(Art by @WicketsVids, for one of my previous chapters "Heroes Grieve" *cough* not gonna lie, this was actually my lockscreen for a bit— I mean what?)

Also I know I said I was going to upload the Oneshot next, buuuut that's proven to be a difficult task. It turns out it will have to be a two parter, due to how long it is, and I've also tried writing it in third person because the perspective changes a lot... so, you might need to wait a little bit longer for that chapter. But, until then enjoy this!!!

*cough* also it's in elf boi's POV *cough cough*

—-
Link's POV
—-

"I'm going to bed, we have a long day tomorrow... And, err... thanks, for having this talk with me. It cleared a lot of things in my head."

"Y-You're welcome... goodnight."

"Night."

Y/N made her way over to her bed without giving me another look, growing quiet almost instantly after burying herself under the covers. I just sat there on the edge of my bed, staring down at my knees, the heated flush still unwavering on my skin from when the female hugged me out of the blue. She told me she was allowing us to be more intimate, but what did that mean? I wasn't sure, and to be honest I was too nervous to figure it out anytime soon...

I groaned and held my head in my hands, not caring that I was pulling strands of hair from my ponytail as I began to think about our exchange. As of late, I've started to feel strange - not meaning I was sick, but I couldn't exactly call this feeling luxurious either. It was like a strange battle between my happiness, embarrassment and pain, and during that time my body would be hit with this flustered state. I feel like I could do anything, but my limbs become stiff and my words become muddled. My heart would literally speed up or lurch painfully on occasions... And the strangest part was that I only felt this way when... when Y/N was near.

What had changed? Y/N definitely hadn't... why was her presence suddenly so foreign yet so... wanted? At first it was small, but it grew with every passing day. And frankly I wasn't sure I liked it. I mean, how can I if I have no idea what it is?

With a deep sigh I looked up slowly, dragging my palms down my face until my arms rested on my knees. Y/N had grown still, meaning she had probably fallen asleep already. In fact, I was probably the only one in this stable that was actually awake... but I didn't want to sleep just yet. Standing from my bed I walked over to Y/N's and kneeled down next to it, resting my arms on the mattress as I looked at my partner's sleeping expression. I wasn't sure how far I had to go for this to actually be creepy, but I honestly found it hard to look away at that moment...

And that was another thing... I had started to notice things about her, things I hadn't even bothered to spot when we first met; I hadn't needed to. Whether that be actions she made in certain situations, her physical appearance... not that I didn't think she was good looking in the first place. Even the way she laughed and smiled seemed far clearer, but that was probably because her laughing in general was new to me. Heck, her sarcasm didn't even bother me anymore; I actually found it to be kinda... attractive. She was the same person... yet it was like I was seeing her for the first time.

I sighed. What was I saying? I was probably confused with all my reunited memories flying around in my head. I was still an emotional mess... and I was probably confusing her with her past self.

Though, having said that... I felt surprisingly content at that moment... Not a bit of grief was felt inside my chest, but instead another feeling.

With pursed lips, I reached forward and brushed some of Y/N's hair from her face, before testing my bravery by ever so lightly resting my gloved hand on her cheek. Her warmth radiated through the leather, and they way she sighed contently when my thumb began subconsciously brushing against her skin had my chest feeling more lively than it should've. A simple touch shouldn't make me feel so weak...

"Something's definitely shifted in our relationship..." I whispered as I pulled my hand away "I can't be the only one that feels it, right?"

—-

"Y/N... come on... time to get up..."

"Mmmmh, five more minutes..." Y/N mumbled and rolled over in her bed, trying to escape my hands as I shook her awake. I stopped and thought for a moment, which probably made her believe I had given up...

Until I yanked the blankets off her, allowing the cold morning air to nip at her as it pleased. She instantly curled up for warmth and groaned, grabbing at the air in hopes to grab the covers.

"Give em back...!"

"Sorry, no can do," I replied almost smugly, though not completely ignoring her adorable position, "We've got a long journey ahead of us, being that we're travelling from one end of Hyrule to the other, so I kinda need you to get your butt out of bed."

She groaned again, cracking her eyes open with a sleepy pout "Don't wanna..."

Oh my Hylia, she's cute...

"Y/N."

"Noooooooo."

"Don't make me tickle you again."

"Okay fine!" Y/N whined while sitting up, and flicked her messy hair out of her face. She slowly looked up at me by her bedside, who was smirking almost devilishly at her.

"Morning~"

"Hey, a**hole..."

