A/N : Sorry for such a long time between updates. It's really hard to write this school year. I'm mentally drained by the time I finish. And I have to do a lot of music work because I signed up for the 2-year-intro-to-hell-prestigious-college-level-makes-me-want-to-cry music class so I have a lot to deal with. And I've just been really bad mentally, so like, I want to write but I haven't had the motivation. I don't know how I honestly finished this chapter. Plus I discovered Undertale so I'm literally a trash pit for some skeletons and a sexy robot. Hopefully I'll be able to update quicker because of the upcoming holidays but I really doubt. I'll try to update in December at least.
Plus, sorry this is a really short chapter. As said, I 've had no motivation. I would have never finished this if I didn't leave it this short.
Link stood in front of the small vanity in he in Midna's room, staring at the scars that lined his chest while he heard Midna hum in the washroom. He sighed and let an unrest frown take its place on his lips. He thought he was doing better but today made him realize he wasn't. Turning the cloth in his hands, Link furrowed his brows and stared down. With an unrested grunt, he threw the garment to the floor and thrusted his fists by his sides, tightly closing his eyes. Pulling his arms up and pulling at his hair, Link clenched his jaw, repeatedly shaking his head as he began to pace around in circles.
With all the small grunts and groans he made, he never noticed Midna exit the washroom. She stood in the doorway, her hair wrapped up in a towel, and her nightwear covering her. Her eyes stared wide with each step Link made.
"Sweetie?" Midna softly spoke, reaching her hand out and placing it on Link's arm.
The hylian jumped, slightly startled, and looked over at his wife. Midna noted how red his cheeks were, a top of the sweat that dribbled down his face.
"I… I'm sorry, Mids." Swallowing his spit, Link blinked dramatically and stuttered, "I didn't mean to freak out again.. I.. I'm sorry."
Frowning and releasing a sigh, Midna approached Link, taking his hands in hers, she looked right in his eyes. "Link, no. It's fine. I know there are a lot of things that stress you. And I'll work with you to help you with that."
"I told myself I wouldn't panic in front of Eric, and yet I did." Link balled his fists and tightly shut his eyes. "I didn't want to yet I did and I didn't want to I didn't mean to I… I…" As his voice grew softer, Midna heard the faint cuss underneath his breath.
"Link," Midna looked sternly in his eye. "We will work this out. I know it's not going to be easy. But I'm going to help you. When I first met you, I know you weren't this stressed. I'm going to help you get back to that." Noticing Link's eyes widen and his shoulders loosen up, she lowered her tone. "But for now, we need to get some rest. It's late. Tomorrow is our last day here. While I was with Zelda today, a message came from our realm - my parents have returned. And it seems that Zelda and I accomplished most of what we needed to today. We are meeting with her and Eric tomorrow to discuss the outcomes."
With a heavy sigh, Link raised his arms and brushed off Midna's hands. "Okay." Without taking a second thought, the blond trudged right past the twili, crawling underneath bed sheets, curling into a fetal position.
Exhaling through her nose, Midna closed her eyes and shook her head before returning back to the washroom. Looking into the mirror, she removed her towel from her hair. Slowly, she began to her orange locks straight, but she slowly came to a stop. Over her shoulder, she looked back at Link - he was completely covered by blankets.
Placing her comb on the edge of the sink, Midna turned and left the room, blowing out her small candle on the way out. Reaching the bedside, she, too, crawled underneath the sheets. Lying on her side, Midna looked right at Link. He faced her, but he was not paying attention, his eyes were forced shut and his jaw was clenched.
Reaching her hand out, Midna gently wrapped it around his side. "Link," she whispered. "It's okay. I'm here. Let's get some rest."
Slowly opening his eyes, Link looked directly into Midna's. Taking a deep breath, his eyes flickered away as he scooted himself closer to his wife. "There's something I need to tell you and it's been bugging me."
"What is it?" Minda asked, tightening her grip on Link.
