Sooooooooo... literally haven't updated in like, eight months and I'm throwing this baby up right when I have like 2.5 essays due. This is my life, these are my choices... anyway, enjoooy!
Chapter 37 - Dark and Link
Link was so exhausted that once Dark helped him into the car, he fell asleep. Dark even had to do his seatbelt up for him. Link's body curled comfortably in the front seat, resting soundlessly until fingers brushed his cheekbone, rousing him to wakefulness.
"H-huh?" he muttered, blinking up at Dark who was waiting at the open passenger door for him.
"We're home, love. I don't even have to sneak you in. Your parents are out still. Front door's opened already, do you mind if I carry you inside?"
"That is so ridiculously romantic, Dark, yes, please," Link responded playfully, crinkling his tired eyes up at Dark in admiration.
He blushed indignantly at Link's comment and scoffed, blowing off steam, as he bent down and scooped Link up into his arms bridal style. Dark grunted; he readjusted his grip on Link. The blond wrapped his arms around Dark's neck securely when they went to the house together.
"You're a lot heavier than I thought," Dark mused dryly in the living room. He put Link down on the pullout bed flat on his back.
Link laughed softly at Dark and Dark leaned back down to Link, taking his lips into a swift kiss. Link wasn't even able to reach Dark's face with his fingers before he pulled away.
Link pouted. Such a clipped kiss. He finally countered, lighthearted, "I don't think you're supposed to say things like that about your boyfriend."
"I think I can say whatever I want right now," Dark answered brusquely again. Link turned into a heartbroken puddle on the messy pullout bed at Dark's lingering shortness. Dark gazed about the living room, seeming busier than he actually was. "Did you move your medication upstairs again?"
"Dark, I don't need my medication. I need you. I want to talk to you," Link murmured sorely, reaching up to Dark at his side.
Dark didn't mean to roll his eyes but he did. Link saw, his face then falling into a sadder expression, and he reached back, grabbing a pillow to cover his face. He did, however, hear Dark move around the pullout couch anyway. Link peeked at him from underneath the pillow. Dark settled on the free half of the bed, turning on his side to face Link and he gently pulled the pillow from Link's grasp, then resting his arm and the pillow under his head.
"I know, I'm sorry," Dark whispered softly. He leaned towards Link, his one arm still folded up under his pillow and head while the other rested on the mattress in front of himself, just inches from Link's upper arm. "Please, love, I want this cleared up."
Link swallowed, knowing this conversation would be uncomfortable no matter what way he went about it. He started with the most straightforward information to set the scene.
"Remember a few Saturdays ago, Saria, Sheik, and I went to Lake Hylia for the day? Zelda texted me that day to speak with her in the caf on Monday. Wow, a lot really happened that Saturday, come to think of it."
Dark was trying to remember that specific Saturday or even that Monday but his eyes flickered to memories clouded by the horrors he faced with Link just last week. So Dark nodded anyway, knowing Link would fill in the blanks for him.
"Sorry. Anyway, Monday came around and I met her in the caf like she said. I even remember asking if anyone saw you and they hadn't, but then she brought me to the old wrestling room?"
"Oh, of course," Dark muttered blandly, shaking his head down into the pillow. "Like most of her victims before me."
Link coughed out a tiny laugh, but really wasn't sure if it was appropriate. He continued quickly, "So, um, this is the worst part. She brought me there alone. And it happened so fast but in minutes she was touching me—Okay, by the way, I don't want you to be resentful towards Zelda at all. You've settled your score. Leave it to me to get over my anger towards her, got it?" Link asked quickly, voice very concerned in tone.
Dark, who had a look of intense attentiveness on his face, scarcely nodded, furrowing his eyebrows a little at Link.
"But I won't lie and say that I didn't want it," Link uttered, squinting sadly at Dark. "It was consensual."
Pain flickered amongst Dark's eyes, but he blinked and swallowed and nodded. Dark had to remember that this was before he and Link really got together.
Now Link wanted to touch him, but he couldn't. It would only hurt more.
"So she… um, she performed… she gave me…" Link stalled and could not swallow no matter how much he tried. He noticed Dark swallowing twice as much as him, nervous.
And even though it hurt, Dark spoke back, swift, "A blowjob?"
"Y-yeah," Link stammered and curled onto his side carefully, stomach noticeably sore as he moved. He cringed before he finished with, "That's when I came home and I told you I was going to prom with Zelda."
"When exactly did you agree to go with her then?" Dark asked suspiciously.
Link wanted to answer truthfully. It destroyed him to know this would just hurt Dark more.
"Dark, it was literally when I came," Link hoarsely replied, raising the hand resting on his side to cover his eyes. He was mortified. He couldn't bear to see Dark's hurt expression anymore.
"Pansy," Dark argued bitterly. He looked to his own hand resting right beside the blond before him. He curled his fingers into the sheet on the mattress. "How weak."
"I know," Link croaked, bringing his hand back down from his face. "I'm so sorry. I was at my lowest point in that moment. I knew I made a mistake because I felt so sick afterwards, Dark, and I didn't know why I felt that way until I saw your face at home. Even Saria told me how much of an idiot I was, she said she knew I had feelings for you and that you probably had feelings for me too, and I shouldn't have let Zelda talk me into it. That's when she told me then that Zelda was using me—Goddesses, Dark, Saria's a genius."
"You're right. She is," Dark answered, hollow voice very clear to Link.
Link watched Dark quietly in this moment—Dark was an empty vessel. It was as if every member of his fleet abandoned ship.
It broke Link's heart.
Dark remained still, eyes vacant, hand never uncurling from the mattress sheets below.
Link needed to touch Dark, to let him know that what happened between him and Zelda didn't mean anything, that Link was reckless and unsure of himself then, and now Dark was all Link ever wanted.
He couldn't be too abrasive. He didn't want to make Dark feel any more uncomfortable. Link rolled onto his back again and he dropped his hand to rest beside his head, nonchalantly the back of his fingers landed right on top of Dark's clenched hand exactly as Link hoped. He burned at the deliberate connection he made and Dark's hand twitched ever so slightly beneath Link's caress.
"It was also one of my favourite days I've had in the last little while," Link added so oddly that Dark flinched beneath his touch—Link stared at the ceiling and he didn't move his hand, but Link saw Dark's head raise questionably in his peripheral vision. Link turned his head, meeting Dark's hardened eyes with a soft gaze of his own. "You want to know why? It was your expression, your response, when I told you that I was going to prom with Zelda. You played it off, Dark. You said you wanted to give me suggestions to win over Zelda's heart. Damn it, Dark, I almost fell in love with you right there and then."
Dark's brow stitched together in utter confusion at this sudden turn of events. He gaped out, "Really?"
"Yes! Because after everything, after you dating Zelda, after you figuring out that I liked her too, and then remember how much you once hated me and how angry you were at the both of us before you started living here… the old you would have killed me. Instead you gave me tips for winning over the girl of anyone's dreams but mine. And through that it was you that touched me how I always dreamed of, you even kissed my neck. It was… it was the first time someone ever kissed my neck. No one's… kissed my neck before, Dark."
"Link," Dark simply whispered.
"And it was then that I realized that I actually liked how you teased me and I loved that I already could tell that you got me, you understood me. We were the same in a lot of ways I didn't expect. Dark, I fucking loved how our hands fit together when you held mine for the first time, too, as cheesy as that sounds. And shopping that night with you, with the suit and everything? It was scaring me how everything was suddenly falling into place like I was finally finishing up the most intense connect-the-dots ever."
Dark's hand crumpled under Link's. Fingers were no longer curled madly into the bedsheets and he flipped his hand, palm cupping the back of Link's warm hand. His fingers clenched onto Link's hand; it wasn't a warning, but a reassurance. Dark felt the same.
"I'm still mad… for some reason," Dark grumbled softly, and after he said this, he leaned forward and kissed the centre of Link's palm. His lips brushed along Link's skin when he added, "But it's fine, I get it now. Okay?"
