Hey guys. I know I haven't updated in months, and I am so sorry for that. I had no idea I had a following, and I'm sorry I let you guys down.

For the passed couple of months, and even about a year before that, I've been struggling on and off with depression and anxiety and I really had no energy nor inspiration to write anything. I thought it wouldn't even matter. Then, I casually scrolled through today and saw a review that really touched my heart. It was anonymous, but I would just like to says, whoever you are, thank you so much!

Here was the review:
"Now now. Let's talk about business. Why didn't you finish this story? In fact, I think that's not the right question. Why are you not writing anything at all? I mean, you gave birth to many stories that are really worth reading, and have already a fan group that keep searching for updates almost every month (I'm in that club lol) so... finish what you're doing. Please. I'm begging you :gets on her knees:"

Thank you.

Without further adieu, here is the next chapter of Raising Ganondorf.

Only moments later, Link and Dark found themselves at link's house. It was a small shack-like house, but it was charming. The windows were clean, despite the constant flowing dust of Kakariko, and there were little flowers beginning to bud in the infant garden that surrounded the tiny house. The door was painted over with a gill green and had little stickers on it- no doubt the handiwork of the youngest resident- but most pleasant was the soft little rug stitched with a happy little goron and a happy little rock.

Dark noted it wasn't as big as his last house... But it was quaint. As soon as the three of them stepped inside, they were greeted by a strong scent of crayons and sweet honey. Link stepped aside and nudged his doppelganger, as if to ask his approval. Dark's eyes passed between the makeshift couch with a thick, fuzzy blanket draped over it, the shelf filled with neatly-filed books, and the single bed with another fuzzy blanket finely made over it. It was a bit lacking, empty space occupying much of the floor and walls, but it was warm enough. A few childish pictures sprinkled around made the house definitely livable. Dark smiled.

They had promised... Some time ago... That they would get out of that hell, and they would have lots of babies, and they would become typical doting fathers, and they would have little house with little gardens, and they would have everything that any normal family would have. And here they were.

Dark smiled. Link blushed.

"What?" link asked, all possible reasons for the smirk warming his cheeks.

"It's cute," Dark replied. They eyed each other for a few moments, a spark of fluttering hearts passing between them, before Nani yawned and interrupted them. When he opened his eyes, the first thing to appear before him was Dark. He shrieked and gripped on to his mother. Link held him tighter and began to coo him.

"Nani, don't cry! It's okay, Dark isn't going to hurt you. He's my friend!" the blonde assured him. Wiping his sleepy eyes, he peered at the man with his large, round little blue orbs. Dark gave him his gentlest smile, his fangs gleaming in the sun. Nani made a small squeal and buried his face in his mother's chest once more. Link rolled his eyes and patted his back. "Don't feel bad. He's really tired, and he probably saw you... before."

Dark nodded, but he couldn't hide the pout that hung onto his bottom lip like a fish hook. Link strolled inside and pried nani off of himself and onto the fuzzy couch before heading over to a a small chest beneath a window. He lifted it and rummaged through it. While he searched for his object of interest, Dark stood in the middle of the room, examining the smaller details that he couldn't from outside.

Nani's pictures, as he'd assumed was the creator of those pictures, were very colorful, although they were mostly abstract. He could make out a few objects: Link, random Hylian letters, and flowers. The rest were scribbles of color and unstable shapes. Back in the Shadow Realm, children were... different. They were neither seen nor heard. To see one write his mind on paper gave him a bit of awe.

He picked up one such picture and sat on the edge of the couch beside Nani, making an accomadation of space for the boy. The child glared at him from behind his arms as he rested his chin on his knees. Those eyes... They were shinier versions of his mom's, and as such their pouts were adorable. Dark looked at the picture once more before looking back up at the boy and smiling, this time with his mouth closed.

"Hi, little guy... I know you don't like me, but I think your pictures are really nice..." Dark began. The boy's ears perked up, but he continued to avoid him. "What is this one? It's colorful."

Nani was quiet for a while, glaring at the man as if he were diseased, until he suddenly pointed out the window at the watch tower. Dark nodded. Nani looked over for a moment, gathering his thoughts, when he stood up and grabbed one of his better pictures off the wall. He brought it back to the couch and handed it to the man before returning to his seat. It was a picture of Link, and it had flowers drawn all over. Dark smiled. The crude lines and lack of consideration for human anatomy was adorable. He wondered if all children were like this.

Just then, Link sauntered over, holding a plate of carrots and a piece of bread. He handed it to Nani, who grinned and took the plate happily. The constant echo of crunching and snapping in the background, Link turned to Dark and sat beside him, in between the two.

"He'll warm up to you; he really is a sweet kid. He just gets nervous around strangers," Link assured him. Dark nodded.

"...How come you live here now?" Dark asked. Link bit his bottom lip.

"Well..." Link began, twiddling his thumbs. "There was a... mutual agreement between the villagers and I that we shouldn't live in Ordon anymore..."

"They kicked you out?!" Dark gasped. The blonde rubbed the back of his neck and looked away. "That's ridiculous! You're the hero! It's not even your fault that you had Nani, and they didn't even meet the-"

Link put his hand on the man's head to cool him off. There was a silence between them, aside from the crunching of carrots beside them, until Dark shook his head and looked out the window. Link scooted closer to him and rested his head on his shoulder. Dark blushed and sighed.

