Holy crap, the summer heat just came out of nowhere this past week. I'd enjoy it a whole lot more if I wasn't working all day under the sun, but I need money. After all, as the saying (sort of) goes, "Money can't buy happiness, but it can get pretty damn close."

Disclaimer: Refer to chapter one

Night Turns to Day

The still night air was pleasantly cool, contrasting the heat generated during the day. Insects buzzed and chirped about to create a harmonious atmosphere, sonically enhancing the feel of nighttime. The moon was hardly a sliver, allowing for the stars to dimly illuminate the open fields of Hyrule.

Lying on one of the thick branches of a tree, Link found himself casually peering through a break between the leaves. With a stalk of wheat in his mouth, he watched a number of fireflies zigzagging about in the air in front of him, and if he broadened his focus, they almost looked like stars dancing in the sky.

There was no telling what time it was, but it had to have been well after midnight by now. Feeling rather weary from all the things he'd had to deal with before, it was a wonder how Link was managing to stay awake. Regardless, he felt no desire to sleep, and he was not sure that he could force his body to do so even if he tried, thus leading to his current act of stargazing in a tree.

Sighing, he sat up with his back to the trunk and peered over at the darkened windows of the house. As his gaze fell on the drawn curtains of Malon's window, Link roughly ran a hand through his blond locks. Never in his life had the hero felt so incredibly stupid as he had that morning. He had no idea what compelled him to say such a ridiculous thing to Malon, and the surprised, embarrassed look on her face was more than enough to let him know that he had overstepped whatever sort of boundaries they had set up.

"The most amazing person I've ever met," he scoffed quietly, quoting the words he'd said to the redhead. The idiocy of those words left a bitter taste in his mouth, and he unintentionally spat out the wheat stalk as he cleansed his tongue of the taste.

It was true that he thought Malon was a great person; he would even go so far as to admit he thought she was incredible, but to make the claim that she was the most amazing person he knew, well, even thinking about it just made him feel silly. After all, he'd only known her for hardly two months, and it wasn't as though she'd done anything overly impressive. She was sweet, she understood him, she genuinely cared for him, but so had countless others he had met throughout his travels. Marin was probably the most loving person he'd met so far, but he had never said something like that to her.

Like always, Link's regular expression dropped into a frown as thoughts of Marin surfaced in his mind. He figured that the main reason he had not gone to sleep was because he did not want to face whatever awaited him on the other side. If he recalled correctly, his dream body had taken refuge in some hidden grotto after the disheartening discussion with Marin. Even if he fell asleep, would he dare head back to Mabe Village? In his current state of mind, Link was almost certain that he would end up lazing about inside the seaside cave until he woke up again. The thought of seeing Marin at such a critical time was rather unfavourable, not to mention that he had never cleared things up with the shopkeeper.

Sliding down onto his back, Link sighed again as he peered at the stars. It was a purely cowardly move to stay awake like this. There was no excuse he could make that would make his actions seem acceptable or just. He was avoiding the potential unpleasantness physically, mentally, and consciously. Of course, after the mishap with Malon, things weren't exactly spectacular in the real world either.

The blond smirked as a thought crossed his mind. He was like a child who would not go back to sleep after experiencing a nightmare; in a sense, that was exactly what he was doing. The amusing difference was that a child would eventually fall back asleep and wake up to realize that the nightmare had ended as soon as they woke up the first time. Link, on the other hand, knew that his personal nightmare would not be over if he fell asleep, and would wake up with the dreaded feeling that things would not settle simply by waking up.

A distant howl echoed on the winds, and Link turned his attention to the starlit fields. From the limited light, he was able to make out a few bumbling figures that he assumed to be some stray stalchildren wandering for prey. He chuckled dryly at the idea that he would rather stay awake while monsters wandered all around him than simply go to sleep and potentially face some minor unpleasantries.

A speck of glowing gold in the distant fields caught his eye, and he tried to focus on it as best he could. Initially mistaking it for a firefly, Link swatted at it, only to realize that it was, indeed, something moving rapidly in the distance. Unfortunately, it was much too far to tell what it was from here, and there was no chance he would be able to catch up to it by any means currently available to him. Oddly enough, after he rubbed his eyes with the hope to get a better view of it, the light vanished without a sign of ever having been there. Considering it had been racing around on an open field, there was no way it could have hidden behind something. Spending only a few moments scanning the fields, Link shrugged and went back to stargazing, figuring that his eyes were likely just playing tricks on him.