Link laughed softly and nodded. "It's okay, you're just jealooous. I think that's a little sexy."
"Yeah, well, whatever, Link. At least I don't have to deal with Zelda being interested in you anymore. I think she got the hint."
"Or I guess I got the hint," Link added morosely.
"Or you did, sure," Dark mocked in return and brushed a sudden knuckle up against Link's cheek. The blond then noticed the pale teen shuffle closer, but he kept his eyes on Dark's attentively. Dark clearly wanted to say more, but was hesitant. Link remained patient and sure enough, Dark opened his mouth again. "You know, if we're going to talk about things you learned that day, could we talk about the things that I learned that day too?"
At this, Dark was on his stomach now, elbows propping him up. His right hand curled on top of Link's while he leaned his other arm over Link's resting arm. Using this leverage, Dark brushed up and down Link's wrist with his careless left hand.
"I learned that the second you told me you were going to prom with Zelda, I was hurt. And I felt like an idiot because I wanted to be mad at you, but I knew even then I was only angry with myself. I was going to ask you to prom—"
"The night of the movie," Link interjected softly, brow stitched together.
"The—what? You knew?" Dark's eyes flared, in both excitement and then resentment. "Why didn't you say anything?!"
"Well, I didn't know at the time, Dark! I talked to Saria about it later. She was the one that said you were probably going to ask."
Dark removed his fingers from Link's arm to plaster his palm to his face. He released a dejected sigh. "Of course Saria knew. I should have just asked! But I panicked—I thought about our classmates and how they would have responded just because we've been enemies our entire life. It was also the day I realized that I'm really scared of what other people think of me. I was scared shitless what they'd say about us, Link—or… or even what they'd do to us. I mean, I know now I care less about what people think of me because of you, because you make me stronger every day, but I was scared for your comfort at prom too. That's why I thought Zelda was a better date for you. I just wanted us to have fun."
"It's okay," Link tried to reassure Dark. "I understand."
Dark shook his head, sharing an unexpected but brilliant grin with Link, so he then dropped his head and leaned back down onto Link, pressing his nose into Link's forearm. Both of his hands clasped around Link's lax hand now.
"But also, I liked that I felt actually comforted by you, too, Link." He continued speaking, but only against Link's skin, "When we started talking about the problems we were facing I knew that together we could be safe, not then exactly, but at some point in our lives anyway. Our situations were completely different, but I finally felt like someone wanted to listen to me and understand me for who I really am. And then you asked me to live with you…?"
Link's face flushed a little, but he nodded surely. "I still want you to."
"Well, I never answered then, but I still want to too," Dark answered sheepishly.
Link felt Dark push his nose harder down onto Link's arm, so he scrunched his own nose; Dark kissed his skin.
"You wanted to live with me even when I first brought it up?"
"Yeah, of course?" Dark questioned rhetorically, a pretty smirk set on his face, although it remained unseen. "I mean, at first I was thinking 'anywhere but here' because of my dad, but then I thought of you—and, well, we didn't know each other long, but I knew I could have lived with you, even then."
Although neither of them were watching each other's faces, they both had grimaced at the mention of Dark's father.
"I'm glad I seem like someone who would make a good roommate, then," Link shared playfully, trying to override the image of Dark's father appearing in both of their minds.
"Good partner," Dark corrected quite seriously, raising his head suddenly. Link wanted to laugh at Dark's unexpected stoicism. "I only wanted to live with you if I got sex out of it once in a while."
He couldn't hold it back any longer and Link snorted loudly, jerking forward, bringing his hand opposite of Dark to cup his side to fight off the pain erupting from his wound. Dark saw Link's hand whip to his wound so he also began a big move on the bed, bringing himself to lean right over top of Link. Reaching back, he rested his hand on top of Link's and smiled firmly. His touch soothed Link already.
"But it's sort of true, love. I didn't want to just be roommates."
"Was that ever an option for either of us anyway?" Link inquired more gently. His lungs were still burning from his laughter but Dark's close proximity brought pleasure to his stomach.
"No," Dark cooed so very softly that Link barely heard him. He didn't care though because Dark leaned into the side of his face, kissing him along his jawline. The blond squirmed pleasantly and Dark beamed against Link's sun kissed skin. "Then guess what else I liked and learned that day?"
"What?" Link asked back lightly. His hands moved from his sides up to Dark's shoulders, rubbing at him slowly, carefully.
"That I've never been more sexually attracted to another person other than you," Dark answered with an amazing grin and he leaned back down, grazing his teeth against Link's jaw.
The blond's breath hitched. Dark's tongue brushed against the assaulted area. "O-oh?"
"And the most incredible turn of events, me taking you to the change room but you taking me into the change room," Dark actually said darkly. Link laughed in return. "I knew in that moment that I'd probably never get bored of you. You always surprise me, Link."
"You always surprise me! I never thought I surprised people. I thought you said you liked my simple lifestyle."
"Simple yet action-packed, if you recall, Link," Dark retorted with a smirk, making reference to his previous comment about the similarities between Link and the film Transformers.
"Okay, Dark," Link laughed back. "Fine, then. Fine."
And with a lovely smile on his mouth, lips parted and teeth showing just a bit from his awe alone Link gazed around Dark's face, taking in his sharp cheekbones and attentive, ruby eyes, and wonderful smirk. Link reached up and pushed Dark's bangs back yet again to view his bruised eye. Although the bruise was out of the ordinary and looked rather sore on Dark's face, it was just as beautiful as the rest of him. Link really, really liked Dark, he thought, wounds and all. Link kept his arm raised, holding Dark's hair back.
"I'm… I'm glad you listened to me, Dark," Link said very softly. "I appreciate it. Thank you."
"Well, I would have had to at one point or another," Dark mentioned, shrugging and looking away from Link.
Link scoffed and shook his head. "Um, no, Dark... you literally didn't have to. Actually, you could have left me."
Dark's eyes shot right back to Link's when he said that. Unaware that he was doing so, he gaped at Link below and very subtly shook his head.
He couldn't even imagine leaving Link now, not because he felt obligated to him for any reason or because he had some real freedom since his dad was arrested, but because he wanted to be with Link. Before this, Dark always felt obligated to Zelda—they had been committed to one another for about half of their time spent in high school. Dark could barely remember what his romantic intentions were like before they were consumed by dating Zelda. Everything was a blur.
Even though he had garnered some newfound freedoms while his dad wasn't around, Dark finally realized that he had deserved the right to make his own choices even before his dad was arrested. His chest pattered elatedly because he was so very thankful to come to understand this. And being with Link further helped Dark understand that it was his choice, too. He was choosing to be with Link and he wanted to be with Link for as long as possible now.
Dark's eyes watered without warrant and worriedly, Link brought his hand from Dark's hair to the side of his face, cupping his cheek sympathetically.
"What is it, Dark?"
Dark's eyes widened to try and hold back the tears and he shared a sharp smile, his mouth starkly opposite in expression to that of his eyes. "I… Link, listen. I listened to you because I wanted to. Even though I was pretty damn hurt, I chose to listen instead of fight because for the first time in my life I think I finally figured out what I want."
"Well, what do you want?" Link questioned in confusion, cocking his head and furrowing his brow at Dark down below. Gingerly, his hand dropped from Dark's face and curled against his chest.
"You."
Beneath his creased brow, Link's eyes widened. It was a funny expression to have on his face but Dark couldn't even laugh at Link. He grinned instead.
"I want you, Link."
"You do?" Link asked, absolutely captivated by Dark's engrossed expression.
Dark nodded eagerly. He leaned down into Link, resting his forearms on both sides of Link's head just so he could easily cup the blond's cheeks while leaning over him. "Yeah. I already knew I was going to make the choice to listen to you because I like you… like a lot. I want you to keep being a part of my crazy, fucked up life. If you think you can handle me, I mean."
"Dark, of course! Yes, I want to try!" Link rapt out so quickly, shaking his head madly. His eyes shone without precedent.
