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The day he feared had arrived.
Standing on the crest of a hill not far from Hyrule Castle, Link watched as darkness came in from all directions and turned the sky blood red. Fire shot up around the castle as a monstrous roar could be heard, one that shook the ground, even from where he stood. Stone exploded as walls were destroyed and towers were knocked over, turning the once beautiful and seemingly impenetrable structure into haunting ruins of its former self.
The day he feared had arrived. Despite all the power he held, all his knowledge on magic, and all the skills he had learned in defusing situations working for the Goddess Nayru as her paladin, he had failed his beloved.
When he had been dropped in this time period, Link knew Nayru had some sort of task for him and when he first stumbled across Ganondorf, he thought it was to stop him before he could do the very thing he was now. However, years went by and there had been no sign of darkness or corruption. For that first year, he stuck close to him, acting like a friend while watching for the moment he tipped into madness, but much to his surprise… that friendship became real, and soon he was laughing at his terrible jokes and wild stories. Soon, he was going on hunting trips through the forest at his side or spending days on the coast fishing. Soon he was dancing with him around a large fire in the center of Gerudo Town on the night of an annual festival to celebrate a precious harvest, then returning a kiss that surprised the breath out of his lungs. A light he had given up to heal the land so long ago was tentatively growing in his chest once more.
It was during these early years that he came to a realization. Ganondorf was just an ordinary man. There was nothing evil about him. He was a good person, a king doing his best for his people. He wasn’t a demon in human skin or a god of death and destruction, but someone who had the great misfortune of being chosen to play a role he had no say in. He was destined to run into hardships and torment until he finally snapped and the darkness overtook him, turning him into a beast of hatred.
A selfless man would stand in the spot Link did, watching the world burn around him, people near the destruction dying, and regret not killing Ganondorf before all of this could happen, but Link was no longer a selfless man. He was old, tired, and had lost so many people over the centuries. He had given up everyone he ever loved and his childhood happiness to heal the land and bring man and nature back into balance. He had taken the burdens and sorrows of complete strangers so they could be lighter and fly free instead. Countless times he had given up his own happiness and wellbeing to bring balance back to the world in one way or another, but as he stood there, he felt a strong pull of self that had borrowed deep in his chest. In that moment, he knew he would fight an army for Ganondorf. He would pick up his sword again, regardless of his peaceful oath to Nayru, and cut through thousands if it meant he could save him now, if he could reverse the curse inflicting his sweet husband and save him from the torment that had plagued those before him.
But he had seen this play out countless times. It was a cycle that no one knew how to break. Darkness would come into the world in one form or another, perhaps hiding as political ploys or bursting into the world as malice, and took over one poor unfortunate soul, a male Gerudo more often than not. Nothing could be done to stop it, and Link had tried. He learned from his experience here, that no matter what he did to invervine, the darkness would come and corrupt someone. That someone could rise up to destroy all that had wronged them, then a boy and a princess would step out of the shadows to slay the beast and be immortalized as heroes. No one will think about the before and ask why this happened. They will know the stories of the Demon King and brush this off as something that happens every few thousand years or so.
Link watched the castle burn and felt nothing. He stood there, numb and hollow, and watched the kingdom burn.
Movement in the field below caught his eye and he saw someone marching towards the castle. Someone young, carrying a sword and a shield, with blonde hair and a green tunic. Their eyes were fixated on the castle gates as they entered, and as Link watched the death of his husband advance on him, a tear rolled down his cheek.
**
It felt like he stood there for ages, listening to the distant sound of steel hitting stone and metal, listening to roars of anger and pain. Finally a bright white light exploded from the center of the castle, lighting up every corner of the grounds. Link slowly closed his eyes against the brightness and the sound of death as his husband let out one last, painful cry, then there was silence, deafening and heavy after the battle that just took place. When he opened his eyes again, the darkness and fire was gone, leaving them in a peaceful night.
Without thought, borrowed wings erupted out of his back and took him to the sky, high above the carnage. They took him to the top of the castle, to a leveled sight where the battle no doubt took place. The hero and the princess were nowhere to be seen, but lying in the center of the clearing, he saw the man he loved. Link descended, his bare feet landing softly against the stone.
“I knew you were an angel…”
Link’s eyes lifted from where they were looking over the man’s fatal wounds, to his face, where he saw him gazing at him with the softest smile on his lips. “Angels aren’t real.” He whispered in a practiced rebuke. This earned him a soft chuckle that hummed in the other’s chest.
“One stands before me, so pardon me as I disagree.”
The blonde said nothing to this as he lowered himself to the ground. He lifted a hand, hovering over wounds inflicted by a sacred sword, before lowering it. “I can’t heal your wounds...” He spoke softly as he met the other’s eyes. “Not when the blade was holy. I… I’m sorry.”
Ganondorf hummed and closed his eyes as he was silent for a long moment, his expression relaxed, as though the knowledge of his approaching end didn’t bother him. Finally he looked back at him and asked, “You’re a hero too, aren’t you? Like that boy.” Link frowned, but nodded reluctantly. Never had he told him the truth, that he had his own battle with a man carrying the same name. “So this has happened before. I think… I remember the stories.”
“It has, but each of us are different. We may share the same sort of story, but we aren’t reborn again as the same person.” Link moved his hand to cup the man’s cheek softly. “You won’t have to go through this again.”
Ganondorf lifted his hand to cover the one on his cheek, turning his face into it. “But you will, won’t you?” Link was quiet at this, before nodding again. His husband looked sad at this. “You’re just as cursed as I seem to be.”
The older man considered this, not for the first time. “Not many look at it like a curse, but more of a blessing.”
