He was having another nightmare. I couldn't blame him. Honestly, I was surprised he was even able to sleep after what we'd just been through. That monster fish had been his toughest opponent yet, and he'd come out of the fight in pretty bad shape. When we got out of Gyorg's lair, we'd had minutes before the moon's impact, and he was only barely able to muster the breath to play the song that would reset the timeline.

I hadn't handled it well. There was a lot of yelling on my part, scolding him for being stupid and reckless in the battle, then panicked screaming to get the Ocarina out when I saw how close the moon was. We were lucky; when he'd limped into the shop in West Clock Town, the clerk saw how bad he looked and gave him a bottle of red potion on the house. That bottle now lay on the floor of the Stock Pot Inn's 'Knife Chamber,' a few drops of thick, scarlet liquid still lingering within the glass.

He'd opened the window to let in some fresh air, then went for the bed. I think he might have been asleep before he hit the mattress. He was still fully dressed, and his sword was still strapped to his back. He'd lost his shield to a Like-Like on the coast. There'd been some yelling on my part after that too. It hadn't been a good three-day cycle for either of us.

Ha! Either of us. Like I ever did anything. He did all the legwork, all the fighting, all the transforming, and me? I whined. I complained. I called him names. Yelled at him. I'd blamed him for separating me from my brother when it was my own damn fault for staying behind to… what had I done again? Oh, yeah, knock him to the ground and gloat. Good one, Tatl.

I sat on the bedside table, watching him toss and turn, eyes shut tight against his tormentors. Helpless. Useless. Just like always…

"Why do you keep me around?" I wondered aloud. My voice was small and quiet in the still room. "Would you be better off without me? Am I dragging you down?" My eyes started to sting with tears. "What can I do? How am I supposed to help when I'm so damn-"

"Small." I jumped as another voice finished with me. A sky blue fairy hovered next to the window, looking at the boy on the bed with concerned eyes. Her expression was tender, almost motherly as she flew closer, landing on the mattress next to his face. I watched, slackjawed, as she reached out and gently stroked his cheek. It was a practiced movement, one I knew she must have done many, many times before, and the effect was almost instantaneous. The tension flowed out of his body, the strain on his face disappeared and his eyelids closed a little less tightly than before.

"You- wha- jus- how…" I sputtered, too incredulous to form a coherent thought. If she was who I thought she was...

"It's true," she said, turning around to face me with a sad smile. "Trust me, I know exactly how you feel right now. We're too small to help him fight, and too small to take care of him when he's hurt." She flew to me, alighted on the table next to me with the same motherly expression she'd worn just a few moments ago, and hugged me tightly.

"But don't think for a second that he doesn't need you just because of that," she whispered. "You are his rock. You are his confidant. You are his voice of reason. But most importantly, you are his companion." She broke her embrace and looked me in the eye. "He may find you annoying at times, but he also knows that you will always be there for him when he needs you. He won't always need your guidance, but you will always be there to provide it when he does."

I looked over at the bed, where our charge lay sleeping peacefully for the first time in four cycles. "He's one heck of a kid," I said quietly.

"Yes," she agreed. "Yes, he is." She looked me in the eye once more. "I leave him in your capable hands. Take good care of him for me." She moved to take off, but I grabbed her arm.

"Wait!" I blurted. My mind was racing; so many things I wanted to ask, so much I wanted to say… "He misses you," I said at last. "He talks about you all the time… Can't you stay until he wakes up? All he wants to do is say goodbye. Please," I added for the first time in years.

Her expression turned pained and her glow dimmed slightly. "No," she said, shaking her head. "I can't. I'm sorry, but it's… I just can't. It would be too painful for both of us." She looked at him once more, eyes shining with tears, then jerked her arm out of my grip. "I'm sorry," she said, taking to the air with buzzing wings and darting out the window.

Link stirred at the noise, sapphire eyes opening blearily. "Navi?" he rasped weakly. Hopefully.

I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat and sat down on the table again, focusing on a small knot in the wood. "Just a dream, blondie," I said evenly. "Back to sleep, now. Or do you want me to knock you out myself?"

He smiled at that, and his eyes closed once more. "You're a good friend, Tatl," he murmured sleepily. A faint, choked sob came from just outside the window, followed quickly by the buzzing of fairy wings that quickly faded into the distance. A bitter taste filled my mouth.

"I'm trying, kiddo," I whispered. "I'm trying."

The things that go through my head at one in the morning…

Long time readers may notice some similarities between this and another one-shot I wrote a million years ago called What Needed to Be Said. I hope this differentiated itself enough that it doesn't feel too stale.

This is based loosely on my first playthrough of the 3DS version of Majora's Mask, wherein Grezzo butchered an otherwise fun boss fight and I got my ass kicked and ended up finishing the battle with one-and-a-half out of thirteen hearts left and about two and half minutes remaining before moonfall. For the record, I started the fight at 4PM on the Third Day. Good job, Grezzo.

I also really love the fairies, especially Tatl. She's probably one of my favorite characters in the whole series. I feel she often gets left in Midna's wake due to Twilight Princess being the more popular game (among *ahem* OTHER things), but the little yellow fairy will always have a special place in my heart. Hey, she's a hell of a lot better than Fi, right? Riiiiiiight?

Thank you for reading my nonsense.