Previously...
He jolted awake.
He clutched at his shirt. It took him a moment to become aware of his surroundings. He hadn't had a nightmare that bad in a while.
He was breathing heavily. Hyperventilating. That wasn't good. He inhaled slowly and deliberately, calming his heart rate as much as he could.
"Link?"
...Oh. Fuck.
He avoided all eye contact with Revali. He cursed himself for his stupidity. How could he have fallen asleep here? In front of Revali- who'd now witnessed Link's weakness firsthand.
Stupid. Weak. Pathetic.
"...Link?" Revali's voice sounded different than usual. Link hated it.
He abruptly stood up, catching Revali off guard. Feeling something on his cheek, he reached up and found tear tracks. When did he cry?
He harshly rubbed away the tears. His movements were jerky. He grabbed his weapons in the corner and headed for the ladder.
"Link- hold on, you idiot-!"
Link ignored him. He marched out of the range in shame, and Revali didn't follow him.
The next day, he and the princess left Rito Village.
Link hated how his mind kept going back to that humiliation. Every time his mind wandered, the memory of him having a nightmare in front of Revali haunted him. He hated it.
What's more, the dreams seemed to worsen. Whether it was because of what happened or because of the looming threat of Ganon, he wasn't sure.
Zelda said that all signs pointed to Ganon's approaching revival. Link started seeing faces in his dreams. Faces that too closely resembled his own.
(They were always engulfed in a sea of bluish green flames that looked like water. He wondered if the flames burned them. They reminded him of ghosts.)
They spoke urgently, but they were too far to hear. The distance between him and them was too wide.
(The distance between the living and the dead was too wide.)
He'd gradually been getting less and less sleep as the nightmares became unbearable. But it didn't matter. He had a duty, and the entire fate of Hyrule rested on his ability to complete it.
It didn't matter how little sleep he got, or how excruciatingly tired he was, or how he wanted nothing more than to place this weight on someone else's shoulders.
He had a duty, and no one could do it but him.
(That simple truth was unbearably horrible.)
The next time the two warriors saw each other, it was at Hyrule Castle.
King Roahm called for a gathering of the champions to discuss battle plans. Link made eye contact with no one as he sat at the table.
The other champions were there, along with the king, the princess, and the royal generals. Link could feel Revali's eyes boring into him the entire time. He didn't dare glance at him. He kept his gaze focused directly in front of him. It took all his conscious effort to remain rigid.
Link wanted to cry in relief when he was finally dismissed. He gave a stiff bow and tried not to hurry out of the room. I thought that meeting would never end. He rubbed his forehead in exhaustion.
He decided to go down to the stables before retiring to his room. It'd been a while since he'd seen his horse, Epona.
(Sometimes he dreamt of another horse. Sometimes he dreamt of several horses. And cattle. And wolves.)
The air was heavy with moisture. It clung to his hair and his skin, permeating the very atmosphere. It smelled of rain. The clouds were thick.
The stench of horse became palpable once he arrived at the stables. Even so, they were clearly well-groomed. The royal stables were only the best.
Epona snorted when he approached her. A rare smile bloomed on his face. He'd known Epona for years.
He stroked the bridge of her nose and grabbed a nearby brush. Grooming her had always calmed him. He focused on the task of brushing her mane.
He didn't notice the soft pitter-patter of rain until it'd begun to pour. Raindrops thudded on the roof like stones. It was almost soothing. He'd always loved the rain.
Back when he was a child, he'd go out and play in the falling water. His mother would scold him, saying "You're soaked to the bone! You'll catch your death of cold!" He never did.
She did, though. And now she's gone.
He didn't notice the soft pitter-patter of tears until they'd begun to pour. He rubbed them away and continued to brush Epona.
It was still raining heavily when he'd finished. I'll wait for it to die down a little, he decided.
But it didn't die down. He scowled at the sky. It was getting late, and he needed to go to his room and try to get some rest.
But the rain didn't care about him or how much he needed to leave the stables. No matter how many silent curses he aimed towards the sky, it only got worse.
With a sigh, he sat against a wall. His limbs felt like lead after the long day. He didn't want to walk in the pouring rain. The wind was starting to get violent, and thunder struck nearby. It didn't look safe. He couldn't leave.
Which meant, of course, it was the perfect time for Revali to show up.