I chuckled with an eye roll and placed the bundled up blanket in my arms on the edge of the bed, "You're a really hard person to wake up, you know that?"

Y/N shrugged "Can't wake up the dead... inside."

Oh. Well then, didn't quite expect that response.

"O...kay, anyway," I held out our map, which showed a marker near the Breach of Demise, that had been placed by a traveler not long before I came to wake the girl up "I've been told there's some ruins by Carok bridge that look like a village in one of Zelda's photos, so I was hoping maybe we could check it out?"

"Is it dangerous?"

"Of course. What part of this quest isn't?"

"Then I'm in," The female swung her legs over the bed and stretched, "Go get the horses ready, and I'll be out in three minutes."

"Cool!" I agreed with a grin and practically skipped out of the stable in excitement. It wasn't exactly the memory I was excited about; more the adventure Y/N and I were taking instead of heading straight to Eldin.

I talked to the man at the counter and asked him to get out Pan and Epona, who seemed to be well rested and raring to go. I walked over to them and stroked their muzzles, but Epona took it a step further by lifting her head over my shoulder - as if she was hugging me. I smiled and reached up, running my hands along her sleek rust red coat before wrapping my arms around her neck "Morning to you too."

Epona snorted happily after we parted, and I had pulled out a couple apples for her and Pan. They chewed gratefully, when I heard a familiar less tired sounding voice "Link."

I smirked and turned to her, arms crossed "You're late."

"The heck, no I'm not!"

"You said you'd be out in three minutes. It's been three minutes and twenty two seconds. Twenty three... twenty four..."

"Yeah yeah yeah, I get it! No need to get all technical about it." Y/N interrupted with an eye roll, ignoring my sniggering as she walked up to her steed and pressed a kiss to the white mark on his forehead "And here I was, about to thank you for feeding my boy."

"Heh, sorry. You're welcome."

"Although..." She peeked around Pan to stare at his slightly rounded belly "Looks like someone has been feeding him too many apples."

Crap...

My face reddened in embarrassment as I looked away from her suspicious gaze, trying my best to put on an innocent expression. But Y/N only chuckled and pulled herself up onto her horse's back, giving his side a firm pat "Well no matter, all the galloping around Hyrule should get him back in shape. Speaking of which, you ready to go?"

"Just waiting for your call." I replied and jumped onto Epona "You ready?"

"Yup... wanna make it a race?"

"Ha! You speak my language!"

"Good! Then..." We leaned forward, holding our reigns up and leaning forward in the saddle "On your marks... get set... Oh hey, is that a Shrine?"

"Where?"

"GO!!!"

Pan sped forward as soon as Y/N commanded him into a gallop, leaving me stunned in a cloud of dust.

"Hey— Wait a minute!!" I yelled after a second or two, kicking Epona to chase after them "That ain't fair! Only losers do that!"

"Oh we'll see about that, Linky boy!"

—-

"Okay, I admit... I underestimated Epona's speed."

"Damn right you did," I scoffed proudly as I scratched my steed's rusty coat "Playing dirty won't prevent the inevitable, Y/N~"

"Yeah yeah, shut up. You want a medal or something?"

"Oh come now. No one likes a sore loser~"

"No one likes a boastful winner either~" She retorted "And Pan was only slower cuz of his apple belly, and who's fault is that?"

Her playful side glare was apparent, and I was quick to look to the side to avoid it. "He didn't have to eat them."

"He's a healthy working animal, you think he's going to refuse food?"

"Okay, okay. I'll lay off the apples." I held my hands up in surrender "Then we'll have a fair race without food babies and head starts."

This time it was her turn to look away from my accusing stare, and she laughed nervously "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Uh huh." I hummed, not believing her for a second. We both had something to be guilty about, and she knew it. But stil, I said nothing else of the matter...

Our ride became silent, which gave me time to think about stuff. I already knew a few faces from my past, being King Rhoam, Princess Zelda, Mipha, Revali, Utall, Azal and Y/N... but there were some blurred faced people in the back of my conscious mind. Two, to be exact. I wanted to know who they were, and what they were to me as soon as possible. But also...

I glanced over at Y/N, who seemed to be inflating her cheeks with air out of boredom.

I wanted to be sure I could separate my past from my present. I had to know what these sudden emotions towards my female friend meant, and if they were aimed towards her pre incarnation... I had to get them under wraps immediately. It wasn't fair, for either Y/N's if I my feelings towards one got in the way of my relationship with the other.

They're different people, I have to remember that.

