Hello! I return again with another fic written at 3AM. This time featuring genderfluid!Link because I love them. (And if anyone has any genderfluid or nonbinary Link fics to rec, that would be awesome.) I hope you enjoy!

(If you notice any inaccuracies or places I could have done better, please let me know! This is my first time writing a genderfluid character, so I hope I did them justice!)

Lucky

Lady Cravenheart

Since Zelda had returned to him, Link hadn't been vai. Well… that wasn't strictly true. He had felt vai several times, but had ignored it. Pronouns weren't necessary as they were traveling, and it wasn't as if vai didn't wear pants. It shouldn't have really been that different…

Except that it was.

With Zelda around… being vai felt… constricting. He couldn't say anything. He found himself quieter those days. He knew it bothered her—his post Calamity self was far more talkative than the guard she had known, and he knew she enjoyed that. (He was still quieter than almost everyone else, though.) She has yet to ask him about his sudden silences, and he was dreading the day she finally did.

It wasn't like he could lie to her. She was Zelda. Princess—no, Queen of Hyrule, or the remains of it, anyway. She was Goddess-blooded and magically blessed. Wicked smart and endlessly curious. Beautiful. Kind. Even the thought of lying to her made him feel dirty inside.

But even all of those traits didn't make his palms sweat any less over the thought of telling her.

What would she say? How would she react? It wasn't normal. Even he could tell that, and he would be the first to admit that he was horrendous at picking up social cues. (He still felt bad for that poor restless-cricket man.)

On one hand, he felt like Zelda would accept him. She thought throwing bugs and monster guts into elixirs was fun, and had no qualms about trying them, no matter what she threw in them. (Even Link gagged at the thought of moblin guts mixed with mashed up lizard and beetles, but no, Zelda'd just tossed it back like a pro. Crazy woman.)

On the other, it wasn't normal, to be the way he was. At least not that he had ever seen. Would she even understand?

But Zelda was Zelda. If she didn't understand, she'd try to learn. To make herself understand.

Which might mean a series of uncomfortable questions and scrutiny that made his skin prickle.

Of course, Zelda also knew his limits. They were all the other had left. She could accept him and whatever he was willing to tell her.

But would it just be because without him, she would be all alone? Would it be out of a sense of—of guilt, or obligation, or fear?

Zelda was too headstrong for that though, wasn't she? She would stand by him only because she wanted to, not because she felt like she had to.

But then, if she didn't accept it, she could very well just ditch him, leaving him all alone. And that… that would hurt. Badly enough he's not sure he would recover from it.

It was best to just keep his mouth shut then, wasn't? Endure being vai while Zelda and the rest of the world thought he was voe. They'd visit the Gerudo eventually—and probably frequently. He could be vai without fear then. Maybe it wouldn't come at the right times, but hey, it was better than nothing, right?

…until Zelda found out he was lying at least half of the time. Which she would. Because she was smart, and she knew him better than anyone else, and she would notice, eventually. It might take her a while, but it would have to happen at some point, and then… and then she would demand answers, and he'd have to tell her, and face her reaction.

Which was bound to be at least two times as bad as it would be if he just summoned the courage he supposedly embodied and just told her.

So, really, telling her was the best option. Like ripping off a bandage secured with adhesive.

Link groaned, rubbing at his eyes. Circular thoughts weren't doing anything except giving him a headache. He leaned forward in his saddle to drape himself across Knight's neck, his soft man tickling Link's nose.

"Are you alright?" Zelda looked at him askance, fingers pausing over the Sheikah Slate. The blue of it lit up he fingers.

He waved her off lazily, but instead of turning back to her work, she furrowed her brow at him.

"You've been awful strange lately," she told him primly. "You know you can talk to me about anything, don't you, Link?" Her green eyes went wide as she reassured him, and he had to close his eyes against the plea in them.

"M'fine," he said.

She huffed. "That's what you always say, and it's only true about 20% of the time. Believe me—I've done the math."

He wouldn't doubt it for a second. "Z, it's nothing. I promise."

"It's not 'nothing'!" She argued. Even without opening his eyes, he could see her making air quotes with a scowl on her face, and it brought a smile to his.

He pushed himself into a sitting position. Knight tossed his head, throwing his mane everywhere. It was almost time to get it trimmed again, he noted absently. "I'll tell you," he said. "But not today."

"Then when?" Zelda stuck out her bottom lip, though he doubted she knew she was doing it.

"When it becomes a problem again," Link said. "Promise." He crossed his heart.

Zelda stared at him. "…you'd better," she muttered, sounding vaguely threatening in a way that had him worried about the next time she cooked.

"But Liiiink, they're supposed to help you be stronger!"

"In elixirs!"

"Come on, just try it!"

He shuddered. Who put bugs in stew anyway? (Zelda. That's who. Crazy woman.)

Link stretched, feeling the slight burn in her muscles. They had arrived at the stable that night, just in time to have dinner with the regulars. Link had made baked apples and mushroom rice balls to go around, and they'd spent their time talking by the fire.

