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It was a bright and beautiful day, the day after he had defeated the calamity Ganon and people congratulated him since the sun went up but Link wasn’t really listening to their words. He felt odd, as if something was off and he couldn’t really put his finger on it. So he just smiled and nodded whenever someone talked to him and praised his strength and courage but he was not really there, he was like a stranger in his own skin since the beast was defeated and he had realized what he had done. Yes, that had been his goal for a very long time because he was the hero of Hyrule but what was he now? He didn’t know.
“We will have a feast to celebrate!”, Zelda informed him, when she met him in a square but all Link could do was stare. He wasn’t prepared to be celebrated as a hero, he wasn’t prepared for a feast. He wasn’t even prepared to be here! He should be on the road and sleep on the cold ground and eat whatever he found in the woods or rivers. That was what he was used to and he believed that this was all he deserved. It was strange to finally be done with his task and it confused him to no end that he did not feel good about it.
He was just empty. Zelda smiled and babbled on and on about what she was planning and how they wanted to honour Link but he didn’t want it, he never asked for this kind of fame and something was missing. His heart pounded harder in his chest with every word the princess said and in the end Link wasn’t able to hear her over the noise of the blood rushing in his ears. He was panicking and what made it even worse was the fact that he didn’t even know why.
With a sudden clearness he knew where he wanted to be and grabbed his Sheikah plate, opened it up and in the next second Zelda was vanishing from his sight. No, he was vanishing from hers and he knew it was rude but he just couldn’t stand it any longer. Link had never cared for his own safety, he had done what people expected from him but today he wanted to be selfish and go where he pleased to get his head clear of all this fog that was his life, now.
Around him appeared a faint blue glow that Link had came to love a lot. The Zora Domain was always so perfectly calm and silent, it was like a safe haven in the mess that was his life, it was soothing when his nerves where on edge and during his travels he often came back to this place to refresh his supplies. The Zora people were friendly and very welcoming and even if they regarded him with the same awe others did, they still saw the person behind the hero of Hyrule and treated him as a normal man not like some god who rescued them. And the Domain was so beautiful between the high mountains. The constant noise of water running down the rocks made Link better the second he arrived and he inhaled deeply the scent of water and something fresh and uniquely Zora that he couldn’t quite say what it really was but it was great nevertheless.
When he arrived there were only a few people in the square and he greeted them friendly while passing by. The one man he regarded as a friend was nowhere in sight but Link would stay here for a few days and he would find enough time to talk to prince Sidon later. First, he wanted to relax a little and he was sure that he shouldn’t meet the prince in his current condition because he felt like a mess and maybe looked like one as well.
So he made his way down through the valley, following the river with lazy steps as he enjoyed the clean air and warm sunshine. When he first arrived here everything was wet and it was raining all the time because of Vah Ruta but he had tamed him and he was quiet now. It was inevitable that Link’s thoughts drifted back to the day he first came to the Domain. Prince Sidon had found him on his way and helped him to get up here and all about this Zora had been encouraging and made Link welcome to the Domain and the people who lived here. Sidon was so enthusiastic about Link being here and his warm words were always so wonderful. Link liked the huge man and he was one of the reasons the Hero liked to come back to the Zora Domain. Sidon was the first one who made him feel at home.
After he had walked down the narrow pass for a while Link found himself some grassy spot by the river and sat down to stare into the ever flowing water. Everything felt so different and whatever it was, it shook Link to the core. With a sigh he flopped back into the grass and closed his eyes, he felt tears sting behind them. Weird, he had not cried after he woke up from his hundred years of sleep, all alone in a dark chamber, he didn’t cry when he got hurt or frustrated or lost something or when he remembered his past life – that still hadn’t come back to him completely – and yet here he was and felt so lost and alone like never before.
There were so many feelings in him, so many of them and he couldn’t handle it, sadness, panic, loneliness, hopelessness, and other things he couldn’t even identify. All those feelings now gushed out of him like blood out of a wound and his small body shook violently despite the warmth of the sun that mercilessly shone on him from above. In the end he was choking on his tears and rolled onto his side to make himself as small as possible hoping to just disappear when he felt someone touching him. It was a large hand, not as warm as a Hylians hand would be but still warm enough to get his attention but he chose to pay it no mind. If it was some enemy he should kill him and end this misery.
