Author's Note
If I could marry my reviewers, I would. Also, por la "Guest" que me escribe, su ingles esta bueno. No se el francés, pero el Español es mi lenguaje segundo y el Japones es mi lenguaje tercero, entonces yo se esta dificil aprender lenguajes otros. Thank you so much for writing to me!

You guys have no idea how much reviews mean to authors. It lets us know that people actually care about what they are writing, and that was one of the reasons I stopped writing; I thought it didn't matter anymore because nobody cared anyway. Any time you read someone's work, even a simple "Cool" or "Ew, you suck" can go a long way. Just knowing our works are reaching people makes it worth while, and it's a great motivator.

When Dark opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was Link's eyes, closed and resting softly. It was a familiar image. At first, it relaxed him, enjoying having him so close to him like when they were in the desert. Then, he suddenly jolted up and shook him, recalling the moments before. When he didn't respond, the raven-haired man stood up and looked around for any sign of life around them. There was no one. It was the middle of the night, and not even the bugs that hid within the grass were crawling.

Dark turned back to Link, who lay silently with his son grasped firmly in his arms. He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. At least Nani was still there; still, they couldn't just sit out in the open like that. At that thought, he put out his hand and summoned a barrier around them. Now that it was night, his powers had replenished a small bit, at least enough to birth a basic force field. He sat beside Link once more and pried the sleeping child from him before removing his layers of blood-soiled clothing. He winced when he saw the harsh burns that covered his back.

A wave of guilt washed over him. How could he allow them to hurt him like? He wasn't fast enough to protect him. He knew there were people hiding in the shadows who aspired to show him his demise, and yet he let his guard down. If he had let the man die, how could he live with himself?

He shook his head got to work on tending to the blonde's wounds. Withdrawing the canteen of water he attached to his belt, Dark poured a bit of water on the burns to clear off the debris and malities. He ripped off a piece of his sleeve and patted the injuries as gently as possible. The muscles there tense, but he continued even so. It may have hurt, but if he didn't fix them, the area would more likely than not get infected.

When he was finished, he wrapped the wounds with Link's white under shirt and fastened it with his belt to stop the bleeding. It was then that Nani stirred and fluttered his eyes open. Dark gave him a half smile, trying to comfort him despite being nervous himself. Nani sat up and looked at his mother, biting his bottom lip. He patted his head, as if the action would make him better.

"Mommy has an owie?" Nani asked. Dark nodded. The child frowned and began stroking his mother's hair. "It's okay. Mommy's okay. Mommy's fine..." He assured himself, reciting, no doubt, what Link would tell him when he himself was hurt.

Dark felt the lump in his throat grow larger. Kids were foreign to him, and he wasn't really sure what he should say to him. So, instead, he copied Link and put his arms around him tightly. Nani was taken aback a bit, but began to whine and hold onto Dark as he did so for comfort. The raven-haired man rubbed his back and simply listened to the babbled cries that left the boy's lips. Dark knew Link would be fine, but he couldn't help but empathize with the kid. Irrational concern for someone- it was finally a trait that they had in common.

"I don't want Mommy to die like Uncle Barnes' doggie," Nani said in the middle of his crying.

"M-Me either," Dark replied, finding his word choice strange. "But... um... he'll be okay. So, you don't have to cry..."

"But Mommy has a big owie," Nani sobbed, pushing himself into the man harder and pinching his lap with his shoes. Dark cringed at this, trying not to say anything and simply let him do whatever made his little heart feel better. "I don't want Mommy hurt!"

After his weight became a little to much, Dark sat him in front of him and cupped his cheeks, squishing them together like fish lips. "Your mom will be okay," he assured him, a bit frustrated, but looking at those teary blue eyes... Dark softened and sighed with a small smile. He ruffled his hair. Nani gave a sniff, wiping the tears that streamed down his chubby cheeks before nodding. His face was flushed from all his crying which only added to his sorry look. Dark cocked a brow. "You know..." Dark began. He knew how to distract him. "I can tell you a story while we wait for him to wake up..."

Nani perked up. "A story?" He questioned him. Dark nodded.

"It's about my world, the place we're going. You see-"

"No," Nani interrupted him. Dark furrowed his brows in confusion. "You have to start with 'onceapona time," the boy corrected him. Dark thought about it for a while, before he suddenly understood.

"Oh, right. Once upon a time, there was one realm, where humans, monsters, everyone lived together happily. Then, a terrible beast took over the land and tried to destroy the entire world," Dark began. Nani gasped, leaning closer on the edge of his "seat". "He gathered the help of all the beasts and warred with the impudent humans. Some humans knew the war was pointless, that the humans would perish, so they joined him. The beast gave them powers, dark and magical powers. These powers gave them the ability to lead the monsters against the other humans. They almost one, too, until the goddess Hylia, daughter of Farore, came and put the other humans into the sky!" Nani's eyes widened. He looked up at the night sky through the barrier and gave an "oooh". Dark nodded and gradually got more into the story as he went, his hands and voice changing. "But the humans with magical powers were punished. We- they- were sent to another realm. In this realm, the Shadow Realm, it is always night time, and its residents were turned to shadows."

"Are they bad?" Nani asked. Dark looked away and thought about that as he watched a small ant struggle to carry his food. He shook his head.

"No. They did bad things a long, long time ago... I thought we were bad for a long time, too, but then..." He replied. His eyes trailed over to Link, who still lay sleeping. His heart fluttered. "But Link- er, your mother- he said otherwise. He says they were just doing what we had to to survive. Your mom says that it's never too late to redeem myself or do good things. But most people in Hyrule think I'm evil just because I come from the Shadow Realm."

