WARNING! Very serious chapter ahead!
Also, twenty chapters woohoo!
I'm so sorry readers, I know it's saaaaad! /cries. But I really wanted to show that even when things are sad, you can rise above them and be happy. We'll get there. Eventually. I hope. That's the goal, anyway!
Also, I promise I will catch up responding to reviews this week! Thanks for reviewing, reading, favoriting, following, and etc.! You all are awesome and make writing worth it!
I also promise there will be a Shadowed Past chapter next week . . . I've been so busy with school! Keeping up with Hyrule Castle High has been all I could do . . .
Suggested soundtrack: Something tender. Hey! Love Me Tender by Elvis. That's PERFECT.
Chapter ALL IS REVEALED Part 2/3
The rusty car chugged along, two feet a minute. Ravio was rapping along with the perfectly timed chugs.
"I swear this would be faster if I pushed," Ganondorf, who sat in the passenger seat, noted.
"Aw, come on, Ganny!" Ravio said from the driver's seat. "She's going, she's going!"
"We'll never get there."
The car gave a sudden POP and jolted forward an extra four inches. "YEAAAAH!" Ravio exclaimed. "Woohoo!"
Ganondorf crossed his eyes and raised them to the sky. "Ravio, look at the clock."
"What? It's 10:40, so what?"
"So the race starts in twenty minutes . . ."
". . . oh." Ravio killed the engine and leapt out and started running down the road.
Ganondorf left the car more slowly, and stood by the road with his thumb up. Eventually, after having drinks, cigarette butts, old food, and unmentionable liquids thrown at him out of Gerudo hate, a van with four Gerudo sisters pulled up and gave him a ride. They caught up with Ravio within minutes.
"So we have to stop for him but I wanna mess with his head first," Ganondorf told the driver with a smirk. She smirked back.
"You sure he's okay?" she asked. Hylians were racist. Gerudo were sexist. Ganondorf thought it was an interesting trade off. Then again, how could you NOT be sexist when Hylian men treated you like whores just because of your race?
Ganondorf put his hands on either side of his face and made faces outside the window at Ravio as they passed. Ravio noticed and started freaking out and running faster, probably uttering all kinds of obscenities. Ganondorf allowed himself a full minute of laughter before asking that they pull over to pick the kid up.
"WHAT THE HECK GANNY!"
"Whatever, Ravio, you needed the exercise. Now get in!"
Ravio folded his arms, staying outside. "Maybe I don't WANT to get in with you. You know what they said at the center about getting into strangers' vans!"
"Ravio. You're twenty-three."
". . . So?"
"So get in, you big baby!"
Ravio finally got into the van, and they were on their way.
"Hey what's up with you today?" Ganondorf asked.
Ravio hunched his shoulders slightly. "What?" he said, unconvincingly.
"Come on."
"I dunno, okay? I just . . . whatever." Ravio looked out the window, away from Ganondorf. "Been thinkin' a lot, that's all."
"Well I'm here if you need me."
"Yeah, yeah, I know."
SSS
Ganondorf looked through his binoculars. There was a break between races, so he took up scouring the crowds for Ravio's fluffy head. Not finding him after five minutes, Ganondorf figured he went to get snacks at the Rabbitland Snacks Cart. Why the idiot liked those low-grade, disgusting snacks was beyond Ganondorf, but at least it was a likely place to find Ravio when his phone wasn't working. Or was turned off. Or his messages were full. Or anything else.
He did indeed find Ravio by the Rabbitland Snacks Cart. He wasn't alone. Oh boy, he's really pouring the charm on that one. Ravio was speaking to a Hylian woman with black hair and pale skin. Ganondorf was taken aback when he noticed her blood red eyes. She responded to Ravio's flirtatious conversation with calm amusement. She had features most would call delicate, but the way she carried them made her seem strong. She flipped her long hair over her shoulder and laughed at something Ravio said. She had the most ridiculous laugh. It was all gurgly and hicuppy, totally unfitting of the rest of her image. Ganondorf felt his mouth quirk up in response.
