in The Minish Cap at the beginning during the festival if you interact with a specific woman she says 'they say the Minish bring happiness...I wonder when they will bring me mine'
Inspired by that, can I request that you write something about Four comforting Reader or lifting their spirits?
So I uhh, think I may have gone a bit hard on this one cause oof the beginning...it's rough. That being said Four is very comforting so just know it gets better! (Also, I'm apologizing to Wars now for making him the 'bad guy')
Unexpected Happiness
(Four x Reader) Chapter 1 / Next Warnings: Depressive thoughts, suicidal ideation (? I think that's the right term, correct me if I'm wrong)
There was a crack, then a cry as the ground gave way from underneath you.
A moment of weightlessness before you collided into dirt and stone. Skidding down the walls of the dark tunnel before coming to an agonizingly sudden halt. The world spun around you, a high pitched ringing in your ears that pounded at the pressure in your head. You laid there, with what you could only hope was mud, seeping into the back of your tunic. Rocks and broken pieces of wood digging into your skin, adding to the overall discomfort that was your existence.
The worst part was how unsurprised you were.
Even as your muscles ached, bruises forming deep beneath your skin and a warm liquid trickled down your leg. None of it compared to the numb void filling your being.
Nothing had been going your way.
From countless, sleepless nights that left you tired and unfocused. Regularly losing petty bets to Legend. Misplacing your bag of potions and fairies conveniently before getting attacked and injured by a lizalfos. Getting lost while exploring, falling ill, saying the wrong things or simply messing up in almost every way imaginable.
It seemed to all lead up to yesterday. When getting separated from the group led to an intense scolding by Wars, in front of everyone. It hadn't even been your fault. It's not like you controlled where the portals spat you or anyone else out. A fact you had kept to yourself in the onslaught of being told how irresponsible and foolish you were.
Day after day, after day you waited for things to turn around. Sure, some days were better than others but after so long you came to the simple conclusion that you must have done something. Something so awful that it put you straight on Hylia’s personal shit list.
You took shallow breaths, slowly assessing yourself beginning with your toes and moving upward to your knees. Then your fingers all the way up to your shoulders. Moving each joint and limb to determine its current functionality. By some miracle, nothing seemed broken. Though the intense stabbing around your hip suggested that something had lodged straight through your layers of clothes and made itself at home in your skin.
There was something, some noise beyond the ringing in your ears that your brain couldn't quite make out. It felt familiar, made you want to reach out to it.
You rolled onto your side instead, groaning in pain as you curled into yourself. You peeled open your eyes long enough to see the broken remains of the floorboards scattered around you. Each piece doubling, or tripling in numbers that all swirled around, making your brain hurt even more from the dizzying sensation.
You shut your eyes, holding your head as if it would break into similar pieces. Coherent thoughts struggled to break through the thick fog that surrounded your brain. Survival instincts begged you to move, to reach for your bag, call out for help, something.
A warm wetness slid down the slope of your nose. It's small droplets disappearing onto the ground of mud and rocks.
A noise. A shout, you realized, rang out. Louder than before but still much too far away to make out what was being said.
Or maybe it was you who was too far gone. Your brain, perhaps now too damaged to comprehend simple sounds and words. Just another thing that had gone wrong. You ignored the sound, sniffling at the tears tickling the tip of your nose. Surely if you couldn't understand you wouldn't be able to respond so what was the point in trying?
Because you need help!
True. With the amount of pain you were in, you would need help if you wanted to get out of here.
But,
Did you want out?
What was even waiting for you out there? More portals and monsters? More mistakes and misfortune that put you and those around you in jeopardy? More pain?
Your friends! Your friends are out there and there looking for you!
Were they? Wasn't it your ‘friend’ that had gotten angry at you? Everyone else had just stood there, listening to him tear into you. Was it because they agreed? Had they all realized how truly useless you were? This was their chance. An opportunity to be rid of you. To continue the journey without the constant worry of your mistakes.
