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The first flower petal came at a certainly unexpected time. Link remembers it well— it was a formal meeting of the champions. He was standing behind princess Zelda, listening to her rambling about mastering the Divine Beasts, discreetly glancing at everyone with a mixture of untrust and uncertainty. He didn't know them that well at the time— besides Mipha of course —and as much as he trusted the king's decision to appoint them, they seemed a little sketchy to him. Especially that bird guy. The Goron leader was honestly a bit scary, but very easygoing. He liked good food, and the topic of Goron cuisine was something he and Link could potentially bond over in the future. The knight had always wondered how rocks taste. The Gerudo chieftess was fine. She was strong, a great leader to her people, and he heard that she effortlessly protected Zelda from two Yiga clan members before he and the princess ever met. Link respected her.
But the Rito champion? Link doesn't think he's ever met anyone more salty than champion Revali. During their first formal meeting, he seemed decent enough; maybe he was bragging a little, but nothing he said about himself was entirely untrue— he was an amazing archer and he had every right to be proud of that. Link thought they would be comrades in battle, maybe even friends. Revali had other plans, deciding Link his rival. He became prickly and brash, especially when the topic shifted to the Master Sword, which it always seemed to do when Link was near. The knight was confused at first, then slowly figured it out. Revali didn't view him as worthy of the sword, hell, he was jealous even! Many people were jealous of Link, but he never would have guessed a fellow champion would be one of them.
It hurt a little, if he was being honest. How his status always seemed to drive people away one way or another.
"Link?" he can clearly recall the way Mipha called out to him, desperate to include him in the discussion. "Do you think that would work?"
Link nodded absentmindedly, grateful that nothing more was really expected of him.
"Won't even grace us with your voice, will you?" Revali snarled. Link shot him a tired look, yet somewhere in the deepest part of his mind, a single thought occured: He's so openly hostile, it's kinda cute.
"Chill out, bird guy" Daruk boomed, leaning over the table. "Why don't you try saying something nice for a change?"
"As if I had anything nice to say about him" the Rito champion turned his beak away, and everyone at the table collectively sighed. Mipha and Daruk with concern, whereas lady Urbosa and princess Zelda rather out of tiredness. No one knew what to do with Revali's unique attitude.
"…As I was saying" princess Zelda continued after a while, but Link didn't even try to listen, instead choosing to focus on Revali. He squinted his eyes, trailing them up the Rito's feathered neck and to his signature braids, then to the bow on his back. He refused to part with it, resulting in him sitting a little awkwardly, but ready to face any threats he might have imagined he'd have to. That bow was called the Great Eagle Bow, Link heard, and no other Rito was able to wield it. Only Revali was strong enough. He even tied a piece of royal blue fabric to it, the same colour as his scarf, which seemed a bit childish, but—
Link quickly became distracted by that thought, wondering just how old is Revali. He was shorter than other Rito that Link met, and he had those red markings under his eyes that were similar to the circles on Rito children's cheeks and seemed to be a little smaller than Link remembered they were when he first met the champion. A quick run-through over everything he knew about the tribe told Link that Revali can't be that much older than him, maybe around seventeen?
As if feeling eyes on him, Revali raised his head and locked eyes with Link. The knight quickly looked away, embarrassed at being caught. The Rito scoffed silently and turned away. That's when Link felt an unpleasant something in his throat and discreetly coughed. He felt something in the palm of his hand and looked down, being met with the sight of a pale, silvery white and blue petal. Which was… weird. Regardless, he brushed it off and tried his very best to focus on Zelda's words.
For a few weeks, everything was fine. Sometimes he would cough up flower petals, but it didn't happen often enough to be worried about it. The knight ate many weird things, he wouldn't be surprised if one of them had that kind of effect on him. And then the first real flower came.
It was late at night, and the princess was sleeping in her room, just across the hallway from Link's, where he was reading a book he took from the library. Or more like trying to read. His thoughts kept straying, and the dim lighting made everything look like a certain bird's silhouette. He couldn't focus, processing what Revali told him earlier that day. „No one's ever gonna want a knight that can't even speak up for himself” were the exact words. He was referring to how Mipha often had to coax him into participating in meetings, but Link took that personally. He has had trouble speaking since he was a kid, and it bothered him to have that pointed out so directly. Had it been anyone else, say, Zelda, Link wouldn't care. But somehow, the way Revali spat out those words, pointing an accusatory finger at the knight's chest and lowering his head to look him in the eyes, really made Link uncomfortable.