At the same time, they leaned into one another to kiss. Dark couldn't let go of Link's face as their lips continuously met, but Link's hands roamed, touching Dark's shoulders and chest and sides sporadically. He wanted to pull Dark even closer but he knew that would hurt his midsection more. So, instead, they kept simply kissing, Dark leaning over top of Link rather romantically. Their lips remained connected although at an inconsistent rate.
Abruptly, their kiss was interrupted by the sound of the front door opening.
Dark broke away from Link as if he had never been touching him and moved to rest on his back beside him. Thank the Goddesses his nerves were also in check because he made sure to look down at himself before anything happened and then noticed, too, that he was a little bit hard, so with a heavy blush on his face he swiftly reached over and grabbed Link's blanket, throwing it over both of their waists. Just as Cale announced he and Malon were home, Dark and Link were covered.
"Link! You there? Now you missed out on a lot of fun!" Cale exclaimed in the front hallway. They could hear both Malon and Cale taking off their shoes.
"He's right, Link, we wished you could have come," Malon agreed loudly from behind the doorframe.
In actuality, Link was glad he didn't, considering they already spent enough time dealing with the graduation drama of this night.
Cale abruptly turned the corner and looked out into the living room spotting both Link and Dark laying on the pull out couch. Dark was on his stomach, facing Link's parents, but Link stayed on his back, lolling his head back on a pillow beneath him.
"Oh, Dark! You're back already! How was graduation? Hopefully Link didn't miss too much."
Dark was swift in his response, shaking his head, grin on his lips. "No, sir, it was pretty uneventful."
Link brought his head forward to hide a sneaky smile underneath a balled fist he raised to his mouth.
"Good! That's what I like to hear."
"What were you and Malon up to then?"
Malon proudly arrived at Cale's side in the doorway and latched her arm onto his waist, smiling in amusement at both Link and Dark. Link looked back again to see his parents standing together, happily, and upside-down, for him at least, in the doorway. It was kind of nice.
"We went to the movies," Malon chimed cheerfully. "And we snuck into a second show after our first!"
"Mom," Link said, appalled.
He wasn't even aware that his parents would do something like that. But, then again, they were going to get divorced just barely a month ago. Nothing should surprise him now.
Dark, on the other hand, loved this. He had hearts in his eyes as he looked to the older couple across the room. He rapt out excitedly, "What did you see?!"
"Dark, don't encourage them!" Link's attention shot to Dark at his side.
"Oh, come on, Link! Even though I did almost have a heart attack doing it, it was worth it!" Cale said surely, nodding down at Malon who eagerly returned his watchful gaze. "We had fun."
"You guys must think you're pretty important to rip off the movie theatre then," Link said lowly, crossing his arms. He brought his gaze away from them and to the ceiling, losing interest in the conversation.
"'Important?'" Cale suddenly questioned back, at first laughing, but then he stalled, repeating again, more slowly, "'Im-por-tant.' Hmm, 'important.' You just reminded me… something 'important.' I think I was supposed to—oh, wait! Yes, 'important!' Goddesses, Link, I forgot to tell you! The police called here last Sunday to make an appointment with you about getting your statement on… um, Dark's dad and everything."
"What, seriously?" Link sat up swiftly at this, but that was a bad idea as he was moaning in pain and instantly holding his side. Dark sat up, too, merely to comfort Link. Link didn't even bother turning around to acknowledge Dark, instead he lowered his head and croaked in frustration out over his shoulder, "A-and you just forgot to mention this to me?"
"Well, that's because I went ahead and booked your appointment for you. I told them you needed some time to rest. So, they gave you almost a week and they want you to come in tomorrow at three."
"Father," Link groaned back, madly, pressing hand to his face. "Well, can Dark come with me at least?"
"They didn't say, but, Dark, I'm sure they would let you go in with Link," Cale said surely, nodding at Dark. "Especially considering you were there too."
"Yeah," was all Dark managed thickly, suddenly aware at how real their situation was again, that Dark and Link still had much to do before they would fully be able to overcome the horrors of the morning after prom.
He turned back to Link and Link looked as sallow as Dark felt, so he was glad they were on the same page.
"All right, boys, we're heading off to bed," Malon said softly, but at the end of the sentence her tone lilted with sensuality; it was honestly too much for Link to handle.
He refused to look back at his parents anymore and groaned loudly, leaning to Dark in frustration while Dark smirked back at Link. Link's parents then departed, deep smiles set on their sated faces.
"At least they're distracted now so we can talk about tomorrow," Link grumbled before rolling his eyes and looking straight to Dark. His face did pale then suddenly. "What are they going to ask us?"
"I don't know, Link," Dark said, his eyes glazing over while he gazed into the distance. He touched Link's arm and caught his eye swiftly again to ask, "Maybe we should have a lawyer with us?"
"My dad?" Link suggested.
Dark shook his head. "We couldn't. A case like ours is too personal for him to be directly involved. Plus, we haven't even really told your parents what exactly happened yet. That would be pretty fucked up for your father to deal with, especially right in front of the police."
"You're right," Link simply agreed and frowned. "Well, I don't have enough money saved up to hire a lawyer. Do you?"
Dark was shaking his head again.
"The good news is, my dad said it was a statement," Link said thoughtfully, pressing a hand to his chin. "That means that they're looking for the details of the event only. We can refuse to tell them any more if they ask too much."
"What do you think would be considered 'too much'?"
"You know, like asking us if we think if it was pre-meditated. Or if they ask if he's previously abused you. And maybe they might ask you about your personal life, too. That kind of stuff. They need to know just the facts of the matter at hand, right? The other stuff, we'd say that in a trial."
Dark moaned and covered his face. "Oh, Goddesses. That disgusting excuse of a human being better just plead guilty to make this easier on all of us."
"I doubt it, Dark," Link snorted out, smiling crookedly. "I mean, your dad literally stabbed me with a knife multiple times just to get to you."
Dark instantly looked as though he wished that Link hadn't said that.
So, Link raised his hand, and tenderly curled his fingers around the side of Dark's neck, holding him just to comfort him.
"I'm sorry," Link whispered, shaking his head.
Dark was shaking his head too, although his gaze was wide and he was very clearly trying not to blink, to hold back the sudden wetness that appeared in his eyes. He barely said back, "I-it's fine."
"But, it's not, Dark," Link fought sadly, voice hoarse. He was trying not to cry too. "I hate seeing you like this. Every time we talk about your dad I feel a horrible chill run through me just like the one I always see in you."
Frustrated, Dark turned from Link's hold on his neck. He spat madly, "I can talk about him whenever I want! I'm not weak!"
"I never said you were, Dark," Link said so softly, smiling in reassurance but sadly dropping his head. "What I'm saying is that it's not fair that you or me have to deal with something like this because of your dad! But, here we are, and we are dealing! And we are alive! And I'm so proud of you!" At this, Link reached out to Dark again, holding his upper arm firmly.
It took a while but Dark finally smirked again, crookedly, and he brought a curled hand up to rub at his nose before dragging his eyes back to Link's face, red eyes skirting about Link's watery gaze. He stated, quietly, "You know, Link, you were the one that was actually hurt, not me. I don't get why you sound worried about me."
"Oh, Dark," Link muttered so quietly that his voice cracked and his eyes instantly filled with heartbroken tears. He rushed to Dark despite his pain and wrapped his arms tightly around Dark's shoulders, tucking his face into Dark's neck.
Mildly shocked at Link's odd reaction, Dark pressed one hand to Link's back and he warily tried to crane his head back to look over Link below.
"Link, love?" Dark barely murmured in return.
Link shook his head into Dark's collar bone. He squeezed at Dark's back tighter for just a moment and then parted, glancing fervently around Dark's face with tear filled eyes. Sadly, he smiled and shrugged, gesturing out to Dark.
"I know you're not going to like this," Link stated reluctantly, "but, you were actually hurt too, Dark. Like, really hurt. You're right, I was hurt by him… once. But, Dark… you've been hurt by him your whole life."
