AN: Thanks for reading this far! And for the reviews! XOXO
Vaati was having a very nice dream. In it, he and Shadow were . . . yeeeah, that was embarrassing . . . but not really. A dream is only a dream after all. He opened his eyes, and a gentle smile crossed his lips. He and Shadow had fallen asleep in Shadow's bedroom, facing each other on his bed. Shadow was sleeping peacefully, and Vaati watched his chest rise and fall, listening to his slow breathing, lips parted slightly.
Vaati rolled over and checked the clock. Morning. Well, he'd be in trouble for not showing back up at the academy dorms after the dance. He shrugged and went back to lazily watching Shadow sleep. No clue whether it was a few minutes or an hour before Shadow's eyes fluttered open. He smiled at Vaati, then raised his arms overhead to stretch. "This reminds me of school."
"Yeah, back when you and I went to the same school."
Shadow sighed, but chuckled right after. "You're never letting that go, are you?"
Vaati's smile widened slyly. "Never."
"How are you doing, anyway? Have you gotten used to sleeping alone?"
"No." Vaati grimaced. "I'll never understand how Hyruleans can STAND sleeping alone! Or wear so many useless garments." At this he pulled the constricting school tie he'd left abandoned on a pile of jeans. He gave Shadow a long, drawn face and big eyes. "Nobody's as friendly as you."
"I'm sorry."
Vaati stuck his tongue out at him.
Shadow made to sit up, but Vaati put a hand on his chest and pushed him back down. "No, not yet!" He wrapped his arms around Shadow's torso and snuggled against his chest, humming contentedly. "I don't want to go back yet."
This made Shadow smirk. "I have to go to the bathroom."
Vaati pouted. "Promise you'll come back?"
"Yeah, promise."
Vaati let him go. Shadow made a quick trip to the bathroom, and when he came out, he waved his cell phone and shouted, "Hey! Zelda and Link want to meet you. You should totally come with!"
Vaati sat up and shook his head. "I'm already gonna be in a lot of trouble for falling asleep and being out past curfew. I'd better get back . . . soon," he added. He really was in no hurry.
Shadow began changing out of last night's clothes and into a comfortable pair of jeans. Vaati frowned sadly. Apparently Shadow had forgotten his earlier promise . . . well, it was early, and it's not like their promises ever actually meant anything. But today it just . . . he would have liked . . .
Shadow was staring at him. "Are you going to be okay?"
Vaati forced a happy face. "I'll be fine. Don't worry."
Shadow didn't look convinced, but he didn't say anything and continued putting on his 'Save the Chu-Chus, Stop the Slaughter' T-shirt.
Vaati clambered off the pile of bed and walked over to Shadow, who was brushing his hair roughly. Vaati wrapped his arms around Shadow's waist again. "I miss you."
"I miss you too, V."
"Do you think you could . . . call me once in a while?"
"But V, we already chat every night and morning and text and stuff."
"I know, but . . . I'd like to hear your voice. Is that okay?"
Shadow was really getting worried about his friend. "Yeah. Yeah, okay. I will."
". . . Promise?" Vaati asked hesitantly, hugging him slightly tighter.
"Else a lizard in my eye. I promise, Vaati."
"Okay, good." But he didn't really believe it. He was being replaced, wasn't he? By these . . . friends of Shadow's. Link and Zelda. What if Shadow met another boy-no. Shadow had said he wasn't into that sort of thing right now, Vaati should at least try to respect that.
A troubled look crossed Shadow's face. He set the brush down. He seemed to know what Vaati was thinking, and felt pretty bad about it. "Tell you what," he said. "Next week I'll sneak into your dorm room. I think my key card still works."
Vaati brightened slightly. Just slightly. "Really?"
"Yeah. Dad won't even know I'm missing."
"But it's so far . . ."
"Not really, not if I skateboard fast anyway."
Vaati threw his arms around Shadow's neck. "Oh, thank you, Shadow! That makes me feel much much better!"
Shadow hugged him back, and when they pulled apart, he planted a kiss on Vaati's cheek. Vaati rubbed the spot wonderingly, a ghost of a smile finally appearing back on his face. "Figured that'd make you happy!" Shadow exclaimed. He took Vaati's hand and led him out of the room and to the kitchen for breakfast. Vaati beamed.
"Aaaaaaaugh!" Sheik flopped onto the lunch table, staring at the official-looking piece of paper in his hand.
"What's the problem, Sheik?" Shadow asked, sitting next to him.
"Ooooi." Sheik put a hand on his forehead. "My parents want me to sing the Ballad of the Goddess this coming Worship Day at our annual celebration. I have to get up in a stupid ancient dress and look all pretty and ancient in front of everybody. And sing that stupid old song. I mean, it's pretty and all, but it's sung at literally every party. It's not even the national anthem! Sheesh!"
