Work Text:
Sidon had just finished his duties for the day. Dismissing himself from the throne room, he walked outside and took in the beautiful afternoon: The sun was lazily shining down, leaving beautiful fractals of light running all across the ground. Standing on the balcony, he could see some of the younger children from around the Domain scampering around the statue of Mipha.
It was the sort of scene that you’d look back on fondly as time went on and nostalgia gave it that golden tint.
At least, it was until Link came into view. He was caked in mud from head to toe, chunks of mud with bits of golden sand in it falling off of him in large gobs. He wandered over to the fountain, giving the kids hanging around a greeting Sidon couldn’t quite hear. There was a pause, and then raucous laughter. He could see them laughing at Link, and Link seemed to be laughing too. He seemed unfazed by the muck covering him from head to toe and leaving footprints of the stuff all over.
Sidon watched in surprise as Link scooped a bit of the mud off of his shirt with his finger and pointed down at the chest of one of the children laughing at him. They looked down, and Link flicked his finger up, leaving a little trail of mud along their face and crest. The yell of surprise was priceless as the others laughed even harder and the victim spat out a bit of dirt and scraped the mud off of her face. Sidon even found himself chuckling overlooking the scene.
Link’s victim suddenly took the mud in her hand and lobbed it at what looked to be their sibling. Link soon joined in - all he had to do was flick his fingers and it would fly everywhere. Soon, the place had devolved into a full - on mud fight as chunks of mud and sand picked up from Link’s footprints flew through the air and the children had the time of their lives. Link sat down at the base of the fountain and watched the chaos he had created with satisfaction. Sidon shook his head, laughing again. Everytime he goes out for a “walk”, it’s something new.
Sidon started walking down the stairs to the fountain, the fight still raging on below him. He stole a couple of glances over the railing and noticed Link swinging his arms to and fro, splattering everyone and triggering another barrage of mud as the children giggled and chased each other around gleefully.
Sidon had finally made it to the bottom of the stairs and was just about to ask them what they were doing when a stray projectile hit him in the face.
The whole place went silent as Sidon flinched in shock. The mud began to slide down his cheek before he wiped it off with his finger, the black mud giving off a slightly unpleasant odor. There was almost an audible sigh of relief as he looked at it for a second and then hurled it back at Link.
What Sidon hadn’t expected was Link stumbling back and “falling over” as dramatically as he could when the mud hit him. On his knees, he raised his hand as though he were falling off a cliff.
“Avenge meee…” Link trailed off dramatically and flopped over with a thud as five little muddy Zora turned mischievous eyes on Sidon. All of a sudden, Sidon realized he was more than a little outnumbered and overpowered. He put his hands up to no avail as a barrage of the stuff hit him everywhere: his face, his torso, his tail… what a mess. By the time the assault tapered off, Sidon looked more like some sort of bog monster than a prince.
It was at that moment that Link decided to come charging over and try his hardest to tackle Sidon, hugging him around his waist. Sidon couldn’t keep his balance as he slipped on some of the mud surrounding him, landing on the ground with a soft
oomph. As he wiped mud away from his eyes. He opened them to see his concerned husband looking down at him, still caked in mud.
Sidon scoffed. “Honestly, how do you even manage to get that much mud on you that you can have a full - on battle and still be covered in the stuff?”
Link relaxed, hearing Sidon poke fun at him. “I have my ways.” He smiled mischievously. “I went out for a walk while you worked on your duties, and I came across one of those baby taluses. Mini taluses? Tali? Whatever. Anyway, I was bored and I wanted to see if there was someway to beat it without just lobbing a bomb at it, so I tried to find a weak spot.”
Sidon laughed, conjuring a mental picture of Link rolling through the mud trying to look at this living rock while he got covered in mud. “So that’s how you got so muddy?”
Link shook his head proudly. “Nope!”
He sputtered, exasperated. “So how did you, then?”
“Well, I found a weak spot, and I guess if you do it the hard way you get a better reward. Only it fell into the river and got claimed by some Lizalfos.”
Sidon shook his head, amazed. “So you fought off some Lizalfos and dug up half the riverbed to find your reward. And then somehow managed to bring all this” -- he gestured at the mud covering him -- “back with you.”
Link sat up, still on top of Sidon. “Yeah, so you’d” -- a very muddy accusing finger pointed right between his eyes -- “better appreciate it.”
Sidon laughed again. “Well, why don’t you show me your latest gift after we go back to our room and clean up? It’s not everyday you see royals having a mud fight.”
Link smirked, shivering a little. “Well, maybe in your case. But I guess. I am kinda cold from that river and all this mud.” He got off of him, the spattered (in Link’s case, coated) couple walking away from the chaos.
After a refreshing shower for both, they settled into their room, enjoying a brilliant orange sunset from a plush couch. Link leaned against him, gently curling up against him. “I guess even after a warm shower, that mud still kept me cold.”
Sidon snickered. “Excuses, excuses.” Nevertheless, he wasn’t going to complain. Soon, Link began to drift off to sleep as he soaked up the warmth radiating from Sidon and drew closer. Sidon put an arm around him, softly whispering, “I hope your ‘gift’ was worth all that trouble.”
Link stirred, drowsily rubbing his eyes as he mulled over what Sidon said. “Oh, yeah! I almost forgot to give it to you.” He searched in his pockets before he pulled out a ruby, a brilliant shade of red not dissimilar from Sidon’s scales. “I saw it drop from the little Talus, and I knew that I had to give it to you. It matches.” he offered it up to Sidon for a closer look.
Sidon took the gem in his hand, holding it up to the light. “Link, it’s beautiful!” The orange from the sunset behind them added to the illusion of the ruby holding a flame, small but blazing powerfully. He was almost hypnotized by it as he turned it and watched the flames flicker. “I’ll need to keep this one somewhere safe.”
Sidon stood up, Link’s grumbling behind making him smile. “I’ll be back in just a minute, love.” He kept turning the ruby as he went, fascinated. He slowly walked over to the shelves, putting it in just the right spot so the sun would hit it everyday. It looked perfect among the array of things that Link had gotten for Sidon: a few gems, but mostly other little oddities that were just as valuable to Sidon. There was everything from a Lynel horn to a burnt up ladle. Sidon could remember that incident all too well.
Sidon’s memory was cut short as another array of complaints drew him back to the couch. He sat back down, drawing Link in so the two could warm up together.
Link looked up at Sidon, practically on his lap. “So you like it?”
Sidon smiled softly. “Of course I do.”
They sat in silence, enjoying each other’s company as the sun slowly set and the two fell asleep together.