Chapter Text
Sighing, I flop down onto my bean-bag and stare at the ceiling. Today is not my day. I sink down lower into my bean-bag and flip my feet up, staring at my boots. The studs shine back at me in the low light created from the static on my television screen. I puff out my cheeks and run a hand through my hair. I hear a thump from down below followed by angry yelling. I figure my dad just punched a wall in his drunken fury. Ever since mom died he’s been hitting the bottles more; been more touchy and just been overly a suck-ass dad.
I wrap my arms around myself and shudder, closing my eyes tight and just hoping quietly that he doesn’t get the idea to come up here again. Last time… I don’t think I can take it again. My legs press themselves together at the thought of it and my fists tighten into balls, gripping my jacket. I tilt my head back and look at my television, the static softly flowing across the screen. My eyes trail down to look at the cords spewing out of the television, some are hooked up, some are just hanging there. My eyes continue to follow the cords that are currently connected to the screen, which trail down to my old Nintendo 64, which sits there ever so faithfully. On top of it sits the cartridge my friend just gave me. It looks normal, but the only thing written on it is “Majora.” I stare at it for a few moments, and another crash from downstairs makes me jump, so I roll over and off the bean-bag. I crawl forward and put the cartridge in and turn on the Nintendo. It starts up, but doesn’t recognize the cartridge. I sigh and pull it back out, blowing on it. I press it in and count to three, and this time it works. I grab the controller and settle back into the bean-bag, kicking off my boots and drawing my legs up to me, crossing them and resting my elbows on my knees.
The “Majora’s Mask” screen comes up as usual, and I smile, revelling in the memories. I choose to start a new game. I cock my head and stare at the screen when it asks me to choose a save slot. There’s already a game there. “BEN.” I blink and stare at it for awhile longer. My friend’s name isn’t even close to Ben…. his name is Warren. I briefly admire the fact that whoever this Ben guy is almost finished the game, without using the fourth day glitch I sadly have to rely on every single flipping time I mean really. I tilt my head and wonder what might have caused him to quit playing. I shake my head and scroll past the name, opening a totally new game. I enter “Link” as my name for old time’s sake, and settle back into a more comfortable position, ready for a long gaming session. I quietly hope and pray my dad’s passed out somewhere. I eye the door warily, but then go back to the screen.
*****
I growl and throw the controller down, thoroughly frustrated now. I watch as Link burns before my eyes again, and lift my lip in a snarl.
“Fine. Fine fine fine fine fine! You win,” I say to the television screen. It flickers as though in response, and a text box appears at the bottom of the screen:
Of course I win. I always do.
My jaw drops open and I scramble back away from the screen.
“It responded. The game responded,” I murmur, my voice shaking.
Of course I responded. I /can/ hear you, after all. And I have a name.
“Well, what is it then?” I snap, folding my arms and reverting to sass mode.
My name is Ben. What’s yours?
“Shouldn't you know that, Ben?” I sass. The screen flickers and I take a deep breath.
No I don’t know your name. You put “Link” into the save box. You expect me to believe your name is Link?
“Yes,” I snort, then blink. “My name is (y/n),” I say softly, for fear of pissing off Ben.
Nice name is all the box says. I hear a thump just outside my door and I wheel around to face it, fear making my eyes go wide. I hear the doorknob rattle and then my drunken dad saunters into the room.
I back away from him and into the darkness before his drunken gaze can land on me. The television screen flickers and goes dark. My dad looks around the room and then stumbles in further. I catch my breath and his head turns towards me, and he stumbles over and shoves me onto the bed, grunting lowly. I whimper and fancy the television screen spins and turn a dark red. I hear my dad drunkenly start to undo his belt buckle and then unzip his pants. I can smell his drunken breath from here and it just gets worse when he pushes my shoulder down and gets in my face, gently tugging at my skinny jeans. He growls when he realizes they’re skinny jeans and not yoga pants and sets to work on getting them off in his drunken haze. I close my eyes and just accept my fate. I feel him tug down my skinny jeans alongside my underwear. I hear a sharp crack and a thud, and my dad pulls away from my legs, suddenly interested in whatever just happened.
