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A vacation was honestly just what Green needed to relax, take his mind off work, and focus on the rest of his life.
That is, if the rest of his life didn't also revolve around work.
Spread out on a beach towel under an umbrella, Green scrolled through his emails on his phone, reading and rereading documents and requests from higher-ups. Next to him, Blue sighed, knocking his elbow into Green's ribs.
"Green. Buddy. Get off your phone, " he grumbled. "The company isn't going to crumble to pieces without you."
"It's my job, I can't just ignore it for a week," Green sighed, continuing to scroll.
"Oh, you absolutely can, you’re on paid leave. Gimme that." Before Green could protest, Blue had grabbed his phone out of his hands, switching it on silent and throwing it across the beach.
"Hey!" Green yelped, immediately jumping to his feet and running towards his phone while Blue laughed behind him. Before he reached it, a teenage girl with brown curls stopped to pick it up, briefly looking around for its owner before spotting Green. She smiled as she held it out to him, and he returned the gesture.
"Here you go, sir!"
"Thank you so much," Green replied, and as he turned back to Blue he gave a wave over his shoulder. "You have a good one."
"You too!"
Green's smile flattened as he sat back down and glared at Blue, who was still grinning at him. "Don't do that again, this thing is expensive," he scolded, waving the phone as emphasis before tossing it in the basket behind them both.
"You need to learn to relax, Green," Blue said. "Be spontaneous , just do stuff to have fun. You know?"
Green raised an eyebrow. "Is that why you still don't have a steady job? Because you're spontaneous?"
Blue faltered, sputtering a few half-formed protests before being able to properly reply to that comment. "Shut up!" he said, quite eloquently. Green chuckled, resting his weight on his hands as he leaned back on the towel to look out at the ocean.
"I can relax, it's just… big, crowded areas aren't really my way of doing so."
Blue scoffed. "I'll believe it when I see it." He joined Green looking off into the distance. The two watched the rolling waves crash against the shore, broken up by colorful bodies as the sound of the ocean was swallowed up by the surrounding chatter. Blue and Green were brothers- twins, actually. They were going to be triplets, but one of them got absorbed in the womb. Green joked that absorbing their would-be sibling was why Blue was so tall. After high school, Green had gone off to work at a big-name company in the city, quickly climbing the ranks thanks to his social skills and work ethic (read: being willing to work unpaid overtime). Meanwhile Blue traveled in a van with his friends, playing openers for concerts and singing on the street for spare change. Their lifestyles were very different, but they still got along. Sometimes, like now, Blue would drag Green out for a 'much-needed' vacation, but it usually didn't work to help Green relax. He wouldn't tell that to Blue, though.
He liked spending time with him.
With a sigh, Green closed his eyes, feeling the soft sea breeze on his face that brushed his blonde hair out of his eyes. He tried his best to tune out the noise and just… sit there, absorbing the peaceful energy of the nature around him.
…Yeah, no. Not working.
That night, Green's sandaled feet padded along the boardwalk. He was wrapped in a bathrobe, going for one of his evening walks. Admittedly, he did need a break, and this was how he wished to get one: walking along silent paths with no one in sight. He was alone with only the wind and his thoughts for company, just how he liked it. Blue wasn't shoving him around, coworkers weren't talking his ear off, and the peaceful ambience of the coastline wasn't ruined by tourists. Humming quietly to himself, Green kicked off his sandals as he approached the beach from earlier that day, carrying them in his hand while he walked barefoot. The beach really was nice, and feeling the soft sand under his feet relaxed him quite a bit, along with the smell of the salty sea air.
Perfect, natural quiet: that was what Green loved. It was something the city completely lacked. The constant noise of downtown suffocated Green completely, making him feel hopeless, alone, isolated in a world that exploded with sound at all times, even in the dead of night. Lurelin Village was a well-known tourist spot in Hyrule, famous for its beaches and seafood-based cuisine. Like the city, it was loud, but the difference laid in the night. Something big was always happening in the city. Here, however, there were a few hours that provided much-needed solitude. Green could socialize as much as he wanted during the day, and spend his night actually relaxing for once.
