Be True [Male!Reader x Link] IV

Link couldn’t sleep. Whenever he closed his eyes, the recurring memories of bleeding, desperation, and fear replayed in his head countless times and chased away sleep. So many had died in order for him to prevail and be claimed a hero, when really, those who had helped him and lost their lives should have been called heroes. Link… He was just a kid who stumbled into this mess and was forced to go through with it in order to save Hyrule. What made the burden worse was he was apparently the only one who could save Hyrule; if he died, the land he loved so dearly would certainly perish under the dark lord’s rule.

“Why,” Link wondered aloud, barely above a whisper, “Why did it have to be me…” Because, let’s face it, no man can fight such a war without bearing scars of mind and body; no one would want such cruel badges of honor.

”Zelda, please… Please don’t make me go back in time again… I can’t…”

A soft murmur cleared Link’s dark whirlwind of thoughts. The blonde smiled softly at the peaceful expression on (Name)’s face, which he had been admiring for most of the night. Truthfully, being around the (h/c) male made the knight feel a bit calmer, since his friend treated him the same as all those months ago when they met, albeit being a bit more teasing of his new title as “Hero of Time.”

“’Hero of Time?’ That’s kind of a weird name, y’know. Like, you didn’t save time, you saved Hyrule, so shouldn’t you just be ‘Hero of Hyrule?’ That would make way more sense.” He recalled (Name) saying last night before falling asleep beside him in the midst of conversation. It had taken Link a few minutes of ranting before he realized his companion had fallen asleep on him, though he couldn’t really blame him; it was nearly two in the morning when he had fallen asleep.

Link silently wondered what time it was, but his thoughts were cut short when the soft sound of growling filled his ears. Confused and bewildered, the blonde sat up and looked around to find out where the noise came from, but was surprised to hear (Name) whine and flop across his lap in distress.

“Link, I’m so hungry…” The young man whined into Link’s calf, causing the male to chuckle. Pouting, (Name) bit him.

Link jumped. “W-Why did you do that?” He asked, a hint of a laugh on every word.

“Because I’m hungry!”

“Then go eat something?”

Sighing, (Name) rolled out of bed and got up to go cook something. Link smiled and leaned against the backboard of the bed and watched his friend prepare a meal. It was then that he realized (Name) was wearing…

“(Name)… Why are you wearing my blue tunic…?” An amused smirk broke Link’s calm façade as the boy being questioned straightened his back in surprise at the question, for which he apparently had prepared no answer for.

“Uh… It smells like water…” Wow, good response, (Name). “And it’s comfy, and I like the colour blue, and, yeah, it was just sitting there so… Yeah.” Eh, that was a bit better, I guess.

“I thought you said my tunic was tacky,” The blonde recalled, making (Name) turn and pout.

“That’s because your green one is obnoxious!” He defended when, really, the blue tunic wasn’t much better.

“I doesn’t even fit you properly; your shoulders are too small!”

“Well it’s not my goddamn fault I, a poor, skinny village boy, is smaller than the great Hero of Time who got the chance to build muscle by travelling all over Hyrule!” (Name) inhaled deeply after his long sentence and took a second to recover. Damn, rambling on until you get a decent comeback is hard work…

“Maybe you should eat more,” Link suggested with an innocent smile on his face.

“Yeah, maybe, if I had the rupees. Being a mail man doesn’t exactly make you rich, y’know.” The (h/c) boy huffed and crossed his arms. Well, it would be nice to have more money, but (Name) really didn’t think about it all that much, so he didn’t fret about it that much.

“Oh.” The knight smiled sheepishly as he ruffled his hair and looked around the room, feeling a bit guilty for accidentally bringing up a touchy subject.

“I mean,” (Name) started, wanting to make Link feel less awkward, “It’s not like I’m super poor or anything, I just don’t really think about money all the time,” He said, shrugging. “It’s a waste of my thinking time to worry over that kind of stuff. I’m alive, right?” The young man chuckled, ultimately causing Link to relax himself again.

“Well, you know, if you ever need any help…” Link trailed off, not needing to finish his sentence as he saw his roommate nod in understanding and gratitude.

A sweet silence filled the serene room as the morning sun illuminated the small home, lulling the residents inside into a sense of calm. That is, until (Name) asked a soft question.

“Hey, Link, has anyone ever… You know… Thanked you for saving Hyrule?” He attempted to be casual upon asking the question. He sat down at the table across from Link and munched on a bun he’d bought from the baker a few days ago. “Like, it’s kind of a big deal, so I’d expect everyone to kind of thank you for it.”

The knight stayed silent in thought. “No one ever has,” he said slowly, stretching each syllable with an ounce of doubt as if he was still thinking of someone who had indeed thanked him for his deeds. “I never really thought about it, to be perfectly honest.” It seemed as if a sullen dimness  filled Link’s eyes as he realized everyone was so eager to celebrate his feats and no one was eager to celebrate him.

(Name) frowned a bit at Link’s expression before reaching across the table and snatching away the knight’s hand in his own. Surprised, Link glanced at (Name)’s hand holding his own before looking back up at the determined young man across from him curiously.

“Greenie, I know I’m kind of a huge spazz, and sometimes I’m kind of a jerk, but you’ve always been really honest and sweet to me,” Cue a blush from our speech-giver and his audience member, “And you kind of saved Hyrule, so you saved practically everyone here… And you came back to Castle Town, which is cool because you kept your promise to me. So, I just… I, uhm, I wanted to say…” (Name) took a breath to calm himself. God dammit, (Name), it’s not like your confessing your undying love to him, just spit it out! “Thank you, so much, for rescuing Hyrule, rescuing Castle Town, my house, and me; you’re pretty incredible for a green bean.”

Link seemed to be frozen as the information sunk in. A whirlwind of emotions tore through his chest; the pain of not being recognized as a human but as an event, the joy of being thanked by someone so close to him, and the feeling of adoration for the boy sitting across from him and still holding his hand.

Without much thought, Link grasped (Name)’s hand tighter and lifted it to his lips. Softly, the knight kissed (Name)’s hand before clasping both hands around his friend’s. A goofy smile broke out onto the blonde’s face.

“Thank you, (Name). That means a lot to me,” He said softly, genuine gratitude on each word. “You’re the first person to recognize me for… well, me, not as the chosen one, or whatever…” Link was sure his face was bright as a tomato as he spoke, a bit embarrassed to be spilling this all out.

(Name) smiled. “Hey, no problem, Link; you’ll be my green bean forever. You won’t have to worry about me treating you like anything else.”

At that point, Link realized that maybe (Name) was actually the person he so often dreamt about.

Well, I guess we’ll just have to test the boundaries of this friendship…