holds!!!! her !!!! hand!!!! because wow they've been through a lot !!
this is his way of breathing. of seeking a sense of reality that grounds him on these cursed, holy ruins. she looks haunted standing like that, still and most likely, holding her breath. link, despite thinking any look enhances her, feels the need to prompt a reaction, a click on her mind that snaps her out of it. his hand is bruised and rough but mostly, gentle.
❛ we’re safe, ❜ with every word, her grip tightens.
it’s terrifying, how kindness and murder can live along in a body like his. zelda doesn’t withdraw, doesn’t blink, hardly moves. she exhales and her lungs are empty again. this is the only way to breathe. now, it’s so ear-drilling to hear silence when all they’ve heard lately is chaos. her fingers, firm and timid, hold him back without sign of letting go. her expression is twisted in an impossible way; simultaneously serene and anxious.
❛ we’re safe now. ❜ we’re safe, alive, breathing in the only way we’ve ever known.