Green's thoughts drifted to the conversation earlier that day. What was it Blue had said? That he needed to be more spontaneous? Now that Green had climbed the corporate ladder so quickly, was earning a good amount for himself… maybe he could afford to be spontaneous. He didn't really have anything else tying him down, did he? He could move here, to Lurelin. His job was mostly remote anyway, and it's not like he cared about much of anything in the city. Plus, he had spotted some affordable houses for sale along the beach…
The more Green considered it, the more he wanted to go through with a sudden move, but late nights weren’t the best time to make life-changing decisions. So, he pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind and kept walking.
Green's song faded away as he approached the waves, walking along the shore and following the edge of the water down to less-occupied areas of the beach, where visitors didn't normally go. The area was covered in rocks that would cut if he took one wrong step, but Green was nothing if not light on his feet, dancing from one bare patch of sand to another as he made his way across. He climbed the small hills made be debris, letting a spark of childish imagination go wild as he pretended that he was an intrepid explorer. It was what he'd always dreamed to be as a kid, before he realized the real world wasn't so welcoming to adventure. Now, he had a good salary, a nine-to-five job, and a dull apartment that he held no attachments to. Boring.
Heading down to the pier on the opposite end of the beach, Green started up his humming again, gentle notes of the lullaby being carried by the wind as he slipped his sandals back on to avoid splinters and walked to the edge of the pier. He approached a little motorboat, rented by Blue when they'd first showed up. A ride out to sea was what he really needed, not just a walk. He worked to untie the rope, still humming to himself as he started up the engine and headed out.
Glancing back at the pier, his song faltered at the sight of a white-haired figure in the water, right where he'd been a moment ago.
A blink, and they were gone.
Green frowned, a bit of anxiety stirring in his chest, before he shrugged and turned back to the horizon, spurring the boat forward. It was probably just a late-night swimmer.
A good ten minutes out in the middle of the ocean, Green sat in his boat and gazed up at the star-covered sky. Back in the city, pollution kept the beauty of space from being seen by humans. Out here, however, in a fishing village that was known for being environmentally friendly, the night sky was lit up like a disco. The glittering stars accompanied their shining moon right above Green's little boat.
Beautiful .
A nearby splash caused Green to look down again, peering over the side of the boat. Fading ripples met his vision, but there was no sign of whatever was nearby.
…Maybe it was time to go back to shore.
With a sigh, Green worked to bring in the anchor of the boat, hauling it back up and properly storing it before starting to halfheartedly fiddle with the engine. Another splash caused him to groan, working a bit faster. Yet another splash, and he drew back, looking over the side and- that's a face.
Eyes wide, Green scrambled back in shock. The backs of his calves hit the side of the boat, and he let out a panicked shout as he tripped over the edge with a large splash. Green gasped as he went under, accidentally inhaling a mouthful of saltwater that rushed into his lungs and immediately caused him to falter, coughing up a storm. He struggled to stay afloat, vision quickly going dark at the edges as he started to fall further underwater. So this was how he died… drowning at midnight, while on vacation.
What a… dumb way to die …
Green woke up to a stranger's lips on his.
He immediately shot upright, or at least tried to, instead turning onto his side and weakly heaving as a truly astonishing amount of water escaped his lungs. He coughed, hacking up the salty taste of the ocean and reaching up to hit his chest with a fist. An unfamiliarly soft hand rubbed at his back as he gagged, and he didn't pay it any mind for the good minute he spent emptying his insides.
Once his coughs were finally dry, Green looked at the person next to him- not a person, that's a fish.
Green started coughing again.
