Author's Note:

Content Warning: sexual themes & implied scenarios lol


Enlightened

A spare ray of sunlight warmed his cheek until Time stretched awake. He smiled at the memory from the prior night, 'I'm sure he'd been thinking to himself before he woke me up. Not that I blame him, of course. If I were in his position, I doubt I would've slept at all.' He smushed his cheek into the knight's grass-ridden hair, 'I'll have to remember how much you enjoy head massages, my cute spark.'

Link abruptly rose from the dead…in vain. He plopped down on the deity's chest, "Mmrrhggghnnn…"

He hid his snickering behind his hand. "Good morning, Link." Sitting up, he found himself charting a detour away from the center of his face and planting his morning smooch above the bridge of his nose. 'Goodness, how does this now put an ache in my head? Is this how Hylia feels? How tiring…'

Of course, despite his perceived unconsciousness, this did not go unnoticed. His companion peeped an eye open, flippantly scoffing, "You did it again." Snide lined his smile, "You know I wouldn't care, right?"

"Oh you wouldn't?" His gaze brightened. 'We could see about that.'

"Mmmmmhmm." He confidently closed his eyes as he nodded, "One hundred percen—!" Link gasped.

The fierce god's eyes cast light across his cheeks, "And yet his façade shatters." His tone was frank yet soft, "Our noses touched, my sweet." He leaned away.

The knight pushed himself up, crossing his arms, "Dammit I had my eyes closed! That's as good as sneaking up on me!"

"Not a welcome surprise?" Time smirked at his caught expression, "I admire your tact, I truly do, but your downfall is your wit—one I'm keenly aware of." 'And fond of.' He chuckled, "Did you think I wouldn't realize the couple of topics you failed to mention yesterday? I know you've already connected the dots regarding the one that pertains to this morning. Is that really what you're asking for?"

He huffed, "Well I'd be dumb if I didn't consider you'd notice." Determination lit his eyes, sass too, "And there's not much of a question to answer when I know you simply wouldn't."

'You're hilarious.' His smirk stretched into a devilish grin, "Hm hm, I'm curious then.~ What brought you to this conclusion?"

Link's confidence remained, a pleasant surprise, "I'll believe it when I see it." He winked, "Fierce Deity."

The world crawled to a stop after the words left his lips.

Echoes of his name ebbed away as the god found himself within the seaborne rift in his mind. He still remained but a silver puddle of water in the vortex of the whirlpool. He looked on in astonishment as the light encompassing the sea flooded to the ring of water swirling around him, concentrating into a bright glow. This same silver light burst from the deity's body as time continued. His eyes and markings shined brighter as his ethereal aura exploded past the barrier of his skin into the air. His echoing voice caused light tremors even as he breathed. He felt lighter, less aggrieved by prior ailments whether physical in form or not. His silver-white bangs grew past his face and silver magic whisked off his fingertips.

Link sat stupefied beside him, flinching as the god's eyes rested on his.

Fierce Deity spoke softly, thumbing his cheek, "My beautiful spark says he'll believe me when he witnesses it for himself? He aches to know my actions when they disregard his norms?" He revealed fangs as he smiled, whispering into his ear, "Oh I'll indulge you. You only need to ask." He tapped his companion's cheek with his thumb, "Remember to breathe please. I can't do it for you."

Link jolted out of his shock with a gasp, catching his breath before speaking, "What just…" He looked him up and down, "What just happened!?"

"Specifically?" The god watched the magic flow from his fingers, "I'm not quite sure. However, I'd say you've snapped a lock off the cage." He kissed the palm of his left hand, leaving a bright sparkle, "You have my most heartfelt thanks, my spark."

The knight stared at it, "What's this feeling in the air? It's—"

"Paralyzing? Breathtaking?" He smiled, "Good. They come from my presence, though you shouldn't be bound by them, of course." He watched the sparkle submerge into his hand. "That's a physical manifestation of my thanks, just so you're aware."

A dumbstruck nod confirmed his understanding. His eyes widened as his gaze flit back to the god, "Y-You glow?"

"Of course. While representative of my powers, to me it also serves as an indicative accessory…perhaps a warning if I liked."

"Whooaa…it even acts like light too." He was briefly enthralled by the way his fingers could separate the shine into rays.

"So," he found his poise, "back to the matter at hand, the one you find too fantastical to believe without proof, what shall I do? Like I said, you need only ask, my sweet."

Link's instigative smile returned, "That's right." He snarkily folded his arms, "Indulge me, pretty please."

His lips deviously curled into a smirk, "Hm, and here I figured you value simplicity in your relationships." Fierce Deity closed his eyes to contemplate, "This may take a moment."

"Time, you're anything but simple," the knight sassed. He curiously leaned closer, "Also what are you doing?"

The deity held up a finger, "A few more seconds, please." His eyes opened as he directed the thought to manifest into his right hand. Silver sparkles rose from the glow in his palm as he offered it to Link, "This is my method of indulging you—for now, perhaps. When you take my hand, you'll experience exactly what you're asking of me. I am showing you my projections, a brief vision if you will. You cannot leave it until it is complete. Do you understand, Link?"

His eyes were transfixed on the opportunity sitting before him. It was clear this was beyond his initial expectations. "Do I get teleported or something?"

"Oh, not quite at all. Your entire focus will simply shift to my projection. Meanwhile, I'll keep watch over you. I doubt it'll take a little longer than a minute." He nodded toward his palm, offering once more, "Does curiosity still drive you, my spark?"

Link wore a look of conviction as he scooted into the deity's lap, "Always." He took a breath before confidently taking his palm.

The silver sparkles shot out as if he smacked a mound of flour, however, instead of falling, they rose, coating his companion's hand while his blue eyes rolled back into his head. 'Hm, maybe I should have mentioned what shifting one's focus entailed. Oh well, it's clear he's watching my vision.' Fierce Deity pleasantly sighed, 'And now I wait.' Not a few seconds later, he witnessed the knight's entire face turn scarlet like a flame greeting a fuse. His brows slightly rose, 'Oh my…not that I'm surprised.~' He snickered, 'I'm eager to see your reaction when you return.'

In the meantime, he spent the next fifty or so seconds enjoying the nature surrounding them and listening to the knight's pulsing heart. He caught sight of a mosquito, 'Hmph, a first.' It crumpled under his gaze. 'And last.' The god reclined onto his free forearm, watching the sparkles begin to diminish one by one on his companion's skin. He wiggled his fingers, finding they were curiously sticky. 'Why is my hand so moist?' His crimson brows rose at the source: Link was drenched in a layer of sweat. 'That's…a little unintended. Interesting, it should be coming to an end any second now.'

Link wheezed as he hunched forward, panting as his eyes fell back into view and sweat dripped down the side of his face. His gaze flew to the hand he held before racing to meet the deity's intrigued eyes. His were ripe with astonishment.

Fierce Deity wore a welcoming smile as he brushed the damp hair out of the knight's face, "So? I sense you have much to say, my bright spark." His words turned his companion's face a deeper shade of red as his speechless gaze continued to bore into his own. His tone was thoughtful, "Ah, no worries, I'll let you find your words first. Take your time."

Link fervently nodded.

By now, his divine glow had grown a tad bothersome. He willed it away, now resting on both forearms. 'Thinking about it now, I suppose he's never—' He watched the knight's hand wobble up to his lips. '—really? Ever?' The god blinked, 'Hm, then this was certainly a first in a few ways…and yet, I don't sense any regret or discomfort…only an exceeding amount of surprise.' Fierce Deity stifled a chuckle, 'Amusing as always, I see. I wonder how long it'll take him to process everything. Not that I didn't expect this to some degree. The shift in the environment can be very jarring.'

For the next half hour, he observed Link merely existing before him, noting where his hands wandered alongside his several fleeting expressions. After reconciling with his lips, one hovered over his heart while the other propped him up. Meanwhile, his face told a story of disbelief with brief moments of, 'Is that embarrassment? Oh, never mind. Aaand back to flustered.' Then, in other moments, a smile would emerge before a thinking frown quickly took its place.

And, despite his time to contemplate, he sounded like a wreck, "Hylia above…I can't believe I…" His words evaporated as he shakily inhaled, "I-I can't believe we did that!" He buffered as he corrected himself, "O-Or would have done that? Y-You called it a projection, r-right? What does that mean? Was that the future!?" Whatever idea followed the end of his phrase made his ears red too.

The deity laughed, "No, my spark, seeing the future is not an ability I possess. A projection is based on the logic I understand of those around me, be they a person, a monster, a projectile, and more. For clarification, they can't be formed through emotions, only logic." He cunningly smiled, lying down with his arms crossed behind his head, "Normally, this is where I'd mention that my projections are not always completely accurate, but that they are very close. No, in this case, you were free to respond to my actions as you wished." Witnessing Link's face turn impossibly more red prompted him to push the back of his hand against his cheek, finding it concerningly hot to touch. "My goodness, I doubt that's comfortable." His clouds gathered into existence around his cheeks by the end of his phrase. He looked to one, "Cool him off."

Stupefied, Link tracked it with his gaze until it hovered above his head. He blinked as the familiar began to mist, "O-Oh…thank you."

"You should expect as much."

"Right…" He flinched, his hands racing to the skirt of his tunic. He must have had the intent to yank it up to check for ticks. He paused midway, "WAIT, it was all in my head, right!?"

"Yes it was."

His companion still did a once-over of himself despite the confirmation. His sigh indicated he didn't discover any abnormal findings; however he didn't exactly appear relieved either. He leaned forward with bated breath, "You meant everything you did?"

The god nodded, "Of course."

"And said?"

Fierce Deity bobbed his head up and down, "Oh absolutely." He had to smirk as he listened to the knight's heart pound. "I wouldn't waste my efforts to show you a lie, Link. That is how I might have spent this morning with you per my customs, as requested by you."

Link stammered, "A-And how long was I there?"

"In this case, one second here was one minute there." He explained, "While I waited a minute and seven seconds, you experienced an hour and seven minutes."

"There's no way…" he mouthed, hissing, "That felt so much longer!" He glanced away, his eyes displaying his racing thoughts, "S-So what now? Are we going to—"

The fierce god smushed his cheeks together until his lips closed, "Ha! Very funny. Maybe if the circumstances were different I'd welcome the suggestion for a second round." He used his remaining arm to push himself upright and sweetly pressed a kiss into his cheek. Satisfied, he let it show in his sigh as he released his face, "We're traveling today, after all."