He closed his book with way more force than necessary, irritated that he couldn't get those words out of his mind. That's when a massive coughing fit took over him, and he doubled over his desk, choking on air. Then a single flower fell out of his mouth and drifted down slowly, until it finally settled on the cover of his abandoned book. Link took a few deep breaths, then looked closer at the flower. It was a silent princess— a herb often used to make elixirs that increased stealth. He drank one not so long ago, maybe a stray flower just got stuck in his throat? No, that wasn't even possible.
No matter what it was, it was starting to get a little concerning.
By the time Spring came, the coughing fits became a frequent and unpleasant thing. They would start at most unexpected times, although usually when he was near Revali or thinking about him, and he would always cough up silent princesses. His vocabulary was always quite limited, and he preferred to nod and grunt rather than give actual answers, but now, he barely spoke at all. The old princess Zelda, the one who took her anger out on him and ignored him, probably wouldn't notice. But the new Zelda, the one who talked to him late at night and asked him to call her by her name, certainly did. They were closer now, friends even, and as much as Link was happy that they found some common ground, it made hiding things from her a lot harder. She's already caught him cleaning up the flowers once, and gave him a lecture about how they're an endangered species and how he shouldn't pick them.
He would go to Mipha, her being a healer and all, but… lately, things have been a bit awkward between them. Link knew about the armour she's been crafting for him in secret, knew what that meant, but he didn't have the heart to tell her that he could never see her that way. If they happened to be alone, he would surely be seeing her work, and then he wouldn't know what to do. Mipha was his friend since forever, and he loved her dearly, but as a sister. Not to mention that their varying lifespans would make things weird; Zora lived a lot longer that Hylians.
These all were just excuses and Link knew that very well. The truth is, he just wasn't ready to tell anyone. He never told anyone, he always dealt with things alone, and he always turned out fine. So, having no one to rely his condition on, he turned to books.
It took a long time and a lot of patience until he finally found what he was looking for. He searched through books about curses and diseases, long term effects of elixirs, food poisoning cases, unusual allergies, even went through Zelda's notes about flowers, but none of them offered any explanation. The little book that the answer was hiding in didn't really get his hopes up the moment he saw it. It was titled „The strangest naturally occuring phenomenons: a compilation of the previous tomes, complete with detailed explanations and antidotes”. Link didn't think that it would help him, because he didn't believe that whatever was happening was natural. He skimmed through it anyway, and found a chapter that sounded promising. „The Hanahaki Disease— how the body suffocates itself in response to unrequited love”
The knight rolled his eyes, ready to put the book back, because love definitely wasn't the case of his suffering, but a simple description caught his attention. „Flowers will start growing in the victim's lungs, blocking their airways and causing them to choke. The person affected will cough up flower petals, and in the later stages of illness— even entire flowers. It is one of the most deadly diseases, albeit very uncommon to develop”.
Now that sounded closer to what he was experiencing than anything else he's managed to find. Grinning like an idiot, he skipped a few pages forward until he found a section that was supposed to list known antidotes. Instead, he found a short note. „There is only one known method to overcome the hanahaki disease, and that is for the person of interest to reciprocate the victim's romantic feelings. If the beloved person lies about how they feel to help the victim, it will only end up hurting them more, often leading to their death. The only antidote is authentic, mutual love”.
That made Link want to cry and laugh at the same time. Love? He wasn't in love. He didn't have time for love. Surely the Goddess made a mistake. Maybe all he had to do this whole time was just pray to her, because there is no way that he had unrequited feelings for someone. There wasn't a single person that he looked at from afar, wishing they were closer. There wasn't any special someone that he wanted to take care of and cook for. There wasn't any beloved that he couldn't take his eyes off of and couldn't stop thinking about and—
…
Link looked up from the book in pure horror, realizing that he was in fact in love— and with none other than his self-proclaimed rival; the Rito champion Revali. And that not only was he in love, but that love was slowly killing him and the only way for him to survive was for the person who despised him the most to suddenly catch romantic feelings for him.
Safe to say, Link spent that afternoon silently crying in the library, no doubt soon to be scolded for not fulfilling his duty of protecting Zelda.