It was just like that when Dark broke. He didn't even know that he could react so suddenly to some stupid words, but they were words of understanding and knowledge of where Dark came from, where it all started. The impact of his father's ever-expanding cloud in his life became a reality once the longevity of his father's brutality was firmly said aloud. Silently, tears poured from Dark's eyes and he leaned back into Link, holding him close. He began shaking and Link held him closer.
"It's okay, Dark, it's all right. The worst of everything that will ever happen already happened the morning after prom. The second most painful part of this whole thing will be over tomorrow. It will hurt less as time moves on… and the more we solve this case, all right? We'll do this together, okay?"
"All right," Dark muttered back firmly, pressing his face into the side of Link's head.
0o0o0o0o0o0
Even though only Link was called in to do the talking, Dark was more nervous, so Link drove them in Dark's car to the police station. But, Dark was a good pretender and the moment the boys stepped from the car his face was unmoved and hard. He waited for Link and straight away grabbed tightly onto his arm when the blond approached; Link could tell that Dark was still worried anyway.
They entered the police station silently, but stayed attached to each other's sides, arms failing to disconnect even when they turned and went up to the front window of the police station. A man in uniform behind a glass protected counter sat there looking bored but mustered an interested expression once the two teenagers arrived at the counter.
"What can I help you with today?" he had asked.
Link spoke for the both of them. "Um, hi. My name is Link Avalon. I have an appointment booked for three o'clock to make a statement about an incident we were involved in last week."
"I'll pass the message right along that you're here. Someone from the hallway behind you should be out to collect you soon. Just wait in the seating area over there." The man pointed past Link and Dark's right shoulders.
Link said his thanks and the teens turned, viewing a group of seats in varying positions, some against the far wall, the back wall, and back to back in the centre of the area. They chose a couple of seats that faced the hallway and would be ready to rise for whenever the police officer came to get them. They only waited a few minutes until a large man with brown hair, bushy moustache, and large eyebrows stepped out from the hall they expected.
"Mr. Avalon?"
Link stood straight away, Dark following suit right after.
"That's me," Link addressed and swiftly crossed the room to meet with the man.
The officer held out his hand to Link, so he took it and they shook swiftly. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Avalon. I'm Inspector Gaebora. I'm the head detective looking over your case. We're just asking for your statement today so we won't go too extensively into details just yet. Now, who's this?"
Dark thought he had gone unnoticed until the man deliberately called him out. He shrunk a little as Link stepped to the side, introducing him, "This is Dark Link. He was also there at the, um, scene of the crime."
Inspector Gaebora held out his hand to Dark too. Both he and Dark shook. "Link, huh? You must be Zaden Link's son."
"Regrettably so," Dark muttered bitterly and the policeman merely frowned.
"Well, Mr. Link, you're more than welcome to join Mr. Avalon while making the statement, too. I'm assuming your statements would ring similar to one another's since you've come together and having double the point of view for your statement will certainly help any case you'd like to build for later on. All right, you two can follow me this way."
The inspector turned away and beckoned back at the boys as he lumbered down the hallway. The three of them turned down two corners before Inspector Gaebora led the boys into a small room, one chair on the nearest side of the table and two on the other, one seat already occupied by a female officer. She had olive skin and long, silver hair pulled back into a high, careful ponytail and her watchful red eyes looked over the two boys carefully. She stood, strong and tall, once all the men entered the room.
"A surprise straggler, Gaebora?"
Dark sneered, because he was much more important than being just a 'straggler' to this case, but his expression went unnoticed by all.
"Not exactly, Impa. He was there as well," Inspector Gaebora simply answered while he moved to the corner of the room to retrieve another chair so that Dark could join Link across the way from Inspector Gaebora and this new officer. When he brought the chair back over to Dark, he introduced them to the other officer. "This is Detective Impa, one of our main detectives who also has been looking over your case. Impa, this is Link Avalon and Dark Link."
She leaned across the table and shook hands with both Link and Dark. After shaking, at the same time, all four of them sat down across from each other.
"Now, boys," Detective Impa said, "for purposes of knowing as much as we possibly can about what happened that morning, we'd prefer to record the interview we're about to have here. Is that all right with you?"
Dark thought that that sounded fair, but Link obviously had a pressing question.
"It can't be used against us in court, can it?"
"No, Mr. Avalon, just you and our station can access these files. Only you can decide to use these files for your case if you so wish."
"Okay, that sounds fair," Link said with a nod.
Dark smirked at Link's likeminded comment to his own previous thought. He then added aloud, raising a complacent hand, "It does."
"Great," Detective Impa said simply, a tight smile on her lips, and then slipped out a tape recorder from her pant pocket. She rested the recorder on the table, hand lingering over it, and then asked, eyes flickering between the boys, "So, we are ready to start?"
Link and Dark looked at each other to make a silent confirmation with one another first. Dark's eyes tensed at Link and Link pursed his lips, nodding once at Dark. Dark reached for Link's knee under the table and squeezed, then turning back to face the police. He nodded to both of them.
"We're ready," Dark said shortly. He squeezed Link's knee tighter.
Detective Impa pressed the record button while Inspector Gaebora cleared his throat.
The inspector spoke first. "This is Inspector Gaebora along with Detective Impa conducting an interview with two men, Dark Link and Link Avalon, involved in a stabbing that occurred early Saturday morning of last week, June twenty-third, two-thousand and eleven. There was a phone call placed at approximately nine thirty-eight that morning reporting the initial violent actions perpetrated by Mr. Zaden Link, what it seemed like, an unstable man with intentions to harm anyone in his path. I am assuming one of you placed this call?"
"It… it was me," Dark spoke up, softly. He then cleared his throat and raised his voice, along with his gaze, to Inspector Gaebora. He further reiterated, "Well, Link called on his phone, but I did all of the talking."
"You were asked to stay on the line, but were unable to comply. Why, what happened?"
Dark inhaled sharply and froze, all of the memories beginning to flood into his mind and consume him. But, he had to answer, and he needed to be specific, for Link's sake. It took him a while to finally muster, "M-my father scared me. During the call, he found the room we locked ourselves in and started pounding on the door. I remember him calling us horrible names, Link especially, and then he told Link to give me back to him. I was so startled that I dropped the phone and it broke."
"Ah," Inspector Gaebora said, nodding. In the meanwhile, Detective Impa had been writing some things down on a notepad. "That is entirely understandable, Mr. Link."
"All right, boys, is it fine with you that we may start from the beginning?" the Detective then said, raising her eyes from the paper below to gaze at Link and Dark across the way.
"Yeah," Dark said, and Link further confirmed with a softer, "Yes."
"Okay," Detective Impa replied and flipped her pen, tapping the bottom of it on the pages below. "So, you both found yourselves in the Harkinian residence on Highway four on June twenty-third. What brought you to that location on that morning?"
Link sat forward and answered confidently, "That's correct. We were there because it was our high school prom the night before. A girl from our school, Zelda Harkinian, she invited a large group of graduating students to her aunt's and uncle's house for a party after prom. She told me that she was supposed to be dog sitting… but brought the dogs to her parents' house. Both Dark and I were invited to the party."
"Mr. Avalon, would you be able to recount what happened before Mr. Zaden Link arrived on the property? From the moment you awoke to Zaden Link's arrival? And Mr. Link, you are more than welcome to add whatever you recall if you find Mr. Avalon misses something."
Dark nodded and Link even glanced to Dark, nodding at him too, before he began. He started, unintentionally blushing a little, "Dark woke me up." Link bumped his knee against Dark's under the table. Dark smirked, watching the officers with a proud gait about himself. "It was early morning. I wasn't sure what time it was, I never checked. Dark and I had… gone to bed together that night."
Link felt it so awkward talking about his personal life like this, originally believing that the details of that night and the next morning would have never left the bedroom. However here Link was telling two strangers his personal business. Detective Impa concentrated on the simple notes she had been taking while Inspector Gaebora watched Link closely, nodding often, gathering what he could about the case. It seemed that they probably didn't care about his and Dark's personal life, but rather they were just doing their jobs.