His composure briefly turned into pudding, "Well…you make a decent point." Then he jerked upright, apprehension lining his tone, "Um, now that I know, what…what does that mean going forward?"

Fierce Deity smirked, "You mean to wonder if you should expect that from me each morning or in general?" He laughed. "Oh, no, Link. Before I explain, I'll be frank first: I have no intention to adhere to your terribly complex, intricate, and emotional rules and customs. Yes, it was different before, but as of now, I couldn't bring myself to care even if I wanted to." His head tilted one way, "There's a particular voice in my head that finds this outrageous, but that's been a common occurrence from it so far. I find it entertaining, really." He pecked his jaw, "To explain, I will of course remain considerate of you and your interesting quirks that derive from your culture." His head bobbed from side to side as a playful smile appeared, "What can I say? It's a little fun. Restraining—very, terribly, awfully restraining—but fun. I find that I don't mind it so much if it's for you."

Link's slow nods indicated his understanding…and slight bewitchment, "Ah, so really nothing will change at all." He cast his gaze away, "Ahem, I'm going to ignore whatever that look in your eye means. Moving on, can I still call you by your actual name?"

"Mmm…" A portion of his mind had continued to keep an eye on the light surrounding him in the void. It had yet to waver or redistribute. Strange. He sat back on his hands, "I think it best if you don't, my sweet. You can still call me Time, of course."

"How did you know to make that projection?" He asked, curiously drifting forward. "Do you remember more things you can do now?"

"I will say what I'm sure of: there is far less thinking involved when it comes to my abilities, fair knight. I had something to show you and so I mindlessly did whatever process necessary to be able to do so. Though, I'm glad I recalled what it was in case you asked. I knew you would. Though, interestingly enough, that information also felt innate." He reclined once more, "Aside from things I've already done, I'm still not sure what else I can do. I'm still missing my memories, after all."

His shoulders sank, "Oh…right." Though his eyes held a glimmer of hope, "You seem a little less bothered by that than before…if that's not rude to point out."

He was frank but thoughtful, "It'd be dangerous for you if I were, my spark." He held up his hand, showing him the aggressive electricity that jumped between his fingers when he let the thought of his circumstance merely surface. "But please, don't think on it for too long. In the meantime," Fierce Deity beckoned him closer as the sparks whizzed away. The glow in his eyes became soft, "come, the day is still new. Perhaps you'll advise me of the things you liked from before?"

A cunning smile snuck onto his companion's face, "And willingly tell you how to poison me? In your dreams."

"Oh really?" A sense of charm permeated the air. "Here I thought knowing an ally's weakness was to better protect them." He chuckled at the knight's attempt to shove him. Like a pebble to a rock wall.

"Pfft, whatever that's supposed to mean. You're more like a rogue anyways."

They hit the road by mid-morning. Apparently, his lupine form couldn't be bothered to lose its heavenly aura. The sound of his cloak whipping in the wind was joined by the clink of light metal alongside the grass beneath his feet. It would turn out two metal pauldrons, similarly adorned as his chest plate with a moon on the right and a triangle on the left, reappeared with his cloak when it was called. He still smiled from the way his companion's eyes initially sparkled.

'But there are more pressing matters ahead…' After crossing the three bridges at Akkala Falls, his red eyes glowed brighter as his conscience searched for the guardian from before. 'Aha, there you are.' For added entertainment, he watched his influence infect two other guardians as well.

"A-Again!?" Yelled a woman.

"Th-three of them!?" Another exclaimed.

"Ugh, how are they already setting their sights on them!?" The researcher hastily warped away.

Feeling mischievous, the god instructed them to randomly begin their firing sequence at a few of the nearby trees. Once more, the entire parade ground had their focus turned to their precious machines. Once more, the deity and the champion were able to slip b—

ZAP!

Lightning struck a cannonball out of the sky.

The wolf skid to a halt, turning in a circle as he roared a howl in dismay, "How DARE they!" And they were nearly beyond the citadel's observant eyes! The guardians aimed their lasers at the fortress's walls.

"Time!" Link gasped, pulling at his ear, "I realize they just tried to fire at us but still! Think of what you said about not committing war crimes!"

He didn't. Such was beyond him. Though he never intended to truly let something so destructive wreak havoc under his command anyway. Only threaten. Growling, Fierce Deity took off and made the machines fall limp after crossing over the hill. Purple sparks flared off the ground as his claws scraped against the stone path. The sandy straight soon came into view.

Halfway across, his mind was torn back to the rift in his mind. The ring of light vanished back into the silvery waters, leaving only the sparse light from the atmosphere. 'Fuck.'

With his corporeality returned, Time lost control of his lupine form. He tripped over himself, sending Link flying into the grassy sand while he roughly tumbled back into his bipedal self. He painfully slid to a stop. The fog in his head was heavy as he shoved himself off the ground. Worried eyes rushed to the knight, "Link! Are you—"

The exhaustion from running and controlling the guardians sent him crashing face-down into the sand.


Link groaned as he rolled off his side, "Yeah…I'm okay." His body hurt. 'Hylia above…I can't remember the last time I hit something so hard…I could have sworn sand was softer than this.' "Are you oka—huh!?" 'Why's he lying in the sand!?' He scampered closer, watching the rest of his light teal tunic finish forming around him, 'Well…thank Hylia for that…'

"Time?" 'You're breathing at least.' He shook his shoulder, "Time what happened?" The sound of splashing made his eyes flick to the water. Several Zora dove in the other direction and swam away. 'Oh no…he's definitely not gonna enjoy hearing about that later. I know for sure one of them recognized me too.' He hid his head under the hood of the cloak and flipped the god on his back. He tried again, poking his cheek, "You okay?"

No response.

He watched his chest slowly rise, "You're dead asleep…" The champion sighed, 'Well, I can't leave him sitting in the middle of the road. People still use this to travel.' He eyed the pond to his left, 'Sure? Maybe if it looks like we're sitting there no one will bother us?' Hands dragged down his face, 'That's actually the dumbest plan I've ever come up with…dear Hylia…' He frowned, pulling up one of the god's eyelids. Link flinched at finding only white underneath, 'Creepy!'

Standing, and back on task, he grabbed one of Time's arms and pulled as hard as he reasonably could, 'How are you—pull—so heavy!?' They weren't terribly far from the water. "Please no one see me! Please no one see me! Pull. What do you mean? Pull. This doesn't look suspicious at all!" He murmured to himself, "I'm just—pull—dragging my friend's—pulltotally-not-dead-looking-body! Mind your business."

"Phew!" 'Finally! Now I'm just gonna…' He looked him up and down, '…pose you a little.' Link scoffed at himself, facepalming, 'Why do I feel—is this how that one murderer felt? That guy who took to killing random travelers and posing them against shop wagons as if they nodded off? Honestly, I don't really know what I'm comparing this to, but this is genuinely just so weird.' He maneuvered the god's shins into the deeper water and sat him upright. Then he pulled his arm to hang over his shoulder to hold him steady, 'Okay…now I'm just gonna wait for you to wake up and absolutely no one is gonna stop and talk to me, sweet Goddess above…'

Water quickly filled his boots, not to mention his pants were soaked. He glanced over at Time, even his fingers dripped, 'Well…I suppose you're worse because I dragged you through the water. On a different topic, and to be selfish for a moment, couldn't this have happened in a forest? I know this isn't your fault or that you chose to do it here, but I think we'd both agree that was awful timing. We got seen and we're still out in the open.' He sat up straighter, adjusting the god's arm.

The clink from the pauldrons brought about reflection, 'I know I thought about all of this right after it happened but…I still can barely wrap my mind around that projection you showed me/let me participate in. You guys genuinely do all that stuff to each other and then…what? High-five and go your separate ways? Wild. It's wilder that it all felt so real too. Even wilder that I was into it!' He could feel his heart beating faster as warmth seeped into his face. He hopelessly stared ahead, 'And not even by a little either! I was into all of it…by a lot!'

He bashfully shook his head, covering his face with his free hand, 'Maybe I'm going crazy, but wilder yet, I think I get it. It's probably from me being around you these last couple of days, but if I just don't think about the significance all that stuff normally has, it's all the equivalent of a high-five, isn't it?' The champion groaned, slouching. The heat in his face grew, 'Ugh, but then I literally can't ignore your dumb face and all the dumber things you said! Let alone did! And what the hell did you whisper in my ear, dammit!? Why didn't you say it in the same language you'd been using the entire time!? There's no way I'm not asking!'

Link took a deep breath, his gaze trudging up to Time's face, 'Crazier still, somehow you're still just my friend…best friend?' He blinked, 'Maybe "companion" is the right word…sure. I'll go with that. The other two don't really account for uh…I guess the things I kinda made you do…nor all the things we've done in general.' Evil lined his snide smile, 'Heh, maybe I'll stop pushing your buttons so much.' He snickered, 'No guarantees, though. I'll admit it's kinda fun now…unless you wake up really mad at me…then I'll stop. Probably.'

He sat back on his hands as the same realization felt like it struck for the tenth time, 'Man…you're a god. I know that of course. I've known it…but wow. Whatever I did by saying your name this morning clearly awakened something in you. It's um…a little hard to know if I should feel happy or concerned. For now, I'll go with "it's cool." Though…I know no one else is ready to see you that way.'

Time's finger twitched out of the corner of his eye, 'Damn…you're gonna have to face Zelda after all this, huh? I wonder what everyone else knows. I wonder what they think. Honestly, I bet they're all terrified of you to some extent. Probably by even more now. I heard some pretty interesting things about you from a couple of the researchers while I was with Zelda. They were all lies.' His lips pressed into a line, 'Shit…I'm gonna have to face the Head of Command and the King after all this! Man, that is the last thing I want to think about! What am I gonna do? What will I say? How much will I say?' He sighed, '…I'll just ask Time. All the questions are gonna be about him anyways.'

He kicked his legs in the water, 'Hmm…but I guess if I were to frame this entire…trip? I think I'd tell them we went camping and treasure hunting, and then try to ignore the questionable things Mija said slowly creeping back into my head. Then, I think I'll give the jewelry to Zelda. I bet there's something about it she'll want to study. Though, she is really into the guardians and relic research—understandably so, of course. I'll still try.' Then her Sheikah friend popped into his head. He cringed, 'Ooh…yikes… I keep forgetting everyone just found out about you. I bet Impa and the other two came back as fast as possible.' He thought of the blessed arrows, '…they wouldn't…go through my things…for research…right? If they found them…surely they wouldn't make me use them somehow…right? Can they make me do that?' His lips curved into a frown, 'No there's no way. And if so, there's no way Time would let them do that. I can almost see it now: his eyes would turn white and—' He winced, 'mm—or not. He'd be super pissed like that. No, maybe he'd just say I don't have to, and the other's will be damned—probably literally—for trying to go against his word…or something. I dunno, I'm saying this as if they'd be that unreasonable in the first place.'

