tw: head injuries (nothing serious), blood, talks of death (ish) (link telling yn his worries)
word count: 658
summary: link patches you up after a run in with a lynel and expresses his worries
a/n: playing skyward sword for the first time and the link brain rot is back… a/n at the end where i talk about some future fics if u wanna read
furrowed eyebrows, pursed lips, and a crease in his forehead is all you can see out of the corner of your eye. it’s been silent between you two since you had stumbled down the mountain, shock arrows in hand and a big smile on your face as blood dripped down the side of your head.
link had made quick work, guiding you under the canopy and sitting you down, hands already digging through his pouch for gauze and salve. he had tossed aside the arrows earning himself a sharp “hey!” before forcing you to sit, calloused fingers tilting your head side to side, up and down.
“you’re gonna make me sick.” you mumble, head trying to tilt away from his steely gaze. a second passes before his fingers soften then leave your chin, giving you a pointed look that says don’t move as he begins to clean your head.
biting back the slight wince of pain your gaze settles onto the vast lake, the never ending rain from vah ruta disturbing the surface leaving ripples behind. when you were informed about the state of the divine beast you knew you had to do something about it, which meant finding your way up the mountain and risking your life against a lynel, you know, your typical every day endeavors.
what you neglected to do was inform link of your decision. it was meant to be an easy deal: sneak around the mountain top and collect the shock arrows without getting caught by the big scary lynel. which you successfully managed until the very end where you had slipped against the slick ground and fell into a little body of water that alerted the lynel.
escaping with only a few bruises (and a gash on your head) you were quite proud of yourself, at least until the furious look on links face had greeted you. “why didn’t you tell me?” links rough voice brought you out of your thoughts, your head turning to meet his gaze. his eyes avoided yours as he moved closer instead of angling your head to its previous position.
sighing softly your teeth worried your lip, “i knew i could have handled it on my own. plus, you were busy helping the zora and i thought one less thing for you was easier on your shoulders.” that caused his eyebrows to furrow, his face ever expressive. “i’m never too busy for you, especially for something like this.” link wiped his hands clean before kneeling in front of you, your lips slightly parting at the action.
his hands held yours, bringing them up to his lips and leaving gentle kisses onto the cold skin. “when i saw you coming down the mountain with blood dripping down your face i thought the worst. all i could think about was what if you didn’t make it back next time? i should have been there with you, should have taken the hit instead of you, i could have been faster so you wouldn’t be hurt now.”
something heavy twists in your chest at his words, the vulnerability and pain in his eyes as he expresses his view. water drips down the side of his face and your fingers move to wipe it away, “i’m sorry.” hand cupping his cheek, his eyes close and he leans into the palm of your hand. “i shouldn’t have went alone. i should have went with you but i know how busy you can get and i just wanted to make life a little easier for you.”
thumbs stroking his cheek you continue, “i can’t even begin to imagine how i would have felt if i was in your position.” links eyes open and he peppers kisses up your arm to your neck then face. “i accept your apology. after all, if you won’t take care of yourself, who will?” a teasing smirk appears on his lips while you glare at him, “you’re so funny.”
a/n: brain rot is alive and well for sure which means more linky winky… i also do want to say that i’m slowly getting the motivation to write glow worms again but i had a few worries. i had an idea for the story and champion reader but i got worried it wouldn’t make sense? and how it would work in the long run and being content with the length of chapters and what i decide to put out. also debating adding two new styles of posts and opening the asks but i’m unsure….yap central….link4life
all the bells say - chapter 18: Imperishable Son pt. I
a pre-calamity zelink longfic.
[M-rated // chapter 18 of 27 // Act 3 of 5]
>>Read chapter on AO3
or start from the beginning >>here
Chapter excerpt:
She has always known that a mountain’s worth of weight hangs above everyone—herself and her knight and her father and all the souls who dwell on this cursed land—but as Link tucks his eyes away, lips pressed down on the words she knows he’s holding back, that knowledge matters very little. There is only anger and guilt.
Angry at how unfair it is, that they all shall live this way because of a war no one alive today ever agreed to partake in.
Guilty, for it is this very ancient war that brought his spirit to her blood, binding them with a perennial string that cuts through not only them but the people around them.
