The Hyrulian Valhalla Saga: Side Stories
By Queenie Z

Better Off
Time x Twilight

He ran his hand over the old scroll, his face falling sadly as he read it. He stopped his fingers near the end, over the crude drawing of the boy in green, the Hero of Time, rising away from the land he had fought so hard to save. Of course, the ancient text was not entirely accurate, but the general course of the story was similar enough to engulf Time in a wave of melancholy.

He hung his head and sighed. It had been so long since the era of the Great Flood that swallowed ancient Hyrule. Centuries had passed, and the wounds from those days had mostly healed, but that didn't stop the old Hero from wondering sometimes. Could he have done anything to stop that catastrophe; to save his beloved kingdom and everyone in it? Would things have changed if he hadn't let the princess return him to his original time? Despite his mastery of time travel, even he could not fathom what would have happened if he had changed that one small event.

With a sigh and a sad smile, he shook his head. "Look at me," he muttered to himself, "still dwelling on the past, even in heaven. How pathetic am I?"

"Pretty pathetic, if you're still moping about it."

Time gasped a little and turned. There stood Twilight, his arms crossed and an irritated frown on his face. Once he realized it was only his successor, he sighed again and looked away, embarrassed.

"I wouldn't say I was moping," he said, "just… dwelling."

"Aren't they the same thing?" Twilight leaned in. "We've been over this, Time; you, me, Sky, and Mini. There was nothing you could have done to stop the flood. You should have forgiven yourself by now!"

"I have," replied Time sternly. "It's not that I feel guilty anymore, I just… I just wonder sometimes if things would be different had I not been sent home."

Twilight tilted his head, placing his hands on his hips. "Would it really have made a difference?"

"It might have!" He looked back up at the younger Hero. "The time stream wouldn't have split, for one, and maybe my posterity would have been able to stop Ganon instead of leaving the land to be flooded." He shut his eyes and shook his head. "Sometimes, I think that maybe things would have been better off if I never left. That's all."

This didn't seem to relieve Twilight at all - in fact, he grew even more agitated as his teacher explained his reasoning. He lowered his hands, curling them both into fists, and scowled. "Time… would things really have been better off? Do you really think that!"

"Sometimes, yes."

Without warning, Twilight let out a growl and struck his predecessor across the face with his hand. His face was red with anger, and he tried to answer Time's bewildered stare with words; however, he could only lower his hand and turn away.

"…You're so stupid sometimes," he muttered before storming off, slamming the door on the way out.

"Twilight!" cried Time, trying to stop him. Then, after suddenly realizing the unsaid implications of his words, he froze, his eyes widening.

"Goddesses," he cursed, opening the door and rushing out to find Twilight. Hopefully, he thought, he could repair the damage he had done.

Twilight gritted his teeth and slammed his fist against the trunk of a tree, his fingernails digging into the worn leather of his gloves. How could Time have said those things! It wasn't even that the man was still mulling over the past - he was want to do that, after all - but how could he really think that things would have been better off without the split in time?

He slumped his shoulders and hung his head. Then, he leaned against the tree, sliding down until he was sitting on the ground. "Come on," he told himself, "pull yourself together! It's not like he…" he paused, biting his lip. "…It's not like he doesn't want you…"

Although he kept telling himself this, he still couldn't help but feel hurt. If Time had not done what he did, if the time stream had not forked the way it did, everything would have changed. He thought that perhaps the Great Flood could have been prevented; he knew, however, that he himself would never have existed. He, the Hero of the Twilight Realm, the descendent of the Hero of Time who had been forged carefully from bloodlines and circumstances, would never have even been born. How could Time think things would be better that way! Hadn't he stayed on the mortal plane just to be by his side and guide him? Didn't he love him?

He turned his head, trying and failing to not let these thoughts get to him. Why was he so upset, anyway? It wasn't like he particularly cared what Time thought. …Well, okay, maybe he did a little. Or maybe a lot. But it wasn't like it was going to break his heart or anything. At least, he hoped it wouldn't.

He heard footsteps in the grass and looked over. Well, of course Time would come running over to try and make him feel better with half-baked pep talks and all those things he normally did when he was upset. But it wasn't going to work - not this time, thought Twilight to himself. Why should he listen to the ancestor who doesn't even want him around, anyway?

"There you are."

Twilight almost looked up at him, but stopped himself, looking at the ground instead. "Let me guess. You want to know why I got so angry, right? Because you're too stupid to figure it out on your own?"

"I know why you're angry." Time's gaze dropped. "…And I understand."

"Do you now?"

"I know now how stupid I've been, thinking that things would have been better off if they were different." He shook his head. "They wouldn't have been. Nothing would have been better off if you hadn't been around, Twilight."

Twilight's breath caught in his throat. He hadn't expected Time to understand at all how he felt.

"Actually, if you want the truth," Time put on a labored smile, "it would have been a bigger mistake to not go back. If I hadn't helped create a history where you could be born, where I could have watched you grow, where I could have been together with you in death… I don't think I could have ever ended up as happy as I am now."

Against his better judgment, Twilight finally looked up at his teacher. "And you… you really mean that?"

Time nodded. "I do. You're my pride and joy - you're one of the people I'm the most proud of. …You practically mean everything to me. I'd never want to hurt you - I'm so sorry that I did."

Twilight's face softened and his cheeks turned pink. Wiping his face to keep Time from seeing his feelings, he spoke. "It's fine. I forgive you, I guess."

With a relieved sigh, Time laughed nervously. "Good. I almost thought you wouldn't for a second." He held his arms out wide. "So, how about it?"

"How about what?"

"A hug!"

Twilight turned a deeper red. "N-No, Time, I'm not giving you a hug!"

"Oh, come on, it's okay! One hug isn't going to kill you - you're already dead, after all!"

"But — " Twilight looked around. "But what if someone sees us?"

"There's nobody around to see us." He grinned. "Now get over here!"

Hesitantly, Twilight stood, then after a short silence, he embraced him, burying his beet red face in his tunic. Time returned the gesture, rubbing his pupil's hair affectionately as a warm smile crept across his face.

"Don't ever think I don't care about you," he said, "not for a single moment."

"…Mmm." Despite his embarrassment, Twilight found himself feeling safe and warm in his embrace, like he had felt in the arms of his father as a child and those of his wife as a grown man. He relaxed a little. "I won't."

"Good." He let go of him, taking his hands instead. "Here, I'll make you lunch to make up for it. How's that sound?"

"S-Since when did you learn how to cook?"

Time laughed. "Does that matter? I'm trying to do something nice." He began dragging his descendent back towards his house. "I got the best pumpkin soup recipe from Sky! You're going to love it."

"Fine," he replied, sighing in defeat and allowing himself to be dragged along, "whatever." After all, it wasn't as if he was excited to eat his cooking or anything.

Well, okay. Maybe he was a little.