AUTHOR'S NOTE: My sincerest apologies to those of you who may follow Hell Hath No Fury and are waiting for an update. Just when I think my writers block is cured, it comes back. I'm trying!

Anyways, as I've said before, I write about whatever subject inspires me at a given point in time. That's part of the reason some stories are started and then get stuck in writer's block purgatory. The inspiration is temporarily gone, to return whenever it damn well feels like it! So right before Thanksgiving I bought The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword and was addicted immediately. I've always been a big LoZ fan, but this one jump started the fan girl obsessiveness…and I think I know the reason, the diamond-encrusted, deliciously androgynous reason: Ghirahim, the series' new antagonist. I loved him the minute he appeared on screen. It took me a second to determine his gender (the tight body suit kinda gave it away if you know what I mean) and from that moment on I was sold. And I knew I had to write a fanfiction for him…in which he was gay. If you haven't figured it out by now, I'm all about the guy on guy thing. Only one of the relationships in my stories is heterosexual (and there's still a gay couple in that story!). The Demon Lord just kinda struck me as gay, or at the very least, he swings both ways. I decided to go against the whole dubious consent/slightly pedophile-ish thing with Link (as great as the pairing can be) and pair him with everybody's favorite ginger king of evil, Ganondorf. I read another story with this pairing and thought it was fantastic. Why not pair two of Link's greatest enemies? Besides, I've got some awesome twists/O-fo theories brewing for later in the story. The story starts pre-Ocarina of Time, and then takes place within that time period. We're going with the theory that Skyward Sword predates Ocarina of time. I'm also playing around with his appearance a little to make him more attractive, but picture him looking more like he looked in Twilight Princess, without the awkwardly shaped head he had in Ocarina of Time.

Fire and Ice

Chapter 1: In the Beginning

The sounds of clashing swords reverberated through the stone fortress and surrounding grounds. He pulled back, surveying his opponent from across the ring, determination glowing in his golden eyes. He charged forward, sword raised, a cry of inevitable victory on his lips. His foot struck loose stone and he stumbled, failing to regain his footing and falling onto his back. Before he could stand again, his opponent was crouched above him, holding a blade to his throat. He looked up at the person on top of him and frowned. She began to laugh at him and he soon joined in.

"Okay, okay, you win," he said. "Now get off, Nabooru!"

He shoved her away and sat up.

"I told you I would win," she smirked.

"You just got lucky," he replied. "If I hadn't fallen I would've won."

He stood up, brushing the dust off his black harem pants. Nabooru silently watched the young Gerudo king, taking in his appearance. A few strands of wavy orange hair had come loose from the low ponytail that held them. Sweat glistened on the bronze skin of his bare chest.

"What?" he asked, looking up to see her staring at him.

"Huh? Nothing!" she started, looking away quickly.

A slight blush had risen to her cheeks. He was an attractive man, the fact that he was the only Gerudo man in the valley only adding to his sex appeal. She knew what the other women said when they thought she wasn't listening. She and Ganondorf had been inseparable since they were children. Everyone expected that one day, probably in the not-too-distant future, he would claim her as his own. She would be lying if she said she didn't look forward to that day. She snapped out of her daydream to see that Ganondorf had disappeared. She found him at the stables, saddling his black stallion.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"Nowhere important," he said. "Just thought I'd ride out to the Spirit Temple. You coming?"

She nodded and saddled her own horse.

"One, two, three, go!" Ganondorf yelled as he galloped past Nabooru, who had just mounted her horse.

"Hey!" she called after him, urging her horse forward. His laugh carried back towards her as she rushed to catch up. He had removed his hair from the confines of his ponytail and it was streaming behind him, almost identical in color to the mane of his horse. The late desert sun shone through it, giving it the appearance of a raging flame. In that moment, he looked every bit the king he was, powerful and noble. Nabooru had high expectations that he would do great things for their people.

Ganondorf reined his horse in at the base of the temple stairs, Nabooru pulling up alongside him.

"I win this time!" he said, dismounting and gently rubbing his horse's nose.

"You cheated! It doesn't count!" Nabooru refuted, leading her horse to stand beside Ganondorf's.

"How dare you accuse me of such a thing," Ganondorf gasped, faking shock. "I'm the king."

"You're an ass," she replied, punching him in the shoulder.

He raised an eyebrow at her. She closed her eyes and stuck her tongue out at him. She shrieked as he lifted her off the ground and over his shoulder.

"Put me down, Ganondorf!" she laughed, flailing around and punching him between the shoulder blades.

He chuckled and carried her into the temple, putting her down when a praying woman shot him a dirty look.

"Come on," he said, grabbing her arm and dragging her further into the temple. They climbed several sets of stairs and before long were sitting high above the desert on the right hand on the Goddess of the Sand. The sun was beginning to set, bathing the sand in reddish-orange light.

"Ganondorf?" Nabooru asked hesitantly.

"Yes?" he replied, turning his attention away from the sunset to look at her.

She looked down, unsure if she wanted to proceed.

It's now or never, she thought.

"Well…"

"There you are!"

"We've been looking for you!"

Koume and Kotake had appeared near the entrance of the temple.

"Come down here!" Kotake yelled.

"Hold that thought, Nabooru. You'll have to ask me another day," Ganondorf said before turning and leaping from the statue's hand. He flipped in the air and landed on his feet before his surrogate mothers.

"I love you," Nabooru muttered to herself as she watched him mount his horse and start off across the desert, a witch on either side of him.

"You'd mentioned an interest in the Triforce the other day," Koume said as they traveled.

"We've got some information for you," Kotake said.

"You'll need three Spiritual Stones to retrieve it, the Kokiri Emerald…"

"The Goron's Ruby…"

"And the Zora's Sapphire."

"Sounds easy enough," Ganondorf replied.

"Ah, but that's not all!" Koume chuckled.

"You also need an heirloom of Hyrule's royal family…"

"And to gain access to the Temple of Time," Koume finished.

Ganondorf frowned. The Hylians didn't trust the Gerudo. How was he going to get this heirloom and gain access to their most sacred temple?

"I'll go to their king," he said. "Claim that I wish to pledge my allegiance to him and form a truce between our people."

"Clever boy," Koume praised.

"But will the old king fall for it?" Kotake asked.

"I'll make him believe," Ganondorf promised. "I will acquire the Triforce and improve the lives of my people. I leave for Hyrule Castle at first light."

ENDNOTE: So I know that Ghirahim didn't make an appearance in this chapter, but no worries! He'll be arriving soon enough!

Whether or not there ever was any kind of relationship between Ganondorf and Nabooru, I don't know, but for the purposes of this story they're childhood companions. I felt that Nabooru having loved Ganondorf only to become a force working against him was a nice plot device.