-8-
Ahh, sweet nostalgia. I found the good old Super Mario Super Show episodes on yahooligans and I've been watching them ever since. When I was a kid I loved that show. And I still do. I'm so naïve. More about me and stuff you can find on my web page (the address is on my stupid profile).
Anyway, it's time for some happy news! I have finally, after two months' work, finished the scrabble of the special Smash File! Personally I think it's the best Smash File and also closest to the X-files. I think I'll be able to publish it on time (26th June) and if I'm fast I'll publish it earlier!
EPISODE 08: Restless Part 03 Rainy on My Wedding Day
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Link was going through the murder scene, picking up the screwdriver into a plastic bag for the laboratory, knowing that they wouldn't find any fingerprints anyway when his phone rang maliciously in his pocket.
It had been a long day, full of sleety rain here and there. It didn't bother Link because the rain only washed away the blood that had spilled on the ground, reminding him constantly of the victim with a screwdriver in his head. The reddish water flowing down the drain was like from a horror movie, like the murderer was washing his hands to show them they would never catch him, not red-handed. The clouds were hanging heavily just above the ground, their cottony figures swollen with all the water they contained. Later on it would rain heavily.
He took off his gloves he had to wear not to leave fingerprints anywhere looking for the cell phone in his pockets. It was awfully quiet. The only sound came from his partner. Chill was somewhere in the distance, talking with a few police officers, his angry tone of voice sometimes reaching Link's ears.
The phone was found and he answered it, hoping that the reason why Roy would call him wouldn't be strictly work.
"Hello?" He said.
As Roy spoke, his voice sounded extremely confused. The tone of his voice didn't jump from one edge to another; that was what made it so strange. His voice was everything at once. He was delirious and he was devastated at the same time, tears of both joy and sorrow flowing down his cheeks. With a lot of effort he managed to say one coherent sentence: "Young Link's… finally awake."
The same moment Roy uttered those words the clouds snapped, pouring down massive amounts of water. In less than a second Link was soaking wet, the nearly warm water gluing his clothes to his skin. Thanks to the water he recovered immediately from the shock. He tucked the cell phone back to his pocket, running towards their car, hoping that Chill was waiting for him there.
The silver-topped boy was there, trying to hide from the rain under a big umbrella. It didn't work. It had started to rain so suddenly that Chill had got wet, and even having his umbrella didn't help; it rained so hard it had broken it like a straw.
Link opened the doors, getting into the car where the rain couldn't wet them any longer. Chill sat down next to him and as he closed the door the sound of water, like a waterfall, became distant. He looked out of the window beaten by the large raindrops, his short silvery bangs clued to his face, his milky white skin looking even paler in the greyish light coming from outside. He touched the cold glass, ascertaining almost absent-mindedly:
"It's raining cats and dogs out there."
Link started the car, noticing that he could barely see the bonnet. "And completely unexpectedly."
"It's been drizzling all day." Chill remarked frankly, as usual. "It's no use staying here now that it's raining so hard. We should head back to the office and do some of the paper work that's piled on us."
Link hesitated before he said: "I heard some news from the hospital… I'll leave you at the office, but I'll have to go see the boy."
"He woke up, right?" Chill asked.
"Yeah…" Link answered as he began to drive very carefully. He was feeling exactly like Roy, confused with all the feelings flowing through him. His guts were in a knot of excitement, in just a few minutes he would know if the car crash had paralysed the boy or erased his memory or whatever. A part of him wanted to drive as fast as he could, ignore the red lights, but the other part of him was reluctant to go to the hospital at all because there he would get to know what had happened.
He obediently stopped at the red light, sighing.
Meanwhile in the hospital Roan was still holding Young Link, wondering what was wrong. He hadn't been able to make Young Link tell him what had happened, what was so shocking that he had started to cry. He was so confused. He had thought the boy would be happy to wake up, happy that he had survived a car crash, but he had only burst to tears. He just held the tiny elf, unable to tell if he had wanted to die or if something horrible had happened to him. Maybe his feet were paralysed? Maybe he was in such pain he had to cry to ease it.
"Young Link… what… what's wrong?" He asked finally, growing too anxious to hold the question back any longer.
