The rest of the night was pleasant but uneventful. Once the kids were sufficiently tired, they were sent to bed. Midna and I stayed up and talked with Renado and the other elders. There wasn't much to discuss besides the general state of Death Mountain and the repairs for both it and Kakariko. The mountain was stable and everything had suffered minimal damage, which set me on edge.

It was too convenient, too clean. Something was wrong but I couldn't articulate it. Maybe it was my resentment at the fact that I seemed to suffer the most throughout my time in Kakariko. I was blinded by a shadow insect, my body was smashed to hell and back by Dangoro, and I got blown up. It took all of that for Midna to finally treat me with some respect, but did I deserve her respect?

I don't think so but damn did I crave it. Respect, admiration, the ability to say something and other people just accept it with no argument... Authority. That was what I craved most in my foolish moments. And that always served to remind me of just how unsuitable to heroism I was.

But I promised Midna I was going to be easier on myself. I wanted to cut myself slack, I really did, but that was just laziness. Why the fuck should I want to relax after doing the bare minimum? I had no reason, no reason, to be so stressed out! So why was I?!

Midna seemed to pick up on my jump in stress and commented as much.

By then we had retired to our room. Midna popped out of the darkness and sprawled over the bed, her eyes never leaving mine. "I just... another random line of thought that upset me."

She nodded with a sympathetic pout. "Zach, I want to respect your privacy but I think you should talk about it."

"I... I agree." I tossed away most of my clothes barring pants and shirt. Halfway to the floor, I stopped and looked at Midna. "Real quick thought; are we sleeping together again?"

Midna's cheeks turned a slight shade of red. Apparently she felt as awkward about it as I did. "I... well, if you're okay with it. I kinda liked it."

"Are we in a romance?" I asked, fully aware of my bluntness. I needed to know, for my own peace of mind if nothing else. "Is this a romance we're having?"

Midna's voice reached new heights as she squeaked and sputtered. Her whole face was red now and she avoided looking me in the eye. "I don't know? I... it's a little soon to be thinking of things like that, don't you think?"

I frowned and stood up straight. "No, I don't. Social interactions are difficult for me. What's obvious to most people isn't as obvious to me. And flirting and relationships and love and all that just scares the hell out of me. You could just be a flirt by nature, it could be genuine interest in me, it could be a mild flare of hormones, could be all of the above, could be none."

"Your mind moves incredibly fast, you know that?"

"I'm aware." I pinched the bridge of my nose. "I'm sorry, I'm really not trying to be rude. I just want to know. It makes things easier for me, less complicated."

"How so?"

I shrugged and sat at the bed's edge. "If we're not having a romance, I can just keep acting like normal. I don't have to worry about romantic gestures and reinterpreting things you say as flirtatious or suggestive. But if we are, I get to romance you and that's a win right there."

"Eee hee! You're pretty flirty yourself when you want to be."

"I can?"

"What... yes? That wasn't flirting just now?"

I tilted my head and raised an eyebrow. "How was that flirting?"

Midna rolled onto her stomach and lightly kicked her feet in the air. "You just said you'd get to romance me and that would be a win."

"Yes, but how is that flirting?"

"How is that not flirting?"

"I was just stating a fact. Flirting is a hugely complex and confusing labyrinth of innuendo and euphemisms and nothing in that sentence was even remotely suggestive." I then sighed and looked away. "At least not to me. That's why relationships, romantic ones, are so hard for me. I don't 'get' it, you know?"

Midna scooted over and placed her hand on my knee. "So don't. Just be yourself, that's what I do."

And that has worked out swimmingly for me thus far, I wanted to say. "You still haven't answered the question."

"Fair point." Midna sputtered her lips as she rolled onto her back, her ponytail hanging off the bed. "I honestly don't know. I like you as a friend, and maybe I possibly just a teensy bit like you a bit more than that, but I wouldn't call that a romance. I mean, you're cute, funny, and heroic, but you also got a bunch of stuff that should probably be ironed out first. My advice for right now is let's just stay friends and see what happens."

"Hm. Wait, you think I'm cute?"

She shrugged. "Kinda, yeah. I like the color of your eyes and the way you gesticulate when you talk about something you like."

