So, can anyone tell me what happens when you put finals and general laziness together? That's right, an almost three-month long delay on updates! Ugh, sorry, I've been trying to balance my school stuff, game making/playing, music composing, and writing (not to mention other recreational stuff and my recent ambition to work off this winter belly before the end of spring :P), and unfortunately writing has been taking a backseat to everything else. I really want to say that updates will pick up now that I'm finished school, but I can't really make any promises what with work and my extra-curricular stuff.

I'm going to make this clear here, though: I am not abandoning this story (nor any of the others I'm currently writing). Once I've posted the next chapter for one of my other stories, I may go on a hiatus to rearrange my priorities. I expect that of the three stories I'm writing, I may pick one to focus on, get it finished, and then move on to the next, and eventually move on to the last one. By doing this, I suspect that I'll be able to get the stories finished quicker (mainly due to my attention being focused on one plot at a time as opposed to three) and that a break will be well worth it.

Disclaimer: Refer to chapter one

Realms: Light

"The barrier between worlds is weakening, huh…? I suppose that would explain this, but still…"

Link recalled the words of the Hero's Shade, instinctively touched the scar on his face, and scratched his head in slight confusion. How intensely had the barrier separating worlds gotten that something like this could have happened? Better yet, what was he supposed to tell Talon and Malon when one of them found out for themselves?

He was usually quick to get up from bed upon returning to the Light World, but when he fell asleep in the Realm of Dreams beside Marin, Link could not have predicted that he would bring an unexpected guest along with him. Thankfully it was not Marin, but he could not shake his feelings of anxiety when he opened his eyes and came face-to-face with a baby octorok nestled on his chest.

There was no mistaking that vibrant red colour that the octoroks of Hyrule did not seem to possess – not to mention that the same creature in this kingdom seemed to be strictly aquatic in nature. Any way he looked at it, this was the monster that he and Marin had been keeping as a pet back on Koholint.

"Is something like this…even possible?" he mumbled, poking the creature as if to check if it were actually there.

"Link," Malon's voice came in through the shut door, "are you awake?"

Slightly panicked, he quickly grabbed the relaxed creature sitting on his chest and fumbled around as he tried to figure out where to put it. If there were ever a time to be thankful that it didn't make any vocal sounds, now was that time.

"U-Uh, yeah, just give me a second!"

"Oh, don't rush yourself. I was just going to say that there isn't too much work to do today since it's raining so hard."

Link breathed a sigh of relief and gently placed the squirming monster on the ground, where it frantically scuttled beneath the bed. Once Malon's footsteps had descended to the ground floor, he shook his head and stood to get dressed.

Only now noticing the sound of the heavy rain battering against the roof, Link drew the curtains to let some light into the room. As expected, none of the animals were out wandering about the ranch, and Talon's stocky, raincoat-wearing figure seemed to be setting up a tarp overtop of the extra firewood he couldn't store inside.

Link felt the octorok prodding at his heel, which reminded him of the markings on his arms. Was it possible that most of them had disappeared while he was asleep, or rather awake in the other world? Wishing to find out, he strode back to his bedside table where the hand mirror was kept in a drawer. Retrieving it and stepping back towards the window for light, Link crossed his left arm in front of his chest and held the mirror in front of it to get a look.

From what he could tell, the markings were almost the same as they were yesterday. It hadn't been long since his encounter with the Hero's Shade, and it seemed to make sense that only a few markings of Aetas near his left shoulder blade had disappeared since then. Link had made it a habit to check these markings each time he awoke in either world and so far there had been no surprises.

Yet, despite the steady rate of disappearance, the fact that the octorok had somehow crossed the barrier with his consciousness could not be ignored. How skewed had the barrier become that physical beings were now transferring alongside him? Would things continue to get worse as time continued? The octorok was one thing, but what Link feared most was having something as substantial as another person getting sent across the barrier by mistake. He didn't even want to imagine what misfortune might befall him if Malon or Marin crossed over to the other world.

Putting the mirror back where it belonged, Link changed into his warm daytime clothes and contemplated what he should do with the baby octorok. Considering they lived on a ranch, he didn't imagine Malon or Talon having much of a problem with one more creature being around, but he was at a loss for how to explain his acquisition of the foreign monster. Another thought that had crossed his mind was that this could be another trick of his consciousness, and even if he could physically see and feel the octorok, there was always the possibility that no one else in this world could.