Because if it weren’t for that string, she would not be here right now, on the withered grass next to him, in the warm fireside of his existence.
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link helps you get over your hatred of monsters that stalk Hyrule! this is how I imagine my reader oc and link had their first kiss <3 pretty sfw. kissing. heavy angst in the beginning. 3.9k
With a roar you would feel guilty over later, you swung into the air and you swung your scimitar across the bokoblin’s throat, its ooze staining the blade as it squealed and vanished.
A bokoblin would never be dead enough.
Remaining was the monster camp; spoils in the form of food half eaten, and a roaring fire with no one to tend to it. Three bokoblins and two moblins. A pretty big gathering—bigger than usual.
You hated them all. Every last one of them.
Their disgusting outposts. The way they leaped around their demonic campfires. Their snarling, porcine noises. How they barge into villages and destroy them, leave those left with nowhere to go and no one to be. How they make orphans out of children, leaving them with nothing, at the whim of the world and everyone in it …
“Stay with me,” Link murmured.
The sound of his voice compelled you to blink and turn his way, away from where the last blackened silhouette left spots in your vision. Link was right: you were supposed to be on your toes in the event the two of you had gotten it wrong and there were more enemies.
And there were always more enemies.
Another quick glance there, then to the campfire, before you answered, “Sorry …”
“Don’t be.” Link approached you and patted your shoulder with an affirmative nod. “Watch my back.”
“Always,” You murmured under your breath, but you didn’t think Link heard you; he slipped past you and into the skullish hideout protruding from the cliffside.
The outposts were always eerie after you and Link were finished with them, even during the day time. You watched as Link emerged from the skull to climb a ladder in search of collectibles, maybe a few palm fruits, a baked apple or two, more arrows … You glanced over the cliff of the Ancient Columns. The harsh daylight stung your eyes.
“Hey, Link?” You asked Link as he climbed down with one hand, pocketing arrows with the other. “D’you remember what I said?”
You’d told Link in so many words how much you hated the monsters that roamed Hyrule—sometimes in muttered rants, other times with inhibitions dimmed with a bit (or a lot) or alcohol. Link would say nothing, only listen intently with sympathetic nods from time to time.
“Do you think it makes me a bad person …? To hate them so much?”
You tried to ignore how handsome he looked in his Hylian tunic. The two of you were absolutely twinning these days, having recently come back from a quick little stop to Hateno town and picked out new outfits to replace the ragged, holed-in ones.
Don’t they say that couples who’ve been together start dressing alike —?
Shut up.
He looked back at you after adding the arrows to his quiver. His face softenend, probably because your own was surely scrunched with guilt. And you did feel guilty. Hating creatures on site was so nasty, so low … and yet you couldn’t deny the screaming pleasure it gave you to jam a blade through those their throats, hear their dying cries. Dust—until the next blood moon, of course. Sometimes you wished they didn’t darken and disappear into black-purplish vapor, but instead lingered so you could see the evidence of their defeat, their evident deadness.
You felt judged by the frozen stares of the statues strewn across the columns.
Link gazed at you. He knew this weighed heavily on your mind. He took a step toward you, voice painfully soft when he said, “Don’t think like that.”
You weren’t dense. You knew damn well Link was no fan of bokoblins either—or any other monster he had done battle with through any of his trials. All of them were cancerous signs of the land succumbing to evil and mayhem.
But your hatred was tad bit more personal. Link felt a noble duty to the land, to protect its people. There was little noble about your hatred. Nothing at all. It was selfish. It was revenge. You hugged yourself and felt the ache of an anxiety spiral coming on—
Link’s hand caressed your cheek. “Stop,” he murmured.
Your head snapped up to meet Link’s eye. You sighed through your nose.
“How do you always know,” You asked, defeated.
“You have a very readable face,” Link said—then shrugged. “And sometimes you say things out loud.”
“Were you angry?” You asked after a interlude of silence. “Not when you woke up—I mean—once you regained your memories? Were you angry about—about all the time you lost …?”
He hadn’t even regained them all. But he had told you he was once chosen as Princess Zelda’s sole knight before the Calamity. One-hundred years … An entire century gone, and because of Ganon—another monster …
It took Link a long too long to answer, and your demons fell in to accommodate the empty chasm.