Link nudged the god, muttering, "I need you to wake up already. My shoulders are getting sore from your weight and it's becoming increasingly obvious that I shouldn't be left alone with my thoughts." He spied his ear past his long hair, 'Hm.'


Time twitched awake at the sensation of his left ear repeatedly rotating in circle. He shook the haze out of his eyes, murmuring, "What?" 'I'm wet?' He rubbed his eyes, "What are we doing in the pond, Link?" His ear enjoyed freedom.

The knight's tone of voice made it clear he wasn't proud of himself, "Damn you! It was the best I could think of to make sure no one stopped to talk to us!"

He slowly blinked, yawning, "Fair enough. I just didn't expect to wake up in water." The deity scanned their surroundings before peering at the sky, "I was out for 2 hours? Did you spend all of that messing with my ear?" 'If so, how did I not wake up earlier?'

Link was aghast, "What the—n-no! I thought about it for a while and for the last five minutes or so I've been messing with it." He crossed his arms, wearing a short smirk, "Y'know, I have always thought it was cool you could move them like that."

He made them lift up and down, "Heh thanks. I can't lie though, sometimes I feel like they give me away. For example, I'm sure you know this by now, but they flick when I'm annoyed. Sometimes I wish they didn't, especially the couple of times I was trying to save face!"

He wore a knowing expression, "Yeah well, as long as they are, I'm sure someone could assume the breeze was bothering them. Like a dog or horse."

Time made a face, his single raised brow was slightly unimpressed with the comparison, "Uh-huh. Anyways," he got to his feet, pulling the knight up with him, "now that I'm awake, let's continue on our way back."

"Oh, yeah okay."

The god slowly blinked, his eyes growing wary, "Why… did you sound surprised? I'm pretty sure you've known that's where we're going the whole time." 'You're on about something and I don't think I'm gonna like what it is.'

He put his hands up, "Yeah yeah, of course I have. I just…well I kinda thought…" He huffed a sigh, crossing his arms, "What did you whisper in my ear?"

Time mentally screamed as his pupils narrowed in disbelief, 'DAAAMMIIIIIT! THAT WAS TUCKED AWAY IN MY MIND BEFORE YOU BROUGHT IT UP AGAIN!' He didn't try to maintain his composure; it already slipped and only fell further. "LINK! Are you kidding me right now!?"

In fact he was insistent, "No really! What did you say?"

He shook his head as he pinched the bridge of his nose, muttering, "Link, Link, Link…" His entire being sighed, "Why, why, WHY does it matter!? Just—I dunno! Take the damn context into consideration and that's close enough!" Of course he knew what he said, he just wasn't eager to repeat it. His jaw threatened to fall off at the sight of the champion rolling his eyes.

"I don't think context applies when it's in a completely different language!" Link shrugged. Despite the pink in cheeks, he appeared largely unbothered, just curious. "I mean what? Was it like…nasty? You almost sound like you regret it."

"Link, I—" He winced, merely thinking of the concept brought on a mental fog, one that clouded over his mind and eyes. The god blinked, "Yeah I don't think I even know what regret means anymore…" He waved his words away, the fog following suit. "Ugh, either way, no it wasn't. Not in…well not in my opinion anyways. I'm just…" He paused, puffing air as he gathered his thoughts, "Link. You're trying to get me to translate pillow talk next to a public road. Then, even if I did, I just woke up and you've been," he motioned to his ear, "being yourself with my poor ear. My point is: it's going to sound silly and stupid because nothing really warrants me saying it right now."

"So what I'm hearing is that you'll tell me when we get back?" He nodded before the god could speak, counting his reasonings on his fingers, "Yes, this will keep me up at night; yes, I must know; yes, I won't stop bothering you until you tell me." The knight smirked, clicking his tongue, "To be frank, I'm more surprised you're picking a battle over this when the things you said don't exactly compare to the things you did."

Time held up a finger, "Slight correction: the things we said and we did, thank you very much. I offered, but you asked and therefore received." He gazed at the road ahead, sounding nonchalant, "To be honest, I feel indifferent about it in a positive way." A disbelieving smile tried to push itself onto his face, "Like, if you asked me, I'd say I had a nice morning with you and then we started our journey back to the castle." He sighed, fruitlessly trying to tuck his longer hair behind his ears, "Ah, it's strange…there's a portion of my mind that just…believes there's another way I could look at this, and then the rest me can't comprehend any other angle than this one." He caught sight of his intrigued eyes, "Ahem, bottom line, yes, I'll just tell you when we get back." Time poked his shoulder, "Though, understand you have absolutely no room to tease me ever again."

His lips pressed into a line while he stared off, looking as if he was coming to terms with his words. Then he smiled, "Yeah…I'll miss my edge over you, but I suppose that's for the best…" Link took off the cloak and pauldrons, "I assume you want this ba—oh."

It disintegrated into thin air.

"…Nah, it's okay. I probably shouldn't come back with that stuff on." They began their trek back. Link kept it interesting with his intermittent questions.

Half an hour later, "Oh hey, so what about when you basically said you had no intention of following Hylian rules? What about now?"

He scratched his cheek, "Yeah…I'll start with saying that I'm kinda sorry about making those guardians point at the citadel. We should cross our fingers and hope they don't figure that one out."

Link wholeheartedly agreed, putting his hands on his hips, "OH yeah. I don't exactly blame you, but yikes."

He laughed, "I don't think 'yikes' properly implies just how bad that was Link. Anyways, I think I'd say they loosely apply. On the other hand, it's really weird to go from 'literally nothing matters, you mortals are beneath me' to 'well…but they're also people too and I do kinda care for the most part.'" He shrugged, his tone was frank, "But, at the same time, I'm genuinely not sorry about how I felt before. I couldn't torment myself with soppy-'but I'm a hero'-sentiments even if I wanted to." His ear perked at a relieved sigh.

"Ha, that's good. I might have been worried about the possibility of it."

Time nudged him with a smile, "Aw, that's nice of you."

An hour later, they crossed Thims Bridge, "So how does this companion stuff apply to everything else?"

"Huh…" 'Great question…' "Well, truth be told—as far as I know—considering I'm apparently so lax, it doesn't really apply at all. Like I said, I'm not your master." Just saying the word made his lip curl in distaste. He continued, "It's also no one's business. While easy to explain, given my new 'holier' status I guess, it would dramatically shift the way people look at you and I'd rather not add any unnecessary weight on your shoulders. You're just the Hylian Champion who's going to defeat Ganon, not the god's companion who also so happens to defeat Ganon. Prophecy first, okay?"

"Yeah yeah, I know. I figured you'd say something like that." Link smirked, "What if I used it to my advantage? Can I use it to my advantage?"

He scoffed, smiling, "And just how would you do that, Link? Give me an example."

"Well obviously they're going to question me as soon as the both of us split up. They don't exactly have the gall to do that when you're right there." His hands drifted out either side, "Soo… I think of what you said to Mija, and I either tell them you said I couldn't and I'll be damned if I do, or I say there's dire consequences for meddling in a god's—I mean—your business. Like that."

His lower eyelid briefly twitched at his slip of words. "Hm, I suppose that would work. You're not the type to abuse your position anyways, so sure. Just don't raise questions for yourself. After all, you don't really get to say something like," he did a macho-voice, putting his hands on his hips, "'Mind yourself, mortal' at every other question you don't want to answer." They chuckled.

Another question popped into the knight's head, it was easy to tell by the twinkle in his eyes, "Thinking about it now, what sort of duties would you have given me?"

Interest lined his smile, "Trying to come up with something in case you don't want to do what you're told, Link? That's not like you." '…geez that sounded so much like how I was before…oh goodness.'

He clutched his pearls, "Pfft, of course not. I'm curious. Think of it as a 'what-if' scenario."

Time took a few minutes to consider it, 'Yeah…what would I supposedly have you do? Seeing as I don't really understand where I fit in the grand scheme of things, it seems impossible to truly know at the moment.' "Huh, I have no idea." He watched him frown.

"Seriously?"

A hand hung off his hip, "Well Link if you somehow know more about what all I'd ask you to do, please enlighten me," he sassed. "But really, I feel like the only task I'd throw upon you is looking after my clouds, though they seem to manage themselves fine." His familiars spanned the sky above them as they traveled. Their edges misted in agreement.

Link rubbed his chin, thinking aloud, "What if you made those types of puzzles you're so fond of? You could ask me to test them out."

His expression illuminated as they began to pass through the hills, "Ooh that would be a great idea!" Time wistfully sighed. "Now, if only I had access to that sort of thing. I wonder if I could make my own monsters too, if not ghosts of them—or what if they're not real and it only appears you could see them?" He caught his companion's eager gaze. The god bashfully waved his words away, "Well don't let me bore you, Link. Did you have any other questions?"

The champion grabbed his forearm, appalled, "Bore me!?" He jiggled it around, "Impossible! I'd love to hear your ideas! Besides, I've only heard of this type of stuff from you! I've never heard any of the scholars Zelda's been around mention things like puzzles the way you've talked about them. So please, if this is considered boring, bore me to death."

Time excitedly took his hand, "Haha! Will do! See, I'm most interested in how I could take one room, make you return to it several times, and yet do something different each time that you didn't realize you could do before. Who knows, maybe it could be like one huge key too."

"And what? A door would open after you've done everything?"

"Mm, actually I think it'd be more surprising if you fell through the floor."

Link stared in awe, "F-Fell!? You'd give them—including me—a heart attack!"

He booped his nose, "And yet the two-headed evil dragon is right below you and doesn't take kindly to visitors. Especially after all the falling dust and earthquakes that woke it from its centuries-long slumber. You'd ask yourself, 'should I land on it or in the conveniently placed pond?'"

His head cocked to one side, "I suppose if you plunged your sword into it as you landed you'd fatally wound it…"

"But…" Time's eyes were expectant.

"I'd not only break every bone in my body, but also probably get eaten, so the water it is." He met his gaze.