“My dearest Link, what makes you crying?” Sidon’t voice asked him and the soft, gentle tone and the deep concern in his voice as well as the adoring words made Link cry even harder. He was not a hero, he was a wimpy child, unable to stop the tears from flowing and they ran through his fingers that were covering his eyes while he desperately tried to hide his pathetic state. “Shh, shh.” The prince made a soothing sound but all he did tore Link even more apart and he couldn’t stop, it was like a dam broken and having Sidon by his side added to these strange feelings. Those large hand rested on Link’s shoulder and the Zora pressed it harder from time to time just silently reminding the hero, that he was by his side and there for him when he was ready to talk.
It took a long while for Link to stop crying but eventually it ebbed and got less, leaving him shivering and this also stopped after a while. All the time the Hylian was aware of prince Sidon by his side and the large man just sat next to him, his hands caressing Link’s shoulders or hair, his claws never doing any damage to his skin. Sidon was so huge but yet so gentle, Link had always admired it in him. And the prince carried his heart on his tongue which was so nice, so heart-warming that Link had often missed him during his travels. “There, you see? Everything will be alright again, my dear.” He said and his voice did something to Link that nothing and no one else could.
Talk he signed and Sidon looked at him with wide eyes. Talk. It’s soothing. “Oh, okay, whatever you wish for Link. You see, I was on my way to have a walk around the Domain, it is such a beautiful day…” Sidon talked and talked, it was nonsense, really but it helped Link. He focused on this beautiful voice, closing his eyes and he finally felt his heart rate going back to normal as well as his breathing. Having Sidon with him was the best that happened to him in these last weeks and he realized that he had missed the man terribly.
The Zora prince was like a ray of sunshine when everything seemed dark and Link needed this light to warm from the inside so he could finally be okay. “… and then I found you here and I was so worried to see you so desperate.” He ended and Link smiled weakly, still not daring to sit up and blinking into the sun. His eyes hurt from his crying and his head started to feel funny. Empty. He was tired beyond belief. “You know, my dearest friend, you can talk to me about whatever happened to you, right?” Link nodded with another smile. He was so thankful that Sidon was here, he couldn’t find words for it. Nevertheless he signed a Thank you and closed his eyes again. The warmth of the sun and Sidon’s presence felt so soothing, he soon drifted off into sleep and again he heard the prince murmuring soft words and gentle hands brushed back his hair from his forehead.
~*~
When Link woke up again he wasn’t out in the sun anymore and he couldn’t hear the river flowing. It was darker where he was now but he lay soft and with his head on a pillow, which was rare because more often than not he slept on the floor just because he was so used to it. His head and eyes felt better now and he felt thoroughly rested. How long had he slept?
With a sigh he sat up and found that he was in a huge room, obviously inside of the Zora Domain. The walls gave off a light blue light and there were also some lamps in this room – also blue. It was dark in front of the one window that was high on the wall to his right and apart from his bed there was barely anything in this room but a closet table with jewellery on it that Link recognized because it was Sidon’s. So was he in the prince’s room? He had never been here before and when he got up from his bed he saw that it was a mattress stuffed into the corner and a lot of pillows and some blankets one of which had been thrown over his sleeping form.
At the far wall was a pool and in it Link could see the floating form of prince Sidon. He didn’t wear his royal attire and he seemed kind of naked without this stuff to Link though he still looked the same. Sidon’s eyes were closed and he looked so peaceful. Was this how Zora slept? Link had always assumed they slept in beds as well just like Hylians but floating in the water made sense because they were fish people.
Link watched the floating form for a while and sat down at the edge of the pool, letting his hand feel the temperature of the water. It was warm and Link felt the sudden urge to take a bath to help him relax. He already felt better and a bath would add to his well-being a lot. Carefully he began to roll up his trousers to above his knees – someone had already taken off his boots before he was brought to the makeshift bed – and then he let his feet dangle into the warm water, a blissful sigh escaping his lips. He didn’t dare to do more and hoped that it was okay for Sidon that he kind of was in his bed. The water got a little wobbly when Link moved his feet but it felt too good to stop. When the small waves reached Sidon the prince looked up and with a sweet smile he realized that Link was by his pool.
