courage - a trans girl link fic

• 1 - courage •

Link Smith was raised in an orphanage right outside of the bustling city of Hyrule.

At a young age, it was explained to him that his parents passed away while he was a baby. They died under odd circumstances, with no specific causes. A burned house (supposedly arson) and an exploded car? All that could be gathered was that it was incredibly likely that organized crime was involved, as with no traces left behind and both parents killed it was definitely not a coworker with a grudge.

All that could be salvaged from either of his parents was a seemingly handcrafted charm that was attached to the car keys. The charm was simple, but comforting. A red glass heart, with an ornate metallic swirls coating it. The glass and metal were a little discolored due to the flames, but it was still entirely intact. Seemingly nothing, but it still meant a lot to him. One single piece of a life that he could have lived, if it hadn't been for whoever had done his parents in. It was put on a thin silver chain which Link always wore.

Link was a reasonably athletic kid- although asthmatic, he showed at least some skill in almost everything he attempted.
At seventeen, he was lightly muscled, around 5'10 with the skin color of his father and the pointed ears to match. His hair was a dirty blond, soft and unruly, with long bangs reaching far down past his ears on either side. His eyes were a striking blue, with a scar from the wreck splitting his left eyebrow in half. The eyebrows themselves were somewhat thin, looking almost as if they were trimmed by a novice with the wrong tools.

In the orphanage, rooming arrangements for the young adults were separated by gender, with Link rooming with two boys — Fledge and Groose. Groose, in a word, was difficult. Everything he thought, he said or did. Upon facing any form of resistance, he would answer with fists, as Link had realized within the first week. Upon upturning a questioning brow at Groose's name, Link was immediately sent spiraling down with a black eye. Fledge, on the other hand, was the complete opposite — sensitive, emotional, and caring. His hair was a soft minty green, as were his eyebrows(they had to be dyed, but Link never asked.) Link was once awoken in the middle of the night by the sound of Fledge weeping because a dog died in a book he was reading. Within a month, the dynamic had become;
1. Groose and Link fight
2. Fledge patches up the loser
much to the dismay of their next door neighbors, a group of girls who were around the same age —
Malon, Nabooru, and Saria.
Malon was a woodsy teenager the same age as Link with long brown hair, calloused hands, and an extensive knowledge on anything related to the outdoors.
With bright red hair tied back in a ponytail and tough dark skin etched with scars, Nabooru was a striking presence. Coming from the far-off desert area of Gerudo Valley, her parents abandoned her in Hyrule city at a young age. This led her along the road of a thief, stealing food to stay alive. She was finally caught and sent to the orphanage about two months ago.
Saria was an odd one, incredibly short but apparently still old enough to live in the young adult's rooms. Her hair was green, a foresty and unique green, entirely unlike Fledge's calming tone. Every aspect of her screamed plant life, with at least ten plants placed by her in the windowsill of their room. She was also oddly proficient in the ocarina, which annoyed Groose to no end. He'd actually threatened to smash it once, but was halted by a silent Nabooru producing a switchblade out of seemingly nowhere.

One night that set the most world changing event of Link's life into motion started like any other; with Groose.
Link awoke with a start to a pillow hitting him square in the face. "Fairy-boy. You're snoring. Make it stop or the next thing that hits you won't be so soft." Good ol' Groose. Groggily, Link reached for his phone, a treasure he bought with the money from his job at the local pub. 4:56 am. A light sleeper, Link knew he wouldn't be settling down any time soon. Stumbling to his feet, he shuffled to the bathroom for a shower. Locking the door and taking off his pajamas, he gazed in the mirror. Focusing in on each of his flaws. Despising everything about it. The muscles on his arms and legs, his flat chest, his broad shoulders, that.. that disgusting fucking thing between his legs. Focusing on his chin, he saw a few long hairs sprouting out.
Fuck.
This was the one thing Link never had told, and never would tell, anybody.
He hated his body.
It didn't match.
He'd known it for ages, for an unmistakeable amount of time.
He wasn't a boy. Even that, he, it was caustic.
Poisonous.
But he knew that not only would nobody else ever see him as a "she", if he started referring to himself as such, he probably wouldn't be able to stop. He'd slip up and be a laughing stock forever.
And yet every "he" felt like water torture, every "handsome" felt like a sock to the chest- no, worse. At least when Groose socked him in the chest, he healed from it. Every masculine adjective attached to him stuck in his mind, poisoning his thoughts and actions and killing his willpower.
Snapping back into reality, Link realized he had broken skin. As a habit, whenever he got dysphoric, Link found himself tearing into his arms with his nails. Dripping blood onto the tile floor, he sighed and started up the shower.