Ravio noticed him walking over, and called out, "Hey, Ganny! This is my friend Hilda. I'll told her all about you, don't worry." That was Ravio's way of saying, 'Don't worry, she's cool with Gerudo, you're safe with her."
Ganondorf offered a hand, and she shook it. "Nice to meet you," he said.
"Likewise," Hilda responded. She had a deep, melodious voice, and eyes that blinked slowly.
"We met two days ago," Ravio was explaining. He kept talking, but Ganondorf didn't really hear. He and Hilda just stared into each other's eyes for a long moment. Ravio was too enamored of his story to notice he was being accidentally ignored.
Ganondorf found himself standing a little straighter under her scrutiny, holding his chin high, but not so high as to seem aloof. He raised an eyebrow, clasped his hands behind his back, and asked, ever so poshly, "We're viewing the race from row seven. Would you like to join us?"
"I would. Very much."
Ravio cut off his own story. "Awesome!" he shouted. He put one arm around Hilda's shoulders and the other around Ganondorf's back and started shepherding them to the stairs. Hilda started laughing her gurgly laugh almost immediately. Ravio seemed to be very amusing to her.
SSS
". . . He's like the littler brother I never had," Hilda explained while stirring her milkshake between sips.
Ganondorf grinned. It was nice having somebody to talk about Ravio with. Somebody who seemed to like all of the crazy Hylian's idiosyncrasies as much as Ganondorf did. "How did you two meet again?"
Hilda laughed. "Funny story. So I was trying to buy some shoes, and the clerk had me agreeing to pay this outlandish price as if it were fair. Was about to give the clerk my credit card when this guy, Ravio, bursts onto the scene and starts haggling—literally haggling! Ten minutes later I got a pair of shoes, a handbag, a scarf, and some nice footie socks, all for the low price of $19.99! AND a $5 gift card for the next time I go to that store."
Ganondorf chuckled and scratched the back of his neck. "Yeah . . . Ravio's pretty good with his money." When he has it, anyway.
"I've noticed. He has an eye for details."
"Must be why he decided to help you," Ganondorf said without thinking.
"Why?" Hilda asked curiously.
Ganondorf blushed furiously. "Cuz . . . you know, you're eyes . . ." he looked away, waving a hand lamely.
One side of Hilda's mouth turned up. "Rather large detail, that."
"Yeaaaaah . . ."
Before he could even further put his foot into his mouth, Hilda interrupted him. "So what do you do, 'Ganny'?"
"Oh please . . . not you, too . . ."
Hilda giggled, and Ganondorf grinned.
"Currently, I'm a janitor," Ganondorf explained. "Although I've been training for an office job that I'll take over the summer. Then hopefully I'll get into business and start an actual career."
"Where'd you go to college?"
"I . . ." Ganondorf fumbled uncomfortably.
"You never went?"
"Well, see, we were foster kids, and we weren't the best students growing up and, well, Ravio's had it rough and he's all I got, so . . ." Ganondorf didn't want to bad mouth Ravio, so he tried to talk around the fact that most of his savings the past few years had gone to getting Ravio out of trouble.
"Ravio's why, isn't he?" Hilda interrupted again, a knowing look in her eye.
Ganondorf suddenly realized Hilda understood Ravio completely, even though she'd only known him a few days. And she was okay with him. Ganondorf was really starting to like this woman! "Like I said . . . he's all I've got."
SSS
Ravio parked the car at the top of the hill so they could look at Castle Town in the sunset.
"Soooo," Hilda said, not fooled at all. "What are we doing here?" Ravio hadn't looked at her the whole way here. That was unusual. She knew he'd be hurt anyways. She'd been expecting this.
"You're getting married to my brother."
"Yes, I am."
"It's nothing, just . . . what does Ganny have that I don't?"
A spark of annoyance covered her face. A steady job? A house? Responsibility? But she forced the thoughts down. She knew it wasn't Ravio's fault he was the way he was, but sometimes it wore on you, especially when he didn't realize how messed up he was. "Just how WOULD you take care of a family, Ravio?"
Ravio didn't answer. His face was tight.
Hilda sighed. "You need a job, Ravio."