The stupid bird swooped down from somewhere. Link immediately jumped to his feet and drew his sword (he always had it on him). He relaxed slightly when he saw who it was, and then tensed even more than he was before.
Hesitantly, he sheathed his sword. Hello, Revali. He signed. His movements were stiff.
For once, the Rito was silent. The water was sliding off his glossy feathers and catching the dim light of the lantern. He glared at him with those piercing green eyes like the wings of a thunderwing butterfly. Link held his gaze for a moment before looking away. He sat back down.
"It's been months." Revali finally said. He added in HSL, You haven't written.
Link shrugged. I didn't think you cared. That was more bitter than he meant for it to be.
Revali huffed and, to Link's surprise, sat next to him. He pointed at Link, practically shoving him in the chest with his finger-like feather. You.
He huffed again and smacked his forehead with his fist, his pinky feather in the air. Idiot.
Link looked away. He couldn't tell which emotion was boiling up inside of him- humiliation or anger. Revali put his wing on his shoulder, but he shrugged it off. He stared at the ground, digging his nails into his arms.
"Link." Revali's voice was free of scorn or pity. It made Link glance up at him.
When was the last time you slept? Revali asked, almost cautiously. Link could only shrug in response.
The archer's eyes narrowed, and Link found himself looking back at the ground.
He could feel Revali's eyes staring at him. He wished for the rain to stop, or at least for an excuse to leave. (If wishes were horses, beggars could ride- he remembered his grandmother saying that once.)
Without warning, Revali's wings wrapped around Link. He immediately tensed, becoming as stiff as stone. He was about to struggle against the hold when Revali said the last thing he expected him to.
"I apologize, Link." Revali's voice was soft and low, carrying the musical tilt that all Rito had when they spoke. "I treated you unfairly when we first met. I knew nothing of you, and yet I decided to treat you with contempt and belittlement. I see now how wrong I was. You're not weak, not in the slightest."
Link's breath escaped him. For several moments they sat like that, Link unable to move or say anything while Revali hugged him. Because that's what it was- a hug. Link couldn't remember the last time he had one. Weapons didn't need hugs. Weapons didn't...
He felt like he might cry again, but no tears escaped his eyes. If only Revali knew how wrong he was. He wasn't remotely strong. Weakness bled through his every pore, coating him in shame while he tried to remain stoic.
Slowly, against his will, his body began to relax in the archer's hold. He didn't know how long they sat there. But his exhaustion crept up on him, and he was unable to keep it at bay for much longer.
(Revali was soft and warm. He could feel his heartbeat- like his arrows, steady and true.)
Eventually, to the comforting sound of rain and heartbeat, Link's eyes dragged shut. They were too heavy to open again.
For the first time since he could remember, the nightmares were almost bearable.
Almost.
Link awoke in his room, confused. He tried to piece together what had happened the previous night. He fell asleep in the stables, didn't he? And Revali-
Revali.
He must've brought Link back. He tried to ignore the way his face heated up.
Link groaned to himself. Well, there was nothing to do now but his job. He began to get ready for the day, looking outside in alarm when the sun was higher than he'd have liked it to be.
He decided to forgo breakfast- he was going to be late if he didn't, and he'd live without one meal.
He met the princess outside her chambers, bowing as was tradition. She gestured for him to stand, and they began their day.
"I thought we might go out into the fields today and study some plants." She wrote something in her notebook as she walked. She was only half talking to him. Most of the time she would mutter things to herself. Apparently it helped her think. "There's a particular type of herb that's in season that I wanted to observe- supposedly, it can temporarily increase one's defense. Although some people call it witchcraft, I believe that it may have some scientific explanation."
Link held great admiration for her. Despite how she treated him at first, she was exceedingly smart. Her determination and passion for discovery fueled her intelligence.
But there was something different about her this morning. He couldn't quite place what it was. She seemed almost too focused on her work, as though she were trying to distract herself from something else.
Like when you're focused on not looking at something, and so you intently stare at something else, not daring to move your eyes or even blink.
There was something that Zelda was trying very hard not to think about.
Link decided to say nothing. After all, even if they were friends, it was none of his business. And she could still have him thrown in prison if she saw fit.
At noon, one of the servants brought Zelda a basket containing a small feast. Her lunch. He received a basket as well, albeit much smaller. Zelda thanked the servant, who merely bowed and left once the princess excused her.