“Blessings shouldn’t hurt you.”
Link closed his eyes and lowered his head a little, before taking his hand back to curl into the other’s chest, allowing himself a moment to be surrounded by his scent and warmth, even as they were starting to fade. He felt and heard Ganondorf hum as a hand came up to gently toy with his hair. As tears started to form in his eyes again, Link sat up to take that hand and pressed his cheek into it, then turned his head to kiss the palm. "I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough to protect you from this curse," he started then looked him in the eye, "but know that I will find a way to stop the cycle so when I die, we can be together without fear of corruption."
Ganondorf sighed through his nose. "There you go again, apologizing for things that aren't your fault... Who traumatized you so much that you feel the need to do so?"
The blonde didn’t respond to this. Instead he closed his eyes to nuzzle his face into the other’s palm for a moment. “Make me a promise?” He asked quietly, almost a murmur against the rough skin of his palm.
The man laying before him hummed, “I’m afraid I might… disappoint you, my dear... for I don’t think I’ll be with you long enough to keep it.”
Link gripped the hand against his cheek with both of his tightly for a moment, then took a slow deep breath in through his nose. He opened his eyes to look down at his husband, the man who stole his heart even after he vowed to guard it in fear of the pain he would experience when he lost someone he loved, just as he was in this very moment. “Stay with me.”
Ganondorf gave him a sad, almost pained look. “Link…”
“Not- not physically. Just... “ The older man paused for a moment as he sorted through his words, swallowing back on the thickness forming in his throat. “I hope your spirit wanders and sees the beautiful places the world has to offer, but never stay away for too long. Find your way back to me, even for just a moment. Tell me you love me, even if I can’t hear you. Promise me that you’ll try, and I promise to live every day as though it will be my last.”
His husband’s eyes softened at this and he brushed his thumb across his cheek to wipe away a tear that trailed down his cheek close by. “I promise.” He spoke, his soft voice filled with sincerity and heart, and smiled.
Link nodded a little as he closed his eyes. “Thank you…” He whispered, then took a slow, deep breath in through his nose. He held it for a long moment, before letting it out as he leaned forward to press his forehead to his. “I love you.”
“And I love you, angel.”
They lapsed into silence, until Link felt the hand he held grow heavier. He blinked his eyes open to look down at Ganondorf and found his eyes closed, as though he were sleeping peacefully. With a hesitant hand, Link pressed his fingers into his neck and felt nothing but stillness. He looked back at his face with wide eyes then gently cupped it. His hands started to shake as his body grew tense and his vision grew blurry. When he blinked, tears fell and landed lightly on his husband’s face. Link bit his lip and brushed these away, before leaning down to press a lingering kiss to his forehead.
After a long moment, one that felt like ages, Link sat back and took another deep breath through his nose. He then set about arranging his love’s arms so his hands rested on his stomach and slipped some small flowers from his bag for him to hold. For a moment, he felt heavy and empty all at the same time, a feeling that was unfortunately very familiar.
“Loss is hard, no matter how many times you’ve experienced it.”
Link closed his eye when he heard the voice of the god who took refuge within him, a force as fierce as war itself, but now spoke softly and with care.
“Play him a song, little bird. One that will soothe his soul.”
The paladin took a slow deep breath he desperately tried to steady, but it still shook through him down to his core. “I don’t think I have the strength…” He whispered
“Then you may have mine.”
Link opened his eye as he turned his palms up to study, looking at the calluses and tiny scars that adorn them. He sighed and curled them closed lightly, before digging into his bag to pull out his ocarina. He stood slowly and lifted the instrument to his lips, where he hesitated as he looked down at his husband.
“You will not be without him. Play, little songbird, and trust that I will be there to support you.”
Link gripped his ocarina tighter as he felt his eyes grow heavy once more, but he closed them and finally started to play. The music was quiet at first, his constricted lungs refusing to part with the air they were holding, but he felt warmth that started against his back, then spread slowly across his body. It wrapped around his aching heart like gentle hands might cup a wounded bird, then moved down his arms to his hands. Tears rolled down his eyes, but he felt a spark light inside him, small at first, but grew as his love and grief fed it until it roared in a blazing fire. He curled forward as he poured everything he had into the song that healed the lost and broken, feeling the magic rush out of him and fill the area around him. As he played, he could smell the sands of the desert and the smoke from a campfire. He could hear music then a laugh that would fill his entire being and shake the ground. He felt the warm sun against his face, then the warmth of a hand around his, eagerly pulling him along. As Link played a song that healed the lost and broken, he was reminded of all the times Ganondorf was happy, when he would smile at him and share that happiness with him, and focused on that, rather than the empty darkness that tried to take him before.
As the song slowly came to an end, he felt the magic settle around him, draping over the area like freshly fallen snow. He lowered his ocarina and sighed, feeling drained, but didn’t fall as the support he was promised remained. He blinked his eye open to look up at the night sky twinkling with millions of little stars, then down at the ground. In place of where his husband had laid, he saw an oval pendant made of gold and amber, the one Ganondorf always used to wear. He knelt to gently take it into his hands to study, running his thumb over the gem that sparkled, even in the darkness. It felt warm against his palm. He had many things Ganondorf had gifted him over the course of their time together, but this…
Link slipped the pendant over his head. As the chain and jewel settled against his chest, he wrapped his hands around it and closed his eyes. There he stood for a long moment, allowing himself a moment to relish in the heat that came from the stone, then took a slow deep breath through his nose.
Without a glance back, he turned and left that battle field behind him, for he couldn’t carry it with him. He had a life he promised he’d live.