"Sorry, little guy," he apologized and picked the creature up before stashing it in the closet. It made some light bumps against the shut door, but the sound would not be noticeable from outside with the door to the room shut.

After quickly dousing his face with some water in the bathroom, Link made his way downstairs. Making quick work of the plate of food left for him on the table, he hurried the short distance from the house to the barn to avoid getting drenched by the rain.

Malon was inside, sitting on a bale of hay while she sewed together what looked to be an oddly shaped blanket of some sort. A quick glance at one of the cows made it clear to Link that it was indeed a blanket, probably for keeping them warm in the wintertime. Though the rain still made it seem like autumn, there was no denying the colder temperatures sweeping across Hyrule. With that thought in mind, Link rubbed his hands together and breathed into them before walking up to the seamstress.

"Anything I can help with?" he asked.

Malon stayed her hand and paused for a moment to think before looking up at him with a teasing smile. "Only if you know how to work a needle."

"Hey, I've patched up some of my clothes before," he chuckled. "Though I can't say I'm familiar with how to make a cow blanket."

She laughed and scooted over on the makeshift bench, gesturing for him to sit beside her. He complied and sighed at the warmth provided by both the blanket and the proximity of Malon's body beside him.

"No matter where we store these, the moths seem to find them every year and just have at it," the redhead said as she sewed a patch over one of the numerous holes. "For a while, we just bought fabric and made new ones every year, but things are a lot more expensive nowadays. Heehee, Dad always tries to barter with the fabric salesmen but it never seems to go his way; he just doesn't have a head for business."

"Oh?" Link hummed amusedly while holding the blanket steady for her. "For a guy who's been running a ranch for his entire life, he's got to be somewhat adequate at business."

Malon giggled and shook her head. "You would think so, but he's more of a farmhand than a negotiator. His parents ran the ranch when he was a kid, then my mom took care of the business side after they passed away. I didn't realize at the time, but the first few years after she died were pretty chaotic while he was trying to figure everything out."

"I can only imagine."

Link turned to look at Malon as she continued peacefully sewing away at the tattered blanket. Even if her mother's passing had happened a long time ago, he found himself in awe of how mentally strong she was. The fact that she was here now, living a completely normal life with only her father after all the hardship they had been through together was much more than he felt he would have been able to bear had their roles been reversed. Of course, he'd had his fair share of hardships as well, but the only death he'd ever had to deal with was Marin's disappearance, and even then she hadn't exactly died per se, nor was she missing from his life now.

"Haha, well, you might not believe it, but I pretty much learned how to balance the books before I hit double-digits," Malon laughed, snapping Link from his thoughts. "I think Dad went and prayed at her grave every day for two months straight to thank her for passing her brains on to me."

"Before you were ten, huh?" Link nudged her side playfully. "Seems like an exaggeration for someone who never went to school like all the kids in town."

"Hey, don't be mean!" she continued laughing and nudged him back. "My mom was gone by the time I was old enough to actually start going to school, and Dad was already having enough trouble as it was trying to handle the business side of things on top of working and taking care of me. Besides, I know everything I need to run this ranch on my own, so who needs school?"

Link caught Malon off-guard and poked her in the side. With a light squeal, she flung the blanket upwards and created an opening for him to wrap her in a playful embrace. The two fell into a fit of giggles as the blanket lazily flopped back onto their legs.

"I guess…" the blond started once their laughter had died down, "you'd be able to handle things if I wasn't able to stick around."

She didn't say anything at first, much to Link's expectations. It wasn't something he'd particularly wanted to say, but he doubted that there would be many opportunities like this one in which he could simply slip this topic into the conversation. With his forehead resting against the side of her head, he couldn't see her expression, nor did he want to if his words had brought her pain.

With her arms still wrapped around his torso, he could feel her grip loosen slightly as her shoulders sank. He shut his eyes and apologized to her in his head, angry that there was no better method he could think of for this to happen.

