A/N: Sorry about the total flop that was Chapter 6. Also, I'm SUPERDUPER sorry for the hiatus! I don't own LoZ or any of the songs used (as usual) and I also don't own Yandere Simulator. Enjoy chapter 7 (hopefully). Oh, quick warning, there's some very brief underage drinking in this chapter, but it's not major. Neither boy will be chugging a whole bottle of beer, so don't worry!
Dark was going crazy.
One second, he was checking himself for imperfections in the mirror; the next, walking in circles and mumbling about how Isaac and Link were late (even though it would be twenty-five minutes before they were supposed to arrive); the next, sitting on his bed with his head in his hands and thinking about a million worries and what-ifs.
"Calm yourself, Dark," he told himself when he was in the mirror stage. "You'll look awful by the time they get here."
That forced him to relax a little. He wanted to maintain the look he'd achieved.
Dark was wearing a pair of black skinny jeans that looked decent (he didn't actually own any dress pants), black high-top Converse (ditto for dress shoes), and a crisp red button-down that matched his eyes and had thin black stripes running vertically and horizontally in random patterns. His raven hair was combed and slicked into a flawless messy-dressy style, and the silver watch on his wrist stated the time on an elegant little clock.
Link was going crazy.
Instead of being crazy with worry like Dark, though, Link was losing his sanity from the wait. His leg bounced up and down, he continued to check his gold watch (borrowed from Embarr) every five seconds, and he tried not to sweat in anticipation.
He knew he looked okay- or, at least, thought he looked okay. Link was wearing a pale blue short-sleeve button down, fitted medium-wash jeans, and lace-up brown dress shoes. He'd combed his hair, but still left it loose in the surfer-like way that was not unusual for him.
"Okay, time for you to go, have fun sweetie-" Before Malon even stepped into the living room, Link was out the door and diving into his car.
(Link's POV)
I didn't know if I was supposed to be excited, nervous, or both.
To distract myself, I focused totally on my driving. If I crashed tonight, that would not be fun. For anybody.
I fiddled with the radio, knowing full well that I wouldn't be able to focus on any music. All there was was Dark. The thick layer of clouds surrounding my mind were all him.
I pulled up in front of his house and literally jumped out of my car, not wasting a half-second on looking back as I slammed the door and jogged up to Dark's house. Before I even knocked or rang the doorbell, the green door swung open and I was swooped up off of my feet.
"Dark!" I laughed. "Put me down!"
He set me on the doorstep, holding me tightly. "I'm so glad you're here!"
"I'm glad to be here!"
Dark held me at arm's length, looking me over. He nodded with approval. "Damn!" He flicked his hair out of his face. "You look really hot!"
The flatterer! I laughed again. I hadn't laughed like this in forever. "I wouldn't say that. You look really amazing, Dark!"
He took my hand and led me inside. The short hallway leading into the dining room had a dark stone floor with a deep red carpet running the length of it. On the off-white walls hung framed family photographs- one or two were from when Dark was a baby and his mom was still alive. She was so pretty, with long dark hair that hung in silky waves, sparkling red eyes, a shy smile, and delicate features. The other photos were all Dark and his dad, or just Dark, or just his dad.
"The dining room's right in there." Dark pointed at the glass door at the end of the hallway, but I wasn't listening to him. I had stopped in my tracks at the end of the hall, my attention snagged by the last frame hanging in the hall.
It was actually quite large, and had the look of a window with white-painted wood panes. Six, to be exact. In each panel, behind a thin layer of flawless glass, was a photograph.
