“On the Rag”
Synopsis: Sr!Link is utterly clueless of what to do when you come down with a mysterious and sudden infliction which causes you great, unending pain… it’s just your period.
Tags: GN!Reader, no pre-established relationship, idiots in love
@trippygalaxy
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Quite honestly, Link was worried. Of course, his journey was stressful, with the fate of hyrule on his shoulders and as the Dark Knight had kidnapped Zelda. But that wasn’t the current cause of his pacing. Those were all fixable, identifiable issues.
High orders for him to complete, yes, but he at least had some general idea of where to start.
Your recent sickness, however, was not something he knew how to fix.
Monsters could be fought, dungeons could be solved, quests could be completed, but there was no immediate fix-it to your health, especially when you were so insistent that you were “fine.” When that clearly wasn’t the case. Your eyes were tired and loopy, you winced even as you stood or sat still, he even found several discarded bloody rags.
Hylia help him, if the monsters didn’t kill him, you would first.
He’s beside himself, his boots making consistent thumps as he walks in loops, trying to dispel worry from his gut.
“What’s got you all wound up” Wind stood in his path, the sound and light that’d usually come from the medallion not catching his attention, too busy spiralling. He looks around to find the lobby (or at least the small side room he’d begun his breakdown in) blessedly empty with no one to see or hear him be spooked by ghosts of heroes past.
“It’s-“ He begins to talk, only to be interrupted.
“His Lover is sick.” Worlds leaned over his shoulder, countering from all the weight being in his heels. Afterall, he was still leaning back after being spooked.
“They’re not my-“ He’s now doubly mortified. Not only were you in possibly grave dangers he can’t prevent, the group had all got the wrong impression. Good goddesses themselves-
“Oh please” Time huffed, unamused with the musings of his descendants, “With their stubbornness they’ll die, sooner than recover” Link felt the blood drain from his face. Any previous blush left him. Cold. He couldn’t actually lose you, right?
“Awe stop it” Sky managed to shove the others off of him, fussing over Link as though he were a mother cucco. That is, to say, frightening to every other hero.
“Everything will be alright, you hear me?” Still, he felt as if something wasn’t quite right about the whole situation. There was something he was missing. If only you would talk to him.
“What will be alright?” Wild arrived after all his brothers, curious to see what the fuss was about if the rest of them couldn’t fix it.
“It’s just-“ Link could feel the concern and worry break him “I don’t know if they’ll be ok, and they won’t talk to me and I can’t fix it and I know they’re in pain-“ He shudders when he breathes, more than a little embarrassed.
“Hey hey, tell us exactly what the issues are. I’m sure one of us will have an answer!” A chorus of ‘Yeah!’s ensued and it felt as if maybe it will be ok.
“Well- They’ve spent a lot of time resting, still look really tired though… and they wince a lot, even if they aren’t moving. Like something sharp” The others nod along, following the symptoms as Link explains.
“And I've found a few bloodied rags. If it was any extreme wound, a red potion would work, and yet they refuse to take them. As if it wouldn’t work” He looks upon his mentors to find them equally as puzzled as him.
“And their mood- it’s as if they’ve been cursed! They wept like there’s nothing to live for when we met the stable dog when arriving. And they lash out as if i mean harm-“ That does get a few pitiful stares from Sky particularly.
Everyone oohs and aahs over the strange set of symptoms and behaviors. They murmur quietly about poisons, curses, hexes and the like.
“Are y’all jus’ that naive?” A very concerned, slightly exasperated, looking Rancher looks over all the heroes.
“What? You know what it is smart guy?” Worlds raises a single eyebrow in judgement.
“Their period?” He pauses, looking at the group who now resemble a parliament of owls.
“Y’know, ‘on the rag’ ‘shark week?’” He offered, expecting more of a response. There were mumbled ‘Oh’s and nods of acceptance. Twilight couldn’t stop himself from laughing at the absurdity of them debating whether you’d been cursed, meanwhile your body is just doing as it’s supposed to.
“Don’t worry, kiddo. That sweetheart a’ yers will be jus’ fine” The blood returns to Link’s cheeks, flushing them a healthy red.
“Naw go on, i’m sure a hot water bottle and some comfort wouldn’t do em’ any harm”
“And you’re sure that’s what this is?”
“Positive.”
Roughly a half hour later, Link found himself outside your room at the Inn. His arms were full; a hot water bottle he’d gotten from Twi, some chocolates from Wild and a cup of tea Sky said would help with healing.
“Hey, can I come in?” He called weakly, fine to leave the gifts outside if you weren’t up to socialising.
“Mhm” Your equally soft voice called from the other side of the door, drowsy and pained.
“I have some gifts… to uh- help you feel a little better” His smile was as boyish and crooked as always. He always felt a little giddy around you. Like that uninhibited joy from his childhood could worm back into his life, no matter how hellish it got. He set down the tea and the chocolates in favour of helping you sit up.
Now that he knew he had nothing to worry about and you weren’t dying imminently, he managed to find your tousled hair and sleepy smile endearing. He padded your back with pillows and made sure there was a layer or two between your skin and the bottle so there wouldn't be any burns.
“Is that any better?” In all honesty, he was at your beck and call. You could ask him to seek healing from the hottest spring in the depth of hebra and he’d set out without hesitation. He chuckles as you respond in a pleased hum, eyes closed as you’re relieved of some pain. He feels himself settle in his feet. Sure. Calm.
“I have some tea here too, and chocolates. I won’t be offended if you don’t want them. I mean I just heard that the hel-
A finger is haphazardly pressed to his lips.
“Shh.” You demand, and his protests die in his throat.
You pat the spot next to you expectantly, looking back at where he stands, frozen, as if upset he hadn’t moved yet. He sat awkwardly on the bed beside you as you silently shuffled about pillows. He was about to fuss that your back would be sore without padding before you flopped back into the bed and dragged him with you. A noise of surprise leaves him as you decide that you, indeed, wish to be horizontal. He takes a few deep breaths, letting himself settle in the moment and except cuddling with you for a little bit.
For the pain of course.
As friends.
(Bonus: From inside the Medallion, the Twili King had a decent enough understanding of what had transpired. The newest, and perhaps emotionally densest, hero has finally been able to shove it all aside in exchange for some intimacy. It’s so odd. He remembers being so scared to talk to Midna when they were courting, but it all worked out in the end. He’s sure Link will get his happy ending too)
((bonus bonus: Twi has an aneurism upon the discovery that the cuddle session was only seen as “platonic” by the clearly lovestruck idiots))