They wouldn't! They-
“(Y/N)!!!”
The shouting from before continued, getting louder and clearer with each cry. It sounded so familiar, like you knew the voice yet couldn't recall who it belonged to.
“(Y/N) Please! Are you down there!?”
The voice echoed through the area. Concern dripping off every word as it continued to call out to you.
“Guys they're not answering! (Y/N)!?”
Your mouth opened, a small part of you wanting to reach out and answer. You laid there, unable, or maybe just unwilling to do so as your mouth snapped shut.
“Uugghhh it's too dark, I can't see anything! I'm gonna go down further, see if I can find them!”
You knew you should be thrilled at the prospect of help, but you couldn't bring yourself to care anymore.
Getting rescued or simply being left stranded down here, it all felt the same to you. You were simply done trying. Content that whatever would happen was simply the way things were going to be.
You curled further into yourself, letting the numb fog continue to spread through you. Everything felt too tight, like your skin was constricting in on itself. A lump forming in your throat that suffocated even the quiet sound of your still too shallow breathing.
A small thud, followed by the sound of boots squishing in mud as a yellowish hue poked at your eyelids.
“(Y/N)! Guys I found them!”
Hands gently grabbed your shoulders, pulling you to lay on your back. Calloused fingers dancing over your face. Whoever it was took in a sharp breath. Maybe you were worse off than you initially thought if the person was recoiling at the sight of you.
“(Y/n) are you okay? Can you hear me?”
A face appeared in your mind at the sound of his voice beside you. Was that..that was Four, or at least you were fairly sure. Why did he sound so worried?
Oh right, you fell through the floor.
“(Y/n)? Shit…okay focus Link…uhhh okay, breathing…thats gonna be a problem but…atleast everythings intact?” You could only listen as he rambled to himself. Checking you over for any obvious injuries.
“Come on,” He pleaded, “why aren't you waking up? Wake up! Please wake up!” He chanted, repeatedly tapping the side of your face.
You were awake. You were painfully awake despite every part of your body wishing that you weren't. You just wanted it to all stop. To be left alone to whatever hell Hylia wanted to inflict on you.
“Damn it, where's that fairy? I swore I had one!” The hands left, likely looking through his bag for something to help you.
It felt selfish to let him waste a fairy on someone who wasn’t even trying to save themself. Getting yourself to speak up however would be a battle within itself.
For Fours sake, you repeated to yourself as you pried your mouth. If you couldn't do it for yourself you could still try and do it for him. The lump in your throat felt like solid stone, letting only the faintest whisper escape.
“fo..four?”
“(Y/N)! Oh thank Hylia! Are you okay!?”
Damn that felt like such a loaded question right now.
Using all of your strength you cracked open your eyes. Four's face hovered above you, illuminated by the small lantern by his side. His eyes focused on yours, green and violet specks waiting for a reply.
The sight made your throat burn. Vision blurring as tears built up in the corners of your eyes. Four's hand found your face, thumb wiping away the few that slid out.
“Hey, it's gonna be alright. I'm right here okay? I’m gonna get ya out of here.”
“why…”
Four tilted his head, “Cause I'm pretty sure you don't wanna spend the rest of your life in a cave?”
Lips beginning to quiver, tears poured down your face. “It doesn't matter what I want…”
“Woah,” he said gently “(y/n) what do you mean? Of course it matters”
You shook your head, the motion only aggravating the pain. “no, it doesn't. Everything I do just…I just make things worse!”
The lump in your throat cracked as words began pouring from your mouth. “Just go…I'm better off down here where I can't mess everything up. I mean, what's the point of trying if I can't even walk across a floor without messing it up somehow!?”
It was like your whole body shattered. The pain, the struggle, all of it came rushing out of you in a waterfall of tears. Your hands flew to your face, trying to pretend that you could still hide it all away. Pretend that Four wasn't here to witness yet another one of your failures.
