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They put him to bed – it seems like the best thing to do, and anyway, Link’s always liked sleeping. Zelda pauses in the doorway, before eventually shaking her head and leaving, and then it’s just Link and-
Well, she’d said his name was Ganondorf, but that was too long, so he was going to be Gan.
And Gan was asleep. He looked different when he was asleep. Younger, mostly, but most people looked younger when they were asleep. Actually, Link hadn’t had the chance to watch many people sleep, mostly just Fadin, but sometimes the children came up to the fields and they’d fall asleep in the grass and Fadin would always huff and say he didn’t have time to look after more children, so Link had always kept an eye on them until they woke up and went home.
This wasn’t really like that. For one thing, Link couldn’t really imagine Gan being anyone’s child – although, maybe.... Hmm. Well, if he was a bit smaller – although imagining him being smaller was hard too, because he was huge. He could probably touch the Deku Tree’s nose without even standing on his toes.
... he’d be fun to climb. Link’d have to try that out when Gan woke up. As long as Gan was okay with being climbed? Hm. Maybe he’d give shoulder rides, those could be fun too.
Gan frowns in his sleep, turning onto his side, facing away from Link and well, that’s no fun, so Link climbs over him and lies down facing him. Gan looks very tired from this close up. Very, very tired.
... a nap sounded like a good idea actually.
Link snuggles a bit closer, which isn’t really hard to do because Gan is really, really big, and very warm too and well, Zelda said she’d be gone for a while.
Maybe a nap wasn’t really keeping an eye on him, but it wasn’t like Gan could wander off without waking Link, right? Right?
Right.
(Ganondorf wakes up, drained and disoriented, and smiles somewhat sleepily when he realises someone else is asleep on top of him, their face mashed into his collar and one of their knees wedged against his ribcage. It’s almost like being at home again.)
When Link wakes up, it’s to the tail end of someone saying, “Honestly, what a lazy boy.”
Link blinks up at them – it’s not Zelda or Gan. A quick squirm reveals that Gan’s still underneath him – or at least that someone’s underneath him, given the muffled, “Oomph,” Link gets when he accidentally jams his elbow into their side.
Link sits up, yawning, and smiles at the other person. She looks nice enough, but she looks a little tired.
“Woke up at last, have you?” she asks. “Well, her Highness would like to see both of you in the throne room. She assures me that you know the way, and that he,” she gestures at Gan, “won’t be a threat.” Link doesn’t really like the way she says that, but the lady is gone before Link can try to protest on Gan’s behalf.
Gan sits up behind Link. “So,” he says, “you’re to be my guard then?” He snorts, derisively.
Link gives him a look, and then backflips off the bed.
“Ah,” Gan says. “I see.”
Link nods, and then offers his hand to Gan. Gan looks at Link’s hand like he’s never seen a hand before. When he finally does reach out, it’s not to get up, but instead to turn Link’s hand over. The pretty mark – Zelda had called it the Triforce – is still there. All three triangles are gold now, but they don’t shine anymore.
“Hn.” Gan gets up off the bed and leaves the room. Link runs after him, and they go down to see Zelda – not exactly together, but not exactly not together either.
Zelda’s sitting in the throne that Gan was yesterday – she looks a lot smaller than he did, but probably everyone looks smaller than Gan does. Maybe not the Gorons? Hm.
“Ganondorf,” Zelda says.
“Zelda,” Ganondorf replies.
Neither of them sound very happy. Link grabs Gan’s hand and yanks him forward – it works, sort of. Gan almost falls on top of Link, and then stops dead and Link’s strong but probably not strong enough to drag Gan somewhere he doesn’t want to go.
“Stop that,” Gan says, staring down at Link. Link stares back up at him.
“Link,” Zelda calls. He turns to look at her. “Perhaps you’d like to check on your horse... Epona, wasn’t it?”
Link isn’t stupid – he knows when he’s not wanted. Still. She said they were all meant to be together, didn’t she? Link drops Gan’s hand and runs to up to her – he doesn’t have any wood today, but his charcoal is still in his pocket, so he kneels down on the floor next to her and writes I’ll be back soon.
Zelda smiles a little. “Of course. I’ll ask Impa to collect you – Ganondorf and I will be in my office.”
