Archive of Our Own ^beta

Just a quick note! You'll figure out what I mean, but any spelling mistakes in Dark's typing is intentional. I plan on reviewing this multiple times, so there shouldn't be any mistakes other than intentional ones. :)


I unlocked and opened the door to my house, no one home.
Go figure.

My heavy backpack slumped to the floor in the entryway, my shoulder happily relieved. I had quite a bit of work tonight, but I had more important things to do first.

'Could always work on it and talk to him, I guess.'

I laughed at myself, grabbing a can of soda from the fridge.

'Yes, because that's worked before.'

It was impossible to do really anything while we talked, partially because he only communicates in text , and partially because he just enraptures me to the point I can't concentrate on anything else.

I drug the bag with me, anyway.

I shook my desktop's mouse, the screen lighting up to my log in.
I quickly typed the pass, eager to see if he'd messaged me yet.

He usually would, since he mysteriously didn't go to school. We were both high school age- yet, he didn't even home school. He just told me he's never been to school.

He , being Dark.

I guess I should explain how we met, huh?

Dark, a mysterious boy whom I'd met on the internet, gotten to be very close friends with, possibly...

I shook my head.

No! Never.

Anyway.
I run a vlogging channel on YouTube, and I'm kinda popular I guess. I occasionally post song covers, all acoustic. I caught Dark's attention that way- and he left one comment on my video that changed my life.

I mean, it wasn't some incredible comment or anything, but it was a shock to me because he's a well known cover artist, and he writes his own songs as well.

He has every right to be popular.
'He's got the voice of an angel.' I thought, wanting to smack myself for how gushy it sounded in my head.

Though, he was kinda popular for another reason.

He's never ever shown his face, and has never actually talked- just sang. It's gained him the title of "Masked Angel," though I'm not sure how the name started. He doesn't know, either.

And, even though we're really close, he's never revealed his face to me, either. I've asked him to turn on his cam for just a second, or send a picture. But he always refuses.

I remember when we had just shared Skype names, and I was fully expecting him to come up and be on video with me. But when he didn't, I was kinda confused.

I can understand why he wouldn't want the internet to know his face, but I was just one person. I thought for a while that maybe he didn't trust me, like I'd post a screen shot or something- but, apparently, he's just really insecure.

He's told me the only thing he really likes about himself is his singing voice, so I've dropped the subject of him revealing himself ever since.

Though, I still want to see him.

I heard the signature "shwoop" of Skype logging in, a video chat programme that a lot of people used.

I turned on my stereo, one of my favorite songs playing softly in the background.

I hummed along as I rang him, no messages yet.

The call rang a couple of times before connecting.

I saw myself in the cam, waving as I reached down into my bag.

"Hey!" a text read.

"Sup?" I laughed, pulling the textbook into my lap.

The mic and cam of the other person was turned off, as usual. Instead, a picture of an anime boy with half shaved black hair and blue eyes smiled at me instead.

"Eh, same old same old. How was school?"
I smiled. He always asked.

"Boring, as always. I've got a bit of homework tonight though, so sorry if I seem distracted or anything."

We talked literally every night- although, I can't really explain how it escalated to this point. It just kinda... happened. It was just part of our routine- to talk until one of us fell asleep.

"pff, it's fine. I can help if you need it lol"

"Oh, you can, can you?" I smirked, glancing up at my webcam.

"I can!"

I rolled my eyes, but smiled.
"Says the one who doesn't go to school."

"Doesn't mean I'm not smart....!"

I didn't even look up.

"My heart!( ﾉ Д`)° ゜。 "

I had to laugh, then. Man, he really has a way with text faces.

"How do you even make those things?" I asked, tapping my pencil on my textbook, genuinely curious.

"Magic~"

I rolled my eyes.
Dark was... weird, to say the least. He seriously believed in magic- something I'd learned to just roll my eyes at.

"Don't give me that look, Link!!"

I gave him a sassy look.

"I would wipe that smirk off of your face if I could, you realize that, right?"

I scoffed, scribbling in my homework.
"I highly doubt it."

"Try me."

I slammed my hand down, peering into the little glass lens.
"And how, praytell, do you expect to do that?"

'Please turn on cam, please turn on cam.'

Silence. Or, rather, lack of text.

The little dots popped up, then disappeared.

"I saw that!" I spat.
A few seconds passed, but then he replied.
"I dunno. Never really thought that one through, huh. XD"

I slumped back in my chair, huffing.

"What?"
"Nothin'," I mumbled.

"It's something...!"
"Drop it."
"Liiiiiink."
"What?"
"Tell meh. ('oωo') "
"No! It's nothing."
"Doesn't look like nothing."
"Well, it is, okay?"

