin. “You are far too tall for this bed.”
“I am a perfectly normal height,” he said, pinching her arm. “It is you Hylians who are the small ones.”
“Maybe so. Either way, I can’t say I mind it.”
He raised an eyebrow. “I hope you aren’t just with me for my height,” he said.
“Of course not,” she said, giving him a long kiss. When she pulled back, she said, “I’m with you for your hair.”
Before he could retaliate, she pulled herself from the bed, giggling, and exited the room into her closet, shutting the door behind her.
Ganondorf lay his head back down on the pillow, a faint grin on his lips. He had said it last night mainly to flatter her, but he decided it was also the truth: he could not wait to be married to Zelda.
And only partially because it would make him the King of Hyrule.