"I think it was me who suggested to go home first, to call my dad for a ride. We talked a little, both got changed, and left from the spare bedroom to get our other friends, Sheik and Saria. They were downstairs, in the main room. I woke up… Sheik first. And I asked him to wake up Saria too. Then, Dark and I went outside and sat down on the grass on the edge of the road. That's when I called my dad for a ride."
Dark had been watching Link with admiration the whole time he spoke, so in his peripheral vision, Dark right away noticed Link's hand reaching out to touch his thigh under the table. Dark tilted his head in likeness and smirked to Link at his side. Link squeezed Dark's thigh, glanced at Dark with a gentle smile, and continued, bringing his gaze back to the officers, "We talked for a bit on our own." Link's eyes were lit pleasantly. "Sheik and Saria joined us a couple of minutes later. All four of us talked about the previous night, which honestly went so well for each of us. We had a lot of fun…"
Dark rested his hand on top of Link's hand at this.
"Then, we saw a car before we heard it. I remember standing first, looking down the road with my eyes squinted. I… I remember that I didn't think it was my dad's car right away. I just sort of knew, I guess. I told everyone this when I thought it because the car was driving too fast. My dad will only ever go ten above the speed limit."
Detective Impa then lifted her pen suddenly and asked, "Apologies for interrupting, Link, but you said you saw the car before you heard it?"
Link furrowed his brow, gazing off, really trying to remember. He then nodded firmly, eyes flashing back up to the officers again in determination. "Yeah, I remember because Dark was on my right, but Saria was on my closest left, with Sheik on her left. I was looking at Saria and Sheik when I noticed the car."
"So you were looking south, towards the city, when facing away from the Harkinian household?"
Link nodded right away, but his mouth fell open when remembering that the tape recorder would not record his head nod, so he verbally attested as well, "Yes, that's correct."
"You could not in any way tell it wasn't your dad's car from the colour, model, or make?"
"No," Link said right away. "I just remember it being bright on my left shoulder looking down the road, so I was already squinting and holding my hand up over my eyes to shield them from the sun. It was too bright.
"But then Dark stood with me and he was the one to say that just ten minutes had passed since my call to my dad. That's when I remember that Saria and Sheik stood up too. Suddenly, Dark pushed by all of us, moving closer to the edge of the road, and I am remembering how… how terrible Dark sounded. He said 'Oh God,' I think, and my stomach dropped so badly. I asked him what was wrong… but Dark didn't move, and his hands started trembling so horribly…" Link paused to inhale shakily and rub his nose. His eyes were a tad misty, but not a single tear sprouted yet. He curled his fingers hard into Dark's thigh now. "I moved in front of Dark and I asked who it was. He didn't look like he heard me… he was looking blankly into the distance. I had to grab him and shout his name to get his attention and when Dark looked to me again, his teeth clenched and his eyes filled with tears. And I knew. I knew it was him."
The detective piped up, "Zaden Link, Mr. Avalon?"
"Y-yes," Link answered bitterly, throwing his head down in frustration.
Detective Impa was writing more down.
"What happened next?"
"That's when the car slid by us on the gravel road. I… I was pushing Dark to the house while telling my other friends to just listen to me and hide. Saria and Sheik ran inside. I didn't see where they went, and I never saw them again after that. I-I then heard Dark's dad screaming behind me. But thankfully Dark and I made it into the house all right and I locked the door just in time. We hid behind the wall of the hallway since the house is nearly all glass. I-it was horrible… Dark was… He was so…"
"Really out of it," Dark interrupted, feigning boredom. It was too hard listening to Link's voice straining while he talked so Dark watched his nails carefully as he continued speaking, "I couldn't believe my father was there, so I rambled a little about it." He even shrugged. "Link took me back to reality when he said we should call you guys. I never involved anyone in my business before so I felt weird calling the police. Link assured me that I didn't have to protect my father by not calling and that was when he smashed through the front door."
"So the damage, Mr. Link, of the front door, was caused by your father coming through the glass upon his arrival at the Harkinian residence, is that correct?"
"That's correct," Dark shortly answered.
"How did he accomplish this?"
"His weight, I'm assuming," Dark muttered with another careless shrug. "We didn't really see him come through. I remember just hearing him hitting the floor pretty badly after the door shattered. I saw him lying face first on the ground before we left too. He only had a knife on him otherwise and I don't think that's how he got through."
"Did you see the knife on him then?"
And suddenly, as clear as day, Dark experienced a flashback. The knife snapping through the thin door of the bedroom—"he has a fucking knife, that asshole," he recalled his own strangled voice. He saw the knife only after Dark's father found them. It was Dark's first real moment of clarity throughout the entirety of his father's attack. Everything else that happened before had Dark running on autopilot. Link… Link really saved him.
Swallowing heavily and bringing his weighted gaze back to Inspector Gaebora, he shook his head. He even attested to that by saying a hoarse, "No. We-we saw it later."
Detective Impa wrote that down and assured, "Okay, you can continue retelling the events. Start from the moment Mr. Zaden Link hit the floor."
It was taking too long for Dark to recollect his thoughts as he couldn't stop thinking about that knife piercing through the door—his first sense of real danger. Even worse than every time before. He wanted to stop everything else that happened after that second. It just wasn't fair…
Link took notice of this and turned to the officers, continuing, "Right, so, I remember Dark freezing, just watching over my shoulder. That's when he must have been looking at his father on the ground, but I never looked back. I was looking for more time and I thought we could move upstairs. I remember whispering to Dark that we needed to hide as I pushed him towards the stairs.
"And again… we were in that same bedroom… the one we woke up together in that very morning…" Link stalled a moment in his speech to take a breath. "I… I was trying to quiet Dark down. H-he was gasping, heavily. The second he was quieter, I remember saying that we had to call the police, that I didn't care what Dark wanted for his father. I used my cell phone, made the call, and that's when Dark grabbed it from my hand. He spoke."
"Yes, speaking of this exact moment, we actually have a recording of the message on Inspector Gaebora's recorder. We were wondering if you'd be able to listen along with us and confirm what happened in the last moments of the call when we lost our connection with you?" Detective Impa inquired directly.
"You're not going to play the whole conversation, are you?" Dark snapped rather offhandedly. He crossed his arms defensively at that.
Link leaned forward to try and catch Dark in a soft gaze, but Dark never once turn his head to Link as he stared madly across the way at the officers.
"No, that's all right, Mr. Link, I can understand that hearing that phone call may be difficult. We can fast forward to a few moments before you were disconnected. Would this be okay, then?"
"Fine…" Dark answered rather begrudgingly.
As Inspector Gaebora leaned over in his seat, pulling out his recorder from a side pocket in his pants, Link rested his knuckles against Dark's thigh and he brushed his thumb empathetically right above Dark's knee. Dark nudged Link right back. Neither of them really wanted to hear this recording right now.
"All right, this will only play for a few seconds, so give it a close listen," Inspector Gaebora warned gently, his eyes cautiously glancing over the boys first.
They nodded in unison, although Dark looked much more panicked, not ready at all to hear his own voice again.
The recording crackled a little, but indeed started in the middle of strangled sentence spoken by Dark himself. This time though, it was the first time that Link got to hear the dispatcher speaking to Dark as well.
"—don't know the a-address, oh God…"
"Dark, that's all right, okay? Is there any clear descriptions you can give of the house?"
"I c-can't."
Dark sounded so panicked and horrified here, it quickly reminded Link of exactly what was happening right then. The tears just started pouring down Dark's face, as if he had lost everything, and Link was trying to comfort him, but all Dark managed in response was to turn away.
This time, in the police station, Dark turned right to Link, eyes watering and fingers shakily grasping Link's hand pressed to his thigh under the table. Link released his fingers from the fist they were once held in and rested his hand on top of Dark's hand, hopefully exuding all the comfort in the world right then.
"Sure you can, Dark! Anything, like size, a roof or windows—"
"The house is all made of glass."
"That's great, Dark. We're familiar with that property. Thank you, we'll send out help as soon as we can."
