Author's Note: I've been putting much more focus on two other LoZ fanfics in my profile, but feel free to let me know if this story should be continued! You can find it on AO3 under the same tag!

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Chapter Five: Secrets Untold

Both boys sat in what was left of Stock Pot Inn's kitchen. A few cushions from upstairs made for comfortable seats on the tile floor and Kafei had yet to sip from his mug of hot tea. His sad ruby eyes were glued at his own reflection inside; it looked like he had no train of thought. Link finishes setting down two bowls of heated chowder between them. This was what was really left in the cans he could find that could provide the other boy with some warmth. Next, the Hero shares a glance with Tatl, who was impatient to know Kafei's story.

She went to speak, and he had to push her into his cap.

"T-Take your time." Link starts, "I know it's hard for you..." He did not want to start his strange meal of tea and chowder before him.

Kafei sighs softly, "…I thank you for preparing this for me, but I can't. I have no appetite…"

"I insist." Link pushes Kafei's portion closer to him, "You need some sort of nutrition. You'll get weaker by the hour. It will be a long way there."

This took some time. Convincing Kafei was like pulling teeth. He reluctantly nods and tilts his mug upwards. The gentle roll of Kafei's throat indicated he swallowed some of the tea. It was enough to satisfy Link, and he began eating too. Tatl peeks out from Link's cap and head of hair.

Drumming outside the halls was a ticking clock. Kafei appears nervous but collects enough courage to begin his story, "As you two know now, I am Mayor Dotour's and Madame Aroma's son. I'm… twenty years old." He bows his head, "It was my mistake to travel alone after a night at the Milk Bar. I went with a few friends to celebrate my bachelor's party." Kafei rests his mug over his lap and presses his lips together in a firm line, "…Whoever it was—the Skull Kid or Majora—I don't care… he cast a spell on me for not wanting to play with him. I could not believe the size I was until seeing myself at the Laundry Pool. Not my friends, parents, future in-laws, or fiancée seen me since that horrid evening."

"Twenty years old…" Link breathes out. He was stunned; he couldn't guess just by looking at him.

Tatl nearly slips and she clutches onto the Hero's locks; it earned her an audible wince from her partner, "No way! So, then what?" the fairy zips directly in front of Kafei's face, "You just wanted to hide away forever?! Who were you supposed to marry-?!"

"Tatl!" Link exclaims. He reaches out and yanks her back to his chest, "Slow down!"

"I'm just asking!"

"You can't just-!"

Kafei sighs, "Please, both of you…"

"Sorry!" They fall silent. The indigo-haired boy could sense their apprehension. He knew that unfortunately for them, this story was only going to get worse. Kafei prepares himself for this. His nausea no doubt was about to strike him again. His free hand kept guard of his churning stomach. Grieving took so much out of Kafei already; what felt like a pit in his core grew to be a black hole.

He continues while avoiding their stares, "To answer all your questions, yes, I at first planned to never show my face again-"

"You-!?"

Link tucks Tatl under his cap a second time.

Kafei shakes his head, "But I was to marry Anju. She was and is the love of my life. I could not abandon all the efforts we've put into our relationship. She's the very woman who runs the Stock Pot Inn."

The Hero's eyes widen. That explains Kafei's disdain for this place. He opens his mouth, and the other boy raises his hand to stop Link from speaking. Their conversation was silent but clear. Kafei had already forgiven the Hero for bringing him under this roof.

His regret was born here.

"We were to meet on the Night of the Carnival. Tradition has it that Termina's new groom brings a Sun Mask, and the bride, a Moon Mask. I-" Kafei swallows, tearing up in the process, "I… was robbed by a man named Sakon, and it further delayed my journey back home to her. Anju and I promised each other we'd meet with both masks in her bedroom, but she never waited for me there. The moon was falling. I carried that Sun Mask alone. My fiancée must have been convinced by her parents to flee, or she fell out of love for me, I don't know. I could try to accept either reason."

There was a pause.

Kafei murmurs with a shaking breath, "It would not be her fault regardless..."

The silence weighs heavy on all three of them. Link did not know what to say and Tatl was too shocked to speak on it. The Hero could not believe what he was hearing. How much bad luck can a single person have? There was one question that came to mind when processing all that was shared. If there would ever be an appropriate time to bring it up, it should be now.

"Kafei, does this means your wedding was supposed to be today?" Link whispers.

It sparked an internal reaction from the other boy. Kafei's eyes dart towards him, large and pained. This answered what the Hero wanted to know. It may be why he ended up on Clock Tower. Tatl yelps before circling above them, "Kafei! Why didn't you just say so?! I'm so sorry!"