“Wars was right…” you choked. “I'm just a screw up..”
Hands tugged at your wrists, pulling them away from your face. They pulled further, slowly helping you sit up until you rested against Four’s chest. His arms wrapped around you to hold you close as you cried. He put your head on his shoulder, letting your face fall into the dip of his neck.
“(Y/n) I'm so sorry. I should have said something yesterday because nothing he said was true. None of it was your fault and he knows it. We ALL know that.”
There was a bite to his voice as sharp as his hold on you. His eyes were a shimmering mix of blue and green that reminded you of the ocean.
“The Captain is an ass and just let his worry get the best of him. You are NOT a screw up and ohhh when I get back up there the Captain better-” Four trailed off, mumbling off rather colorful words he would be having with Wars.
He inhales sharply, slowly releasing his breath as you cried into his shoulder.
“That aside, You're in pretty rough shape.” He whispered, “Can you tell me what hurts?”
“Everything”
“Oookay not the best question” He huffed lightly. “The board in your hip doesn't seem too deep but we need to take care of it before it gets infected. Is there anywhere else that hurts more?”
“H-head…”
“Mmmm…it might be a concussion if you hit your head hard enough which, given how far you fell is more than likely. A potion should still be able to help though along with anything else.”
You whined as your face was pulled from his neck, tears still flowing freely as you were laid back down. There was no real warning before Four pulled out the plank, leaving you shouting out in pain. Something smooth and cold pressed to your bottom lip, urging you to open your mouth. You loosely grabbed at the bottle, taking a few sips of the bitter liquid. Four pulled it away once satisfied you had drunk enough, then helped you sit back up to let you continue to rest against him.
The pain dulled soon enough, leaving only the numb discomfort in its wake. Four held you close to him, his hand running up and down your arm soothingly. Your injuries may have healed but you were bone tired and still had no desire to move from where you still sat on the cold ground. The only warmth coming from the small lantern and Four's form wrapped around you.
“Have I ever told you about the Minish?”
You knew he was just trying to distract you but you went along with it. Giving a small shrug as your tears soaked into his tunic.
“The r-really tiny…mice like people?”
“Eehhh close enough. Anyway, they are really well known in my era. They actually played a big part in my first quest.”
You peeled your face away just enough to look up. His eyes shining a brilliant redish-purple as he continued on.
“Because they're so small though, most people haven't actually seen them. But they're known for bringing luck and happiness to everyone they do meet.”
“Is that true?” You asked quietly, wiping your sleeve over your face. “That they bring happiness?”
Four nodded, a hand coming up to run through your hair. “In a way. The Minish thrive off of bringing joy to those around them but they can be quite sneaky about it.”
You hid your face into his shoulder. Hopefully hiding the new swell of tears in your eyes.
“Oh…I, I dont think they exist in my era..”
“What makes you say that?”
You shrugged, trying to play off the tightening in your chest. “Cause if they do, why do I feel so miserable?”
Arms tightened around you with a deep sigh, letting his head rest on top of yours. “Do you wanna know what I think?”
You nodded.
“I think it's bullshit.”
Your head shot up, staring at him in confusion. “But you just said-”
“I know what I said but hear me out.” He grabbed onto your hands, holding them in his lap.
“What I said is true, the Minish love to help and bring joy to people when they can. But they don't magically just make you happy. Happiness is something you have to find for yourself. The Minish more or less guide you to it.”
Four paused, his eyes swirling between a mix of green and red as he bit his lip. Something he only does when he can't quite make up his mind.
“I..I think they led me to you.”
The admission took you by surprise. The concept that you could be someone's happiness felt so…bizarre. Regardless, the grief on your heart loosened. It was still there, laying heavy on your mind but you felt like you could finally breathe again. It was a small step, but it was a start.
“I know things have been hard on you lately but…by the Three (Y/n) you make me so inexplicably happy just by being you.”
