Author's Note: This is the sequel to Skirting the Tidewaters, a oneshot I wrote years ago. I'm not sure how well this stands on its own, so I guess I recommend reading Tidewaters first, though that's certainly not a requirement.

"Excuse me," Midna nearly growled. "I seem to have a truck lodged in my ear. Let me dig it out so that I can hear you clearly."

She made an ostentatious show of twisting her pinkie finger in her left ear before withdrawing it with an audible "pop".

"Midna, just hear me out for a second."

"You want us to go and meet your ex-girlfriend at the airport?"

"Really, it's okay. She and I parted on amicable terms way back barely after high school, and we've been friends ever since. I should've phrased it better. She's a best friend more than anything."

Midna rolled her eyes.

"Fine," she sighed. "I am, above all, understanding to a fault. As I'm sure you know but don't appreciate enough."

"You?" he snorted. "Understanding?"

She stole his orange slices in retaliation.

"Arthur!"

A woman, one hand struggling to heft her suitcase past the curb, the other raised in an excited wave, beamed at the couple.

Midna scowled as she observed the woman's golden locks of hair tumbling down her back, her eyes practically drenched with youth and elegance.

She was beautiful, damn it.

Midna blinked as a petite hand was extended her way.

"You must be Eve. I've heard so much about you," the woman smiled. "My name's Julia, but I'm sure Arthur's already told you that much.

Oh, right. That was her own name, wasn't it? She had almost forgot, so intimately immersed together with Link into their past, into what could have been. The twilight, the chambers of death and skeletons and the fierce, scorching cobalt that spoke volumes when the wolf couldn't, and the imp's laughter that spoke enough when it wouldn't.

Behind them, sure, but just as much a part of them as the steel buildings and soaring contraptions surrounding them now.

Quite suddenly, however, looking Julia up and down, her jealousy and irritation washed away. Midna was taken aback at just how quickly she suddenly liked her. It wasn't only eerie; it just plain didn't make sense. She barely knew the woman. Something about how she carried herself, how friendly she was. The warmth she exuded.

"Um," Midna responded when she realized Julia was still waiting patiently. "Yeah, that's me. It's nice to meet…"

Her eyes, impossibly crimson, widened as they rose to meet the other woman's.

Julia was perplexed for all of two moments before she was also overcome. Her lips parted as she gazed into Midna's depths.

Flashes of imprisonment, serrated glimpses of allegiances that shouldn't have been, the blaring light that said they happened anyway.

The divulging of an entire soul, pouring into another.

Before she even knew it, Midna had grasped Julia's hand, squeezing her fingers desperately.

"God," she spoke, breath shuddering, shoulders barely squared. "Oh, god. You're-"

Julia, similarly overwhelmed, drew a slow, lingering smile across her lips, despite the lone tear tracing its way across her cheek.

She wiped her tear away and broke into a shuddering laugh.

"What are the chances, hm? Midna."

And Midna was already crying into her neck, spluttered gasps of "Zelda" and "What the hell" easily discernible, muffled by fabric though they were.

Zelda wrapped her arms around her and soothingly ran her hand across her back, and noticed Link standing bewildered to their side.

She laughed once more, and motioned for him to join them, accompanied with Midna's strangled demands for him to "get the hell over here, you dumb hero."

"I'm glad you found each other," Zelda told them. "If anyone deserved happiness, it was you two."

"Still," Link sighed. "All this time I've known you, but it isn't until you meet Midna that you finally remember. We didn't recognize each other even when we were dating!"

Midna stood up with her hands fisted at her hips triumphantly, her tea lying forgotten on the table.

"I guess that means Zel shared a deeper bond with me than she ever did with you, wolf boy."

She snickered.

Zelda rolled her eyes fondly.

"It might have something to do with the fact that I transferred part of myself into you to keep you alive."

"There you go!" Midna gestured matter-of-factly. "Deeper bond."

"It's going to be hard to know what to call you," Zelda said, looking towards Link. "I've known you as Arthur for so long, after all."

"Call me whatever," Link shrugged. "Midna and I prefer this since we never really had a chance before, back in Hyrule. This way, we can sort of redeem what could have been."

Midna glared at him.

"How many times do I gotta tell you I'm sorry, already? Wasn't an easy choice, y'know. I had to make sure there weren't any more Ganondorfs running around."

