Link brought his hand to his hair, rubbing the back of his head thoughtfully as he counted the orange glowing gems scattered on the ground.
Seventy Nine. He'd found seventy nine gratitude crystals, but Batreaux said he needed Eighty. The Green clad boy grumbled to himself.
He looked everywhere he was able. Helped every person that needed his assistance and found every stray gratitude crystal he could get his hands on- or so he'd thought.
"So where's that last one…?" He murmured into the quiet night. He stared absently as the moon cast a pale glow on his childhood home. The starlight shuddered in the sky as the wind and clouds brushed through his hair. The goddess statue loomed behind him, smiling down on all of Skyloft's sleeping inhabitants.
Link ignored the pang in his heart, the goddess reincarnate coming to mind before he pushed it away in favor of bringing his tired mind back on track.
He'd found very few of the mysterious gems at the Lumpy Pumpkin, but he was almost certain he scanned every inch of that place he could think of. He endured every feral Remlit to search all of Skyloft and it's houses and he'd even gotten told off by Beedle for sleeping in his shop so much.
He was fairly certain that the Knight Academy had given all it could offer of the crystals since he'd searched that head to toe as well.
Link paused. Then again, there were three rooms he couldn't gain access to at night because they were locked.
Link pondered a few moments more before scooping up what crystals he had, laying them in his pouch.
The blonde made his way down the wooden steps towards the school and went to open the second floor doors.
He jiggled the knob and blinked incredulously as he found them locked.
But they're never locked! He thought as he tried twisting it again to no avail. Link looked around, looking for any other alternative.
I could always try someone's window. He would imagine that if Karane or Pipit were to catch him, he'd get an earful, but desperate times called for desperate measures.
Link climbed the scaffolding sticking out of the wall as he remembered Professor Horwell encouraging him to do the morning of the Wing Ceremony. He ignored the smiling blonde classmate that flashed through his thoughts so he could concentrate on keeping his grip.
It didn't take him long to get to the roof, having chosen to skip over his instructor's windows and find someone who'd more easily let him in without punishment. He went to hang off the other side of the building when something else caught his eyes.
A chimney stood to his right, and as he turned to it, he realised what sat underneath the roof of the pillar.
It was a target. Exactly like the ones he'd seen on the surface meant for his hookshot to grapple onto.
He grinned in triumph as he fished the gauntlets out of his pouch, fingering the mechanisms inside to latch onto the target, yank himself up and over the opening, and drop into the conveniently sized pipe.
When he landed, there was a light thud as his boots made contact with the wood. He heard the sound of running water as his eyes made contact with the grate and he realized he must have been just above the bath. Curious, he peeked through the grate, reeling back a moment later with his hand pressed to his mouth and sweat beading on his forehead.
Those were parts of Gaepora I did not need to see! He shook the images from his brain as he fought the nausea building in his throat. He looked around the small space, hoping that he had found something useful rather than merely coming here to get scarred for life.
He sighed thankfully when there was a small crawl space in the corner. Quietly, he made his way over and shimmied into the small nook, following along the length of it until he dropped into a room.
The first thing he saw was an orange mass in front of him and he grinned ear to ear.
"Gotcha!" He exclaimed, grasping the final gratitude crystal in his hand and tucking it in his pouch, it's glow fading from the otherwise dark room. It was in that darkness that, when he looked up, Link realized with a skip of his heart where he was.
Pink carpeted the floor under his feet and the sheets of the bed next to him. The dresser on his other side had a small, wood carved statuette of a lavender bird and a sewn plushie of a green fairie. Knitting supplies filled a basket that rested there and he remembered when Mia would drag them away to play with them.
The memory of an adorable pout brought the smallest of smiles to his face.
Zelda…. He looked in front of him, the moon casting it's luminescence onto a framed portrait of the headmaster and his daughter. He stepped over the pillows on the floor to stand in front of it, drawing his hand gently across the dried, fragile paint that made up her radiant smile and bright blue eyes.