The one in the upper left was… me. Me, standing on the Hyrule University stage, eyes shut, performing away all of my energy. The one to the right of it was Dark, Ganon, Mido, Kafei, and I, a selfie we'd taken in Ganon's basement the day before our auditions. Next to that one was a picture I'd taken of Dark when we were at his peaceful place the other day, and he was playing guitar. In the lower left was a shot of me and Dark that Ganon had taken. In the picture, Dark's arm was around my waist and my arm was around his shoulders. This was before we'd started dating, also in Ganon's basement- actually on my first day of singing for the band. The picture to the right of that was a picture I didn't even know had been taken. It had definitely been taken while I was sick; Dark and I were lying side-by-side in my bed, our faces inches apart, and our arms around each other, sound asleep. My mom must have taken it. The final shot was another picture of me and Dark, one I'd set up my camera timer to take. It was me and Dark sitting on Platform 9 and ¾, Dark with a guitar in his lap, the sun setting so we were backlit. The picture was just our backs and silhouettes against the setting sun, and it was a really cool shot.
The whole thing was just so sweet and beautiful. I wanted to cry.
"What do you think?" Dark lay his hand on the small of my back.
"It's… unbelievable." I wrapped my arms around Dark, kissing his cheek. "Better than perfect."
"Good. Now let's go eat!"
I nodded resolutely.
The dining room was rather small, but comfortable. Everything was dark wood, dark crimson, or white silk. The plates and silverware all gleamed, and a single ruby-red rose in the center of the white-clothed square table stood out like a drop of blood on a snowdrift.
Two men were already seated at the table; one man had thick black hair, a golden tan, and hazel eyes. He must be Dark's dad. The other guy had sandy brown hair that wasn't too long or too short, pale skin, a few freckles sprinkled over his button nose, and a genuine smile. Isaac, most likely. I knew they were both thirty-two, but they definitely looked much younger. If I didn't know better, they could pass as twenty-year-olds.
Isaac and Mr. Link both stood to meet us.
"You must be Link!" Dark's dad wrapped me in a hug.
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Link!" I enthused.
"Oh, please. Call me Dad." He squeezed my shoulder and smiled. I smiled back.
I turned to Isaac. "So, you're the boyfriend?" I joked.
He laughed a pleasant, infectious laugh. "Yup. I'm Isaac, nice to meet you."
I grinned, shaking his hand. "Link. Nice to meet you as well."
"Okay, now that we all know each other, let's eat!"
"Agreed!" I smiled at my boyfriend (Oh my, that word! It felt great to be able to say it) and took a seat at the table beside him.
Mr. Link- I mean, Dad- sat across from me, Isaac across from Dark.
I observed the spread of food that I hadn't noticed before (somehow). On the table was a large bowl of salad, a generous platter of grilled chicken breasts, a smaller-but-not-by-much platter of corn bread, a bowl of mashed potatoes, and a plate of brownies.
"It's like Thanksgiving!" I blurted, eliciting rolicking laughter from the other diners.
"Why, dear boy, I think you're right!" Mr. L- Dad - spoke to me like he spoke to his son. For a moment, I realized that I wouldn't mind having this be my family one day. If Mr. - Dad- and Isaac got married, then they'd be considered Dark's parents. My parents had already met Dark, and one day, if Dark and I got married, then we'd be one big happy family, and damn, did that sound appealing right about now.
We all took generous helpings of everything for our plates. Dad raised his glass of water, encouraging us to do the same. I lifted my own glass.
"I'd like to make a toast- to love, to marriage equality, to family, to my son and his boyfriend Link, to my wonderful new boyfriend Isaac, and to my late wife Zaria, whom I miss wholeheartedly and who I still love very much. Would anyone like to add anything?"
"To the fate who brought us two couples together, to the world for giving us a place to find each other," Isaac said with a grin.
"To music for keeping me alive, to life for being so beautiful, to Link and Dad and Isaac, and to Mom," Dark's eyes grew misty for a moment, but then the grief was gone as quick as it had arrived.
I spoke up. "To everything that brought me to Dark, that brought Isaac to Dad, that keeps us together and alive, and to destiny for giving me so much to be thankful for."
"Amen," Dad said. "And cheers!"
We all clinked our glasses together and smiled, then dug in.