The young elf drew a few quick breaths, trying to pull himself back to one piece. Roan glanced into his eyes briefly, the tears flooding out of his eyes, those eyes that did not look at anyone or anything.
Young Link tried to calm down as he said: "I'm blind!"
With a gasp Roan realised it. Young Link had heard and felt, but hadn't been able to see. He had felt the soft fabric of the hospital bed, Roan's warm hug, heard the rain whipping the window with large raindrops, his friend's soothing tone of voice. But he hadn't seen the colour of the walls of the hospital room, the window stained with the raindrops, the worried expression of his friend's face, the bruises on his body… It felt like he had lost everything. His sight was the most important thing to him. Losing it meant losing so much: the ability to read, the ability to walk alone and play games. He wailed again, pressing closer to Roan.
"Young Link, don't cry…" Roan said softly, patting his back. He knew his words had probably no effect on the elf, but it was the only thing he could do. He felt so useless; there was nothing better he could do for the boy he loved so much. Young Link was blind, he had lost his sight and it would never return. He drew a deep breath to calm down and whispered the only thought in his mind to his ear: "Let…Let me be your eyes."
Young Link looked through him with teary eyeless eyes. For a while he looked so pained, as if he was going to fall apart into millions of tiny pieces too hard to put into one piece again. Like a beautiful porcelain doll. "But… it doesn't help me at all!"
Roan pressed his forehead against his, grabbing his shoulders tightly. "I promise! I'll do my best!"
Both of them turned to look at the door as someone opened it quickly, rushing in. Young Link couldn't see, but he heard the sound and instinctively tried to see who had arrived. He wanted to cry again when he didn't see anything; only the darkness spread everywhere around him.
"Young Link! Your eyes!" The tiny elf heard Roy say. There was a slap as if he had covered his mouth after saying that.
Young Link turned his face down, feeling how Roan pulled him closer again. Wanting to be comforted he leaned into his hug, hearing how Roy walked closer. The steps stopped next to his bed, the mild scent of Roy floating to his nostrils. It almost surprised him how manly Roy smelt for his soft appearance because he had never before noticed what kind of a scent the redhead wore. He hadn't needed to before. Now that his most important sense was gone he needed to know what the redhead smelt like, what he felt like, what he sounded like.
He could imagine the redhead's expression very lively in front of him, so lively he almost believed he could actually see. He felt so happy to be able of remembering what Roy looked like and connecting it to his voice, but he also knew that he would never know for sure what kind of an expression he had. His image of Roy would never change. He would stay forever young in his mind. Maybe it was even better that way; maybe the redhead wanted him to remember him like that.
"Young Link…" Roy said, still in a shock. He couldn't accept Young Link's blindness so easily. It seemed impossible. He was so young and full of life; he couldn't lose something as vital as his sight. He was not even an adult yet, lost his sight forever. He would never be able to live normally again; he would never be able to be independent. The redhead placed his hand on Young Link's back, the boy turning to hug him as well, only crying more. The cruelty of life had hurt him when he was still nothing but a boy and it had hit him hard. He would need all the comfort and consolation there was to get used to his blindness, accept it, learn to live with it. Learn that losing one sense didn't mean the end of the world.
"Young Link…" He said painfully, thinking of something to say. "If I could… I would take your blindness and give you my sight."
The boy held onto him like a burr, only tightening his grip as he cried. He was clearly sure he was going to die; he was going to be left behind or alone in the dark when everyone else would continue living on. Roy drew a few calming circles on his back as he hugged him, trying to tell him he had people who cared about him and would never abandon him. No matter how difficult the next few months would be, how frustrating it would be to learn to trust his other senses, how annoying it would be to hear others laughing at pictures… he would always have someone to hold him standing if his tiny legs gave in.
Link ran into the room, happiness on his face. He was almost shining, but at the same time an almost visible storm cloud shadowed his eyes. He knew something was wrong; he just hadn't wanted to believe it. When he saw Young Link's eyes, he almost crumbled to the floor. He took a hold of the wall staring into the empty eyes, into their cloy darkness. His eyes flooded, but he was able of holding back his tears. Roy tried to smile encouragingly to him, knowing how badly he blamed himself for Young Link's accident, but his smile had no effect. It was like a butterfly in the rain, a struggling spot of colour being crushed under the sharp raindrops. His smile, like the butterfly, died in seconds.
