The early morning sun shined through the window above the headboard of the large four posted bed. The burning light caused Shadow to pull his crimson eyes open slowly, looking around to try to remember his surroundings. More importantly how he had gotten there in the first place.
His eyes landed on the crowned hero huddled in one of the chairs from the fire place, a small blanket over his body in order to help keep himself warm when the fire had died down. His cap was off and on the floor, his blond locks half in a ponytail, his face pressed into the blanket.
A simple look that looked...cute.
Gingerly as he could, Shadow pulled himself up, grunting a bit at the feel of his wounds being stretched a bit after so long. He shivered a bit as the cold air hit his slightly wet back. He still felt a bit ill and that fact brought himself to wrap his naked body up in the blanket again.
He was glad he had been able to surviv the night. The fever had broken over night and he was slowly starting to get some color back into his cheeks. It held promise for the rest of the nights to come. He would be able to heal thoroughly. Or at least he hoped.
But then where would he go?
Pushing those thoughts away for the moment he reached over to the hero's foot, it being the closest thing to him since he didn't want to overstretch himself and possibly open up one of his wounds, and lightly shook him. "Hey," he said softly, keeping his voice soft so he didn't end up getting anyone's unwanted attention on the other side of the door or the room next door, whomever that was. He didn't need them to come in and find him naked in Link's bed.
"Hey. What?" Link asked startled. The blonde almost stumbled out of the chair from being jostled up like this. Instantly he regained his composure as he looked to his ill patient. Shadow could only smirk lightly and quickly hide it behind his hand.
"Sorry..." Link mumbled out his cheeks burning with embarrassment. He stretched his muscular arms over his head and let out a soft yawn. "I guess I must have fallen asleep."
The blonde pulled himself up from the chair and took a seat at the edge of the bed, looking into his ruby eyes to see if he still had a fever. "How are you feeling?" he asked him.
"A little better," Shadow answered, closing his eyes as Link pressed his palm to his forehead to make sure that he still didn't have a fever. He hoped that he would get the ok to at least try to get out of bed. He didn't want to be cooped up there all day.
His stomach let out a roar of a growl causing him to cover his stomach. He wanted something filling to eat but he wasn't sure what exactly he was able to eat that wouldn't upset his stomach. He couldn't go to the kitchen posing as Link and find something for himself. There were two problems keeping him from doing that. He was still too weak to even walk on his own and, even though he was his exact clone, there were obvious differences between the two of them.
"Hungry it seems," Link said with a soft chuckle, removing his hand from his forehead. "How does this sound? I'll change your bandages, give you another potion, and then get us some breakfast."
Shadow raised an eyebrow to him, the blanket on his bare shoulder sliding off to reveal his pale skin underneath. "Why can't I eat first and them take the potion? Having something in my stomach might help settle it better...?"
"No. From personal experience eating first and then drinking the potion will actually be the thing that might make you puke," Link explained to him. He got up from the bed and grabbed the medical items he had used the night before on him.
"Alright then, that sounds fine to me then," Shadow said with a small wrinkle in his nose. Shadow felt a bit odd to be so talkative lately. No one had ever tried to hold a conversation like a normal person before.
Link moved behind Shadow starting to untie the pieces of cloth serving as bandages for him. His soft warm fingers laid on his back as he inspected the wounds on his back which only caused Shadow to shiver lightly. "So...what should I call you? Do you have a name?" Link asked him. Shadow opened his mouth to answer and hissed softly when he felt him starting to dab at them again with a cotton ball soaked in red potion.
"My full name is Shadow Link," he said with a soft grunt. Ganondorf was never really original with names. Shadow Link...Phantom Ganon. He just took a noun and put it in front of a name in order to make it different. Honestly it really wasn't.
"But...Shadow is fine. I think it serves me well," he said to him. Honestly he didn't want his own name mixed in with Link's. "Shadow" didn't associate him more than it should. Besides, his own looks and sword abilities were a bit different anyway.
"Shadow it is then," Link said to him, tying on the bandages once again to his back and maneuvering himself in front of his shadow.
"Alright Shadow. Drink up," Link said, passing him the bottle of red potion for him to drink. "I'm sorry if it tastes like donkey piss. I can get you food after you drink this. I can't exactly take you to the dining area. Her Majesty is waiting for me in there. Seeming as you are...or were...linked to his majesty, the asshole of darkness...it wouldn't be best to take you into her presence right now. I'll see what I can do about breaking her into it slowly."
Shadow couldn't help but smirk lightly at the nickname Link had bestowed on his creator. It did fit him very well.
He took a large gulp of the potion and made a face, trying to keep himself from spitting it out and rinsing his mouth out with water and soap. But he forced himself to swallow it. Any chance to get himself better at the moment instead of being bed ridden all day.
"I'll be back I in a little bit," Link said, standing up and leaving the room just as Shadow set the now empty bottle onto the table near the bed. Shadow stared at the door for a moment and sighed, laying himself back down on the bed.
