Rest assured that more Ghira/Link fun is on the way…
Warning: Mild sexual content.
Just wanted to say thank you to Lady Mordecai – You reviewed anonymously so I can't PM you, but I wanted to say that your review came at the perfect time and really made my entire day. Thank you so much. And thanks to everyone who's reviewed since my last update. This chapter is dedicated to you guys.
Chapter 30
Home
The light through his eyelids shined a vibrant orange. He tossed his head, slowly coming to. He breathed in, identifying the fragrance of a place that shouldn't even have had a smell at all. Not to him. His ability to detect his own aroma was indicative of how long he'd been gone—too long. Was he dreaming?
He moved his head to the right and was met by the blurry sight of a dark wall. By turning his head to the left he was able to recognize the texture of his own pillow. He was dizzy; his blue eyes rolled before closing again.
He didn't feel right. His head was aching. He felt as though he was recovering from a terrible virus. His discomfort was mild, though, with only a hint of queasiness.
"I need—" But before he could finish his garbled sentence, a hand slipped beneath his head to cradle it. Feeling the cold touch of glass against his lips, he parted them, inviting in a room temperature liquid. Water submerged his dry throat, soothing every inch of him on the way to his stomach.
His head sank down as he squinted, trying to see who had helped him. But before he could succeed, something of a completely different sort entered his mouth. It was warm and pleasant tasting. He stopped fighting his closed eyes, feeling the gentle sweep of a tongue that was not his own.
Someone was kissing him, so he kissed them back. "Mm," he groaned, his entire body relaxing under the careful pressure being placed on him. It seemed measured; just enough for his indisposed form.
He rotated toward the one who was beside him, noticing the constriction of a heavy comforter. Feeling a slight scratchiness against his skin, he discerned that most of his clothes were missing. All he could detect on his body were shorts. No matter. He had already determined that he was in his own bed.
The kiss deepened. He wanted to reach for whoever was next to him, but was hesitant to move too much. He was still recuperating from…
Something. He wasn't sure. Everything was hopelessly hazy. All he knew was that he was saturated right now—drenched in a wonderful feeling. He slowly pulled his lips away, his eyes giving him only a narrow view. Still, he thought he knew who was with him.
"What lengths won't you go to…" he breathed, "to help me feel better?" A smile flashed before him. Whoever this person was was kneeling next to his bed. Shutting his eyes, he leaned toward them again, asking for more affection. He received it instantly.
But every time he attempted to pull away and speak, his mouth was overpowered. It felt so good he forgot about his malaise.
"Pipit…" the person whispered into his mouth. His eyes flirted with the idea of opening all the way, but wouldn't allow him the luxury.
"Mm," he groaned again, opening his mouth some more. He was so cozy and comfortable. "You're the best," he said with his mouth covered. Despite his reticence, he lifted a hand, holding his caretaker's face and participating more in the rhythmic sway of the kiss. His chest expanded as it yielded to a large breath.
His mind carried him to the last place he remembered being: a sparring hall in Twilight, with a huge crowd of people.
Pipit stopped moving as he felt a hand sneak underneath his blanket. He smiled, expecting a chest rub. He soon discovered, however, that the hand wasn't interested in rubbing just that. His mouth opened in surprise. It pushed out a few rapid breaths as his whole body began to respond.
He still suspected he was in a dream. A very good one.
"I…the fight," Pipit said, pushing up to his elbow. "He… Link…"
Suddenly, the fervent kiss was withdrawn.
"Link?"
Pipit recognized that ladylike yet demanding tone anywhere. With reality jarring him, he finally opened his eyes. The fuzzy edges of a silhouette became clearer. Light-green tunic, a girly hat to match, short reddish-brown hair, almond-shaped crystal blue eyes, a cute little nose—
Karane, of course.
Pipit took a breath and cautiously rose to a sitting position.
"Why did you say 'Link' like that?" Karane asked. Looking down, Pipit saw that she was kneeling on the floor.
"Uh," Pipit started to say, "my head's…foggy." He continued after a few forceful blinks. "I coulda sworn I was still in the sparring hall, or on Crimson, or just…" He gazed into her questioning eyes. "He's the first one that came to mind." He shrugged.
"Who did you think you were kissing?" she asked.
"Uh…you?"
One of Karane's eyebrows furrowed. "Well, Link hasn't been the one sitting next to you all day, watching you sleep and hoping that you haven't given yourself alcohol poisoning." She took a seat beside him. He looked behind him to the window over his desk. To his astonishment, the light was already dying.
"Did I really sleep all day?" he asked, trying to press the pain out of his forehead. He grimaced. Karane's fingers took the place of his. He closed his eyes once more as the heat of her hand seeped into his skin. Her touch felt amazing.
"Is this really the only way for me to get my hands on you?" she asked. "I have to wait for you to give yourself a massive hangover?"
"What?" His voice was husky from sleeping for so long. He wrapped a hand around her small wrist and brought it to his lap.
Karane smiled. She lifted a hand to run her fingertips through his hair. He knew that she preferred his head to be undressed. She thought his unkempt hair was adorable. "Ever since you left for the surface you've either been gone, or you haven't been here long enough for me to see. Even before that…" She massaged his head, making him rock forward. She placed a hand on either side of his face, urging him to look at her. He did so reluctantly. "It's almost like you've been avoiding me."
Pipit shook his head. "No. I spent most of the weekend traveling. And before that, you knew where I was. I told you I was going to the surface."
"Link told me you'd gone state hopping," Karane said, dropping her hands to his shoulders. "It's before that that I'm talking about, and before the surface."
