1062 words

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I feel the small hand gently brush my arm. "Left," I mumble, and he grabs my wrist as I turn.

Link inches closer to me, covering his hears at the sudden noise. A crowd of Zora noticed me and are eagerly asking me questions, much to my friend's dismay. Link told me he's thankful that he can hear better, or else he'd be completely lost.

"Please — my brain is exploding" the sheikah slate chimes in my ear. Princess Zelda is aware of Link's situation, and gave me a pocket-size one. It's extremely useful, and now Link can talk to me from afar, signing into the original slate and having it talk in my ear. Of course, the one I'm wearing has a camera too.

I smile at the school of Zora and briskly walk off, leading Link with me, a shook expression on his face.

"Look at you, my helpless baby," I tease, and he looks me right in the eye, sending shivers down my spine. "Always needing my help,"

"I'm not faking it — I can make it on my own. It just... helps to have you there." He says. Well, the slate says it, but he came up with the words and simply needs a translator. "Come on. I don't tease you."

"Um, yeah you do."

"But you're not blind."

"Touché," I say. "Can't you take a joke?"

He sighs heavily, and signs. "Fine, fine. But only you." I'm special. I'm special. I don't tell him I'm smiling. I prize my dignity over a deal. "You think I can swim?"

"No." I say nonchalantly, then realize he's serious. "Link, no."

The stupid part of my brain, which has thankfully been pretty dormant lately, chimes in: yeah, but he swims SHIRTLESS. That's a sight to see!

Oh come on.

"Please?" He signs. "I'll do anything."

"Promise me you won't go in past your shoulders."

"I pinky swear." He holds out his hand, a bit to my side. Then we pinky swear and boy, his hands are tiny. Super small.

He wades in slowly, smiling a little. I made a point of saying I wouldn't go more than three feet away.

"Um, Sidon," he says, face turning red. "I have a question."

"Yeah?"

"Well... like, when sharks mate, the male one bites the female, right? Does that... principle apply to Zora?"

I'm slowly dying inside. "Um. Um. Um. Well, I guess you could say that's true. I myself have never tried it, but what we learn in school says so."

"Oh. Hold up — you're a virgin?"

I stifle a laugh. What, is there something wrong with that? In Zora years, I'm, like, twenty. "Yeah. And you?"

"Sadly, I'm gay. That kind of narrows down my opportunities."

I'm glad he can't see my shocked but satisfied face. I've been wanting to ask that question but never got around to it, it always seemed too personal. "Huh."

"Yeah. Sorry for asking, I don't know who else to turn to."

"Nah, it's all good."

"You forgot fam." He had been teaching me Hylian slang lately, and 'it's all good fam' is one I like. Silence settled in. "Can you float on your back? Like, in the deep part? Where are we? Describe the landscape."

"Um, lots of rocks. A pretty big lake, a beautiful blue... like your eyes. The sky is cloudless, no rain for a while. I see grass near the shore, and the sand is a nice yellowy is colour. I see... I see a shimmering waterfall and luminous stones in the deeper part of the water. I see a cute Hylian."

At that last part he glares at me. Or where he thinks I am, he's a few feet off. It's adorable, so I don't say anything, preferring to stare at him and snicker.

"Can you float? I want to go deep, but you're an overprotective snot so I can't."

I oblige, guiding his hand to my arm. "Don't let go." My voice is stern.

He smacks me lightly. I drift from the shore, and he makes a surprised squeak when his feet leave the lake bottom.

"You know where you'd like? Faron. The Faron sea and Lurelin Village. It's warm there, and there's ocean for miles and miles, and..." the slate can't do a voice crack, but I imagine one anyway. "...I'll never see it again."

"You might not see it, but I swear to Hylia you'll go back." He gives a half-hearted laugh and looks off into the distance.

The water is pleasantly warm today, and I drift on my back, one arm around the blind Hylian loosely, making sure no funny business happens. I close my eyes for no more than an instant, even though I want to drift into a peaceful sleep.

Call me an overprotective snot all you want.

Link groans. This particular groan is a pained one, as opposed to bored. "Can we go back?"

"What's wrong?"

"What's that word for when your kidneys explode?"

"...ruptured?"

"Yeah. It hurts like that. Can we go back?" I don't dilly-dally, going as fast as I can with a passenger. Link steps out of the water and lays down in the grass with a sigh. "Why am I like" He doesn't finish signing, instead wrapping his hands around his stomach area.

"You feel like your kidneys are ruptured. Describe, maybe I can help."

"My head hurts. I feel like I'm exploding from the inside. I want to die. Kill me."

"I can't do that."

"Do it anyway." I sigh. "This is how I felt when I failed the monk trial. Those assholes must be giving some twisted punishment. Oh. It's gone now." He sits up, then stands, pulling on his dry clothes.

Somehow, he starts walking back to the Domain, only to realize I'm not with him and turning around. He raises his eyebrows at me — yet again he's off a bit — and I nod.

"Link, I'm nodding." I say, then tap his shoulder and start walking.

"What's that noise?" The slate chirps. "It sounds sort of crunch—never mind, now it's a smooth tap noise."

"That's your feet, Link. Your boots tap on tile, remember?"

He looks down, embarrassed, and stays silent for a long time.