Zelda carelessly grabbed an apple from the basket and half-heartedly chewed it, distracted by her work. Or something else. She looked frustrated.
Finally, she sighed. It was a sigh of defeat. "Link?"
He swallowed the food in his mouth and mildly raised his eyebrows.
She sighed again, this time in frustration. "Link, have you ever..." She bit the inside of her cheek. "I don't know. Have you ever... admired someone so much, except it doesn't feel like admiration? It feels like something else, like... I don't know."
He shrugged. She didn't look satisfied by that answer.
"I mean," she continued, "Have you ever wanted to be near someone? So much so that it hurts? And no matter what you do you can't stop thinking about her-" she froze and quickly recovered, but not quickly enough. "Them. About them."
Oh. So that's what this was about.
When Link was younger, he fell in love with a girl who worked in the stables. Her name was Ilya. She was hot-headed and gentle all at the same time, and would scold him if she didn't feel as though he were taking proper care of his horse.
And then she was kidnapped and eaten by monsters. By the time he'd gotten there, it was too late.
The champions were staying in the castle. There were still more preparations to be made before they left.
Link didn't know what to do. Talk to Revali? Avoid him?
It doesn't matter, he told himself, staring into his own eyes in a pond. The champions would be gone by the week's end. And he had more important things to think about.
"You're not weak, not in the slightest."
It doesn't matter.
Revali found him again in the stables.
It wasn't raining, but there was still a strong sense of deja vu when the archer swooped down. Link still didn't know what to do.
"You look better rested." Revali said. His tone was careless. But if he didn't care, he wouldn't be there, would he?
Revali didn't look dissuaded by his lack of a response. "You know, I trained for years to achieve the level of skill I'm at."
Of course he knew. Revali had told him many times.
"Many years," Revali continued, "Of going to my flight range alone, isolating myself for greatness. Pushing myself, again and again. And now I'm the greatest archer in my village."
Link's back was turned to him, but Revali's voice carried clear. Where was he going with this?
"And then the you came along." The archer barked out a laugh. "You, with the darkness-sealing sword, with talent that seemed to come to you naturally. I was bitter and threatened. Until I saw that you push yourself even more than I do."
And then Link turned towards him, his breath catching in his throat. Revali regarded him with those shocking green eyes and asked, "I fight for my home and honor. Why do you fight, hero?"
Why?
He'd considered that question before. It was one of the many things that kept him up at night.
"I am the hero wielding the sword that seals the darkness." Link said, his voice toneless and dark. "I have no choice. It is my destiny to fight."
Revali was the first person to not look shocked at hearing Link's voice. He merely exhaled. He looked annoyed.
"Because of the prophecy?"
Link crossed his arms and turned his head. It was more than the prophecy, more than legend. It was tradition. It was fate. Those chosen to fight by the goddess received the sword. Everyone knew that.
"I think it's stupid."
Link almost laughed out of astonishment at Revali's blunt words. You- he fumbled, eyes wide. What?!
Revali smirked at Link's bewilderment. You Hylians are exceedingly superstitious. Having two people fight a great evil? It sounds stupid to me. That's part of the reason why I was so bitter at being designated as backup.
It's ancient tradition- Link argued clumsily.
What happened to the previous heroes, who had to fight against evil all by themselves?
There was a story about a hero- the greatest hero, the Hero of Time. Some say that he was no older than eight when he was forced to go on a journey to thwart an evil dictator. Eight. Younger than Link. Younger than Link's sister.
He didn't know how much of the stories were true. But he did know that ancient heroes often lived tragic lives, filled with nothing but fighting and death.
(That's what they showed him, in his dreams.)
Revali gently grabbed Link's hand. His feathers were soft. "You shouldn't have to fight this by yourself. You won't have to. I've learned that isolating yourself doesn't give you strength. It only weakens you. And you are far from weak."
How Link wanted to believe him. To lean into the soft touch and melt away from the world.
But whether Revali was right or not didn't matter. It changed nothing. In the end, Link would still have to face Calamity Ganon alone. And the cost of his failure was not only his own death, but the death of everyone in Hyrule.
He couldn't afford to fail. He couldn't afford distractions.
Silently, he pulled away from Revali's touch, and left the stables.
Oh, sorry, were you not expecting angst? Oops...
Anyways, LESBIAN ZELDA AND PAN LINK. Stay tuned for the next chapter! Hopefully it won't be, like, two months this time lol.