"I HAVE a job!"
"Yeah, and a different one last week and a new one next week! I mean a REAL job, Ravio. One you don't run away from. For goodness' sake, your reputation is so bad here that people are literally turning you away from jobs because they've HEARD about you! Pretty soon you'll have to leave town just to find work. What, am I just supposed to leave my family, friends, my OWN career, make our kids switch schools every few months while you hop from job to job? That's no life for a kid, Ravio. You should know that."
Again, Ravio said nothing, gripping the steering wheel tightly. Then quietly, he asked, "Why would you have to move? You could stay here and I could send money to you."
"I don't want that!"
Ravio's voice became heated. "Well YOU have a career, why do I need one?!"
Hilda lost her cool as well. "Maybe because you keep, I don't know, getting in trouble? Remember the car you totaled last month?"
"I was just upset."
"UPSET is not an excuse to waste thousands of dollars! That car was brand new!"
"Well so what? This is who I am! And as if I haven't saved you THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS, you can't bargain worth a crap!"
"And then you SPEND all those savings by sabotaging yourself and running away because you're too afraid that somebody in the world might actually LIKE you and be NICE to you!"
"I don't do that with Ganondorf."
"And who else?"
"You."
Hilda rolled her eyes. "I gave you that car because I thought you DID feel safe with me. But you don't. How can I even think of having a relationship with somebody who doesn't trust me? You took my gift and you destroyed it before it could even serve you for a week. You don't trust me. You don't trust anyone."
"I just said—"
"You're a COWARD, Ravio! I can't live with a coward! Ganondorf isn't a coward, and that's why I'm marrying HIM instead of you!"
She thought for sure he would storm out of the car, slam the door. Run away, like always. She hated it, but he needed to know the truth, and she was tired of him not getting it.
And yet, he stayed. "You don't know him," Ravio said. His voice had gained a quiet concern. "He's got problems, too, Hilda."
Hilda bristled. Now he was attacking his own brother?! "At least he deals with them!"
Ravio's face looked pained. "No, no, he doesn't!"
"Stop trying to make your brother look bad, Ravio!"
"I'M BEING SERIOUS!" Ravio shouted, finally looking at her for the first time.
Hilda wanted to shout back at him, but she forcefully kept her mouth shut, not wanting to sink to his level.
"You DON'T know him, Hilda, he's . . . he's got a temper."
"What are you talking about?"
"He acts differently around you. You . . . you haven't seen him on a bad day."
"I can't believe this." Hilda unbuckled her seat belt.
"Hilda, I just don't want you to get hurt!"
Hilda opened the door and left the car. "I can't BELIEVE you would say such a terrible thing! About your OWN BROTHER!"
"It's the truth, Hilda! I swear!"
"Get out of here, Ravio!"
"What about you?"
"I'll get a cab!" Hilda slammed the door and stormed down the road. She folded her arms and huffed for five minutes straight. She hated to admit it, but something rang true in what Ravio said. Did she really not know Ganondorf? Was he really acting completely different around her? Was he intentionally hiding his bad points from her? It wasn't something she was used to. She was used to being able to judge a person's character well . . .
After a while of brooding, she heard the hum of a car engine, which approached her and then stayed just behind her. Normally this would be extremely creepy, so Hilda turned around.
It was Ravio. He'd followed her. He gave her a bashful look from the driver side window, then she heard the doors unlock.
She stared at him for a minute.
He gave a playful pout.
She couldn't resist the grin on her face. She crossed over and climbed into the car. She held out a closed fist, asking for a fist bump. "Friends?"
Ravio at first went to bump her fist, but paused his hand a few inches away. When she looked up at him with a question in her eyes, he smiled gently and instead brought his hand up to brush her cheek. "What are you talking about? You're part of the family now, sister."
Hilda smiled back, touched.
Ravio put the car in gear and drove them home.
SSS
"You . . . you're okay with this?" Ganondorf asked, surprised. The brothers walked in the fall wonderland that was Castle Town in September.
Ravio stretched his arms over his head, then placed his hands behind his head. "Yeah, well, I've been thinkin', you know, as I always do, and you know what I've decided?"
