20 Kisses
Chapter 10: Breathe.

She was asleep longer than he was. Pulling on his tunic, Link glanced out of the window, watching the snow fall gently onto the ground. Out there, he could only imagine how cold it was, and he didn't look forward to escaping the confines of his warm room. Telma was generous enough to let him rent a room for the evening, free of charge, and Link wished he could stay longer.

Picking up the Master Sword which was previously leaning against the wall, Link sat on the edge of the bed, careful to not wake Midna. Then he studied the blade, how it seemed to shine, despite how many times it had been painted with blood. Suddenly, his eyes caught sight of his own reflection, and he stared at himself for a long time, eyes wide.

What shocked him was that he didn't recognise the boy staring back. His skin was tanned, and very rough. In fact, part of his face was peeling slightly. Fortunately, this was only noticeable up close. His hair was bleached due to the sun, and his face more angular. Link's eyes appeared brighter than usual. Contrasted against his tanned skin, they would be.

It was frightening how much he had grown without even realising.

'Link...?'

Turning, the boy smiled at his companion. Midna rubbed her eyes, and looked up at him. She must have watched him studying the blade, and wondered what was wrong. Placing the sword down, he sighed and ran two hands through his hair.

'I'm different.'

Whatever he meant by this statement, it slashed her heart. Different? Different always meant "bad", different was never good. Link was unhappy. Frozen in place, Midna tried to speak, to scold him and tell him to grow up, but not a word escaped her lips. Yes, he was right: he had changed; he was different.

But why did it matter?

A sigh, a soft sigh, and he raised his head. 'I almost didn't recognise myself.'

Midna moved, leaving the sheets and pulled at his sleeve. 'What are you talking about? Stop this.'

'I'm sorry,' he said, eyes on the floor.

No, he wasn't. He was only apologising because he knew Midna felt uncomfortable with the situation. As much as she wished he wasn't, Link was correct: she did feel uncomfortable, but not because she didn't know what to say. It was more, she didn't know how to say it, she didn't know how to tell him he wasn't different in a bad way.

The word he wanted was "change", but even that would taste like poison. Midna tried to catch his gaze, to hopefully register a familiar emotion in his eyes. However, Link refused to look at her, maybe out of shame or timidness. Maybe... maybe he was so used to her berating him about showing any sign of weakness, he no longer bothered.

Her breath caught in her throat. 'I should have told you a long time ago.'

Link stirred, eyes turned to her. 'Told me what?'

'I've been an idiot. When we retrieved the last Fused Shadow together––' Link noted how she said, "together", not just "I", but "together", '––I believed I could continue alone without you. Of course I was proven wrong. It's taken me a while to realise, but if you weren't yourself, Link, I wouldn't be alive. You aren't different. You've developed.'

'Midna––'

'Please let me finish,' she insisted, and he could see she was struggling. Struggling with words and emotions. It was a mystery how long she had been keeping all of this in. 'I need you to help me retrieve the last two Mirror Shards, and I need you to stay with me. The last thing I want is for you to beat yourself up about something so incorrect. It hurts me––' The Twili stopped speaking when Link moved a fraction of an inch closer, and kissed her lips.

Where she belonged, in her Realm, such an act was indecent, especially to that of a Princess. Link didn't know of her position, though, and he was a different species altogether. It was about time Midna got used to the Light-Dweller's odd affections.

When she tried to kiss him back, her heart went wild. Link was soft and warm, his lips terribly gentle, brushing against her own. They might as well not be kissing, but she treated this action as if they were. A hand rested at her jawline, and Midna let her own hands press against his chest, she had to put them somewhere. It was embarrassing, but she had imagined kissing this young warrior more than a dozen times, and, right now, she had to admit her imagination wasn't very broad.

Kissing this man was better than she thought. Midna leaned in, their lips pressed harder together, she couldn't tolerate the gentle brushing Link seemed to enjoy. She soaked in his heat, loved how firm he was under her touch, she felt so protected and safe. And she forgot everything: forgot he was a man of light, forgot she was a Princess who had been transformed into an ugly creature. Forgot everything, except that she loved him.

Link broke away and grinned, and his entire face lit up. Midna tried to smile back, but she couldn't piece together what had just occurred between them.

'Are you okay?' His voice was quiet, a whisper.

'Dizzy,' she admitted, meeting his gaze, 'I can't breathe.'

Link laughed shortly. 'You'll be fine.'

Then she remembered: wasn't he the one who was in a state? Clearly she had done something right, because the grin never left his youthful face. Somehow, she cheered him up.

'What you said... I've been an idiot too,' Link said. 'I need you to help me as well, Midna. Without you, I'm pretty useless. I need you to slap me over the head when I start doubting myself.'

'Gladly, Link,' she replied, still recovering from the kiss shared. 'I don't want you to think you're different, though. Not like that. Have you noticed how everyone seems to look up to you? You grew up, and that's something I can't do anymore.'

'Maybe.' Two arms wrapped around her tiny waist and he hugged Midna close, 'As long as you stay, we're going to be alright.'

author's note: Honestly, I feel a little self-conscious with this one. I wanted them to kiss, of course, but not make a big deal about it, while not letting it pass quickly, if you get me. Hopefully you all enjoyed this chapter. I'm sorry for the long-awaited updates. Please review if you can, and I'll see you all next time.

Thank you MasterSprintersan, [ The Fierce Hero ], Yookainightshade, [ Guest ], Hope5683, Combobulated, [ TwilighttheWolf ], LeSpy, Kencon2009 and CrimsonMoon24 for reviewing the prior chapter.

[ TwilighttheWolf ]: I don't intend to write a fanfiction which includes OCs as protagonists or to feature in more than one chapter, sorry.

[ MidnaZelda ]: I may write a Zelda/Midna oneshot sometime, but not soon.

By the way, I've written a Link/Midna oneshot called Time. Be sure to check it out if you can- I'd love to know your thoughts!