Watching him from close by, arms planted in the sand, was a vaguely humanoid creature. They had white skin and hair, and glowing pink eyes that matched the bioluminescent markings trailing down their arms and torso. Fangs poked out from the corner of their wide mouth, and fins on the sides of their head fluttered at the sound of Green's struggles. However, the most shocking aspect of their appearance was the large fish tail laying behind them in the sand, where their legs should be. With a shaky hand, Green reached out to shove the creature away. It fell on its side easily as Green sat up and scooted away, eyes wide with shock. Stories from back in his youth, fairy tales, myths, and foreign stories of magic, rushed to the forefront of Green's mind.
"You- I- what?" he stammered. "Who are you? What are you?"
The creature huffed, propping themself up on their arms again and glaring at Green. With their big, colorful eyes, it almost looked like they were pouting at him as they reached up with one hand to brush sand out of their hair. Their tail flopped behind them, showing their irritation as they huffed to themself. They weren't making any moves to attack Green, and with that realization, he started to put the pieces together into an obvious picture.
The splashing around his boat, the face in the water. Waking up to this thing… kissing him? No, performing CPR, most likely. If fish-people had that. Mermaids? They looked like a mermaid, but those hadn't been seen anywhere near Hyrule for a long time.
Green frowned, brows furrowed as he watched the mermaid stubbornly fix up their appearance. Their hair was clearly cut with some sort of dull blade, choppy and uneven, and their chest and forearms were covered in jewelry made of colorful pearls and shells that glinted in the moonlight. The jewelry was arranged in such a way that it framed their faintly glowing markings perfectly, showing them off. Around their waist were colored scraps of netting woven with shiny beads, almost like a skirt. Overall, with closer observation, they looked… really pretty.
Green, this is a fish. A mermaid. Focus!
Mentally scolding himself, Green managed to speak up, trying to gather his thoughts and regain his usual composure. "Were you watching me?" he asked. The mermaid paused in their adjustments, looking back up at him. After a second, they gave a slow nod, showing they could understand him. "Why?" Green pressed.
A shrug. Well, that's helpful. They pointed up at the moon, then at Green. It didn't seem like they could talk. That was inconvenient, but Green did his best to guess what they were saying through these halfhearted charades.
"Because… I'm out at night?"
A nod. Green nodded with them slowly, thinking. "Okay. And then… you saved me from drowning." Another nod. Talk about cliche. With a sigh, Green reached up, running a hand through his wet hair and pushing his bangs out of his eyes. "...Thanks, I guess. I would've been a goner."
Another nod. "You don't have to keep agreeing with everything I say, you know," Green huffed, slightly amused. To his surprise, the mermaid broke into a pointed, somewhat mean-looking grin- a smirk, almost. Green chuckled awkwardly at that. "Really, thank you. I'm not the best swimmer. Ironic, I know, since I was out on the boat- wait, where's the boat?" The mermaid pointed to the pier nearby, where the boat was sloppily tied to the post so it wouldn't drift off. Green sighed in relief, and gave a hesitant smile back at the mermaid. "Oh, thanks. You're helpful, aren't you?"
In response to that, they made a face, scrunching up their nose. Apparently, they didn't like to be referred to as helpful.
"But you did help me," Green said insistently, and they shook their head with a grimace. "Yes, you did. You saved me from drowning, and brought me back here, and gave me CPR- even tied up my boat so I wouldn't lose it! That's a lot of helping!"
As he listed actions, the mermaid's cheeks darkened, turning a bright pink that matched their eyes. They ducked their head and stared at the sand, hands curling into fists out of what seemed to be embarrassment. Cute. No. Green, no, they're a fish. They are a fish.
… They were a really cute fish.
Green felt his own face heat up as he shifted awkwardly in the sand, looking away and then looking back at the mermaid again. Unfortunately, the mermaid didn't stay still during that time, already halfway across the sand back into the ocean. Green hastily stood up, taking a step forward to follow.
"Hey, wait-"
The mermaid twisted their torso back to look at him. Their vertebrae showed through their pale flesh, skeletal frame prominent. They waved a hand up and down at him, a gesture for him to stay put. Green shook his head, taking another step, and the mermaid hissed , snapping their fingers and pointing at the sand. Sit. Down.