"So…" he started softly. "You know how I see Kokau… right…" Link's eyes wavered a slight bit while waiting for her response. Taking note of her nod, he continued. "When you were talking with Zelda the other night and I was out in the hall… I saw him."
"What did he say?"
"He has… he has…" desperate to not say specifically what it was, Link made strong eye contact with Midna, biting his lip.
"Oh."
With a shiftiness to his posture, Link mumbled shallowly, "Kokau calls him Aiden."
"That's a nice name." Midna grinned.
Link nodded, looking away, a glossy glaze running over his eyes.
Frowning, Midna scooted herself closer to her husband, snaking her arms under his, wrapping herself around him. "Hey, hon, I know this upsets you, but, it's okay. I promise you, things are going to get better. We'll have a lil' kiddo soon."
With a sigh, Link rested his head in the crook of her neck. "I know, I just don't want to lose anybody again."
"You won't lose anybody again."
"I lost my mom. I had lost Ilia and Talo and Malo and Beth and Colin. I had lost Zelda. I had lost you. I lost my dad. And I lost the baby." Link didn't even look up, but rather, continued to hide his face against his wife. His fingers found their way across Midna and held on to her at the small of her back.
"Link, you couldn't control those things," Midna whispered, her lips brushing against his forehead.
"I couldn't stop them, though," he whined.
"It's not your fault. You did all that you could." Midna placed her lips on his forehead.
"I could have done more though… I could have.. I… I could have stopped those twili things… I could haved helped my mom get better… I could've protected Ilia and Talo and Malo and Beth and Colin… I could've protected you… twice…" Link's voice fading off to nothing. He only shuddered, staring blankly in front of him.
"Link," Midna whispered into her husband's ear. She got no response. "Link." Still no response. "Link, please listen to me." Link's face only remained stoic and gray. "Link," Midna sighed. "I'm still here. Ilia, Malo, Talo, Beth, and Colin are safe - you saved them. You couldn't do anything more than you did to help you mom. Your dad gave his life for you. He chose to do that. He did that for you."
"But I-"
"No." Midna placed her finger on his lip. "Just because you think you could have won't change the situation. Your dad did that for you to make up for the years that he neglected your existence. He did something to let you live and be happy. We all want you to be happy. I want you to be happy. Zelda wants you to be happy. Eric wants you to be happy. Telma wants you to be happy…. and we'd all do anything to help you get there."
Looking away from the twili, Link shrugged his shoulders, withdrawing back to himself. "I guess… I don't know." The blond took a deep breath and sighed. "You tell me that I shouldn't feel this way but I can't help it. I felt like I could've done something. I could've helped prevent half of this living hell."
Pressing his head into the crook of her head, Midna hummed. "Link, it's okay." In a tune of a twilit lullaby, she began to sing. "I'm never too far away my dear in every hug I hide." Her hand trailed down Link's back, pulling him closer to her. "Just like the oceans of the shore my love is like a tide."
Link remained silent for several minutes before mumbling, "I love you, Midna."
"I love you too, Link."
Link fidgeted in his seat, knitting his fingers together as he waited alongside his wife for Zelda. The moment she entered the room, Link and Midna rose to their feet out of Hylian gesture. As soon as Zelda directed them to sit, she did the same.
"So." Zelda intently eyed Midna and grinned. "As of yesterday, the Twilight Realm and Hyrule are now political allies. And, it's official - I will be Queen without a spouse. Since Queen Midna has seconded my actions, I can do it legally."
"Oh, good. Great!" Link smiled at his wife and Zelda. "Does this mean what you needed us for was resolved?"
"Yes, it was, Link." Zelda nodded. "Now, Midna, you said your parents had returned?"
"I did." Midna shrugged.
"Shouldn't you… get to them? Have they even met Link?"
Smirking, Midna shrugged. "I suppose. And no, they haven't."
Standing, Zelda rose her brows at the twili. "Then I declare that you must go back to your own realm. I'll come and visit soon. Once I appoint an advisor." Pausing, glancing at Link as he and his wife stood. "Don't worry - I'll bring Eric along, too."