After he found out what the cause of his illness was, every moment of Link's life suddenly felt ten times more important. As if having the future of Hyrule resting on his shoulders wasn't stressful enough, now he also had the knowledge that he could die very soon, all because he fell for some mean bird. Attractive and charming bird, who was a real gentleman to everyone else, and who would be a great partner if he only didn't hate Link so much. But still a mean bird who apparently would be the Hylian champion's downfall. Revali would he happy to hear that.
Link just hoped that the illness wouldn't get him before he got Calamity Ganon. It was bad enough that Zelda still couldn't access her sealing powers, it would be tragic for the kingdom if it also lost its hero.
The worst thing was that Zelda started catching on. He felt her eyes on him every time he excused himself from meetings to cough up flowers in the bathroom, every time he would mysteriously disappear, only to come back a few minutes later, wiping his mouth. Once or twice she might have noticed a stray flower petal, covered in droplets of blood, that he didn't realize landed on his tunic. Oh, that's right, blood. It started appearing too and it made disposing of the evidence a lot harder. Link was sure that he couldn't hide his condition much longer but… he could at least try. It really wasn't a good time to tell anyone now. They all made some great progress in piloting their respective Beasts and the king was hosting a feast to celebrate that. He didn't want to disrupt their hard-earned happiness, and it's not like it was very serious. He could hold on a bit longer for sure. After the ceremony was over, maybe he'd muster up the courage to tell Mipha how he feels, and then he could ask for her help. She was his most trusted friend and the best healer he knew, surely if there existed some kind of unknown antidote, she would know. Besides, she's been dealing with her unrequited feelings for Link for years. She was pretty much an expert in that field.
But that was all in a very hypothetical future where he and Mipha talked it out. Right now, he still had no idea how to tell her that he's not interested. What he needed to focus on was getting ready for the party. He was required to be there; if not as Hyrule's hero, then as the princess's appointed knight. It would look bad if he ditched. So nevermind the soreness in his throat, the little dribble of blood on the side of his mouth that he just wiped with the back of his hand, the constant throbbing in his chest that was getting harder to endure with every passing second. He ignored them all and pulled his freshly washed champion's tunic over his head. This evening, he was the picture-perfect hero— completely fine and honored to attend such a high-class gathering.
The party was boring. The king's parties were always boring, so Link wasn't even sure why he was disappointed. It started with a long, elaborate speech delivered by king Rhoam Bosphoramus Hyrule himself, talking about how the kingdom was very proud of its champions and how they dare not disappoint it. Link's pretty sure Zelda coaxed him into hosting this party just so everyone could get a little moment of rest— they all have been working hard lately. Regardless, it was boring, and he was getting tired of trailing behind the princess, especially when he felt flowers tingling his insides again. That's when he caught a flash of dark blue feathers in the crowd and suddenly his eyes were wide open again.
Revali did his braids with extra care for the occasion, replacing the old, withered ribbons with new, silky ones. Their rich colour reflected the light just the right way, casting a golden glow over his silhouette. He parted with his bow for once, though Link suspected that it was mostly because moving around in the crowd with a bow strapped to his back would prove rather hard, and not because coming to a party armed was considered inappropriate. Even he didn't have the Master Sword on him, seeing as the king for once trusted that the numerous guards could do their job.
As Link gazed at the Rito champion, flowers swelled up in his throat, threatening to spill. He forced himself to swallow, then realized with utmost horror that Revali was heading his way. Surely to greet the princess, which he hasn't done yet. He must have arrived fashionably late. The knight looked around in panic. If just looking at Revali from afar made him feel this, what would happen when he got close? That couldn't happen. He wouldn't let it. He glanced at Zelda, who was immersed in friendly chatter with one of the Sheikah guests. She wasn't paying attention to him. Good.