Zelda had been beaming all night. She knew that there was a part of her that adored not being recognized; people just treating her as a regular person, instead of a Queen they needed to bow and scrape to.

She rolled her shoulders, and slipped out of bed. She had sprung for soft beds for the both of them. It had been a long trip between stables, so she knew they would both appreciate it.

She opened the Slate and pawed through her outfits. Her fingers hovered over the vai outfits before she sighed, passing them over in favor of his Champion's garb. Later. After I tell Zelda.

Speaking of… Link glanced at Zelda's bunk. Empty. Already up, then. Link holstered the Slate and headed outside. Zelda was using a Bokoblin arm to play fetch with the dog.

Link smiled to herself. An old man hobbled over to his side—the same old man who had told Link where to find Zelda's horse. "Your girlfriend's a lovely woman," he said.

She flushed. "I—"

"Don't try to lie to me, son." Link bit back a wince. "You tamed a horse for her. 'Sides. Any man would be lucky to have her."

Link fidgeted. "Yeah… they would." Zelda was a lovely woman, she wasn't afraid to admit that. Link would love it if the old man's words were true, but… they weren't. Zelda was her best friend, her rock, her queen, and the person she was sworn to protect. She had followed her through lifetimes, for Hylia's sake. But that didn't mean they were meant to be.

Especially not when Link was vai and voe and both and neither and something in-between.

"Too bad for them they you snapped her up first!" The old man patted her back before he hobbled on over to his usual resting place, leaning heavily on his cane.

"Have a nice conversation?" Zelda appeared at Link's side, a scuffed up Bokoblin arm hanging from her fingers.

Link shrugged. "More awkward, really."

"I saved you some baked apples in the Slate," Zelda said. "I didn't want to wake you."

"Thanks," Link said. "You know you can always wake me, though, right?"

"You haven't been sleeping much," Zelda pointed out. "And you won't let me take watch."

Link grimaced. They'd had several fights about that, and would probably have several more. "…I appreciate it," she said instead, taking one of the baked apples from the Slate's storage. She bit into it and melted at the sweetness.

Zelda smiled fondly at her. She flushed, suddenly self-conscious about the juice dribbling down her chin. She looked away, staring up at the old arena. "Remember our conversation yesterday?"

"I… Yes. Why?"

"When we're back on the road… I think I'm ready to tell you."

After all, if she told her now, at least she could head back to the stable. There would be plenty of good, noble guards who could escort her wherever she needed to to. Link would be fine on her own. She'd done it before.

(But never without knowing that she was out there, somewhere, on her side. Waiting for her to come back.)

Zelda stared at her for a moment, before nodding once. She hesitated for only half a second before wrapping Link in a quick hug, there and gone again before Link even had time to catch the scent of Silent Princesses that dogged her steps.

Link tossed her apple core in a barrel, where it would be used to fertilize the crops growing in the back. Her face was still burning, and she swept passed the old man chortling to himself to splash cool water on her face from the rain barrel.

They set out about mid-afternoon, giving Link plenty of time to psyche herself out and talk herself back into telling Zelda at least three times. The same circular thoughts were on route through her brain, wearing in ruts so deep she wasn't sure she could fill them back in.

"So," Zelda asked, faux casual in a way she could never quite pull off. "What was it you wanted to talk to me about?"

Link stared at the back of Knight's head, the trim doing wonders for his mane. "This is… hard for me to explain," she said carefully. "I don't… it's not…" She huffed.

"Take your time." Zelda's voice was soft. Reassuring. Link's shoulders loosened.

"Sometimes I'm vai," she said, the words nearly running together. "And—and sometimes I'm voe. Or… or neither. Or both."

There. It was done. Said. No takebacks.

Zelda was quiet for a few moments. "You know… we had a word for that, back in the old days."

"We… did?"

"Yeah. It was 'genderfluid.'"

"Did I…"

"Tell me that you were? No." Zelda sighed. "We weren't friends long enough, I guess. Or maybe you shoved it down with everything else." She urged her horse closer, and reached out to take Link's hand. "I'm glad you told me now, though. I'm sure it was scary."

Link ducked her head, chin tucking against her chest. Zelda squeezed her hand.

"How do you feel today?" She asked.

"I… vai. I'm feeling vai."

Zelda smiled. "Would you like to borrow something of mine, then?"

Link flushed. "I—yes. If you don't mind."

Zelda passed her the Slate. "Of course I don't, Link."

Link finally dared to meet her eyes, and the two shared a smile. Zelda let her hand go, leaving it colder for the loss, and urged her horse back to a more comfortable walking distance.

Link scanned the available outfits, choosing the Hylian dress—Zelda had it dyed blue—and sapphire earrings. She held the Slate out again.

Zelda took it. "You look gorgeous, Link," she said.

"…Thanks, Zelda." For far more than just the compliment. He was so lucky to have her in his life.

"Of course, Link."

Thanks so much for reading! You can also find me on Tumblr, as ladycravenheart and livvywrites.