“My pearl, you are awake. Finally.” Pearl? Sidon had always found nice words for him but this one was as new as it was nice to hear. Never had anyone treasured him the way Sidon did and it felt so good that Link mused if he should stay here. And the Domain was beautiful, the people were nice and Link literally had nowhere else to go though people always welcomed him with open arms as he was the hero of Hyrule. It didn’t mean anything to him. But Sidon meant something to him and Link find himself smiling at the young prince despite his gloomy thoughts. His smile was soon mirrored and Sidon came closer to look him right in the eyes. “Stay here!” He whispered urgently and was now all serious again, something that Link hadn’t seen often in his face. “I want to make you happy.” He came even closer and his hands were resting on Links sides as he came to eye level. “Let me make you happy. You deserve to smile more often and you’re beautiful when you do.” At that Link blushed deeply and didn’t know what to say. He considered lifting his hands to sign something but he decided against it.
“Sidon.” He whispered instead because he suddenly felt the urge to say his name out loud, his voice raspy because he did not use it very often. Only when he wasn’t able to hold back a scream when a monster hurt him. The prince was now so close to his face that he could feel his breath on his own and the Zora was so stunned to hear his voice that Link could actually feel the tremble that went through his whole body.
“Say my name again.” Sidon breathed and Link felt the smile on his face deepen as he pondered the bewilderment and fascination on the Prince’s face upon hearing Link's voice.
“Sidon.” When said man gasped, Link reached out with his hands and grabbed both sides of his face but it wasn’t necessary for him to pull the man closer because Sidon already leaned in his breath ghosting over Link’s lips, making him ridiculously nervous.
“I never heard your voice before. It is perfect. Just like everything about you.” Sidon praised him and his eyes left Link’s for a second to travel down to his slightly parted lips and the prince licked his own before he looked up again. The moment stretched and Link’s heart thundered in his chest and his stomach tingled. Something good was about to happen to him and he wanted to weep because he had never felt that good before.
“Make me happy.”, he breathed, answered Sidon’s plea from before and it only took the prince only a second to catch the Hylian’s lips with his own. He stroked them, licked them, small kitten licks that made Link see stars, then parted them and deepened the kiss after a few minutes. Link escaped a gentle moan into Sidon’s lips and the prince took this as a good sign and licked his way into Link’s mouth, tasting him, feeling him. The Zora felt so good, the taste of him was perfect and Link’s hands wandered to the back of his neck to press him closer. Link’s toes curled, his stomach tingled and happiness burst in his chest.
“I will make you happy again, my pearl.” Sidon whispered when their lips parted. “This is all I ever wanted since you arrived here for the first time. I was barely able to hold myself back from begging you to stay.” The truth tumbled from the prince’s lips like a confession. “I missed you terribly when you went on with your journey and I nearly went mad because I feared that I could lose you to some monster or Ganon himself. The thought alone was unbearable. I had so many nightmares about losing you that I feared to go to sleep at night.”
Link let himself glide into the pool, his clothes soaking wet within seconds but he didn’t care. His arms flew around Sidon’s neck and back because he needed to hold this man close. The prince always seemed so self assured but he knew trouble as well, he knew fear and angst because of him and Link wanted to make it better. Link could feel Sidon’s huge claws around his waist, the man held him as close to his body as he could and his grip was nearly painful.
“I love you, Link.” Sidon breathed out because it was the truth and Link smiled up at him but then went back to being serious. He couldn’t wait any longer. Trembling, he pressed his body closer to Sidon’s and enjoyed the little moan that fell from the prince’s lips.
“Show me!”
And oh, how Sindon did show him. He loved Link slowly, sweetly and when Link closed his eyes he knew that he was home, finally. His home was in Sidon’s arms and Link now knew where he belonged.
“I love you, Sidon.”