A/N: Chapter Nine, finally some Link and Midna action! Enjoy :)
Link stared after Zelda as she stomped away furiously. He couldn't believe how she had reacted to Midna's words, completely losing it on both of them. He could still feel the pool of anger in his chest from watching Zelda scream at Midna, terrifying her and blaming her for Link's feelings. It wasn't Midna's fault he had fallen in love, it was just something that happened. He would rather face Ganondorf again than have to live without Midna. Midna, who was leaning against the wall clenching and unclenching her fists, still looking scared.
"That was..." Link started.
"Unexpected? Terryifying?" Midna finished.
"I was thinking the same," he said.
She nodded absently. "So what can we do now?"
"I think we should talk about why this is happening," Link suggested quietly. "Because everything would have gone away if I wasn't... you know..."
"In love?" Midna blushed. "Well, you're not supposed to love someone completely opposite of you. They always turn out to be the selfish ones," she added softly, staring at the ground.
It sounded as if she was suggesting herself but was too shy to ask outright.
Link took the closing steps between them, Midna pressed tight against the wall. He was in too deep to quit now.
She kept her eyes down. Link lifted her chin so he was staring into her red eyes. Brushing her cheek with his hand, he leaned into her ear, whispering,
"Midna, I love you."
He pulled back, keeping his hand on her smooth skin. Her eyes looked lost, although they sparked with a warm glow. A sweet smile perched on her lips.
Link leaned in slowly, waiting for a reaction. For Midna to slip out of his grip and run away, or push him off of her. But she didn't. Instead, she leaned in closing the distance between their mouths.
Midna's lips were full, and sweeter than anything Link had ever tasted. He didn't know how long they stayed pressed into the wall, the castle could have blown up and Link wouldn't have noticed. Too soon, though, she pulled away staring lovingly into his eyes.
"I love you, too." Midna said quietly.
Link never would have guessed that Midna was capable of expressing her love, but was still overjoyed to hear those words come out of her mouth. He broke into a triumphant grin, picking her up by the waist, not caring if it seemed cheesy, and twirled her around the empty library.
Midna laughed, a breathless sound. "We can do this, Link. If we're together, we can do this."
"Damn the old legends, I can be in love and a hero at the same time," Link smirked.
Her face grew serious in an instant. "I thought that ending up back here was going to be a mistake. I even made myself a promise to keep my emotions as far away from you as possible." Midna laughed without humour. "You don't know that I've regretted breaking the mirror everyday for the past year. All I could think of during the moment was that I couldn't come back here again and keep my feelings to myself. I never even considered for a second how you might be feeling, and I'm sorry, Link, I really am." She grimaced. "It was the most selfish thing I could have done to anyone."
Link listened silently, keeping his eyes locked to her face.
"I was going to tell you I loved you before I did it," she whispered, a single tear falling from her eye. "But I couldn't. You were supposed to be the hero and it felt like you could do so much more if I wasn't in your life."
"Oh, Midna..." He pulled her into his chest. "That's not true. I've loved you for so long. I would give up all of this if it meant I could be with you."
"We're not supposed to be together," Midna's voice was muffled from Link's tunic. "I can't give you what a girl from the light world can."
Link scoffed. "I don't want anyone from the light world. I want what we have right now, together."
He could feel Midna sigh from under his arms. "We have a lot to explain to Zelda then."
Link groaned. "If she doesn't kill us first."
Midna untied herself from his arms, her face flushed to a rosy pink. "We should go find her," Midna suggested, slipping through the huge door. Link followed, winding his thick hand through her slim one. Midna looked back at their entwined hands, a smile playing at her lips.
"I'm glad that we can finally be honest with each other," she said in a truthful tone, and wrapped Link in another passionate kiss.
Giddy. That was the best word to describe Midna's feelings. She had never been this happy in her entire life. To think that she had even considered trying to hide her emotions seemed insane now that she knew Link's feelings and could finally voice her own. She wondered if the prophecy would still come true, even if Link would continue to serve his duty as a hero.
"We should probably go..." Midna pulled her lips away from Link's grinning ones.
"We have to make up for lost time. Zelda can wait," he teased, pulling her back.
Midna smiled, despite her best efforts. "We can't go running around the castle attached to each other all the time. As much as we may want to," she added, giggling.
She was giggling? That was a first. It must be the butterflies acting up in her stomach.
"I suppose you're right," Link agreed.
The venture to Zelda's tower took longer than expected, not because they were lost, but because Link stopped at nearly every corner captivating Midna in kisses.
The door was ajar, and she could see Zelda bent over her book, reading intently. Link knocked on the door, three sharp raps, causing her to jump out of her chair.
Zelda had clearly calmed down, as she opened the door wider, motioning them inside.
"I'm sorry, Zelda," Link started.
She cut him off. "No, no! I should be the one apologizing. I didn't mean to blame you two for this. Like you said, Link, it was going to happen whether we wanted it to or not."
Zelda scanned over them both, a scrutinizing look in her eye.
"If this legend is true, however, I think you two need to at least try and establish a bearable relationship, even if it is just friendship."
Midna glanced over at Link. "About that... we're going to try to make our relationship work-"
"Romantically," Link interrupted, taking Midna's hand drawing her closer.
To her surprise, Zelda actually looked pleased.