His lips pressed against your forehead. It's warmth spreading across your face and up to the tips of your ears
You wincing slightly at the way your head spun and you didn't know if it was from the adrenaline or the concussion.
“We should probably get you out of here.” Four got to his feet, offering you his hand. “You ready?”
Part of you still said no. Not wanting to face the others and a potentially ‘worried’ Wars again. You took his hand anyway and slowly got to your feet, letting yourself finally look around at your surroundings for the first time since your crash landing.
From what you could see, the cave wasn't very big but it had been a much longer fall than you realized. The fact that you were even standing was a tender mercy. The small speck of light coming from above only noticeable from where it stood out against the dark, mossy covered walls.
“Shit…I think I hit my head harder than I even realized.” You chortled, swaying on your feet as Four helped steady you. “How did you even get down here?”
“Rancher’s hookshot” He said, casually showing off the borrowed item. He slipped it into his hand, raising it upwards before it shot up, latching onto whatever was awaiting at the top.
—------
Getting back up turned into its own ordeal. With your strength still gone, Four had carefully situated you on his back. His power bracelet activated to keep a firm grip on you just in case.
He took it slow, reeling the two of you up carefully. Every shake and stutter of the chain made him tighten his grip on you. Pausing for a moment before continuing the descent up. Once close enough, Time reached through the opening and pulled you up the rest of the way, Twilight doing the same for Four.
He waved off Twilight and Wind’s concerns, insisting that he was fine. Time and Wild crowded around you, taking it upon themselves to check and make sure you were alright while the others tried, and failed, to give you space.
Four didn't take his eyes off of Wars
He didn’t miss the way you kept eyeing the scarfed hero, as though awaiting yet another stern scolding. It took everything he had to keep Blue from tearing the man apart right there and then. The memory of your sobs and broken voice, agreeing to all the offhanded insults he had thrown at you only adding fuel to the fire that Green and Red were desperately trying to reason with.
The Captain did eventually step towards you and Four got straight to his feet, a hand planted firmly on Wars chest to keep him from getting any closer. To his credit, Wars didnt look angry. He genuinely looked concerned but Four wasn't about to take any chances with any of them saying the wrong thing. Not with how fragile he knew you really were at the moment.
“A word. Captain.”
Wars cocked his head curiously but followed after Four silently until they were out of earshot.
“What do you need, Smithy?”
Four took a deep breath, hands clenched into fists at his sides. “The only thing you are going to say to them, is a fucking apology.” He spat, “And then you are going to leave them the hell alone for a bit.”
Wars eyebrows shot up to his hairline. “Four what-”
“You weren't down there, Wars.” His own voice shook, holding back the own stinging at his eyes. “You didn't have to hear the way they cried or how they wanted to just be fucking left down there because of something you said!”
Wars was still for a while, taking in what Four had just told him. His gaze solely on the ground beneath his feet as he tried to compose the right words. “I'm sorry. You're right I shouldn't have yelled at them yesterday. I…I didn't think they would take it so..”
“I know you didn't mean it.” Four heaves deeply, trying to put a reign on his own feelings. “And it's not all your fault, it just was sort of a final straw for them with all the shit they've been getting lately.”
Four took a few steps back, peeking around the corner where he could see Time still helping you get cleaned up.
“Just…you need to apologize to them. Not right now but…perhaps later tonight when this whole thing has calmed down a bit.”
Wars nodded, leaving Four to walk back to the group alone. He found a spot next to you, sitting down close enough to be within reach but not overwhelm you.
“Doing okay?”
You nodded, a faint smile as you looked at him to mouth a small “thank you”.
He scooted a bit closer, ignoring the glances of the younger heroes as you laid your head back onto his shoulder.
“Anytime. I’ll always be here for you.”
______
You are loved! So please take care of yourselves and reach out if you need help <3 If anything, know this author is rooting for you!