"... but I only have one eye... I'm sorry, that's just hard to wrap my head around. Doesn't my fake eye bother you?"

She happily shook her head from side to side. "Nope!"

"Really?"

"Really really."

"Oh. ... Well, I've always liked the color of your eyes."

Midna grinned, flashing that cute fang of hers. "Aww, that's sweet. I get them from my mother's side of the family. Her spirit too, as my father always told me."

"Oh crap," I said with a smile, "that means there's basically two of you."

"Yep!" She averted her eyes then, twiddling her thumbs. "So tell me, do you find me cute? I got my own insecurities, you know."

I blinked at her. "Of course you're cute. You're very attractive, both as an imp and as your true self."

"Well, that's very pleasing to hear," Midna said with a relaxed sigh. She sat up and looked me in the eye. "If it makes you uncomfortable, we can go back to taking turns on the floor."

Now it was my turn to blush. "I... actually I liked sleeping with you too. Just sleeping, of course. It's way too early for sexual activity, if we have the desire for sexual activity. I mean, if it comes to that, or we have just a friendship, or something or whatever—"

"Zach," she said, taking my hand and offering me a smile. "I get what you're trying to say. I'll admit I wish you started this conversation with a little more tact but I'll live."

"Sorry. Thanks for having this conversation anyway."

Midna made herself comfortable and said, "I guess we needed to. You're extremely warm so it's very tempting to, y'know, snuggle up with you. But I can see how that would be mistaken for romantic intent."

"Yeah." I nestled into bed myself and sighed. "I just... this is all new for me, you know? I'm sure it's all new for you too, but I'm not you so I can only talk about how I feel."

"Understandable. This is my first time in bed with someone besides my parents when I was little. I mean, it's not my first time since last night was my first time but... you get what I'm saying?"

With a snort, I nodded. "I get it."

"So..." Midna cleared her throat. "So, what was bothering you before?"

"Dammit, I was hoping you'd forget." I took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. "I'm used to being told to stop doing the bare minimum. Stop being lazy. Stop feeling so upset at tiny things. Same old stuff. It's hard to detrain myself from that. It's hard to let go of all the resentment that built up from that too."

"Right, but what makes you think you're doing the bare minimum?"

"I don't know!" I closed my eyes and hissed through my teeth. "I'm sorry, I'm not mad at you. I just... I keep hearing snippets of past... let's call them 'conversations'. I keep hearing them in my head and they make me so god damn angry." I took a deep, deep breath. Then another. And then another again. "Calm... calm..."

Midna reached over and held my hand. "I'm proud of you, you're doing great."

"At what?"

"Calming yourself."

"... thanks." I cleared my throat. "I made it awkward, didn't I?"

Midna shrugged. "A little but it's nothing we can't handle. Let's try and get some sleep."

I nodded but jumped in surprise when Midna nestled against my side. This was... new. New is scary, unpredictable. One does not simply cuddle with the Twilight Princess, after all. But if she was comfortable with it, I guessed it was fine. I slowly moved my arm over her shoulders and held her closer, just a little closer. No need to go too far, you know?

"Hey, Midna?"

"Hm?"

"Thanks for believing in me."

She smiled at me. It was just a simple smile but it... it felt more real than any other smile she had given thus far. "Thanks for being my friend."

The next morning, I awoke to an empty bed. I lifted my eyepatch and found Midna in a nearby chair, enjoying what would probably be our last good breakfast for a while. "Morning."

Midna waved at me since her mouth was full. "How'd you sleep?"

"Fine, thanks." I stretched out and groaned at the wonderful cracks of my joints. "You?"

"I slept better than I have in a long while," she said, blushing.

I blushed too. Nothing happened, but two people don't usually sleep in the same bed without some sort of bond forming. "Move over, I'm hungry."

Midna yelped as I picked up her chair while she was still in it and scooted it over. "Hey, you could have spilled my food."

"Ehh, it's fine," I said with a smirk. The little table provided just enough room for me and Midna to eat comfortably. "So, today we head off for Lanayru Province."

"Yep. What can we expect?"

I sputtered my lips casually and said, "Assuming nothing is drastically changed, we can start with... Ah! We can expect to cross Hyrule from the top right of Hyrule Field to the bottom left corner with Lake Hylia. The lake will be drained of water because Zora's Domain is frozen, so the further north we go, the colder it will get."