“Of course not.” You turned away, shaking your head. “Why do I even insist on asking questions I already have the answers to? Of course you weren’t angry—you’re Link. You—You—”
“I didn’t know you thought that way about me.”
You looked back at Link, who seemed crestfallen, disappointed, almost. Then you realized; he thought you were seeing him through the same lens as everyone else: the Hero of Hyrule, the Champion. Indestructible. Invincible. Inhuman.
“No,” You affirm, shaking your head. “No! That’s not what I meant! Not as a hero, as a—as a person. You’re so kind, and noble, and I don’t think you’d ever take pleasure in it. Not like I do …” Your eyes stung, the shame rising up in your chest. “I want to say I fight them to protect people and to make things right—and that is a part of it—but I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t because I want revenge on those—those things so bad for what they did to my village, to my family … You’d never get joy out of …”
Footsteps aside you. Link was surely a foot or so behind you and, like always when he was near, your heartbeat quickened. He faced you head on now, but you were too ashamed to meet his eye now.
“And what if I told you I did?”
Goosebumps rose against your flesh at how near Link’s voice sounded to your ear. You blinked, sure you had misheard him, before turning around to gape.
“You—You do?”
Link looked down. “I realize they’re only extensions of Ganon, and so they only do what they’re told.” He tightened his fist. “But every once in awhile … I wish they would be dead for good.”
You gawked. Surprise and sudden relief gripped. So it was true? You weren’t alone?
Link relaxed a bit, walked a bit in front of you before stopping. “You’ve lost so much. Don’t suppress your feelings,” Link said. “It only makes them worse. And it’s natural, what you’re feeling. You might realize one day you feel differently about them.”
More relief, since the assurance was coming from him.
You didn’t reply, and apparently he took it as a sign to leave it at that.
“Come with me.”
You weren’t even finished with your drink, or your conversation with Cado about the cuckoos, when Link came up behind you.
“What’s wrong?” You asked, setting down your drink. It was quiet in the Shuteye Inn besides the sound of the cuckoos cooing in the background. Morning mist wafted in through the open door.
Link glanced at the door. “I want to show you something.”
“You’re leaving? Cado cried. “But I was just about to tell you about the cuckoos mating patterns!”
“Link, can it wait?”
Link came forward and took your hand, warm from the heat of your drink, into his hands and gave you the look, the one that meant he was serious.
You blinked, surprised by his intensity, then sighed. “I’m sorry—maybe another time?” You said to Cado.
Cado groaned. “Very well, I’m sure Link has urgent matters on his mind …”
“I’m trying to get to know everyone!” You said to Link as you exited the inn. “I’ll never be able to if you keep pulling me aside, Link.”
A small smile from Link; he probably found your dedication to being a Kakariko resident cute, but you were serious. “Nevermind that for now. I had an idea.”
You crossed your arms. “I’m listening.”
Link looked up at the skies. It was a clear afternoon, with only a hint of cloud mist. “You’ve seen dragons in the sky before, right?”
“Yes?” Where was he going with this?
He faced you now, eyes so blue they made your knees buckle. “Have you ever riden one?”
“What?” Was he insane? “No! No one has! That’d be impossible—right?” You loosened up when Link only stared at you. “Link, don’t tell me you’ve done it … That’s got to be the most dangerous thing anyone could ever do! Try to do!”
“It’s really easy,” Link said confidently, as though you had never spoken. “All you have to do is get to a tower and …”
“No, Link,” You said. “I don’t know where this idea came from, but I’m not climbing up a sheikah tower to dive onto a dragon and kill myself.” You furrowed your brows. “How’d this idea fall into your head …? Is it what I said the other day about the monsters?”
Link took your hand again—it was almost worth it arguing with him to create intimacy with you in this way. His gloved hand, the tiny specks of skin exposed where you could feel his calluses. Despite your protest, you squeezed.
“I want to prove to you not all monsters are bad.” His Hylian hood created a strip of shadow across Link’s nose. “Let me show you.”
He was really serious about that. How were you surprised the Hero of Hyrule could concoct such a plan and remain so deadpan about it. “Link …”
“You don’t have to answer now,” he said despite his eagerness, finally letting go of your hand with what felt like hesitancy—was it? “Meet me at the tower tonight.”