"Parents are super religious, huh?" Shadow opened his container of vegetables and mini bag of Rabbitland bread snacks.
"Well, me too," Sheik replied, "but not in the same way."
Shadow glanced at his friend in surprise. "You're religious?"
"Well, yeah, you don't really get to be Destiny's Prince without also having some pretty up close encounters with the spiritual side of Hyrule."
"Wow, I never would have guessed. So, like, what would you RATHER sing?"
"Something by my favorite temple rock bands, the Sages of Enlightenment, or SiGURD. You know, one of those religious rock bands."
"Like . . . 'praise the Goddesses, hands in miiiiyiiine!'"
Sheik snickered at the purposely less-than-stellar performance. "Tell you what, you can come over to my place after school today and I'll let you listen to my beats. Okay?"
"Ah-hah." Shadow placed a bread snack on his tongue and pulled it into his mouth. "This should prove interesting . . . Oh, here comes Link. Put on your pretty face!"
"Nah, it's okay."
Shadow blinked. "Really?"
"Yeah, I told him at the dance. He's cool with it."
A bright grin spread across Shadow's face. "Sweet! All that lying was kinda driving me mad . . ."
Sheik smiled. "Thanks, though, I really appreciate it."
Link walked up just then. "Oh hey, uh . . . bros!"
Sheik grinned triumphantly.
"Come join us, bro," Shadow said, leaning back and gesturing languidly with a hand.
"I'd love to, bro," Link replied as he sat across from them.
"How are ya, bro?" Sheik asked.
"Fine, bro. How 'bout you?"
"Broooooooolicious!"
Shadow pulled the heavy, wood-styled headphones off his head. "Nnnnope! I just don't get the appeal."
"Aaaaw, how can you NOT?!" Sheik cried. "Can't you feel them?" He straightened with his hands in the air and spun in a circle. "They give me goosebumps and I'M NOT EVEN LISTENING!"
Shadow chuckled. "Well, I respect your tastes, but they give me the creeps, honestly."
Sheik snatched the headphones away. "Oh, boo. Oh well. How about you, Link?"
Link shook his head. "No thanks. I'd rather not listen."
"Well that sucks."
"Why?"
Sheik shrugged his shoulders. "Well . . . I kind of wanted to sing one of these songs at the talent show."
Both Shadow and Link opened their mouths, but Sheik interrupted them, "I know it's not what you want or anything, and I don't think there's a point if you don't like the songs anyway." He shrugged again, fiddling with the CD case in his hands. "Mom and Dad never let me express my religion the way I want to. They think this stuff is the work of Demise. Someday I'd like to sing these songs on a stage and prove them wrong, you know?"
Shadow and Link glanced at one another. "We can only play, like, one or two songs," Shadow said.
"Yeah," Link agreed reluctantly.
"Guys," Sheik sighed, "if you're uncomfortable singing a religious song, you CAN tell me."
Shadow and Link relaxed, relieved. "It really makes me uncomfortable," Shadow admitted. "I can't sing something I don't believe, ya know? The music's good, it's just the words don't jive with me and I can't trust them."
Sheik nodded. He DID understand.
"Religion gives me the willies," Link stated, looking like he really did have a case of the willies. "Grandma believes in it I guess, but I just can't understand the need for . . . well . . . I don't get it."
Sheik smirked and wrapped his arms around both of them. "Okay, in that case, who wants to help me sabotage this stupid Worship Day masquerade?"
Shadow and Link gave evil smiles, and Shadow said, "That I can do!"
Romani finished folding another paper crane for Aryll's bottle. Once the young girl got an idea in her head, it was near impossible to get her off of it. They had been folding tiny paper cranes all day and fitting them through the slim neck of the bottle. Aryll liked the way they sounded when you shook the bottle. She also liked precision, and would make Romani refold a crane if it wasn't done perfectly.
Luckily, Romani had a lot of practice doing origami. There hadn't been much to do on her home ranch. The internet was spotty more often than not, and the TV rarely worked, so she'd busied herself with crafts and learning the time-honored and painful value of patience.
Aryll was folding a crane while jumping across the room, something Romani found incredible. Suddenly she finished folding, stuffed her new crane into the bottle and then stood in front of Romani, staring at her skirt. Romani set down her half-finished crane. "Do you really want to try again?" she asked, leaning forward.
Aryll took in a deep breath, let it go, and then shot her hand forward, as if to shake Romani's. Carefully, Romani reached her own hand out and placed it in Aryll's. The little girl cringed, but gripped her hand tightly.
She had been doing this a lot lately. In between each crane today. She was determined to learn to shake people's hands, and to look them in the face. Every day she'd practice until her big brother came home, and she would attempt to shake his hand and look him in the face. Romani thought the effort was commendable, but wondered if it was actually healthy . . . it was kind of interrupting her other studies, but then, if this is what Aryll was willing to work on, Romani would do her best to support her.