"Okay."
It was scary to hear how dead Dark had sounded, how flippantly he had been answering these questions, especially when comparing the voice of the calm dispatcher to Dark's own. At the time, Link was worried, but now he could feel the scorching tension of the moment outside of the moment itself. The longer Dark and Link held hands, the more they sweat together under the table.
"Hey, now, Dark, you need to stay with me for as long as you can. Can you stay with me here?"
"On the phone? I'm not sure I—"
And from that moment on, both Link and Dark knew that Dark's father interrupted Dark on the phone by shouting outside of the door. The recorder, however, caught just a loud scratching noise, which was Zaden's muddled voice snapping angrily in the background. Only the sounds of "faggot," "son," "bitch," and "motherfuckers!" were recorded at a volume recognizable as real words.
It was after this that Dark dropped the phone, the line cutting out.
Inspector Gaebora clicked a button on the side of the recorder and stopped the recording. He then asked, "Up until that point, that's all we got from the call. Was that indeed you calling, Mr. Link, and can you confirm for us what really happened here?"
"Yeah, it was me," Dark muttered pretty strongly at first. But his tone faltered when he answered Gaebora's second question, "M-my father… he found us."
Link noticed that Dark wasn't even trying to explain anymore, so he opened his mouth swiftly, adding, "Dark stopped speaking aloud the moment his dad slammed on the door a couple of times. Then he yelled at the two of us, you could hear some of what he said… He screamed for Dark…" Link's voice trailed off, laced in disgust, but then realized that he had to continue, "That was when Dark dropped my phone."
"So it broke?" Inspector Gaebora asked.
"Well, it was a crappy flip phone, so yeah," Link answered with a shrug. "I heard the screen split and saw the damage done. I remember thinking there was no way to salvage it."
"And after this?"
"Dark's dad was still screaming. I don't remember what he was saying."
"That's when we saw the knife come through the door though," Dark interrupted bitterly. "I went to protect Link—"
"But I knew Dark's dad wanted Dark, so I wouldn't let him," Link bit back, smiling crookedly. "I moved in front of him. That's when he knocked the door right off the hinges. The door fell flat to the floor and Dark's father was just… standing there. Staring at us." He paused and swallowed. "He… he was covered in glass from the front door. My arm was back on Dark's chest."
Link froze again at hearing a sharp inhale from Dark at his side.
"He said, 'It's you.' It's because he thought I was my father." After Link said this, he was quick on his feet. He knew the officers were going to ask how and why that was possible. "I would prefer not to go into detail about their previous engagement now, but I could talk about it after, of course."
Detective Impa wrote this down and both Link and Dark saw her circle it as well. Inspector Gaebora merely hummed in reply.
"Anyway, I told him he mistook me for my own father and he said he didn't care who I was and demanded Dark back anyway. He said that Dark was… his."
Detective Impa wrote this down too. Dark pressed his knee right back against Link's under the table.
"I tried to scare him, I wanted him to leave Dark alone. I told him I knew everything about his life, everything bad he ever did. I told him to back off and that we didn't need to fight. I even said that the only person Dark belonged to was himself.
"I remember he swore back at me, told me I knew 'fuck all.' He suggested that Dark wanted to go with him and that he could never want to leave his own father. I felt at this point that things started… changing in the room. We were really scared. I don't blame Dark at all, either, I knew he wanted to keep us safe, but Dark whispered to me… that-that he should go. He was saying something about me right after… it's kind of where I snapped."
"What do you mean?" Inspector Gaebora inquired swiftly, raising a cautious eyebrow.
"I just knew I wasn't going to listen to what anyone had to say," Link simply replied. "I told Dark that he had to stay for his own safety and I told him he had no idea what his father would do if he left with him. I was telling Dark that this had to stop and that's when I turned back to Mr. Link and basically just told him how it is. I said it was all over, I asked him to put the knife down, and I told him that Dark would never return with him. We'd get Dark's stuff and leave."
Detective Impa's pen was flying across the pages. With an effortless flick of the wrist, she flipped the page over and continued writing as if the ink never left the page.
"I can see now that there is more of a back story here, boys," Inspector Gaebora interrupted surely.
Link eyed Inspector Gaebora across the table and pressed his lips together. Simply, he replied with a short, "There is."
"We've only called you here for a statement of the events that transpired on June the twenty-third, so we will remain on topic for now. However, it would be beneficial for our notes to collect everything we can about this case. It can help later on when you find yourselves in court. If we could ask you at another time?"
Dark cut in sharply, "That's fine with us."
Link was nodding, his brow furrowed.
"All right, you may continue," Detective Impa said.
Link cleared his throat and readjusted himself in his seat, although he made sure to maintain the touch Dark and Link had with knee against knee. He continued, but lower now, "This… this is when everything basically… started. He ran right at us, just screaming. H-his knife was up. That's when I pushed Dark out of the way, onto the bed. And he tackled me to the ground.
"I couldn't breathe. Under his weight, it felt like he crushed my lungs when we landed on the floor. Um… and then he cut me… here. The first time."
"Where?" Inspector Gaebora pressed.
Link stitched his brow together. It wasn't any of the absolutely horrible wounds, he remembered, because the first time he felt the blade against his skin it was a slash, not a stab. It didn't hurt nowhere near as much as the stab wounds had. Wearily, he pointed with his left hand up at his right shoulder. The recorder, once again, didn't record this action, so he whispered, "Right here. Above my collar bone, my right shoulder."
Detective Impa scratched this down.
"I guessed then that he wanted to kill me. I was trying to fight for my life… so I punched him in the mouth. He sort of fell back, like on my right side, closest to the bed. That's when I noticed Dark on the bed still, frozen to the spot. I think I yelled at him then, I can't remember, but I think I told him to leave or run."
"You did," Dark cut in thickly.
At his tone of voice, Link looked right to Dark then and saw the tears pooled in his red eyes. Link literally felt his throat seize up and his eyes immediately watered too. The officers were patient and waited silently while Link cleared his throat, dropped his head, and nonchalantly pressed his knee even harder against Dark's knee.
"I didn't move though," Dark stated, continuing for Link. He sniffled and shook his head madly. "Link was getting up even then. It was unbelievable. He was standing there with… with blood running down the front of his jacket. He said that he was going to fight only because he h-had to. He d-didn't…" Angrily, a tear did fall from Dark's eye at this and he clenched his teeth, brushing away at his cheek. "He didn't have to. He could have left. So, I knew I was going to stay. To protect him too. I was thinking I could hit my dad with something, maybe to distract him."
Link somehow kept on, but his voice was certainly never stronger like it had been before. He said, "I kicked Dark's father and I heard him groan, and that's when I remember stepping back, but his father grabbed me by the ankle and dragged me down to the floor again."
"Sorry to interrupt," Dark said, "but I don't think Link was really paying attention to me here because he couldn't but this is when I got up to look for anything heavy in the room. To hit my dad. I was searched under the bed and in the bedside table. Found a book in the bedside table."
Link didn't know this, not until now. He had always wondered how Dark found the book. He remembered that Dark hitting his own father on the head literally stopped the assault from turning into a murder. If Dark hadn't mustered the courage to search and attack, Link would have died.
Link immediately choked out the smallest, "Thank you."
And Dark was teary eyed again, looking back at Link with such a beautiful, broken smile. He was swift in his response as well when he muttered back, "Oh, love, you don't have to."
"W-well, I didn't know. You stayed for me."
"Of course I would," Dark said passionately and he even reached out to Link, pressing a comforting hand to Link's collarbone.
So enamoured with one another now, Detective Impa had to clear her throat to regain their attention.
Both teenagers, wide eyed, spun on their seats and faced the officers yet again.
"Oh, right," Link murmured, shaking his head. "Anyway, he, ah, Dark's father moved right over top of me and pinned me to the floor. He yelled at me, saying that there was no way I could take his son from him. Then he… he stabbed me. He stabbed me."