Before Link's legs gave in Roy ran to him and hugged him, comforting him the best he could. He didn't know any other way, he was lost as well, his heart was beating fast and his mind was in a mess, he felt guilty for not being able to give Young Link his eyes. Because of that he knew Link blamed himself for the small elf's blindness, he blamed himself twice as much as anyone. Roy whispered comforting words to his long ears, sometimes Link pressed him so tightly against himself that Roy felt like he was suffocating, but he didn't care. If touching him made Link feel better he wouldn't care if it hurt. Just as long as his beloved elf was happy.
"Link, could we talk in the corridor for a while?" Roy asked with a whisper into his ear. He was going to tell Link about his feelings and he would do it now. That if anything would make Link's day. He just needed to force the three words out of his mouth, give them to Link. It sounded so simple, but… it was so extremely hard.
With one deep breath Link was in one piece again knowing that if someone or something disturbed his fragile mind now he would go crazy, he would go mad with delirium, laugh and laugh at the misfortune of others. "…Sure", he answered, trying not to wonder about his crazy trail of thought as he let go of the redhead and walked past him to the corridor. He had no idea what Roy had to talk about. Was he going to comfort him with yet another kiss? Would he hug him gently, invite him over for a cup of coffee? Would he forget Peach, forget his child and give himself to him, love him like nothing else? He sighed. It would never happen.
In the corridor Link took Roy back into his arms, feeling him close made him feel so much calmer, remember the night they had spent in the tiny apartment of Cosworth Street 217 under the brown ominous sky. Back then they had been so happy, the only problems had been Roy's homophobia, something that would be overcome by time. Now the troubles had been squared. Link felt like he had lost control a long time ago, lost the true will to live when he had lost his redhead.
Roy glanced at him quickly as if he was waiting for a good moment, swallowing nervously. "Link… I just want you to know something… b-before I get married. It took me so long to realise it and… I just… need you to know that… I… I'm in… I lo-"
"Is he all right?" Chill appeared next to Link, looking at the redhead with murderous eyes. The gaze of those light blue, icy eyes was freezing enough without the mad, destructive glint in them. Maybe Chill was short, maybe it was easy to look down on him, but from his eyes the redhead could see that if someone crossed his path they would regret it. Roy jerked away from Link, wiping his face with his hand, trying to hide his blush by looking at his feet. Of course he looked laughable, but he couldn't help the red rising on his face.
Link looked at Roy when he answered to Chill. "…He's… blind."
"Can I go see him?" The silvery-topped boy asked almost cheerfully. He had timed himself perfectly.
"…Sure, Roy just had… something to talk to me about… We'll be right there." The elf managed to sound rather normal. At times his voice quivered, but he was in control of himself again.
Roy sighed as he followed Chill into the hospital room. "It's all right. Never mind."
They all spoke with Young Link after that, trying to make him feel better, but Roy noticed that the only one who could actually calm him down whenever he burst to tears was Roan. Young Link would keep on hiccupping and wailing when the boy was in the bathroom or something, but the instant he got into Roan's arms he calmed down, only sobbing and sniffling. Roy couldn't say what it was the tiny elf found in Roan's arms, was it either the company of someone of the same age, the presence of someone with the same kind of a mind or the touch of a very close friend but in the end only Young Link's recovery would matter. If no doctor could help him someone would have to; someone of his own age and sharing the same thoughts. Who could be better than Roan?
Chill's phone rang, the tune of NYPD Blue breaking the silent atmosphere in the room. It sounded like an alarm clock in the morning or like the bells of churches after a King or Queen's death, only making the atmosphere even tenser. The silver-haired boy apologised quickly, running out of the room to answer it. After a while he returned as quietly as he could, ascertaining: "There's been another murder."
"…Where?" Link asked absent-mindedly, sitting on the end of Young Link's bed, holding him and Roan in his hug.
