Hey, guys! And before you guys yell at me, yes. I didn't update for a few days. And considering how short my chapters are, I should be more punctual. But I'm changing my regimen, I'm going to make longer chapters with more juice! Yeah! I like juice! Do you like juice? I think you do. But anyways, I know I'm not a great writer, and rush things waaaay too much. But, I can learn, and I'm trying my best to lengthen my chapters so there's more juice. And now I want juice...oh well. And just spitting this out there, I really like reviews, they encourage me so much to write more! Please, keep them going! Anyways, enjoy.
On their way to the dock, Pipit feels a little disappointed. When will Link be back…? He worriedly thinks I miss him too much. They are already at the dock, it all felt like a millisecond to then Pipit remembers something.
"Hey, Link?" He asks "How are your muscles?" Pipit asks Link with deep concern, remembering about the muscle potion; he's stopped to grope random muscles of Link's. Link gets taken by surprise by this and squirms.
"They're fine!" He says, embarrassedly blushing. "Well, actually, they don't feel sore anymore…but…"
"They feel tired," Pipit finishes Link's sentence. "…right?"
"Yeah." Link says.
"Oh Goddess. I'm sorry." Pipit says, remorse evident in his voice. "It's the muscle potion. I'm so sorry; I forgot muscle fatigue is one of the symptoms." Link doesn't know what to say. Pipit did nothing but make Link's task easier; he shouldn't feel bad for it.
"It's okay." Link says, trying to comfort the older knight. "They don't feel that bad."
"No, I should've asked Mayor Gaepora to postpone the task…" He says, still examining Link's musculature, with an apologetic expression. Link gets vexed Pipit thinks he would ever get angry at him. He pulls Pipit in for a hug.
"Don't be stupid." He says to Pipit. "You did the best thing anyone could ever do." They stay locked for a few seconds, then Pipit replies.
"Okay…" Pipit says, and then breaks the embrace. "Then…you have to promise me not to work too hard." He says to Link sternly and with a finger pointed at him, but with hidden love in his voice. "You can stay another night if you can't finish your task today." The thought of not seeing Link for a whole day screams at Pipit to revoke his words. But he stays strong, resisting temptation.
"Ugh. Another promise?" Link says to his lover. But Pipit ignores Link's complaints.
"And tell Flynn to not work you so hard." Pipit says, with a serious look. Memories flood back to Link all over again. Oh Goddess! Why'd you have to remind me of Flynn! He thinks loudly to himself. Now, what with the kiss and knowing Pipit loves him, Link has become inexplicably flustered. He can't look Pipit straight in the eye. But Pipit's keen senses can see through to Link's thoughts.
"Why do you do that whenever I talk about Flynn?" He asks, trying his best to not be invasive. But Link can't think straight anymore, and he certainly cannot answer Pipit's question.
"Act like what?" He says, laughing like a machine. "Hey! Look at the time. I have to get there before sunset, y'know?" And with that, Link makes a turn for the dock. He hasn't even gone three feet when Pipit grabs his hand and pulls Link back into a locked embrace, looking straight at him. Link has his chest pinned to Pipit's, and his weak left hand held up at shoulder level by Pipit's strong left one. Their faces are so close Link can't avert his eyes from Pipit. He blushes a mad scarlet.
"What did he do to you?" Pipit asks Link, softly. Link is stock-still, although his heart is racing.
"N—nothing…" He mumbles, their noses are barely touching. They look into each other's eyes for moments, and then eternities pass. A gap of an inch between their lips.
Then, Pipit closes the gap.
Link's raging thoughts, his rampant mind, strangely…clears. He lets himself relax within Pipit's hold, his eyes closed. Pipit's lips, so soft, make Link melt. And, as fast as it happened, Pipit pulls back, and Link's eyes open, leaving him wanting more.
"I just…" starts Pipit, "Wanted to keep the score between Flynn and I even…" he says in a subdued voice. This surprises Link. How did he know? He asks himself. It seems as if Pipit and Flynn are having a competition between who can woo Link over. Which is impossible.
"You should probably get back to Cumulon." Pipit says, although he's still holding Link, ravishing the feeling.
