Link clutched stubbornly at his ratty satchel as he was shoved out of the car and towards the front door of his new house. He was still dressed in the horrid clothes that the organization had provided for him that morning: a plain, wrinkled white shirt, brown pants, and overused black sneakers. Everything seemed to be just a little too small for him, but he had stopped complaining about these sorts of problems a long time ago.

Link stared at the house unenthusiastically. He didn't expect to stay here for more than a week: two, if he got lucky. When he showed no sign of speaking, they'll send him back with some sort of excuse, just like everybody else had done. He'd been jumping from foster home to foster home constantly since his parents had died when he was eight. So... eight years ago. He sighed. There was little hope that everything would suddenly change now.

The social worker, Pipit, gave him a clap on the back, jerking Link from his thoughts. "We're here, what are you waiting for?" He sounds tired. Link doesn't blame him. He guides the small boy up to the doorstep. "I had to pull some strings to get you here so fast. Please try to stay out of trouble with this family." With that, the social worker knocked on the door, not even pausing for a response from him anymore. Link stared at the ground, frustrated. It wasn't his fault that nobody wanted a 16-year-old boy that doesn't talk, doesn't sleep and barely eats. He was like a broken toy.

The door opened and Link had to fight against the instinct to shrink back. The man was big in every sense of the word, and he looked like he could crush Link quite easily if he pleased. But he doesn't. He's giving the small boy a soft look, holding out his hand in greeting. "You must be Link. Please, come in, both of you." Link reluctantly takes his hand, not wanting to be rude. When he hesitates to step inside, Pipit lets out an impatient sigh and nudges him in, trying to be gentle but failing miserably.

"Pipit," the large man greeted his social worker. Link hangs back, letting them talk and looked down at his feet as a wave of exhaustion crashes over him.

"Gaepora," Pipit nods politely. "I'd love to stay and go into further details about all of this, but I'm afraid that we're quite busy at the moment, and I'm needed back at the office. I apologize for cutting this short. Like we discussed over the phone, Link's stay here won't be permanent. You will only be required to care of him until a family that is willing to adopt him is found." Link was pretty sure that neither of them believed that that would ever happen, but he didn't speak up.

Gaepora waved his hand dismissively. "Yes, yes, I already know all of this," he chuckled. "There is no need to worry. Link is in good hands here, I'm sure he'll fit in well with the family." Link catches the bigger man's gentle look and he blinks, unable to hold his gaze as he drops his eyes to the ground.

Pipit seemed satisfied with that, relieved to have an excuse to leave earlier than he intended. He doles out his goodbyes, giving Link one last stern look before turning and shutting the door behind him with a sense of finality.

The countdown begins.

Gaepora turned to smile down at Link. "As you heard, my name is Gaepore. I have two other children that you'll meet in a moment. You're ... 16, correct?" At Link's nod, he chuckles. "Zelda just turned 17. She can be… a bit much at times. I wouldn't want you to be overwhelmed for the first few moments of your stay here. Zant is 18, almost 19 now. He's the opposite of Zelda when it comes to energy." He began to guide Link further into the house. "He joined our family years ago." When they turned a corner a little way down, the room opened up into a cozy looking living room. There was a fireplace against one wall that doubled as a television stand. on the adjacent wall, a set of shelfs held many different items. Dvds on the top shelf, what looked like Wii games on the middle, and books on the bottom. The room itself was painted a warm brown. In the middle of the room, a gray couch with four cushions sat.

Link's eyes were drawn to the two teenagers sitting on the couch.

The girl, whom he assumed was Zelda, had golden hair that was pulled back in an complicated braid. Her blue eyes lit up when she saw him, softening a moment later. Zant seemed considerably taller, with a tousle of black hair on top of his head. He gave Link a curious look, trying to get a read on him in a way that wasn't malicious but gentle. Link had to look away, unwilling to meet their eyes.

"Zelda, Zant, this is Link." Immediately, as if her father's words had given permission, Zelda was off of the couch and standing in front of Link. Her hands slowly reached out to brush his blond hair away from his face, and Link had to fight the urge to shrink away.

"I love your hair," she breathed, giving him a bright smile. "We'll get along great, you'll see," she giggled. Link looked down uncertainly. Once she realized that he wasn't about to start talking, she'd ignore him.

