(LU Four x Reader soulmate au where making tea out of a certain flower can show you your soulmate)
In a world where magic and monsters exist, it’s not so far fetched to believe that soulmates exist. Of course, everyone’s got their own take on how you can find them. Matching birthmarks, or fateful encounters- stuff like that.
There was no accurate way to find a soulmate- until a very special flower was discovered.
“You can’t seriously expect me to believe this soulmate nonsense.” You deadpan, staring down at the golden yellow flower sat innocently in front of you. When you lift your gaze just a bit, you see Zelda sitting in front of you, eyes bright with passion and anticipation.
“I know it sounds unreal, but you just have to try it! Steep the flower with some hot water, and I swear, your next dream will have your soulmate in it!” Zelda almost sounds like she’s begging, and you squint, suddenly suspicious of the princess’ knowledge.
“And you know this how..?”
A bead of sweat forms on the princess’ brow, and her eyes shift to look anywhere but at you.
“Aheh… You know, a princess is allowed to look for romance, too.” Your squint turns into a glare at her words, and your friend finally dips her head in shame.
“I know I shouldn’t have tried it without you or Link around, but I knew neither of you would’ve agreed! I feel I should be allowed to try things out on my own from time to time.” Zelda huffs, indignant at your silent reprimand.
“You may try stuff out on your own, but if this flower had been poisonous, or otherwise harmful, and neither Link or I knew you had chosen to ingest it, it would have made finding a cure harder.” You sigh, gently picking up the flower between your forefinger and thumb. It twirls gently, looking innocent, but as one of Zelda’s closest friends, and more importantly, the Royal Physician, it’s your job to be wary of foreign materials.
“Harder, but not impossible for the world's best doctor.” Zelda gives you a sly smile, and you preen under her praise.
“You flatter me, truly. As for what to do with this ‘soulbloom’ as you call it… I will study it for three days. If it turns out to be as innocent as you say, I’m willing to drink the tea.” You allow, sliding the flower into a glass tube to preserve it. Zelda seems to realize this is the best she’ll get out of you and drops the subject, moving on to other, more inane topics.
“We’ve reached the final testing phase I’ve laid out for this ‘soulbloom’. A magic infusion from another living being. I’m curious to see the flowers reaction, as other magical stimuli have caused interesting changes in the flower. It’s especially affected by picolyte, changing color to the element presented to it. Could Hylian magic have a similar effect..?” You hum, jotting down some notes before approaching the innocent flower.
When you took it away from Zelda, it turned a pure white color, which was the basis for this line of inquiry, since you figured the princess’ history with the Light Force might’ve caused its original golden color.
“My own magic is not quite as strong as Princess Zelda’s, but it should be enough for my intentions here.” The glow of your magic is a soft, pale green, most likely because it was learned from the Minish found in Picori Forest. And just as you thought, the Soulbloom reacts, turning clover green.
“Interesting… I don’t have time for more testing- I told Zelda I’d drink it after three days of studying it, but I’m interested to know if this flower can act as some sort of conduit for magic. It may even be able to sense traps in dungeons, which may prove useful for Link.” Your cheeks start to heat up when you realize what you just said, and you briefly glance around to make sure there’s no one else in your lab.
You’ve kept your little crush on the hero of the Four Sword under careful lock and key- even Zelda doesn’t know about it, although she may have some guesses. Luckily, no one really bothers you when you’re in your lab, and you feel yourself relax.
Looking back at the Soulbloom, you suppose you won’t be able to stall any longer. A pot of water is quickly heated up, and you place the flower in a mug you keep around in case you need a caffeine fix. Hot water is poured over the green tinted flower, and you watch it steep for three minutes. It’s hard to tell through your darkly colored mug, but the tea seems to be an emerald green. Is that because the flower is still affected by your magic?
At the end of the steeping period, you pluck up the mug, but just before you take your first sip of the Soulbloom tea, the liquid starts to… bubble.
“What the-?!” You choke out, pulling the mug away from your mouth, staring wide-eyed as the liquid seems to boil. You panic, dropping your mug, and it lands on the floor with a loud thud. You’re vaguely impressed it didn’t shatter into a million pieces before a higher level of panic shoots down your spine as you notice something moving in the remnants of the liquid.
“Zelda didn’t tell me it would create a horror scene- what the heck is this!” You whisper shout, kicking away from the moving mass and up on top of your work table.