Link ducked under a royal servant and started weaving his way through the moving mass of Hylians, Gerudos, Ritos, Gorons, Zoras, Sheikahs, and whoever else was invited, aiming for the side exit he spotted earlier. He was just in time, as he could hear Revali catching up to Zelda behind him, asking where did her shadow go. In his frantic search for fresh air, he didn't even look where he was going, resulting in him bumping into someone. He was just about to force himself to mutter a small apology and continue pressing forward, when he recognized that particular shade of royal blue fabric draped over scarlet skin and realized that it was his friend. Now this was bad, this was very bad—
"Oh, Link!" Mipha turned around to greet him, unaware that he was barely holding himself together at this point. "I actually wanted to talk to you about something once this party is over. But before that, I believe Revali was looking for you"
Hearing that was too much for Link. Flowers surfaced. He pushed past Mipha, running towards the exit and leaving her confused and calling out to him. He could apologize later. Now he needed fresh air.
He gasped for air once he had finally gotten to the gardens, leaving the party's hot and stuffy atmosphere behind. Seconds later, flowers spilled from his mouth uncontrollably, and he started choking. He could hear Mipha's concerned voice telling someone where he went, then the clacking of bird feet on tiles. The next thing he knew, he was running, and Revali was chasing after him in the distance. The flowers wouldn't stop flowing, leaving behind a trail of bloody silent princesses. Link slapped a hand over his mouth, desperate to stop them, but there were simply too much. He turned a sharp corner, and realized too late that it was a dead end. He could hear Revali catching up to him and panting from the effort, but he didn't dare look back, still covering his mouth.
"There you are! Would you kindly stop running for a second? I just want to talk, for Hylia's sake!" he grumbled, stepping closer to Link. "And what's with that trail of blood covered flowers? Is this some kind of barbaric Hylian ritual that I'm unaware of?"
Revali finally stepped close enough to put his wing on Link's shoulder, making the latter flinch.
"What's with you tonight? You're not usually this… jittery. You're acting as if I'm gonna hurt you, not to mention that it's rude to turn your back to someone who's clearly addressing you, so if you'd do me the honour and look me in the eyes while I talk to you—"
He spun Link around, then froze, seeing the fear in the knight's eyes and his futile attempts at trying to cover his mouth. He hesitated, his wing hovering over Link's face, then slowly peeled away his hand. Link let it fall to his side as Revali squeaked in horror seeing the flowers growing out of his mouth.
"What is the meaning of this?! You imbecile, was it something you ate?! Is it normal for Hylians, did you talk to a medic, are you injured?"
Link's remaining strength left him completely, overwhelmed by the worry in Revali's voice, and he felt himself collapsing into the taller's arms.
"Fuck!" Revali swore, which was so rare for him that Link blinked in confusion. "Link? Link! Don't die on me, you idiot! I- I haven't even told you yet!"
Told him… what? Doesn't matter. Closing his eyes felt really tempting to Link right now. Flowers were overflowing, growing out of his mouth and drifting to the ground that was so, so far below… No, he was just so high. Revali was holding him, bridal style, looking into his half-lidded eyes with pure panic. He… he looked kinda charming from this perspective…
„Link! Link, you moron, you can't die, you can't do this to the kingdom! You can't do this to your friends! You can't do this to me, you hear me?! I- I love you okay!?"
Link stilled. Suddenly, all his nerves went from numb to on fire, his head exploded in pain, his eyes widened, his chest tightened, his breathing stilled and then— nothing. The flowers withered slowly, one by one, turning into a silvery dust that the wind carried away. Suddenly, for the first time in months, he could breathe and he gasped for air. The ever-present, rhythmic pulsing in his chest vanished, that treacherous second heartbeat that wasn't his own gone at last. His throat finally didn't feel like thorns were wrapped around it, he could see clearly, blood didn't threaten to trickle out of his mouth and that damned feeling it choking, suffocating on those cursed flowers, it was finally over. It was all finally over and Link raised his head to look Revali in the eyes, grateful like never before.
"Seriously? Now you're fine? Just to tease me about it in the future? I'll have you know that I had grand courting plans for us. I scheduled where we will go and what I'll show you to make you realize that I'm the best partner you could ever get. But noooo, we couldn't do it the proper way, you just had to start spitting flowers and rush things!" all this time, the Rito champion was carrying him back to the castle, following the trail of flowers left before. They seemed more like a distant memory to Link than something that he was suffering from mere minutes ago, maybe because all this felt just so… unrealistic. The firm wings that were holding him, the soft feathers of Revali's neck… and most importantly, his confession.