Link reached into his inventory sack and offered you one of his Lynel shields to borrow.
“When did you fight a Lynel? Recently?” Whenever you and Link parted ways, you just loved how there were always indications of horrifying ordeals that filled in the gaps of his absense.
Link ignored your henpecking; his eyes met yours seriously again. “I promise I won’t let anything happen to you,” he murmured. “Trust me.”
Finally, you sighed, strapping the shield on to your back. “Fine,” you acquiesced. The idea was so absurd you couldn’t even fully grasp what it was you were agreeing to, but you knew determined little Link when you saw one. “I’ll be there.”
Satisfied and with a faint smile, Link nodded and retreated from the inn to do only the goddess knew what. With the weight of what would come in the night hanging over you, you returned to the inn to let Cado finish up his lecture on the romance of cuckoos.
At least it wasn’t a blood moon; despite the combined tutoring of Impa and Paya in how to track one, you had lost count of the nights gone without one—which, with your luck, only meant one was surely around the corner.
But of course Link would know its pattern—like the back of his hand even. He wouldn’t make a plan to meet you on a night rife with the resurrections of the very monsters you despised. He would want you relaxed. He had most likely set this night in motion with the most meticulous of planning. He wanted you to feel safe. Safe with him.
You ignored the butterflies dancing around your heart at the thought as you came down from Impa’s temple steps and made for the door.
“Just where are you going at this hour, young lady?” Impa teased at the sight of you. No amount of chastising would convince her you weren’t simply another one of her granddaughters.
“Oh, um—” You glanced shifty-eyed toward the door. “Just out for some fresh air.”
“At this hour?” Paya said, aside, always, her grandmother. Nothing would convince her you weren’t her little sister. “But It’s so late …”
And usually you welcomed their coddling. It was one of the reasons you wanted to be accepted into Kakariko village and be amongst the sheikah. But at the moment it was irritating you; they were prying with questions you couldn’t answer (for yourself or them).
“I can take care of myself,” You bit back, your tone hopefully not too harsh. “And I won’t be gone long. I just …” You struggled. “Want to see if I can collect some more silent princesses—we need more right?”
“Oh, that’s right …” Impa said. “Well, if that’s the case, run along now.”
You nodded to them both and left. You waved to Cado, promptly ignoring Dorian on your way down. You could never explain it, but you didn’t like Dorian. You could never come to trust him, either.
It took you mere minutes to get to the tower Link had mentioned, the one nearest to Kakariko. There you climbed the obnoxious length of it, though it was always worth it for the view. Death Mountain in the distance, the still-corrupted Hyrule castle ... You wondered how far along Link was in recalling the past, and how long it would before he confronted Calamity Ganon in the inevitable battle soon to come.
When it did come, there had to be something you could do to help … right?
Link was waiting for you at the top, but for whatever reason you were still somewhat surprised to see him there. It was as though he were an apparition, bathed in the silvery moonlight.
He smiled. “You came.”
“In the end, I guess I had to see what this was gonna be all about,” You said in an attempt at levity, though you felt anything but. You felt jittery and taut with nerves that seemed to have nothing to do with hightailing a dragon in the sky. “So … what now?”
You came up to Link and realized your vision had been partially blocked by the tower’s opening; Link had a campfire going along with two pillows adjacent to one another.
“Now we wait,” Link said. “It shouldn’t be long now.”
And sure, you wanted to complain—you climbed all the way up here to wait longer?— but your legs were tired from the impromptu workout. It was nice to sit and take a swig of an elixir Link offered you with the promise it would calm your nerves.
“There it is!” Link said.
You followed his pointed finger, and of course there was it was; a ribbony, brightly colored scaled beast in the sky, writhing slowly in the night air. Naydra, this one was called.
“It’s good you’re dressed warmly,” Link said as he stood. “Come on.”
You followed him to the railing. Link stood on top of it, then lent out his hand. Elixir be damned, your nerves had returned.
“Link,” You said, voice wobbly. “I don’t know—”
“Trust me,” Link murmured. He eagerly stretched out his hand.
You gulped and took his hand, less to throw caution to the wind and more to hold his hand again.