As Link attempted to assure Midna that wasn't what he was getting at, a thought squirmed its way into Zelda's head.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me," she muttered under her breath.

She swiped her phone and scrolled through her contacts, before making the call.

"Hi," she murmured when it picked up.

A low voice rumbled something in response.

"No, no," Zelda shook her head. "Nothing's wrong."

By now, Link and Midna paused their lighthearted bickering to look over in curiosity.

"Mmhmm. Yes, I'm with Arthur now. Oh, will you stop with that; his girlfriend's with us too, so you don't have to worry. I know, I know. Say…have you ever been stabbed before?"

Link's eyebrows shot up in bewilderment, and, by the sound of the silence from the cell phone, whoever Zelda was calling was similarly baffled.

"Right, of course you haven't," Zelda continued without missing a beat. "But let's say you have, and just don't remember it. Would you like to speak to the one responsible?"

Without waiting for an answer, Zelda tossed Link her phone.

"What…?"

"Just talk to him."

"O…kay…"

Link pressed the phone warily to his ear.

"Hello…?"

"Who is this?" A deep voice answered sharply. "Are you Arthur?"

Some chord of familiarity struck at Link, unsettling him. A sense of unease coursed through him.

"Yes, that's me."

"What's all this nonsense Julia's on about?"

The chord plucked at his strings, growing louder and louder until-

"Holy crap," he uttered, turning to look at Zelda, who was sporting a sly grin.

"Excuse me?"

"Um, so…you might not know me, but once upon a time, we sort of…fought to the death."

"…Is this one of Julia's pranks?"

"No, well…" Link heaved a sigh. "Bear with me, but I used to go by Link. A long time ago, I…stuck a sword through your stomach. Do you remember?

Silence for several seconds, and then the line went dead.

"He hung up."

The next day, Zelda received news that her fiancé was flying in from New York, prompted by no apparent reason.

"You're marrying Ganondorf?! Didn't he, y'know, practically kill me at one point?"

"Oh, he's really very nice once you get to know him."

"You'll excuse me if I have trouble wrapping my mind around that."

"Trust me, he's a perfect gentleman."

"So was Ganondorf, but that didn't stop him from being an evil tyrant hellbent on destroying everything we knew and loved and stood for. I guess this makes for no end to interesting dinner conversation, though."

"I only realized myself, just now after getting my memory back from meeting you."

"So what's the big oaf's name nowadays?"

"Kevin."

"KEVIN?!"

"Midna, I haven't cleaned the floor yet, you'll get dirty from rolling around in it."

"My sides, oh I can't…s-sorry, Link, but…pfff, really? Behold - your arch-nemesis, conqueror of worlds, slayer of sages, boss of smelly green pigmen – the almighty Kevin!"

"Sometimes I think I need to buy a leash for you."

"You were the wolf, Arty. Not me."

"Anyway, why's he flying over?"

"To meet you both, I expect. It's not every day you recall your former sworn enemies."

"It's not every day you marry your former sworn enemy. Seriously, what are the chances?"

"It isn't something meager that binds us. We're trailed by destiny's footsteps."

"…"

"…"

"He's not coming to murder me, is he?"

"…Why don't I go put on some more tea?"

"Zelda, answer me!"

The doorbell rang, and the hinges swung aside to reveal a tall, broad-shouldered man. His features were as stone.

Zelda skipped merrily towards him and greeted him with a kiss on the cheek.

"Hello," he inclined his head towards the nervous couple beyond the threshold. "Sorry for turning your friends into souls and usurping the castle and nearly killing you. May I come in?"

Link could only gape.

"He always did have a way with words," Zelda quirked a grin.

Midna stepped forward to let him in, on the condition that he buys her a new helmet.

Author's Note:

Yeah, it's pretty scattered. Honestly, this is sort of just something random that made its way inexplicably onto the keyboard. It's pretty much a result of the urge and need to post something to do with Link and Midna that's bubbled up slowly over years and threatened to drive me insane if I didn't act on it. So act on it I did. I hope to write for them something a bit more thought out and refined eventually, but for now, I hope this little continuation of Tidewaters will keep everyone entertained.

Let me know what you thought!

…if you're reading this godtierGrammarian, yes, this is all your fault.

EDIT: I can't believe I'm doing this, but chapter 2 is up. Yes, you heard right, I'm continuing the story, and I know I'll kick myself for it later but for now, click onwards and enjoy.