"What?"
"You and I are brothers. That's that. I won't let anything get in the middle, no matter how much it hurts."
"I'm sorry, Ravio."
Ravio laughed. "No you're not, dumbass! You're head over heels in love with her. Hey, Ganny." He stopped Ganondorf with a hand. Ganondorf stopped walking and faced him.
"What is it, Ravio?"
Ravio held nothing but admiration for Ganondorf, and he grinned before saying what he had to say. "She's as important to me as you are. This family doesn't work without her anymore, okay? Take care of her, Ganondorf. I won't forgive you if you don't."
"Of course I will," Ganondorf retorted in confusion.
"I know you, Ganny. Sometimes you let your ego get in control of you."
"Oh come on, I'm different now!"
Ravio gave a tight chuckle and clapped his arm. "I hope so, dude. Now go marry that girl and give me lots of nieces and nephews!"
Ganondorf shoved him aside, snorting.
SSS
Ravio's heart was breaking. Hilda stood on his porch—Ravio'd moved out of Ganondorf and his apartment a long time ago, to give room for the lovebirds—she was shaking. Ravio reached for her and took her face in his hands, wiping away her tears. Then he embraced her. "Oh no, what happened?"
He invited her inside and she told him everything. "He was so angry," she said of Ganondorf. "I've never . . . I've never seen him like that."
Ravio's insides twisted. So his brother's darker side finally chose to show itself, eh? He scooted closer to her on the couch and wrapped an arm around her. "Now don't you worry, sis, I'll talk to him, okay? Don't you worry about a thing . . ."
SSS
"Ganondorf . . ."
Ganondorf turned to look at Ravio. It was the first time Ravio had stepped foot in his office building, of which he was the owner. He'd come a long way from janitor status, that was for sure. He knew by Ravio using his full name that his brother had something serious on his mind. He placed his mug on his desk and walked closer to Ravio, hands in his pockets.
Ravio was looking out the window onto the city below. He hesitated a long moment before saying, "Hilda's at my place."
"That's where she went? Ugh! I've been calling her all morning when I woke up and found her gone. You think she'd call—"
"She said you got mad at her."
"So? What does that have to do with anything? Couples fight!"
Ravio turned from the window to look straight at Ganondorf, green eyes flashing. "I wanna know . . . you being mad . . . does that mean what I think it does?"
Ganondorf balked. "NO! You know I wouldn't!"
Ravio squinted his eyes suspiciously. "Not YET. Ganondorf, if you hurt her—"
Ganondorf grabbed Ravio by the collar of his shirt and shoved him against the wall, hard. "JUST WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?"
"You've got a problem," Ravio stated, refusing to look away. "You need to DEAL WITH IT!"
"I WOULD NOT—I WOULD NEVER!" Ganondorf's face was as red as a green face could probably get. Ravio flinched, but still refused to look away. Ganondorf began to catch himself. He fumbled over a few words, then set Ravio down and ran out of the office. Employees who had heard him yelling watched him go apprehensively.
Ravio stepped out of Ganondorf's office and faced them all, clapping his hands and saying cheerfully, "Well! Let's get back to work, shall we?"
SSS
Ravio waited for Ganondorf at his and Hilda's flat. Hilda was still at Ravio's. When Ganondorf didn't show up right after work, Ravio got himself a milkshake and turned on the TV.
A few hours after the sun went down, his phone beeped. Hilda had successfully trained him to keep his phone handy. "IF YOU EXPECT TO BE AN UNCLE TO MY CHILDREN YOU WILL BE AVAILABLE AT ALL TIMES TO THEM, RAVIO!" He smiled at the memory and checked his phone.
It was a text from Ganondorf.
"Don't wanna come home. Meet me at Eldin Bridge?"
Ravio knew he didn't want to come home because he didn't want to face Hilda. He texted "Ok" and got his stuff together.
He found Ganondorf leaning on the rail of the bridge—it had been installed after much complaint from people saying their carts kept accidentally rolling off of it. He hung his head like it weighed a dozen tons.
