A/N: Sooo sorry I'm taking forever to update! Life's a bit hectic, and I'm also having so elongated writer's block. This is more-so a filler chapter, but the plot is almost coming to an end ;w ; Then, after this fic is over... there's another surprise with these two ;) Hueue. Welp. Enjoy!

Link sighed as he climbed the ladder that led to his front door – tonight would be his last lonely night. By tradition, as Rusl had said earlier, he wasn't allowed to see Midna until the ceremony of wed. Hopefully, tonight was going to be the last night he slept alone until he grew old and passed on. Opening his eyes, Link pulled himself up to the ledge in front of his door, to which he proceeded on opening it and entering the humble home of his.

Dust had piled up along the furniture – the previous night, Link nor had Midna cared of the filth and passed out of exhaustion. Shaking his head, he removed the sack of ceremonial robes for the following day from his back, crossed the house to the small kitchen, and dampened a cloth to cleanse the rustic furniture of its grime. After the layer of gray was stripped from the wood, the read oaky color seemed more vivid. Happier, if it were an animate object.

Yawning, Link rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. Retiring the cloth back to his sink, he walked off to the washroom, divesting himself of the day's clothes. Strewing them to the floor, Link reached up behind his head, beginning to undo the small braid that Midna had made in his hair the previous day – smiling as the last braid fell free. Retaking his now loose hair into his hands, he pulled it up off of his neck, tying it tight into a pony tail with the same cloth that had held his braid together formerly.

Pulling his hands back down to his sides, he looked in front of him – the mirror in his face was barely visible. Taking a candle, Link lit the wick and laid it on a small counter. Then, he continued to stare into the mirror at his reflection. A wave of emotions began to flood over him as he noted the scars and marks that ravaged his skin. He remembered the skirmishes that he had fought, with Midna by his side. The things they had been through, it was incredible. Aside with all the battle scars, other things stuck out to Link. The last time he thoroughly looked at himself, was when he was deathly ill – the time when he had actually tried to die.

Thinking back, he was glad Eric found him. He was glad that Zelda never gave up on him. How thankful he was for them. If it weren't for her – if it wasn't for Zelda coming to find him stranded in his basement, he would have died; if it wasn't for Zelda always caring for him; he would have died in that alleyway; if it wasn't for Zelda ordering to get the mirror put back together, he would have never seen Midna again. And then drip by drop, tears began to stream down his face. Zelda was his best friend, from the numerous times she saved his life. Although they differed so greatly – he would do the same for, as she did to him.

Because of Zelda, he wasn't a twig. His skin looked a healthy hue – not pale and sickly; there was rosiness to his cheeks and the tips of his ears. His eyes even glistened – blue irises as deep as a storm's thick. Link made his way down the image in the mirror – noting that although he was not as his peak, he looked like the average man his age, more or less on the skinnier side. Collar bones slowly returning back to his skin, the skin of his arms slowly becoming defined to the shape of his returning strength, and the skin of his hands, although calloused, warm and welcoming – not cold and icy.

Link lightly chuckled as he took a meager cloth to his face to dry his tears, all until he heard the knock from the front of his house. Stopping in his movements, he waited a second, two, and then knock repeated itself. Grumbling, Link stamped out of the washroom, sliding an oversized shirt over his chest. Reaching forward at the doorknob, he grasped it between his fingers, groaned, and then pressed on to pull the door open.

"Why must you bother me at this time of night?" Link immediately snapped, before he even bothered to identify the face of the man at his door.

The blond was taken back, however, when a large hand reached for his chest and pushed him backwards, allowing space for the other to enter. The stranger that had just stepped right in Link's small household was hooded in a dark green robe. He was much taller than Link, too. As he closed the front door, preparing to confront the man, the hood flipped off his head, revealing the familiar blond hair, tied up in a ponytail with a small bow. Before the man even turned his head to reveal the structure of his face to Link, he already knew the man's identity.

"Kokau… how are you.. like... here?" Link approached the taller man, gently resting a hand on his forearm.

Only slightly turning his head back to the shorter, Kokau smiled, brushing the other's hand off his arm. "I pleaded the goddesses to let me return as a mortal for the next few days. I didn't want to miss your big day. I've always wanted to witness a ceremonial wed. I've never seen one, or taken part in one."