"I didn't tell you I was leaving with Link," he confirmed with a weak nod. "That was crappy of me…"
"Well, it wasn't the nicest thing to hear that you were back only to have my hopes dashed again."
Pipit sighed, wondering if his burning eyes were as red as they felt. "I know."
"But that's not what I mean, either." Her eyes were piercing. Something stirred in Pipit's stomach, and it wasn't nausea. "I've barely seen you in the past three weeks, since the big party at the Lumpy Pumpkin. You can't use the excuse that you've been away. Not the whole time, anyway. Is something wrong?"
"Wrong?" Pipit tried to offer a little smile. "No…"
Karane cocked her head. Her patronizing look made him cringe. "You're a terrible liar, Pipit. Tell me the truth."
Pipit's jaw hung as he dithered. "W-well…"
He had already decided to tell Karane the truth in Superna. He'd told Link he was going to do it, and he meant it. She needed to hear the truth. She had to know that he didn't feel the same way about her that she felt about him. She needed to know that he couldn't be with her. She was too good of a person to be led on. He knew that his dishonesty had carried on long enough. In fact, it was eating him up inside, among other things.
Her eyes looked sad. Pipit knew this was not going to be easy.
"If something is wrong, Pipit, you need to tell me." Looking down, Karane ran circles around his hand with her thumb.
But words were failing him. He didn't know how to go about it, or how to let her down easily. No matter what he said it would probably crush her. She was crazy about him; for what reasons, he wasn't sure. All he knew was that he didn't deserve such adoration from her.
He just had to come out with it.
"I just—" he began, but the look on her face tripped him up. "You're too good for me." Not what he knew he should've said, but at least it was something.
Karane pulled back. "Too good? Pipit, I love you." She squeezed his hands. "I don't care about our backgrounds, or families, or even whether you think our personalities clash. Maybe they do, and maybe we're pretty different, but I love you, Pipit."
He bit his tongue, knowing that he needed to kick it up a notch. "I'm a dirt bag," he said, summoning some genuine guilt to fuel his words. "Really. There's at least five hundred other guys on this campus who would be better for you than me."
"Pipit…" Karane lifted his hand and kissed his fingers. His heart sped up a little. The gesture was innocent on her part, but secretly arousing for him. He tensed, disappointed in himself. Even now his mind tried to lock onto a single track.
"Karane…" he said, attracting her eyes. He immediately realized that his face had given him away. He felt her lips begin to play with his fingers more freely. "Karane," he repeated.
"Have you forgotten what today is?" she asked, her breath moist against his skin.
"What's today?" Pipit asked. He looked to the side, scared that he'd forgotten something important. His hand jerked involuntarily as she tickled it.
"It's your birthday," she said, nipping the tip of his pinky finger.
"It is?"
"Yes. Your birthday is only a few days after Link's, silly. How could you have forgotten?"
Pipit stared. The past week had been so devastating that twenty-second birthdays and the like had fallen on the wayside.
"When I looked up in the sky today and saw you guys returning," she said, switching to Pipit's left hand, "I was so happy." Pipit gulped as she dragged a finger along his palm. "Then I saw that you were mostly out of it. I helped Link and Midna get you to your room, but I was pretty bummed." Her head came down again.
"About?" Pipit asked, intently studying what she was doing. It felt fabulous on the tough skin of his sword fighting hand.
"I had something in mind for your birthday," she said, her voice sounding more enticing by the second. "For weeks, actually, I've wanted to do something special for you. Something different. But you looked too sick to enjoy it."
"What, you mean like…" Pipit moved his free hand about. Karane nodded. "We've already done a lot together. I mean…a lot." He smirked to himself. "What's so special that you…" He quieted as her gaze came up. She looked extremely serious.
"What's something that we've talked about before, months ago? Something that I said I didn't think I would ever do for someone?"
Pipit thought for a minute. Then his weary face lit up. "Oh, that?"
With a smoky look in her eye, Karane nodded. For a moment, Pipit was the happiest man in building eleven. Then he remembered. "You can't do that," he said, shaking his head.
"Why not?" Karane asked, paying even closer attention to his fingers.
"Because…" Pipit said. "What if Horwell or Owlan are in their rooms? Or the Headmaster?"
"Never stopped us before," Karane pointed out. After another nip, she wrapped her lips around the very top of his index finger. His toes started to curl under the blanket. "Do you like this?" she asked.
"I, uh…" he muttered. "Actually, uh—"
"Why don't you lie down and let me finish taking care of you?" Karane said more than asked.
"Well, I—" he managed to say before she put a hand to his chest and pushed him down. He hit the bed with a heavy bounce. He put a hand over his eyes to stop the head rush that was coming on.
"I've been sick today," he said, trying to gain her sympathies. "How do you know I'm up for this?"
"As soon as I saw the color return to your face, I knew you were fine," Karane said, sitting tall above him. She pulled his arm down. Pipit opened his eyes to a proud smile. "You woke up a little while after, so I greeted you in what way I saw fit." She brought her mouth close to his. "Didn't you like that?" He nodded. "As much as this?" She claimed his left hand again and teased his finger between her full lips. He just stared. "Why didn't you tell me that you like this?"
"Oh, I dunno," Pipit said, unable to hide his mounting interest. "Just one of those things, I—" His chest heaved as she took his finger into her mouth and curled her tongue around it. She observed him closely as his eyes got wider, his face flushed and his breathing hitched. Showing no mercy, she gripped his hand with both of hers and slid his finger in and out, picking up the pace.
