"Honed and Clean"
Theme: #12 - in a good mood
Rating: T
Summary: Preparing for a journey includes making sure your gear is in condition for the journey. All of your gear.
Everything is settled now. Dark and I are now members of Zelda's personal guard, but we are also free to come and go as we wish in order to assure the safety of the kingdom to our satisfaction. We'll be leaving in two or three days, whenever we get all of our supplies ready.
Until then... I raise the Longshot and fire it at the bedpost. I barely have to work the point loose -- it needs sharpening, and I can feel a slight hesistation in the pulley as the chain winds back inside the housing.
It seems it is just as well I chose to start early today, I think, setting the Longshot on the desktop with all the other weapons. I have plenty of blades to clean and sharpen for the journey.
I oil my whetstone and get it positioned while I decide which blade to start with. My sword, Dark's sword, my dagger, the Longshot... At least nothing else needs sharpening, though honing isn't the only maintenance our gear needs.
My sword is as good of a starting place as any. I open the window to let some fresh air in and then start gently passing my sword over the whetstone. Sharpen them all first, then clean and oil them, and then move on to cleaning our shields and other weapons...
There is always something relaxing about this. There always has been, even back when I was just a child. Back then, of course, the motion was more awkward, less polished; now it's little harder than walking. Even so, my mind is focused on what I'm doing, careful to bare the edge only as much as needed.
I finish honing the blade and set it back on the desk. Dark's sword still holds its edge; it needs no sharpening today. I nod to myself and pick up my dagger, checking the whetstone's position before starting to pass the dagger over it.
The door opens and then closes. "Y'know, you could ask one of the smiths to do that for you."
"Why burden someone else with a task I am willing to do myself?"
Dark walks over and sits down in the chair by the desk. "If you want to do it yourself, then..." He stretches. "I think I got all we need in the way of supplies. Well, except food and water."
"Oh?"
"Yeah. Arrows and bombs and a few potions. Unless there's something specific you want." He picks up the Longshot and flips the release switch, letting the chain unwind into a pile half-on, half-off the desktop. "Should probably go talk to Nabooru sometime about more oil."
I pause my sharpening at that, looking up at him. "We've still got plenty of that."
He shrugs, grabbing the weapon oil and a piece of cloth and starting to clean the long chain link by link. "For now, anyway. Never hurts to be prepared, does it?"
"I suppose you have a point." I check the dagger and decide it's sharp. "Dark, I need to sharpen that."
"So sharpen it. I'm working down here; there's more than enough slack in the chain to let you sharpen that end." He doesn't even look up.
He has a point with this, too. The point of the Longshot isn't that large, so it doesn't take long to hone its edges. "Since you're cleaning the chain, should I let you handle the tip?"
"Yeah, sure. I'll get it."
I nod and grab another chair. There's little point in standing now. I sit down next to Dark and start cleaning the sharpened blades one by one.
"So," Dark says softly, "where are we going first?"
"I haven't decided, though I'm leaning towards going up to Goron City first."
"Not the Fortress?"
I look over at him; he's grinning at me. "I suppose we could go there first, if you wish."
"Either way. I'm not that picky, really, as long as it involves getting away from here for a while. It'll be nice to sleep outside again." He laughs. "That is, if you're not too used to having a bed."
"I'm not the only one who enjoys having a bed, Dark. You enjoy it as well, at least if the time you spend in it is any indication."
"Oh, like you're complaining."
I put the trio of blades back in their sheaths and pick up my shield -- it needs cleaning, too. "I'm merely making an observation, Dark. You enjoy having a bed."
He chuckles and starts winding the chain back into the Longshot's housing, stopping when he reaches a part he hasn't cleaned yet. "I can make do without one. Not like we need a bed, y'know. Anyway, I was more worried about you."
I give him a flat look. "And why are you worried about me? I have spent many nights on the ground."
"Or on top of me."
