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At times, Link wonders if this is his fault. He used to go through the motions almost mindlessly as his daily tasks for the blacksmith were reliant upon muscle memory. With the routine gone stale long ago, Link's mind often wondered as he stayed heavy in bed as sunlight came creeping through the windows. It's too quiet, he thought, having gotten used to the clanging of metal on metal.
And then suddenly, the priest's daughter was turned into a painting.
The moment he laid eyes on the smirking pale face framed with vibrant red locks, it dawns on Link that perhaps he shouldn't have been hoping for something to change all those warm afternoons. And it happens quickly. One task leads to another, without a moment's rest. Link stays silent and follows through.
He's sure others preferred it that way too.
Princess Hilda was right when she had warned him of how eerily different Lorule was. After rescuing Osfala, he slips his way back to Kakariko Village and scares the woman in her house late at night. Arms crossed and nose scrunched up a bit, she ushered him outside. After a moment, her face softens a bit and tells him to hurry home.
When Link steps inside, the house is dark, save for the warm glow from the fireplace. It almost feels foreign to him. Especially now that he has company after years of living alone and with the sudden events that have transpired, it was rare for him to stay longer than desired. As much as he wanted to talk more with the charming salesman, Link was needed elsewhere.
But now? He aches for familiarity.
"Oh, you're-"
Ravio stops himself when he sees Link stumbling past him. Quickly, he loops an arm around the weary traveler and guides him to a chair.
"I doubt you've eaten yet. You look all out of sorts, Mr. Hero." He says as he places a bowl of soup he made earlier out in front of him.
"I feel all out of sorts, Mr. Rabbit."
With his cheeks warm underneath his hood, Ravio freezes at the sudden nickname. Then he grins. "Well, if you're joking like this, then you must be alright,"
Link eats his soup and says nothing.
"You… you wanna talk about it?" Ravio offers awkwardly.
"Nah."
"Well, the offer still stands. Anyway, sit tight. I'll draw you up a bath, okay?"
When Link gets in the tub, he slowly loses track of time with the temperature of the water and the crackling of the fire making him doze off. Ravio muffles a chuckle with his scarf. Surprisingly, this only lulls Link further to sleep. And then, rain comes. Hard.
"I bet you're glad you stopped by for the night, huh, Mr. Hero?"
Now awake, Link bites his lip. The flash of white catches Ravio's attention and his eyes linger. The merchant brings a hand to fidget with the rim of the hood, suddenly grateful for it. He thinks for a moment and considers his words before speaking. Swallowing nervously, Ravio places a hand on the other's shoulder and almost pulls away when he sees curious blue eyes staring at him.
Comforting, he wants to be comforting.
"...Don't feel too bad about it, bud. Gotta take care of yourself to take care of others."
Ravio hopes it's helpful. He's been doing that a lot lately. There isn't much to do, other than to hope in his cowardly way that his wares are serving their new owner well as he keeps the house or staves off boredom by taking naps once he is left idle without the presence of his roommate. Link gives his thanks as Ravio finds him clean clothing and he's left alone to scrub himself.
While toweling his hair dry, Link finds the hooded man by the fire, petting Sheerow's head absentmindedly. Content, the bird chirped and nestled further into Ravio's lap. It's quiet moments like these that make Link want to stay at home. It makes him think back to his days of sleeping in late when he should be rushing to the blacksmith's house. He recalls the sound of clanging metal and the occasional mutter from the blacksmith. Link watches the hammer strike down and looks at his bare hands (they feel strange and naked without his gloves), his mind miles away. And suddenly at the end of the day, hands peeking out of long purple sleeves take his own and pull him near as a cheery voice calls out to him.
"It's gotten quite late now, hasn't it?"
Ravio's voice is soft. It's the same tone Link would often hear after being patched up from a rough attempt at dungeon crawling or the aftermath of simply being too careless outside. It's much different from his practiced speech when he tried to upsell his wares, purposefully nudging at the signs sitting next to them.
"So shouldn't you go to bed, then?"
Ravio chuckles. "I'm not tired yet, Mr. Hero," he brings a hand to scoop up Sheerow. "But I'll be there in a minute."
By the time the fire is put out, he hears a creak. When he focused his eyes, Ravio could vaguely see Link sitting on the bed that was no longer pushed up against the wall. Walking over, Ravio hesitates as he gets closer to the sleepy-looking hero.
"Bud," he can feel his chest tighten as he cuts himself short. The word stumbles out of his mouth from force of habit, but it feels awkward. Like it doesn't fit. Ravio waves his hand, gesturing for the other to make some room.
There's a lack of space, even more so with the two of them having to press up against each other so that neither ends up on the hardwood floor. The room is soon filled with quiet laughter and shushing as they try to settle into place. There's also an undignified yelp that definitely did not come from Link as he desperately reached out to hold onto Ravio when he was close to the edge of the bed. Grinning, Ravio pulls him in.