“Hold on to me,” he said, hugging you to his side.
You blushed as you wrapped arms around his neck. This close, you could smell the wild on him—fresh fruit and lakewater and the faintest scent of sweat. Naydra was drawing nearer, either oblivious or unbothered by what the two of you were daring to attempt.
“Now!”
Link jumped—you squeezed him, crying out as the two of you went over the railing and into the air. His paraglider flailed to life, rippling in the cool wind. Foolishly, you looked down and saw the trees below like broccoli florets passing you by.
“Link!”
“Don’t look down!”
You tried to obey him and looked ahead to the dragon. You were slowly scaling by it, its presence growing bigger in your line of vision. The air was colder now. The scales protruding atop its body glowed in a way which rivaled the twinkle of the stars.
“Almost …” Link murmured.
A few seconds more and you would drop on its back. It was so cold now. Spheres of mist drifted by and the winds below picked and flew upward.
“I’m gonna drop us by her head,” Link told you.
The enormity of the moment struck you silent and dumb. Naydra’s body writhed beneath you, the light of her scales sending you blinking. “Okay …” was all you could manage.
With a firm hand around your waist, Link released his paraglider and the two of you plummeted down.
“Ah!” You said as you landed by a large scale. The drop hadn’t hurt, but you had anticipated just that, and your cry was involuntarily.
Link’s paraglider folded away, his hand still around you, only gripped at the back of your shoulder now. He tugged you forward so you were huddled closer into his snowquill tunic.
You were recovering marginally from what had just happened. I’m on a dragon. One hand gripped tight to Link, you came forward and touched one of Naydra’s scales.
“They’re … so pretty.”
You might’ve heard Link chuckle from behind you. “C’mon, let’s get to the top of her head.”
You let Link guide you. Along the way you finally disobeyed his command and looked down at Hyrule spiraled beneath you. The magnificent view put the one at the Sheikah tower to shame. The world was so small and dollset-like from up here. The wind whipped at your hair and clothes, igniting your goosebumps, and the altitude sent your ears popping.
Still, you never let go of Link’s hand.
Naydra’s glorious crystal mane whipped in the breeze as she soared. Link took the first step atop her head and brought you along.
“Does she—does she know we’re here?” You asked, because how could you not?
“I don’t think so,” Link said. “But I don’t think she’d mind.”
You didn’t know what he meant by that. You snuggled by one of Naydra’s great horns. Everything about her was light and snow. Her horns sparkled and glowed like great icicles. You sat beside Link on her head, and it was almost like the two of you were steering the great beast, determining her route.
For moments more you remained silent, absorbing the scene. Day was approaching fast; no longer was the night a deep blue; the sky grew a paler shade of blue with the yawning arrival of the sun.
“What do you think?” Link asked you after a while.
Of course, you never forgot he was there, but so entranced were you by the bright orange hue the sky was taking on you couldn’t immediately answer.
“It’s beautiful …” You glanced at the sky as dusk approached. “I don’t know … I had no idea …”
Link smiled, clearly proud of his plan.
If you listened closely and stayed still, you could feel Naydra breathing underneath you; great hums emanating from her dragon lungs. “She hasn’t thrown us off yet …”
“Dragons are gentle,” Link explained. “They wouldn’t do that.”
Despite the chill—despite everything—you felt safe, just like Link had said you would with him. Naydra hadn’t even roared. Didn’t all beasts roar?
“There are lots of scary things in the world,” Link said, “and evil monsters, but there’re a lot of beautiful things, too. All we can do is keep our hearts open to it all.”
Finally, you looked back at Link. Blond locks swept in his eye, feathers of his tunic whipped with the wind. The eminent blue glow of the Master Sword illumined from behind him in its sheath. Lots of beautiful things … Didn’t you know that?
You leaned forward and caressed Link’s collar. He gave a soft sound of surprise but did not stop you. Another hand placed itself at his cheek.
His gaze traveled to your lips. His other hand curved around your waist, hesitantly, as if he didn’t know it was yet all right for him to touch you like this.
And in that moment, you didn’t feel nervous, or even safe.
You felt brave.