"I daresay you have spent as many atop me as I have atop you." I rock my shield back and forth, using the light to check for any spots I may have missed.
Dark watches me with a broad grin. "Maybe I have."
The Mirror Shield gleams in the light; I nod and set it aside. "So do you have a preference for which direction we go first?"
"No. I already said I'm not too picky. I just like the Gerudo spirit."
"Mmm. And are you certain that's all about them that you like?"
He looks up at me, then, winding the newly-cleaned section of the chain link by link. Click click click click. "Maybe. Maybe not. Are you jealous?"
"I said no such thing." The Megaton Hammer is next; I start cleaning it. "I merely asked."
"I think you are." He snickers. "And it is, really. I like their passion for everything."
"I think you merely enjoy the attention."
"And what if I do?" Click click click. "They're gorgeous."
I shake my head. "If all you desire is attention, then there are plenty of women in the market who would gladly give it to you."
"Maybe. They're not hot, though."
"And that makes a difference?"
"Does to me." He's staring at me now, still cleaning and winding the chain.
I set the Hammer down on the desktop and walk over to the window, looking out at the town below. It's peaceful out there, at least from up here. Townspeople going about their business --
"Ow! Shit!" There's a loud clang as something hits the floor.
I turn around; Dark has one of his fingers in his mouth, his brow furrowed.
"Are you all right?"
"Damn thing cut me..." he muttered, taking his finger out and holding it up. A long, thin, bloody line runs along his fingertip; the blood stands out against his tanned skin.
I look down at the floor. The Longshot lays there, half-wound. Several of the chain's links gleam with fresh blood. I shake my head and walk over, reaching out to take his hand.
"You should've been more careful."
"Well, forgive me for being distracted," he mutters.
It's not a very deep cut, just enough to bleed and to sting. He'll be fine. I take one of the smaller pieces of cloth from the pile on the table and press it against the wound. "And what has you so distracted?"
He smirks at that. "Oh, I don't know. I've got lots of reasons."
"Truly..." I give him a look. "I would think that there are also plenty of reasons to not let yourself get distracted while working with that chain. You're lucky; this could be much worse."
"Yeah, but you're a good distraction." He grins. "Kiss it and make it better?"
"I fail to see how a kiss makes it better..."
"It'll make me feel better. Besides," he snickers, "isn't that what kids want after they scrape their knee? For Mother to kiss it and make it better?"
I raise one eyebrow. "I am hardly your mother, Dark."
"True..." He leans closer, grinning wide enough to show his fangs. "But kisses still make it better."
"You've had much worse."
He laughs and grabs my arm, pulling me down so our faces are level. "Yeah, and that night I got a kiss, too." His hand reaches up to touch my undershirt, tracing the scar on my stomach from the night out at the lake. It's a scar we share; they might be in slightly different places, but we both have scars from being run through with swords.
His hand moves up, tracing the scar on my chest through the fabric -- the scar from the Temple of Time. "And I kissed you then, too, now didn't I?"
"...aye, you did," I say softly. It's a rather strange combination, violence and love. Even stranger is that they seem to fit together so well for us. I suppose that's just how he and I are.
"So, then... can I get a kiss now?"
"If you wish..." and I lean in and kiss him. "Does that make it better?"
He laughs. "Yeah, it does."
"We should finish cleaning our gear," I say.
"It can wait." He pulls his hand away from mine and checks his finger; it's stopped bleeding.
I pick up the Longshot and clean the blood off of its chain, setting the device on the desktop when I'm finished. "I thought you wished to leave as soon as we could? It is not a good idea to leave when our gear isn't in the best condition."
He laughs. "Well, for one, you've got most of it taken care of now, don't you? For another... there are other weapons that need honing..." He starts massaging my shoulders, leaning in against my back. "We need to take care of them, too."
Is he implying what I think he's implying, or am I just getting too accustomed to him veiling everything in innuendo? "I know little about caring for that kind of weapon, Dark."