“Wassgoinon?” he slurs. He sways gently and watches as a figure that looks scarily similar to Link stand up from the floor of my room. When he looks up, the Link resemblance continues, except now I can see he’s the pale color of a corpse in water, and his eyes are pitch black with glowing red centers. I whimper softly and my dad glances back at me, forgetting the undead Link and going back to me, trailing a hand down my thighs. I try and scramble back and he growls lowly, his other hand grabbing my throat and trapping me. I whimper again quietly and I notice the undead Link’s eyes glow even brighter. His hair lifts and swirls about his head as though he’s submerged in water. He snarls, baring his fangs. I notice he has clawed hands and I whimper again, out of fear this time. When Undead Link snarls, my dad lifts his hand away from my legs, keeping the other one on my throat. I squirm, uncomfortable being half-naked. Once he has my dad’s focus again, Undead Link smirks rather evilly.
“You shouldn’t have done that,” he says, his voice staticy and glitchy. “And now, you've met with a worse fate.” The room darkens and spins and my dad’s hand tightens on my throat. I watch as flames race up Undead Link’s arms and feel my dad’s hand continue to tighten. The room spins again as the flames illuminate Undead Link’s face, complete with his evil smirk and glowing red eyes, and I black out under the pressure from my dad’s hand.
****
I jolt up with a gasp, holding a hand to my chest. It was just a nightmare… just a… I take a deep breath and smell burning flesh. No it wasn’t. I curl up and hug my arms to myself, my underwear back on and my lower half covered by a blanket. I shiver and hug my arms a little tighter. I lay back down and close my eyes, and then hear the door click open. Heavy boots clunk across the floor and stop beside my bed. I still feign sleep as I feel a pressure on the side of my bed as someone sits down next to me. I hear a soft sigh and whoever it is draws the blanket up around me. I shift slightly and pretend that the simple gesture had woken me. I jump back a bit when I see my caretaker as of now is Undead Link. I blink and he blinks back, his eyes now the normal blue color. He smiles a bit when I wake up.
“Hey there, (y/n),” he says softly, his voice normal. It has a pleasant ring to it, and I find myself wishing he had said more, just so I can listen to him talk. I sit up and he frowns, pushing me back down. “Not yet. You passed out ‘cause he strangled you.” I blink and realize he’s talking about my dad.
“Where is he? And how do you know my name?” I narrow my eyes and he gets an impish smile.
“Cause you told me.” I notice he avoided the question about my dad but I don’t press on it.
“I didn’t tell you.”
“Yes you did. Don’t you remember?” I cock my head. He continues to smile like a little imp. “I called you Link.”
“Lin— You’re Ben?” My eyes widen and he nods, still smiling. “I…” I look away, at a loss for words. I look up at him and his blue eyes sparkle, obviously waiting for something. I slowly sit up, and this time he doesn’t push me down. “T-thank you f-for…” I look down again, my voice failing me. He shifts and moves closer to me and I feel him wrap an arm around my shoulder.
“You’re welcome,” he says softly and squeezes my shoulder. I subconsciously lean into him, breathing him in. He smells good… like a rainstorm. I close my eyes and he gently rocks me back and forth. “That wasn’t the first time that’s happened, is it?” He asks softly, and I shake my head, his smell, touch and now the sound of his voice making me sleepy again. I hear him growl and cuss softly. I feel him rub my back and stroke my hair. “Well it won’t happen again,” he says, a dark undertone to his voice. I lean back and look at him.
“What do you mean?” I ask softly. He brushes my hair back from my face.
“I took care of him,” he states plainly and I blink.
“So he’s—” I say, my voice failing once again, and my brain not wrapping around it. Ben nods once, studying my face. Waiting for my reaction. I sway back and forth and I know my eyes are glazed over. He’s not coming back. You’re free. I look at Ben and want to laugh, cry, run from him and hug him all at once. He’s still watching me. I continue to sway and eventually I just slump forward, making my head rest on his shoulder. I feel him jump a bit but he chuckles, rubbing my back gently. We sit in silence for awhile.
