In Sickness and In Health || sidlink (sidon x link)

Seven

Come early morning, Zelda went to the boys' room and announced that they would depart after lunch to go to Rito Village, so that everyone had time to relax and do their own thing. The royal servants would be preparing lunch for them, so they could be well fed before ascending the Tabantha Region.
Gina went to go commune with Riju and learn more about her, and Kilo went to go follow Zelda around like a pet. Link exited the castle to hang out with Sidon, but looked everywhere and couldn't find him. He started to get worried, but while he was searching one part of the moat, the Zora prince walked up behind him and touched his shoulder gently.

"Excuse me... Sorry, were you looking for me? I should have told Zelda of my whereabouts earlier... But, to be honest, Link, I had hoped you would come to find me." Sidon spoke charmingly as the Hylian boy gazed up at him. Although he was fairly confident initially, now that they were actually face to face, he became sheepish due to overwhelming thoughts of last night.

Link was slightly apprehensive about his relationship with Sidon after what Kilo told him about the mating thing. Kilo also admitted this morning that he had promised he wouldn't say anything about it, but accidentally let it slip, so that made Link assume Sidon was hiding something.
With a blank face and flushed cheeks, he signed to the Zora, wanting to break the ice a little, 'What do you mean? Did you want to talk to me about something?' He questioned curiously, raising an eyebrow at Sidon, who appeared to be hiding something behind his back.

"Um, well, you see..." The prince averted his eyes from Link, fidgeting slightly. "There is something..." He paused, getting down on one knee. He immediately noticed Link blinking in shock. He slowly brought his hand in front of him, presenting a small ring to him. "I noticed you weren't wearing your earrings last night when we arrived at the castle, so I figured you'd lost them in Lake Hylia when you dove in." He explained the situation and handed the earring to Link, expecting him to be grateful. "I went back earlier and searched for a while, but I could only recover one of them."

The blonde felt his heart pounding inside his chest. Was he really so dense to think Sidon was going to propose to him? They weren't even dating, not even remotely romantically involved. After shaking off that anxious feeling, Link took the earring from the man and adjusted it on his left ear, then watching Sidon smile somewhat guiltily. 'Thanks. You didn't have to do that...' Link signed his appreciation and then lifted his hand to pet Sidon's snout comfortingly.

Suddenly the Zora prince lowered his head and looked much more discouraged than usual. Usually this kind of thing would make him excitable, but something was wrong, something that Sidon didn't want to admit. "Ah, sorry, Link. Today I woke up feeling a bit down... I know you mean well." He tried to divert attention from his dapper mood by lifting his head and smiling again, but it didn't really do much for him.
He was going to stand back up and leave Link be for a while, but before he could move an inch, the Hylian walked towards him and hugged him gently, causing him to release a bit of tension and rest his head quietly atop Link's shoulder as he returned the embrace. "I am very glad to have you in my life. Somehow, just this..." He trailed off, his mind blurry with his own doubts and expectations.

Link pulled away slowly and lifted Sidon's head, caressing his cheek lovingly. He had a complex expression of confusion and concern, but it was all because he didn't know what was bothering Sidon; he figured he wouldn't get any answers anytime soon, either. "After today, I'll come back to Zora's Domain with you and help you." He spoke softly, hoping his assured moral support would make Sidon feel at least a little bit better.

"I would appreciate that, Link. As unstable as I've been, it would be unwise for me to handle everything alone." He accepted Link's help gratefully, then putting a hand on his knee to help push himself up. Once he was standing tall again, Link's eyes seemed to change somewhat.