I looked up, then away.
Silence.

I tried to focus on my homework, but as expected, I couldn't focus. I slapped it closed, tossing it on the floor and reclining sideways in my desk chair.

"Oh, I posted a new cover... (*/▽ ＼ *) "

"Really?" I asked, perking up.

I loved his voice. Well, what I get to hear of it, anyway.
I wished he would at least turn on mic. I know he has one; he couldn't make covers if he didn't. His speaking voice can't be that different from his singing voice.

"Yeah, wanna hear?"

'You could turn on mic and sing it...' I thought, sadly.

I nodded.
"Yeah, send the link!"

"I can't send you!"

I scrunched my face in confusion, before I groaned at his lame jokes.

"You're an idiot."
"That's harsh."

A few moments later, a YouTube link was in the call chat.
I put my headphones on, clicking it.
{https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLkVTwyyqBg}

"I've been kind of addicted to it lately, I hope you don't mind such a stereotypical song haha."

"No, no! Dude, your voice fits literally every genre. You're lucky."

He didn't reply, and I wondered what kind of face he was making at the moment.

The video loaded, and I smiled immediately.

I hummed along to the song, knowing it. I'd actually talked to him about it a few days ago.

"To be honest, ah.."

"Hmm?" I questioned, looking up to the little cam on my monitor.

"I kinda only did it cause you liked the song so much."

I blushed. I didn't care; the cam really wasn't good quality, so he couldn't see.

"Oh, ah, really?" I chuckled, breathlessly.

"Yep, just for yoooou."

"Thanks..." I smiled, the song ending.

I sighed, leaning back into my chair and closing my eyes.

"I so wish I could sing as good as you."

"pfffffffffffffff" was the instantaneous reply.

"No, seriously!"

"I can;y sing dont even with me"

I laughed, knowing he was typing way too quickly, trying to cover himself. I knew he was embarrassed. Even in text, his emotions still came through.

" You don't even with me; you know you can sing just as much as I and everyone else on the internet knows it."

Nothing.
" :p "

"Don't," I stuck out my tounge. "Me."

" :p"

I repeated the action.

"You look so funny haha!!"

I rolled my eyes, taking a sip of my drink.

"I can't even retort with a childish remark, you asshat."
"I'm terribly sorry."
"No you aren't!" I scoffed.
" :D :D :D "

`~`~`~`

It was now nearing midnight, though it was Friday, so it really wasn't an issue.
It was never an issue for Dark; though our midnight conversations occasionally had me skipping my morning classes in favor of sleep.

Currently, he had me reeling in laughter.

"dude"

I continued to laugh, covering my mouth.

"staaaahp"

I shook my head.

"IT WASN'T THAT FUNNYYYY LINK PLSSS"

I bust out even louder, though I tried to be quiet, seeing as it was nearly midnight.

"you're gonna wake up your family lol"

I shrugged, my laughter barely subsiding.

"And who's fault is that?"
"Yous!"
"Yous?" I laughed, not able to re-contain it.

"*YOURS. *****YOOOOURS. You don't understand my keyboard woes!"

"Well, if someone would just use his mic for once, he wouldn't have those woes!"
I said, the words leaving my mouth before I could stop them.

'Shit.'
I stopped laughing, smiling a little.
"Sorry."

Nothing.
I was actually kinda worried, but a reply came in a few moments later.

"it's fine"

His lack of capitalization and punctuation insinuated to me that it wasn't okay; he usually did that when he was either upset or angry.

Too drunk on lack of sleep, I only put my head on my knees gathered into my chest, pouting at the webcam.

"…"
I just continued to pout.

"*sigh*"

I batted my lashes.

"okaaaaay, I forgive thee."

I chuckled, laying my head sideways on my knees, my hair falling in front of my face.

"You're getting tired, huh?"

"Pfft," I breathed, huffing hair out of my eyes. "Nope."

"Liar, I always can tell when you're going to fall asleep."

"Whatever!" I smirked, trying not to smile. I leaned back into my chair, leaving my knees up.

It was true; I usually always fall asleep first. There's only been a handful of times that his replies stopped coming in, and I just gave up and went to bed.

It was strange, how waking up in my chair brought me a sense of dread instead of just an uncomfortable ache in my back.

Dread, because I knew that whenever I looked to my screen that the call would have been disconnected hours ago, and a simple "Good night, Link." would be the only thing awaiting me.

I sighed.

"you have the cutest face when you're asleep lol. There was one time that you fell out of your chair after a while~"

I made a confused noise, something between an exclamation of denial and a cover-up laugh.