Ravio approached him, arms folded. He adjusted his back a bit. He knew there'd be a bruise there later . . . "Hey." Ganondorf didn't respond, so Ravio just joined him at the edge of the bridge.
"I . . . how is Hilda?" Ganondorf asked finally.
Ravio purposely didn't answer.
Ganondorf hung his head even lower. His forehead almost met the railing. "I'm scared of myself, Ravio. Scared of what I might do. To her. What do I do?"
"You deal with it," Ravio replied. "Stop lying, first of all. She deserves to know what you are, and . . . she deserves the right to leave you if she finds out she doesn't like you."
"But what if I . . . no, you're right. I . . . have to do something about myself, don't I?"
Ravio nodded. "'bout time you were the dunce in the family, don't you think?"
"Ha. Ha."
Ravio punched his arm lightly. "But seriously, I'm here for you, bro. No matter what. Okay? Bruises and all."
Ganondorf pulled Ravio into a hug and hugged him fiercely. "Thank you, Ravio."
"Yeouch!" Ravio said, chuckling when the hug hurt his back more than it already hurt.
"I'm sorry . . ."
"I know, Ganny." Ravio patted his brother's big shoulders.
Then Ganondorf let him go. "But . . . I can't let you do this for me."
Ravio's shoulders slumped. "Huh? Why? Do what?"
"I can't keep hurting you like this . . . I . . . I need to go someplace I can't hurt you OR Hilda. I need you to promise me something . . . promise you'll never let me hit you again?"
"It's not a big deal, Ganny, I can take it—"
"It IS a BIG DEAL. Nobody should . . . should treat their brother that way. And what if you get sick? What about when we're old? What if I get angry at you then?"
Ravio suddenly didn't like where this conversation was going. "Th-then we'll deal with it!"
"You can't deal with it if you're dead!"
Ravio laughed. "You'd never kill me!"
"NOT YET," Ganondorf said, purposely repeating Ravio's words from earlier.
Ravio felt ice in his chest. "What . . . what are you saying, Ganondorf?"
"How can I possibly be a father this way? I need you to take care of Hilda for me. I'm going to . . . to deal with my problems."
"What? Alone? You can't do that!"
"Yes I can, and you're not going to stop me."
Ravio was fully freaking out right now. "But Ganondorf—!"
Ganondorf took Ravio by the shoulders. "I need you to respect me on this, Ravio. I need you to . . . stay away from me."
"Why?" Ravio's voice broke.
"Because you need to take care of Hilda. She needs you, and you can't do that if you're taking care of me. Please, Ravio."
Ravio grabbed Ganondorf's arms, beginning to tear up. "But you're my brother! I want to be with you! I want to help you!"
"If you truly want to help me . . . take care of the woman I love, Ravio."
Ravio was almost hyperventilating. Finally he responded. "No!"
Ganondorf let him go and started walking back to his car.
Ravio stood where Ganondorf left him, heart pounding, frozen in place from shock. Finally he ran after Ganondorf when it finally dawned on his that Ganondorf was serious. "WAIT! YOU CAN'T! YOU CAN'T DO THIS GANONDORF!"
Ganondorf got into his car and locked it. Ravio pounded on the windows. "I DON'T CARE IF YOU HURT ME, GANNY, JUST DON'T LEAVE ME! DON'T LEAVE ME ALL ALONE!"
Ganondorf ignored his brother's plaintive cries. "This is best, Ravio!" He shouted through the window so Ravio could hear. "Believe me, this is . . . for the best." He started rolling the car forward carefully until he knew Ravio was no longer hanging onto the mirror for dear life. When he knew Ravio was a safe distance from the car, Ganondorf sped across the bridge.
Ravio sprinted to his own car, fumbling with the controls, and sped after him. After twice almost getting himself killed running red lights to keep up with Ganondorf, a police car finally got behind Ravio's car and flared its lights. Ganondorf knew Ravio wouldn't unless he did as well, so he pulled over.
Ravio was in no state to be driving, Ganondorf could tell right away. The police officer seemed to think so, too, from the fact that he was putting Ravio in handcuffs.