Link's vision faded out of focus from the officers to the wall right above them. Dark's hand suddenly reached forward and held Link's hand under the table grounding him to the last string of reality Link could remember.
"Once?" Inspector Gaebora implored.
"A-at this point, yes."
"Where?"
Link, feeling faint, pressed his hand near the middle of his midsection, the lowest stab wound. "Below my ribcage. A little above the centre of my stomach."
"Your response?"
Link could feel the blood running up his throat, spilling out from his cracked lips. His hands shot up, scrambling, pressing his fingers as hard as he could against Zaden Link's thick throat.
"I was trying to push him… away. I remember… grabbing his neck. But, he stabbed me, again… higher, this time… in my abdomen. He… um, hit my ribcage too, it splintered. And pierced my lung. Oh, Goddesses… all I could taste was blood. I-it wouldn't stop.
"And, out of nowhere, I saw his face go blank and he collapsed beside me. I hadn't realized at first that it was Dark who had hit him in the back of his head. That's when I saw Dark standing above us with the bloodied book in his hand. He saved my life. I couldn't even breathe, but I needed to thank him, so I reached u-up to him…
"I wanted to tell him he saved me and all I could manage was saying 'You…' before coughing. I was crying, I was so happy… Dark was okay. He was all right. He was all right and I knew he was safe, that's all that mattered," Link finished thickly, eyes brimming with tears and he swished his head in Dark's direction, his tears falling at this motion. When his gaze met Dark's, it was then that he realized that Dark had already been crying too. Link had no idea for how long. He needed to touch him; Link's hands shot forward, taking both of Dark's into his own, and he made sure to even angle Dark right towards him with a small tug. Dark looked so small in this moment but he squeezed Link's hands back anyway. Link's sniffled and smiled sadly before he continued, "I-it's… it's a-all right. It's all right now."
"I-I know," Dark barked back through a melancholic laughter. "But, Link, I didn't save you, it was the emergency people, y'know, a-and the—"
Link honestly grinned through his tears and shook his head madly, pulling Dark's hands closer to himself. This had Dark lean forward in his chair, eyes watery yet but mouth parted in absolute wonder at Link's bright face. Link even snorted, holding back his laughter.
"Dark, it's just not true! He was going to kill me!" Link was still smiling very genuinely and the expression looked odd as he spoke such harsh words. Dark blinked rapidly. "Dark, you saved me! He was going to keep hurting me no matter what happened! You stopped him!"
"I… did?"
"You did!"
Just then, Inspector Gaebora loudly cleared his throat. Link and Dark looked right back to him yet again and recalled then that the interview was still being conducted. Shamefully so, Link curled his hands away from Dark's hands. Neither officer look annoyed by Link and Dark taking up their time, but rather enthralled instead, Inspector Gaebora's eyes glistening and Detective Impa smiling a little crookedly.
"Both of you are incredible young men," Inspector Gaebora procured passionately. "To have protected one another so selflessly in the face of death is not something that easily transpires between two people any age. In no way do I mean to impede on your current state of happiness, but the sooner you've completed this interview, the faster you can continue to heal overall. Would you agree with me on this?"
Link cleared his throat, narrowed his eyes in forward determination, and nodded firmly. "Yes, Inspector Gaebora, I do. You're right. I'll continue. Then… after I called to Dark, he told me that I didn't have to speak. He kneeled beside me, saying 'Oh my God,' I remember. Dark took the knife out of me, and it hurt, so I tried to hide away from him, but he held me still. His hands were so… warm. Dark spoke again, to himself: 'Goddesses.' This is where I become a little more disoriented.
"I was getting cold. Dark ripped my clothes open and started tearing off material from my shirt. I didn't understand what exactly was going on at that point, but there is a reason why I knew when he was attending to my wounds soon enough. But, anyway, um, I was… I was trembling, I was so, so cold. I couldn't stop coughing, I could feel the blood spraying from my mouth. I was sweating everywhere and couldn't open my eyes, but it was Dark who brought me back to reality. He pressed the cloth he collected from my shirt against the wounds on my chest. It… it hurt so much. The pressure—that's when I knew Dark was trying to stop the bleeding."
"That's when he started screaming in pain, too," Dark hoarsely added. "It w-was horrible. He was telling me to stop, but I knew I couldn't. I told him he had to stay with me at least until you all got there. I was covered in blood…
"And then through everything, Link was smiling. Before this year we were literally enemies and after all of it, there he was, telling me that from the beginning he never wanted to fight me, but he said he didn't mind fighting for me now." Dark inhaled sharply at this comment and brushed his fists swiftly over his wet eyes. "I-i-it sounded too finalized for me, so I told him to keep his eyes open and keep talking to me. I tapped Link's face and that's when he opened his eyes and told me he couldn't do it. And that there was… so much blood. I don't even think Link was breathing at this point, he just kept gasping for air… and h-he said m-my name…" Dark had to cover his face now, shaking his head madly. "He died. He died."
"Is that when we arrived?"
Dark was nodding into his hands, trying to hold back the wracking sobs trying to vibrate through his body.
"Is that all right that we've said you confirm this?" Detective Impa jumped in, voice careful.
Dark nodded beneath his hands yet again. Link even answered with a gentle, "Yes."
"All right." And she wrote that down.
Link pressed his hand along Dark's back and rubbed rhythmically, trying his best to comfort him.
"Mr. Avalon, everything that Mr. Link has recollected in the last few moments, is that correct?"
Confounded, Link's mouth parted. His brow even pressed together. "Well, I can't really attest to that because I don't really remember much near the…" And Link then paused, but for a painfully long time. His gaze flickered between the officers. He finally finished by saying, "… end."
At hearing the way Link's voice sounded, so defeated in recalling that moment, tears gushed from Dark's eyes. Luckily, he had already been covering his face, so he sniffled against the palms of his hands. Dark remembered… he thought it was all over, too. Link was definitely gone, Dark saw the last breath of air escape Link's lungs. He was still. How had it gotten to this point…?
Dark's melancholic and hunched form worried Link. He never once saw Dark this overwhelmed before. Link was subtle, but he was certain he could get Dark's attention with his touch. He raised his hand from the centre of Dark's back to press up against the nape of his neck, fingers curling comfortably against Dark's skin. Thankfully, Link felt Dark relax, even just a little.
Within a few moments Dark sat up, brushing at his face again and sniffling plenty, but his eyes were right away set strong upon the officers despite his previous demeanor. Link's thumb brushed with careful flicks along Dark's skin and Dark could breathe again. He angled his head towards Link now and smiled a little, bashfully so, finally dropping his direct gaze.
"Well, look. Simply put, I can plainly see here that that was not the end for either of you. You are survivors now, but not for long, as you will heal and will once again become the greatest forgers of your own paths that lie ahead. All you need is some time. Don't worry any longer, we of course will maintain your dad's imprisonment this time, Mr. Link."
Dark's mouth parted and furrowed at that, but allowed the Inspector to continue.
"For now, I can confirm that we have all the information we need at this current time. This concludes the recording."
Inspector Gaebora leaned forward and clicked off the recorder. Detective Impa scooped up the recorder swiftly, sliding it back into her pocket like before. Link then removed his hand from Dark's neck and moved up in his chair, folding his hands together in his lap, but Dark slumped back in his seat instead, head lolling on his shoulders as he let out an exhausted sigh.
"So, what did you mean that you'd keep Dark's dad in jail this time? What happened last time?" Link inquired carefully.
Dark's eyelids flicked opened and he looked over to Link quickly. That's exactly what he had been meaning to ask.
Inspector Gaebora sighed in obvious frustration. He answered, although it seemed reluctantly so, "Unfortunately, boys, I must let you know that there was a jailbreak that Sunday. Your father was one of the men that fled with the first perpetrators. We expect that your father, Dark, could have been working with them closely."
"Asshole! Always up to something. He had to have been in on it, or at least knew about their plans!" Dark cursed madly. He clenched his fists, knuckles white.
"And then he came straight for you?" Inspector Gaebora asked with a careful tone.