Green sat down.
The mermaid pushed off from the sand, slipping into the waves with a large splash of their giant tail. With a sigh, Green brought his knees to his chest, resting his arms on top and looking at where the mermaid previously was. So… was that it? Get saved by a mysterious mermaid right out of a storybook, out of whispered tales Green only heard in passing, and then… walk back to his hotel soaked to the bone? What a letdown.
What a waste of childish fantasy.
But…
They did tell him to sit down, to stay put . That meant they'd come back, right? Sooner or later…
Green kept watching the shoreline, and the hope in his eyes gradually dimmed further as the minutes passed. It felt like he sat there for hours as the waves flowed back and forth, tickling the edges of his feet. The sand on his body gradually started to dry enough so that he could brush it off and it itched at his bare skin under the soaked robe.
A distant splash caught his attention, and his eyes widened, shining expectantly as he watched the mermaid resurface a little ways away from the shore. They waved at him, pale figure clearly visible in the pitch black waters, and then went back under. Green stood up again, watching the shallow end and waiting for them to pull themself out. Their hair was wet, clinging to their neck, and their pink gills fluttered and closed up as they took a breath from their mouth instead. They were holding a bag in their hand. Green knelt down, holding out a hand to help drag them out of the water. They slapped him away. He swore, shaking his hand and drawing it back to his chest.
"Ow! Hey, just trying to help," Green muttered. He guessed they didn't need help, then. With a large flop of their tail, they got far enough on the sand to be completely out of the water, curling up and propping themself up on their hands again. Their pearls and shells that adorned their form glittered from the drops of water clinging to them, fascinating Green as they dug around in the little bag they had. His eyes drifted to said bag when they pulled out more jewelry and held it out. In their hands were two small, matching bracelets, untied and ready to be worn.
"...For me?" Green asked, hesitant. They nodded, thrusting the jewelry at him insistently with a huff. "Okay, okay, I'll take it… but… why?"
They grinned, sharp teeth flashing, and blew Green a kiss. Green's face turned beet red in response. A courting gift? Taking advantage of him being distracted by the implication, the mermaid grabbed his arm, slipping the shell-bead bracelets on his wrists and tying them so they wouldn't fall off. Soft green and pink hues swirled in the shells, a lovely color combination against Green's tan, freckled skin. He flapped his mouth dumbly, struggling to come up with a response as the mermaid watched him for a reaction- for approval.
"I don't even know your name," he stammered out. "You- you don't even know mine…"
A twirl of their hand signaled Green to keep talking, presumably to tell them his name, and he complied. "It's… Green. You can call me Green. I don't know how you can tell me your name, though…"
The mermaid let out a heavy sigh and looked around, eyes trained on the sand, before pointing out Green's dim shadow behind him. Green raised an eyebrow, looking from the shadow to the mermaid.
"Shadow? Is that your name?" he asked. A nod. "Doesn't seem very fitting, you're very pale…"
Shadow punched him in the arm.
"Ow! You know, you're quite mean for a mermaid." Another punch, softer but in the same place, caused Green to yelp and scoot back. "Stop hitting me! Shadow!" At the sound of their name in such a chastising tone, Shadow laughed- if it could be called that. It was a wheezing, breathy sound that was clearly unnatural for them. It was strangely… calming to Green, if uncanny, echoing across the empty nighttime shores.
Nighttime… How long had he been out?!
"Oh, Goddesses, I need to get back," Green gasped, jumping to his feet. Shadow made a noise of protest, a growl, and Green looked back at them guiltily. "Thank you so much for saving me and… courting me, but I really have to go, my brother's waiting for me. Do you have siblings?" At the disgusted look he got, Green guessed not. "Okay, then…" Backing away quickly, hesitant to leave but not wanting to stick around long enough that he'd be enchanted to stay for the rest of the night. He really did need to sleep. "I'll… see you tomorrow, then. Same place. Okay?"