"Of course," she spoke quietly, a playful lilt fighting against the obvious downcast tone of her voice. "Like I said, I know everything there is to know about running this place; I-I've been doing it for more than ten years now."

If he could think of the right words to say, Link would have stopped her there and switched the topic of conversation right then. Despite being the one to bring it up, he already hated himself for upsetting her, and her attempts to mask the bereavement in her voice only furthered his self-directed displeasure.

"But you know," she continued, tightening her grip on him once again, "even if I know how to, I doubt I could actually do it on my own. I don't mean to condemn him or anything, but Dad won't be around forever, though I'm sure he's going to keep on kicking for quite some time. I don't know how he managed to do it on his own, but keeping this ranch running solo is just something I don't think I have the capacity to do. That's why I…I…"

"Mal…" He moved to look at her face, but she stopped him and took a couple deep breaths before continuing.

"That's only part of the reason I want you to stay here. I don't think I'd be able to do it without you, and more than that I don't want to do it without you. I'm being selfish and completely disregarding how you might feel, but…I don't know. The thought of what things might be like if you left hadn't crossed my mind for a while now, and the time before you started feeling like family is more of a distant memory now than something that actually happened. Link, you must be able to relate to how I'm feeling on some level, right?"

Of course he could; he would have to be completely ignorant not to understand her feelings or her reason for saying what she was right now. He wanted to make a promise to her that he would stay here, cast away his other duties, and spend the rest of his days on this ranch, but his conscience told him he simply could not do that. For one, such a promise would be made on empty and hollow words, said only to make her feel better; the other reason would be that to make such a promise would mean forsaking Marin without properly thinking over his true decision. Regardless, Malon was smart enough to suspect the former even if he were to make that promise.

"Sorry," she said softly after the short silence that ensued. "I didn't mean to put you on the spot, Link. I, um…may have gone a little overboard there."

He suddenly felt quite a bit colder as Malon released his torso from her embrace. Though he opened his mouth to speak, Link could not find the proper words to say as he watched her pick up the needle and resume patching up the blanket.

"N-No," he managed to stammer out dumbly. She hardly took any notice, so he cleared his throat and tried to speak again. "No, Mal, you're…you're being completely reasonable. I mean, after all we've been through together, it's way more selfish of me to suggest leaving at this point."

"It isn't selfish," she responded quickly, though she did not look up from her needlework. "From the moment you first got here it was clear that you would continue on your journey someday. The only reason you're still here is because…well, I think it's because you're trying not to hurt me."

"That's not true!" he said, grasping her hands as he continued their back and forth blame-taking. "I'm not staying with you only so that your feelings don't get hurt; I really care about you a lot, Mal. I honestly feel the same way about you that I'm assuming you do about me, and the reason I can't make any promises is because…because…"

The blond suddenly found his words caught in his throat as he tried to determine what it was he was going to say to the forlorn woman beside him. Multiple thoughts raced through his head, but none could be easily explained or elaborated on if spoken aloud: because he was going to disappear, because he had to choose between two worlds or risk fading from existence, because the woman he had loved before was now suddenly in his life once again? No matter what he chose to say, it could take days to fully explain what he meant to the point where Malon could possibly comprehend.

However, the door to the barn swung open before he was able to say anything, and the two hastily jumped into a less affectionate sitting position as Talon stepped inside.

"Hoo, it's really comin' down out there!" the moustached rancher whistled. "Guess they don't call it "fall" for nothin', eh? Hahaha!"

"I'm pretty sure that has to do with the leaves, Dad," Malon giggled, completely hiding any sense of sorrow she had been showing moments before.

"Heh, well, I reckon it's only a matter o' time before all that rain starts turnin' into snow. Speakin' o' which, I'm gonna be away on business a few days from now. Since it'll be winter soon, everyone from everywhere's tryin' to stock up for the cold weather. I should only be gone for a couple weeks at most, but if that darn snow starts fallin', I might end up stranded in one o' the towns. You can keep the place runnin' while I'm gone, can't ya, Mal?"

"Sure thing; there isn't much work that needs to get done during the winter anyway. Make sure you don't forget the merchant notes I wrote up for you, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I got it. Link, don't you go breaking anythin' while I'm away, y'hear?"

"And here I planned on burning the place down the moment you left the ranch."