He ducks his face. Link felt his chest sink with pity as he heard him cry. Not only was Mayor Dotour's son stripped of his dignity, but he also had to face missing his own wedding and what could have been a major betrayal. There was no telling if the falling moon played a part in Anju's decision. Link's spoken to her many times over the repeated number of days. She did not seem like the person to wake up and abandon someone she loves.

"K-Kafei." Link nudges their bowls aside and scoots closer to him.

"There would be no point in being myself again, right?" He forces a laugh through his hands. Tears slip through his fingers and drip onto the floor, "How disgusting would it be to relive your life as a child, knowing the mental age gap is far beyond the physical? Anju must think I'm insane to try still. My heart is the same…"

The Hero flinches by his words. Thinking back on the Kingdom of Hyrule, he too had to relive the pain Kafei felt but in the opposite direction. Unlike him getting younger, Link was forced to grow up. He missed seven years in slumber to relive it all back and forth until Ganondorf's mischief was cleansed away. Link couldn't call himself a boy or a man. Princess Zelda left him as a husk when closing the roads to time so long ago.

And to top it all off, everyone's forgotten his great achievements.

The other boy noticed Link's silence. He peers at him and realizes he was shaking.

"Link…?"

The Hero snaps out of his train of thought and quickly touches his own face. His fingers glisten with tears. Tatl was shocked to see Link crying. The only time she ever seen him in this much distress was when the Skull Kid pranked him into becoming a Deku Scrub.

"Link-" she floats closer.

He jolts and draws himself away. Too many memories were striking the Hero at one time, and he needed a way to escape. Link exits the kitchen leaving Kafei and Tatl to wonder by themselves.

…

The indigo-haired boy finished his bowl of chowder. It lacked salt, but still filled the void in his stomach. He appreciated the meal. Another hour without food and surely, he'd have collapsed again. Tatl was swaying from side to side. It's been thirty minutes since Link left the kitchen. His food was ice cold. Kafei thought it would be fair to have asked the forest boy what was on his mind, but they were strangers still. He owed it to Link for saving his life, not the other way around.

"I never seen him like that before." Mutters the fairy. It caught Kafei's attention, and he glances over questionably.

"Really?" he asks her.

She nods, "It takes forever to get an answer out of Link on where he came from. He's too worried about others to care for himself."

"Understood..."

Both were still pretty awkward with each other. He and Tatl did not have the best first impression together, because Kafei had slapped Link this morning. The forest boy was so close to Kafei's face when he awoke that it startled him. Anju was the only person he'd allow to be so nearby.

A few sounds of shuffling and creaks and there stood Link at the doorway to Stock Pot Inn's kitchen. He was rubbing an eye; the tip of his nose was a faint pink. Kafei does not ask. He kept his mouth shut and looked at Link's bowl of untouched chowder.

"You were hungry earlier, dummy." Tatl spoke for him. He was relieved he didn't have to, "You're gonna finish it like that? Chilly?"

It surprised Kafei that Link nodded to her. He plops onto the cushion in front of him and continues to eat like nothing happened. This forest boy…was strange. Tatl seems used to this behavior. She floats down onto her partner's shoulder and acts like nothing happened either. Her conversations went to questions about what to do next, how to fix this building, and how to find the forest boy's horse. Link was quite mature for his size. It did not make any sense to Kafei. He looked no more than ten years old.

Link tilts up the bowl enough that it covers his entire face. The loud slurp indicated to him and Tatl that he finished it in an entire swoop.

"That's so gross! Ugh!" The fairy turns away, "Heating it would not have taken you more than a minute!"

Kafei watches as Link smiles to her, his lips were lined with white broth, "Come on, you wouldn't survive in the wild."

"We fairies don't need nutrition like you flesh blobs do! And wipe yourself off! You're dirty!"

Kafei looks down at his empty mug. His body felt warmer from the inside, and he could feel that nausea tapering off. It would make for an easier travel to the Woods of Mystery. Wherever that was, he was hoping it wasn't as perilous of a journey as entering Ikana Canyon. Link was strong, but he did not want to have to burden him with another dangerous venture. Kafei's focus on himself distracted him from Link leaning closer. He gasps to the feel of how cold the forest boy's hand was on his cheek.

"Are you feeling any better?"

Kafei slaps away Link's wrist, "I-I was until you touched me! You're freezing!" He and Tatl share a glance with one another. This soured Kafei as he did not know what they were thinking, "What?!"

Link grins, "I'm happy to see you're closer to being normal!"

Tatl laughs.

This moment stunned him. Kafei had no words. They were in full conversation with not a care in the world about anything. If only he could experience being so relaxed. Then again, Kafei did not know what they went through to be able to stay strong after…matters like these. Everything around them was destroyed.

The three jump to hearing a distant part of Stock Pot Inn collapse on itself.

...