Good to see you all! I hope this fic is enjoyed. Feel free to PM my with any questions, or even if you just want to talk or roleplay or something! I'd love to see some new reviews as well ^^ Thanks for reading!

Shadow couldn't stop staring, the castle feeling foreign with another being inside, especially one he knew but that did not remember him. Vio was quiet and respectful, looking at the halls Shadow led him down with mild interest and asking questions about that Shadow could not and/or would not answer. Vio was a chance to let go of his past and the burdens they piled upon his back, and soon the newcomer learned he would have to answer his own questions, as Shadow would not.

Now they sat in silence, observing each other in front of a salvaged fireplace with a bottle of non-alcoholic milk each. The cows in Hyrule were often given protection by Farore and a benefit was that their milk never spoilt. Shadow had found countless bottles in the kitchen and pantries, enough to supply a bustling castle for weeks or a single occupant for years.

Vio had found some clothes in the room of a long-dead guest, brown trousers, black boots, a plain, collared tunic in his namesake colour. He'd taken a black scarf as well, as the ruins of the castle tended to be drafty and the night was cold.

"Why is this castle in ruin?" Vio asked, taking a sip from the milk, keeping his eye on Shadow.

The one of purple hair shrugged. "I found it like this." he lied. Memories or no, this was Vio. 'I destroyed it' wasn't going to help him make friends.

Vio's eyes narrowed but he moved on. "Why are you all alone here? You're too uncomfortable with a guest, at least if how you're staring at me is a clue."

Shadow blushed lightly and dropped his gaze. "I'm alone because there's no one else."

"A given." Vio's cool voice scoffed. "How long have you been alone"

There was a time when Shadow would have said 'forever' but it wasn't true. He'd always had someone there, Vaati, Vio, Ganon. Perhaps some of them were not the most fulfilling company, but they were other living beings. Now he knew what it was to be truly alone. "I think it's been three years. I've lost track."

Blue eyes never left his grey ones, Shadow felt intimidated. "You're one to talk about staring." He muttered, not breaking the other's gaze.

"You've been gawking, I've been trying to maintain eye contact." Vio shrugged, setting down the milk.

Shadow set his own down and folded his arms. "You're in my house."

"You're in the ruins of a castle you wandered into." Vio yawned, politely covering his mouth. "Forgive me if I don't believe that quite gives you ownership."

"I don't need your blessing." Shadow shrugged, standing up and stretching. "Come on, I know a room you might like."

Vio stood and walked behind him, less than happy to be navigating the very dark and crumbling castle, which he worried was very unsafe. He stuck close to Shadow, especially on the stairways, watching here each foot landed and mimicking it when he was sure it was safe. They reached the room and Shadow pushed open the door.

The room was stone like the rest of the castle but a beautiful green tapestry hung on the wall. Two windows looked out into the still-cloudy night but the moon had been freed and shone light into the room. Simple furniture stood in the room. A wardrobe with a few old and worn toys on top stood across from the bed, a desk with a few books on it, a big, soft green rug and a sizable bed with a table beside it. A sword lay on the pillow.

Vio's eyes traveled over the room, lingering on the desk longer than anything else, and he was silent. Shadow wondered if perhaps he was remembering the room on some level.

"It's a child's room." Vio muttered, stepping inside. Shadow's heart sank but he followed.

"There are other rooms-"

"I didn't mean I wouldn't stay here, I was just pointing it out." He wandered to the desk and picked up a few of the books, blowing dust off of them.

Shadow helped, brushing away the stuff with his own hands and wiping them off on his tunic. "Sorry about the dust. Mine is the only room that's not covered in it, you can go there if you want." Shadow offered. "And there are more books in the library, I'll show you tomorrow."

He smiled at Vio who only nodded with a thoughtful frown, eyes not leaving the first few pages of one of the books he decided to flip through.

Shadow glared at the book, put-off at being ignored. He walked over to the bed and began to pull off the top blanket, cursing the maids for how tightly it was made until he wrestled it off. He draped it out the window and shook it off as best he could, turning his face away from the flying dust. He tossed the blanket back on the bed and sneezed violently thrice.

"Goddesses bless you." Vio muttered, setting down the book. "And I thank you." he said, noticing the disturbed bed with slight amusement.

"You're welcome. Goodnight, Vio." Shadow smiled and left, feeling for a moment Vio might be gone in the morning, his hand tightening in the doorknob. He gritted his teeth and forced away the feeling as best he could.

The next morning Vio asked to see the library first thing and Shadow took him, overjoyed to find he'd not dreamed the visitor. He was content flipping through random books in the library as Vio pulled others from shelves and stacked them on tables carefully. Most of the books were preserved well and Vio frowned. Many had hardly been touched before. The castle, too, was oddly unworn. Vast portions were missing but they were scorched where the stone had fallen away. One tower looked as if its top had been knocked clean off by something. The castle had been attacked but never destroyed, that was why so many places in it were still unaffected by age and weathering.

"Shadow, what happened to this castle? Who attacked it?" he asked, looking up at the high ceiling of the room where a skylight let the muddled sun in.

Shadow looked up from the book about cats he'd found. "Huh?"

"Who attacked the castle? The disrepair is too uneven to be natural decay." Vio asked, coming over to look down on Shadow, who'd sat himself upside down in a comfortable armchair, head dangling over the seat.