All of Naydra’s chill left your body as you leaned forward, as Link did, too, and captured each others lips. Tentatively at first, then Link was the one to provide the heat; he kissed you with a fervor you hadn’t sensed anywhere else in him than in combat, his teeth grazing against yours, tapping and threatening to sink into your lower lip.
Oh, Link … You were sure any moment you would wake up in your bed to realize this had just been another one of your silly dreams, but Link seemed determined to take that uncertainty away from you; his hands and lips were firm, decisive. You threaded fingers in his hair with a groan, but also in an attempt to ground yourself as Link’s tongue lapped at your own.
You weren’t quite sure who pulled away first. All you know was that the kiss ended, replaced with a heat of a new kind, something more organic. The sun had risen fully and was beaming light onto the three of you. Naydra’s scales shifted from one color into another like a great kaleidoscope. Link’s arms were wrapped fully around you.
Hands in his hair still, you blinked lust from your eyes. Link’s cheeks were pink, whether from the cold radiating from Naydra or your kiss you would never know; his pupils were blown, his lips parting with what could only be realization of what had just transpired.
“Link …” A tender ache behind your eyes. You blinked it away as best you could, but the frost emanating from Naydra might have evaporated any tears that had escaped. Where had this man come from? How had you gotten so lucky as to fall for him, meet him at the right moment, when you needed proof there was still goodness and beauty in the world?
Surprisingly, he was the one to speak first. “How do you feel now?”
“I just—” You hung your head. Link held both your hands now, trembling in his. “Thank you—for this, not just the—” The kiss. “But thank you for that, too! I …” What were you supposed to say? The right words would probably come to you decades from now, when you were on your deathbed, remembering this moment. Certainly not now. “You’re right. Thank you for showing me how wrong I was …”
Link lifted a hand to wipe a tear away from your cheek, swiping it away with a cold digit.
“Didn’t do it to say you were wrong,” Link murmured. “I wanted to help you.”
You knew what he meant. He had wanted to soothe your soul, if even a little. And clearly your hatred was not gone—no one trip could do that, no matter how fantastical the event, or how magnificent the dragon. But he had set you on the path for a belief more holistic. A burden had definitely lifted, and you felt lighter, as though you could leap from Naydra’s back right now and keep flying.
“Did it work?”
You smiled and squeezed his hands. “It did. All of it.”
He obviously knew what you meant. Link said nothing, only nodded, cheeks pink.
Somehow, you had bigger problems now: you had just kissed Link. He had just kissed you. What were you supposed to say now? I’ve wanted to do that for so long? Do it again?
Either would be the truth.
But reality (atop a dragon) set in. You looked down at Hyrule passing by.
K.K. Love Song & K.K. Ballad by socksock/@airplanned
This pair of fanfics are a love in the time of covid x animal crossing romance and the story is just absolutely delightful. Zelda saves Hyrule from covid and Link doesn't know where to put his fish market. It sounds like a bizarre crossover, but just trust me: I have never played animal crossing and find the memory of the first year of the pandemic traumatic af, but I was still completely charmed by this story. I was probably not the target audience for this one, but was suckered in anyway.
This bind was actually finished a while ago but I couldn't post it as I had also bound a copy for my friend who loves animal crossing and loz for their Christmas gift and I didn't want to spoil the surprise. Now she has it and I am free to share!
The gorgeous art on the front and back cover was done by @madocaito who was just awesome and I love both of the pictures so much.
As always, a massive thanks to @airplanned for giving me permission to bind this series into a wee book, and to edit my copy to be an edition that uses UK spelling!
I've been going through such an awful writing drought but botw is keeping my heart beating so I thought why not write some fluff? This is a short fic between Link and a lil reader OC I created! I've not finished botw yet so pls keep that in mind while reading if anything comes off wrong!
fluff w/ a splash of angst. inklings of my oc's backstory. wc: 500.
The laughter — brought on by one of your many throwaway jokes — subsided as soon as Link looked down, and at once you saw what he was staring at.
Your Yiga tattoo.
Link stiffened in your periphery, fingers twitching to his royal broadsword. Alarm made you suck a breath under your nose. The fire crackled, miraculously the only prominent sound in a strangely quiet night in the Hyrule field.
“It’s not what you think,” You said, raising to cover the tattoo with a trembling hand.