"Hey, hey navigator," I awoke from my thoughts when Y/N snapped her fingers in front of my vision, and then pointed ahead "Is that the bridge we're looking for?"

"Bridge?" I followed her finger to glance at a wooden bridge near the end of the Breach of Demise, before looking down at the map "Yep, that's the one."

"What do you think awaits when we cross it?"

I assumed she meant what type of memory, and held my chin in thought "Well maybe it has something to do with the champions, or maybe..."

Y/N turned to me "Yeah?"

I blushed slightly under her gaze. Honestly, I was rather embarrassed to say, since I shouldn't really be thinking about my own preference. However, I honestly couldn't stop thinking about it...

"Maybe this will give me an idea of where I came from." I said, only just audible for her "As far as I'm aware, I lived in the castle with the princess; since I was her knight and all, but... l what about before that? Right now you and I are homeless - we don't have a place to call our own, so... I guess I want to know if I actually, you know, belonged somewhere."

"You want to know if you had a place to call home?" Y/N asked, tilting her head slightly.

"I-I guess..." I rubbed the back of my neck sheepishly "Is it too pitiful?"

"In my opinion, no." She answered quickly with a shake of her head "In fact, it's perfectly natural. Everyone wants to belong somewhere, it's part of life. So is having a place to call your own, so don't feel embarrassed. You're not alone."

I turned to her compassionate smile, suddenly feeling a lot better. She seemed to rip through any negativity I have, even though she wasn't the most positive person at first.

"Did you have a place you belonged, back in your world?" I asked out of the blue, surprising her a bit. She seemed to lose her positive attitude slightly and slump her shoulders, yet her smile remained - though it now showed slight sadness.

"No, I... haven't gotten there yet."

"I see..." I frowned at her mood change, but didn't let it stop me from reaching out and placing a hand on her shoulder "You'll get there someday, I know you will."

She chuckled half-heartedly and covered my hand with hers "So will you, Limp noodle."

A mutual smile was shared between us, before we retracted from each of touch as we had trotted into some ruins of a village, which was most definitely what we were looking for. I took my Slate from my belt and swim my legs over Epona's side, sliding down to begin my search for the point which this picture was taken.

"Lemme see," Y'N urged, looking over my shoulder a little too closely for me to be calm about it. However, I managed to fake composure and tilt the slate for her to take a look, which had her looking around. She pointed across the screen to some of the path ahead "Try standing there."

I followed her instructions and planted myself right in the middle of the road, and to be honest things did start to look familiar... I looked down, and then back up at my surroundings...

"It's... it's starting to come back..." that was the only thing I was able to say before I was enveloped by my own consciousness.

—-

"So, Link..." Zelda piped up after a long while of silence, her personal guard barely turning his head to look behind at her "I get you wanted us to go on a peaceful trip to clear our minds, due to the stress of the Calamity... but,"

Link hummed as a signal for her to continue.

"Why, if you don't mind me asking..." she pointed to the two horses walking peacefully with them "Have these three tagged along with us?"

"Ah, so the Princess addressed the elephant in the room," Y/N mused from her spot behind Azal, who she had been forced to share a horse with, and turned to Utall with a sly grin "You owe me 20 rupees."

The younger sneered, both from resentment and the fact he lost the bet "I don't owe you anything!"

"Oh dang, that's not very chivalrous~"

"Say that to my face, you—!"

"Both of you, quiet!" Azal barked in exasperation. Both his partner and the female champion had been getting on each other's nerves since day one, and frankly the eldest was getting tired of it. Sighing, he turned to Link "If I may, Captain, I'm curious as well. I know you had only planned on bringing Y/N and the princess with you."

"What?!" Both in question blurted, Zelda being the most surprised. Link had become a lot more eager to include Y/N as of late... what was his reasoning behind that?

"That was the plan..." Link replied finally, in his usual aloof attitude "I wanted the two of them to at least bond a little... the Champions need to work together, and I doubt that would be easy when there's bad blood involved."

Zelda scoffed "I doubt getting buddy buddy with a thief would give us any more chance of beating Ganon."

"I'm on the same page as the princess," Y/N continued boredly "I don't exactly have a problem with it, but getting close to her may seem suspicious to the king. I don't need him watching me any more intensively than he already is..."

Link sighed, disappointed that the girls couldn't see the opportunity like he did, but said nothing else on the matter. Y/N was right, king Rhoam would not like her getting closer to his daughter...