"Exactly!" The god pat his head, "Well done, my spar—" he caught himself, "—ahem, sorry. But yes! You know this from the knight academy, but always put your safety first. You can't exactly become a legendary hero if you don't live long enough to become a legend in the first place."

"True," Link nudged him, winking, "I'll keep it in mind."

"Good. Then I was thinking…"

Time's ramblings kept the remaining four hours of their journey full of what-ifs, elaborate yet ridiculous ideas, and most importantly: fun. After taking a quick break and crossing Orsedd Bridge, the castle loomed ever closer. "Link…I don't think that's how it's—well that's not how I intended for it to work. You're saying you'd rather lose a fingernail trying to climb the wall than solving the arrow puzzle? Your aim isn't the issue."

He agreed, "Yeah my timing is. I'd spend forever trying to get that rhythm right, so why not climb it instead?"

Time stared off as he imagined it, "I suppose having more than one solution leads to more opportunities." A grin spread from cheek to cheek, "I like it!" A cloudy evening sky required some form of light to be able to see ahead of them. He kept a suitably sized flame in his hand as his eyes spread across the plains, "Maybe it's just me, but I'm surprised we haven't run into anyone yet."

"Believe me, it's crossed my mind more than once." He pointed to a tower poking out of the town, "Well, I bet they've spotted us by now. That's the watchtower. Though, I wonder if they can tell you're holding the fire in your hands or think we're holding a torch awfully low."

Time bumped his arm, snickering, "I'll give you points if they somehow indicate it's a torch."

He fist-pumped, "Yes! Can I spend them on anything? Do you have prizes? Is there a way to earn more?"

'Oh help, this directly reminds me of myself.' Now he laughed, "Link, they're not real points, you dork. It's for fun! You'll just know to yourself that you have them."

His eyes shimmered, "But your prizes would be cool if you had any!"

"O-kay, you're too excited about this, maybe there aren't any points." His hand was squeezed.

"Time, you're going to give me my points or so help me!" They quit their bickering by the time they came within fifty feet of the guards posted at the East Gates. Link settled on receiving one point for imagining he won the argument.

"Halt!" One of the guards shouted, "State your name and purpose!"

The flame in the god's hand grew, lighting their faces, "The Hero of Time and the Hylian Champion!" He zipped them closer, now standing a few feet in front of them. His tone was playfully sly, "Unless there's an issue with our return of course.~"

They gasped, both of them immediately kneeling into a bow. One seemed to pray, "Oh mighty god from above, we're beyond grateful you've returned alongside our champion!"

Time flinched. One part of him felt immensely appeased while the other felt terribly disturbed. "Ahem," he shook the confliction from his thoughts, "stand please, that won't be necessary." They half-scrambled to their feet, one of which revealing themselves to be Lucas. He smiled, "Ah, Lucas it's you! You're a sight for sore eyes."

"Th-thank you, Your Divinity!"

'Aahh…' He mentally sighed, feeling strained, 'this is really messing with my head…' Yet he smiled still, "Oh please, speak informally! We're glad to return as well. I assume someone's awaiting us?"

He quickly nodded, "Of course! We were instructed to tell you to meet with the King as soon as possible." Lucas banged on the gates, "Hey! They're back! Open up!"

While the hinges began to whine, Time looked to Link, murmuring to him, "Why am I not surprised we're talking to him?"

His former teammate nodded, "If I may, we're truly glad to have both of you back. You might have razzled some of the older guys, but those of us that know you are just glad you kept Link safe. I know the elites will be ecstatic at their captain returning too." He motioned to the town, "Oh yeah, those rumors about you being a monster died real quick afterwards."

Link nodded while his companion spoke, "I'm glad to hear it. Though, hopefully I don't find another reason to lose my temper. The Yiga haven't been poking around, right?"

"With all due respect, I think that question is best reserved for the King."

"Very well, thanks for pointing us in the right direction." They crossed through, passing a string of guards all knelt into a bow, muttering "Your Divinity" as they came by. His thoughts became so convoluted he paused mid-step, not realizing he'd done so until Link tugged him along. "Thanks," he murmured, "I get the sense you might have to pull me through the castle too."

"No worries," Link whispered, a knowing sense in his gaze.

They passed by the church, continuing their walk through the eastern portion of the town. 'Thank goodness everyone seems to be asleep if not inside by now.' Each respective motion performed by those they passed felt like an attempt to pull his more ethereal self right back. Surprisingly, a pair of the King's Men guarded the castle gates.

"Good evening," The deity's voice held a slight echo. He waved an arm in front of the champion, keeping him from bowing to them. The old tongue slipped out, "Don't you dare. They're undeserving." He blinked, noticing the light dimming from the bridge of his nose, 'My eyes were glowing? Ugh, clouds above…'

Meanwhile the men quickly knelt, "Your Divinity!"

He tried to hurry this along, traveling on foot for several hours was beginning to weigh on him, 'I can only imagine how Link feels.' "Yes, we were told your King would like a word with us." A moment passed of their continued kneeling before he rolled his eyes and motioned them up, "Stand please."

"O-Of course!" One nodded, "He awaits you in his office." They looked between each other, "Er…please, take as long as you need." The one who spoke opened the gate while the other took out a bow whose tip was wrapped in oily cloth.

Time lit it for him, "There you are." He cordially smiled, "We shall meet him there." They continued along the grand, paved path. When they were out of earshot, he tapped the knight's arm, "Sorry about that. All of this is just—"

"Feeding into it? I understand." He wore a small smile, purposefully bumping into his side, "After all, I could tell whenever something I said made you feel a bit off, so I can only imagine what this is like. Just don't keep me from bowing to the King, okay? I should, y'know, make my allegiance to him clear in case he feels like questioning it again."

His response came as an unenthusiastic sigh, "I'll really really try…" They took the first ground entrance into the castle. After taking in the sheer number of guards posted throughout the halls, Link really did have to pull him along. His head and chest ached in a way he'd never felt before. It wasn't the equivalent of a savage beast sinking it's claws into him; no, not excruciating. It was staggering, like the vibration of a bell or gong after it's been struck. He felt rattled, exasperated.

He refused to continue further after they turned the corner, finding a short, lifeless corridor he could recollect himself in. 'Okay, I get how all of this is technically really appealing and whatever, but why do I also feel like I'm about to gag?' He stared ahead, 'Wait…' The stone walls melted away to reveal his familiar, seaside atmosphere. He found his noble form sitting at the obsidian cliff, only now the water had risen far higher. It barely licked over the rock's edge. 'It's…so dark.' Yet he could still see the whirlpool off in the distance, 'What the hell is in that thing? Why is it even here? I wish there was some way I could make myself move. Maybe I could swim over and find out.' He mentally rolled his eyes, 'It's ridiculous that this is somehow my space and yet I understand so little about it!' His gaze tilted toward his lap, he could just about make out his hands, 'Well that explains why it's so dark in here…maybe why I'm going crazy too.' A thin film of light-infused sea water wobbled over his entire body, leaving just his face untouched.

A hand ripped him from his thoughts. The corridor flooded into view; the knight had grabbed his hand. He heaved a sigh of relief, "Ah…you spooked me for a second! Was I taking too long? It's only been a couple of minutes."

"Huh? Of course not." Link used the hand he took to motion to him, "I was just getting a bit concerned, sorry." The other hand referenced his face, "Also your marks are sorta flickering."

"I'm not surprised. I'm trying pretty hard to keep myself grounded, if you get what I mean." The colored marks whisked away, "Though, it feels a lot more like I'm losing my mind. Don't be surprised if I do. Being tired isn't helping." 'What is this sorry expression he's making?'

The knight scratched his head with Time's hand, "Ah well…I suppose I'll try to act surprised if you do. I'm trying to be better about that, y'know."

"Ha, good. About time." He yanked his hand away from Link's snapping jaws, "What the!?" He flinched, listening to his voice echo off the walls. Now his tone was hushed, "Dammit, let's not make this take any longer than it has to! C'mon." Not a couple steps later, he caught Link by the forearm after jokingly tripping him. He almost snorted at his stupefied face, "Also threatening to bite you is my thing! Get your own!"

The hall leading to the King's Office were lined with what appeared to be the majority of His Majesty's men, all of whom bowed at their presence and gave the god their respects. He held a pleasant face, though he could feel his grip loosening as the doors were opened for them. They stepped inside.

Fierce Deity's silver aura exploded out of him.

He willed the doors shut. His sharp smile glowed in the dim lighting along with his eyes, face, and fingers. He tried to stifle a chuckle at the King's frozen stance, speaking with a poised cadence, "Ah, right…presence. I nearly forgot. Continue as you may, Rhoam." 'Paralyzing and breathtaking, indeed.~'

He seemed to be released from his trance at the end of his phrase. The King stammered as he humbly bowed, "M-Most divine! I am beyond honored and grateful to be graced by your appearance." He slowly rose, gesturing to the champion, "And, of course, it is with all of Hyrule's heart that we thank you for protecting our beloved champion, Link."

'This is more like it.' He spied his companion kneeling to his right, 'That isn't. Though I guess I said I'd let him. Fine.' The god nodded, "Of course, it's the least I could do when a dear friend finds himself in trouble."

Rhoam's hand stood over his racing heart. "Should you find it appropriate, Your Divinity, I was hoping we could discuss a few things."

Intrigued, his brow rose, "Such as?" 'Where is this going?'

He stammered, "Wh-Why your living arrangements for example! A temple would take at least a month to complete, though I know of many skilled Zora sculptors who could finish a statue by next week should you desire it." The King picked up a loose paper and pen, "Also, forgive me, but I scoured our entire library to better know how to serve you and it is most unfortunate we failed to find any mention of your practices. Might you implore me, Your Divinity?" He respectfully bowed his head.

A light ache squeezed his frontal lobe, "A temple? Statue?" Fierce Deity guilefully turned his gaze to the knight, "Ha, a tad vain, wouldn't you agree?"

Link stared back with wide eyes.

'Pretending, are we? No. Saving face…clever.~' "Hm, I thought so too." His attention returned to the addled monarch, "Don't get me wrong, I appreciate your generosity, Rhoam. Though," he prowled forward, "we're not all the same. So, with that understood, I'll make it known that I don't desire your worship either. There's little use in fretting over such things when I have no intent to act as nor become your patron god." He nodded to Hylia's mural on the ceiling, "You'll do well to remember the one you already have. I may not personally know her, beautiful as she's depicted here, but," he held up his hand, watching the silver magic flow off his fingers. If you squinted, you could just barely catch the gold taper before it wisped into the air, denoting her presence. "I can feel her gaze all the same." 'Snooping, per usual.'