Link nods decisively, and runs out of the room, but not before giving both of them a hug. Gan twitches strangely when Link throws his arms around Gan’s waist, and then pats Link’s shoulders awkwardly, so obviously more hugs will be in order when Link comes back.
Neither Zelda nor Gan are watching by the time Link reaches the door. They’re looking at each other, and it isn’t quite like how they looked at each other before, but it’s still... it’s still a little like two cats sizing each other up, ready to fight.
Getting in between two cats about to fight was never a very good idea.
Link shuts the door gently behind him, and runs back to Epona. She’s wandered around to the stables; all the monsters seem to have left, and there’s a few people around, clutching weapons and keeping a sharp eye out. None of them bother Link, and Epona nickers when he’s close. She stands still while he takes her tack off, apologising to her with every brush of his hands for leaving it on so long.
After that, she needs a good brush, and then Link wanders around the stables until he finds oats and a bucket for water. It doesn’t take very long for Epona to settle happily into an abandoned stall. There don’t seem to be any other horses around. Hopefully, they’ll come back, now that the monsters are gone.
He should probably head back, but for a moment or two, Link pauses. Zelda had said-
But. He leans against Epona a little. But what if they don’t need him around? It’s not like he’s anyone special and she’s- they’re-
Epona nickers softly, and Link sighs a little.
If they’re anything like cats, then Zelda and Gan are probably licking their wounds by now. Probably.
The lady from before – Impa? – is waiting near the throne room. She nods when she sees Link, and turns to stalk away from the throne room. Link has to run to keep up – she has much longer legs than he does, and doesn’t seem to care too much. She still looks tired. A nap would probably do her some good, like it did for Gan.
“They’re in here,” Impa says, gesturing to a door that looks like it was torn off its hinges at some point. “I wish you luck, young man.”
Link nods and carefully moves the door out of the way. He peeks inside; it’s a large room, with huge windows and a desk that’s probably seen better days. Zelda and Gan are both standing a little away from the desk, frozen and staring towards Link.
“Oh, it’s you,” Gan snorts, “have you called your little terrier to come and harass me?” That last part is said to Zelda, and she frowns as Gan says it.
“Link is his own person,” she replies. Neither of them look at their hands, not until Link marches forward and grabs them. Only then do they both look down, and it’s only for a second or two.
“Be that as it may,” Gan begins, sounding weird. His face has gone a strange colour, and he’s looking out the window now.
“Is there anything you wanted, Link?” Zelda asks, softly.
She’s trying to send him away again. They both watch when Link walks over to the table, and Zelda makes a vaguely surprised noise when Link sits down in the big chair and writes something on one of the pieces of paper. Link shoves it towards them, and Gan picks it up.
“‘Don’t send me away if you’re just going to argue again,’” he reads. A chuckle escapes him and he glances towards Zelda. “Perceptive little thing, isn’t he?”
This time Link writes, in big handwriting, NOT A THING.
“He didn’t mean that,” Zelda replies when Gan just scowls.
Gan clears his throat and says, “I don’t believe you speak for me, Princess Hyrule.”
Link recognises that tone of voice. That’s the if you don’t come home in three minutes, I’m feeding your dinner to the dog voice. That’s the I’m extremely angry and disappointed in you voice.
Link scribbles urgently, NO FIGHTING.
Gan and Zelda look at him with mild confusion on their faces. “We weren’t fighting, Link,” Zelda says. She says it like it’s the absolute truth, and he’d be silly not to believe her.
Link frowns. She sure is good at this. He writes, a little less urgently, let’s all go eat?
Gan sighs very loudly, and Zelda sort of tilts her head a bit, but they both agree to come with Link and even let him hold their hands! There isn’t anyone in the kitchen, but there’s still some food left, and they both sit down when he tells them to – this involves guiding them into the seat and then giving his best don’t move glare – and watch quietly while he rummages through the pantries.
After a few minutes of watching, Gan asks, “Where did you find him?”
Zelda laughs sweetly. “I didn’t find him. He found me. And then took me away from your sisters.”
Gan says, “I see,” and then they both stop talking and eat the soup Link’s made for them.
It’s good. It feels nice to sit with them quietly. It feels nice to just be around them.
It feels right.
Link smiles down at his bowl. They’ll be okay.