But, then...

"Wait.."
I mumbled, looking up to the cam with a scrunched expression.

I never really remember exact times that I fall asleep, so I never really pay attention to when the call disconnects.

But I just realized something.

"Do you... watch me sleep?" I asked, quietly.

He didn't reply.

"... Dark?"

Still, nothing.

'Oh, my Goddesses.'

Dots.
I awaited eagerly, my heart skipping beats.

"Um..."

'Bling!'

"i"

He answered so rapidly then that I could hardly keep up and read them.

"i-i'm so sorry"
"I dont mean to b weird"
"I just"
"Link, I"

"Sorry."

"I'm sorry for saying that, please don't think weirdy of m"

"Hey, no, it's..."

I stopped the stream of messages.

"It's okay, I guess." I said, nervously laughing.

"So, you do, then?" I asked, quietly, my face softening.

Truthfully, I wasn't the slightest bit angry. Actually, it kind of...

Made my heart flutter.
I guess...

I guess I really have fallen for him.


Even though I've never seen his face,


Only heard his singing voice,



I've fallen in love with the boy behind the keyboard.

I mean, it's not impossible for him to like me back. We'd discussed on numerous occasions before our sexuality, and we both...

"uh... yeah."
Was the response.

"I'm sorry for saying something that dumb, and I hope you don't think oddly of me now.."

I snapped out of it.

"No, it's fine Dark, really." I smiled. "Actually, it's kind of funny."

"How?"

I shrugged.
"I dunno. I bet I make a lot of weird noises." I laughed.

"... you do, actually lol"

I really wished I could see his face, hear his voice. I wanted to know if he was actually okay now, and not just... faking it.

And, for selfish desires as well, I suppose.

We sat in silence for a while, and I was listening to his cover again in one headphone.

~~+~+~~

I sat there, watching him on the other end. His blue eyes closed, blonde hair covering his face.
I idly wondered if he'd just fallen asleep, even after what I'd just stupidly admitted.

I sighed, running my hands down my face, drawing my knees up and hugging myself on my bed, the hum of my laptop the only other sound.

I noticed one headphone in his ear, and I nearly typed a message asking what he was listening to.

But I didn't.

I instead just slowly ran my fingers across my keyboard, beginning to show signs of wear over so much use in the last few months since I'd finally found a way to approach him.

Finally.

Goddesses, how many centuries has it been since we last spoke so freely like this?

A lot. The last time I was a friend and not a foe to him was with the Hero of Time.

I remember clearly his face when he saw me, ready to lunge at him. He had instead asked me questions, and eventually lowered my defenses.

One thing lead to another, and, well, I remember living out the rest of my days in that time with him.

I'd fallen for him , as well. I still remembered the night at the lake that we kissed, the first time, and the last. I had no idea how he felt about me. He refused to talk about it after that.

I laughed, my eyes closing at the bittersweet memories.

He looked a lot like the Hero of Time- and it was clear Link didn't remember anything, like usual- but I was still taking precautions.

That was the real reason I wasn't showing him my face, or even speaking to him- I didn't want to wake up any memories. I just... wanted to be able to talk to him.

And now, I've potentially ruined it by being the complete creep that I am.

I sighed, turning on a fan next to me.

I had headphones on myself, as he could be quiet and mumble at times. I wasn't really paying attention, so when I heard a sudden noise it made me jump.

He was looking at the webcam.

"yes?" I typed.

He placed his head on his knees, looking down.
"Since you said something stupid, can I say something stupid, as well?"

I was a bit taken aback, but I chuckled.

"I highly doubt that anything coming from you could truly be stupid."

He smiled a little, reading my response, but shook his head.

"Well, still. If.. it makes you mad, or anything like that, then can you promise me you'll just forget I ever said it?"

He looked into the cam, then.

I felt my heart melt, but I came up with a mischievous bargain.

"Only if you promise to forget that I said I watch you sleep. >:3"

I huffed, waiting.

His eyes scanned the screen, then he laughed.
It sent shivers up my spine, in a good way.

"Okay." he chuckled. He looked away then, and even through the shitty quality, his face was red.

'Why..?'

"Uh.."

"yeeeees?"

"How would you react if..."

He bit his lip, pushing back his bangs with both hands, brows furrowed as if he were trying to come up with how he wanted to word whatever it was he was trying to say to me.

"Iiiiiif?"

His eyes flickered up for a moment, then dropped back down.

"If I seriously, seriously asked you to turn on cam and mic?"

I released a breath I didn't realize I'd been holding.
What was I expecting?

I chuckled, sadly.

"Linnnnk."

He looked a bit... disheartened?