"So you're one of them?" Nani asked. Dark nodded. The boy thought to himself for a while, twiddling his thumbs, before he scooted closer and snuggled next to him. "Well... I don't think you're bad." Dark blushed. He cleared his throat and looked away.

So this was what a child was like... A human child, anyway. They weren't so bad. Dark wouldn't mind being a surrogate father if it always felt this warm and fuzzy.

"Urhn... Eh..." Link mumbled as he rustled awake. Dark drew closer and hovered over as the blonde tried to sit up, watching to make sure he didn't hurt himself in the process. Link's eyes naturally fell over Nani first and analyzed him carefully before they looked on his doppleganger. "You're awake," he grumbled. Dark nodded. "Are you feeling okay?" he asked. Dark nodded. "Are they gone?" He mouthed. Dark nodded.

Link sighed and looked down at the belt wrapped around his torso. He bit his bottom lip and gave the raven a look of concern as his son buried his face in his chest and babbled once more. He smiled and stroked his hair. As they reunited, Dark stood and looked out at the field ahead of them. In the distance, he could just see the architecture of Lake Hylia, whimsical and queer little buildings. In a twisted sort of humor, he leveled that at least they wouldn't have to go through Hyrule Castle Town. Of course, it was just a reproachful kind of thought, but...

"So what do we do now?" Link asked. Dark was silent for a small while.

"You're injured... I don't think you'll be able to make it tonight..." Dark answered, crossing his arms. "Unless... Didn't you say you have a horse?"

"I..." Link mumbled. He looked away. "She... I left her behind. I don't even know what happened to..." He bit his bottom lip to fight back to tears.

"Er, uh, well..." Dark struggled to change the subject. "I could just carry you..."

"Carry me?" Link snorted, tears fading. "What am I, an old woman?" Dark shrugged with a smirk. "You don't have to do that, I'm just fi-!" Link tried to stand on his own feet, only to fall back down. He blushed. "Okay, so maybe not..."

Dark chuckled and crouched down in front of him, taking his arms and hoisting him onto his back. With a grunt, he stood up with Link on his back and released the barrier wrapped around them. The three of them began heading for the Lake Hylian buildings in the distance. As Link kept his eyes fixed like a hawk on his son, Dark walked with a bit more confidence. He didn't quite let his guard down, but he felt a little less helpless. at night, his powers were slightly better, and they were enough to at least protect them.

When they reached the lake, they found themselves at the doorstep of Lanayru's cave. Dark cocked his head to the side and glanced down at Link, who he still carried, then over at Nani sleeping on his shoulders. Link bit his bottom lip and shook his head. It wasn't exactly a commanding "no", but more of a pleading. From inside, they could both feel the spirit's energy radiating from within, like a serpent slithering around their feet.

"I know you really don't want to see it... But you're still really injured. It might not even come out," Dark reasoned. Link sighed and wiggled from his arms. Together, they carefully entered the spring, Nani still atop his shoulders.

Inside, nothing had changed. It looked the same as all the times he had been with Midna; it was still dark and gloomy, shadows blanketing the old, weathering rocks and the muddy water. Flashes of memories from when he was the Hero of Light greeted his mind. It was more painful than nostalgic, to look back on a time when he was fresh and brash- back when he was just a kid enjoying his position as a hero. He was so naive back then. The more he thought about his past self, the more it became a separate person like a distant friend. He was so different now, it was hard to believe that the man he saw in his memories was him.

Dark stopped halfway down the small hill and glared at the water before looking back at Link.

"Do you think you can make it over? I can't get near the water," he asked. Link nodded. Holding onto the walls, he slowly lowered himself into the water and cringed as the salty water washed over his wounds. It felt more like nipping and searing than it did healing, but he could still feel the cuts melding together and closing. As he stripped off his clothing, Dark blushed and looked away.

"Why are you looking away, Dark?" Link asked sheepishly, looking behind him at the shadow. Dark's face burned more at this. "It's not like you've never seen me naked." Dark turned his whole body around covered his face. The blonde chuckled. "Do you..." He suddenly changed his tone, laying his stomach against the ground to fully submerge his back in the soothing water. "Do you remember when the night we first...?" His doppleganger gulped.

How could he ever forget?

"Y-Yeah..." Dark replied. "It was really weird and awkward," he laughed. Link snorted. "And you were speaking Hylian."

"Was not," Link denied, laughing.

"Yes you were! And it was adorable because you kept scrunching your toes!" Dark added, unknowingly turning back to face him Link shook his head and laughed into his palms. "It was mostly memorable, though, because it was also the day you told me you lo-" He stopped and gulped, eyes and mind trailing off. He felt his whole body warm as his heart fluttered. "L...Lo..."

He was caught both by the memory and the appearance of the blonde. The water dripped from his long, soft locks and off his tanned, slender body. He had a gentle frame, fading scars scattered about, but he was still toned. His muscles were not bulging, but they were defined. His eyes... Oh... His eyes. They were dark and seductive, like a vixen's during mating season. The way he stared straight into him was-

"I meant it..." Link whispered. Dark cleared his throat.

When he finished, Link put his clothes back on and cracked his neck, enjoying the feeling of a freshly healed body. He looked over at Dark and nodded. It was time to go before someone decided to show themselves.

"What's next?" Link asked, taking Nani from Dark's shoulders and holding him in his arms like an infant.

"We need to at least get to the border of the desert while I have my powers tonight." Dark replied.

With that, they headed out of the cave and for the tower. The while, however, Dark couldn't shake the feeling of being watched...