"If you two can make it work, I'm happy for you," she congratulated, "But we still need to focus on Ganondorf's possible return."
"Of course," Midna nodded. "Speaking of which, what are we going to do about it?"
"I read further into the legend, and it said that Light and Shadow will entwine once again. The Gods were going to give the hero a second chance to banish Ganondorf once and for all," Zelda shared, "I thought that love was the reason that this was happening again, but the story continued on to say as long as the Chosen One's heart remained strong, the seal on Ganondorf will as well. I can interpret that to mean that as long as you are in love, Link, Ganondorf will not be able to harm our world. Since Midna is the object of your affection, her world cannot be harmed either."
Midna felt sudden wave of sadness. She wasn't part of their world, and she never could be completely. She couldn't just ask Link to come back with her to the Twilight Realm for the rest of his life, but she also couldn't abandon her kingdom again. What if the mirror was never fixed? Midna could be stuck in the light world forever. She briefly remembered a part of the legend.
'Over many, many years, these banished beings turn from their original human forms, into a completely different race.' Was she destined to become Hylian, with pink flesh and cool eyes?
Zelda interrupted her thoughts. "She also said that Ganondorf will show on the seventh day after Light and Twilight have been reunited. Midna arrived yesterday, and she was the first sign of Twilight, so we have five days left to prepare, starting tomorrow."
"What can we even prepare?" Link questioned.
"We need to secure the castle, and send the subjects of Castle Town away. I can take care of that, but I need you two to go on a short quest for me tomorrow," Zelda directed, "At the end of the legend, my ancestor included a potion that is said to bring unfathomable power to the possessor. I want you to gather the ingredients so we can brew this potion. I'll warn you now that not everything is easy to obtain, but I know you two can get it done in time."
She ripped a piece of parchment out of a leather notebook. Dipping her quill in ink, Zelda began recording a list of ingredients.
"I suppose you two need a room for tonight," she murmered absently.
Midna felt her face burning at the word 'room' as in singular, not plural.
She could hear Link smirking at her, and squeezed his hand in an anchor grip.
"Is that alright with you?" Zelda glanced up from the table, seemingly unaware of their exchange.
"It's fine by me," Link chuckled.
"Me too," Midna squeaked.
Well that's embarrassing. Now Link was going to think she didn't want to spend the night with him, alone. Last night had been different. They were in a spacious house, with two floors between their beds.
Folding up the parchment, Zelda handed it to Link.
She called out the door, "Cicilia, I need you to show these two to their room."
A servant that Midna hadn't noticed, nodded her head. "Of course, your Majesty."
"I'll see you in the morning," she smirked indiscreetly, "Have a good night."
If Midna's face was red before, it was nothing compared to now.
"Goodnight, Zelda," Link rolled his eyes, following Cicilia out the door.
Midna and Link's room was beautiful, and majestic in every way. The floors were draped with red velvet rugs, as were the curtains. All of the furniture was finished in a shining wood, including the bed, which was the biggest thing in the whole room. Pillows were piled strategically, matching the plush burgundy comforter.
"Is this room to your liking?" Cicilia asked timidly.
"It's perfect, thank you," Midna smiled, dismissing her silently.
The servant retreated, closing the door behind her as she went. Link pulled out the piece of parchment from his pocket, then removed the heavy overlay of his tunic, patting the pockets, as if checking for something, before setting it down gently on the back of a chair.
He strode to the bed, landing on it with a bounce. Patting beside him, he motioned for Midna to join. She had to take a jump, the mattress was lifted so high off the ground.
Unfolding the paper, Link began to list the ingredients.
"Wing of a Keese, shell of a Helmosaur, heart of a Kargorok, feather of an Oocca... Great, we get to go back to the sky," Link groaned, "Venom of a Skulltula. Gross, spiders. Skull of a Stalfos and... a single tear from the Twilight Princess..."
That caught Midna's attention. "Why would they need one of my tears?"
"I don't know," Link answered. "Maybe they're special."
"Maybe," she murmured.
Link folded up the paper, tossing it onto a nearby table. "It's been a long day, we need some rest."
He gripped the sides of his thin shirt, and threw it onto the same table. Midna gasped, not a quiet sound.
"What?" He asked self-consciously, staring down at his chest.
Link did have a muscular body, toned and fit, but across all the muscles, there were scars running everywhere. His pale skin was completely ravaged. The scars were sporatically spread, some inches long, some only centimetres and others were a puckered pink, or deep plum. There was one easily six inches long and raised above Link's skin over his heart that Midna couldn't stop staring at.
"Where did you get all the scars?" Midna asked, her voice shaking slightly.
"Battle wounds," he shrugged, glancing at his chest again. "I've had most of these for a few years now. This one happened last year," Link said, pointing to the one on his chest. "When I was fighting that dragon in the sky."
How could she not have remembered that? It looked like it was a fatal wound, and could have bled for hours. Link pulled back the covers, nestling himself into the bed. Midna reached out timidly, and grazed the puckered skin with her hand. He shivered under her cool touch. She slipped into the bed too, blowing out the lantern beside it, and was aware that her heart was pounding nervously, although that didn't stop Midna from curling into Link's warm body.
He kissed her softly, moving his lips up to her forehead.
"Goodnight, Midna," he mumured into her hair.
"Goodnight," she whispered.
Link couldn't see her smiling in the dark.