Title: Back to Clock Town
Author: animeninjaNIPPON
Pairing: Skull Kid/Link
Fandom: Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
Theme: #99 - Clock
Rating: G
Disclaimer: I don't own Legend of Zelda or any of its characters. That honor goes to Shigeru Miyamoto and Nintendo, et. al. Given that, I cannot guarantee that the characters will be 100 percent IC all the time, as I am not Miyamoto. (If I was, that would rock.) Also be warned – in some prompts Link is a child, and in some he is an adult. I decided to mix it up a bit for variety. There is also some Anju/Kafei mentioned here, just so you know.

"You'll never find us!"

Those were the last words uttered by Tatl before she and her equally confident brother, Tael, flew away, leaving the Skull Kid to count to one hundred by himself. Their game of hide-and-seek began hours ago. Now Skull Kid couldn't find his fairy friends anywhere, and he had searched in all of their favorite hiding spots...

"You guys," he called into every hollow log and tree knothole he passed. "Where are you?"

Skull Kid was so determined to find Tatl and Tael that he didn't realize he had left the forest and wandered into Romani Ranch. Nevertheless, he continued to look. "Yoo-hoo..." He lifted up a seemingly empty crate, and in return he was ambushed by cuccos. The frantic birds chased the poor imp out of the ranch and into a large clearing in Termina Field.

After running for his life, Skull Kid came to a halt, crouching down and gasping for breath. He was lost, alone, and disappointed that he was unable to find his friends. Plus, the sun was rapidly setting. Skull Kid pulled himself onto an nearby tree stump. "Where are you?" he whispered as hopeless tears hit the grass.

In the distance, a young man wearing a green tunic, sitting nobly atop a chestnut horse, carefully made his way toward the sobbing Skull Kid. He was on his way to Clock Town, about an hour's distance away – a town he had not seen in seven years.

Curiosity provoked the man to slow to a stop as he approached Skull Kid, who was muttering, "My friends...I can't find them..." and such laments through his crying.

By arbitrary chance, Skull Kid glanced upward and was taken by surprise – not only was there a stranger standing in front of him, but that "stranger" was his old childhood friend: Link!

Link was much older now than he was when he had last seen Skull Kid, but still recognizable – that golden hair, primarily hidden by a green cap; that sword and shield, though somewhat different in design; that familiar horse, Epona...and most of all, that familiar scent that hinted of life in the forest. Skull Kid, in comparison, hadn't changed a great deal (the forest area was known as a place of perpetual youth), although he had grown slightly taller and thinner. He wondered if Link remembered him...

"It's...it's YOU!" Skull Kid exclaimed, straightening up. He was so excited to see Link that he momentarily forgot about Tael and Tatl. "You look different..."

"Hey!" someone called from the distance. Link and Skull Kid turned simultaneously in the direction of the exclamation, which had come from one of the town's guards. "Are you coming to the celebration of Anju and Kafei's wedding anniversary? It's starting right now!"

Skull Kid looked at his feet, and then back to Link. "You're going to the anniversary celebration? That sounds like fun!" He giggled. "I've never been to one before...and I don't know where my other friends are hiding right now...so...could I go with you?"

Link smiled and nodded. He placed a hand on Epona's back and slowly guided her toward their destination, and with his other hand beckoned for Skull Kid to follow.

Clock Town lay straight ahead. Link had so many memories of events that had happened there, each marked in return by the memory of a mask. Skull Kid also had his share of memories and masks, albeit not very positive ones...a thought that made him somewhat apprehensive. "Link...are they going to be mean to me? I mean, for what I've done..."

Link shook his head reassuringly in response. He was certain that the citizens of Clock Town had completely forgiven Skull Kid for his misdeeds. Besides, Skull Kid was his friend, and as respected as Link was by the townspeople, his judgment on companions would have to be trusted.

When they arrived, South Clock Town was completely crowded. Link had to leave Epona outside the village walls, but even without her it was still packed. One of the guards moved over to give Link and Skull Kid ended up being pushed up against Link by a carpenter of substantial girth.

Up on top of the Clock Tower stood Anju and Kafei (long since transformed back to his original stature), dressed in formal attire. Kafei stepped forward to address the crowd. "Thank you, everyone, for joining my beloved Anju and I in celebrating seventh anniversary. These past seven years have been wonderful..."

As Kafei gave his speech, Skull Kid took in the warmth he could feel from Link's side. He had never been around so many people at one time, and the crowd was making him nervous – but somehow, being close to Link made him feel secure. Link was, after all, the Hero of Time, and also the first person to be nice to him...other than giants and fairies, of course. Still, Link had been kind to Skull Kid so many times before they eventually lost contact, even when Skull Kid himself didn't think he was worthy of such shows of friendship. And now that the two had crossed paths again, Skull Kid was beginning to realize just how much he had missed Link. He half-closed his eyes and started to lean into his elfin hero when the clock suddenly struck midnight.

The carpenters cheered and the rest of the crowd clapped their hands, so Skull Kid stood up on tip-toe to see precisely what all the fuss was about.

Beneath the clock that gave the town its namesake, Kafei pulled Anju close to him and kissed her with such passion that the infamous lovebirds Honey and Darling ceased their own loving adoration for one moment to gaze in awe. Skull Kid, too, watched in amazement as fireworks graced the sky behind the happy couple and the clock chimed in time to each spark of color. Once again, he was happy to be near Link in a time of celebration.

The crowd poured out into the field to continue the celebration with music, dancing, and food. Link and Skull Kid stayed behind for a moment to catch up on each other's personal histories.

"I'm glad I got to see you again," Skull Kid concluded. "You made me feel better."

Suddenly, two sparks of light came down from the sky and flew into Skull Kid's face. Closer inspection revealed them to be Tatl and Tael!

"Where were you?" Tael demanded. "You were gone for hours. We thought you'd abandoned us!"

"I told you he'd never find us," Tatl quipped. "And we're not going to tell you where we hid."

Reunited at last, the four friends left South Clock Town to join the other celebrators in Termina Field.