"Heh, little punk. Anyway, back into the rain for this old coot. Don't get too frisky in here now."

With that, Talon checked that his jacket was bundled up as much as possible before he stepped back out the barn doors, leaving Link and Malon alone once again. Only the sound of rain battering against the roof could be heard as Malon stood to put the freshly patched blanket on one of the cows. Wordlessly picking up the next hole-infested blanket, she took a seat next to Link again and went about her needlework.

Link quickly lost track of how long he had been sitting here with Malon as she continued to patch up blankets. It could have been hours or it could have been minutes; he simply could not tell any longer, and the fact that neither had said a word since Talon stepped out of the barn only made him feel uncomfortable.

Yet, despite his discomfort, he knew that it would only weigh on his conscience more if he left Malon to work alone. Not only would that mean leaving her when she was clearly still upset over what he had said, but it would also mean abandoning his chores (though it was clear that he was doing little, if anything, to help at the moment).

"Can I ask you something?" With the only sound being the rain for the past while, Link jumped in surprise when the foreign sound of Malon's voice permeated his eardrums. Still in shock, he simply nodded in response. "I…I've been thinking about this for the past hour or so, and I realized…"

She ran a hand through her red locks, seeming somewhat flustered and unable to find the right words to ask what she wanted to. That or it was difficult to voice what she wanted to say to him. Link could only sit and wait in curious patience as she fumbled to find the right words.

"Well…" she said after a fair amount of finger-twiddling and heel-rocking, "it never seemed too important before, but now I'm wondering…why did you decide to stay?"

He blinked plainly as if expecting her to elaborate some more on her question. When she did not, Link simply cocked his head to the side and scratched at his hair.

"Er… I suppose…because I wanted to?"

It was clear that Malon knew she had not been clear enough with her question, as she shook her head and combed through her hair again. "No, I mean…you always planned on leaving, so what kept you from going as soon as you could?"

He paused to reflect on the past, trying to pinpoint the exact time that he could have left. At first, he was only staying on the ranch out of obligation; despite Talon saying that he didn't owe them anything, Link felt he had to repay them by working on the ranch for a while. Try as he might, though, the blond could not think of an exact time when he had forsaken leaving for staying a little longer, which of course turned into staying all the way until this point in time.

"To be honest, and I'm not sure you'll be satisfied with this, but I'm not exactly sure myself. I remember your dad telling me at some point that I had done enough work to pay off the debt he wasn't charging me for, but that was before I had realized any sort of feelings for you… Maybe it was because it was comfortable here, but at the same time I know that I wanted to avoid pushing my problems onto the two of you."

Link forced himself to think back on those early days on the ranch, but there was no particularly specific reason as to why he had chosen to stay here instead of leaving. Perhaps staying was the wrong choice, as he now found himself in this predicament between worlds. Had he left back when he had the chance, he would have no regrets choosing the Dream Realm over the Light World when the opportunity eventually presented itself.

And yet, even though he knew things would have been easier that way, there was no doubt in his mind that this was where he wanted to be, at least while he was in this world. It was not simply a matter of what would have been the easiest route to travel; Link was certain that being at the ranch and staying here was something that was meant to happen. He may not have carved this fate out for himself, but as far as things were going, this was where he felt the happiest in this world.

"I…understand," Malon mumbled. Though she had a slight frown on her face, he was relieved to see the edges of her lips curl up a few moments later. "Well, maybe I don't really understand, but I can't say I'm unhappy you decided to stay. You've said before that leaving would be because of personal things related to your past, and even though I don't want you to leave, I can't force you to stay either. Just…promise that you won't go without giving me…a-and Dad a proper goodbye."

He couldn't hide the dropping feeling in his chest as those last few words processed in his head. The way she spoke…it was as if he had already decided he would leave, which was certainly not the case. Right now, if he were forced to make a choice between this world and the Dream Realm, he would most likely end up becoming the next Hero's Shade, as his indecisiveness would prevent him from choosing either world.

"Mal, let me… I can't promise that I'll be here forever, but I want you to know that I don't plan on leaving either, okay? It's too much to try figuring out what the future has in store, so for now…just know that I'm here right now and that I'm going to do whatever I can to make you happy while I am."