"I'm hooooooome!" A familiar call accompanied the front door opening.
Aryll let go of Romani's hand immediately and ran to the entry. "Link! Link! Link!"
"Aryll! Aryll! Aryll!"
Romani smiled. It was touching how much Link cared for his younger sister. Most families cared for their special needs children, but Link somehow seemed genuinely happier every time he saw Aryll. He wore out just like everybody else, especially at the end of the day after a long day at school, but he always stayed until Romani made him go take a break or do his homework. He fought her every time. Ignored her often. Eventually she always got her way. Then Mrs. Knight would finish making dinner and Romani would say goodbye to the little family.
It wasn't a one-sided love, however. Romani knew Aryll tried so hard to shake hands because she knew somehow that Link would like that. One time Link had come home especially exhausted and had fallen asleep on the couch. Aryll had patted his back like he was a cat, then grabbed a blanket and covered him with it and gone back to playing. Like many autistic children, Aryll had difficulty focusing on anything for very long, but when it came to her beloved brother, she focused as hard as she could.
And yet, so far, she hadn't tried to shake Link's hand.
Shadow scrolled blindly past the search results on the school computer. He couldn't even see the letters anymore.
Wait, when had his eyes teared up?
Of course he couldn't just stop caring, even if he had gotten purple hair. He HAD to know who his twin was. And he started by learning about in vitro fertilization, the method his parents used to conceive him. After reading about it, he wished he'd been happy with the purple hair . . .
It was something most kids wished for one time or another, but now that it was actually real, Shadow was . . .
Devastated.
Ganondorf sat sipping a fruity beverage in the living room. He glanced at his son's new bedroom door. Shadow had been awfully quiet in there. When he finished his drink, he stood and walked into the kitchen to put his cup in the sink.
"Dad?" A timid voice caused him to turn around.
Shadow had left his room, and was staring at the floor at the edge of the kitchen, shirt gripped tightly in his hands.
"What is it, Shadow?"
Shadow's face was torn. "Are you not my real dad?"
Alarms sounded off in Ganondorf's head. "What makes you ask that?"
"I was looking up in vitro, and either you couldn't have kids or Mom couldn't and there had to be a sperm or egg donor, and I look just like Mom, so . . ." He glanced up brokenly. "Am I not related to you?"
Ganondorf sighed. "Not biologically, no. Legally, yes."
The news, although expected, seemed to hit Shadow like a brick. He nodded, "Oh," before suddenly his entire frame crumbled with sobs. "But then, who's my . . . my . . . my other dad?"
"He's not your father. He was just a donor." Ganondorf walked over and put his hands on Shadow's shoulders to steady him. "Do you remember that I was a foster child?"
Shadow nodded.
"Then you should know blood means little to me. You are my son, and that is all that matters."
Almost too quiet for Ganondorf to hear, Shadow said, "I wish I wasn't."
"What?"
Shadow shoved Ganondorf's arms aside and ran to his room. "I said I wish I wasn't!"
SSS
The next day, in History, Sheik leaned over to Link and whispered, "What's eating Shadow?"
"Huh?"
"At lunch. He was miserable!"
"Oh, yeah, he was, wasn't he? Man, I dunno. I've never actually seen him sad."
Sheik's eyes narrowed. "You know, Shadow's really good at getting people to reveal their secrets, but he's not very good at revealing his own."
"You think he's hiding something?"
"Definitely."
"Ooooooh Shaaaaaadoooooow!" Sheik pattered up to him at the end of school.
Shadow turned to him, face despondent, barely even noticing Sheik was there.
"How are ya, Shadow?"
"I'm good."
Sheik nodded, pretending he believed the lie. "Link and I found a vegan ice cream joint. I guess they use coconut milk." He waggled his eyebrows. "What say I take two seconds to change out of these girly clothes and we all go get food together?"
"Oh . . . I don't—"
"Hey Shadow!" Link bounced cheerfully up to him from the opposite side. "You wanna get ice cream?"
Shadow glanced from one to the other. "Huh? I don't—"
Sheik stepped closer, and Shadow backed off, only to find Link had put a hand on his shoulder to hold him in place. "G-Guys?"
The glint in Sheik and Link's eyes was extremely creepy. "We're getting ice cream," they said in sync.
Shadow gulped. "I think I might want to change my mind about being religious. You guys are creepy!"
"You actually told him that?!" Sheik exclaimed.
"Yeah . . . I didn't mean it," Shadow answered. "At least . . ." his voice lowered, "I don't think I did."
"I mean, you're dad sucks, no joke, but . . . man, that was harsh, don't you think? My parents would FREAK if they knew I was a guy, but I'd never wish to not be their kid. Is your dad just that horrible?"