~Link's P.O.V.~
The blonde sighed heavily as he closed his bedchamber door, resting his head against the wood lightly. How was he going to explain Shadow to his wife? She would definitely not let him stay. From hearing the bits and pieces from his shadow he knew that he didn't have anywhere else to go. He couldn't help but feel responsible for making him live this way.
Maybe he could bring him to the forest if Zelda didn't let Shadow stay. That is if she didn't try to kill him at first. He could easily take his old home. Then again he didn't think the children would let him stay there. Not only was he not Kokiri, but he also had a dark past. Which Link was surprised at that he was able to foresee such a thing.
That was just how Link was. He tried to see the good in all people. Even Ganondorf. Though he had learned in a short amount of time that he didn't have any good in him at all.
Link could see the good in Shadow however. It had been buried down deep after years of dark impressions. Now that he wasn't under Ganondorf's thumb he could make his own choices. Link wanted to guide him down the right path of good.
Pushing himself from the door he headed towards the dining room to have breakfast with his wife. He would sneak after breakfast into the kitchen to get some food for Shadow. The other male needed some sort of nourishment in order to at least get on his feet again.
At the long dining table sat his wife. She sat at the side of the table in an elegant blue silk dress. Blue ribbons were tied into a braid in her golden locks of hair. She looked two years younger than she originally was.
A napkin sat in her lap as she ate, her back erect. Such a way to eat as a princess should. She always tried to get him to do it as well. He hated that and he would never do it.
The table was set with flowers and two plates full of steaming hot food. A biscuit, a few sausage links, and eggs sat on the plate. A large glass of milk sat beside the plate for him. Most likely from Talon with the delivery he had made a few days earlier from Lon Lon Ranch.
Lon Lon Ranch always had the best tasting milk in all of Hyrule.
"Good morning," Link said to his wife as he took a seat, placing the napkin in his lap. The Princess smiled to him and wiped her delicate lips with her napkin. "How did you sleep?"
"Not well...," she answered him, baby blue eyes casting down to her own plate. "I had another dream last night. A dark being...took you away..."
Link's eyes widened at her words already forgetting that he needed to feed his stomach. He knew that he had to rush to get back to his sick patient but Zelda was still his wife after all.
Also her dreams he knew that some of the time it meant they were more likely to come true.
"Zelda, I can assure you that no dark being will take me away from you," he said to her with a gentle smile placed on his lips. She stared at him for a moment, a frown coming to her face.
"You also reassured me when you told me that we could conceive a child."
There it was. Always that subject. Link could swear that any opportunity to bring up that subject again she took a hold of with her delicate fingers and just never let go.
"Zelda, I am not discussing this with you again. We aren't able to conceive and there is nothing we can do about it," he said to her, rising from his seat and picking up his plate He would need to share his meal with Shadow.
Zelda glared daggers at him and rose from her own seat. Link could feel the power rolling off of her in waves. If he didn't watch it he would honestly get a lash of her magic at his back to deal with.
"Where are you going now? I'm not done talking to you," she snapped his way. Link could easily just ignore her like always. Though he had it with her excuses to bring up that they could not have a child.
"I'm going to eat in my sleeping quarters," Link answered her simply, taking hold of his milk in his other hand and turning away from his wife. To think that not long ago they were a happily married couple running freely to their room after the wedding's reception.
"Now you're going go hide in your room like an impotent fool? If you being here wasn't so...so...important we would..."
"You would what? Make me abdicate? Unless you haven't noticed princess, I'm halfway there!"
Zelda's baby blue eyes widened from the tone of his voice. Link never rose his voice to his wife. Link realized what he had done and instantly regretted doing so. He never imagined ever yelling at her.
He hadn't been able to help it this time.
"...Excuse me..." he said to her softly, turning around and leaving the dining hall, the food in his hands as he made his way back up the stairs and to his shadow awaiting him in his room.
~Shadow's P.O.V.~
Link's return surprised Shadow. The weak man had tried his best to stand up and walk around the room and was near the armoire across the room from the bed, leaning against it and taking deep breaths so he could be able to breathe properly.
At first the blonde didn't see him. He set the plate of food on the table and let out a deep sigh. One look towards the empty bed brought the attention towards Shadow.
"What are you doing?" the blonde asked softly, immediately moving to his side to try to guide him back to the bed. Shadow tried his best to pull back, shaking his head towards the blonde. "You shouldn't be moving around. You should be in bed."
"No. I don't want to be in bed anymore," he protested, trying to pull his arm away from Link's strong grip. Link was much stronger however, even if Shadow was at full strength, and pulled Shadow towards the bed.
Shadow tried pulling again, this time getting one of his hands free. Link made a grab for it again but couldn't as they both toppled over...
...right onto the bed.
"Sorry," Link said, lifting his head up and looked down at his Shadow who stared up at him, his cheeks dark red from the contact that their bodies had made. Link's cheeks darkened a bit, feeling the burning warmth from the others naked body and his own clothed one.
Link laid on top if Shadow one of his hands still holding onto one of Shadow's above his head. His body lay in between delicate legs.
Shadow opened his mouth to say something to the blonde. But his words were halted as Link leaned down, his eyes partially closed and the breath hitting Shadow's lips.