Pipit was panting now. Her mouth was incredibly hot. He raised his eyes to hers, coming to terms with how determined she truly was.
His breathing got louder. She knew how to do it, and how to get him. He had a weakness for her forcefulness, and she had no qualms exploiting that. Normally, he didn't, either.
Still, no matter how pleasurable it felt, Pipit saw his finger in the demon's mouth. Ghirahim's words played in his head. Even worse, he saw Calwren doing and saying the same things.
"Karane," he said. She had shut her eyes. "Listen, I appreciate what you're trying…well, willing to do, but you really don't need to." He closed his eyes and breathed, wishing she would stop.
"Why not?" she asked, carrying on with Pipit's special treatment. In a moment she had straddled him. He grunted as she settled against his lower body, rocking her hips on purpose.
"Because I feel like I'm using you," he said, having a rough time of removing his eyes from her busy mouth. He tried to ignore what she was doing further down, as well.
"It's your birthday," she said with her mouth full. "Use me as much as you like." Pipit shook his head and looked into her approaching eyes. She left his finger behind to nibble on his neck.
"Good lords in heaven," Pipit mumbled, gasping as he felt his earring twist around. "That's not what I mean…"
"Everything that I've ever done with you, I've wanted to do," Karane said against his neck. "You haven't used me."
"No, that's not what I mean, either." He didn't want to insult her but this was going too far. He was nearly turned on to the point of no return. "Please, just…" He stopped when he felt her hand slide down far enough to grab what he didn't want her to grab. "Please, just listen," he said quickly.
"I am listening," Karane said, concentrating hard. "Make all the noise you want."
His body was telling him to give up. It told him to surrender, to forget about the issue at hand, and to worry about the consequences later.
Her stroking, tailored to fit exactly how he liked it left him speechless for a time. With his head spinning, he kept returning to what he knew he had to do. It was his duty.
"Dammit," he snarled under his heavy breath, gaping at the ceiling. "Karane, look at me."
"I am looking at you," she said with the blanket around her shoulders, her eyes fixed on what she was fully and happily responsible for.
"That's not what I mean, either," Pipit mumbled, not wanting to look at what she was doing. Unfortunately, it didn't stop him from feeling it.
"Why don't you tell me about the surface," Karane suggested.
"What? Right now?" he asked, clutching his sheets.
"Sure."
He looked around. Maybe it would slow her down. "Well, it's, uh…a lot of it is like Skyloft, except it's um…" He lifted his head to see that Karane wasn't looking him in the eye at all. She was entirely absorbed in the new task that lay before her. "…Bigger." He was scared to death that she might go for it, giving him no warning and no means of escape. He knew that if she did it was game over.
"I'm really not feeling that great," he said, using a pitiful voice. "Why don't we do this later?"
"Let me help you feel better," she said absently, lowering her head.
"Ah! Wait!" Pipit exclaimed. Karane jumped and looked him in the face, at last. With every muscle clenched, he tried to hold her stare. "What if someone shows up? To check on me?"
"I implied that you might be busy later," Karane said. "I think your friends got the hint to stay away."
"But…don't you wanna talk?" Pipit asked, trying another tactic.
"I only asked you to talk so I could hear you become progressively unable to speak," she admitted. "I…like the way you sound when that happens."
Pipit looked down. Denying how aroused he was was completely out of the question.
"I think I like someone else," he stammered. Karane raised a brow.
"You like someone else?"
"Yeah," Pipit said with a firm nod. "So I don't feel right doing this."
Karane was quiet for a minute. "Who?"
"Uh… I…" He knew he should have planned ahead. "Ilia."
"Ilia?" she asked. "That flutist who you've said at least fifty times is plain and boring?" Pipit tried to think of a rebuttal, but Karane's hands were so unhinging; beguiling, even. "Stop lying."
"I'm not lying," he said.
"Yes, you are," she scolded, stroking a little more.
"This is gonna be over before it even starts," he warned her, shifting beneath her talented hands. Her take-charge manner was driving him up the wall. She played the soft-spoken dominatrix quite proficiently. It was something he couldn't help but love about her. She was in uniform and everything. "Okay, it's someone else," he said with a shaky moan.
"Who?"
"Someone you've never met." He hoped for some sort of acceptance from her. Surely she would have to listen if he kept insisting.
"That doesn't matter," she said, loosening her grip to lightly massage him. Pipit almost forgot what was going on until she said, "I still want to be with you."
"What do you—What do you mean?" he asked, his inner turmoil reaching a boiling point.
"I mean it's normal to like other people," she explained, her eyes on her current project. "There's been a few guys here and there I've had a little thing for. It doesn't matter. You're the only one I want."
Pipit didn't know if his ailing state was making Karane's ministrations seem even more delicious than usual, or if he was just that much of a letch. But the way she was so lovingly tending to him…
He sank further into his pillow as he wrapped it around his ears. He grumbled into it. This wasn't fair.
"Just let me, please," Karane said, dropping down. Pipit craned his neck to look her in the eye. "I'm gonna be so depressed if I can't do this for you." She licked her lips. "Dreadfully depressed." Her tone changed when she said that, as did her face. Pipit plopped his head down again and stared at the ceiling.
"This is terrible," he said vacantly, "and I am terrible."
"No, you're not," Karane said, slowly preparing him, and herself.
"You have no idea," he replied.
….
"Can I get you anything else, honey?"
An enormous pepper and cheese omelet sat steaming on a plate in front of Link as Henya slowly stood up. The short, elderly woman barely had to bend down to give him a peck on the cheek. His grin died out as soon as it appeared.
"No, thanks," he said.
