I love evil floaty dramatic shapeshifting lonely losers with „Shadow“ in their name who get into a messy relationship arc with their literal counterpart/soulmate and had a terrible break-up.
Oh yeah, I also wanted to know how/if Shadow has a place in the disability au. I think you mentioned him once and my brain has latched onto that fact
I did mention him, a couple times now, I think! (I'm Four Swords and Vidow trash, what can I say.)
Short answer: I haven't decided if or how he's around, though when he was back in manga-land, he did inherit some of Four's paraparesis, but Shadow literally levitates, so like... it didn't matter so much, to him.
Long answer: 617 words, gen, AO3 link here, less fluffy than usual (light angst), sign language indicated with single quotes and italics 'like this,' you know the drill
In Shadows
It isn't Warriors's turn for watch tonight, but Four notices him stay awake, even once Hyrule gets to sleep—the worst at bedtimes of them all. Once the fire burns down to embers, and everyone but Four is dreaming, Warriors stands up and picks his way over to where Four sits on the edge of camp. He takes a spot on the log next to Four, and the disparate heights of their seats mean that their heads are level with each other.
Four waits a moment for Warriors to collect his thoughts. He obviously wants to say something private, but he doesn't seem to know how to start. One benefit of most everyone knowing sign language is the ability to have near-silent conversations. Four is the worst at signing, out of all of them except Hyrule, but he's an excellent speller, so they get by.
"Is everything all right?" Four prompts.
Warriors nods and raises his hands. 'I hope so.' He pauses, and Four waits. 'Earlier this week, you mentioned tragedy.' He fingerspells that word out. 'I know you're fine, I just want to make sure.'
Ah, so that's what this is about. Four had wondered if anyone would bring this up again, he'd been holding bets inside his head about who'd be the first to do it and how. Currently, one red train of thought was very smug.
All of Four knew what he wanted his reaction to this to be.
"You sure you want to know? I'll be fine telling you, just you, but there's a lot of things I don't want everyone to know yet."
'I'm fine keeping secrets if you're fine telling them, it can help to have someone else who knows.' Warriors has nothing but sympathy on his face, and Four nods at him. He glances backwards, but doesn't notice anyone awake. The nighttime breeze carries along the sounds of leaves and insects. Stars burn brightly through the frame around the clearing.
"Then listen closely, because this is only for you." Four leans in a little and does his best to use signs instead of spoken words where he can.
He tells Warriors the whole story… almost. He doesn't go into detail about everything about the Four Sword, or say everything that Shadow did, good or bad. He does mention that the Four Sword divided him, and that one part loved Shadow, but didn't know it until the end. He tells the story factually and simply, not trying for sympathy or pity. Everyone has tragedies in their stories, and Four is no different.
When Four deems the story finished for now, he and Warriors sit in silence for a few minutes, working through the feelings that the retelling brought up in them.
Eventually, Warriors does raise his hands again. 'That is sad. I'm sorry.'
"Don't be. I've… okay, not all of me has gotten over it, but that doesn't mean it haunts my every waking moment. We all struggle with adventure things. I'm okay."
'I hope telling me helped a little, at least.'
Four considers, looking out at the dark forest around them. "Yeah, I think it did. Thanks for listening. And thanks in advance for keeping it quiet."
Warriors lets out a quiet snort at that. 'I'm here if you ever need to talk about it. With someone other than yourself.'
"I'll keep that in mind," Four laughs. "And same to you, you know."
'I know.'
After another calm minute, in which Warriors does not volunteer any tragic backstories of his own, Four reaches over to poke Warriors. "Now go to bed, Captain, before you get cranky."
'I'm never cranky,' Warriors protests, but stands up as ordered.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
my ss fic for @umbrenshadow !! cw for almost-murder
It’s quiet.
Far too quiet.
Four can’t —
Can’t think.
The silence is deafening.
Four feels like something is going to happen tomorrow.
He isn't sure if it will be good or bad, he just knows something will happen.
..he hopes it’s something good.
It’s really late, so maybe Four is overthinking it but—
Wait.
That’s odd.
Four...feels like he’s being watched.
He doesn’t know what came over him, but he silently got out of his bedroll and started walking.
The deeper into the forest he went, the darker it became.
Soon, the only light he had was the soft glow that emitted from a ring on his finger.
It’s cold, too..
Four isn’t entirely sure where he’s going but...he knew soon enough.
His walking slowed until he was standing and when he looked up—
He saw them.
Shadow.
“Hey, rainbow..long time no see.”
They look and sound nervous, and a part of Four wants to comfort them.
But..
He can’t.
“Shadow. What...are you doing here?”