The thing climbs out of the frothy liquid, brushing green tinted tea off of itself and shaking its head like a dog, and you realize with a start that it looks suspiciously like Link. Was he… taking a nap in your mug, and you just didn’t notice until now?
“Oh Hylia I almost drowned my best friend,” You whisper in horror, leaping onto the ground with enough force to make the little hero stumble. Luckily, you’ve dealt with the mini hero enough times to quickly catch him and help him back onto his feet.
Usually, he’d either jokingly scold you for knocking him over, or give you a short thanks before going on his merry way.
You’re decidedly unprepared for the goofy smile he beams up at you and tender hug he offers your hand.
“Uh, Link? You feeling okay?” You smile awkwardly, gently taking your hand from his hold. He looks almost sad to see it go, but he soon recovers, looking up at you with a sincere gaze. He’s acting way more affectionate than you’ve ever seen him, especially given his recent close call with death.
Whatever the case is, he’s still not talking, so it must be a quiet day for him. You figure he’ll catch your attention if he really needs your help, and turn your attention to the mess on the floor.
You find a few rags lying around and set to work cleaning up the spill on the floor, only to pause when you feel a tug on the leg of your pants.
Link stares up at you, looking determined, then points to the rag in your hand.
“Do you want to help? Sure, I guess…” Shrugging, you hand over the rag, and Link begins the arduous challenge of cleaning up the spill while being the size of a mouse. You take it upon yourself to pick up the mug, only to find it empty. Where did the soulbloom go?
“Zelda’s gonna be so mad,” You groan, standing up to rinse the cup out. By the time you return, Link is only halfway done with the spill on the floor, and you stoop to help him finish up. He’s obviously a little irked, huffing and pouting when you push him away from the mess.
“You don’t want to see the princess while covered in tea, do you? Go wash up while I finish this.” He considers your words for a moment before stomping away to clean up. He’s acting so strange today, it’s kind of amusing.
Link returns, clothes clean and hair dripping. He seems to be waiting for something, and gets visibly upset when you try to walk towards the door. Link’s always been very independent, even when shrunk to the size of a minish, but for some reason, you get the feeling he wants you to carry him.
Your assumptions are proven correct when you offer a hand for him to climb on, and he readily hops aboard, taking the opportunity to scrabble up your arm and sit firmly on your shoulder. The way he grips onto your shirt for stability is actually pretty cute.
“You’re pretty clingy today, aren’t you?” You chuckle, gently cupping him with one of your hands to help keep him stable. Instantly, he nuzzles against your palm, and you fight valiantly against the heat threatening to color your cheeks.
Finally reaching Zelda’s room, you take a moment to prepare yourself for the scolding she’s about to give you before gently pushing open the door. Zelda’s sitting in her reading nook, not even glancing up at the sound of the door opening. Link glances up from his spot by her bookshelves, a wide grin crossing his face-
And then you slam the door shut, mind going a mile a minute.
That was Link in there. But Link is also currently sitting on your shoulder. You glance at the miniature Link on your shoulder, who is currently tracing the lines on your hand, and squint.
He’s a perfect replica, but he’s a little bit bigger than Link would be if he was the size of a minish. Less like a kangaroo mouse and more of the size of a small hamster.
What’s more, he’s clingy. Link never clings onto you, even on the rare occasion he’ll ask you for a ride. Not to mention the adoring looks he’s been giving you since the second he popped up. You highly doubt Link’s ever looked at you like that.
“Hey, you okay?” Link- the real Link- pokes his head out of Zelda’s room, smiling curiously at you as your hand closes around the little Link (who’s probably an imposter?) on your shoulder.
“N-Never better! I just, uh, forgot something! Back in my lab! Haha, how clumsy of me!” You laugh nervously, shoving your hand filled with a now-squirming mini Link into your coat pocket.
“I’ll walk with you to get it, then.” Link offers, already moving to step out of the room, but you rush to push him back inside, doing it with more force than you even realized you had. Link lands on his butt, looking up at you in surprise.
“No, no, no! I got it! I’ll be back in just a second!” You rush out, slamming the door behind you for a second time before taking off down the hall at break-neck speeds.
“By the three, ohhh Hylia what the heck is going on,” You mumble under your breath, slamming the door to your lab behind you and fishing through your coat pockets until tiny hands clutch your own, and you hurriedly but carefully pull the little guy out.