"In the southern colliery." Chill said. "And I figured out the clue. It was a line of mathematic equations, each time on the departing trains was a division to get a letter in the alphabets and the time in the arriving trains meant when, only …he's early." The boy said as he checked his watch.
"I never even saw the clue!" Link said, Roy quietly agreeing with him as he glared at Chill.
"I didn't even get to think about it properly." Chill said, rubbing his chin. "The murderer is obviously escalating."
Roy snorted, turning to look out of the window into the rainy afternoon. "Every murderer escalates once they get away with murder. This means he has been killing already ten years ago."
Chill nodded without answering. He wasn't going to talk to Roy. To him Roy was non-existent.
"Why is that?" Link asked.
The redhead turned around, leaning against the cold glass. "A murder gets old after ten years of investigation and the charges are dropped."
"Chill, could you hand Roy the clues?" The elf asked. "Maybe you can figure out what kind of a guy he is."
Chill took the clues from his pocket obediently, just like the elf has asked. When he was about to hand them to Roy he dropped them to the floor, smiling devilishly. "Oops."
Roy took a deep breath not to lift the boy from his throat and throwing him out of the window. He had to remain calm; he had to be the one who was above it all. He was not going to lower himself to Chill's level; if he began to play with his rules he would surely lose. Instead he just obediently picked up the clues, trying to act as calm as he could. From his trembling hand Chill could see he had succeeded in annoying him to the point of boiling.
Roy read the clues, frowning a little. They were very different from each other, some of them containing texts cut off from newspapers, the others full of pictures. As he looked at them he could see only one thing for certain:
"The murderer has obviously university education, I'd say he's an engineer. Also very close to kids, maybe he has a child of his own. How were the victims…?" Roy asked.
"…The other was decapitated and the other had a screwdriver in his head. What about the other murders?" Link asked from Chill.
"As aggressive as those two." The silver-topped boy said sourly.
"Maybe he's trying to release people from pain. At least it looks like it from this first clue. He may feel guilty about something and he's trying to comfort himself by 'letting' others out of their misery. Maybe he has to hold back his aggressive nature at work and home, but he can't always do that. He could also have a bad ADHD and he may not have got the medical attention it needs."
"In other words, he's a whacko." Chill ascertained. The redhead had not given him anything knew, worth of thinking about. He had used the words 'maybe' and 'I think', making it easy for him to take it all back if he was wrong. Chill snorted. Psychologists were all just a bunch of swindlers.
"Well, objectively." Roy agreed, clenching the papers in his hand. "Every whacko, however, is different." He remarked sharply. Chill was trying to make his profession look laughable.
"Hm. I see." Chill said icily, not even bothering to look at Roy.
"I'll go to the headquarters and search through all the 10-year-old cases." Roy said, half giving up. He was going to marry Peach anyway, why was he even trying to fight over Link with Chill? It was useless. Chill was going to take the elf from him, one way or another.
"I'll come with you." Link said warmly. "Roan, would you mind staying here? Chill, could you take a look at the murder scene and then join us?"
Roan nodded, whispering something to sobbing Young Link.
Chill turned around to face the door. "The murder scene needs a crime scene investigator."
"Not during a rain like this." Link smiled sadly. "I'd just be on the way."
Chill glanced at him, obviously thinking of what to say but couldn't come up with anything. Link was right. It was useless to drag a crime scene investigator out to the rain when it had washed away all of the clues and possible fingerprints. He was the mastermind, he would only need to look at the murder scene, receive the new clue and everyone was waiting for him to figure it out like a machine.
He left the hospital room, for once admitting defeat. Not because Roy would've defeated him, no, but because Link had. Maybe he hadn't meant it and if he had Chill would change his mind eventually. When the redhead would be out of the picture he would make sure Link would know his place was by him.
Roy kept sighing constantly as the two sat at the computer in their tiny office in the headquarters. He wanted a word to start his confession with because he couldn't just spit it out. If he did that Link would only ask him to repeat what he had just said and then it would already be too hard. With a sigh he began, began with an apology: "Link, you don't know how sorry I am."
Link tried to smile, looking at the computer screen. "Yes, I do. I'm sorry for him too."
Roy looked at the keyboard as he continued. "…And I'm sorry for all the things I've made you go through."