"How about a tall glass of pumpkin juice?"
"You mean the kind that will make me a titan?" he asked, finally smiling a little.
"Of course. Let me get you some, dear." Henya turned and started shuffling to the other end of the room. Link glanced at her grey head as she trundled, feeling bad that she was using precious energy to serve him something that he didn't want.
She knew he didn't like it, but she always fed it to him, anyway.
He sighed, picking at his food. He made himself take a bite. He had requested it, after all, though he wanted the attention more than the food. Henya had forgone her usual dinnertime responsibilities in the dining hall to stay behind and cook in the breakfast room, just for him, so he'd better eat.
It wasn't that her cooking wasn't good. It always was. He simply had several worries suppressing his appetite. At the forefront of his mind were two very important young ladies: Midna, for her rejection of his act of defending her, and Zelda, for her aloofness at a time when she should have spoken with him. A little more appreciation would have been nice.
Earlier, after dropping Pipit off in his room and filling Karane in on a few things, Link had eaten a relaxing breakfast with Midna. Once she had partaken of and had been thoroughly impressed by Henya's culinary skills – and had sworn that every breakfast on campus was going to be eaten in building eleven from now on – she was escorted back to her dorm to get cleaned up.
After visiting the sparring hall and asking Commander Eagus for his best sword and shield, Link took a walk to the Goddess Statue. As dark and foreboding as it had been the first time, he stepped inside, placing the Ruby Tablet beside its Emerald counterpart as fast as he could. He ran out to the distant vibration of a new opening forming in the cloud cover.
Afterward, he headed back to his room, but was intercepted by the Headmaster. He followed the kind yet intimidating man upstairs to his office for a chat about Zelda. As grateful as Gaepora had been to hear the latest news regarding his daughter, he had something spirit-dampening to share with Link: the apology that he had been told to give to Groose for hitting him at the Lumpy Pumpkin had been unsatisfactory, or so Gaepora had been told. Link was to offer another more sincere apology at his earliest convenience.
Link left the Headmaster's office, his feet assaulting the stairs as he stomped to the first floor. As soon as he unlocked his door he came face-to-face with trouble in the form of varnished spruce and maple, four strings of varying thicknesses and a bow. After securing his door, he headed straight for it.
For three hours he played it; fought it was more like it. From string to string he went, bowing, tuning, listening for something, anything at all that would shed some light on why he couldn't seem to play.
He could play, but it sounded so awful it hurt his ears. He tightened and retightened the bow hair so many times he snapped some of them. Or perhaps it was the sheer number of times he dug his bow into the strings to force something other than a clangorous screech out of them.
From the E string to the G, it was utterly hopeless. There was nothing for it. He had never twisted so many nobs or had been so frustrated with a personal failing in all of his life.
To top it all, he couldn't seem to stop asking himself the same question: why can't I play? And, as expected, his own mind would cut in with: because of yourself. This is your fault.
And amid all of that, he heard Ghirahim: 'You can thank me later,' he had said, timing it right at the very second that Link's eyes had become tinged with tears.
'Why?' Link asked.
'Because you deserve every second of this.'
Years and years of dedicated practice, gone; whisked into oblivion with nothing left to show for it but a single tear trickling down a very red, infuriated face.
Link narrowly resisted the urge to defenestrate his violin. But it wasn't his instrument's fault. Maybe he should've thrown himself out the window. He was willing to bet that if he'd spent less time allowing the demon to have his way with him, he could have stopped this curse.
Whatever was required to remedy this, Link knew that he was not the one to provide it. He felt defeated, destitute, and shamefully reliant on the demon.
Not having the heart to hurt his violin, he placed it in its case, flipped the latch and huffed all the way to the breakfast hall. By then it was dinnertime. It took little convincing to keep Henya in the building after she'd completed her clean-up chores. How could she say no to Link?
The woman's incessant but not at all unwelcome talking kept him sidetracked for fifteen whole minutes while she whipped up the fantastic smelling omelet. In that time, Link had summed up the surface for her, had let her know that Zelda was still down there but was relatively safe – which was everyone's question for him – and had inadvertently revealed to her that something was bothering him.
Taking a moment to sit next to him after serving his meal, Henya inquired as to what that something was. After murmuring that his violin was 'giving him problems,' she gave a sagely nod, asked what else she could do for him and got up. Link knew that she could have asked for the truth, but was grateful that she hadn't pressed the issue.
Now, here he was, with way too big of a glass of pumpkin juice in front of him. He sipped it, upset over more than just his own difficulties—
Pipit had most likely fooled around with a certain young woman whom he had absolutely no business even touching. Maybe he needed to be reminded of what he'd said about being truthful with Karane in Superna.
Link was so full of disappointment he could taste it, even over the unrivaled flavor of the omelet. He speared another chunk of it and took an angry bite, glaring out the window above his table at the darkening sky.
The shadow of someone tall overtook him then, waving to and fro with the flames of the wall torches. The prongs of Link's fork scraped his teeth as he pulled them out.
Pipit collapsed across from him, grinding the feet of his chair across the floor as he leaned an elbow to the table and rubbed his face.
"You have my permission to kill me now," Pipit said, fully dressed in his casual beige SKA attire. "Just run me through. That lousy sword will do." He pointed to Link's scabbard beside his chair.
Link glanced at him just long enough to notice that his eyes were wet. "So good it made you cry?" he asked, taking another bite.
Pipit split his fingers and looked at him through the space. "Good?"
"Yeah, you know, your present," Link said, refusing to look at him. "Happy birthday." He glowered at his plate.