"It wouldn't have worked anyway..." he glanced back at his coworkers "Not with extra people."

"We apologise for that, Captain." Azal replied almost robotically "But our orders are not to let Y/N near Princess Zelda without our supervision."

"I can handle her."

"It's just precautions, sir."

"Besides," Utall pointed to said girl "How would she travel?"

"By horse, isn't it obvious?" The blonde tilted his head when a nervous laugh came from Y/N.

"That would be a problem," she said sheepishly "I never learned how to ride a horse..."

"You what?!" Utall blurted, leaning forward as hysterical laughter filled the area "The infamous thief, Y/N never learned how to ride a horse! Oh, that's too good!"

The girl's face began to turn red from his mockery, and after a big she began to bicker with him "Shut up! I may not know how to ride, but... I... I have a bird! Do you have a bird?"

Utall was still laughing as he sent her a sly grin, "You can't travel on a bird!"

"You can't deliver messages with a horse, either! Not without a rider!"

The two continued going at each other, which had Azal and Zelda glaring at them for their childish behaviour. Link however wasn't as displeased. This was a sign Y/N was becoming more open, and perhaps even getting closer to Utall. If anything, he was the one she talked to the most out of them all, even if it was extremely loud arguing. He doubted Utall hated the girl as much as he lead on, either.

"Guys, shut up..." Azal suddenly hissed, a lot quieter this time.

"No way!" Utall retorted "This chick—"

"I mean it this time...!" An icy glare was sent towards the younger male, which was when he noticed how tense the other had become. It seemed Link had become more alert too, and even Y/N after she had stopped focusing on the guard.

"There." Link stated bluntly, pointing to the end of the breach to see a gang of Bokoblins ganging up on something. Most likely an animal that had unfortunately wandered into their territory. Link turned to Azal and nodded, before slowing down his horse and steering it nearer to Zelda's "We're going to sneak around them. Protecting the princess is our priority, so don't let any of them near her should they attack..." he whispered, and the two guards and Y/N nodded.

The female was glaring at the monsters as they quietly walked on by, hating the fact she couldn't have a simple stroll without seeing them. Until one of them moved their heads, and she saw what they had ambushed.

She gasped in horror and moved to jump off Azal's horse, but he was quick to grab her arm tightly.

"What are you doing?!" He sneered, his grip far from comfortable. He probably thought she saw an opportunity to escape. But Y/N couldn't care less in her panicked state.

"There are children over there!" She rushed "They're being attacked!"

The man frowned and looked up at the gang again, only to have his narrowed eyes fly open at the sight of a little girl standing in front of a younger cowering boy with her arms stretched out. She looked close to tears. He glanced over at the Hylian Champion in his grasp again, as she glared at him urgently. Almost as if a mutual agreement had been made between them, he let her go and allowed her to sprint off towards the enemies.

"Y/N!" Link whisper-yelled, before glaring over at Azal "What are you—"

"You'll see," The dark skinned Male interrupted his captain, which he wasn't confident in doing "Just stay with Princess Zelda, Utall be on standby."

Link, Utall and Zelda we're confused at Azal's sudden orders, but obliged either way. Meanwhile, Y/N ran as quick as she could towards the monsters, alerting them and causing them to turnaround. The girl leapt up and slammed the sole of her boot into a Bokoblin's face, pushing off it so now she stood between the gang and the two kids.

"Stay behind me..." She whispered, just barely glancing over her shoulder at the ambushed boy and girl, who only nodded silently. The female pulled out her spear and held it in front of her, commanding it to turn blue in the name of Goddess Nayru, before slamming it into the ground. An icy wave hit the startled Bokoblins, and coated their bodies so they stood frozen temporarily. She had to act quickly, and therefore sent Azal a look. He nodded, and told Utall to follow him as he trotted over to Y/N who was soothing the crying children. Instantly when the men stopped by her, she lifted the girl up and handed her over to Azal, who sat her in front of him on the saddle. She did the same for the boy by giving him to Utall.

"Take then to the nearest village," she ordered, surprisingly serious despite her usual attitude "I'll take care of these scum."

She was expecting an accusation, but instead got a rather concerned remark from the mousy haired boy she had not long ago been arguing with "Will you be okay?"

"Don't worry about me, just focus on getting these children, and the princess to safety—" the ice holding the Bokoblins began to crack, causing her to yell in alert "Go, and don't look back! I'll meet you there, I promise!"