Ravio feels himself stiffen, afraid that he had somehow crossed a line, but once he sees Link snorting, covering his mouth with a hand, he lets out a breath. It's a wonder how he ever thought how the hero was unapproachable. He thinks back to how they agreed to share the bed in the first place. No matter how much he denied how stiff his back was, Link insisted on Ravio taking the bed. They discussed sleeping arrangements and talked in circles while they ate dinner that night. It finally ended with the following exchange.
"It's your house," Ravio pointed a fork at him.
"And you live here, too." Link's voice was dripping with fatigue and left no room to argue with. Later when they both climbed onto the bed, Ravio found it incredibly hard to stop smiling from underneath his hood as it suddenly dawned on him that this was home.
Tonight isn't any different. He watches Link calm down from his little fit with amusement. Without even thinking, his mouth opens, "You seem to be in a better mood now, Mr. Hero."
Link made a small noise. "Do I?" he stared at the ceiling, dazed. "I'm always in a better mood when I'm with"—he swallowed—"at home."
Ravio's ears perk up slightly and he desperately hopes that his hearing hasn't gone bad yet.
"So am I," Ravio says almost immediately.
He feels the other's gaze on him again and before Ravio can hastily laugh it off as a joke ("Of course I feel better here. It's pretty nice here, you know?"), Link smiles at him.
"I'm glad."
Silence falls between the two. It's uncomfortably warm underneath the cover and Ravio's robe isn't helping either. Flinging the blanket to the floor, Link flopped back onto the bed. Much better. Ravio relaxed against the pillow.
Ignoring how grateful he feels that even now, Link refuses to mention his hood, Ravio raises an eyebrow. "Won't you get cold later on?"
He shakes his head and closed his eyes. "You're enough for me."
Ravio stays awake well into the night and sneaks glances at the sleeping hero beside him.
It's ridiculous, he knows. Even with the hood on, he can't bring himself to stare at his other too long. His disguise could shield the disappointment from his princess, but not from himself. And as he would watch Link head outside, he felt himself grow more discontent. But that isn't to say he disliked Link for living up to his nickname. They had their own parts to play. Playing merchant was Ravio’s role and he only needed to perform it well.
How would he see him, without his role? The moment Ravio stepped out of Lorule's castle, he knew that he had condemned himself in Hilda's eyes and finally setting foot on Hyrule's soil only reinforced the notion. Ignoring the fact that they shared the same face almost (it hurts to imagine the blond's expression twisting in disgust), Link would at best, be hurt that he had lied about his identity. Ravio tugged on the rabbit ears on his hood in frustration.
Shameful.
He hears a creak from behind his back. Turning on his side, he sees Link, still asleep, inching closer. He stops once he's pressed up against the Lorulean's chest and Ravio feels like he's on fire. Then, he feels shivering and remembers the blanket on the floor. He gets out of bed carefully with a huff, smiling. He finds Sheerow burrowed in the blanket, sleeping peacefully.
With a whisper, he gently peels back the blanket off over the bird's head, "Sorry to evict you, but I'm gonna need that."
Stirring, Sheerow starts to chirp and in response, he brings a finger to his lips. Blanket in tow, Ravio turns around to head back to bed. Ravio stops. He's treated to the sight of Link mumbling and patting his hand around the space Ravio left behind. The merchant runs a hand through his bangs, pulls away from his face and nudges his hood off in the process as he sharply inhales and lets out a breath. With his hand by his side and hair falling back into place, he slipped into bed and pulled the blanket over them.
Facing Link, Ravio's tone is fond as he murmured, "I'm here, Mr. Hero."
Thankfully, he doesn't respond and only calloused fingers clutch onto the front of his robe. Warmth floods Ravio's chest. Suddenly a brief thought turns in his head, dormant but slowly making itself known. Slowly, he raises his hand until it's barely hovering above Link. It would be so easy to let it rest on top of Link's hip and pull him closer to-
He pulls his hand back and shuts his eyes. This is enough.
By now, the heavy rain has been reduced to a gentle downpour. He stares at his other one last time before pulling his hood over. Soon, he swears, he'll find a way to make up for everything he had done and for what he hadn’t done. But after seeing Link's chest rising and falling steadily and his face neutral, the most relaxed Ravio, sadly, had ever seen him, sleep comes easily.
When Link wakes up, he squints. It's bright. He buries his face into the merchant's shoulder. Speaking of Ravio, his arm is sprawled out over Link's side, hand balled into a fist and ultimately pinning him down to the bed with its comforting weight. Link's fingers are still hanging onto the soft material of the purple robe, bunching up the fabric. He wearily eyes the door, aware of the lingering threats of monsters outside.
Regardless, there isn't any way for him to get up any time soon. Unless he decides to wake up his roommate, something that Link feels less inclined to do the longer his legs are tangled with the other. He lays his head back on the bed, listening to Sheerow’s quiet chattering and Ravio’s steady breathing. For now, he is safely tucked away under Ravio's arm.