“You’re not Link.” You say as soon as he’s safely sat on your work table. He stares up at you in confusion, big beautiful eyes swirling purple and red.
“But obviously you can’t tell me who or what you actually are,” Groaning, you slam your head on the table, frustrated with the situation. Small hands pat your head, and you glance up to see imposter Link pointing towards your sink. You hesitantly shuffle over, but the only thing in the basin is the mug you were using for tea earlier.
Soulbloom tea that supposedly shows you who your soulmate is.
“You’re my..? How does that even work?” You whirl around, eyes wide as the land on- what, a miniature version of your soulmate? Why is your soulmate Link? Not that you’re upset about it, but this has got to be the craziest coincidence of your life.
Mini Link- goddesses you need to come up with a better name for him- smiles placidly, seeming content just being in your presence. The expression is adorable on him, but decidedly does not help the questions swirling through your mind.
Before you can attempt to make sense of the situation, your lab door busts open behind you. Link stands in the doorway, eyes landing on you, then slowly trailing to the mini version of himself sat on your table. His eyes turn a stormy, suspicious blue at the foreign being sitting in your room.
“Who’s this?” Link asks, voice light to put you at ease. You know that voice. He is not happy.
“Oh, y’know. Just a, uh, evolved form of minish. His name’s Clover.” You cough into your fist, a bead of sweat dotting your brow. Link’s eyes critically roam over his lookalike before snapping back towards you.
“I see. He should join us for tea, then. I’m sure Zelda would love to meet him.” Link's smile ticks up just a little bit more, but still doesn’t quite reach his eyes. You somehow get the feeling that you’re in trouble.
Clover is clingy. If he’s not curled up in the palm of your hand, he’s sitting on your shoulder, tinkering with the small wires and odd gemstones he finds for himself. Whenever he gets tired, he’ll curl up on your chest and give you the biggest puppy dog eyes until you relent and settle down for a nap yourself.
Link’s behavior has changed since Clover popped up as well. He stays around the castle more, and seems more comfortable entering your lab. He’s also started bringing you little trinkets- flowers, jewelry, cutting utensils and other delicate lab equipment. It’s not like he’s never gifted you anything before, but the look in his eyes when he delivers his presents- it feels like there’s a silent promise behind each one of them.
Perhaps the strangest part of all of this is the fact that Link and Clover despise eachother. It’s a quiet, simmering hate that bubbles just beneath their calm exteriors, mirrored expressions of cobalt blue eyes and twitching smiles that don’t sit quite right on their faces.
It’s hard to understand what’s going on when the two seem determined to keep their grudge as quiet as possible, so you kind of just… ignore them.
“I need to head to Minish Village to drop some stuff off to Ezlo,” You announce to no one in particular. Two heads of straw blonde hair lift up, and soon, you find yourself marching through Minish Woods with Clover on your shoulder and Link walking slightly ahead of you, his sword drawn to take care of any chuchus that may try to block your path.
When you make it to the stump that will let you enter Minish Village, you set Clover down in front of it before stepping on top of the portal, hand in Link’s hand, and recite the spell that will shrink you to the size of a Minish.
Clover lights up as soon as he sees you walk out of the tree stump, running over to grab your hands in his and twirl you around a couple times. You giggle at his behavior, letting yourself be spun for a moment before Link clears his throat, taking your other hand and dragging you off towards Minish Village.
The trip to Ezlo’s is fast, and you happily accept his invitation to stay for tea and berries. He’s obviously curious about Clover, but you still don’t want to reveal what he truly is, and all Link has to say about him are insults.
You’re halfway through your cup of tea when Colver pulls a ring made out of braided wires and inlaid with multicolored gemstones. He presents it to you, smiling shyly in the way Link does when he’s particularly proud of his work and waiting for a bit of praise.
“This is gorgeous, Clover! I’m impressed,” You grin and move to put it on, only to pause at the feeling of forge-worn fingers wrapping around your hand.
“That’s-“ Link stares at the ring, then at Clover, and finally his eyes land on you. It’s like he can’t quite comprehend what’s going on, a full-blown frown finally crossing his face.
“Link?” You ask, running a thumb over his knuckles in hopes of soothing him. He recoils, taking his hands away from you like you’d burned them, and stumbles back a couple of steps.