The champion and the King gasped at the words regarding their Goddess.

Rhoam was captured by the demonstration, "By the Heavens! My most profound graces and gratitude to you both!" He graciously bowed, "Seeing as you are disinterested in my proposals, please, how might Hyrule make you most comfortable while you remain among us?"

His headache worsened. It manifested in his aura beginning to violently flicker at the ends. He spoke slowly, "Most comfortable?" His tongue clicked, "First, my living arrangements will stay as they are. If I want something changed, I'll do it myself. Second, it's unnecessary and excessive for each person I pass by to stop and kneel before me. A simple nod and acknowledgement will suffice."

"And how shall we acknowledge you, most divine?"

'I'd rather my head not ache all the time from hearing my true title. I wish I understood why this is the case to begin with…' "Any variation of 'Your Divinity' is satisfactory, but not 'my lord.' Anything but that." 'It's too kingly. Disgusting.' His weight shifted to one side, "Finally, I stated this before, but make it known that I'll hear no prayers. I am not the one to come to over personal, day-to-day, menial problems. I'll not have my head clouded with nonsense. Oh, and of course," purple and blue sparks flickered between his fingers, "taking even the mere notion of me in vain will not be tolerated. Understood?"

Rhoam quickly nodded as he scribbled his words down, "Y-Yes, crystal clear!"

The god smiled, "Good.~ Now, before I take my leave, I trust the Yiga have kept to themselves while we were gone?"

He spoke with vigor, "Absolutely! Not a single report from even our farthest villages and towns!"

A pleasant surprise. "What wonderful news. Mind you," his voice lowly echoed throughout the castle, "should I discover any disguised Yiga within these grounds, I will remain true to my promise." The volume returned to normal, "But, I'd like to say I'm rather optimistic. Perhaps I won't spill anymore blood anytime soon."

"Please," the King's eyes were uneasy, "do as you must, Your Divinity."

"I will." His head snapped to his companion, "Now, shall we, Link?" A sharp grin snapped onto his face at catching the monarch's expression turn to one of shock. He pretended not to notice as he turned to face the champion. 'Aaaw.~ Someone thought they'd hold my precious knight for questioning? Pfft, wait your turn.' The deity motioned for him to stand.

Link obliged, quietly muttering, "O-Of course."

He willed the doors open, hearing the guard's stunned reactions. As they walked away from the office and rounded the corner, he could feel his corporeality slinking, waiting to attack. 'Hm? Is this what knocked me out before? What is that?' Not that it mattered, his silver aura vanished a moment later.

Time shuddered as his dark blue eyes returned, heavily breathing, "Well…that could've been a lot worse." 'No really…that could have gone much, much, much worse.'

They were in the middle of a staircase, "I don't even want to know how."

"You don't. Anyways," the sound of metal rang off the walls as the jewelry and his gift materialized into his hands, "here is all of your treasure. I figured you'd want to put these away before returning to Zelda."

"Ah right," he took them, "thanks." Now he searched his gaze, "You're going to talk to her, right Time?"

He sighed, "Yeah...I'm just going to collect my thoughts first." A knowing smile pulled at the corners of his mouth, "Nothing wrong with coming prepared."

Link rolled his eyes, smirking, "Tch, more like prepared to remember every lie you've ever told."

"Yeeeaah shut up. Besides, you know damn well that at no point in time would this have had the chance to smooth over like it could now." Now he nudged him, snarkily teasing, "I guess while we're on the subject, your acting wasn't too terrible back there, fair knight.~" The comment produced the most delicious yet stunned scowl he'd ever seen.

The champion scoffed, trying not to smile, "Sh-Shut the hell up! That's not fair!"

"Uh huh. You're partially full of shit too and, at this point, almost as guilty as me! So ha! Ya damn bastard!" He pinched his cheek.

Link pulled his face out of his hold, playfully jeering back, "I would've smacked your hand if I wasn't carrying this stuff." They made it to the top of the steps. He left with one final comment, "Well, I guess I look forward to seeing you in about ten minutes."

"I swear I'm going to bite you." Time recoiled as he watched him saunter away in response, 'EW! What the hell was that smile!? He better not—' His pupils narrowed, 'That little shit!' He zipped back to his room, glad to find it appeared largely untouched.

His fingers traced the edge of the vanity as he gazed at his bed, 'Wow, I think that's the same dent from where I sat before I talked to Hylia too.' He paused, 'Speaking of which, I should probably do that…well, after I'm done with this first.'

A few minutes later, Time paced around his room, 'Hm…I think saying, "sorry for kinda lying to you about this for a while," doesn't exactly pitch my case very well. Should I just start when all of this really happened? At the dinner or in the desert?' He winced, 'Mm, the desert because I have no way of explaining why I unified with the mask without mentioning Hylia.' He scoffed, shaking his head, 'But then Urbosa literally told her about the first time she saw the marks on my face and that was the day after the dinner. Damn. It.'

It took energy to make himself care about this to begin with. He held his face in contempt, 'Ugh, never would I have thought I'd find myself a little nervous yet detached from all of this at the same time. She's my friend is she not? I still want her to succeed in awakening her powers and fulfilling her part of the prophecy.' His gut agreed along with his clouds. He pinched the bridge of his nose, 'There's just nothing I can feasibly do about it. Nothing at all.'

His shoulders slumped, 'All this thinking…ugh, I'll just go talk to her.' He zipped to about halfway there, startling the numerous guards outside her chambers. Their gasps alone gave away that he was there. A part of him died inside as he walked by. 'Clouds above…I…every intention I had to be subtle is just gone.' They were all too stunned into silence to speak. His ears perked as he drew closer, 'Is that yelling?' It took one look to get the King's Men to step away from her door. He quietly willed the door open and slipped inside.

Zelda was red in the face, tears running down her cheeks as she ranted to her knight, "—else I know!? I just—sniff— I couldn't believe after all this—"

Link's eyes gave him away.

She gasped, her troubled gaze flicking to the god's.

Arms squeezed around his back before he could speak a word. 'HUH!?' He couldn't hide the astonishment on his face. 'But you were mad just a—' Thunder crackled as he found himself catching either of her fists.

She struggled to yank them back, furious, "How dare you!" Her bottom lip quivered as she tried to choke down a sob, more tears accompanying the effort, "I've cried day and night over you!" The air became stagnant, tight. Her attempts to punch him grew weaker and weaker as she sputtered, "Your lies! Sniff. Y-Your tricks!" Zelda feebly shook her head. Her sobs escaped as she gave up her assault, "Your s-support… Your kindness…"

He released her hands, glumly watching her crumble back into hugging him.

She clutched the fabric, blubbering as she held him tight, "Your belief in m-me! All the times you've helped o-or protected me!"

Time picked her up, watching as her tears lifted off her skin and floated away from her face, "I'm sorry, Zelda." He smushed his cheek into her forehead, sitting her on the back of her armchair to end the disparity between their heights. Warmth hovered around his ears knowing that Link was observing but seven feet away.

The Princess drifted from their embrace, eyeing the way her tears became suspended in the air as they dripped from her tear ducts. She sniffed, her gaze hesitant to return to his, "Wh-Why did you feel like you couldn't tell me?"

A dull sadness sank in his chest as he took her hands into his, "Because I am useless in your endeavors, Princess." Heat rose into his cheeks, "I can't help you…and I foolishly assumed you wouldn't understand."

More tears whisked off her face. Her voice sat above a whisper, "Why?"

"Because I too once believed that those above us can do anything. I've seen the amazing things they could do throughout my life. It seemed obvious." His ears drooped, "I was wrong. It's…" 'Fate.' "…simply not true. I'm my own greatest example of it."

She instinctively wiped her face, blinking at her hand once she realized it was dry. She spoke softly, "From afar, ever since we found you in Gerudo Town, I could tell something about you had changed. It seemed as though you were going through something alone. I assumed it was simply the aftermath of all the horrible things you endured but…"

"Oh Zelda…" he sighed, capturing her attention, "…it's been so much more than that. I keep learning time and time again that I don't have the full story. The day I stormed off with your knight was the same day I found out I'd always been this way; I was always meant to be this way." He lightly squeezed her hand, "Yet all eighteen years' worth of my memories disagree. If I was a god before I ever was the Hero of Time…why am I Hylian at all? Why do I tire, starve, and bleed?" The corners of his mouth pulled into a tiny smile, "Along with feeling terrible that I couldn't help you, I didn't think I could take the questioning that could have come with revealing this either. I didn't have the answers then, and I still don't. Your kind has proven better at concluding suspicion than granting patience." 'Which really sucks when you're trying to deal with a rather constant identity crisis at every waking hour.'

Zelda silently gasped, her hand hovering over her mouth, "I…I would have never thought…" More tears gathered in the corners of her eyes, "I'm so sorry if I ever contributed to you feeling this way. It—It was never my intention to become a reason why you felt like you had to lie."

"I know," his tone was genuine, "and know that I don't fault you for your curiosity either. I was acting selfishly to make things easier for myself."

She took a breath; it was her turn. "When you said you'd 'put up with this for long enough,' I…nearly thought it would be the last we'd see of you. I lost sight of you after you shrank, so I didn't know that you'd taken Link with you until later." The sniffles returned, "I'll admit, I felt betrayed, seeing what you really were. I felt like an idiot, 'how could I have failed to see this coming?' All the spectacular things you've done, the way you've healed so quickly in the past. It seemed so obvious when I looked back. I was unspeakably angry, bitter. The very reason you kept quiet all this time. I—sniff—I'm inclined to agree with what you said about assuming what the divine can do. It felt as though you'd held out on me, didn't truly believe in my ability to awaken my powers, didn't find me worthy enough to assist. I felt shunned enough by those in the Sacred Realm as is, so discovering I had a god by my side this whole time made me feel like a laughingstock for the stars."

"Zelda…" He couldn't believe his ears. His heart sank, "Clouds abov—"

"I know." Her chuckle was fickle. "I was absorbed in feeling sorry for myself and in turn tried to blame you for it to make me feel better." A single tear joined the others. "Then I felt worse, for I soon realized you're still a genuinely good person. You've never once hesitated to help me when I asked. You always encouraged me when I felt hopeless about my powers." Perception lit her gaze, "I recognized that if you truly could have offered more than words of support, you would have. From there, it slowly fell into place. I could more clearly see that you held your own burdens as well, the cautiousness in your stance whenever you visited me to listen to my theories." The Princess sighed, her thumbs running over the backs of his hands, "I've made peace with the rude awakenings that came from your own."