The four of us fell into a friendly conversation about anything and everything. We discussed music (a common love among us), movies, ear piercing, books, food, me and Dark's moment with the wolf, vacation spots (in that part, Dad promised to take us all on a road trip to the Rockies sometime), gay celebrities, and everything else on the spectrum. Mid-conversation, we decided that I could sleep over if my parents said okay.
"About that trip to the Rockies," Dark began after a pause.
"Oh, don't worry. That's really going to happen. I promise."
Something in Dad's voice made me know that one day, the four of us would be packed into a car with all the windows down, blasting Rush and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, eating greasy gas station snacks with crinkly wrappers, laughing in the summer sun on our way to the Rocky Mountains.
"Alright, I'm counting on you," I said with a grin.
"Don't doubt him." Isaac said faux-gravely.
"Not for a second," Dark added.
I nodded. "Wouldn't dream of it."
We all laughed. I was practically ready to just invite myself to live here, with these guys.
"Oh! Hey, Link, while we're on the topic of travel, I forgot to tell you this!" Dark almost jumped out of his chair.
Wide-eyed, I stared at him. "What? What is it?"
"Are you doing anything the first two weeks of August?"
"No… why?" I really had no plans for this summer, and I wanted so badly to know what he was going to say!
"I was talking with the band before I met you-" (we referred to Ganon, Mido, and Kafei as "the band" sometimes whenever we spoke of them collectively) "-and we planned to travel for those two weeks all over the most populated parts of the country looking for gigs and just to explore." He chuckled when he looked at my face. "I'm assuming you're interested?"
"Yes! Oh my God, yes!" I'd been wanting to travel the country and explore for my whole life, and now I'd get to do it with some of my favorite guys ever!
Dad laughed. "So he's going, too?" Presumably Dark had already told him about this.
"Calling my parents right now! Oh, and while I'm at it, I'll ask them if I can sleep over." I dialed my landline from my cell phone, which I'd thankfully remembered even in my haste to leave.
My dad picked up after two rings. "Hello, Link? Is everything okay?"
"Hi, Dad. Everything's fine. Wonderful, actually. I have two questions. First of all, can I sleep over at Dark's house tonight, and second of all, can I go on a trip with the band guys for the first two weeks of August? We're going around the country to look for gigs."
"Yes and yes! If your mother says okay, of course. Hold on a second." I heard him call to my mom, a distance from the speaker. The words were hard to make out, and I wasn't listening anyway.
"Your mother says yes and yes as well! Need us to bring you anything?"
"No, I can borrow stuff from Dark. Probably."
"Definitely," Dark assured me.
"Hi, Dark!" My dad called.
"Hi, Mr. Avalon!" Dark said into the phone.
"Okay, thanks so much, Dad. I love you!"
"Love you too, son. Have fun with your boyfriend!"
I hung up and laughed out of sheer exuberance. "My parents said yes to both!"
"Awesome!" Dark threw his arms around my shoulders and we laughed, a little delirious from excitement. "Your parents are awesome!"
"This is going to be the best summer ever!" I cheered.
(Dark's POV)
After dinner, we stayed seated around the table, resuming our miscellaneous discussion from before. Isaac and Dad were sipping glasses of white wine and Link and I both had mugs of herbal tea.
Link reached for another brownie, taking a huge, piglike chomp. His cerulean eyes rolled back in his head and he sighed in bliss.
"Human bites!" I reminded him.
He laughed adorably. "Sorry! These are just so delicious," he said around a lump of fudgey brownie.
"Yeah, no kidding. You've eaten…" I counted on my fingers for a moment to recall the number, "... like, what, seven? This is your seventh one?"
He lowered his head in shame. "Yeah…"
I chuckled, lifting his chin with my fingers and tilting it slightly to get a view of the side of his mouth. "You've got some chocolate here."
The corner of his mouth had a swipe of dark brown frosting sprinkled with tiny crumbs staining its surface.
"Get it for me, will you, hon?"
I gently scrubbed it off with a napkin and kissed the area.
