Uli was gone when Rusl awoke the next morning. He trudged through the apartment lazily, yawning as he headed into the kitchen. Uli was seated at the table, a mug in her hands, and she was staring at the contents inside.

"You're up early," Rusl commented. He moved to the counter, anxious for a cup of coffee, but to his surprise, Uli had made tea instead. He frowned at the pot of tea, then reached for a mug and the coffee grinds. "Since when are you a tea person?" When she didn't answer, he looked at her over his shoulder. "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing," she said softly. "Just tired."

Rusl returned to making his coffee. "That's what coffee is for," he said.

Uli stood from the table. Rusl turned to meet her gaze once more, his brows furrowed. He opened his mouth to speak, but something in her hand caught his attention, and his mouth immediately snapped shut.

"Is that…"

Uli looked down at her hands, then nodded. She lifted the pregnancy test up for him to see better. A pink plus sign clearly marked the test.

Rusl gawked at the test for a long, silent moment, then met her gaze. "Are you sure?"

Uli sighed in exasperation. "Yes, I'm sure!"

Rusl hesitated. His gaze turned back to the test in her hands. "Oh."

Uli offered him a sheepish smile. "I know, like, we didn't want this and all. But we knew it was bound to happen sooner or later. And… I'm glad it's now. Aren't… aren't you?"

Rusl met her gaze. "Huh? What? Now?" His brows furrowed. "No." She frowned, and he quickly spoke again. "I mean… Shit. I don't know. What?" His brain felt as if it were lagging behind severely as he was still processing this new information.

"What if we think about this differently," Uli said softly. "Rusl… you're going to be a father."

His face paled. Hearing the words out loud suddenly felt too much. Uli was clearly trying to be happy about it all, but he couldn't find that happiness. Not yet, anyway. He felt sick to his stomach. He waged war with himself over the last few years, trying to convince himself that it was all just some kind of misunderstanding. That it wasn't real. That it was all just made up. But it was happening; another step in Hylia's plan. There was still a chance, however, that it wasn't happening. That this one would be a girl, and they would still have time. Time to get snipped. Time for Uli to get tied. Time for drastic action. He couldn't thrust a child into some destined role like that; he wouldn't.

"Rusl." Uli's voice was soft. Her eyes pleaded with him.

But Rusl couldn't be there any longer. He had to get out. He needed air. He need a damn drink.

"Alright," Rusl finally said. "Can we… talk about this later?" He turned away from her quickly, grabbing his keys off the counter. "I have to… get to work." He hurried for the door and left her alone in the apartment.

It was shortly after noon when Dorian arrived at the bar. He knew immediately from Rusl's text that Uli had broken the news to him, and considering that he was already at a bar, he assumed that Rusl had not taken the news well.

"How long have you been here?" Dorian asked, taking the seat next to Rusl.

"I dunno," Rusl muttered. "Got here four beers ago."

"Are you taking up alcoholism?" Dorian ordered a beer.

"Uli is pregnant."

Dorian drank. He set the bottle on the bar when he finished. "What do you want?"

Rusl glanced at Dorian, hesitant. "I don't want my son to die saving the world."

Dorian nodded slowly, but said nothing further. Rusl turned back to his drink before continuing.

"I know I couldn't avoid it. I… knew this would happen. But now that it is happening…" He hesitated. "I'm in over my head. In more ways than one." He shook his head. "How the fuck am I supposed to raise a hero?"

Dorian smiled. "Hyrule is fucked."

Rusl sighed and ran his hands through his hair. "Yeah." He frowned. "I don't want that life for him. I wish I could take that weight off his shoulders. Shit, he doesn't even exist in the world yet."

"He'll be fine," Dorian said. "He'll have a lot of people protecting him."

"Yeah," Rusl said softly. "I guess."

"Look," Dorian said. "Come to the city. The three of you will be safest there. Impa can keep him off the Yiga's radar. He'll have a completely normal life for as long as Ganondorf allows it."

Rusl bit his lip and stared at the bar. "How long?"

"I don't know," Dorian admitted. "I suspect within the next couple of decades. In the grand scheme of things, it's soon."

Rusl nodded slowly. "A normal life?" He looked at Dorian, his gaze narrowed. "Impa's not going to try to push her damn hero training on him?"

"She promised she wouldn't." He hesitated. "I'll do whatever you want."

Rusl's gaze moved up. He looked across the bar at nothing in particular, lost in thought. "I want this," he said softly. "I want… to be a father."