“I need to go. Uh- Sorry.” Link manages to choke out, looking nearly sick before turning on his heel and sprinting out of Ezlo’s cottage. You’re too stunned by his actions to react for a time, but quickly shake yourself back to attention, calling out for him to wait while struggling to hop off of your toadstool chair.
By the time you get out of the house, Link is nowhere in sight, and you bite your lower lip in worry.
“He’s me. At first, I thought he was a shadow, a smaller one that managed to survive the dark mirror shattering or… I don’t know. You didn’t react negatively towards him, so I thought it was fine, but if he’s literally me I guess it makes sense you wouldn’t be worried.” Link drags his hands through his hair, looking about ready to rip some out. Zelda smiles calmly, lightly amused by the situation.
“He- He made them a ring. The ring. Y’know.” Link huffs, peeking up at his best friend. This, at least, seems to surprise her.
“Every single part of me has always wanted to give that ring to them. It would’ve symbolized the culmination of- of everything I’ve ever felt for them. The longing, the devotion, every ounce of care and love I could offer them. It was just never quite right. The shape, the gemstones, the timing, the state of my own mind. Who would’ve thought a part of me I never even knew existed would be the one to finally give it to them.” Link sighs, disappointed. Regretful.
“Curious. It seems a soulbound is more courageous than someone who carries the title of ‘The Hero of Hyrule’.” Zelda hums, eyes twinkling with mirth.
“A soulbound?” Link asks, peeking up at the princess.
“That would be the term for what Clover is. When one infuses magic with a soulbloom and pours hot water over it, a soulbound is created- a small version of the magic user's soulmate. It takes on the soulmate's personality, and is a way for you to get to know your soulmate before meeting them.” Zelda explains, watching her friend puzzle over her words. He seems to be stuck on the word soulmate, muttering it under his breath a few times before seeming to come to a realization.
“Wait- soulmate?! You mean they’re my-“ Link gasps, eyes wide and heart beating faster in his chest.
Zelda doesn’t bother responding, one eyebrow lifting to goad the hero into thinking for himself.
Link, however, is a man who uses his critical thinking about twenty five percent of the time.
The other seventy five percent?
“I have to go.” He stands, rattling the table as he does and sprints for the door. Link tends to act before he thinks.
You didn’t end up finding Link. If anything, he found you, having seemingly searched you out from wherever he’d retreated. His cheeks are flush from running, hair mussed and eyes wild as he approaches you.
“I- Sorry for running out on you earlier.” Link starts, scratching the back of his head guiltily.
“It’s fine, you just surprised me.” You wave him off, then realize you don’t have anything else to say. Link takes your moment of silence to start talking.
“Zelda told me what exactly Clover is. What he means to you. To us.” You feel your heart start to beat a bit harder, thudding loudly in your ears. He knows?
“I- I never really thought about who my soulmate would be. Someone with a fate like mine… Well, I never thought I’d live long enough to meet them.” Link admits, curling the fabric over his chest in a white-knuckled grip.
“I especially never thought fate would give me you.” He breathes out, finally looking you in the eyes. You feel your cheeks heat up at the intensity of his stare, eyes a deep passionate ruby color.
“I have something for you. It’s- you don’t have to accept it, but it would make me happy if you at least considered it.” Link steps forward, releasing his shirt and adjusting his grip on something in his hand. He boldly steps into your space, so close you can feel the warmth radiating off of him, and grabs your hand. Something warm and metallic is placed in your palm, and you barely manage to tear your eyes away from the man in front of you to see the delicately made ring he gave to you.
It looks exactly like the one Clover gave to you earlier, but seems to be worn down. Link must’ve had this for years, constantly considering the piece, thumbing over it whenever he saw you, clutching it close during his adventures in hopes of keeping it safe. It’s beautiful, and the love that has been poured into it is clear.
Link’s breath catches in his throat when you slip the ring on. He knew it would fit you. He’d taken careful measurements to ensure it would, but somehow, seeing it on you now after so long hoping and dreaming he’d be able to give it to you-
“You’re beautiful.” He breathes, an overwhelming emotion that must be love filling his chest. You giggle, taking his hands in yours and leaning forward slightly. He doesn’t even process the kiss you press to his lips until you’re pulling away, nervously covering the lower half of your face in embarrassment.
“You’re not so bad yourself,” You giggle at the stunned look on the hero’s face, only to yelp when he grins and pulls you forward, placing a long, loving kiss on your lips.
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