Zant didn't say anything, but gave him a friendly nod before he got to his feet and headed upstairs. Link watched him go. It was probably best to not make friends with these two anyway. It would just hurt more when he left.

Gaepora gave Zelda a warning look. "Dear, he's had a long drive: I'm sure that there will be plenty of time to become friends, but for now, I'm sure he'd like to rest." Link looks at his feet, embarrassed to have the attention on him. He could last. They didn't have to try to make him happy, even if resting sounded wonderful right now. Being alone sounded nice. Zelda gave him a soft smile, seeing the longing in his face. She tugged on his sleeves, catching his attention. She gave him a friendly smile, pulling him towards the stairs. He followed nervously.

"Come on," she encouraged. "I'll show you your room. You can rest up a little before supper." At the promise of some time alone, Link hurried after her, which made the older girl laugh knowingly. Eventually, they stopped outside of a door just past the top of the stairs. "It isn't anything fancy," she explained, pushing the door open. "But you have a closet and a desk, as well as a bookshelf. Oh! And some clean sheets. I hope you're okay with plain old gray."

When Link looked around, he gave her a hesitant thumb up, not wanting her to worry about his comfort. It wasn't like he'd be staying very long, anyway. But it was sweet that she cared.

Zelda gave him a curious look. "Man of little words, huh?" She joked, and Link looked away uncomfortably. Getting the hint, the older girl clapped her hands together. "Right! So, I'll leave you to it. Me or Dad will come get you when supper is ready!" With those parting words, she was gone, closing the door softly behind her

He let out a sigh, placing his bag on his bed and sitting down. He doubted that he'd be going to eat today. He didn't feel that great, but what else was new? He looked around the room. It was nicer than his last one: he even had a desk, which was a nice, unnecessary bonus. He pulled his few belongings out of his bag, finding places to put them, just for something to do.

For clothing, Link had a t-shirt, an extra pair of jeans, a ratty sweater, extra underwear and the clothes from the social services. Everything fit easily into his closet, with an embarrassing amount of room left over. His journal and pen were placed on his desk, alongside a worn out plastic photo frame that held a photo of him, at the age of 8, posing with his parents.

That's it. That's all that he owns to his name. Sitting on his bed, Link pulls his hair in front of him, playing with it anxiously. He wasn't quite sure what to make of this family. They hadn't pressured him to speak yet, but he'd barely been here an hour. There was still time. He figured that they would see just exactly how fucked up he was in a few days, when they realized that he could barely stomach a full meal, didn't sleep well and never spoke.

He sighed. He wasn't sure why he had unpacked: a fit of optimism, he supposed. But it just meant more work later, when he'd have to gather it back together and leave.

Link was writing in his journal when a soft knock sounded from the door, catching him by surprise. Usually, people would just let themselves in, not even bothering with knocking first. He waited, but when whoever was at the door didn't even try turning the knob, he closed his journal and got to his feet, creeping over to open the door. There, on the other side, smiling warmly, was Zelda. Link blinked at the older girl. "Hey, silly, supper is ready!" She chirped. He didn't move. "Dad has called everyone to eat together, which normally doesn't happen, but because it's your first night, he wanted to eat as a family!" She grabbed his hand, pulling him reluctantly down the stairs.

When they arrived in the kitchen, Link noticed that there was an extra person sitting around the table that he hadn't met yet. Alarm shot through him, and Zelda was quick to notice. She followed his gaze, face lighting up with realization. "Oh, right!" she said. "That's Ghirahim, Zant's best friend. He says with us sometimes." The older boy had snow white hair that fell down his shoulders, almost the same length as his own. His brown eyes flicker over to Link for just a moment before they sweep away, disinterested, as Zelda introduces them. Ghirahim dismisses him as if Link wasn't even there, smoothly continuing to chat with Zant. He obviously couldn't care less about the smaller boy, which was just fine with Link, who stuck as close to Zelda as he could. He watched nervously as she began to pile food onto a plate meant for him. He already knew that he wouldn't be able to eat any of that. He might get a mouthful into him. Maybe.

When everyone was settled down and eating, or, in Link's case, pushing food around on his plate, Gaepora spoke up.