"Must have. Doesn't surprise me," Dark shot back shortly.
"Hmm. How do you think that your father figured out your whereabouts on that specific Sunday morning?"
"He probably went home first," Dark suggested, because he did really think about this response. "That's where I was usually found until I've been living with Link recently. I don't remember telling him when prom was or anything, but he checks all my stuff. He knows my laptop password too. And I know for a fact that I forgot to log out of Facebook. He would have seen Zelda's event on my account."
"Well, Mr. Link, that gives us plenty of leads to figure out the rest of this case as soon as possible. Would we be able to enter your premises soon in order to conduct more searches?"
"Sure, we can set up a time," said Dark. "I'll make sure to be home."
"Good. Now, would you boys mind quickly clarifying about the first time your fathers interacted? What happened there?"
"That's why Dark's dad was in jail in the first place," Link answered right away, nodding across the way at the officers. "Dark's dad attacked Dark in public… again. Or for the first time, I guess. Anyway, at the same time, my dad was coming home from work. He saw Dark's dad attacking Dark on the street so my dad protected Dark and fought for him until someone called for the police. The rest… you would know."
"It seems that danger follows that man everywhere," Detective Impa growled fiercely, her eyes flashing in visible malice.
In disgust, Dark scrunched his nose up and mercilessly agreed, "That's an understatement."
"I wouldn't worry about him anymore," Inspector Gaebora merely replied. He seemed unbothered, shoulders lax and gaze moving about the room in disinterest. "Zaden Link's years of freedom are over. Based off of his jailbreak, the statement you've provided, and the evidence found at the Harkinian household, your story lines up. We should have no problem committing him."
"So won't there be a trial?" Link asked right back, sitting forward in his seat.
"Yes, there most likely will be," Inspector Gaebora said and he looked between both Dark and Link equally. "It depends on your father's response, Mr. Link. However, it should not be a problem for a jury to see what you both have gone through."
"Good," Link said softly, collapsing back in his seat and a tiny smile fell on his lips.
Dark visibly relaxed and exhaled in relief, also sitting back in his seat again.
"And, Mr. Link, any time this week would be all right to stop by? How about some time Monday in the afternoon?"
Dark blinked, but then realized he was done school for good and he had no plans yet for this summer, so this was fine. He nodded carefully. "Sure."
"Have you been home yet since the day of the accident?"
Dark found that question off, but answered anyway, nodding again. "Yeah, sorry, but only to get some clothes. I didn't touch anything else, my laptop is still exactly where I left it since before prom."
"Preferably, if you don't touch anything else until then, we would appreciate it. It will allow us to hopefully see exactly what your father did on the morning of."
"Yeah, I'll just stay at Link's until then."
"Sounds good, boys," Detective Impa chimed in. "It seems we have all we need for now. Mr. Link, we will be seeing you tomorrow."
She stood and Inspector Gaebora followed right afterwards. The teenagers took their cue to stand as well.
"Thanks… um, for taking the time to look over our case," Dark said awkwardly and he threw out a lame hand over the table, hoping for some kind of handshake.
Inspector Gaebora leaned forward right away and took Dark's hand into his own, shaking firmly. Detective Impa shook Dark's hand after and then both officers took Link's hand as well.
"We will reconvene tomorrow, Mr. Link," Inspector Gaebora confirmed with a firm nod. "Mr. Avalon, I wish you the best in your time of recovery."
"Thank you," Link answered softly, bowing his head in respect.
It was then that the four of them moved from the room, the officers leading the way back to the front room for both of the teens. Inspector Gaebora and Detective Impa said good-bye one last time before Link and Dark escaped outside, so relieved to be done reliving the worst parts of last week.
Link leaned right into Dark as the glass doors closed behind them and Dark brought his arms around Link, moving right in front of him.
"Hey, love, are you all right?"
"Yeah, just a bit tired. I can't believe we got out of there in one piece."
"I'm exhausted too. I don't even understand what's going on for a lot of this case. I still have so many questions."
"What are you thinking?" Link asked gently, cocking his head in concern.
"Like, if I'm gonna owe Zelda money, for one. It… it wasn't my fault her place was trashed. And why I wasn't called here along with you in the first place. Your dad wasn't even sure if I could come! And, Link, this sort of scares the shit out of me, but if my dad's going to jail, where will I even live? I… I can't take care—"
"Dark, Dark!" Link suddenly interrupted, grasping back onto Dark's arms as well. Link glanced over behind him and saw a bench sitting before some shrubbery in front of the station. He started directing Dark over to the bench and the two of them sat down together. "Dark, you don't have to worry about any of these things by yourself! Don't even think about Zelda's house! If anything, I bet that their insurance would cover an incident like that. Also, you are your father's son… maybe they thought asking you to come was a breach of my confidentiality because I was the one physically attacked? Or maybe they thought you were on his side that day… and they could have wanted to interview me first before they got a hold of you. And, Dark, you don't have to think that far in the future… don't you plan on going away for school?"
"Yeah…?" Dark answered warily, raising a speculative brow at this.
"Well, you'll have to live somewhere else, anyway, right?"
Link did have a point. Lowly, he muttered, "… right."
"So, you don't have to worry about taking care of the house on your own just yet. I can help, even my parents could help!"
Weary yet, Dark looked upon Link's determined expression with careful caution.
"Dark," Link lowered his voice, sternly, and he reached up, grasping onto both sides of Dark's face.
Dark turned into a pile of feelings under Link's hold. Without warrant, his mouth curled up into a pleasant smile. He tilted his head in Link's hands and responded with a smooth, "Yes?"
"Try not to worry too much, okay? Remember, we're in this together." And after this, Link lowered his hands from Dark's face and held out one to Dark. "Let's go home."
Dark paused, looking cautiously from Link's face to his hand a couple of times, but once he actually reached for it, his hand fit perfectly in Link's palm. Link rose as Dark felt his hand raise in Link's too. It was Link who helped Dark up, again, even though Link was still the one that was hurt.
Upon realizing this, Dark looked at Link, amazed.
Dark stopped following Link's lead abruptly and Link paused, too, turning and looking back at Dark questionably.
"What?"
"I'm sorry, I just can't believe how much of a idiot I've been to you since the beginning. It's just that you're pretty... cool," Dark finished lamely, dropping his head to hide his burning cheeks.
Link smiled crookedly and brought his hand from Dark's so he could cross his arms, a little proud. "Thanks, Dark. I don't really try to be cool, so maybe that's what makes me so cool."
Careful to not hurt Link, Dark shoved Link's shoulder gently, smirking. He pushed by Link and continued heading to his vehicle, glancing back over his shoulder in amusement. "Yeah, whatever! Let's not forget your car before we go home, cool guy."
"Oh, right!" Link huffed in agreement, sounding suddenly flustered.
And careful not to hurt himself, Link rushed up behind Dark gingerly and slowed down when reaching his side. Without pause, he linked a couple of cautious fingers into Dark's hand and he flushed. Dark squeezed back at the inviting warmth, the moment skin touched upon skin, clinging onto Link's hand too.
They held onto each other until they couldn't any longer, but this time it wasn't hard to let go.
When their hands slipped from one another, for some reason, they smiled harder.
Review Replies to…
PoesLittleBlackBird: Holy crap that must have really been a long while ago! I remember writing that at least three or four summers ago! Time is flying, that's for sure! I totally understand why you only read finished fics, that makes for fluidity and less anxiety for the reader waiting, which makes total sense! I really wish I could write that far in advance to actually have my fics done when I'm uploading them! Well, hopefully you'll be interested in finishing soon because next chapter will be the last one! ;) But omg thank you so much for the compliments, I'm glad you like what I've added since then! Thanks for reading. :D
Holly M: Wooo, glad I could be of service (over eight months ago now, HAHAHA)! Anyway, no worries for being late, I'm always late with updating so I guess we're even in that respect! But omggg plz sleep, I hope I did not deprive you of your daily activities that day or else you must be a late sleeper like me then! Anyway, I hope you like this new update as much as the others! :)