With a sigh of relief, Link grinned and nodded. He walked alongside Midna as they exited the princess' chambers. Returning to their room, they gathered whatever they had. Link carried the two, rather small, bags. Even though their departure was to be short noticed, due to Zelda practically pushing them out, as they exited the castle, there was a carriage waiting for them, to take them to the closest point to the Gerudo Desert.
As Link helped Midna in first, he noticed the driver of the horses was the familiar worker of the goddesses, Impa. The woman gave him a sly smirk as he entered the carriage. Once he was in, and the door was closed, Link heard command from Impa, and he felt the carriage slowly begin to move. He seated himself beside Midna. She rested her head on his shoulders, which, to him, seemed odd of her. She never really did it because it always made her neck cramp because of their height difference.
"Middy…" Link whispered into her ear, wrapping his arm around her waist. "Are you okay?"
"It's just a headache. And I'm tired." Midna sighed. "And I'll have to warp us to the mirror chambers. That takes… a lot of energy "
"We can always walk. I don't mind." Link smiled at her.
She shook her head. "Nah. The heat would be worse than a warp. Besides, then we can quickly get home."
"I know… I just don't want you overexerting yourself." Link patted her arm with his free hand. "I just don't want anything to happen to you."
"I know, Link."
Link sat silent for a minute. Then asked Midna to move, so he could readjust himself. He laid across the carriage bench, so Midna could rest on him. With a grin, Midna laid on him, placing her head on his chest. The steady tha-thump, tha-thump from his heart supplied a smooth rhythm that eased her for a short nap. The travel from castle town to Lake Hyrule was lengthy in time, but it didn't take up the whole day. Link presumed they'd be at the mirror chambers by evening.
It was around mid-afternoon when the two felt the carriage come to a halt. Sitting themselves up, gathering their luggage, Impa opened the door, letting in the setting sun. Once she helped Link and Midna out, she rested her hand on Midna's shoulder.
"You sure it's safe for you to warp all the way there?" The sheikah furrowed her brows, pursing her lips. "I don't want anything bad to happen to any of you."
Midna shrugged her shoulders. "Eh, just this once shouldn't be too bad. I won't do it later on, though. That'd be too dangerous."
With a sigh, the reserved woman took her hand back. "Okay. Next time you travel over, please message Zelda before hand. She will warp you to the castle and back."
"Okayyyy." Midna grinned, looking over at her husband, who stood looking at the two women with a clueless expression. "Tell Zelda we made it home safely. I'll see you!"
After the tan woman waved her hand, Midna and Link dissolved into fragments of twilight, only to be reformed back in front of the mirror chamber.
The blond glanced over at his wife, who, in actuality, looked unusually dazed. "What was all that for?"
Her face turned a deep hue of purple as she refocused. "Nothing… ah.. let's go home, sweetie."
Uneasily, Link took her hand and led her to the portal, not letting go. Whatever was going on seemed… strange. He assumed she was just a tad bit sick, from the tiredness and the phased look on her face. When the couple was returned to the shroud of twilight, the gate guards took their bags and rushed them off to the castle.
"Would you like a carriage back to the palace? Or would you two prefer to make your own way there?" the armored knight asked Link.
"We're just going to take a short walk back, to talk abou things. Can you tell Midna's parent's we'll be back soon?" Link asked.
With a quick nod, the guard ran off. Midna was leaning against Link a lot more than normal, he tightened his grip on her hand and began to slowly walk. She walked along with him, all while resting her head on his shoulders.
"What is it that you're not telling me?"
Midna shrugged. "There was just a lot that Zelda and I talked about that I need to think about, and it's kinda stressing. A bunch of… political stuff. Stuff you wouldn't really understand."
Looking at his own feet for a moment, Link sighed. "Oh. Okay." Taking a pause, he bit his lip. "Let's get you home. You still don't look well."