Shadow nodded, but they were still frowning as Green gave them a nervous grin and turned away, racing back to the boardwalk.
Shadow didn't show up the next night.
Or the next.
Green kept waiting every evening, from sunset to midnight, but they didn't show up. During the day, when he was supposed to be hanging out with Blue, he kept looking longingly at the bracelets around his wrists. Blue was curious, that much was obvious. He kept giving Green squinted, suspicious looks, snapping at him when he got too sucked into his daydreams. Green tried to stay present, he really did, but his mind kept lingering on the mermaid.
The third night, Green showed up to the same place, by the pier where he'd nearly drowned, and sat on the splintering wood, dipping his feet in the water. He hummed a sad lullaby, the same one from when he'd first met Shadow, as he looked out into the horizon with dull hope.
An echoing, raspy voice hummed along, off key but clearly trying to keep up to the unfamiliar song. The sound quickly drew Green out of his thoughts and he turned around. White hair, pale skin… reflective eyes.
Two feet in the sand.
"Shadow?" Green gasped, shooting up and almost falling into the water behind him in the process. Shadow- yes, that was clearly Shadow- gave him an awkward grin, spreading their arms in a 'ta-da' motion. They were tall, visibly taller than Green, and tremendously thin. Their teeth were pointed, but not as sharp, and the fins on the side of their head were replaced with regular, pointed ears. They were much longer and narrower than Green's own, but were still very Hylian ears with no fins or gills in sight. Green reached out, disbelieving as he sputtered.
"What… how…" His shellshocked expression soured, twisting into a glare. "You ass, you didn't show up! You're lucky I kept coming back."
"...Sorry," Shadow muttered. Hearing their voice was incredibly unexpected, causing Green to freeze briefly mid-scolding.
"Wha- you can talk? " he practically yelled. "And you have legs, how do you have that? Could you always do that? I didn't need to leave you in the ocean?"
"Hey. I live there," Shadow grumbled. "No. Couldn't talk either. We don't have the right… throat parts… in the deep." Their voice was hesitant, clearly familiar with the words but unused to actually saying them, awkward and slow. They sighed, reaching out and dragging Green a little further away from the pier, closer to them so he didn't fall in. "Found a spell."
"But you know how to talk, did you learn?"
"Taught myself. I hang here a lot, listen. There’s fun stuff up here." They grinned, waving their hands and wiggling their fingers. " Drama. "
"...Oh." So, based off these answers, they were from deeper in the ocean. That explained the glowing, at least. "And then you… turned human? For me?"
The flush was clear on their cheeks, especially in the light of the setting sun, and they nodded, crossing their arms and looking down. "Maybe."
"But- but we just met! Are you giving everything up for me?" No matter how pretty this mermaid was, they were still a mermaid, Green didn't think he would be very comfortable in the position of having to introduce them to human society if they couldn't go back-
"No, stupid, salt water changes me back." Reaching out, Shadow flicked his forehead, and Green winced, bringing a hand up to rub where he was hit. "But… we are married. I couldn't… not see you."
"MARRIED?"
At Shadow's hesitant nod, Green blew up, starting to pace back and forth and wave his hands around as he rambled. His crumbling composure was completely gone, a wave of emotions immediately flooding his rational thought. "Mar- married? Like, mermaid married?"
"Zora."
"Zora married, whatever- I don't even live here! I'm on vacation, I leave in a few days!"
"Just move here."
"I can't just move here!" Green shouted, glaring at Shadow. "Oh, this is messed up, I'm married to a mermaid- Zora… thing! " Shadow's shoulders slumped, something in their heart visibly breaking as Green continued to talk to himself. "I- I have a job, a house, a whole life! I can't just-! You don't know anything about me! And we're married now? This is insane, why me?"
"There was… I thought…" Shadow trailed off into an unintelligible mumble, shifting their weight from foot to foot. "...You can give the bracelets back."