Link lets out a whimper before he could say anything. "O—okay." He finally says, only at a whisper. Then Pipit lets him go reluctantly. And before he knows it, Link is back on his loftwing, leaving Pipit, on the way to Cumulon.
Oh, the Goddess. He cries pleadingly, I'm so confused…
Link has no time to gather his thoughts before he notices a cumulus cloud peeking through the cloud line ahead of him. He flies straight through, only to come out dripping wet. Ugh, he says annoyed.
When he reaches Cumulon, forebodingly draped in dark clouds, the sky is brooding with a hunger. Times like this, Link wishes he can curl up in a ball…or curl up next to Pipit in a mat. Ah! What am I thinking about! He scolds himself.
By the time he gets to work in the stables, the loftwings are nowhere to be seen. They've probably been taken to a safer location. The boy thinks. Cumulon is notorious for dangerous storms, and Link knows it. He feels so vulnerable, enveloped in a shroud of thunder clouds.
It's okay… He comforts himself. It'll just pass…I can't be scared. He tries to push his fears aside, but, just as the clouds, they don't budge.
Trying to get back to work, Link contemplates the idea of staying at Flynn's house until the storm subsides. No, he'll be there…He disregards the notion almost immediately. How could he be there with Flynn without it being awkward again?
So he sits down and gets started, scrubbing the mold and whatever else is stuck on the ancient, crusty beams. His body tingling with fear of when the thunder will start. There is no Pipit here to comfort him now.
After a few minutes of agonizing anxiety, the first thunder sounds, and just that makes Link jump up in surprise. His heart rate and breathing instantly increase. He lets out a shaky sigh. I'm gonna be fine… He thinks to himself while closing his eyes. I have to be brave…
After a few deep breaths, Link begins his work again, but then is interrupted by another, bone-shattering boom. This makes Link yelp in shock. It was as if the sky is punishing him for trying to ignore it.
"Can't you just shut up?" Link yells with a shaky voice, exasperated. His hands to his ears, he's slightly shaking. His breathing is rapid and his heart threatens to explode.
Rain begins to fall on the dry ground outside the stables, and as soon as Link notices, he clamps his eyes shut. He tries to direct his minds away from his fears, towards a happier place. Somewhere safe, in Skyloft, by friends, in the Academy, in Pipit's arms…
Link quickly shakes his mind from the thoughts; he doesn't want to think about those feelings.
But then a third boom permeates through the sky. Through Cumulon. And through Link's body and mind itself.
Link makes a sound as if the thunder has physically hit him. It was between a yelp and a shriek. And he scurries to the end of the stables, trying to get as far as he can from the bloodcurdling sound.
The rain falls in gallons at the once parched ground of Cumulon, and now threatens to overflow the island with its water. Lightning cuts the sky, currently far from Cumulon. But that only means to Link the worst of the storm hasn't even showed up yet.
With every burst of sound, Link shivers through his frame. There is nothing else conceivable that can frighten him more than what does now. And so he sits there, in the corner of the stable, shaking in fear, wishing it was over.
…
At a higher altitude, Skyloft floats, gingerly suspended in the sky's embrace.
Pipit has been patrolling Skyloft's parameters, thoughts of Link wearing his boxers in his head, and vision of Cumulon within his beat. But the lonely farm island has been shrouded by clouds, and Pipit can scantily descry the tips of windmills through the thick haze. Another storm…? He contemplates, setting aside the thought of Link in his cute undergarments for a second.
But quickly dismisses the storm and comes back to dreams of Link…Then…slowly, but surely, realization sets deep within Pipit.
"Shit!" He says a little loudly, but he doesn't care for manners anymore, and runs off to Goddess knows where…
The Skyloft stables, much more sanitary than the one in Cumulon, are situated on a corner of Skyloft. A variety of people are there tending to their loftwings, whether from the Academy or just regular citizens.
The atmosphere is calm and quiet, until a blur of yellow dashes through a few people to get to his loftwing, stumbling as he collides with an Academy student, but giving a word of apology instantaneously.
Pipit causes a commotion in the stable this way. I don't give a crap, the knight says, under his breath, as he finds his yellow loftwing and climbs on top of it.
Not caring about the safety of himself and other people around him, he bolts out the other door, and immediately takes to the air, headed towards the brewing storm clouds above Cumulon. Headed towards his love, Link.