Link put a hand on his back, leaning his head a bit. "It's all right. I know how hard it is."
"No, you don't. I still, after everything that's happened, haven't told you… that… that I-I lo--"
"New clue found." Chill walked calmly into the room, smiling smugly at Roy. From the smile he had on his face the redhead understood very well what he meant. He had timed himself! He had waited outside the office, knowing he would try to confess and appeared at the last minute. Roy almost growled, Chill was so devilishly brilliant he wanted to strangle him. Chill only smiled at him as he read the clue for them: "Tell them to double-check to make sure your pizza is, in fact, dead."
"…Interesting." Link stood up, taking the clue from Chill and sitting back down.
"He's becoming more and more gruesome." Roy said, judging from the mental image the clue gave him. "…I found only three violent murders around here in 1994."
Link turned to look at him: "Maybe we should talk to their relatives to get some pointers whom to catch?"
"Yes." Roy nodded. "Mrs. Dunham was killed with a baseball bat on Bartleby Street 45, Ms. Randall was killed with scissors… on Russel Street 774", Roy hesitated a little before telling the last one. "Tiny Mr. Conner was poisoned on Marledge Street 354."
Link shivered. "I want to catch this guy."
"Me too." Roy answered, looking at him solemnly. "Let's split up. I'll talk with Conner's relatives, but I'll have to leave work a little earlier because of the wedding."
Link flinched upon hearing the word 'wedding.'
"I'll take Randall." Chill said, Roy was answering his devilish attacks cleverly by keeping him away from Link. Too bad he had to stay away from him as well.
"…I'll go after Dunham then", Link said, trying not to think about the wedding. As he got up, he touched Roy's back with a smile, apologising for not having the time to listen to what he had had to say. As he disappeared into the corridor with Chill Roy smiled back at him, wishing that he wasn't marrying Peach, hoping that Link's warm hug would be his and his lips would only kiss him.
He sighed heavily as he followed the two out of the office to their cars. He was just too much of a coward; a pitiful bastard who couldn't say how he felt even when he knew Link loved him more than anything. Too bad there were only two cars in the parking slot and the other being Roy's car, Chill didn't even ask to come along. He jumped into the other car and drove away as quickly as he could; somehow showing Roy how much he despised him.
"Link…" The redhead plucked up all of his courage as he started the engine.
"Yeah?" The elf asked, turning to face him.
"I…" It was so much easier to picture the situation, think about how he was telling him about his feelings, how Link would smile at him and kiss him happily… but when it was there, he couldn't force the words out of his mouth. He couldn't help the thought of Link loving Chill instead of him. What if the elf would tell him to get lost? Of course he knew Link wouldn't, but the situation was so hard. He was too close; he was too different and too alike. Roy couldn't say how much he loved Link. He had no idea what words to use if he chose to use them at all.
He parked the car, turning to face Link as well. "I'm wearing blue socks today."
Link stared at him for a while, completely dumbstruck. Then he raised his eyebrows inquiringly, wanting to know why it was so important for Roy to let him know the colour of his socks. "W-what?"
"Call me when you need a ride back." The redhead said with a smile, ignoring his question. The elf looked at him for a while, completely unable to understand what he had just said. Roy kept smiling. He kept smiling although he knew he had just screwed up, he had ruined the one moment, the one chance he had had to tell Link about his feelings.
He wanted to hang himself for being such a dork.
Link got out of the car and watched it disappear behind the corner, still dumbstruck. He couldn't understand the redhead anymore. It seemed like Roy had cut him off his life, deserted him. And he had always thought the redhead loved him, even if he couldn't say it or show it. Had he been wrong all the time? Or was Roy just acting strange?
Chill rang the doorbell of a suburban house painted with pastel colours. He had just walked through the yard full of beautiful flowers ranging from daffodils to roses and bluebells to orchids. On every window was a lace curtain, messaging Chill that he was going to meet an elderly couple. He needed to be a lot nicer to them. He chuckled. It wasn't his problem to be nicer. He was an SFBI agent; he was just as harsh as he wanted to be.