"I'm still working on that, admittedly. Also, I spoke with your father already, so whenever he gives his announcement about how to treat me, just know that it doesn't apply to you. You can call me Time if you'd like, but never by the name of my mask." His head tilted to one side, "I'll be frank, I'm a nice person, but I'm…not a very nice god. Really, don't refer to me as one in the first place. It messes with my head."

Her eyes widened, one hand racing to her chest, "O-Oh my goodness!" It must have sank in that she'd been talking to a deity all this time.

Time internally sighed, "Zelda please, just treat me as you always have."

"Right right, sorry." She found her poise, "Ahem, speaking of what you said earlier, is there any way I can help you? I know the historian would gladly let you into his archives now."

A grateful smile emerged, "I appreciate it, truly, but I'm not sure there's time to help me. Your focus is best spent on your research and trying to awaken your powers."

The Princess agreed, "You have a point. I'm turning seventeen soon."

'Did the ground just shake? What?' The other two didn't appear to notice.

"Which reminds me! The champions should arrive at the castle in a couple of days." She held up a finger, "I figured I'd use my time to gather more findings on the divine beasts before I go to the Spring of Wisdom."

"Oh great! Hopefully they'll bring good news." He realized her tears still hung in the air. 'Ah…I wonder if…' One of his familiars misted above his head. It struck him with contempt, "I realize what she did, she was upset." He nodded to the droplets, "Go on. I won't tell you twice." Blue electricity buzzed about the graying cloud as it did as he asked, turning her tears into vapor it could absorb.

The other two watched in amazement, especially the Princess. "So…were those your clouds back in Faron too?"

"Mhm, they were." The cloud struck his cheek when it was done, "Yes I know there's salt. You're fine." It joined the rest of them in the night sky.

"Ooh!" She curiously folded her hands in her lap, "that reminds me, so what exactly was your blessing from—"

SHOOM.

Thunder shook the room. The fierce god sighed, "Forgive them, please. I know I've essentially agreed to be more honest with you, but there are things I simply cannot talk about." He leaned closer to her, hiding his mouth with his hands, "I'd only break that rule if it were about your powers, believe me." His fingers laced together as he resumed his prior stance, "So, sorry, I can't say."

"A-Ah…" She was a tad shaken by the rumbling continuing overhead, "I understand." Her eyes cast to the floor as she thought, murmuring, "Is…? Yes, that's right…" Zelda held a twinkle of hope in her eyes, "Impa told me she saw you with another woman on the Great Plateau while I was speaking with the priestess. I think she said she had braided hair and wore a white dress." She shrugged, "I thought it was odd she mentioned it, but she was saying she'd never seen someone dressed like that before."

Time winced, he could see Link's eyes narrowing in his peripherals, 'Impa…you are the nosiest version of yourself I've ever met. By the stars…' He simultaneously realized how easy it was for him to default to lying, for it was the first thing he thought to do. He shrugged in return, "I can't say."

She understood. Now she poked at his bangs, "I noticed your hair got much longer. How did that happen?"

The mention of it made him chuckle. He pulled off his cap, turning so she could see, "It got longer in the back too!" Smiling, his gaze traveled to Link, "Seems I'll have to borrow one of your hair ties. There's no way you have just one!" 'Huh, I just noticed there are pillows on the floor behind you…weird.'

Meanwhile Link's eyes flew to the marble tile as he quickly bobbed his head up and down.

'Aaand I'm ignoring you…I don't even wanna know why that was your reaction.'

Zelda giggled, feeling the ends, "It reaches past your shoulders now! Ooh it's thick too!"

When he faced her once more, he took one look at his cap and decided it'll stay off. "Yeah…I'll put this back on in the morning I suppose." He tucked it in his belt.

"Hmm…now that I know you can control clouds…what sort of—" She paused, catching herself, "—er…what kind are you? Is it just one?"

"Storms, trickery, and bloodshed." He scratched his head, bashfully smiling at her wide eyes, "Also no, I haven't been tricking you. Never over something so important."

The Princess scooted into the cushion of her armchair, suggesting he do the same with the other, "Oh, of course!" She was intrigued, "What a very interesting combination…it does explain things, though." Her head tilted to one side as her eyes denoted her thoughts, "Lots actually…wow." Link nodded in the background.

"I'm not surprised you feel that way." He yawned rather than taking a seat. "Sorry, I think I'll have to call it a night." Picking up her left hand, he intended to kiss it goodnight since it was the one that didn't shock her. Yet the static in the air grew thicker and thicker as he bent closer, giving every indication it was gonna hurt if he continued. Instead, he pulled her to her feet and stooped down, lightly kissing her cheek.

Zelda's face turned red.

"O-Oh right," he retreated a step away from her, "that was meant to be friendly. It's equal to me kissing your hand. You felt the static too, right? I didn't want to shock you!"

"Of um…course!" She felt her cheek, "G-Goodnight, Time."

"To you as well," the god nodded to the knight, "and you too." He froze time and left, letting it pass once he was down the hall, spooking the guards once more, 'Oh goodness…I kinda kill myself sometimes…'

Time listened to his door click shut before plopping into bed, his face sinking into the blankets. 'Hylia? I know you're there.' A pleased sigh echoed in his head.

I do love how clever you are.~

He had to smirk, 'Might we share some words?'

But of course!

I was hoping you'd say that.

His bedroom shifted into her starry cloud plain. The moon lit her cool toned clouds. He sat face down in them, "Hylia…" he grumbled, "why am I laying across your lap?" His ears pointed skyward as a hand rubbed his lower back. 'EH?'

"Hm? I don't know, my love." She deviously snickered, "Not that I'm complaining of course.~"

He sat up with a perturbed frown, "Yeah you're scaring me." 'That's the most horrifying sparkle I've ever seen in your eyes!' He mentally gasped, 'You were going to smack my ass, weren't you!? You were at least thinking about it!'

The Goddess cheekily shrugged, "Whatever you say, my sweet. Of course, it's always nice to see you treat your companion the way you should. For being Hyliam, he doesn't seem too shy about our customs." She nudged him with her leg, "That must be nice, hm?"

Hands dragged down his face, "Hylia…clouds above…you're far too invested in this for what reason? Genuinely, why do you care?"

"It's interesting and I'd rather record history with my own eyes, my sweet." Her brows rose as she sat up straighter, "Ahem, anyways, you wanted to speak to me?"

He gave her a look, "Yes. I was wondering if you couldn't remember me saying anything to you before I 'disappeared' however long ago." He noticed her eyes brighten, "Ha, you thought I was going to ask about the Princess, didn't you?" His head sat in his hand, "No, I recognize this is more complex than it seems, my sweet." His nose was booped.

"I knew you'd understand.~" Hylia closed her eyes, "Hmmmmmm…" Her cheeks glowed as she fanned her face, "I remember how you said goodbye, though you never mentioned where you were going, my love. I presumed you were off to fight something, though."

'I don't think I'm too keen on knowing how my last goodbye played out…' "Well, that's something, thank you for telling me. Is there any way I can speak with Din, Nayru, or Farore?"

She cocked her head, confused, "…you can't…simply speak to them?"

A confuddled frown emerged, "No? I only know how to reach out to you. I spoke to them through their tethers on the Great Plateau."

Her head tilted further as she leaned against his shoulder, "Forgive me, but that doesn't make any sense whatsoever, my love." A wise look crossed her eye. She smirked, "Hmph, unless you're still toying with me, cunning little thing.~ Truth be told, I can sense that your connections to them are still strong." The Goddess chuckled, "Nice try, my sweet."

Time internally facepalmed, 'And this is why it's sometimes impossible to talk to you. One moment, you agree that I don't have memories, and the next you imply I should innately be able to talk to the Golden Goddesses at will. Help.' Fingers stroked his cheek.

"Hm hm, since I saw through your tricks, surely that means I've earned some kind of reward, doesn't it?" She crossed a leg over his.

He matched her suggestive tone, "A reward? Really?" The fierce god shook his head with a smile, "I assume you get to choose it too?"

"Well since you insist—"

'DAMMIT.'

"—I want a conversation with your companion or—because I know you love options—you can spend the day with me."

Time winced, "I'm not choosing yet, but seriously? You just want to spend time with me, Hylia?"

She held his face, pushing her lips into his, "Of course! I said I missed you didn't I?" Her eyes and cheeks sparkled, "Ooh, could I have both prizes instead?" She twisted a finger into his bangs, "I noticed your hair isn't so short anymore too." Then her head tilted to one side as she let it fall from her grasp. She almost sounded a little disappointed, "Aw, you're back to blonde again?"

He couldn't believe his ears as the Goddess continued to pick at his hair. An incredulous smile spread across his face, "I honestly can't believe you have a preference—and no! You can't have both options!" He kissed the palm of her hand, "Besides, you gave the privilege of choosing back to me so it's not up to you anymore." He crossed his arms as she made herself comfortable in his lap, considering his other option, "Tch, well as much as the knight wants to throw himself into our culture, he has other things to do and you know that. When I spoke with the Princess, the very floor shook at the word seventeen! Something is bound to happen soon!"

Hylia only sighed, appearing unfazed by the implications, "Well I can't help that you picked one who shares our predicament, my sweet. Sometimes one must set that aside to achieve our own goals." She winked, "You should know this well."

"Right…" His hands sat at her waist, "Well I'm sure you listened to our conversation with Mija, so I feel as though quite a few of your questions have been answered."

Her face drifted closer as she hummed her thought process, "…could I ask him what was in your projection this morning?"

If he had pupils they would have narrowed. "Absolutely not!" 'What the hell kind of question is that!?' "Why does that even concern you?"

"Again, recording history with my own eyes! Besides, I'm curious!" She playfully leaned her forehead against his, "You don't normally do that!"

He pecked the tip of her nose, "Hylia, I'd sooner recreate what happened in my vision with you than have you ask him about it."

Her eyes sparkled once again, "Mmm~, a proposition? Under my stars?"

"Not at the moment, no." Time slouched, "I'm tired and I've had a long day, pretty Goddess."

"Sounds like the perfect reason to me, my love." A small twinkle formed in front of her lips before she blew it in his direction.