Dorian smiled. "That's a step in the right direction," he said.

Rusl leaned back against the seat. He rubbed at his neck. "Fuck," he muttered. "I just left Uli alone." He dragged his palms down his face, feeling guilty for reacting so poorly. "I should have stayed with her. Goddesses, I wish I had her confidence."

"You'll be fine," Dorian assured him. "You're not doing this alone."

Rusl met his gaze. "Yeah," he said softly. "But, in the meantime, if Uli and I get ourselves killed or something… don't let him end up like I did."

"Rusl -"

"Promise me," Rusl said, his voice hardening. "I officially give you the title of Godfather."

Dorian frowned. "Don't you think I have enough shit to deal with?" He hesitated. "Besides. I'm not exactly on Kohga's good side."

"But I know you won't let anything happen to him," Rusl said confidently. "Just keep him alive like you've kept me alive."

"Then I guess it doesn't matter," Dorian started. "Because I'm not letting you die."

Rusl considered this for a moment. "Alright," he finally said. "But just in case, anyway."

"Alright," Dorian agreed. "Just in case."

It was still early in the afternoon when Rusl returned. Uli turned to him when he came through the door. He walked across the kitchen to her and placed his hands on her stomach. He moved in to kiss her, his lips light on her's. After a brief moment, she pulled back.

"I'm… I'm terrified, Rusl."

"Me too."

She frowned. "You can't be," she said. "I was really banking on you being the sane one through this."

Rusl smiled. "Funny," he said. "I was hoping you would be the calm one, here."

"What do we do?"

"What do you want to do?"

Uli hesitated. "I… I want him."

Rusl nodded. "I do, too."

Her expression brightened. "Really?"

Rusl shrugged. "Yeah. Why not? People have kids, right?"

"Most kids aren't destined to be heroes," she reminded him.

"Well, you know," Rusl started. "Some kids are athletes. Some are druggies. We've got a hero."

Uli smiled. "Right," she said, rolling her eyes. "I guess there are worse things to have."

"You know," Rusl started proudly. "He'll be just like me." He thrust a thumb into his chest. "I'm a hero."

"I don't know about that," Uli said slowly. "From what I've heard, you do a lot of hiding behind Dorian."

"Okay, you know Sheikah kind of beats Hylian in all aspects of life?" He wiggled his fingers in the air. "They've got that crazy fucking Sheikah magic going for them. I've got a little tiny gun that doesn't stand a damn chance."

"I guess I married the wrong guy."

"I always knew you were into Sheikah," Rusl said. "Can't say I blame ya, though. I'd be into that, too."

"I always knew there was something more between you and Dorian."

Rusl made a face of disgust and Uli laughed lightly.

"Alright, then," she said. "We're having a baby."

"We're having a baby," Rusl repeated softly. He put his hands on her face and kissed her deeply.

Uli pulled away slightly, her face serious. "Do… do we tell him? You know, when he's old enough?"

Rusl frowned. "No."

"You don't think he should know?"

"You want him to grow up knowing that his whole purpose in the world is to save it? To think that we only had him because Hyrule needed him?"

Uli pulled her gaze away. "He won't think that if we tell him the truth," she said softly.

Rusl's brows furrowed. "Do you really expect him to understand?" He hesitated, and his face softened. "Why can't he just be a normal kid with a normal childhood?"

"He will be," Uli said. "But when the time comes -"

"When the time comes, he'll know," Rusl said stubbornly. He turned away from Uli. "The less he knows, the better."

"We are Hylian," Uli said fiercely. "The history of our world -"

Rusl groaned loudly. "You're starting to sound like Dorian."

Uli huffed angrily. "Look," she said. She unknowingly stamped her foot, catching Rusl's attention. He glanced at her over his shoulder as she spoke. "I know you have your issues and you spent your whole life running from who you are, but that didn't get you anywhere -"

Rusl grinned. "It got me to you."

Uli blinked at him, caught off guard. Her lips pulled into a snarl. "Stop it," she hissed.

Rusl stepped toward her and wrapped his arms around her. "You're so cute when you're mad."

"Don't condescend me," she snapped at him.

Rusl frowned. "Please," he started. "Can we just… take it one day at a time?"

Uli's expression softened and she sighed. "Yeah," she said. "Alright." She hesitated. "I get it, you know. I just… I don't think we should be keeping so many secrets from him. There are some things he should know."

"Maybe," Rusl admitted.

"In time." When Rusl met her gaze, she smiled. "One day at a time."