Shadow shook his head. "No! I mean, I dunno! How many dads do I know?"
"Why'd you say it again?" Link asked.
"I was angry, or maybe . . . I dunno, I was kind of . . feeling crazy." He wasn't good at expressing his feelings. Usually he was the one listening, not the other way around. "He does tests on animals, horrible ones. And when he's done with them, he just kills them."
"That must be really hard for you."
"You wouldn't get it!" Shadow snapped, taking his friends by surprise. "You EAT animals."
"Holy Triforce," Link said, getting a disapproving look from Sheik, "You're really upset."
Shadow practically slammed his bowl of ice cream on the counter. "He's not my dad!"
"Now, Shadow—"
"HE ISN'T!"
Link shut up.
Shadow bit his lip and tried to calm his racing heart before continuing. "I'm not biologically his. He couldn't have kids."
Sheik and Link gaped, jaws on the table.
"Whoa, you're adopted?" Sheik exclaimed.
"Not exactly." Shadow gave them the gist of it. "I'm just mad because he didn't tell me! All this time I thought he was . . . and then he wasn't, and then my biological mom had to go and die giving birth to me! I HATE IT!" He threw his bowl on the ground, where it crashed and spilled the dregs of Shadow's ice cream. "I'm just some kind of screw up! Like why does he even keep me around? I'm a vegan and it's obvious I hate him!"
Link paid for the damages, and he and Sheik shepherded Shadow out of the shop. They walked on either side of him, arms around him.
"I don't wanna go home," Shadow stated.
"Okay, what about Link's place?"
". . . Okay. Actually, yes I do. I DO want to go home!"
"Uh, a'ight then."
When they got to Shadow's home, Shadow rushed ahead of them as if he were on a mission. They followed him to his room—luckily Ganondorf was not at home. Shadow burrowed a familiar path through his haphazard bed covers until he reached a nightstand, from which he pulled a pictograph. "Wanna see a pic of my mom?" He held it out to them.
Curious, Sheik and Link climbed onto the bed and looked at it. "Ooh, pretty," Sheik commented.
"Right? Ain't she a babe?"
"You look just like her! Especially now with your purple hair."
"Aaw, thanks! What about you, Link? Don't you think she's cool? She looks like she could kick Dad's butt!"
Something had stirred inside Link. He didn't know what it was, but there was something familiar about the woman. It was like he had a connection to her that he'd never felt with his own mother, but he couldn't understand why. "She looks very nice."
"I'll bet she was REALLY nice!" Shadow took the pictograph away from them so he could stare at it. "I bet she NEVER hurt animals!"
"I'm sorry she's dead," Sheik said.
"I just wish I'd known her."
"No you don't," Link whispered.
Shadow glanced at him. "Why not?"
Link looked like he hadn't even realized what he'd said out loud until just then. "I . . . I didn't mean that!"
"So? Why'd you say it?"
"Sometimes I wish . . . I wish I hadn't known my parents. I wish they'd died a lot sooner, because then maybe it wouldn't hurt so much that they're gone." He frowned. "I'm disgusting, aren't I?"
This time it was Shadow and Sheik's turn to glance at each other. Sheik shook his head. Way out of my league here. My parents are still alive! So Shadow said, "No, you're not. I wished my dad wasn't my dad, that's just about as bad, isn't it?"
A little of the self disgust left Link's face. "I guess so."
"So either we're both disgusting or we're just . . . really hurt. I miss my mom and I don't even know who she was."
"It sucks," Link agreed.
Shadow suddenly had an idea. "Do you have pictovids of your parents?"
"Um . . . I dunno. We didn't do that much, maybe some family photos . . ." Then he brightened. "Oh! I remember Grandma saying she recorded Mom on her birthdays. Maybe Grandma has some vids from when Mom was little!" He grinned wistfully. "Or maybe a teenager."
"I showed you my mom," Shadow said, "We should totally go to your house after we're done and check out YOUR mom!"
"Ew, stop making that sound creepy!"
"Oh come on, you're mom's GOTTA be pretty! She HAS to be!"
"Shaaaadaaaaaap! And what do you mean 'after we're done'?"
Shadow gave a sly grin. "Well, I've got pictovids, too. But we might have to break into my dad's office . . ." After the last fiasco, Ganondorf had confiscated the tape about Shadow's first ultrasound, the one where he found out about his twin.
"OOOOOH NOOOOOO," Sheik yelled, standing up on the bed. "The LAST thing I need is to get banked for breaking and entering!"
"Oh come on, Dad wouldn't press charges against my friends."
"Your dad tortures animals."
". . . Good point." He put his mother's pic away. "But believe me, after you found out what this tape has, you'll be glad you snuck into Dad's office!"
They couldn't very well pass up on that, now could they?