Unbuttoning his cloak, Kokau rested it on the back of a wooden chair, following by seating himself in it. Taking notion, Link sat himself across from the man, leaning forward and resting his chin on his hands, creating an image of himself that only screamed that he was curious. Kokau, however, crossed his legs and didn't bother to face Link in the face. He only blankly stared pass him, out the window, into the endless darkness of the night.

Glancing down at the tabletop, Link spoke up, "What do you mean you haven't been in one? I'm your descendent, right? That means you got married and had kids. That's how it works, right?"

The sigh released from Kokau's mouth was oddly audible. For the most part, Kokau had seemed the silent man – only speaking when necessary, not even his normal noises were ever heard. But then, slowly, the man turned his face to Link. What was revealed resulted in Link's jaw dropping, his hands whipping up to cover his gaping mouth, and traces of an all too familiar liquid gathering about his eyelids.

"Kokau, what's wrong? Was it something I said?" Immediately, Link stood from his chair and rushed over to the other, wrapping his arms around the other tightly.

Kokau's red puffy eyes blinked once or twice, until they stayed shut. Tears began to trickle down his face, leaving trails behind them. Jaw clenched, the man reached a hand up to his mouth, muffling any small whine or cry that made its way through his urge to hide them. Then, he went still. The shorter slowly unraveled his hands from the man and stared at him, concern flooding over his thoughts.

After a minute or so, Kokau took an outburst and dried his eyes, returning the gaze to Link with an attempted confident smile. It was crooked and lopsided; his lips rose higher on the left side of his face rather than his right. He had the expression of a teenager who just pulled the dumbest prank on his parents. To such amusement, the frown that enveloped Link's face faded to a tiny grin.

"I don't want to push it, but if you're up to it, would you mind explaining what just happened?" Link spoke and gave a crooked grin that just pleaded for answers.

Nodding, Kokau gestured over to the chair that the other had just been sitting it. "Yeah, just take a seat though. Your floor is dusty as hell. You probably don't want to be a mess tomorrow. Get off the floor, please."

Snickering, Link did as told, pulling the chair over so he sat directly in front of the other. Crossing one foot over his opposite knee, folding his hands in his lap; he had been trying to break his habits of slouching. He knew after tomorrow, he would have to live in the Twilit Realm, with their princess. He couldn't be the typical farm boy he had grown up being. And in attempt, he tried to look as right as possible, to create a habit of it, he assumed.

Rolling his eyes around in his head, it was obvious that Kokau played with the unspoken words with his tongue, trying to create the best combination. When he opened his mouth after the moments of silence, the soft cough from his throat caught Link's attention. "Well, I was going to get married. That never happened though."

"Why?" Link cocked his head slightly, raising one brow simultaneously.

"Well, realizing I couldn't be with Zelda, because after she sent me back, I was the only one that knew of the events that had happened. Zelda had no clue who I was anymore, and Hyrule didn't need to be saved anymore, so there was no reason for me to try to approach her. As I grew older, I met Malon 'again'," Kokau said, yawning and taking a moment to admire the flesh that he had again, taking in each little function that didn't' seem to faze any other person.

"So you were going to marry Malon, but you didn't?"

Nodding, Kokau held his hands together under his chin, preparing to continue on with his exploration of his past. "I was, as I grew older, I realized she was the closest to Zelda that I could get. Nobody knew me as the hero then, and it made me glad and sad at the same time. I liked that people didn't flock over me, but I also did miss the appreciation that I had previously gotten. But, anyways, back to Malon. I did love her, lots and lots. Not as much as Zelda, though. No, never as much as Zelda. I felt bad about that. It was obvious that Malon loved me as much as I loved Zelda."

Shrinking back into his chair, Link stared at the ground. "Oh. Did she find out?"

Shaking his head, contradicting the younger's assumptions. "No, I'm pretty good with secrets. But, I felt bad about the deficit of the affection. So, there was a night where I took her in my hands. After the many years I had relived my childhood, I had gotten all the adult's references by then. And then there was that one guy in castle town… suggesting I be a prostitute. I never got that until too late."

Before Kokau could continue on, he was interrupted by the loud laughter of Link, whose cheeks were as red as a heart potion.

"Somebody suggested you be a prostitute? Oh my goddesses. Why. I thought that job was for women." Link reached his hand up to hold his mouth shut to prevent himself from interrupting the other any further.