It poofed into stardust against his nose. 'Huh? What was tha—OH MY GOODNESS.' His eyes fluttered as he realized he was watching her proposition to him. It would appear her twinkle was the equivalent of his electric blush sparking at the air between them.

"So? What do you think?" She asked, thumbing his cheek.

He was originally going to decline no matter what, but now he found himself weighing his options. 'If I'm honest, the only thing deterring me is time. I still have to do this crazy thing called "sleeping" when I return.' The god pursed his lips, "Could time pass any slower?"

Hylia's bedazzling aura exploded out of her, sending a furling wave across her plain of clouds. The snap of her fingers echoed throughout her domain, "Of course, Link."

Time heard the electricity spark across his face as his ears perked, 'Wow, it's been a long time since I've been called by my name-name.' It was nice, and perhaps a tad arousing, to hear it in his original tongue.

The Goddess chuckled as her golden rays dissolved, "Ahem, pardon me, I was a little excited for a moment. One could say I've been…eagerly awaiting the opportunity.~"

"Oh, you're fine, no worries. Um," he pushed himself out of his slouch, her words registering more, "wait, 'eagerly?' Did I hear that right?"

She deviously giggled, "But of course. I've longed for more than just your presence all this time.~" Her pale blue eyes wistfully gazed into the distance as she reminisced, "Ah~ I still haven't forgotten that one time at my Fountain of Stars."

His heart pulsed well into his ears, 'Um…wow. Even after you told me about all those customs, I guess it never crossed my mind that they applied to us…or that there were memories we created together either…' He nodded, "…well, as far as my choice from earlier goes, I'll just spend the day with you." His answer was met with plenty of kisses.

"Wonderful!" She beamed, "I'll expect you here sometime in the morning then, yes?"

"Mhm." His electric blush crackled at her eyes lighting up, 'Hylia what the hell is that expression!?'

"Ooh! I just had an exciting idea!" The Goddess traced her finger around the center gemstone on his black attire, "You could invite your companion to join us if you want!" Her cheeks sparkled something fierce.

"T-Tomorrow?" 'You're…you're kidding, right?'

She laughed, playfully pushing his shoulder, "Silly~, I meant right now!" She blew another proposition his way.

His hand skittered over his heart as sparks flared off his ears, "Hylia! He can't even do that! Besides, we just talked about this! He has other things to worry about!" 'Clouds above, I will be damned if—' more crackles popped off his face, '—th-that's friendly in concept, NOT in execution!'

Her hand slyly hovered over her mouth, "Oh he can't? Well—" She stopped herself, thank the stars, "Hm hm, never mind.~ Perhaps another time. Shall you and I continue, my love?"

Time pulled her closer, clicking his tongue, "Of course. No biting though." 'I know you're not Din, but I don't want to put up with all the marks again…' Lips pushed into his cheek.

"Not even a nibble?" She seductively pleaded, running her fingers through his hair.

"…don't push your luck."

'Damn…' If exhaustion were a liquid it would have pooled from his pores. The Goddess sat on his chest with either knee bent over his shoulders. 'That was fun but…Hylia…you're freaky as hell…' A couple moments from his projection came to mind, 'Well I guess we all are, fuck.' His sigh morphed into a yawn.

Hylia cheekily smiled at him, "Satisfied?" Her dark domain was full of dancing, glittering butterflies.

"Very." He pecked the knee to his right, "And tired." Time sat up, leaning through her thighs to kiss her goodbye, "I'll see you tomorrow, Hylia." As their lips touched, her legs squeezed him closer.

Prolonging his farewell, she sensually smooched his cheek when she was done. Her tone was wistful, "I look forward to it.~"

Time smirked to himself as his surroundings shifted back into his room, 'Haha, I'll have to give you props there, not bad.~' Seeing as he was already in his bed, he pulled the covers forward, flopped on his back, and threw them back over himself.

"AH!" he jumped with a start as the door swung open.

It slammed shut with a yelp.

His chest heaved as he watched it open once more.

It was Link, panting, nearly hugging the doorknob as he spoke, "Y-You scared me!"

"Scared you!?" He clawed at the air, "I was getting ready to sleep!" They stared at each other. The god sighed first. "By the stars…why are you here so late in the first place?" 'Link…please tell me that's a trick of the eye…why are you turning red dammit!' He could feel the pull of his underclothes against the sheets, so it wasn't because he wasn't wearing anything.

"Ah…um…" He let himself in and closed the door, his eyes casting in the opposite direction while his forefingers poked together, "Well, when I watched you kiss Zelda and then leave, I realized: 'oh wait, Time didn't…'" He stared at the floor, speaking slowly, "'kiss me…goodnight…'" Despite his reasoning shattering into pieces, he confidently put his hands on his hips, appearing sure of himself, "And yep, that's why I'm here right now."

Time buried his face into his hands, 'What the hell did I just watch? Why is this happening right after I get back? Why after that of all things!' He gave him a tired grunt, peering back at him through his fingers, "I think you should just admit you like getting kissed on…bastard."

Link sassily crossed his arms, clicking his tongue, "I thought I said I liked 'spark' better."

The god rolled his eyes, groaning, "Link…oh my goodness…shut up." 'I might as well take advantage of your sudden appearance.' "Well, actually, now that you're here, I was wondering why I saw all those pillows behind you back in Zelda's room."

"Oooh yeeaah," realization lined his tone as he sat at the vanity.

"Yeah?"

"So, after I managed to get the guards to let me in her room, it turns out she was sleeping and closing her big ol' door accidentally woke her up." His eyes wandered off as he recalled what came next, "Well…first she hugged me. Then, in the middle of that, she started crying and pretty much began to vent to me about how upset she was when she found out what you were." He laced his fingers together, catching his eye, "Um, while I'm pretty sure she wasn't mad at me, she sorta uh…threw her pillows at me… like out of frustration at you." He shrugged, indifferent, "I dunno, I'm really not offended or anything. It's not like she managed to hit me with them. I thought she was either gonna be kinda happy to see me or not at all. I'll take what I can get."

"Oh…well shit. I guess I'm sorry that happened on my behalf." The god sat up against his pillow and the headboard. 'Though, to be frank, I'm a little glad she didn't do that to me instead. My clouds are not impressed with her at the moment.'

"Like I said, no big deal. On that note, I'm glad you both sorted everything out." He held up a finger, a speck of interest lining his gaze, "But, in case you were curious—because I knew you would be—after you left she mentioned that lady in white again."

Time winced, "What about her?" 'Every part of me is pointing to this being entirely Impa's fault…' He tried to keep his blood at a mild simmer.

Link carefully read his expression as he explained, "She thought it was interesting that you couldn't answer her question because Impa also told her the townspeople were talking about a beautiful woman with 'sparkling twine' in her hair. And then, apparently one woman who spoke to her was later found dazed. They couldn't get her to be… lucid, or mentally present, for the rest of the day. Then, when she woke the next morning, she couldn't remember anything after her daughter ran off." He motioned to him, "Impa's point was that the townspeople saw you walking and talking with her."

'Dammit, I had the feeling that was going to bite me in the ass later!' His fingers tiredly dragged at his eyes as his familiars rumbled above, "I wish she would put her time and energy into anything else. I'm so tired I can't even be mad about this right now." Time peeped an eye open, "Anyways, it's not as if I have to explain to you what my answer meant."

He lowered his voice, a clever smile slipping onto his face, "I won't pretend I didn't notice the deliberate change in your explanation. You left out the 'not Hylian' part." The champion appeared to be pleased with himself, "You really are tricky, huh?"

"Oh please," Time crossed his arms, flippantly rolling his eyes, "I'd call that cautious. As much as I'd appreciate her knowledge on the subject, I don't want to distract her from her more important duties. Knowing I was briefly with one of my own on the Plateau only raises dangerous questions that are good for nothing other than making me angry." He yawned, watching his companion nod his understanding.

"Oh also, one other thing happened."

He slumped, "Clouds above, what?"

Link chuckled, "I'm just letting you know that a group of Zora saw the both of us tumbling in the sand when you suddenly changed back." He folded his hands in his lap, his tone shifting to hesitant, "There's um…no way one of the Zora didn't recognize me so…yeah."

The god murmured in distaste, "So now one of the other champions could…" The blue V on his forehead slowly began to appear as he spoke. He waved his words away, "I'll bother with the logistics later. Though," he motioned for him to come closer, "I appreciate the intel. Even when I'm not keen on hearing it."

He happily smiled, "Of course!"

Time loosely held his arms out to receive him…now they slightly drooped. His tone was nonchalant, "Link what's that look in your eye? I don't think I like it."

"Well, I might have just remembered that you promised you were gonna tell me what you said from this morning when we got back…so…" He wore a weary smile as his gaze trudged elsewhere. This instantly disappeared when he jabbed a finger in his direction, "Also that hair tie is worth another point by the way. You have to say I have it first, though."

"What the—Link!" He hissed, grabbing him. Tired or not, there was always energy reserved for wrestling the knight, especially after he says something stupid. He quickly determined his opponent was lucky he lacked the energy to put up much of a fight. Minutes later, he was shoved on his back, 'Damn… I can't believe I'm losing right now…' He grabbed his waist in an attempt to throw him off.

A sharp inhale cut off the champion's victorious laughter. He pushed the god's hand away to hold his left side, lurching forward.

"Huh? Are you okay?" Then he winced at where his hand was, 'Wait…no way…' The knight's response was only a long hiss as his head slowly sank toward his knees. Time's pupils narrowed in dismay as Link's scarlet face came into view.

He sat up and brushed the hair out of his face, taking a deep breath, "Phew!" An easy smile returned while he fanned himself, "Yeah, I'm fine. That's just where you bit the shit out of me in your vision-thingy." He awkwardly chuckled, "Man…why did that happen? You said it was all in my head."

'Can I die? Like…right now preferably?' His forearms covered his face as he tried to keep his disbelief to himself, "I mean, it was. Frankly speaking, I don't know why either, but technically the feeling could just be all in your head too." He moved his arms off his face, his pupils stretching into red slits for a few seconds. He shrugged as they returned to normal, "Yeah there's nothing there."

"Huh, weird." Link rubbed his side.

"I agree." He scratched the back of his head, "Um…well, sorry about that."

The champion started to shrug until a wiley grin snapped across his face, "Does that mean you're gonna tell—"

"Nope!" He interrupted, sitting up and quickly pecking his forehead, "No it doesn't! Goodnight! Goodbye! You can leave my room now."

