They got along poorly. Oil and water. Ice and fire. Some... other examples and metaphors that Shi would have been able to think of if he was smarter and more well read and wouldn't she had just loved to hear him say that? He could already hear her voice talking about how this could be fixed if he bothered to sit down and read a book for once, and maybe being well-read and studied was a good thing, and maybe there was a reason Impa made her spend so much of her time locked away in a makeshift study and not out sparring.
Of course there was a reason: She was the goddess-damned Princess and would have to be Queen one day. Of course she had to be well read. It mattered far less for him; he just needed to know enough how to read and basic history, but anything more was wasted on him.
He also was the one who was going to have to go directly into the enemy's territory. Not yet, but soon. It was better for him to know less. Better if he couldn't slip up and reveal too much.
It was after a long night of training under Impa and he had been given the task of bringing Zelda her dinner and telling her it was time for bed. Carrying a small tray of food wasn't exactly hard, but it was hard to dredge up the enthusiasm to do anything after spending several hours being slammed into the ground. His whole body felt like a bruise, and all Shi wanted to do was sink into an ice bath before crawling onto the sleeping mat that served as his bed.
"Dinner." His tone was flat as he walked into the study, the tray placed unceremoniously by her. "Eat up and-"
Shi paused, words cutting off abruptly as he fully took in the sight in front of him.
Zelda was clearly not awake. She was hunched over, arms curled with her head resting in them, and both on an open book that she must have been pouring over. There was no telling how long she had been asleep, but she showed no sign of stirring even after he came barging inside. And when she was asleep like this, she was almost... cute.
Shi stared at her for a moment before retreating. Within a few minutes he returned with a blanket, draping it over her shoulders. The food on the tray wouldn't go bad if it got cold; it was a stew and some bread, and while neither might taste great once ice-cold and stale, that was just something Zelda would have to deal with.
"You're a lot nicer to be around when you're not constantly telling me how wrong I am." Something close to a huff escaped him before Shi's expression softened. He wasn't quite sure what possessed him to gently push a lock of hair out of her face, nor to lean down and press a light kiss against her temple.