Pipit returned the uncaring look with incredulity. "Man," he said, shaking his head, "you have no idea what just happened."
"I think I do," Link said, "based on that impressive holler that I and most likely everyone just heard from your room."
Pipit stared, then looked away, nodding contemptibly. "Oh, I see." He drummed his fingers on the tabletop. "Why don't you look at me for a minute." Link ignored him. Pipit pounded his fist, causing Henya to take a break from washing her skillet to peek at them. "Dammit, someone better listen to me tonight." Link finally did his friend the honor. Pipit pointed a stiff finger at his face. "Do these look like tears of joy to you?"
Link pushed a bitter pepper around in his mouth. "Then what are they?"
Pipit's eyes tapered. "Wow, you all are somethin' else. No one's paying attention, no one's listening, but everyone's got a judgment to make." Link chewed a few times, withholding his opinions.
"Pain. Tears of pain," Pipit continued, "tears of the sort of pain that I never knew existed."
"Why?"
"She…bit me!" Pipit cried, trying to keep it down.
Link's chewing slowed. "Huh?"
"Do I hafta say it again?" Pipit asked. "She freakin' bit me."
Link swung his fork over his food in thought. "What…like on the lip?"
Pipit's face scrunched in annoyance. "No."
"The ear?"
Pipit sighed. "No…"
"The shoulder?"
"What is she, a rabbit?" Pipit asked, tossing a hand up. "No."
"Then what did she bite?" Link asked, looking Pipit over.
"I'd show you but we're in a public place," Pipit said, crossing his arms and reclining.
Link's eyes dropped as he pondered. "Pipit, if your twisted games went awry and you got hurt, sorry but I don't feel too bad for you." He went back to eating.
Pipit's stunned face loomed over him for a moment. "Twisted games?"
"Uh-huh," Link said, resting his face in his hand. "It might even be fair to say that you had it coming."
Pipit was starting to turn a whole new color. "I what?"
"You haven't exactly been respectful to Karane in her absence," Link said.
"Oh, so I deserved that? Is that what you're saying?"
Link shrugged. "I dunno. I just know irony when I see it."
Pipit slammed his palms on the table and jumped to his feet. Link froze and brought his gaze up halfway. "It wasn't some game," Pipit gnarred. "I told her the truth."
Link's detached expression softened. "You did?"
"Yeah," Pipit said, his voice rising at the end of it. "Why do you think she did that?"
"I just assumed—"
"Well, quit assuming and listen, then," Pipit said, leaning menacingly over.
"Pipit, just calm down and sit down, will you?" Link asked.
It took some time, but Pipit sat, burying his face in his hand. "I've never had the potentially best birthday turn into the worst so fast before," he whined.
"I don't get how that could've happened," Link said. "Why did you wait until she was doing that to tell her?"
"I didn't do it on purpose," Pipit said, sitting up. "I tried telling her earlier, but it wasn't working. Plus she was dead-set on seducing me, which she pretty much did."
"Even though you aren't feeling well?" Link asked.
"She's good, man," Pipit said with an insistent nod.
"What did you say to make her do that?"
"Once she started going all out I knew I was outta time," Pipit said, sounding exhausted. "I just started naming off women who I'd been with recently without really thinking about it—the knight after the party a few weeks ago, that curly-haired chick from Superna… a group of demonesses…" Pipit shrugged when he saw Link's face. "But she didn't bite me 'til I said I liked Zelda."
Link curbed a grin. "Did you talk to her after?"
"Well, she ran across the hall to her room, and I mighta followed her, but I was a little busy dying on my floor."
"You seem okay now," Link said.
"Only problem is if I see her right now I'm gonna punch her in her damn face," Pipit said. "Not something I'm totally okay with."
"The sooner you talk to her, the better," Link said, taking a big bite.
"Sooner the better? Need I remind you of your little double-knee-to-the-groin snafu a few weeks back?" Link gave him a dry stare. "You dropping to your knees and curling into a whimpering heap in front of everyone was the most pathetic sight I've ever seen. What if Zelda hadn't jumped off that ledge and gotten away from you? What would you have done, huh?" Pipit tilted further over the table. "And don't tell me you would've calmly taken her hand and asked her to talk it over."
Link didn't move.
"Unless of course you were too star struck over the fact that Zelda had finally touched you there, even if it was just to kick the well-deserved crap outta you."
Link's ears started to burn a little. "That's a pretty nasty thing to say."
"Hey, I just don't want you to enjoy my suffering so much and delve so far into sadism that you forget about the pleasures of masochism," Pipit stated. Link didn't know how to respond just yet, so he just swallowed. "And it's fair to say that you, also, had it coming." Link glared at him. "So, how'd you feel and what would you have done?"
"I was mad and I wanted to—" Link stopped himself. He looked at his plate and sighed. "I wouldn't have done it, though."
"Mm, whatever," Pipit said. "That's just 'cause you had time to cool off." He stood up. "Just like I need."
"You go right ahead, then," Link said with his eyes low.
"I plan on it," Pipit said as he walked across the room. "I'm taking a bath."
He would have heard Link's 'okay' if he hadn't marched out so fast.
Caught off-guard by quite possibly the strangest looking pair on campus – the ridiculously lanky, big-nosed Strich and the stumpy Cawlin – Pipit stopped. He looked up at Strich. The tall, homely fellow gave Pipit an awkward thumbs-up. Pipit looked down. Cawlin, who possessed the rare talent of making Link seem like a giant, was shooting daggers at him. Pipit bent at the waist in an effort to look him in the eye.
"You're not missing anything," Pipit said. He took a left toward the bathroom. The comically short man sneered as Strich guffawed.
