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being a hero wasn't easy.
in fact he felt it burdensome—having to save people over, and over, and over again. don't get him wrong, link loved to save people, he just hated that no one was ever there to save him. there was zelda, sure, but she'd always end up in some more trouble from which he would have to save her. it wasn't zeldas fault; she couldn't help it, and link knew that. but he was suffering too, and no one could help him.
there was you too, link's girlfriend. but he couldn't bring himself to reveal such a thing to you. he knew you saw him as your knight in shining armor; there was no way he would confess his desire for the roles to be reversed. he didn't want to be a burden to you.
link hadn't even realized he fell asleep that night. it was a rigorous day of fighting and training there in smashville, as there was a very important tournament coming up. link had walked into your room without a word and collapsed onto the bed, on which you were also sitting. he'd been like this a lot lately—tired and distant. it was like he didn't tell you anything anymore. was it zelda, you wondered. did he fall for her, like he's supposed to? but you didn't know, and there's no way you could've brought yourself to ask.
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link let out a harsh shout as his body collided with the ground beneath. the sound of his metal sword skidding against the stone rang through his ears. blood dripped from every open wound on his body and his strength slowly slipped away.
his enemy? not ganon, not majora, not demise. it was nothing but a black shadow.
a black shadow, an embodiment of all the things link felt that he never said. all the things that he wanted to say but couldn't bring himself to.
it suddenly grabbed link by his neck, his body limp in its grasp. it dragged him to the edge of the cliff that they'd been fighting on, and link did nothing to stop it. his feet dangled off the edge, below him a black ocean, almost tar-like. he should've been scared but he wasn't. for some reason, the thought of falling was comforting. after all, if he fell, he'd never have to worry about being a good enough hero again.
link glanced over the shoulder of the shadow, and behind it he saw all of his friends. they weren't looking at him. in fact, they were turned around; not even acknowledging the hylian boy. it was at that moment that link realized that all he wanted was for the shadow to let him go, to let him sink and fall away from everything.
his wish came true when he felt it's grip loosen. link began to fall.
all too suddenly he was surrounded by black liquid—and it burned. he tried to scream but he was already underwater. he coughed and cried and then-
"link? link, wake up!"
what, he thought. (y/n)...
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"link?" you yelled again. your boyfriend laid on your bed, coughing. he had fallen asleep and everything seemed fine until he began to become distressed. at first it was just slight movement, his body would shake a little but you didn't think anything of it. it occurred to you that something was really wrong when the sound of shouts and chokes filled the room. so, here you were, attempting to pull him back from whatever horrible nightmare had taken him.
after a minute or so his pretty hylian eyes began to flutter open. you sighed with relief and wrapped him into a warm hug, much to his comfort.
"oh, baby," you spoke into his chest. "you scared me. are you alright?"
"yea—" he began to respond, then stopped. he couldn't lie to you anymore. nothing about him was okay, and this dream was all he needed to finally allow him to realize it.
"no, actually. i'm not okay, (y/n). i haven't been for a while, a-and i've been too scared to tell you." link's voice cracked as he started to confess. you sat up and looked at him with attentive eyes.
"you can tell me anything." you said firmly, but sweetly. he knew you were telling the truth.
"i had this dream—well, to you it's probably going to seem more like a nightmare." he laughed weakly. "there was this black shadow and it was kicking me around real bad. once it had me beat it picked me up by my neck and hung me off the edge of a cliff. then i- uh- looked over and i saw everyone. zelda, marth, pit, mario...everyone. but they didn't even care about what was happening to me. (y/n), they were turned around, it was almost like they didn't even know i was there..."
you covered your mouth and let out a small gasp. "...me too?" you spoke in barely a whisper.
link nodded, grabbing your hands, and continuing. "at that moment, i wanted to fall. i wanted to be let go, no one would've noticed anyway. and i got everything i wanted. it let me go, and i fell. the weird thing was i fell into this black water type of stuff, and it burned. that's why i was screaming and coughing—then you woke me up."
you stared at link in shock, not knowing exactly how to respond.
"(y/n)...i'm scared. i don't want to be the hero, i want to be saved."
this broke you, and tears began to fall from your eyes. you flung yourself into his arms, hugging him tighter and closer than you ever have before. it was silent for a few minutes but that was okay. link knew that this was your way of saving him.
"as long as i'm here, no one can hurt you—nothing can hurt you. and if i could change the way see yourself you wouldn't, even for a second, wonder why i tell you that i don't deserve you. link, you put yourself before me—before everyone! if i had just known you were feeling this way..." your sobs became uncontrollable at this point. you wanted nothing but to explain how much you cared. there weren't words enough. "i love you. and you don't have to be anyone's hero, not even mine."
after you broke the silence, it returned. but it wasn't bad. the two of you just laid together, held in the others arms. you both understood that words weren't necessary, but even so you felt the need to speak up one more time.
"i'll be your hero from now on, okay?"
"okay."
and with that, the two of you drifted off to sleep, together.
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angst alert wowee i hope u guys liked my comeback, sorry it took so long. i've been trying to get my inspo back n after i heard everything i wanted by billie eilish, this just popped into my mind!