"Yeah, I know. It's okay, though." He leans in closer, wrapping his arms around me; his hands trace my scars through my shirt. "I'll be your whetstone, Link. I'll take off all the stuff that dulls you... so just hold still."
I have to laugh at that. "It is better to pass the blade over the stone, not the other way around."
"Maybe it is," he says, nipping at my neck. "But as long as I'm careful, I can do it this way, too..." His hands are starting to slide lower, down my stomach and towards my hips.
"I'm certain that you can."
He laughs and pushes me towards the desk. "So, then, should I hone you, Link?"
I smile, even though I know he can't see, and start moving our gear out of the way. "I suppose I could use it... and what of you? Do you need honing, too?"
"Hmm... you have a point..." I hear him moving around nearby, and then I smell the familiar, spicy scent of our oil. "Well then, do you have a plan?"
I slide off my shirt. "I suppose we can hone each other."
"I think I like that," he says in my ear. "So, then, should we take care of that?"
xXx
"Well, okay. I think I will miss this," Dark says later, leaning back in the large tub. "There's just something about a nice hot bath."
"We will still be able to bathe outside of the castle, Dark." I won't deny that the water is soothing, though there isn't much tension left in my body to relax away right now.
"Yeah, but rivers aren't hot."
"There are springs up on Death Mountain. They're hot."
"Oooh, I forgot about those. We'll have to go by sometime, then." He looks over at me and smirks.
I shake my head -- it's hard to believe Dark could forget anything involving warmth -- and then slide completely under the water to get my hair wet. I sit back up and brush my hair out of my face.
Dark chuckles softly, and then I feel his hands in my hair. "What are you doing?"
"What's it feel like? I'm washing your hair. Isn't that what you do with a blade once you've honed it -- give it a good cleaning?" He hisses a little.
That's right -- he has that cut from the chain. "Perhaps I should do it."
"Nah, I'm all right. It's just a little cut."
I sit there, rocking slightly as he works the soap into my hair. The lower part of his hair is wet, too; some of it clings to his bare skin, while the ends fan out along the water's surface behind him.
"Okay," he says finally, giving me a gentle nudge downwards. I look at him and nod, and then I slide back under the water, shaking my hair and running my hands through it to get all the soap out. Then I sit up and take a deep breath.
Dark snickers. "Feel better now?"
"Aye, I do." I brush my hair back again and grin at him. "But you aren't clean yet."
"No, I'm not," he says with a laugh, leaning back to get his hair wet. It clings to him like a curtain when he leans in towards me, water pouring from the ends of the strands. "Are you going to take care of that?"
I can't hold back a smile. "I honed you, after all. It is only fair that I clean you."
His hair takes longer than mine, but he has a lot more of it. He seems perfectly content to sit there while I work; he's humming softly to himself.
"Make up your mind yet?" he finally asks.
"About what?"
"Where we're going, of course."
I don't answer for a moment; I'm thinking. "I suppose the Fortress would make a nice place to start. We've got most of our gear in traveling condition, so... we can leave the day after tomorrow if you wish."
"That sounds good to me. I'm ready to get back out on the road."
I nod; I am, too. "There, it's done."
He slides under the water, disappearing completely underneath the large cloud of his long hair. The cloud shifts and swirls for a moment, and then he straightens, his face mostly hidden by a wall of dripping wet hair. He makes no move to brush it away, instead turning towards me. I'm not even sure if he can see me through all the black.
I reach out and brush his hair away from his face; he's giving me a broad grin. "And are you clean now?"
"Yeah, I think I'm clean. For now, anyway. You know me, Link; I'll be dirty soon enough."
I am certain of that. "Then should we go? We need to start packing our gear."
"I think I'd rather enjoy this just a little longer..." he leans forward and kisses the tip of my nose, "if that's all right with you..."
"It is fine with me, Dark."
"Good." He moves to sit next to me and leans back against the edge of the tub, sighing contently. "Then we can pack our gear later..."