"Bunch of clowns," Pipit muttered, slapping the heavy door out of his way.
In the breakfast room, Link took his last bite just as Pipit disappeared into the seclusion of the bathroom. With two separate tubs in the room, Link considered joining him. He had already decided against it by the time he'd handed his plate to Henya. Pipit was likely in need of some private time after being left high and dry by his now ex-girlfriend. Link's bath would have to wait.
It would have to happen tonight, however, because his time in Skyloft was growing short.
Link nodded to Cawlin and Strich as he passed them. He walked a little ways, but didn't go as far as his dorm. He had a job to do.
He stopped at Groose's door. He looked at his feet, hearing nothing from the other side. With a sigh, he knocked a few times.
"Come in," Groose called. Bracing himself, Link opened the door and stepped in. Looking to the right, he found Groose. He was sitting on his bed in the same casual outfit as Pipit, hunched over and staring at the floor. Even his big red pompadour seemed to be slouching.
Link glanced at the corner across from Groose's bed. Over a pile of free-weights hung a punching bag. He saw that the same badly drawn picture of his own face was still scrawled across the middle.
Well, he still hates me, Link thought.
Not wanting to spend any more time here than he had to, Link spoke up. "I'm sorry I—"
"Save it," Groose interrupted. "That's not why I told the Headmaster your apology sucked."
Link's mouth had practically been set on automatic to get the words out as quickly and painlessly as possible. He had to will the rest of his robotic sentence away. "Okay…" he said.
"I just wanted to ask you something before you skipped off again," Groose said, pressing both hands together.
"What's that?" Link asked. This was bizarre. Groose was only good at being an adversary, not a conversationalist.
"Zelda," Groose said softly, "is she all right?" He was still looking down.
"Yeah, she's okay," Link said hesitantly.
"No," Groose said, bringing his golden-brown eyes up. "Is she really, really okay?" The two young men stared at each other. "I don't just mean 'did she survive', I mean, is she safe? Where is she? What's she doing?"
Link's entire body loosened as he saw how concerned Groose was. He seemed bedraggled and stressed out, as if he hadn't slept since Zelda's disappearance.
"She's with someone," Link said. "She has a guardian. They're traveling from one part of the surface to another so that she can visit a spring. The Earth Spring, near a volcano."
"What's a…volcano?" Groose asked.
"I don't know," Link replied.
"Why aren't you with her?" Groose asked, giving an accusatory look.
"I…it's not my job," Link said. "I was told to come here. But I'm going back."
"I'm going with you," Groose said, sitting up.
"Huh?"
"I'm coming too."
"You…can't," Link said.
"Why not?" Groose asked, standing up and towering over Link. "The more swords, the better. I'm a good fighter."
That's questionable…
"It's… You can't get involved in this," Link said. "It's dangerous, and involves stuff that we've never…been trained to deal with."
"I don't care," Groose said determinedly. "This is Zelda. I don't give a crap about danger, or what I've been trained or haven't been trained to do." He gave such a stern glare that Link had to hold back a scowl. "No matter what, I'm going to the surface. I've heard there's a whole mess of people already down there. I shoulda been down there days ago. I probably could've had Zelda back by now." He crossed his arms and turned his face away.
Link sighed. He knew nothing was going to change Groose's stubborn mind. He was also through with being called a coward. "I'll see you on the surface, then," he said, walking to the door.
"You can bet on it," Groose said as Link shut his door. Walking to the bathroom, he rolled his eyes and balled his fists, ready to wash his hands of the situation. He couldn't possibly bear the burden of protecting another person during his trip to meet Zelda.
Pipit, you better be ready to talk, Link thought. Then, he stopped himself. Karane… He looked over his shoulder. Should I do it?
He didn't move for two whole minutes as he brooded, weighing the pros and cons of walking up those stairs and knocking on Karane's door.
On the one hand, he didn't know her very well, meaning their conversation would more than likely be strained. On the other hand, he was about to go to the surface. Even if his attempt to console her resulted in some horrid gauche, at least he wouldn't be seeing her for a while.
And everyone had the right to be comforted after being dumped.
That in itself convinced him.
Rushing to do it before he lost his nerve, Link was at her door in less than half a minute.
"Go away!" she shouted.
"It's not Pipit," Link said.
Silence followed, indicating that Karane was thinking.
Zelda knows her a lot better than I do… Link rubbed the back of his neck. Something tells me Zelda wouldn't have been able to help with this particular problem, though.
It didn't take long for the sound of skittering and the shadows of two feet to approach. Stepping back, Link waited as Karane unlocked and opened her door. Her face appeared through the crack. Red-rimmed and bloodshot, her eyes proved that Link had made the right choice to check on her.
She vigilantly checked the hallway. "Is Pipit with you?" Her voice was raspy.
"He's taking a bath," Link said.
"Oh…" She looked down.
Link bit his lip. "Uh, I just wanted to—"
"Did he tell you what happened?" she asked, sniffling.
"Yeah."
"Oh."
"I just wanted to see if you were okay."
"Oh, well…" Her fingers curled around the door.
Link wasn't sure what to do. "So, are you?"
Karane canvassed the corridor again. "Why don't you just come in?" she asked. Her door swung in with a creek.
"Uh," Link said, "sure…"
Setting foot inside her dorm, the first thing he noticed was the darkness. Her shades were drawn, blocking the last of the twilight. Not a single lamp was lit.
She immediately fixed the problem. Each of two oil lamps on her bedside table and desk came to life. No longer needing the light from the hall, Link shut the door.