"Ganondorf, you gotta stay!" Ravio was saying. "You gotta save me, so you gotta stay!"
But for the first time in their relationship, Ganondorf didn't get Ravio out of trouble. He shook his head. "Don't follow me, Ravio. I'll see you soon. I promise. It's not like I'm leaving town. This won't be forever."
Ravio began to cry as Ganondorf walked back to his car. "Ganondorf? Ganondorf! Ganondorf!"
But he was ignored.
Ganondorf's car sped off out of sight, and Ravio's whole world came crashing down.
SSS
This time it was Hilda who bailed him out. "Heeeeeey, sister!" Ravio grinned cheerfully at her unamused expression.
"Where's Ganondorf?" Hilda asked immediately as the police officer finished Ravio's paperwork. "Is he okay?"
"Oh yeah! Yeah, he's fine!" They made it all the way home before Ravio told her what happened. He kept a straight face. "Don't worry," he said, putting a hand on Hilda's shoulder. "I'll take care of you, I PROMISE. I've got this job, and . . . uh . . . I'll figure something out."
Hilda's eyes teared up, then she stepped forward and embraced Ravio. "Ganondorf is so lucky . . . to have you as a brother."
Ravio hugged her back. Then why won't he let me help him?
SSS
"HEY! How's your anger management class going, Ganny?" Ravio bounced over to a seat next to Ganondorf. It had been a couple years, and Ganondorf and Hilda were back together, working out their issues in counseling and classes. It had been a long battle for Ganondorf. Ravio had broken into tears when they finally met again.
"We've been learning to direct our anger into leaves," Ganondorf replied, none too psyched about the weird, zen-like process of cognitive therapy. "We're supposed to blow them away with our minds."
Ravio laughed. "Does it work?"
"Yes . . . embarrassingly . . . my therapist says I'm in a good place. Shouldn't be too much more of this." He set down his mug and trailed a finger along it's edge.
"That's great, Ganondorf!"
"Thanks. Hey Ravio . . . Hilda and I have been thinking . . ."
"Yes?"
". . . How would you like to be an uncle?"
Ravio's mouth dropped open. "Seriously?!" He dropped his hands on the table. "IS SHE PREGNANT?!"
Ganondorf chuckled. "No, no, not yet . . . but we're thinking about trying."
Ravio practically leapt out of his seat. "This'll be so great! I CAN'T WAIT! Oh man, this is so awesome, I'm going to be an uncle! FINALLY!"
SSS
Ganondorf sat looking over his work. He couldn't focus. His doctor's appointment had been devastating, to say the least. Hilda had taken the news well, but Ganondorf knew she was hiding the bulk of it for his sake. Ganondorf was looking over books and books of fertility options for men, but . . . he just couldn't focus. Besides that, finding a sperm donor was going to be hugely expensive, and he wasn't sure he could afford it, even now.
His office door opened. Ravio came around it, like some sort of thief. "Hi Ganny!"
"Hi Ravio." Ganondorf played along, letting Ravio bounce around the office, pretending to just be there to . . . well, be there. "What's on your mind?" Ganondorf finally asked.
Ravio paused and looked at him. "Well, I've been thinkin', there's this thing called in vitro fertilization, right? And, like, I've done tests and everything, and well . . . I mean to say, I'm perfectly capable of having kids, so . . ."
Ganondorf stood, unable to believe his ears. "Are you saying . . . what I think you're saying?"
"Yeah! Wouldn't it save you thousands of bucks, anyways?"
"You . . . you've done the tests and everything?! And there . . . there're no problems?"
Ravio grinned proudly. "Yup! No probs! Three years sober, dude! No drugs, no felonies—as if that matters—and uuuh, oh yeah I've had the same job for two whole months!"
"You want to be our donor?!"
"Yeah! I totally do! And you don't even have to pay me. But," he continued jokingly, "I expect visitation rights in the mornings and every other weekend and—"
Ganondorf bounded across the office and bear hugged Ravio. "Thank you," he choked. "Thank you!" This made the procedure a lot cheaper. This made it possible. He and Hilda were going to be parents!