Grumbling and rolling his eyes, Kokau smirked. "Yes, yes. I was talking to an old man, and the first thing he said to me was 'if I had looks like you, I could run a different kind of business' and then he winked at me. At the time, where I was still mentally ten, I was scared out of my mind. Then he stared at me odd. You never really see a sixteen year old with a big ass sword and hella fine thighs crying over a dumb comment. I never went back to that place either. Link would you stop laughing I'm being serious."

The laughing idiot just waved his hand back and forth, practically telling Kokau to continue as he tried to suppress his giggles.

Glaring at the smaller, Kokau turned his attention away from Link's outburst of laughter. "Why did I even mention that…. Ugh. Back to Malon. Having to have grown up twice, I picked up on what the adults did when the lights were out. And then one night I felt impulse to do it, I guess to make up for what I lacked. And how I think she enjoyed it… she was so loud, I was just glad her father was in Kakariko at the time. I enjoyed it, too." Taking a breath, the man looked up from his hands to see Link wide eyed across from him, red flashing across his cheeks. "What?"

"Could you not go into detail? I don't need to know about your sex life." Link's eyes flickered towards the ground.

Snickering, Kokau smirked at the other. "I wasn't going to." Immediately, he saw the relief in Link's face from his words. "But, almost a year later a little one came along. It was my fault, too. I felt obligated to stay. Her name was Marielle. The little girl was so cute; she said my name first, too. By then I gave up my hopes for Zelda, and I asked Malon to marry me. We hadn't had the ceremony, so it was never official, but in my mind I always believed we tied the knot. And then only a moon or two later, oh hey, we were going to have another kiddo. I was more so shocked. But, it was going to be nice."

Smiling, Link raised his brows at Kokau. "Was it a girl or boy? Name? How did they look?"

Taking a pause, Kokau exhaled. "I don't know. Before he or she was born, I had been recruited to the Hylian army. There was a skirmish with the Gerudo, and they needed skilled swordsmen to lead. Quickly after I joined I was promoted to general. And, during our first battle, I let down my guard for a moment to aid a fallen comrade, that's when I was struck. I looked down at my stomach, and the tip of a lengthy sword, covered in blood, was coming out of me. That was when I passed on. I never got to meet my second child."

The silly grin on Link's face dropped and was replaced with a pained frown. "But, you saw them as a spirit, right? Like how you talked to me those many times during my quest."

Elongated, Kokau shook his head, forcing his eyes shut. "No. The goddesses only granted me that ability not long ago. Yes, I lived on a spirit before so, but, I never could stay in the present day. It was only up in the heavens. But then you came into the world, and I've been watching over you since before you were born."

Pursing his lips, Link's smile grew across his face. "Really?"

Nodding his head, Kokau smirked. "Yup. That's why I told your father to come back, but he never listened. He was a coward. He helped bring you into the world. He should have taken some responsibility."

Staring down at the ground, beginning to rub the inside of his forearm with his hand, Link crowed lightly. "Yeah, I know."

Exhaling, Kokau grinned at the other. "Sorry for bringing it up. Anyways, we should move on to a brighter topic, don't you agree?" Quickly looking up, Link responded to Kokau with a nod of his head, and the taller took note of it. "Ah, so are you excited for tomorrow?"

Shrugging his shoulders, the younger's face flushed a rosy pink as a cheesy grin made its shape with his slips. "Yeah. I'm nervous, too. I don't want to mess up. But I also want to see Midna."

"I bet she looks beautiful."

"That's an understatement. She's drop dead gorgeous," Link snickered, trying to hide his blush in his hands.

Reaching over and patting the blond's shoulder, Kokau smiled from ear to ear. "Now that's what I like to hear." Finding amusement in the other's fluster, the taller decided it would be the best time to change the subject. Pulling away, from the smaller, Kokau raised his brows in question toward Link. "So, how's everything going, physically? You look better than last time I saw you."

Taken back by the other's comment, Link nodded his head, slowly, but fully. "Yeah, I'm doing better, you could say. Things slowed down. I haven't improved too much since last time we met."

"Let me see."

"What do you mean by that?" Link raised his voice slightly, not in the angered manner, but the rather inquisitive.