The night wore on and Link immersed himself in thought as he fought off the fleeting feelings of sleep. Before long, the sky began to brighten into a pastel-coloured purple, signaling the imminent sunrise. Sitting up to get a better view, he waited for the first light to begin peeking over the horizon. Watching the distant sky turn bluer and bluer, the sun suddenly appeared, immediately followed by the crowing of one of the cuccos.

Surprisingly, the front door to the house opened before the cucco could finish crowing, and Link looked down to see Talon bumble out of the house with a yawn. Normally, the old man was the last of the three to get up, so it was quite odd to see him up and moving before the day's first light. Nevertheless, the rancher was already on the move, making his way over to the stables to let the horses out. Thinking it might be funny, Link hopped out of the tree just before Talon was about to pass beneath the branch he had been on all night.

"What in tarnation?!" Talon cried, jumping back and clutching at his heart. "Link! What the devil were you thinkin' jumpin' out o' that tree and scaring the daylights out of me?! You nearly ended my life right there!"

"Heh, sorry, old man. Seemed like a good chance to get you back for all the hair I've lost thanks to you," Link chuckled.

"Hmph, you don't know a thing about hair loss, kid," the bald rancher grumbled, obnoxiously scratching his hairless scalp. "What were you doin' up there at this time of day, anyhow? Heck, you'd have had to be up there since before dawn!"

"To be honest, I couldn't sleep, so I ended up staying in that tree all night."

Talon scratched the side of his face with one finger before shaking his head and continuing towards the stables. "You young'uns and your crazy antics. Well, since you're up you can help me with the morning stuff. I'm sure Mal'll be out to help soon too."

Shrugging in indifference, Link followed along beside Talon. The older rancher's morning drowsiness seemed to have set back in, and the two of them walked without speaking. Link gazed out to the horizon, the golden colour reminding him of the odd light he had seen last night. Perhaps if he had the energy to stay awake for a second night in a row, he might try to spot that light again. It was likely that he would simply end up staying awake for naught, but Link's curiosity was the main reason he had ended up in so many life-changing situations.

A cough from Talon snapped the warrior's thoughts from the odd golden light. Helping the moustached man open the stable gates, Link lightly stroked each horse as it trotted out toward the corral.

"Aah, I'm gettin' too old for this whole 'work' thing," Talon joked, stretching his arms above his head and allowing his joints to crack loudly as he did so. "How about you take over the ranch in my place?"

"Glad to see you trust me more than your own daughter," Link laughed, wiggling his three recently healed fingers in front of him.

"Heh, well, I was thinkin' more along the lines of lettin' you co-run it with her."

"…Let's not get too ahead of ourselves here."

Talon chuckled and got right to work cleaning the stables. Thankful that that conversation had simply ended instead of getting out of hand or overly serious, Link retrieved some meal from the supply shed and began filling the feeding trays around the perimeter of the fenced area.

As the morning continued on, Malon's absence became increasingly unusual. At first, Link thought little of it, as Talon had not commented on it; however, the sun was now high in the sky and the redhead still had yet to leave the house.

"Hey, is Malon sick or something?" Link asked as Talon was walking by.

"Hmm? Don't think so," he responded slightly confusedly. "She seemed fine yesterday. Why?"

"Oh, well, I just thought it was…kind of unlike her to skip out on work," Link said in a half joking manner. "Either that or she's just been avoiding my line of sight."

Talon smirked a bit but hardened his expression when he thought about why she might be avoiding her chores. "Nothin' really comes to mind, y'know? Mal's pretty good when it comes to doin' what she's asked, so I don't question her on these rare occasions when she isn't working. If it's botherin' you, then you can go ahead an' ask; I won't stop you."

The older man continued going about whatever he had been doing before, leaving Link to ponder of her options. It wasn't very hard to guess why she might be skipping out on working, but he couldn't imagine that what he had said the other day would bother her that much. After all, it wasn't like staying inside would keep the two of them from seeing each other all day, considering that he would have to go inside throughout the day to wash up, eat, and use the restroom.