"It's not important right now..." Link whispered softly. "I'm here, safe, with you." Dark crinkled his nose, the sugar from the man's sweetness too much for him. "You know... Renado did say to catch up, and Nani is supposed to play with the gorons today..." The darker of the two's eyebrow rose in interest. "So you can get all that frustration out later." Dark choked on the sexiness of his tone.

Link chuckled and backed away from him, turning to Nani and patting his head. Nani gave a toothy grin, pieces of carrot glued to his teeth.

"Link..." Dark began. Link glanced over at him, but their eyes did not meet. The red pair, instead, were fixated on a his hands. "Do you think once we get rid of the people trying to hurt you... That I could... Maybe we could... I mean, if you'd be okay with... It's just that I'd like to be..." Link leaned over and placed his lips against the other man's softly, silencing him. After a few moments, he released him and smiled. Dark shivered. "Okay." He mumbled.

The blonde chuckled again and sat up on the sofa, maneuvering to stand up.

-Shwing.

There was a sudden silence that reverberated across the room like roaring fire. Just in front of Link's face, blurred by the closeness of it's blade, was an arrow. the only things holding it backs were two of Dark's fingers. Just like that, time turned back on, and the glass of one of the windows shattered into nothing. The arrow's velocity caught up to it and burned its wood from its sheer force of speed. Dark tossed it away, grabbing Link. Nani shrieked. After a few moments, Dark released Link and grabbed the blade of the arrow.

"What the Hell was that?!"

"Mama, the window..."

Dark flipped the blade over, finding some all too familiar symbols etched into it. He furrowed his brows and gritted his teeth.

"What is it?" Link asked, holding nani close to his chest.

"They knew i wouldn't let it hit you... But they did it anyway, just to send me a note..." Dark grumbled from deep within his chest. "It says 'Shina yamoou arsanti deaak', or 'Beware Shadow strikes for beast mother'."

Link nibbled on his bottom lip, clutching tighter onto the youngling. Dark stood up and crushed the blade in his hand, burning it with a black flame.

"They aren't going to wait for us to make our move. We have to go tomorrow morning."

"Dark..."

Later that night, Link and Nani lay in their bed, Link's arms holding the boy tightly, shielding him from anything that might hurt him. Dark sat beside them on the floor, silent as he pondered what would happen in the morning.

The shadow realm wasn't exactly the number one place he wanted to be, but if he wanted to save Link, and his kid, then it was his only possible destination. He had to put his fears aside. he had to think of a plan.

They were expected, of course, and there was no back door, so he would have to be ready to fight. Then, there was Nani... They'd have to bring him with them, otherwise he'd be a sitting duck. The shaman's magic was impressive for a human, but it was no match for someone from the Shadow Realm. Yamoou... Shadows. They were truly a force to be reckoned with. But Dark was an even greater force.

"Dark..." Link whispered. Dark glanced over at him, a lump was caught in his throat from the thinner man's ethereal state. The moon light crawled into the window like an elegant white and stretched itself across the blonde, illuminating him in a surreal light that sparkled off of his perfectly tanned skin. His eyes were such a deep blue that he found their waves were washing over him and carrying him to an endless and still ocean. He could almost feel the warmth of the sun pooling over him. Link was truly a beautiful human. All dark could manage in response was a small grunt. "Please don't worry too much. I know this is scary, and I'm nervous, too... But I don't want you to worry to much about it, okay?"

Dark turned his body around and reached a timid hand out. After a shaky flight, he reached the other man's soft face. He let his palm form along the side of his face. It fit perfectly. Of course it did. They were anatomically the same person... but it was more than that, Dark had to think.

"How could I not worry? If I lost you..." Dark blushed and turned away. No... He shouldn't say something so depressing to him. He was actually quite sensitive to others' feelings, one reason he was so good at being a hero. Instead, he said "If I lost you... How would we get married?"

Link chuckled and raised his brows. "Married? Since when did we plan to get m- oh, right." He stopped and spaced out for a moment, recalling all those senseless talks Dark would give him just to keep him going way back when. "I want a wedding on Death Mountain, right when it explodes. That would be cool." Dark tried to suppress it, but he gave a snort and grinned. "Or maybe underwater. Instead of suits, we can wear zora tunics." Dark shook his head and kissed the top of his head.

"I love you."

Link patted the small space between them on the bed. Dark took the cue and crawled onto it, squeezing himself on to fit within the tiny space. Nani yawned and wiggled a little, but returned to sleep. Dark smiled.

"He looks just like you..." Dark mused. "He's so cute."

"You know... If you want... You could be his dad..." Link mumbled. Dark blushed.

"But he doesn't like me..." Dark nearly whined. Link shook his head.

"He's just jealous. But he'll be fine. Nani loves everyone. He's... He really is sweet."

Dark never answered the offer. Instead, he kissed the top of his head and wrapped his arms around the two of them. It would be fine if he layed like this for a while. He didn't sleep, so normally, especially back in the day when he was with Link in the desert, he would just lay there and watch Link's chest rise and fall so rhythmically. And this night was no different.

"I'll keep you safe..." Dark whispered as Link's eyes fell shut.

Tomorrow, they would be wandering into unknown territory.