No sudden moves from Link, but his eyes followed you as you sat up.
Your head hung. Amber danced on your brown skin at the campfire’s behest. “It was a long time ago. When — when my village fell to the monsters … I was alone. I wandered for a long while and some members from the Yiga clan found me, offered me to join.”
A soft murmur from Link told you he had somewhat returned to your side, or at least was believing what he was hearing.
“I didn’t care about them,” You went on, brave now enough to meet Link’s eye. “I just wanted food and shelter, that’s it. So I let them brand me.” When you saw the outline of Link’s body relax, you risked some levity. “It’s stupid, don’t you think? Why would they brand themselves? Wouldn’t that make it easier to identify them?”
Link was quiet — as always. But you felt as thought he was deliberating on what to say. As opposed to his usual silence, this one felt intentional.
“Please believe me,” You murmured.
In truth the odds were against you; he and you were in the middle of Hyrule Field — what better place to ambush the great hero of Hyrule than a place where you’d have backup by every creature in the vicinity? If you didn’t finish him off, certainly some guardian would. No doubt about it.
But that could never be you. You would never hurt Link, and you would never have anything to do with any group that would.
Link made his decision; he got up from his place near the fire and took a few steps toward you. You looked up at him, waiting for his judgement. You’d lied to him, and honestly, whatever he chose to do to you now would be your fault and only yours. You would accept whatever came next.
Until Link sank to his knees and enveloped you in an embrace.
You sucked in a breath, blinking against the linen of his vest. “Link …”
He only held you tighter, roping strong arms around you and keeping you steady against him.
The sympathy you didn’t deserve brought mist to your eyes. How could he forgive you so quickly? It didn’t matter what had led you to entertaining the Yiga — they were evil! It didn’t matter you were cold, and hungry, and scared, and stranded with no family, no one to look out for you. It didn’t matter you had no idea how long you’d live … Wrong was wrong. “I’m sorry … I should’ve told you.”
Link didn’t seemed to mind, mumbling something into your hair.
You could’ve stayed like that forever, Link’s body and scent roped around you. And you don’t know how long the two of you actually remained like that, you only remembered how the final embers of the fire died out, leaving the work of illumination to the stars.
Curse his soft heart. Curse those big, pleading eyes.
As royalty, Sidon had plenty of practice denying people’s requests. If he deemed things inappropriate or unwise, a simple ‘no’ from his side was the only thing needed to end any discussion in seconds. No objections, no negotiations, nothing.
Sidon sighed. Begrudgingly, he picked up the silver sword that had been tossed in his direction and faced his opponent.
In front of him stood the Hero of Hyrule with windswept hair and a cocky smile. They were on top of Ploymus Mountain – a location once forbidden to enter for almost certain death awaited hadn’t it been for the Hero himself. Sidon could hardly believe that almost two years had passed since Link had faced down the lynel.
Said hero now met his gaze with a glint in his eyes he’d almost call mischievous. He stood on the opposite side of the plateau; hands relaxed on top of his sword’s handle knob as it rested with the point of its blade on the grassy ground. The midday sun stood high and a metallic shimmer occasionally reflected between strands of the Hylian’s golden hair, moved by the slight breeze.
Three grinning mouths peeked from behind Link’s lean figure - sitting on the lush grass were the little devils who were to blame for this impromptu face-off. Laruta hid something behind her tiny body before Sidon could get a proper look; Tumbo and his brother Keye shuffling closer to her, eyes all innocent.
“Ready?”
Link had lifted his sword up and now strode towards the middle of the plateau. He still wore the tight Sheikah armor sans the mask from a previous mission the elder Impa had sent him to. The fabric moved like a second layer of skin, following the movement of every muscle…
Sidon’s headfin twitched in slight annoyance as he averted his eyes.
Mirroring the Hylian, Sidon moved towards the center and lifted his sword in an easy stance.
“Not the greeting I had anticipated after two months apart, but as I’ll have you know, a prince is always ready.”
Link looked at him, the corners of his mouth lifted. It was not quite a grin, not quite a smirk – but the weightlessness this simple playful expression held almost punched the air out of Sidon’s chest.
As if sensing the prince’s distraction, Link chose this exact moment to charge forward.