"Well, what if I told you why?"
He asked, biting his bottom lip and peering into the cam.

'Goddesses, he's adorable.'

"I miiight consider, why?"

I really wanted to know why, so I figured I'd encourage him.

His eyes lit back up a bit, before he shakily exhaled.

He was about to say something, but groaned and buried his head in his arms on his knees.

I felt my heart beating wildly.

"Come on! Out with it!"

He looked back up, blowing out a breath.

His face was entirely flushed, but he manage to utter it out.

"What if it was because I wanted to know because I'm in love with you?"

My heart stopped.

Not literally, but metaphorically.

I felt my face heat, as my heart re-started and beat wildly.

My hands shook as I slowly typed a response, stopping numerous times, making Link's face get less and less sure of himself.

I typed, erased. Typed, erased.

But, eventually, I just sighed.

I adjusted the lid of my laptop so that I'd look decent, pulled my blanket around me, and hovered over the two buttons.

…

'click'

My cam instantly opened, and I saw an audio bar fly up and portray the noise of my fan.

~~_~~_~~

'I can't believe I just said that. Oh, Goddesses. Farore, help me.'

My heart threatened to leap out of my chest as I watched the dots appear, disappear, and re appear for a good two minutes.

I was slowly loosing my confidence, and was silently praying he let me down easy, when my screen suddenly flashed.

…

'Oh, my Goddess.'

I froze.

The image of a blue eyed anime boy disappeared, and instead, an equally gorgeous boy sat huddled in a blanket.

He had his lips pressed together in a nervous smile, and waved.

Black hair grazed his shoulders, and I thought his skin was pale, though it may have been the camera.

But his eyes.

Light from his screen made them shine; and they were a gorgeous shade of red.
That's so unusual!

"Your eyes..."

I mumbled.

I heard him laugh for the first time, and it sent shivers up and down my spine. In a good way, of course.

"Yeah, they're kinda weird, huh?" he asked, picking at the blanket.

'His voice. It's so much better than I could've imagined.'
He kinda sounded like me, a small part of me realized.

I laughed, in disbelief.

"Dark, come on. You're seriously worried about how you look?"

His cam was much better quality than mine, and even in the low lighting I saw him blush.

"I guess you could say that."


"Well.." I mumbled, forcing myself to look away. "You really have nothing to worry about."

He laughed again, and I smiled.

"Well, that's good news. I would've been a bit sad if the person I love didn't like how I looked."

I was about to retort, but stopped mid sentence.

"Wha-"

"You heard me."

I slowly felt myself smile.

"Dark, you're not just..."

"Nope."

He smiled then, gorgeous white teeth taking my breath away.

He chewed nervously on a small silver lip ring that I hadn't even noticed.

I laughed, burying my head in my arms.

I literally couldn't believe this.

"Wanna know a secret?" he whispered.

I looked up, smiling.

"We don't live in different countries."

My eyes widened. He... lied?

"We... don't?"

He smiled.
"No. I'm sorry I lied. I just... you know." he shrugged, picking at the blanket again.

I only smiled in return.
"No, I get it."

He looked up again, a more serious face.

"Want to know another secret?"

I hummed, playfully smirking.

"We live in the same providence."

My heart lunged.

"Are you freaking serious Dark?" I whispered, laughing breathlessly.

He nodded, suppressing a smile.

"Want to know another one?"
I gave him a sassy look, to which he only smiled again.

"I've stood behind you at the grocery before."

I choked on my spit.

I began coughing, trying to say something.

He laughed, though he looked nervous.
"Hey, don't die on me now!"

I finally caught my breath, and laughed.
"I hadn't planned on it, but if you keep revealing more secrets like that I might have a heart attack!"
He laughed then, a beautiful expression.

"Don't worry, there are no more secrets."
"Why the hell didn't you say something to me?" I asked, dumbfounded.

"Well, for one, you probably wouldn't have believed me." he said, giving me a look I see on my own face a lot. "And for two, I probably would've just screamed and ran away."

I laughed, shaking my head.

"I seriously..."
I sighed.
"I'm just, really, really happy Dark."
I looked up to the screen, a smile on my face.

"You.." he mumbled, looking away.
"Hmm?"
"You want to meet up tomorrow?"

I nearly screamed.

"Of course I do!"

He laughed, a look in his eyes I couldn't explain.

"Well, then we should get some sleep."
I nodded, though so much adrenaline was coursing through me that I knew I wouldn't sleep.

"Goodnight."
"Night." he chuckled.
I was about to close the call, but he sent me a message.
I gave him a confused look, but I read it.

"I love you. <3"

-end-