“I..”Shadow paused, then shrugged. “I wanted to see you. Man, what did you do to your hair?”
“We grew it out..”Four blinked, then crossed his arms. “It’s the middle of the night, Shadow.”
“Well—Yeah but..”Shadow trailed off, sighing. “I wanted to see you now.”
“Shadow. It’s late at night. Why did you make me come this far into the forest? I can barely see anything!”
“Well...it’s not like I could come near you without your pink friend attacking me. Talking about that—did you get a new colour?”
Four rolled his eyes so hard he probably saw the back of his head. “You know that’s not how the colours work.”
“Hah. Right..”Shadow whistled, sighing.
How awkward ..
Four waited, watching as Shadow’s eyes darted around to find something to say.
Finally, Shadow’s eyes landed on the ring Four had.
“...you kept it.”Shadow mumbled. “You kept the ring.”
Four paused, glancing at his left hand.
“...yeah.”
Shadow had given Vio the ring during their time together.
It was a promise ring.
That wasn’t said outright, but they both know it’s true.
“Of course I kept it.”Four continued, his grey eyes having a hint of purple in them.
Shadow nodded, eyes still fixed on the ring. “I thought you hated me..”
Four paused again, this time for a little longer.
Does he hate Shadow?
No...there’s a part of him that doesn’t.
“Shadow. I have to get back ‘fore Legend realises I’m gone.”
“Oh.”Shadow blinked. “Alright..bye rain-”
Before they could finish, Four turned on his heel and ran.
He doesn’t know what to think.
Yes, he kept the promise ring but..
Vio can’t still like Shadow, can fae?
Fae can’t like them.
Why would Vio still have feelings for them after all they’ve done?
Four shook his head, slowing down as he wandered back into their little camp.
“You alright, freckles?”Legend glanced over, their eyes seeming to glow.
It’s sorta pretty.
Four never thought pink and gold would look good together.
“Yeah. Yeah I just...needed to take a walk.”Four nodded, sitting down on his bedroll again.
Legend let out a yawn, then grinned. “It’s Wars’ turn to take watch. Wanna wake ‘im up with me?”
Four matched Legend’s grin, nodding.
Quietly, the two snuck over to the nearby river and filled a bucket with ice cold water.
Walking over to the captain, the two dumped the water over him.
The reaction was worth it, but..
Four’s got too much on his mind.
Instead of a laugh, Four gave a little smile before backing up.
He should at least attempt to sleep.
“I’m..gonna attempt to get back to sleep, alright?”Four whistled.
Legend shrugged and nodded. “I should probably get to bed too, hm? Night Four.”
“Night Legend.”
Four can't focus on a damn thing.
His mind is stuck on what happened.
Why did Shadow decide that now was a good time for them to show up?
Four’s having a hard enough time to stay together as it is…
Now Shadow's back and they're making Four struggle again.
“..freckles.”Legend stated bluntly, walking right beside him. “Something’s up with you. What's wrong?”
Four shook his head, looking down. “It's nothing.”
He isn't sure how he'd even attempt an explanation.
“Don't lie to me.”Legend sighed. “It can't be that bad.”
Four thought about it.
Maybe..he should tell Legend.
Legend is the only one he entirely trusts..
But maybe not with this.
Shadow is classified as a dark.
“I don't really wanna talk about it.”
Legend paused, then nodded. “If you ever wanna talk about it, you know where I am.”
Four nodded, staying quiet.
Really, Four isn’t sure what he’s thinking about.
His mind is all over the place, but rightfully so.
Shadow is back.
Yes, Four dreamed of this day…but now that the day has come?
He has no idea how to handle it.
He could tell Legend, he should.
The two trust each other with their lives, Legend wouldn’t get mad at him for something like this.
He’s certain of that, yet he can’t seem to figure out words.
He’ll just leave it.
It’s not like he’ll see Shadow again for a little while anyways.
‘But we want to.’ Vio mused quietly. Sadly?
‘You mean you want to.’ Green retorted, and Four shook his head.
He wishes they would stop.
Four will admit, he missed Shadow at least a little bit.
All on his own, without the influence of any of the colours.
Four found comfort in his shadow when he was younger, before the colours and before Shadow became sentient.
They, in technicality, are a part of Four.
Four never wanted to lose Shadow.
He never wanted them gone.
Now?
Now he doesn’t know what he wants.
“Hey, Four? I don’t mean to alarm you.”Sky started, staring at something beside Four. “But come here.”
Four tilted his head, and instead glanced to the side and—
There.
Standing nearby, close but not close enough, was Shadow.
Leaning against a tree without a care in the world. “Hey, rainbow!”