He had been right. An old woman opened the door, bemoaning that she hadn't been to the store and bought any cake when someone as important as an SFBI agent came to visit. Chill said it was all right as long as he could smoke inside. What fun it was to have such authority if he couldn't do whatever he pleased?
He asked the old woman and her even older husband a few questions about the girl. They were positive her old boyfriend had killed her, accusing him of all the bad things that had happened to them. Chill listened to them rant about it, putting out his cigarette into his coffee cup every time.
At one point in their little chat Chill asked them about how she died, just to be sure. The old woman told him she had the scissors in her stomach, of course she was positive the boyfriend had done it. After digging that with questions for a while it cleared to Chill. The girl had made a suicide and her parents had wanted someone to blame instead of themselves.
He put out the last one of his cigarettes into his coffee cup, giggling internally. As he left he told them what he thought and advised them to look for an answer to her suicide in themselves. He told them the location of the next church in case they wanted to spend their time praying after being such bad parents. Humming, he closed the garden gate behind him silently, hearing how the lady burst to tears.
Roy wanted to hit himself. He wanted to bang his head against a wall until it bled. He had been alone with Link, but he hadn't managed to tell him about his feelings. And why he had told him something as stupid as wearing blue socks? He could've told him he loved him just as easily!
He couldn't concentrate on his interview; Link was on his mind all the time, not even the crying of the boy's relatives made him pay attention. Mrs. Conner was subconsciously blaming her husband about her son's murder, or at least that was what she hinted to Roy between the lines. Mr. Conner seemed relieved that someone was looking into their son's murder, but couldn't name anyone who would've wanted him dead. Pretty much the ordinary murder case.
He couldn't stop thinking about his stupid expression. But he couldn't think of a way to tell Link about his feelings. Every night he thought of him when the moon came out from the clouds he could remember how it had shined on Link's skin when they had slept together the very first time. Whenever he thought of that he tried to suffocate the thoughts, but they crept from between the floorboards under his bedding again and again.
He left the house, bumping to the garden gate as he went, waving goodbye to the Conners absent-mindedly. Visiting them hadn't helped at all. Only in the car he remembered all the files on the husband's table, having a hunch that he needed to check his background. Maybe he was an engineer.
Mrs. Dunham's widow husband seemed very offended that an officer would come to ask him questions about his wife. Link understood that because he had been a suspect in the murder investigation, but the police hadn't found any evidence that he had killed his wife. He was very reluctant to say anything, but he found out that she had cheated on him a few times during their marriage.
He felt confused as he interviewed him. Roy had acted so weirdly and Young Link had awakened. A part of him was delirious with joy, but at the same time he felt a crushing pain; his mind was in pieces. He felt that only blowing up would make him feel any better. Without a doubt he knew what he needed. He needed someone to talk to, someone who would listen to his pain.
The husband offered him a cup of coffee, but he didn't want to drink it. For a while he interviewed him, finding out that he had a shop of his own downtown and a daughter on fifth grade. Remembering what Roy had said about the profession of the victim he apologised for taking his time and left.
As he stepped to the yard, he remembered Serge again. He was someone he could talk to. He was always there, in his grave and talking to him would surely make him feel better. Without a thought of sounding strange he took his cell phone and called Roy, called before he would change his mind and keep it all inside.
"Hello?"
He smiled as he heard the redhead's voice. "Hi, Roy. I think I'll walk home. I have some errands to run anyway."
"Oh, all right. Will you be at the wedding today?" The general asked.
The elf thought of something to say. He couldn't go there, he couldn't watch how Roy was robbed of his freedom, his true love, his life. "I'm sorry, Roy."
"It's all right…. I'll see you tomorrow at work then."
"Yeah, see you." He put the cell phone back to his pocket, starting towards the cemetery just a few blocks away.
Link arrived to the graveyard and bought a bouquet of flowers from an old man. As he reached the grave, he stopped with a fond smile on his lips. He had cried when Serge had been put to rest, he had stood in the same spot he stood then and held Serge's mother when she had cried. It had been a sad day, not only had it rained like that day but the heavens had also cried snowflakes. The ground had turned white as if it had wanted to respect their sorrow by silencing the birds and the land momentarily.