Revali thankfully didn't go back to the party. Instead, he took a twisted route through the castle's hallways, presumably to avoid bumping into guards. He must have memorized their routes perfectly to do it with such grace, Link thought, or more like tried to think, because he didn't have the strength for thoughts now. Revali soon stopped and knocked on a door that was, what Link realized too late, undoubtedly Mipha's. He panicked internally, but the Zora princess was already opening the door, beckoning Revali to step inside. Of course. She left the party early, as she always did. Stayed long enough to not be considered mean, favourably to not be the first person to leave, while deep down, she wanted nothing more than to be out of there already. She wouldn't say it aloud, of course, but Link knew her long enough to know better.
The world shook suddenly, and then he was looking at the ceiling, something spongy and wet below him. Mipha's bed, a traditional Zora one, he realized. He's had the pleasure of sleeping on them a few times before, while visiting the domain.
"What is the matter?" he heard Mipha's gentle voice. "You look quite panicked"
"I- I found him in the gardens and he- he was spitting up blood covered flowers! Enough to choke on them! And then he just collapsed and stopped and—"
Revali was cut off by Mipha's quiet laugh. He looked at her shocked, but she just smiled.
"So you told him"
"H-how could you possibly come to that conclusion with the information I provided?"
But the Zora princess ignored him, instead turning her eyes to Link.
"So the princess and I were right. It was Hanahaki…" seeing Link's shocked expression, or something as close to a shocked expression as he could manage in his state, she giggled, then became serious once more. "We were suspecting for a few weeks, but we weren't sure who's the reason. For some time, we were even worried that it might be her, but quickly rejected that idea. You and her grew a lot closer in the last few months, surely if you had feelings for her, you'd have no reason to thing they were unrequited. But enough about our little investigation. I can tell you later"
She moved her hand to hover above Link's throat, and a bluish light enveloped him. Any remaining pain slowly faded away.
"I take it it's fine now?" She asked and Link nodded. With his head a bit clearer, he shot a look at the door, worrying about Zelda. Mipha noticed immediately. "Oh, don't worry about that. The princess was informed of your state. Urbosa is with her right now, and Daruk is distracting the king"
Link smiled. He'd have to thank his friends later.
"Can someone finally tell me what's been happening?!" Revali squeaked impatiently. Link had honestly forgotten that he was still in the room.
"He has been suffering from a magical disease called the Hanahaki Disease" Mipha started. "It's rare to develop but very deadly. Flowers have been growing in his lungs out of unrequited love"
"Out of what not?!"
"Hngg… stop screaming" Link mumbled, pushing himself up on the bed. Mipha pushed him down, with that stern look that said „rest, or I'll make you”.
"But… he's fine now?" Revali asked.
"Yes. He's fine, because he now knows that his feelings were not unrequited. Hence how I knew you must have told him"
"Hmph"
"What I want to know" Mipha began, addressing Link. "Is why you didn't come to me. I'm your friend and healer, I can't imagine why you would possibly hide that from me?" she sounded so hurt, Link had to avert his eyes. They landed on a folded piece of clothing on her shelf… the armour. It was the first time he's seen it, but it had to be it. The silver scales sewn on the dark blue fabric reflected the dim lighting, making it stand out. That was worse than the pain in Mipha's voice. That was so much worse.
Mipha followed his eyes and let out a quiet sigh.
"So you knew"
"I'm… sorry" was all he could manage.
"Don't be. Honestly, from the moment I sewed the first scale, I knew it was a waste of time. But I don't like having things unfinished, so I completed it. I'd still like you to have it. As a… token of friendship, you could say"
Revali, who has been quietly standing in the corner, finally snapped under the tension.
"Is he fine now? Yes? Excellent, thank you, lady Mipha, have a good evening" with that, he snatched Link off the bed and left the room. The knight blinked in confusion, but let himself be carried away. Revali turned a few corners, stuck his head out from behind one, looked both ways, then quietly slipped into his room, where he set Link down on a hammock.
"I could walk, you know" the blonde grumbled.
"Shhh. You're ruining my courting plans" with that, Revali removed his ceremonial armour, then climbed into the hammock with Link and enveloped him with his wings. They were soft and warm, and Revali's beak was tangled in his golden hair. That, combined with the gentle rocking of the hammock, was enough to make the knight wrap his arms around Revali, bury his face in the Rito's chest, and finally drift off to sleep— for the first time in months, not to be plagued by nightmares of flowers.