#they fought a massive countrywide destabilizing war against ganondorf

[skyloftian-nutcase]

Febuwhump Day 6 - "You Lied to Me"

I decided to try something different today, and I hope y'all don't mind. Introducing Link, the Hero of Power—predecessor to Captain Link, the Hero of Warriors—and Queen Zelda, the Sacred Diplomat. Together, these two legendary figures, alongside Gerudo Chief Hemisi, split Ganondorf's soul into pieces and sealed him away across time and space as a permanent way to end the ageless curse (before that got reversed in Hyrule Warriors). Anyway, here's a little angst with them!

X

The water was almost too hot as it bubbled against his skin. Link sighed, trying to relax into it, accepting this odd vacation he and Zelda had been given. The Gorons weren't unfriendly by any means, but it was strange that they had invited the monarchs to their hot springs for some time off.

Stranger still that Zelda had accepted.

Link glanced over at his queen as she bathed in the water, her figure wavering in the heat as it lazily drifted up from the surface. He was still curious why she'd agreed to come. The pair had never taken time off, and most certainly never together alone. This was a bizarre move, and it made him slightly uneasy. Although it felt beyond freeing to leave the castle, he missed his children. Relaxing like this was a foreign concept to him at this point.

What are you up to, Zelda? he wondered.

He decided to try his luck, swimming over to her. She turned in the water as he approached, face imperceptible as usual.

"Why are we here?" he asked softly, cautiously.

"The Gorons invited us," Zelda answered simply. "I wasn't going to refuse such kindness."

"Because they would view it as a slight, or because of something else?" Link pressed. When Zelda watched him a moment longer, he continued, "We've... been married for years, my queen. I imagine we can speak plainly to each other by now? It's just you and me."

Zelda's façade cracked, her lips twitching, gaze falling to the water level. "You can call me Zelda, you know. You do that, sometimes, when we are being intimate."

He supposed he did. And he supposed this was a moment of intimacy and vulnerability. "Then what's this about, Zelda?"

"I just..." Zelda faltered, showing uncharacteristic hesitancy. It reminded him of how she'd acted at her father's funeral, when it had just been the two of them, long after the crowds had dissipated (and after she had left). "I just wanted you to have something nice. I... I wanted us to have something nice."

Her voice grew so quiet as she added the last statement, nearly shriveling into the water. Link could understand why. She wasn't exactly responsible for giving him anything nice for a long time.

Well... aside from their children. But even then...

A bitter part of him let her look this small and defeated, demure and timid and so penitent. A part of him was angry that she was even trying.

You had promised a brighter future for all of Hyrule, that voice snapped. You lied to me.

It wasn't a lie, though, and he knew it. Just because he had sacrificed his happiness and his life didn't mean the rest of Hyrule wasn't thriving.

Link sighed tiredly. Despite all the hurt between them, he still didn't like to see her like this. It wasn't as if he was the only one who had sacrificed everything. He leaned forward, pulling her close, letting her rest against him, his finger absentmindedly tracing the green paint that adorned her arms, watching it slowly trail off her pale skin. "That's... considerate of you."

Zelda's own hands traced a scar on his chest, and he swallowed, feeling his heart start to race. She pulled away, though, calming his rushing blood and making him curious again.

"I figured I'd... try," she said quietly, refusing to make eye contact. "After... we don't do this much. Spend time together."

Why would they? This marriage hadn't exactly been his choice. He'd hardly spent enough time with her to create an heir the first year. Though in the years after that, he'd used her as his escape as much as she'd used him as her political toy.

So was she using him now? Or was she being genuine? He remembered she was capable of being kind to him.

Was she lying to him now?

"Is this some sort of favor to the Gorons?" he finally asked, letting himself be candid. She'd requested as much, anyway. "Creating a child in their homeland? Would they view that as some sort of honor?"

"This isn't--this isn't about that," Zelda shook her head. "I just wanted you to be able to relax. Back home, you... you're usually taking care of the children more than me."

"Then why did you come along?" Link questioned further. When Zelda winced and swam back a hair, his wariness died down, replaced by guilt.

She really... she just wants to spend time with me?

Oh.

She was lonely.

Link huffed, looking away. Goddesses above. He really was being self-centered, he supposed.

"Well..." he trailed off awkwardly, not really knowing what to say. "Even sacred diplomats need a break, I guess."

Zelda smiled a little forlornly, still looking into the water. Link moved towards her again, letting his body sink into the bubbling warmth so he could look up at her from where her gaze had stayed. He rose up to her with an inviting kiss, and she let him lead.

Though the act was nothing new, it held a bit more tenderness to it than ever before, a sort of mutual pain that emanated between the quiet couple as they sought comfort in each other. Typically after the fact the two would go their separate ways, but this time they basked in the heat, letting themselves dry off on the volcanic rock, draped in towels. Neither had anything to say—at this point what could they say—but they stayed, and Link settled into a nap that was more restful than he'd had in years.