Link was stupefied as he was getting shooed off the mattress, "But—well why not?!"

Time motioned to his face, "Do you see these eyes? See how I can barely keep them open? I'm. Tired." 'And I definitely don't have the energy to put up with your reaction to my bullshit.' "Besides, I gave you what you originally came here for, and I'm not giving you that damn point until that hair tie is actually holding my hair together!"

The livelihood of his posture evaporated as he crossed his arms, groaning, "Dammit…I guess you have a point." His brow rose as a speculative finger tapped at his chin, "Maybe this is where I…mm, nevermind." He turned toward the door.

His head just hit his pillow right as the knight finished his phrase. He slowly looked back at him, "Link, I know what you're doing. But ohmygoodness what? This is where you what?" 'Damn you! I can't believe you're taunting me with information! Much less that you know that works on me!'

The knight put a hand on his hip as he faced him, humming an "I don't know" and shrugging, "Maybe this is where I mention that you kinda…smell weird?" He seemed a little less confident after the words left his mouth.

In the next moment, he felt his arm rising as air rushed by the back of his hand. He frowned, appalled, "What… the actual hell are you on about? Did you seriously just sniff my hand?" 'I'm starting to think you've never had any boundaries in the first place…clouds above…'

"Yeah, it's like…really light. Like if you smelled a daisy, took the afterthought of smelling it, and rubbed it all over yourself or something."

"So I faintly smell like flowers?" 'Your thought process amazes me.'

He made a face, "No because that implies you smell like flowers among other things. You only smell like the afterthought of a daisy. Honestly the type of flower doesn't matter." He snorted, "Did you take a bath or something?"

"No? I…" '…so apparently, Hylia smells like the "afterthought of a flower."' "…y'know what? I'm going to sleep now." Time took his hand back, flopping the covers over himself.

"Ha, okay. Maybe it's just me then." Link paused before closing his door, "Goodnight."

He murmured the same into his pillow before the door shut, 'And here I am thinking I can't believe myself sometimes…then Link simply exists…' Hylia's "reward" flickered back into his focus as the waves of sleep grew more and more treacherous, 'I wonder what we'll be doing?'


"Good evening, my beautiful rose." The Golden Goddess of Wisdom greeted the Golden Goddess of Courage with a kiss. She sat beside her in a bed made from the soft, flat top of a massive mushroom.

"Hi songbird." Farore waved her hand, willing the construction of new books to form from the bark lining her chamber's interior walls. Several floated above her, their pages constantly turning with new information. Above those rested her giant pet spider, Enevrevon. "Late, is it not?" She looked her up and down, "I was wondering if you were looking for a playmate, but I suppose Din covered that already."

Nayru rolled her eyes as she relaxed in the goddess's lap, flipping her blue hair to fall beside her, "Indeed, though I suppose if that's any indication, I'll keep it in mind, hm hm.~" A hand dramatically fell over her forehead, "But no, remember how me and Hylia have had Fierce Deity's celebration planned for a while now?"

"Of course."

"Hylia came to talk to me and ugh!" She clasped her heart, "Clouds above, she reeked of him.~ I'll admit I was a tad jealous. Had I not spent myself on Din we might have talked much later."

Farore smiled as she sarcastically shook her head, "Oh really?"

She slyly smirked, "Anyways, she finally told me we're throwing the celebration tomorrow, and, in all of my excitement, I remembered something." She nodded as Farore thoughtfully met her gaze, "Yes, yes I did remember something.~" She sat up, taking her hands into her own, "But first, I know Hylia's been addicted to keeping an eye on him. How about you, pretty rose?"

The goddess blinked, keeping her poise, "I know you're wiser than to go pressing into these matters, Nayru."

She chuckled at the warning. "Are you truly worried about getting cursed? By him? Farore, you know he'd never do such a thing." She delicately kissed her hand, "Pretty please?"

Farore added the rose created from the gesture to her flower crown, "I have been, yes."

"So then you know he's said the same interesting thing to his companion about missing his memories, don't you?" Her golden tongue licked her teeth in anticipation as she watched Farore's eyes slowly return to hers. "It's quite the extravagant lie to tell, especially to his companion of all things." A particular twinkle sat in her pupils under the dim lighting, "Or is it?" She left her bed and slinked around the room, "You know, it's always been interesting to me, as someone who presides over the sphere of wisdom, that you know far more knowledge than me. Of course, wisdom has never been gauged by the amount of knowledge someone has but—"

"By the way they use it, yes. I believe this is the thirteenth time you've told me, pretty bird." She smiled, pausing her tasks, "What purpose does it serve now?"

"Well, from what I can tell, most beautiful Hylia is under the impression his so-called 'lack of memories' and all of his 'odd questions' are all a part of one big trick." She eyed her golden nails, watching her blue magic wisp from the tips, "Don't get me wrong, I've been subject to one of his more elaborate ones, being the tricky, sparkling blade, he is. It wouldn't surprise me either that he'd return with something far more detailed than even I could prepare for." She faced her, "Yet. Several, several eras ago, before he disappeared, he came to tell me goodbye—another whim, per usual." In the blink of an eye, she sat beside the goddess once more, "You know what else, pretty rose?"

While she appeared mildly uncertain, her eyes carried a determined sparkle capable of shattering the thickest of walls, "Do tell, songbird."

"He told me and I quote, 'Sweet Nayru, it's strange…but I have the most profound intuition I'll lose my memory somehow. I can't gauge how this came to me; I can't gauge when it will happen.' Then he smiles at me and says, 'In other words, I'm off to take care of things.'" She giggled, "But then that's not all! Eras and eras later, I hear his voice coming from my tether on the plateau! Well, we all found out about him when Hylia did, but still. I was teasing him a little and then he mentioned he couldn't remember which whim I was talking about and that his memory must have lapsed. I tell him that he told me he knew that going into it, and he turns around and says, 'Wouldn't that make it all the more convincing that I lost my memory, though? Acknowledging I'd know it would happen doesn't change that it still happened, right?'"

"And so…since then, especially watching his actions now—sweet flower I honestly believe him." Her spirits lifted as she watched the goddess's shoulders relax, "Aahh~ I knew we'd be on the same page!~"

Farore chuckled, kissing her cheek, "So, seeing as you don't bring up things for no reason, how are we going to use this—let's say theory—for the celebration tomorrow?"

"We'll simply facilitate the notion that the theme is more about looking to the future and celebrating his return. There'll be no need to bring up the past, even if there are plenty of amazing things to recall. Besides, seeing as we're talking about one of our colleagues, one of the Five, I don't think anyone will be too keen to play with his temper—and therefore collectively play with ours. His other predicament, memories aside, is more obvious all on its own."

"Precisely, I'm sure our guests will understand the expectations." She loftily sighed, appearing to daydream, "I quite look forward to seeing him. Do you think he'll bring his companion too?"

"Mmm…likely not. After all, Hylians are about thiiiiisss big." She put about half an inch between her forefinger and thumb, "We didn't necessarily prepare for someone his size."

Farore understood, "Ah, good point. I suppose I just wanted to talk to the one holding my portion of the Triforce. I rarely get to, after all." Her brow rose at the laughter that followed.

"Talk to him? Sweet Farore, if he won't even let Hylia talk to him—the patron Goddess they serve, a dream come true for their kind—there's absolutely no chance he'd let any of us talk to him." Nayru fanned her face, "It is a bit cute that he's so protective of him in that sense, though I wish he'd share a little!"

"Maybe we could suggest it tomorrow?" They rubbed noses.

"It'd never hurt to try.~" Nayru felt vines wrapping around her wrists as they kissed. Her golden eyes glanced at them, "Hm? What's this?"

The daring goddess smirked as she spoke into her cheek, "Late, is it not?~ I know Din had her fun, but I haven't…yet."

Sparkling dew spotted her cheeks and nose as she watched flowers sprout across the other's. "Aha~…" vines teasingly squeezed around her calves, "Opportunistic, are we?" Lips slid onto hers once more. She was getting straddled and there was little she planned to do about it—an old favorite. An eager chuckle slipped out, "…very well. Give me a taste then. What's on your mind?"

Farore devilishly grinned before she obliged, swiping her toxic tongue across the goddess's bottom lip.

"Mmm…I like.~" Nayru pleadingly bat her long lashes, her voice dramatically changing to match, "Oh but my little spider will squeeze me tighter than that, right? I'm not sooo…fragile.~" Her heart fluttered as the vines snaked further.

She snickered, her voice echoing throughout the room, "Oh I'm well aware, songbird.~"


Author's Note:

Y'know, when it came to writing this chapter, I knew I was gonna change my mind about certain parts of it over and over again. This is the result of some careful consideration of what I thought was necessary and what I thought was funny. I also just have key bullet points for each chapter where certain things need to happen so other things can happen. Lmao, I like my foreshadowing.

Otherwise, I deliberated over several things that happened and what they hold for the future. For example, when Link's out here fucking around and finding out (a pretty good summary of their interactions these last chapters, imo) he's the reason for why we're never gonna see the "even-ish-split-version" of Time's ethereal side again. Now it's more all or nearly nothing. And then, I rewrote Time and Zelda's apology scene like three times lmao. Hell, I rewrote a lot of things. Oh, and finally, just another peek in my brain, I actually had Time and Link walk all the way back so it was nighttime on purpose. I tried again and again to come up with how a crowded, mixed reaction wouldn't result in Fierce Deity getting annoyed and saying/doing something he might wish he didn't. Although, I think Link's assumptions about them are pretty based. I know if I were one of the citizens talking shit about the "Hero" the day before he popped off and murdered 6 Yiga, I'd be fuckin terrified for my own well-being after realizing I was dissing a damn god who I assume can do anything and everything to anyone. I'm gonna hope to Hylia he doesn't show up to collect his due diligence over my words!

Anyways, I thought ending this chapter from Nayru's perspective would be interesting and a little eye opening too lol. Oh, and Link's thought process is still fun to write, and I'm happy to say it's not inherently going away too soon.

Anyways, as of posting this, I'm still writing the next chapter so it's gonna be a bit until I post again! I said it a couple chapters ago, but I'm back to being in school and I have significantly less free time than I used to lmao. It's gonna be worth it when I'm done, but holy cow, my hobbies are getting neglected. :')

But ye! I'll try to have something to post on the 3rd anniversary coming up this Halloween! So crazy to think I've been writing this for so long!