While having a significant advantage in water, on land Sidon’s movements were slower. Not sluggish. Not laboured. Not reduced by any means to have a true disadvantage against most opponents.
Link, though, was not most opponents.
Metal clashed, as Link dealt the first blow. Sidon’s arm strained as he engaged the Hylian’s sword in a bind, before pushing him away with a powerful shove.
Sidon staggered as he parried Link’s forceful hits. One successful move on his part was met with two blows that forced awkwardness into his footwork.
Link moved into his space, again and again. Sidon tracked the slender, but powerful muscles work underneath the tight fabric. From the places their bodies made contact, Sidon could tell that the fabric was damp. Did Link already break a sweat or was the moisture just residue from his prior travels?
Sidon wondered if-
The blunt end of Link’s hilt hit him right underneath his gills. Sidon grunted as his upper body reflexively bent over in an unconscious desire to protect his gills.
A lithe thigh curled around his right leg and before he could register what happened, his back hit the dirt.
Sidon blinked, stunned (and a little bit embarrassed how little it took to be incapacitated and thrown on his back given his obvious advantage in mass).
Before he could react further, three small bodies ambushed him.
“Hah! Now you can be part of our secret group!”
Something cold and pointy was shoved atop his head (with no regards how said pointiness almost pierced his skin, ouch).
Sidon sat up, three Zora children still clinging to him on top, as his hand automatically went up to his head to investigate the pointy object. Small hands immediately grabbed onto his to stop its reach.
“No, you can’t take the crown off! That’s against the rules!” Laruta reprimanded him.
Link looked at him with a lopsided grin, as he gestured towards his own head.
The glint in his hair he had detected before, Sidon realized, was light reflected off a small gemstone embedded in a… craftly bended tiara.
“They got me too,” Link shrugged.
Tumbo nodded enthusiastically, his knees pressing into Sidon’s side. “He didn’t even see us coming!” he exclaimed, chest puffing up with pride. The look Link gave him spoke a different tale, but Sidon didn’t care to burst the bubble.
Sidon stood, careful to lower the kids gently to the ground.
“To get the honours to be part of your secret group, shouldn’t I have defeated Link?” he asked, wiping off smudges of dirt from his left thigh.
Keye looked at him as if he had asked the whether the sky was made out of trout.
“No, that doesn’t even make any sense.”
Sidon nodded. “You’re right. Of course it doesn’t.”
The grins returned on the kids’ faces. Without another word, all three of them gave Sidon a quick hug, before running off again, back towards Zora’s Domain.
Sidon stared at the retreating bodies in stunned silence.
A warm body stepped next to his. His gaze shifted to Link, whose expression turned into something more tender.
“I didn’t hurt you, did I?”
Sidon playfully rolled his eyes in response.
“You didn’t hit me that hard.”
Link chuckled.
“Well, you seemed rather opposed to the idea of sparring with me.”
Sidon rubbed his neck, as he looked back to where the kids had vanished.
“Well… I just thought our reunion would play out a little differently,” he admitted.
Link stepped in front of him, head tipped up to meet his gaze.
“You did seem awfully distracted…”
Link took a few steps backwards, and as if being pulled by an invisible string, Sidon followed. Link took one of his hands, and turned slightly.
“How about you help me wash up and after that, we will have a proper reunion?”
soo... I haven't been online or writing fic in forever.
Turns out, if you are being retraumatized, all your creative energy, joy and inspiration kinda just... vanish into the ether. :)
My past came back to haunt me, the police is fucking useless and the justice system extremely anti-victim, and I was pretty much in survival mode since 2023.
BUT I AM WELL AGAIN! And I mean it. I am actually stable, happy and living again.
It took A LOT of therapy, an insane amount of inner work, and giving my life/lifestyle a complete overhaul.
ngl, the whole AI crap also kinda played a role why I was hesitant to write again.
But no. I like writing (even if I'm a bit out of practice rn), fuck AI, you aint gonna take that away from me.
I will now work on all the other prompts and my ongoing fics, but it'll take me some time.
I didnt work so hard to recover and build a good new foundation to burn myself out. I'm active again, just a bit slower :)
thank you all for reading, may you have a fabulous morning/day/night <3
