Wind billowed unhindered throughout the temple, brushing past the violet hero as he sat at the top of the stairs with his head in his hands. As things got more and more familiar, innumerable memories came flooding back, each tearing into his heart mercilessly and leaving him sobbing harder than the last.
"Come on, m'lady~" Shadow teased, holding out his elbow. Vio rolled his eyes, linking arms with his shadow and following along beside him as they made their way through the many heavily decorated corridors. "Why thank you, good sir," he returned in a mumble, his gaze wandering along the tapestries, paintings and candles distractedly. The game that they often played -started with Shadow accidentally called Vio a girl- was momentarily lost on him as he paused at a certain painting. "Again?" Shadow muttered, putting a hand on his hip. "You always stop here, Vio! C'mon, let's go," he whined impatiently, making the hero chuckle. "Oh hush, you can wait." Vio would always say, looking over the many familiar details of the picture. It was an almost unrecognizable Hyrule, shrouded in darkness with thick clouds and a large eye in their midst. On the ground stand a boy, dressed all in black, whom he could only guess was the original Four Sword hero's shadow.
"M-m'lady..." He muttered through a hiccup, a bitter-sweet tug at his lips. Shadow had chosen out a whole dictionary's worth of nicknames for him, including m'lady, her highness, my princess, my little beauty, and the like. None of them were masculine in the least, teasing at Vio as he'd seemed to be the most feminine of the Links- despite Red's emotional outlook on life.
Standing up, Vio meekly stumbled down one of the many large corridors, wiping at his tears. He searched high and low, finally finding a painting lying picture-down on a bed of shattered glass. Vio picked it up carefully, dusting the painting off and feeling his tears subside slightly. He found a certain sort of comfort in the familiarity of the picture..
The wind burst violently down the hall, jerking the painting right out of his hands and sending it clattering off the steps and down into the seemingly never-ending fall to the entrance. His stomach dropped, eyes widening as he ran to the edge of the stairs and looked down.
He never heard it hit the bottom, probably because it wasn't a very heavy object and the echoes would be lost on their travel upwards. Swallowing thickly, Vio staggered back from the stairs and scrubbed at his eyes with the heels of his hands. Things didn't seem to be looking up in the least..
~~~
An hour or two had passed, wrought with the boy bawling over the endless memories he'd created with his close friend. He'd even stumbled upon what he considered to be a very special place.. Shadow always laughed it off when they passed here, poking fun at Vio's perpetual blush.
Shadow's steps were hardly audible as he practically pranced through the air, Vio's boots thumping heavily in comparison. "Y'know, for a girl, you sure sound heavy~" He said, poking the lad's arm playfully. "I'm not a girl, Shadow," Vio replied, chuckling regardless. He'd grown more than accustomed to his friend's merciless teasings, the verbal just as much as the physical. "If yah aren't a girl then how come I can do this~?" Shadow asked, pulling a thin arm about Vio's waist and holding him close as they walked. "Because." Vio replied, blushing at the contact and looking off to the opposite end of the hall. "Uh-huh. And this?" Shadow nuzzled against the side of his head, savoring the unique scent his blonde hair held. "B-because..." The lad was becoming a bit flustered, the fact that it was over Shadow only making it worse. "Oh, really? What about this~?" At first he didn't do anything, which had Vio looking up at him oddly.. He yipped as he was suddenly pressed against the wall, Shadow grinning at the close proximity and dark blush it illicted from Vio. "U-uhm.." His mind had gone completely blank for any sort of retort, gaze flickering between the dangerously close lips and flashing eyes. "Mm-hm." Shadow giggled, his lips only ghosting past Vio's before he drew back and continued trotting down the hall. "That's what I thought~!" He called over his shoulder, airy though sincerely happy laughter following him down the corridor.
Vio, having been lost in his own mind, was surprised when he entered one of the various rooms to find exactly what he'd was looking for; the remains of the mirror. He hurried over, at first ecstatic that he'd found it, but it quickly gave way to choking grief as he recalled just how it'd ended up breaking..