Midna blanched. "Cold? Like, cold-cold?"

"Cold-cold. Freezing temperatures, so either be comfortable in my shadow or bring warm clothes."

"Okay... What else?"

"Hmm... well, I'm not quite sure how to thaw Zora's Domain out. There was supposed to be a volcanic eruption in Death Mountain that would give us a big chunk of hot rock to dunk in the domain, but that didn't happen. It might be frozen for a while, if it's frozen at all."

Midna nodded, tapping her fingers on the table. "Well, let's work with what we know. The main source of water is frozen, yes? What else?"

"The usual insect hunt, which ends with Lanayru showing a creepy-ass vision. After that, the Zora prince needs to be taken from Castle Town to Kakariko, which gets us a useful item to help me swim to the bottom of the lake, which is where the last Fused Shadow is."

"The last Fused Shadow..."

"The last Fused Shadow."

"... and then what?"

I pinched the bridge of my nose. I should have known it was going to come up, but it still caught me off guard. "Are you sure you want to hear this?"

Midna took a deep breath and nodded.

"Okay. Link gets teleported back to Lanayru's spring, where Zant is waiting for him. Zant turns Link back into a wolf, blasts you with Lanayru's light, then Link takes you to Zelda." I paused and looked at Midna. Her tapping had stopped, replaced by her fingertips digging into the table. She glanced up at me and nodded. "Zelda sacrifices herself to save you. She doesn't die, but saving you makes her vulnerable to capture. Link is trapped as a wolf until he gets the Master Sword, which banishes the dark magic into a crystal so he can change back and forth at will."

Midna blinked. "Why would he want to do that?"

I shrugged. "Being a wolf has certain advantages. He could track scents, fit through tight spaces, use that energy field attack, so on."

"Hm." She licked her lips, tapping her fingers once again. I thought she was going to say something, but she didn't. I think she wanted to but didn't know what to say.

Slowly, I moved my hand over hers. I felt her grasp my fingers back and I wished, not for the first time, for the power of better words. I'm not stupid. I knew she was trying to come to terms with her own near-death. And I knew she was thinking about how it was going to be up to me, not Link, to save her. Our last steps in Kakariko would be the first steps to that one moment.

I cleared my throat. "I... I know I'm not the hero you were expecting, but I can do it." Midna's eyes followed a path from our joined hands to my face. "I can be the hero I need to be, the hero Hyrule needs me to be. I don't know what's going to be different or the same. I can't predict the future and I can't make a promise to try. What I can promise is this: I'll do everything I can to keep you safe. Whatever happens, I'll be there for you."

She smiled again. It was the same smile from last night. "And I'll be there for you. We are in this together, after all. Whatever happens, I'll help you on the path to being a true hero. I think you have the chops for it, Zach. I really do."

I smiled back. A little whisper urged me to doubt, to be cynical, but something in the way Midna spoke hushed that whisper. It felt... like what emotional support should feel like. She confirmed that I wasn't quite the 'Hero of Twilight' but she showed hope that I could grow into it. And that was enough for me.

An hour later, Midna and I stood at the north end of Kakariko. Well, Midna was in my shadow since it was broad daylight but you get my point. In fact, she was seated on my shoulders but only my shadow showed it. It was a fascinating feeling since her weight was there but she physically wasn't.

Anyway, with us were pretty much the whole village as well as Darbus and the two escorts. Anju provided us a pack of food as well as fresh clothes for both of us; with the prospect of freezing temperatures, I requested extra blankets and thick clothing. I was expecting Barnes to give us some bombs but apparently he used up his whole stock against King Dodongo. He said he was going to send some via post later, but I doubted he was serious.

"We thank you brave heroes," said Sahasrahla, "for your outstanding valor in the face of adversity. May the way of the Hero lead to the Triforce!"

I smiled at them and said, "Before we go, I want to say a few things." I cleared my throat and shook my hands free of nerves. Ugh, I hate speeches. "Midna and I want to thank you all for your generosity and hospitality. We appreciate your kindness and hope to pay it back someday." I went to the Ordon kids and knelt down. "I have something for you, Talo." The boy tilted his head at me, only for his eyes to widen when Midna summoned the Ordon Shield. "Your parents gave this to me before I left your village. I think it's only right that it be kept with you."

