AN: Warning: this story contains spoilers for A Link Between Worlds. If you do not want to be spoiled, please do not read this story. Thank you.

Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing but my thoughts. Also, this contains the ship RavioLi (RavLink), so please keep that in mind. Thank you!

Enjoy!

The morning sun shone, rousing a young man from his slumber as the room was bathed in its warmth. He had made a makeshift bed out of pillows and a comforter against several boxes covered in what was presumably tablecloth and bedding to protect what was displayed on top.

"Ahn…" the young man groaned lightly as he found himself in the waking world. He rubbed his eyes before sitting up, shifting a tuft of raven colored hair to the side. He blinked a few times to get used to the light coming in from the window.

"Well I certainly haven't slept like that in a while…" he mused, cracking his knuckles and back to remedy some stiffness. Next to him on a pillow was a small, unusually colored bird. It made a few peeping noises upon hearing his master.

"How'd you sleep, Sheerow?" He asked, smiling at his faithful companion. The bird responded by chirping happily.

"That's great, buddy!" he exclaimed with a smile. The young man gazed around the room, looking for a certain someone that might have been in the room with him. "…Hm. Looks like Mr. Hero slept in that dungeon or something after all. Maybe I should've locked the door last night. Oh well, can't predict the guy, can ya?"

Sheerow peeped twice in response, stretching his wings out in the process.

"Hope he's doing okay… I mean, he has my items with him, ya know… eh, sure he's fine. Totally fine. Always is, usually." He tore off the comforter before neatly folding it up as best as he could, laying it on top of his pillow. "Well, better get dressed. Ol' Ravio's gotta prepare for some visitors!"

Ravio, albeit a little shakily, stood up, the cold floor sending a chill up his spine. He twitched in response before grabbing his violet robe.

"Hm, if I remember correctly, Mr. Hero has my bow, bombs, and… ah! My Tornado Rod, that's right," Ravio affirmed with a nod. Link had decided to travel to Skull Woods the day before, his second destination in Lorule after completing the Dark Palace. When he had mentioned his choice to Ravio, the purple-clad boy shuddered. Unbeknownst to Link, he knew that place well. Too well. The mere thought of that demonic forest made Ravio wince. He had no idea how Link decided to sleep there. He had to have been crazy to do such a thing! Hopefully he slept somewhere else more… safe. Ravio slipped into his robe, turning to grab his belt from one of the boxes behind him.

What he saw made him scream in absolute terror.

"MY WARES! THEY'RE GONE!" he shrieked, covering his eyes before continuing, "This is just a really bad dream, once I open my eyes, they'll be-"

Ravio slowly lowered his hands down his face, cupping them on his cheeks as Sheerow squawked madly.

"No! No no no no no! How could this have happened?! I swear I-" Ravio realized he left the door unlocked last night in case Link showed up in the middle of the night to sleep or purchase something, though Ravio would have begged Link to sleep usually. 'Even heroes like you need to sleep! You don't want to get sick or fall asleep in the middle of a scaaaaaaaaarrrrrry dungeon, right?' Link would usually comply with his suggestion, wrapping himself in a spare blanket he had bought (Ravio had already been using Link's, and Link didn't want to create a fuss. Besides, it was quilted and oh so soft) as he huddled next to his lantern for warmth. However, Link decided to travel to Skull Woods that night. Ravio initially didn't ask him to stay as the other boy looked genuinely determined to leave, so he didn't feel like he should have stopped him.

"…If I told him to stay, this wouldn't have happened! Oh… this is very very bad!" Tears began to make their way down his reddened cheeks. "I… wh-what do I d-do?! I just… this is all m-my fault…" Ravio sobbed, choking on his words. He knew Link had to have been coming any second now, so he finished dressing himself. After he placed his identity-concealing hood over his head, Sheerow nuzzled his master's cheek.

"Oh buddy… I just don't know what to do… we can't just go out there to get them back or anything, we'd get pummeled! " Ravio fell to the floor, wrapping his arms around his knees as he sobbed. He knew it was his fault. He should have locked the door. He should've, should've, should've…

But he didn't.

"I'm so sorry Hilda… I can't do this anymore…" Ravio pressed his head into his knees, curling up into a little ball. "I'm sorry…" His sobs became more like muffled, frustrated screams. Sheerow attempted to comfort him, but it was of no use. He placed himself on top of his master's head with a gentle coo.

At that moment, a young man clothed in green barged in, stricken with worry.

"Ravio! I heard you screaming so I rushed down here and-" Link paused, surveying the area. His expression fell sullen as his eyes met with the merchant's. "…Oh…"

Link slowly made his way to the crying boy, sitting down a few feet from him. He had never, ever seen Ravio this upset. Not like this. It made him feel so… awkward to see him in this state too, but he was going to do the best he could to calm the merchant down.

"W-welcome back… M-Mr. Hero…" Ravio choked out, attempting to be at least semi-formal. He never wanted to allow Link to see him at his weakest. Next to the courageous, oh so powerful hero… he felt like that little speck he knew himself to be.

And it hurt.