"No PDA at the table!" Isaac imitated an annoying mom voice.
"Screw you, I do what I want!" I started giving the biggest, grossest, sloppiest, and most obvious kisses all over the side of Link's face.
"Sweetie, you'll make my face sticky," Link mumbled.
For some reason, I thought that was the funniest thing. I started laughing and didn't stop, causing Link to start laughing too, and Dad and Isaac. We were doing this a lot, where everyone laughed together for long periods of time. It made me pretty happy.
"So, which of you is trying a little bit of wine first?" Dad asked me and Link once the laughter had died down.
"Ooh, me!" I raised my hand like I knew an answer in class.
Dad passed me his dainty wine glass. I lifted it to my lips and took a sip, not thinking at all about all that crap I learned in Health class about underage drinking and smoking and sex. The sour-burning taste of wine lit my mouth like a gross firework and I spit it out on my empty plate, sending the adults into raucous laughter. Link patted my back and said, "Poor baby. My turn!"
Link sipped from Isaac's glass, and immediately he went bug-eyed. He tossed his head like he was suppressing the urge to gag, puke, or spit, making me laugh. Eventually he swallowed and smiled triumphantly. "Done."
We all cracked up. "Drink any more and you'll be chugging all the alcohol in the house," I managed to get out between bursts of laughter, nudging Link's shoulder with my own.
"Alrighty. I think this meal is over." Isaac stood up, taking Dad's hand to help him from his chair. I did the same, standing up and reaching for Link's hand to help him to his feet. He thanked me, called me his coachman, and kissed my cheek, making my whole face burn.
"So, boys, what are you planning to do?" Dad asked.
"Have sex," slipped out of my mouth before I could stop it.
Link and Isaac dissolved into laughter while my Dad said, "You go do that, then."
That made me laugh as well. The whole world was laughter tonight. I couldn't think of something sad even if I tried.
"Actually, I don't know. We'll probably watch some mindless show or play video games, 'kay?" I flicked my eyes at Link, who looked satisfied with my suggestions.
"Okay. Isaac, are you staying over?" Dad looked at his boyfriend.
"Yeah, got nothing better to do. Want to have a Terminator marathon?"
"You know it!"'
The older guys hurried into the media room, making me smile. "Let's give them some private time." I took Link's hand, pulling him upstairs.
"Wow, Dark, I love your room!" His gigantic eyes took in every detail of my bedroom, and he grinned.
"Thanks," I said. I plopped down on the edge of my bed and patted the spot next to me, beckoning Link. He perched on the bed as well, his thigh touching mine.
I pulled my laptop into my lap and booted it up. "Want to play Yandere Simulator?" I asked him.
"That sounds… interesting. Let's do it!" Link smiled gamely.
I chuckled and clicked on the game. "Alrighty, we're doing it." The game loaded quickly. "Welcome to Yandere Simulator."
"Show me how to play!" Link leaned closer to the screen, sounding very eager.
"Okay. So, see, we're in our bedroom, now we're gonna go out this door, and we're gonna go to school." I maneuvered the character around the screen, explaining as I went along. "What do we find when we're at school?" The character stood in front of the selection of weapons spread on the ground.
"Oh!" Link exclaimed.
"And now what do we do? Well, we take this -" I picked up a knife, "- and we do - " I walked up to a pink-haired girl, "- this!" I stabbed her.
"OH!" Link shouted.
I laughed. "Did you see that coming?"
"NO!" he yelled as I, cackling, went on a total killing spree.
Then Senpai noticed, and I was 'Heartbroken'. Shoot.
"Let me try!" Link snatched the laptop and, full of energy, started a new game, while I explained the controls. He chose scissors as his weapon and went on a much more subtle killing spree than I - actually managing to do a decent job of disposing of bodies and cleaning up all of the blood. His week lasted several days instead of a matter of minutes.
"You're really good at this game!" I marveled.
Link laughed. "No! That's not a good thing!"