Four went silent, letting out a heavy sigh. “Shadow. Honest to the goddesses…what are you doing ?”
“If I remember right,”Shadow started, wandering over with a grin on their face. “ You said you didn’t want to see me at night. It’s not nighttime, rainbow. Will you talk to me now?”
Wild coughed, bringing attention to him.
"Four, what's going on?"
"...would you believe me if I said you were hallucinating?"
"Am I?"
"No, Wild, you're not."Twilight shook his head.
Four let out a heavy sigh. “Alright. Fine. Guys, this is Shadow. Shadow, this is the chain.”
“The…chain?”
“We’re all named Link.”Four explained, shrugging. “We have nicknames.”
“...right. Uh-”
“So, what is he?”
“Wind, Shadow uses they/them pronouns.”
“Oh. Sorry. What are they?”
Four let out a small laugh. “Uh. They’re…my shadow. They became sentient during one of my adventures.”
“Oh.”Wind blinked. “Why don’t they look like you, then?”
“Uh. At some point, they did.”Four shrugged. “They’ve…been away for a while.”
“Your hair looks stupid.”Shadow mumbled.
“You’re stupid.”Four snapped back gently, huffing.
He paused for a minute, before speaking up again. “Sorry, I know you’re not..”
“Four.”Legend blinked, their eyes focusing on Four. “Why are they desperate to see you?”
“I don’t know.”Four lied, glancing at Shadow. “You need to leave.”
“What? But I just got here—”
“Shadow.”Four started, crossing his arms. “We don’t want you here.”
This is also a lie.
Of course Four wants them to stay…but, at the same time, he doesn’t.
He wants Shadow here, but…he doesn’t want them around the others?
…yeah.
It doesn’t make sense to him, either.
“Rainbow..”Shadow mumbled, sighing. “We need to talk about this—”
“We have nothing to talk about!”Four snapped softly, crossing his arms.
“Yes we do, and you know we do!”
Four glared at Shadow, thinking.
He doesn’t want to talk with them.
…but, Four can make a proposition.
“We can fight it out.”Four hummed, stretching his arms above his head. “If I
win, you leave me the hell alone. If you win, we can talk.”
“I don’t wanna fight you..”
“Then just leave.”
“I…”Shadow trailed off, then sighed. “Okay. Fine, I’ll fight you. What’re the rules?”
“No magic.”
“What? Why?”
“Because I know you . You’d cheat just to get me to talk to you.”Four crossed his arms. “Wild, you have swords in your slate, right?”
Wild paused, then nodded. “Do you want one?”
Four sighed. “I said no magic, so…it’ll have to be two, if you have that?”
Wild nodded, taking out two travelers swords and humming. “Your sword is magic?”Wild questioned, passing the sword to the two.
“Mhm. I don’t want to break my own rules.”Four laughed softly, glancing at Shadow.
“Do we have to do this?”Shadow looked unsure, frowning.
Four…doesn’t care.
He will do anything to get out of talking about anything with Shadow.
“We’re as stubborn as each other.”
That’s all Four has to say.
“I’ll know if you use magic, by the way, so don’t try anything.”Four huffed, twirling the sword to get a feel for it.
He always does this before using a blade that’s new to him.
“Cause of the ring..”Shadow blinked, then nodded. “Alright.”
Four took a breath. “Rule, can you get some potions ready? This…will get a little messy.”
Hyrule blinked, concerned, but nodded. “Yeah.”
Four sighed, raising the sword and taking the first swing—
Shadow blocked it with their own sword and pushed back.
The other stumbled, but Four is determined.
Maybe he shouldn’t be going easy on Shadow..
There was a brief pattern; Four swinging, Shadow blocking them and pushing Four back..
Before Shadow finally hit Four, swinging his sword and placing a fairly big cut on Four’s cheek.
Something in Four broke.
He knocked the blade out of Shadow’s hand, tackling the other to the ground and—
Four froze.
His sword was aimed right above Shadow’s chest…
How easy it would be to drive it through.
To end this…
Four can't do it.
Four can't just... kill them.
What kind of hero would he be if he did?
Granted, Four isn't fully convinced he's a hero anyways.
... still , his point stands.
Tossing the sword aside, Four gently stood up and let the other roll out from underneath him.
“You aren't worth it.”
“What?”Shadow blinked, confused.
“You’re not worth the effort of me killing you.”
“...oh.”Shadow mumbled, tilting their head.
Four backed up, sparing Shadow one final glance before retrieving both swords and handing them back to Wild. “We should go.”
Four didn’t even let the chain respond, and glanced at Shadow one last time before he walked away. “I told you I didn’t want to talk. Listen to me, for once.”