Though hesitant, the guards snapped their horses' reigns and galloped for the path - Link and Zelda quick to follow as the Bokoblins broke from their icy prison. Azal looked over his shoulder to see how Y/N was fairing; it didn't seem like a fair fight...

"Captain, take her." He held his cowering child out to Link, who was quick to take her into his arms.

"What are you going to do?"

"Help her."

The man pulled on his horse's reigns to make it change directions, so he was now galloping towards the fight despite everyone's yells.

"She said she would be fine!" Utall yelled desperately "Why would you go back?!"

He didn't quite know himself... however, in his panic yet determined he belted out an answer no one even remotely expected.

"Because I'm her knight!!"

Link's eyes flew open. His main priority was the princess, yet he wanted so badly to follow after Azal and protect his fellow champion... but he had a job to do. He pulled the quivering child closer to him in one arm, urging his steed to go faster, until the village came into view.

The two children were picked up immediately by responsible and trusted adults, who thanked the guards and princess for bringing them to safety before taking it from there. Link took out a breath of air before tending to Zelda, who was physically okay but obviously uneasy.

"They'll be fine..."

She flinched, instantly turning away from the boy "I'm not worried!"

"And you shouldn't be anymore, either captain. Look!"

Utall' sudden alert caused the other two to look over at the bridge, only to see Y/N walking over to them with Azal's arm slung over her shoulders. He was limping, but otherwise looked okay...

"He got hit in the knee with one of those clubs," the girl said simply after seeing the group's questioning stares "It could've been avoided if he did what I said in the first place."

Azal looked away, face slightly flushed "I had to make sure you wouldn't try to escape, it was a good opportunity after all."

Zelda rolled her eyes, but even she couldn't hide her amusement "That's not what we heard, stop lying cadet."

"Well, I..." Azal turned his head further away to avoid Y/N's gaze. Utall seemed to have enough of his hesitation and leaned his elbow on the fence he stood behind, resting his chin on his palm.

"He called himself your knight."

"Oh?" Y/N was genuinely surprised "Did he now?"

"Utall!" Azal groaned, unwrapping his arm from Y/N and hobbling over to the fence to keep himself level. The female only shrugged and walked over to Link and the princess.

"How are the kids?"

"Completely unharmed," Link replied, and though his expression was stoic his eyes held approval "Thanks to you and your quick actions, they're alright."

"He's right," Zelda spoke up, though didn't quite meet the older female in the eyes "What you did was... really brave. It would be pretty indecent of me as a princess if I didn't acknowledge that... But that doesn't mean I like you!"

"That goes for me too!" Azal piped up.

"That goes double for me!!" Utall finished a little too enthusiastically.

Y/N rolled her eyes, but a smile kept upon her face. "What about you?" She turned to the blonde hero "You gonna declare your loathe for me too?"

She expected him to nod, as did the other three watching. However, the silent hero only placed his hands on his hips and shrugged, smirking playfully at the ex thief.

"I think how much I 'loathe' you has already been implied."

—-

My surroundings soon became clear again, the houses reverting back to their ruined state and the people around me beginning to fade away. I sighed at the not so pleasant reminder of this village's downfall, not liking the feeling of being alone again...

Wait... alone?

"Uhhh... Y/N?"

"What?" The girl in question popped her head out from behind a decaying wooden wall. I raised an eyebrow.

"What are you doing?"

"Well you were taking a while this time, so I decided to look around to see I could find anything we could use." She shrugged.

I crossed my arms "I think that's called scavenging, Y/N."

I tried to keep a straight face when seeing the fed up expression she gave me, as she hummed and turned to the path "Yeah. Leaving now."

"Wait, no! I'm sorry, come back!" I pleaded through light laughter. It was funny how I instantly felt better with her around, even if she hadn't even tried to cheer me up. It made me realise that even though I didn't know where I belonged - or what my strange mixed up emotions meant... at least I had her to help me through it, as I would help her on her mission to... get home.

My feet suddenly stopped moving as the realisation suddenly struck me... All this time I had just brushed off the fact that Y/N's time here was limited... but actually thinking about it somewhat stung badly.

"Link?" Y/N turned after seeing I had stopped following her, frowning in concern "You... doing okay?"

I mentally slapped myself. I shouldn't get upset, she was simply going home after saving my world. I shouldn't be sad over something good, that was just selfish. Besides, I had already promised myself I'd get her home, and I wasn't going back on it,

So, forcing a smile I jogged passed her and grabbed her arm, dragging her along with me "Sorry, I'm fine. Let's head to the Lost Woods!"

"O-Oh, okay."