"It's been a while", he said as he threw the bouquet of flowers on Serge's grave. Her mother had brought him dozens of white roses and a tiny candle burned right in front of his gravestone.
"I just need to talk." Link said as he sat down, trying to laugh at the thought of talking to a gravestone, but it made him feel relieved. "So many things have happened… I feel like… I'm falling apart."
He was quiet for a while then, subconsciously waiting for an answer, but of course, a gravestone couldn't answer.
"My mind's a mess. I'm so happy that Young Link's awake since he was in a car crash, but it hurts me to know that my beloved… Roy… is getting married right about now."
He glanced at the flowers resting on the grave as he continued: "Young Link's blind. The car crash damaged his optic chiasm and according to the doctors once the optic chiasm is destroyed one can't regain his vision. I don't know how to tell this to him… although I think he already knows it…"
As a gush of wind played with his bangs he looked up at the solemn gravestone. Link could almost see his former partner sitting there, on his grave with a tender smile on his lips, listening to what he had to say. He could imagine his blue-black bangs swaying in the wind, at times covering his dark blue eyes.
"I don't know how to comfort him. I'm so broken myself that I don't know if I can even do that." Link sighed. "I need advice, but I have no idea who could give me some."
He could imagine Serge's voice so vividly, as if he was really there, smiling as he sat cross-legged on his grave. "I've heard that other senses get better once one is lost. If nothing else comforts him, you should tell him that he could've become completely paralysed. He was lucky."
Link tried to smile. He knew his subconscious was giving him someone to talk with to ease his pain. And it really helped, talking with his subconscious masked as his old partner really made him feel like he was talking with another person. "But he's only ten. I don't think he'll ever get over it completely."
"You underestimate children. They may not know much, but they understand a lot. He knows how lucky he is if you point it out for him."
"You're right." Link nodded sadly. "I just…" He fell quiet, unable to continue.
Serge smiled. The smile was exactly like Link remembered it to be. But of course it was, the Serge he saw was only a vision created from his memories. "I know he'd like you and Roy together."
"That's impossible." The elf said, wiping his nose quickly. The tears were blocking his throat again. "Roy's getting married."
"What if you took Young Link there? A wedding is always a happy occasion and might take him mind off his blindness for a while."
"I can't go to his wedding." Link wiped his eyes.
Serge only leaned his head. "Because it's too painful?"
"That too. I don't want to see the expression on his face when he walks down the aisle with Peach."
"He'll be twice as sad to see that you never showed up." His old partner replied, looking at the sky with a smile. Serge had always loved the outdoors, whenever he hadn't been at work he had been in the forest camping or hiking. He had understood the true value of nature and enjoyed it with his whole heart.
Link swallowed his tears, looking at his feet. "There's nothing there he'd want me to see."
"I wanted you to see my funeral." The black-haired boy said, his deep blue eyes fixed on his.
"What? But that's a totally different thing."
"How? He loses everything when he marries her", Serge said, trying the wet ground on his grave. "Isn't losing everything like dying?"
"Yeah…" Link had to admit. He had never understood how clever his subconscious was.
"I'm sure he'd be happier if he saw you at his wedding and if you accepted his choice." Serge said, looking for an eye contact.
"I can't accept his choice." The Hylian shook his head. He didn't want Roy to marry Peach, he wanted him to love him and raise the child with him. They could've been a family! They could've been parents! He knew a mother was important for Roy, but it was just unforgivable. Roy should've understood the importance of love instead of 'normality' the way he saw it. Link sighed.
"Then at least provide him a shoulder to cry on. Be a friend." Serge said calmly, the same tender look in his eyes. Their gaze was so soft and so calming, like someone was hugging him in the cold rain, holding him safe from all the evil in the world. Those eyes had always made him feel so peaceful. So strong.
Link didn't answer. He didn't want to go crazy like this, seeing visions.
Serge smiled. "If you're lucky he'll come to his senses at the altar."
"You think?" He asked, wiping his eyes again.
"Anything's possible."
Link got up the second he heard that. If his subconscious hadn't given up he shouldn't either. Roy could still be his.
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Whoa… This part became really long too. I'll try to shorten the chapters so that you won't get bored reading them.
Thank you so much for reading; you know I love your reviews!