“So does the hero get a reward?” he murmurs, and I can literally hear the cocky smirk he has on his face. I frown and look up at him.
“What do you—” He cuts me off by catching my lips with his, and I make a small noise of shock. He presses into me a bit and continues the kiss a little while longer, then pulls away and smirks again. I blink and sit still in a state of total and utter shock. I feel him brush my hair back away from my face and I look into his eyes. “Why?” I whisper, barely able to even say that word. Not that I minded him kissing me, though. He’s a nice kisser it’s just.. he took me by complete surprise. He continues to stroke my cheek.
“It wasn’t chance my cartridge found it’s way to you. I infected your computer a while back and have been watching you for a while,” he murmurs. “Remember the day when your computer started to turn off and on, but everything still ran?” I nod, remembering. “That was me. And just the way you handled it, I dunno… something just made me want to watch you more,” I rest my head on his shoulder again, slowly losing myself in his voice, and he wraps his arms around me, rocking me back and forth again. “I found myself loving the way you laughed, the way you sang along to your favorite songs, even the way you screamed and punched walls when you lost a fight in a game or found a really weird post on Tumblr.” I snicker and my eyes go to a dent in the wall from where I had punched it so many times. “So…” he continues, smiling a bit when I snicker, “I made it certain that somehow the haunted Majora’s Mask cartridge ended up in your hands. Because I’ve fallen in love with every little thing about you, (y/n).” I’ve since frozen up as he says this, totally unsure how to react. I look up at him and stare into his eyes, which shine with a warm light and I believe him. I relax a bit in his arms and breath in his scent again. I wrap my arms around him and I feel him pull me into his lap, blanket and all. I curl against his chest and for whatever reason, I feel totally safe. I close my eyes and completely melt in his arms. We sit like that in silence again, until I open my eyes.
“Call me insane,” I murmur, and he opens one eye and peers at me, a little impish smile playing on his lips. “I know I’ve just officially met you and all, but…” I pause and move one of my hands to trail down his chest. “I feel… safe. Like… you’re someone I’ve known a long time. And I feel like that’s crazy ‘cause I’ve only just met you and….” he presses a finger to my lips and I look up at him.
“You’re babbling,” he does a little half grin and I blush a bit, looking down. He catches my chin on it’s way down and lifts it back up, still doing the half grin. “And you’re blushing,” he chuckles softly, causing me to blush more.
“S.. shut up…” I stutter, looking away. I feel him trail a hand along my side and I shiver, looking back at him. I cock my head and lean up, kissing him. I feel him jump in surprise, but he smiles and presses gently into the kiss. I twist my body around so that my legs are straddling him now, completely forgetting that I only have my underwear on. He slides his hands up and down my back, and I feel him lick my lips gently. I keep them shut, and he just slips a hand down to cup my ass in response, squeezing a bit. I gasp, and he slips his tongue into my mouth when I gasp, moving his hand back up. I mentally roll my eyes and gently push him down, swirling my own tongue around his. I push against his tongue and he doesn’t fight, letting me slip my tongue into his mouth. We do this back and forth for a while before we break, a trail of saliva still connecting us. Ben leans up and kisses my lips again once, before leaning back down on my bed. I slide off the top of him and curl up next to him, and I feel him pull the covers up over us. I close my eyes and rest my head on his shoulder, wrapping my arms around him. I hear him snicker suddenly and feel him disappear for a moment and my eyes snap open. He reappears behind me, and he wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me close to him, curling around me. I shake my head and lean into him, resting one of my arms on his. I slowly doze off, and in my half asleep state I hear him mutter:
“Goodnight (y/n). I’ll be here with you when you wake up; I can’t imagine being anywhere else. I hope you’ll always wake up to me from now on.” I give a small smile and nestle a little closer to him, slipping into a dreamless sleep.