Link felt his cheeks get a bit warm as he finished speaking. Though the embarrassment was only slight, he realized that that was something more akin to what he might say to Marin, and that his relationship with Malon was more of the playful, casual type. In that moment, he fully expected the ranch girl to burst into laughter, or at least stifle a some giggles as she asked "What's with you?"

Instead, she quickly glanced away from him, wringing her hands together as her body swayed back and forth a bit. It wouldn't be the first affectionate thing one of them had said to the other, but for whatever reason this atmosphere was similar to the first time they met. With both blushing faces stealing furtive glances at the other, their slightly embarrassed expressions brimmed into bashful grins. Seizing the opportunity, Link slowly got to his feet and stepped towards her, wordlessly encircling his arms around her toned frame with a dumb smile on his face.

He shut his eyes as the pattering of rain lulled them into a comforting atmosphere. Malon's arms crept quietly around his back, warming his body as the embrace was returned. The scent of her hair calmed his senses as he gently tightened his hold on her, reveling in this brief moment of peace and tranquility.

Malon was strong, stronger than any woman– no, any person he could think of. It was thanks to her that he could stand on his own two feet, figuratively and literally. She was there to hear his problems and to soothe the emotional wounds that scarred his battle-hardened heart. He needed her strength, it was something he could not picture himself without.

Yet, it was this strength that made him question staying with her. Even if she claimed she could not run this ranch without him by her side, Link knew those were her emotions speaking for her, as opposed to her actual resolve. If he were to choose the Realm of Dreams, he was certain that Malon would find a way to manage the ranch. It was not as though Talon would also disappear the moment he did, and with her personality and looks, the ranch girl could easily meet someone new, perhaps more helpful at the ranch and better suited for her than he was…

He scrunched his face in disdain at the thought of Malon being with someone else. Whether he liked it or not, one of these women he was with would likely end up with another man, and though he didn't want to imagine that being the case, it was not his place to debate it; not that he would still be around afterwards to do so.

"Link," her soft voice gently sounded in his ear.

"Hmm?"

Her breath tickled his neck as she let out a few stray chuckles. "As much as I'm enjoying this, we'll get in trouble if we don't get back to work."

"O-Oh, right!"

As he slightly scrambled to release her, she only giggled and kept her cool. Her dress twirling as she turned to grab the next hole-ridden blanket, Malon smiled that wonderful smile he had grown to love more with each and every day and gestured for him to come over to where she was. Following with a simple nod, he stepped towards her and the two went about their work as if they had been doing so the entire time.

Malon. She was the strongest person he knew and the one whose strength he needed to help support him. Caring and gentle, strong-willed and playful, she shone like a beacon in the void he was once trapped in.

She was his light in this dreamless world.

This took me way too long to write and I'm really sorry that it isn't longer (so far it's the second-shortest chapter if you exclude the prologue) and more eventful. Originally I had planned on having a little more happen with the baby octorok, but I figured I could save that for a later time and focus strictly on Malon and Link's relationship this time around. Next chapter will, as you may have guessed, focus on Marin and Link's relationship, so it'll probably be about this length as well; it made more sense to split it up into two chapters rather than trying to write a 9000-word-long chapter.

Anyway, I still haven't decided entirely what I'm going to do about the hiatus thing I mentioned at the top. To explain a little better, I'm writing this, a Kingdom Hearts fic, and a Golden Sun fic all at the same time, with finished plot diagrams for three (technically five but I'm only planning on doing three at most) more waiting to go. Once I've posted the next chapter for the KH one, I'll probably have my mind made up on what I'm going to do. I'll definitely make an announcement on my profile after that if I decide to change things up, so check there if you aren't sure! Even if this one ends up on hiatus, I may still write the next chapter just so I don't feel like I wrote part one of this two-part thing without writing the second. Also feel free to drop me a PM, though, like I said, my mind probably won't be made up until I've posted the next chapter of my KH fic.

Edit April 30: The details are on my profile, and this story will be going on hiatus until the first story is completed.

Thanks to Zolias, The Reflecting Bird, Sylis, Guest, Anytime, the elder, and yellow for reviewing!

Thanks for reading and please review!

–GengaJupite