Still, the fact that she could have been so shocked by his comment made him hesitate from going right inside and checking on her. After a while of deciding whether or not to go, Link slowly began moving his legs toward the entrance of the house. If worse came to worst, he could always leave and go back to his work, and it wasn't as though there were too many things that could go wrong. It wasn't as though he was going to barge into her room unannounced or anything of the sort.

With those scraps of reassurance he'd managed to scrounge from nothing, he gulped and apprehensively turned the doorknob. Each of his footsteps seemed as loud as explosions as he unsurely made his way towards the staircase. The stairs were not much better, as each one creaked as he made his way up, and he felt like he had just fought an intense battle by the time he had reached the top. With Malon's bedroom door now in sight, however, there would be point in turning back now.

Unable to stall for any more time, Link gingerly walked to her door and held his breath as he knocked on the door. When no response came, he exhaled and cleared his throat.

"Uh, Malon?" he called a bit shakily. "It's me; can I come in?"

Again, there was not response, and Link let out a sigh, half in relief and half from concern. Checking to see if she had locked the door, he reached for the handle and attempted to turn it. Finding that it was not locked, he cracked it open.

"I'm coming in," he quietly announced.

Pushing the door open just enough to step in, she appeared to still be asleep. From outside, he had seen that her curtains were still drawn, but Link still found it a bit surprising that she had yet to get up. Worried that she may be sick, he cautiously approached the blanketed figure and gently touched the back of his hand to her forehead. Relieved that she didn't seem warmer than usual, Link felt his tensed muscles relax and he softly took a seat on the edge of her bed. With their backs facing each other, he didn't feel quite so awkward being in her room while she slept.

"I guess I should apologize for what happened yesterday," he spoke quietly, pretending she could hear him so that he would be able to say it properly when she woke up later. "I…I honestly don't know what was going through my head when I said that to you. I mean, you're definitely an amazing person but…I shouldn't have said you were the most amazing… Not that I'm trying to compare you or anything. Well, it's not like I really could decide what makes a person better than another… Damn, I don't really know where I'm going with this. Point is, I shouldn't have sprung that on you."

Feeling a bit embarrassed, he nervously glanced over his shoulder. Reassured by her unchanged posture, Link turned back around and tried to articulate his thoughts a bit better.

"The best way for me to put it is that I feel comfortable around you. We haven't really known each other for that long, but you and Talon are kind of like a family to me…just don't tell the old man I said that. I know I'll have to leave eventually – after all, I can't keep relying on the two of you forever – but I think what I was trying to say before was that I almost feel like this is my home too, and just being around you…and I guess your dad, too, gives me that homey feeling.

"Ah, I'm getting a bit off-topic here. I was really surprised yesterday when you noticed that I wasn't my regular self. I didn't notice much of a change in my usual personality, myself, so the fact that you noticed, mixed with the comfortable feeling I get around you, made me say what I did. It was pretty dumb and sort of a spur-of-the-moment thing for me to say; subtlety isn't really one of my greater assets.

"Heh, I feel pretty weird now, sitting here talking to myself while I pretend to apologize to you. Who knows if I'll even be able to say any of this to you once you're awake? Ah, well, I guess I'll just have to deal with that when it happens. Really, though, I didn't mean to say anything that might make you uncomfortable, Malon, and if I did, then I'm truly, truly sorry…"

Now feeling even more embarrassed having finished his practice apology, Link could not find the gall to glance back at the redhead for reassurance that she had not been listening. Rather than subjecting himself to further mental torment, he leaned forward to stand up and leave. However, before he was able to get to his feet, the hero froze on the spot as Malon's hand gently but firmly gripped around his wrist. Shakily cranking his head back, he was met by her bright blue eyes staring back at him.

"S-So…you were awake that whole time…" She nodded. "And you heard all of that?" She nodded again.

Only able to chuckle bashfully, Link was caught between wanting to sprint out of there or finding out what she had to say to him, if anything. Of course, just as it had gotten him into this situation, his curiosity got the better of him, and Link stayed where he was despite the ever-increasing discomfort of his situation.

"I, um…" Malon mumbled, dropping her gaze for a moment before bringing it back up to Link's face. "I'm sorry, too."

Taken aback by her quiet apology, Link turned his body to face her more naturally and tilted his head a bit. "What are you apologizing for?"