We played back and forth, laughing our asses off, long into the night.
(Link's POV)
This was what I'd been waiting for all my life. Not a late-night Yandere-Simulator session, specifically; just this. Someone whom I loved to just have fun with. A boyfriend who would be totally cool with staying up playing a video game where you kill large amounts of people for the sake of Senpai. Somebody to constantly laugh with. This was what I'd wanted.
After our third hour of playing, Dark placed his hand over mine. "Hey, Link?"
"Yes?"
"We should probably stop. We're going to end up playing this until four in the morning if we don't cut ourselves off soon."
I nodded. "You're right. What should we do now?"
Dark gently took the laptop from me and shut down the game software, and then the computer itself. "No idea. You pick, since I picked ol' Yandere-chan over here."
I chuckled. "Uhhh…" Hm. What was there to do? My eyes wandered around his room and settled on a bookshelf beside his desk. "Read to me?"
"What?"
"Read to me," I repeated, with more confidence.
"Why?"
"Because I love your voice, and I haven't been read to in forever."
"... Okay. What book?"
I observed the titles on the shelf. "This one!" I pulled out a worn copy of Treasure Island and set it in his hands.
He sighed. "Fine. Go ahead and get comfortable; we're gonna be here awhile."
I went ahead and got comfortable. To do so, I kicked off my shoes and undid the top few buttons of my shirt, then lay down on my side with my head in Dark's lap.
Dark traced his fingers through my tresses as if I were a lapdog and smiled fondly at me before he opened the book. He took a deep breath and began.
(Dark's POV)
Treasure Island had always been a favorite of mine. My mom used to read it to me all the time before… well, you know. I returned to the familiar text with an easy tongue, painting mind pictures of what was happening on its pages best I could. I slipped into the tale myself without even realizing it; I was reading like I was telling a story from memory, but with less stuttering. I lost myself in my own words, forgetting momentarily about Link and reading purely for me. But then, I heard a tiny, feminine snore coming from my lap. Startled, I accidentally dropped the book on the floor, then relaxed when I remembered that it was only Link, and he'd fallen asleep. His pretty little angel face was stoic and calm in the light of my room. I leaned down to kiss his forehead, thoroughly enjoying his company now that I'd remembered it. As softly and subtly as I could, I transferred his head from my lap to the bed below so I could reach the book I'd dropped.
The book was flipped open to the front cover, where my mom and I had written our names - 'Dark Link' in childish scrawl, just underneath the 'Zaria Link' in graceful cursive.
Mom…
I fought back tears. Yes, Mom was gone. I had to accept that.
But it was difficult, so very difficult, to move on.
(Link's POV)
I woke up in the middle of the night with a start, gasping for air and sobbing. I'd just had a brutal nightmare... I couldn't remember exactly what it was about, but I could recall blood… lots of blood…
I rolled over to discover Dark next to me, still in his jeans and button-down, peacefully sleeping. I almost didn't want to wake him up, but I'd stopped feeling safe.
"Dark?" I whispered, shaking his shoulder. "Dark?"
One sleepy eye, then the other, cracked open. Upon seeing my tears, his peaceful expression turned to one of concern. "Link? What is it?" I felt him take my hand.
"I had a nightmare," I murmured. "I don't remember what it was about, but it was really scary and gory."
"Aw, baby. C'mere." Dark pulled me close to him, allowing me to bury my face in his chest. "It must've been Yandere Simulator. I'm sorry, darling."
"It's o-okay."
Dark placed a hand on my face, tilting it up to look him in the eyes. "I love you." I could tell he meant it.
"I love you, too." I meant it just as much.
Dark kissed my lips once, then we settled back on his pillow, smiling. We returned to a sound sleep wrapped in each other's arms.
A/N: Holy crap, that took forever! I'm SOOOOOOOO incredibly sorry about that! (like anyone reads this story anyway) But yeah, here it finally damn is. I love you all and I'll make sure that the next chapter doesn't take too long. Peace!