"Link..." the boy in question jerked up immediately, giving the man a fearful look from wide eyes. Gaepora chuckled. "Calm down, son, you're not in trouble." Link didn't relax. "...how do you like your room? Will it do until we can get some more things to fill it up and help you make it your own?" The young boy was confused as to why it mattered if he liked the room, or why they would decorate it as if it was actually his, but he nodded nonetheless at Gaepora, not wanting to be rude. The man smiled, relieved.

Link felt a nudge to his side, and he turned to Zelda, who was beaming at him patiently. "Hey, silly, you should eat something," she urged gently. He shrank back as he felt eyes trained to him, uncomfortable with being the center of attention. His gaze skidded nervously at the faces around the table: Zant was giving him a curious look laced with concern, Gaepora's eyes were filled with sympathy, Zelda was hopeful, while Ghirahim was considering him through narrowed eyes, expression hard and unreadable. He quickly looked down at his food again. "Aren't you hungry?" he shrugged. "Just a few bites," Zelda encouraged.

He looked down at his food, feeling more sick than hungry in that moment. He looked up at Zelda, shaking his head softly. Her face fell into more of a stern look. "Come oooooooon," she encouraged, cause Link to frown. Why did it matter so much to her?

"Doesn't he speak?" A new voice scoffed, and Link jerked up, eyes landing on the source. Ghirahim's eyes were giving him a scornful look. He shifted uneasily, flushing at the blunt question.

"No, he doesn't" Gaepora answered, with a hint of warning in his tone. "And we are not going to force him to try until he is ready." Ghirahim's face took on a sulky expression and his gaze hardened, trained on Link, who shrank down into his seat.

Zelda prodded him to get his attention. "Just two mouthfuls, and then I'll stop bugging you," she bargained. Link stifled a sigh, relenting and taking the stupid spoon and nibbling slowly at the potatoes piled on the utensil. The faster he complied with the other girl's demands, the faster he could go to his room and escape the attention that was aimed at him.

Later that night, Link snuck downstairs, after he was sure that everybody had already gone to bed. His throat was dry and he really needed some water. Silent, he crept down the little hallway and turned into the kitchen doorway. What he saw made him stop dead in his tracks, freezing.

Ghirahim was sitting at the kitchen table, sipping at a glass of... something. Link didn't recognize the thick, brown drink, that looked kind of like ice cream, except... melted..? When brown eyes landed on the small boy that stood, unmoving, at the doorway, they hardened from a cautious relaxed glance into a steel glare. They stared at each other in silence for a few heart stopping moments. And then..

"What's so special about you anyway, hm?" he scoffed, getting to his feet. Link immediately took a step backwards. "You don't talk, you stayed in your room all day, and when you came down to eat, you looked ridiculous, as if you've never had a bite of food before. Your face twisted up. It's weird," he taunted, walking over to the alarmed boy, watching him sweat. "So why does everybody seem to like you already?" Ghirahim's voice is scathing, and he rolls his eyes when he received no answer. "You're not even worthy of my time, you worthless idiot," he spat, shoving roughly against Link as he left the kitchen and went upstairs, two stairs at a time.

Blue eyes followed Ghirahim's every move, waiting until the click of a door shutting sounded before moving. He hurried to grab a glass of water and gulp it down, taking up as little time as possible. He was not going to risk Ghirahim coming back downstairs while he was caught off guard again, and he only relaxed when he was back in his room, with the lock turned on. He stumbled to his bed, flopping onto the soft sheets with a groan.

He was not going to survive his stay here.

A few notes!

I'm going to attempt to keep this updated as regularly as possible. At least once a week. It's all planned out already, as the original form of this is a roleplay that my friend and I are currently finishing up. It's just a matter of rewriting the back-and-forth replies into story format, which isn't too hard!

This story will be eventual GhiraLink! Eventually.

Link is based off of Breath of the Wild Link, with his long hair and cute baby face, while Ghirahim is just Ghirahim except with long hair this time around. There are reasons for everything!

I figured that each chapter title would be the name of a song that encases the mood of the chapter. This one is "If I Believe You" by The 1975. (Mostly because I really love the song).

Thoughts and criticism is always welcome, of course~ R&R as they say!