"Ravio, just explain to me what's going on… okay?" Link quietly asked, forcing a smile in order to calm the other boy down.

"I… the items… they were…" Ravio swallowed hard. "They were stolen… last night. It's all my fault…" Ravio reached his hand into his hood to wipe away snot and tears.

"Hey…" Link spoke softly, finding himself leaning forward slightly, "It wasn't your fault. You didn't know if I was coming home or not, right?"

Ravio sniffed and replied, "I guess…"

Was he really being talked to like this? By the hero? Why? He was nothing but a crybaby; a coward. Why would Link care about him at all?

"And you left the door unlocked so I could get in?" Link crawled over to Ravio, perhaps now sitting a little too close for comfort. Again, this was a little awkward, but he felt it was something he was expected to do as the hero he was always praised for being. It didn't have anything to do with Ravio personally, no. It was just the fact that Ravio was, well… a boy. Gulley was different because they grew up together, like brothers. Ravio was just a guy he had only met a couple of weeks ago. At least, that's what he always told himself.

However… that didn't feel like the right answer to Link anymore. It wasn't because he was a boy. It was something… different.

"That's right… I just wanted to make sure that you could have a safe place to sleep or rent stuff for your adventures…"

Link gave him a warm smile. "See? You just wanted me to be able to get back okay. I should be the one who's sorry. I didn't tell you I was going to sleep somewhere else." Link let out a chuckle, trying to hide the fact that his heart was beating a thousand times a second.

"Maybe you're right, buddy," Ravio responded, flashing a fake smile. He didn't believe the hero at all.

Link's smile was genuine. He hugged the boy close to his chest, causing Ravio to let out a little gasp. …Was he blushing? "Mm. Now… just breathe in… and out…" Link demonstrated, his chest rising and falling slowly. He even began to rub his back in slow, circular movements. "In… and out…"

Ravio tried to follow his example, but all he could do was clench his fists. He knew it wasn't okay. It had to have been his fault. Right?

"C'mon now, Ravio," Link chided, "You won't get better if you don't do this. If you're still thinking it's your fault, it isn't. It seriously isn't. Please understand that."

Ravio wanted to protest, but he knew it would be better if he didn't. Maybe the hero was right? He was right about a lot of things, so could he be right about this too?

"There… see? Don't you feel better?" It was a good thing Ravio wasn't looking at him; his face was completely flushed. Why, he didn't know. He just knew that the whole "holding the guy you barely know" thing was seriously weird, like getting a hug from a teacher weird. And yet Link felt like he should have done this, like it was a completely natural action.

Ravio only nodded. At that moment, he considered the hero's words to be the truth. It was better than throwing a pity party all day.

"There we go. What'd I tell you?" Link patted the merchant playfully on the back before releasing him. "Now… instead of sulking all day, how about we go and find those items, huh?" He reached out a hand to Ravio who, with a little hesitation, tentatively gripped the hero's hand as he was pulled up to his feet.

Ravio was shocked. How could Link expect to find those precious objects without a guide? A hint? A map? It was useless. Then again, Link was really good about hunting down things, especially money. Maybe…

"I uh… really don't think that'll work though. I mean, they're pretty much gone. Probably sold off. Yup. It just wouldn't make any sense to look for them now… unless you go, that is. I mean, you're pretty tough! You can handle trekking all over the place! Me? I'm just a lowly merchant who doesn't know the first thing about self-defense!" As much as Ravio really wanted to find his items, he was afraid. He didn't want to face monsters. Nope, never, no way no how. Link could go. Yes. That was a good plan. Perfect plan.

"Don't be silly! We can work together!" They were his items, so didn't he have some responsibility too? Even Sheerow agreed with him, which Ravio was a little upset about.

"What do you mean 'we'?" the merchant asked, perplexed. He wasn't going to go out there with those monsters around; he knew his place.

The hero's head cocked to the side. "They're your items, aren't they? I mean, don't you want to help?"

"Of course I do, my friend, but I'd hold you back! I mean, look at me, do I really look like the hero type? I trip over my own two feet! I'd be a burden to you, understand? I'll stay here and look after the place while you're gone."

The other boy sighed, rolling his eyes. "I'll strike a deal with you then. With every item that we find, I have to pay you the rental price, since I'll be the one holding on to them. That way it would, according to your rules, let me use the items we find so we can find the rest. Plus, it'd be easier with the two of us. What's not to like? Besides, I think you could really use some fresh air."

Ravio knew he couldn't get out of this one. He decided that getting paid would be okay in exchange for getting chased by monsters, even if that was a horrible exchange in retrospect.

"…It's a deal," Ravio declared before sheepishly twiddling his thumbs as he added, "But uh… could you make sure none of those savage beasties attack me or anything? I'd really appreciate that."

"Sure thing, buddy," Link replied with a smile. "Now c'mon, we've got some items to rescue!"

Ravio had no idea what he was getting into, but hey, getting paid beats lying around all day, right?

…Right?

AN: Well look at that, the first chapter is complete! I really do hope you've enjoyed this introduction, as shaky as it may seem. Thank-you for reading!