He spotted something pink and familiar on her bed to the right. "Zelda's robe?" he asked, trying for light conversation.
"Mhm," Karane answered, sitting beside it and rubbing her eyes. "She let me borrow it before she…" She folded her hands and sighed.
"Yeah," Link said.
"I miss talking to her," she said, her voice breaking a little.
"Me too," he said, nodding.
"Do you wanna sit down?" she asked.
Link considered his options: sit on the bed right next to her, or sit on the chair by her desk, which was also right next to her. He rocked on his toes.
"I'll just stand," he said.
She nodded. "You've seen her recently. She's okay, then?"
"For now. Didn't Pipit tell you?"
Her expression flattened. "I don't know if I should or shouldn't believe what comes out of his mouth anymore."
"Well, what don't you believe?"
She shrugged. "What he said about us. I dunno. Maybe I just don't want to believe it."
"He told me he tried to be honest," Link said.
Karane's eyes came up. "He did?" Link nodded. "It's true, then?"
"I dunno exactly what he said to you, but—"
"So he kissed some Twili girl?" she asked.
"Uh, yeah, he did," Link said.
"And slept with some girl in Superna?" she asked.
Link hesitated. "Yeah."
"And some…blonde knight a few weeks ago?" Link nodded once more. "Did he really have some sort of ménage à trois this weekend?"
Link looked away. "Actually, I think it was more than just…that."
"More?" Karane looked even sadder.
"I wasn't there, but… Actually, I have no idea," Link said. "I don't think I want to know, really."
Karane looked away and scoffed. "I hate him right now."
"I don't blame you," Link said.
"Why does he have to like Zelda? Is nothing off-limits to him?"
"That's what I said," Link mumbled.
"I can't believe him. Aren't you supposed to be with Zelda? What happened to that?"
"Well…"
"I just…can't believe any of this." Karane leaned over her knees. "I can't believe I thought he was the one. I'm so stupid."
"No," Link said, almost stepping forward. "You're not stupid for liking Pipit. He's…"
"A fabricator?"
"Not exactly," Link said.
"A deceiver?"
"Well…" Link sighed. "He actually felt pretty bad about having to tell you about all of that."
"Hm, how noble of him," Karane said.
"He's a good guy. He's just sort of—"
"Loose?" Karane asked.
"I guess," Link said.
"I think I already knew that," Karane said, exploring her palms in thought. "He'd already said that he didn't want to get too serious, and while I was okay with that, for now… I didn't want to accept that he was so… Flirtatious, and…" She took a breath. "I didn't really mean to…hurt him earlier. It just happened."
"He'll get over it. Just give him some time," Link said.
"Time to grow up?"
"Maybe." Link cleared his throat. "So, you're okay, then?"
"Yeah. I'm all right."
"Okay, well…" Link backed up to the door.
"You're going to talk to him again, aren't you?"
"I think so."
"Please tell him that I said sorry," Karane said.
"Oh, sure."
"Sorry that he's such a selfish jerk."
"Yeah…okay." Link quickly made for the exit.
"Thank you," Karane said quietly, "for checking on me."
"No problem."
Shutting the door, Link pressed himself against it and thanked his lucky stars that the discussion was over.
It was time to talk to Pipit again. Not only did Link feel the need to show his friend that he could talk to him without being judgmental, but the near future needed to be discussed. Link knew where he had to go, but there was no telling what Pipit had in mind for himself.
Stopping by his room, he grabbed something clean to change into, if he ended up feeling brave enough for a bath.
The bathroom was almost as dark as Karane's dorm. Wall torches led the way down the hall toward the bathing area. It was cool and quiet, and smelled sweetly of plant life. The advantage of having instructors living in building eleven who loved plants was an indoor garden around the bathtubs.
Link rounded the corner to the right. The flickering light and delicate sounds of running water dominated.
The only part of Pipit that was visible was his head, which was resting comfortably on the edge of one of the round tubs. A stream of warm water, provided by the large stone structure beside the tub, poured into his bath, keeping it continuously refreshed.
"Is it safe to be in here?" Link asked, setting his clothes beside the tub on the opposite side of the room. He ducked down to avoid being clothes-lined by a long green vine.
"Don't worry," Pipit said with his eyes shut, "I already took care of it."
Not needing any further explanation, Link simply said, "Okay." He began taking his tunic off. "You should lock the door if you don't want anyone walking in on something."
"The girls have their own bathroom," Pipit said. "Not worried."
"Guys don't necessarily wanna walk in on that, either." Link pulled his shirt over his head.
"You're way too sensitive, man," Pipit said with a sigh.
"Are you gonna be done anytime soon?" Link asked.
Pipit opened one eye. "What, you can't take a frickin' bath with me in here? There's two tubs for a reason."
"You just make me nervous sometimes, Pip."
"Maybe this will help, then: the reason for two tubs is so guys have an excuse for a 'whose junk is bigger' contest." Pipit laid his head back again. "So, come on. Let's take full advantage, here."
"You sure know how to make a person feel better, Pip," Link said, whipping his pants off and jumping in the bath before any comments could be made.
"Here," Pipit called, tossing a small square object over to Link.
"What this?" he asked, catching it.
"Soap. Duh."
"I know that. Why are you giving it to me?"
"It smells really good," Pipit said. "Worked really well on my hair, too."
"Where'd you get it?"
"Somebody just left it here. Maybe it's Gaepora's."
Link grinned. "Is he really the type to use flowery soap?"
"Pssh, who knows?"
"If he is, that's pretty funny," Link said.
"I think it came from one of those little shops in the Bazaar."