Malon crinkled her nose slightly and answered him just as quietly as she'd been speaking before. "I-I overreacted to what you said… I mean, I wasn't really sure how to take it and it was on my mind all day and night. When I woke up this morning, I just…wasn't so sure if I would be able to be around you, and I ended up staying in bed this whole time."

So it really had affected her that much. Link inwardly cringed at the thought that she had been so shocked by his stupid comment. At the same time, he couldn't stop the edges of his lips from tugging up into a small smile.

"Sorry," he apologized again. "To be honest, it was on my mind all of yesterday, too, and I ended up staying up all night because I was too annoyed with myself to fall asleep. I guess we were both caught off-guard by the whole thing."

Malon smiled back at him, filling his insides with a warm, calming sensation. "I'm sure if Dad knew what was going on, he would laugh at how clueless and innocent we seem for people our age."

Link let out a breathy chuckle, feeling more relieved that they were both on the same page than embarrassed over his blunder. Now that their apologies had been made and the whole ordeal had been settled, he realized that he had completely recovered from all the tension and hesitation he had felt from before. It had hardly been a few minutes, and all it took was a short conversation to clear things up and get both of them back to their regular selves.

"Well, I'm glad you're okay," he said, to which he received a slightly unclear expression from Malon. "I thought you might have been sick or something, and Talon didn't seem too bothered by the fact that you weren't out here helping. It's kind of ironic, though; I came here to check on you, but I was almost hoping that you would be sick so that I wouldn't have to find out that the reason you weren't working was because of me."

"Oh, good, because your self-consciousness should definitely come before my health and well-being."

"Hey, now, I said I was worried and then relieved to find out you were all right. It would have saved me a bit of trouble if you had just been sick, but I suppose it's not a bad thing that you're okay."

Malon lightly swatted at him and they both broke out into a fit of light giggles. In the good mood that he was in now, it was almost difficult for Link to remember that he had been feeling very differently a short while ago. Was this Malon's doing? No, even if it was, he shouldn't be thinking that way; after all, doing so was what had gotten him into the whole uncomfortable situation from before. Whether she was the reason for snapping him back to normal so quickly was irrelevant. All that mattered now was that any awkwardness between them had disappeared as quickly as it had formed.

There was no telling just how long the two ended up talking and laughing about whatever came to mind. The thought of getting back to work did not even cross Link's mind until he heard Talon's boots clomping around downstairs. The older rancher didn't seem to mind that they weren't working, however, as the footsteps only lasted a short while before the sound of the front door sounded throughout the house.

"I should probably get back to work," Link said after Talon had left. "I kind of stopped in the middle of what I was doing. You should probably get up too, seeing as you're not feeling weird around me now."

"You're probably right," she said in a downcast voice. As the blond turned to get up, he once again felt Malon's firm yet gentle grip around his wrist, and he looked back at her to see what it was this time. With a sheepish, cute look on her face, the redhead quietly said, "But for now…maybe we could just stay like this for a little longer…"

Link raised an eyebrow at her and gave a little smirk. "Oh? Trying to skip out on even more chores? Or was there some specific reason you needed me to stay."

She smirked back at him but quickly softened her expression. Though the curtains were drawn, Link could see a light blush forming on her cheeks, and the sight made his own cheeks redden.

"Well, I…" she began quietly, doing her best to keep eye contact with him. "I guess you could say…I feel comfortable like this…with you…"

Whether she had intentionally chosen to say that because of what he had said earlier or simply because that was what she was feeling, Link had no idea, but her words were more than enough to convince him. Shifting his body back so that he was not turned away from her again, he smiled as the warm feeling spread throughout his body for the second time.

"Okay."

Gah, I sat over this trying to figure out if there was something more I could add, but I couldn't just keep going off on pointless tangents here and there. I really wish I could have made this chapter longer though… On a side note, all that summer heat I talked about at the beginning of the chapter got replaced with summer rain over the past week and a bit it's taken me to write this.

Hmm, I don't actually much to say about this chapter. I think part of the reason why it was so short was because I only had two things I wanted to cover/introduce in this chapter, neither of which I'll mention specifically, as one or both of them could potentially be important later on.

Thanks to G01den Unicorn 11, Zolias, and Niki Bogwater for reviewing!

Thanks for reading and please review!

–GengaJupite