"Why me?" he asked. "Won't you need it?"

"Probably," I replied with a chuckle. "It's both a gift and all I can do to repay your brother for losing the other shield. I want you to have it as a reward for what you did that night."

Talo frowned but took the shield anyway. It was so big in his arms, he could use it as a helmet. "But... I didn't help fight the monster."

I nodded and said, "You didn't need to. You showed the courage of a hero by staying by your friends and helping them escape. Without you, they would have... well, you get the idea."

"That was pretty brave," Beth muttered. "It was... cool, I guess."

"Talo, listen to me very carefully." I gently held him by the shoulders. "Being a hero doesn't mean you go out fighting monsters for the heck of it. Being a hero is a responsibility, something you do as a matter of heart. I can't say I've been doing a good job but you... I know your parents would be very proud of you." I released him and Collin patted him on the back. Midna whispered something in my ear so I added, "In fact, all your parents would be proud you." I almost stood up, but something nagged at the back of my mind. I needed to say something else, something personal...

"One last thing." I looked them each in the eye, then up at the adults behind them. "You see these grown-ups? They are going to do their best to look after you, but... well, there will be times when they can't really help you. If it hasn't happened already, there will be moments when... when you feel overwhelmed and suddenly upset. You'll feel like something's wrong even though you're perfectly safe. These moments happen to me all the time, so do what I have been failing to do:

"Let yourselves feel them. They're not going to be good feelings. You'll feel very scared or very sad or very angry or some combination of them. When that happens, that's your mind telling you that you need to process those feelings. Do that. If you feel like you need to be alone, then be alone." I pointed my finger at them. "Don't be stupid, though. Tell an adult where you're going and don't leave the village. You'll probably feel a strong urge for solitude and quiet, and that is perfectly fine. You've been through a very traumatic experience and you'd be very foolish to pretend it wasn't that bad. Being strong does not mean holding your feelings inside. Trust me, I'm finding that out the hard way. Being strong means being able to handle those feelings in a healthy way. You want to cry? Then cry. You want to scream? Then scream into a pillow. Don't bottle them up, don't lash out at your friends, and definitely don't wallow. There is such a thing as too much crying and screaming.

"As for the kids who aren't going through all that," I continued, "you'll probably feel a strong urge to either shelter or shame the one or ones who are having those moments. Do neither. Sometimes, the best thing you can do is sit quietly next to that person, put an arm around them, and let them talk or cry or whatever they need to do. You can do wonders by just letting them know you're there. You may have different parents, but you're family. You're the children of Ordon Village, which means you have a responsibility both to yourselves and to each other." I stood up and set my hands on my hips. They seemed to be listening clearly, given their wide eyes and nodding heads. Too bad I was done talking. "I'm not good at ending speeches, so... yeah."

They laughed quietly and Collin stepped forward. He opened his mouth to speak, only to rush me and hug my torso. I tensed up completely, obviously not expecting this kind of gesture. The feeling only got worse when Talo, Malo, and Beth followed suit. Left with no other option, I leaned down and wrapped my arms around them as best I could.

"Aww, that's so sweet," said Midna. "I think I'm gonna miss these little boogers."

I smiled and hugged the kids a little tighter. "I think I will too. Except Malo."

"Zach."

"He's creepy."

"... yeah, he is. Eee hee!"

Once the kids let go, I took a few steps back. It was going to be a while until I saw them again, so I snapped a picture of the whole village. It would be a nice souvenir if nothing else.

Author's Note: Due to recent word that FFN is falling apart (I live under a rock and pay no attention to news), I will be migrating this story as well as a few others to my AO3 account. Since I can't post links, look up Daemonkhyra or Debochira (old username, might still provide a search result). I will still update on this site though, so don't worry about missing stuff.

IMPORTANT: I will be rewriting the early chapters of this fic for AO3, but nothing majorly plot-wise will change. I'm just using this as an opportunity to clean things up, match the early days with my current writing style, remove abandoned plot threads, etc. I will probably bring those updates to this site as well but I wanted my readers to be made aware.