He remembered how sad they'd looked the last time he saw her, clouded in sorrow and guilt, yet masked by determination. He drew his hand back, letting it fall to his side and letting the memories flood back to him.
Her voice was so choked with pain, heavy with conviction and firm with resolve. Her apologies held paragraph's of things she wished she could say.
She didn't need to tell him she was still his friend, the girl he'd grown up with, the girl he studied with and the girl who'd jumped on his bed to wake him as kids, the same girl who now knocked harshly on his door to get him up before classes started.
Even if she hadn't said it, he would have known it was her. It's always been her and it would always be her, no matter what fate or her previous life threw their way. She'd always been by his side, and he proudly stood by hers. But now….
He turned to her desk, his eye catching on the open book laying on it's surface. He made his way over and took a seat as he read through the unfinished entry, smiling softly again, unsure when the previous one had fallen from his face.
He'd always thought they were inseparable, even when they were apart. It wasn't just him, all the others in Skyloft could see that the two of them were thick as thieves. Gaepora was glad of it, Groose was intimidated by it, everyone had made at least one comment or tease about it over the years.
So why was it now that every time he seemed to get close, something else always pushed them apart again. First Impa claimed he was unfit to protect her, then Ghirahim gave him the chance to prove her wrong, but only so they could get away as he held the Demon Lord off. And now the Goddess herself deemed it necessary to keep them separate.
Link felt his shoulders sag and his heart grew heavy. He wished things were different. That they could have just stayed in Skyloft together and maybe this destiny could hold off for one more lifetime.
But it didn't.
And now the Hero was more conscious of the empty space at his side than ever before.
Link felt the wood pressed against his cheek and sat up, blinking away his drowsiness. The boy rubbed his face, fighting the urge to drift off again.
It'd been a long day, and he was ready to curl up and go to sleep. Forget all his troubles until morning came and he had to continue his quest. He could give Batreaux his crystals then.
He stood up from the chair at her desk, making to leave when he saw her empty bed.
It hit him hard, realizing that she hadn't slept in it since the Ceremony. The thought of leaving her room suddenly didn't sit well with him. He could still feel her there, her warmth, her smell. It almost felt like she was still there.
He wanted her to still be there.
So, he unclasped his sword and shield as he walked over, setting them against the frame before carefully crawling over the covers.
She'd probably yell at him if she knew he was doing this, her cheeks turning red as she puffed them out to try and hide her blush. He laughed quietly to himself. What he wouldn't give to see that face she made when she was upset with him.
He closed his eyes as he smiled, curling into her bed and nuzzling her pillow. Her scent surrounded him like a mist, comforting and lulling him deeper into his thoughts.
He wondered if she was dreaming, and speculated what she could've been dreaming about. She'd said she'd wished that feeling of living up in the clouds with him could last forever. Was she remembering the old times like him? Or was she dreaming of what they could have done if things turned out differently.
He sighed heavily into her pillow as he felt his drowsiness begin to drag him away.
Zelda… He thought, her smile filling his mind as he began to dream of a different life. One where they didn't have to play the role of the Goddess and her Hero. He sank further into his subconscious, his final coherent thought trailing after him.
I miss you...
(A/N): THIS CAME INTO MY HEAD A FEW DAYS AGO WHEN I HAD LINK SLEEP IN ZELDA'S BED! I couldn't stop thinking how these two are Best friends and started thinking what Link would be thinking when he fell asleep in Zelda's room. I had to share it with the world! THE WORLD MUST CRY WITH ME, BECAUSE DAMNIT IF THIS DOESN'T HIT THYE NAIL ON THE HEAD! And now, as I finish the game, I begin to also think that he'd think "OH HELL NO! I've finally gotten her back and you, Ghirahim, are not taking her from me again! COME AT ME YOU MOTHER TRUCKERS!" Well... that's at least what I was thinking as I was slicing through Bokoblin after Bokoblin.
I hope you guys enjoyed this (even if it made your heart hurt, that was the intention).
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