"The one with all the different varieties?" Link asked, washing his ears.
"Yeah, except I usually call it 'flavors', but then again, I don't think 'flavors' can be applied to something inedible."
"Yeah, probably not." Link thought about using the razor in his bag, but decided against it. " You have a razor handy?"
"Yeah, here," Pipit said, throwing it.
Link let it hit the water before picking it up. "Thanks."
"Maybe the soap is a plant by Karane," Pipit said, brushing a hanging blossom of some sort out of his face. "Maybe it's something that I'm allergic to, but I don't know that I'm allergic to it…and she does."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah, and I'm gonna end up with a full-body rash for like a month. Geez, what a bitch."
"Pipit…" Link cautiously lathered his hands. "I just spoke to her. She's really upset." He dunked his head before scrubbing the suds into his hair.
"Yeah? She should be. If I didn't know any better, I'd say she sharpened her teeth just for the occasion." He flinched a little.
"She's upset that it didn't work out between you guys," Link said, rubbing the soap all over his face.
"Don't get it in your eyes," Pipit said. "It stings like hell. Must be the perfumey stuff."
"You coulda told me that three seconds ago," Link groaned, dipping his face in the water.
"I coulda been honest with her sooner, sure, but she didn't have to bite me."
"I agree," Link said, combing his fingers through his hair.
"I just need to avoid her, I think. For a while, anyway. Think you'd like company on your next wilderness excursion?"
"You wanna come with me to get the sword?" Link asked.
"Sure, why not? Sounds pretty dull, to be honest, but it's better than hanging around here trying not to think vengeful thoughts."
"I don't expect it to be much fun," Link admitted. "It seems like we just escaped the woods. But, oh well. If you wanna come, that's fine by me."
"I'm packing food this time," Pipit said, climbing out of the water and dripping everywhere. He grabbed a folded white towel. "And better stuff to make a fire, and a bottle for water… Actually, this time I'm just going to be prepared."
"I appreciate what you did last week, though," Link said. "As unprepared as you were, it was still thoughtful of you."
"Someone needed to come to your rescue," Pipit said, drying his hair and pulling some shorts on. His pants and shirt followed. "I'd stay and wait for you, but I think that the only thing weirder than two guys discussing soap flavors while bathing beside one another is two guys walking out of the bathroom together, smelling pretty."
"Yeah, that's…" Link nodded lightly as he ran the razor up his face.
"So I'll see ya." Pipit scooped up his dirty laundry. "I need to get my tunic cleaned. And sleep in my own bed tonight. Especially if we're gonna be using rocks as pillows starting tomorrow."
"Okay."
Pipit walked to the entryway. "What would happen right now if I ran away with all of your clothes, and all the towels, and your bag which has your room key in it?"
"Then I'd be sprinting to the kitchen, finding a pot to wear and then banging your door down."
"Good to know. Well, 'night."
"Sorry about earlier," Link called.
Pipit waved two fingers in the air before disappearing. Link shook his head and finished his bath in peace.
….
When a rather sad sound rang out from his violin, Link jumped to his feet, feeling bad that he'd just thrown it down.
He crossed his arms and stared at the instrument. He walked to the end of his bed and stared. Then he sat on the spare bed and stared some more.
He paced for an entire half hour without taking his eyes off of the source of misery; it was sitting on his green comforter, almost mockingly.
Then, he heard a knock at his door.
Not knowing who would want to visit him this late, he went to answer it. He was surprised to find Midna.
"I can't sleep," she said.
Unable to fully resist looking her over in her baggy pajamas, Link tried to keep his search brief. "Why not?"
"Nightmares," she said. "Can I come in?"
Link stepped out of the way and held out a hand. "What sort of nightmares?" He closed the door.
"Oh, I dunno," she said with a sigh. "Maybe I'm just overwhelmed on your behalf, or something." She smiled, her red hair hanging loosely around her face. "You've got a lot of responsibilities."
"My dreams haven't exactly been pleasant, either," Link said.
"You're going to the surface tomorrow, right?" Midna asked, sitting on the spare bed.
"Yeah," Link said.
"You're all ready to go?"
"Yep." He pointed to the worn sword and shield in his corner.
"Hopefully the sword you're going to get looks better than that."
"Me too."
"Are you excited to see Zelda again?"
Link wasn't sure why she was asking. "Um, yeah, a bit."
Midna nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure."
"Is there anything you…want me to do for you?" Link asked.
"Do for me?"
"Yeah, 'cause you can't sleep."
"I don't want to keep you up," Midna said.
"You're not. I'm awake for the same reasons."
The two locked eyes for a few moments. Link tapped his foot, anticipating something. He didn't know what.
"Do you have a comb?" Midna asked.
"Why, does my hair look that horrible?" Link asked.
"No, silly. I was wondering if you wanted to comb my hair for me."
Link looked around. "Comb your hair?"
"Yeah. It relaxes me. You just offered to do something helpful." She smiled and shrugged. Link rummaged through his desk drawer for the necessary tool, and Midna eagerly sat on the floor next to the bed. Link sat behind her, not at all unhappy to have Midna between his knees.
"Mm, that feels nice," she said, sighing. Link was glad she couldn't see his grin. If combing her hair made her sound like that, he ought to do it more often. "Do you care if I sleep here tonight? I'm a bed hog, so I'll take this bed here, and stay far away from yours."
"Sure, if you want." Link happily went back to work.
The pair turned their heads toward Link's door as heavy footsteps plodded past.
"Hey!" they heard Groose yell into the silent building. "Who used my soap!"