"Take off your shirt. I want to see how you actually look. You may see yourself as getting better. I only want to confirm. All I can see are you neck, wrists, and everything below the knees. That doesn't provide me with much security to your health." As he spoke, Kokau tilted his head and raised his brows.

Squinting his eyes and making grumbles of incoherent noises as he stood, clashing of consonants flaked with vowels. "Fine." Slowly, Link's hands made their way to the hem of his shirt, gradually pulling it up over his head, revealing his skin. Since Kokau had arrived while he was changing, all he stood in was his undergarments, and goose bumps began to cover his skin as his teeth clattered lightly.

Kokau stared up at Link's face as the smaller turned a bright red. "Don't worry, I'm not judging you."

"I feel awkward with just my underwear on."

"I can make it more awkward if you want."

"Kokau, no. Don't you dare."

Snickering, the taller feel back in his chair. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Maybe." The death glare that was shot at Kokau only made him laugh harder as he stood, looking over Link's frame. Sometimes poking at his rips, spine, or shoulders, the man made a full circle around the younger. "You're not as skinny. Ribs still stick out though."

Sighing, Link reached down and slipped his shirt back over his head. "I know I know. I've been trying to do as Midna and Zelda say. But most of the time I just don't feel right."

Returning to his seat, Kokau placed his finger on his chin. "What do you mean?"

"I don't care as much as they do. I just want to move on with my life. But they keep bringing up that I gotta do this and that. I just don't care that much." Taking his seat, too, Link stared at the ground and shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't want to repeat what they said, but to move on with this whole incident, you have to be healthy – or you're going to live miserably for the rest of your life." Kokau bent forward, taking his hand and forcing Link's chin to come up from the floor, resulting their eyes to lock.

"I know, it just… I don't know," Link sighed.

"It's fine. You'll be happier tomorrow. How about we hit the sack? It's pretty late. I can crash on the rugs." Kokau grinned, standing from his chair and grabbing his cloak, making a pillow of it before tossing it onto a rug.

Staring wide eyed at the man, Link nodded. "Okay. I'll be up in the loft if you need me. Just don't eat anything in the kitchen. I don't know how long it's been sitting there." Standing from the table, Link blew out the lantern, following by climbing the ladders to the loft where his bed sat. With a sigh, he glanced down at Kokau, sleeping already – loudly, too.

Snores echoed through the humble household as Link climbed into his bed. The previous night Midna had been right there beside him. She held him in her warm embrace. And to think that for the rest of his life, all of his nights would be like that, a small tear trickled down his face as a warm smile filled his face.

"I won't be alone anymore."

Following Uli into her household, Midna hid her face from Rusl, who sat at the table alone, eating a bowl of soup. She assumed Colin and Emma were sound asleep – it was far past a child bedtime, with the hour of night that it was. Glancing at her hands, her eyes met with the ring that rested on her finger.

There were three small jewels, one green, one a fiery red, and the last was a rich blue. She grinned. She hadn't known where Link had gotten it, but it was beautiful. She felt honored to have it. She prepared long and well for the ceremony tomorrow, and now was the last part.

Uli had disappeared into a side room for several moments, and she returned with a long, elegant, Ordonian gown. It was laced and the ornate sewing patterns sung of Hyrule. Before she could even comment on its beauty, the dress was firmly shoved into Midna's arms.

"Rusl, go off to bed. I've got to help Midna fit this." Uli smiled at her husband, pecking him on the cheek.

With a smile, the man nodded and walked up the stairs. And the next thing Midna knew, the dress was being strewn over her head, the laces being tied tightly in the back. She felt the fabric tighten around her waist, but not by too much, and then flow freely to the ground.

"It's beautiful, Uli." Midna admired the dress. "Thank you for lending it to me."

Shaking her head and grinning, Uli patted Midna on the back. "Oh it's nothing, honey. Link will love it. You look absolutely stunning."

While the red flooded her face, Midna smiled back. "Oh my, thank you!"

"Now, let's take it off, preserve it for tomorrow." Uli smiled as she began to untie the dress from the back.

"I honestly can't wait for tomorrow to come"

"I don't think Link can, either, sweetie. He's head over heels for ya'."

Snickering, Midna said, "Yeah I know, he's a dweeb. I'm just excited. Really, really, really excited."

"Why?" Uli asked, although she knew the answer was probably obvious.

"I won't be alone anymore."