"I..." He righted himself quickly on the chair. He could still remember the heat of the flames, dragon swooping low over them, fanning them with a rush of air. "I- I- don't know, a shadow." He gritted his teeth and stood, pushing past Vio. "Some person who probably didn't know what they were doing anyway."

"A shadow, Shadow?' Vio muttered, frowning, and followed him. "Who are you, then? How do I know you?"

"You don't know me!" Shadow sighed, turning to him, He stared at the blond, unblinking. "You said yourself you didn't."

"But you acted like I should know you. I don't remember anyone, I know I have to have known people at some point. If I were closer to you, If I'd lived with you in this empty old castle then you'd be more worried about me, but you seem to be taking advantage of my ignorance here." Vio said, his voice becoming cold. "You didn't answer any of my questions last night, you won't answer me now, and you're an absolute disaster at lying. I don't know where I am or who you are, I don't know if this place is safe or if you are. I'm completely in the dark and you seem to like it that way. WHY?' Vio yelled the last word, his face falling to anger. Scared, alone, and feeling like a prisoner, the blond glared at Shadow.

"Because you left me! I don't want you to do it again, Vio! I trusted you but you never trusted me and I thought that with you like this maybe you would!" Shadow yelled back, scowling.

Vio's voice was eerily calm as he turned away. "You don't win trust by keeping information, you gain it be sharing."

Shadow gasped as Vio started walking away, eyes wide. He darted after quickly, pulling hard on the blond's hand. "Wait! PLEASE!" he yelled his proximity causing Vio to wince. "I'll tell you what happened, everything, just please don't leave again!"

Blue eyes narrowed and Vio tugged his hand away. "You have until I reach the drawbridge, start talking."

Shadow took a deep breath trailing Vio like a dog as he began to tell Vio everything that had happened, everything he remembered. Vio was silent, listening with a passive expression as he wandered the dark halls. Most of the castle's torches were unlit so the windows lit most of the structure, which was fine for the rooms with gaming holes in their roofs, as those rooms got enough light even with the strange clouds. But for a lot of the castle darkness was the norm.

When they reached the castle gates Shadow was panting with the effort of keeping Vio's swift stride and for rambling his story at top speed, though he choked up when telling Vio of the heroes' deaths. Blue, picked off first by Vaati. Red was next, refusing to fight when Vaati demanded he stop, Zelda a hostage he threatened to kill. They died together. Green and Vio had regrouped together but an argument separated them, Green returned to face Ganon alone, Shadow never heard how he died, and Vio was later tracked down and executed.

His death had been the turning point for Shadow, the moment he got a Shadow of his own and became Hylian, the moment the mirror shattered. Then able to wield the four sword and ready to raise it against Ganon and the weakened Vaati to avenge the only friend he'd ever had, even thou Vio had betrayed him. He'd fought and won, though barely, and still wondered how he'd managed it.

He'd been at the castle ever since, the field and towns of Hyrule infested with monsters and him to weary to purge them. The avoided the castle so that was where he stayed.

So carried away in his mind and the story, Shadow started when Vio spoke. "Shadow, what did you mean when you said I was special?" He asked, knowing the purple-haired one had let the word slip.

"What? I didn't." He frowned at Vio.

Vio frowned right back. "You did. you talked like I wasn't here but you said 'Vio was the only friend I've ever had. He was more than just that, though. He was special.' What did you mean?"

A light blush stained his cheeks and Shadow looked away. "I don't know, you stood out. When I was against you you were the one I noticed, always so passive. I wanted to make you react to me! Anything! My taunts were an act for the others but they were directed at you. When you joined me everything flipped. You of all people had joined me. The stablest, the one I saw I saw as a challenge. With you on my side I wanted to impress you, make sure you knew you were better off with me. When you betrayed me I was angrier than I've ever been except for when you died."

"You loved me." Vio said, plain as day.

"What?!"

"You heard. Romantic or platonic, you loved me."

Shadow paled, then his face flooded with scarlet. "No! How could I? I didn't know you, I never got the chance!"

"Then it was a strong crush. Either way there's no point dwe-"

"I didn't! Vio, you're crazy!" Shadow yelled, making the other sigh.

Vio's expression changed quickly as he gently pressed Shadow against the stone archway that the drawbridge used to rest in and grabbed the wrist that tried to push him back. Shadow's heart raced suddenly as Vio leaned towards him and kissed him for several seconds. When he pulled back he smirked. "You closed your eyes, your breathing is heavier, your pulse increased," he dropped Shadow's wrist "and you followed me a bit when I pulled away. I suppose it's possible you were just attracted to me with no feelings attached."

Shadow stared at him, shocked and Violated. He blushed heavily and yelled at the blond. "Shut up! What in the goddesses' names was that for!?"

Vio smirked and shrugged a bit. "My point is further proven by how flustered you are. I didn't want to keep arguing over a stupid issue. What's past is past and your crush is the least of our, or at least my, worries. I won't hold anything in the past against you and I'll remain here for now but I don't want to waste my time. Figure out what, if anything, you want to say to me and I'll discuss something, but the volume at which you deliver denial does nothing to further its value as an argument."

Shadow gaped after Vio as he turned back to the castle, unaware of the slight smirk on the blond's lips.