"Sure! Fine! I'll do that," Green cried, immediately working to untie them. Halfway through the first, though, he shot a glare at Shadow again and faltered. They had matching bracelets on their own wrists: green and pink shells, carefully woven. To them, it was proof of a relationship. Their eyes were watery as they glared at the ground, looking heartbroken. Angry.
Green let go of the half-untied bracelet, thinking. He took deep breaths, mentally collecting himself and trying to actually gather his thoughts. Sure, this was insane, and unexpected, but…
"I…" He paused, thinking of what was the best thing to say before continuing. "I can't move here. Not for a while. However, I was thinking about a change of scenery. A permanent change."
"No, you can't… do that. For me. You're human." It looked like it physically hurt Shadow to say those words as they winced, wringing their hands together. "...You people don't do this."
"I was thinking about moving here before I met you," Green tried. "And you seem… really amazing. I couldn't stop thinking about you, honestly. I probably won't be able to stop anytime soon, now that I've heard your voice too."
At that, Shadow finally looked at Green again, hopeful. "Really?"
"I've never been punched and called stupid by a mermaid before. Or… A Zora."
Shadow huffed out a laugh at that, shoulders relaxing a bit, and Green took that as a sign to keep talking.
"I really can't stay here right now, though. We can keep meeting up until I leave at the end of the week, but then…" He trailed off. "How about this: we meet up, learn more about each other, okay? And… if we still like each other by the end, then we can keep… dating. And I'll come back for you." The word marriage refused to leave Green's tongue, no matter how badly his heart fluttered at the thought. He watched as Shadow considered it quietly, and then they nodded, offering a smile.
"...Okay."
They stood there, a human and a Zora in disguise, looking at each other with so many emotions swimming in both of their eyes. Hope, regret, longing, possibility .
"...Do you know how to use a phone?"
The next morning, Green was tired, but happy, humming a tune as he made coffee for himself in the hotel room. Blue groaned, rolling over and cursing under his breath.
“Someone’s cheerful, huh?” He grunted. Green’s smile widened and he grinned at his brother.
“Yep!”
“What happened, did your vacation fling finally call you back?”
After helping Shadow memorize his phone number and teaching them how to use a public phone (thank the Goddesses one of them was free of charge), Green had stayed at the beach with them. They just talked, at least for a while. Shadow didn’t seem like much of a talker, but they'd quickly gotten the hang of talking more naturally. The two asked each other questions, learning about what they had in common, and Green was taught quite a bit about Zora culture. They were very similar to mermaids, actually, but had some key differences, and stayed within only Hyrule's waters.
By the time the sun had started to peek over the horizon, Green had learned a lot more about Shadow than just what they liked to do. There was proof of that poorly hidden under his shirt.
Too spontaneous.
“Something like that.” Green froze after he realized what he said, face burning as he quickly turned back to the coffee. “I mean- I don’t know what you’re-“
“Man, it was really obvious. Good for you, though.” Blue rolled over again with another unintelligible grunt.
“…It’s not a fling, by the way.”
“Damn, really? Are you two gonna go long distance?”
“Yeah. Hopefully not for long.” Green blushed, watching the coffee swirl in his mug as he blew on it to cool it down. “I’m planning to move here.”
“Wha- Green! ” Just like that, Blue sat up, fully awake as he gaped open-mouthed at his brother. “For someone you just met ?”
“W-well-“ Green sputtered, taking an awkward sip of his coffee and then sucking in a pained breath. Too hot. “I was already thinking of moving here, actually. You know I’ve been wanting to change it up for a while, looking for a new place, it’s just that they were… the final push?” At Blue’s quickly darkening glare, Green continued to ramble. “There’s a beach cottage not far from here, it’s cheap and needs some fixing up but it seems really cozy. Plus, I really like the ambience here, it’s so much calmer than the city…”
“Green, you’re crazy. I know I talk up the traveling life, but it’s not an adventure. You have a good job, a nice apartment-“
“I don’t have friends, though, or any peace and quiet,” Green argued. “It sucks there. I’m lonely, and it’s suffocating. It's so much calmer here, and I can meet new people if I need to. My job is mostly remote already, so I wouldn’t even need to quit!”
“Green, listen!” Blue’s shout effectively shut Green up, and his brother sighed, running a calloused hand down his face. “If you really want to move here, that’s great, but… please, think about it more. And don't let this person influence that decision.”
“Nothing’s set in stone yet.”
“At least wait long enough to get out of that honeymoon phase-“
“ Honeymoon ?” Green yelped, almost spilling his coffee. Blue squinted at him with a frown.
“Um… yeah. You know, that phase where you’re totally obsessed with each other?”
“Oh, right…” Right, a ‘honeymoon phase’ wasn’t the same thing as an actual honeymoon, that happened after marriage- which- Green was married. He still had to get used to that.
“...Anyway. Get out of that honeymoon phase, wait a while, think about if you really like them. Then start making plans. That cottage isn’t going to sell anytime soon, I heard one of the locals say it’s been on the market for months already.”
“...Okay.” Green took a deep breath, letting it out in a sigh. “Yeah. You’re right. I’ll do that.”
“Of course I’m right, I’m always right,” Blue bragged. “Now give me a coffee. And tell me about this lover of yours. Have to make sure they’re good enough for my baby brother.”
“We’re the same age.”
“I popped out first.”
The trip ended. It had to. However, Shadow was still on Green’s mind, taking up his every thought. He’d learned so much about them in the last few days, and sitting in his bed after work, trying not to obsessively check his phone for a call, he kept getting lost in his thoughts about Shadow. His partner. Spouse.
He'd had the time of his life with them. They'd given him swimming lessons, though he’d insisted he didn’t need them. He'd gotten a laugh in response. They weren’t a very good teacher, but instead of getting frustrated with each other, they’d both easily laughed it off. When the two ran out of things to talk about- which wasn’t often, having so much to learn about each other- they just sat in silence, something both of them preferred. Shadow’s still-new voice got a much-needed break, and Green had the opportunity to space out and daydream. The hours he spent with them on the beach felt like they passed by with a snap of his fingers, and when they’d finally gone into town with him, on a real date, and met Blue… wow.
Blue got along with them a bit too well, and they’d teamed up with teasing Green as he lost every game on the boardwalk. He’d also learned that they were a great haggler, talking down the price of anything they bought to at least half the original listing. Helpful, mildly terrifying. Blue, unfortunately, got them into his taste in loud, overstimulating music, but seeing Shadow enjoy themself and bob their head to the unfamiliar tunes filled Green with warmth.
Green’s ringtone went off, and he rushed to grab his phone and answer the call. An unfamiliar, public number.
“Shadow?”
“ Green!… Hi.”
Green smiled, letting out a soft laugh at the hesitant sound of Shadow’s voice. “I’m so glad you called. How have you been? How’s… um, what’s her name, that sorcerer girl who you got the spell from?”
“ Zelda. I’m still trying to convince her to come to the surface with me. She’s scared. Wimp. ”
“Don’t call your new friend a wimp, Shadow.”
“ She is a wimp. ” The phrase was followed by a raspy chuckle, sounding tinny over the phone. “ You moving here yet? ”
“It’s been a day, ” Green laughed. “Yeah, actually. The more I look into it, the more I think Lurelin is actually a great fit for me. Blue’s making me wait a little longer, though. He said if I bought the place this month he’d have my head.”
“ Blue’s funny .”
“I'm pretty sure he’s dead serious.”
“ That’s why he’s funny .”
“Why are you both so entertained by hurting me?” Green sighed, flopping onto his back and bouncing on the mattress with the force.
“It’s fun.”
“You’re such a sadist.”
“ You love me, so it’s fine. ”
Green’s grin widened and he raised his free arm to look at his bracelets, glinting in the light coming in through his bedroom window. He sighed, feeling truly happy for the first time in a long time.
“…Yeah, I do.”
---