Linktober 2023

Day 21, Link

When was the last time he had a meal? How long was he in the depths? How many Lynels tried to kill him? When was the last time he slept through the night, or in a bed? Link isn't even sure anymore.

Tags: Link/Zelda, Link & Purah, Angst, Hurt/Comfort

Link disappeared for weeks at a time. After he returned from being missing, he was scattered and out of sorts, and near silent again. They hadn't found Zelda, and Purah knew well that wasn't good for his nerves. So she didn't like it when he disappeared. He wasn't in his right mind without her, and the messes he tended to get himself into were rather visceral.

When he did inevitably stumble back to Lookout Landing, he looked worse for wear. Cut up and bruised, sick from gloom, and teeming with stories, goods, gear, and anxiety. None of his early adventures brought him closer to his princess, and it wore on his nerves. He would tell Purah about his findings before anything else, shortly relaying all that had transpired between meetings and switching between sign and speech.

Then Purah would ask questions. But it was nothing about the mission, or the trip. When was the last time he had a meal? How long was he in the depths? How many Lynels tried to kill him? When was the last time he slept through the night, or in a bed? Usually, the answers only made her worry more. He only slept for a few hours, he hadn't eaten anything but apples for three days, he fought three monster hordes, two Hinoxes, and a Lynel in the span of four days.

"I only came back to tell you the Rito are safe again." "I just came back to tell you what I found." "I'm only here to talk to Josha." "And no, there's been no real sign of Zelda. They were all dead ends."

That's when Purah would grab his arm and talk some sense into him. Sometimes it took more force or yelling than others. Sometimes he was so angry there was nothing she could do but let him storm out. Other times he was so tired and sick he couldn't resist when she led him to the emergency shelter.

It was raining on one particular day. There was no sunshine, which wasn't good for gloom sickness. Link didn't fight her when she led him to the shelter, which worried her. He also gave most of his debriefing in sign. He hadn't spoken a word. He looked like he was about to pass out on the stone outside the lab, soaked through and covered in blood and monster dust. He had circles under his eyes, and he looked thinner than normal. He was wearing what looked like a suit with lights attached to the chest, dark, billowy pants that don't really look like they belong to this world, and a Gerudo style headdress. His hair was down and tangled, a hair tie on his wrist.

Purah led him through the rain and into the shelter, sitting him down on the edge of a bed. The shelter was bustling, since not much could be done outside in the weather. People eyed the pair, although from past experience nobody talked to them.

Purah placed her hand on Link's forehead and groaned. He had a fever, of course. The gloom was practically seeping from his skin.

Link watched silently as she walked from the beds to the cooking pots and threw together some soup with Sundelions, a plant Link himself found. When she brought it back to his bedside, she brought it to his lips. He began nodding off by the time she was done, but she urged him to stand. Behind a privacy screen, she helped him change into a pair of trousers and nothing else. She assessed and dressed his wounds – of which there were a startling amount, two close to infection from lack of proper care – and she was particularly careful. He barely flinched or made any sort of complaint, but she knew he wouldn't even if he were bleeding out. Zelda once told her he could be on death's doorstep and still keep fighting without complaints. Even still, she took special care to make it as painless as possible. With the wounds and the gloom sickness and fever, she couldn't imagine how much pain he was in.

And that didn't even begin to scratch the emotional distress he was in.

Link was silent and compliant until Purah reached the rat's nest on his head. She borrowed a brush from someone else in the shelter and sat behind Link on the bed, humming to herself as she carefully untangled the knots in his hair.

She was surprised when she felt his shoulders tremble from silent, carefully hidden sobs.

"Linky? What's the matter?" Purah asked softly.

"It's nothing," Link said, his voice soft and hoars. He didn't sign only because she wouldn't be able to see it.

"I can't help if you don't tell me what's wrong."

He was silent for a long moment, and Purah was about to keep doing his hair when he finally spoke, voice barely heard over the quiet bustle of the shelter and rain overhead. "Zelda would do my hair like that. It just... I just miss her, is all."

Purah softened. Link missed Zelda more than anyone, she knew. He was never without her for more than a day after he rescued her. She picked up the hairbrush and continued after asking Link's silent confirmation that it was okay.

"You know, you should stop running yourself into the ground like this," Purah ventured softly.

That got her a soft scoff.

"I'm serious, Linky. You're of no use to us or Zelda if you keep getting sick and running yourself ragged. And imagine where we would be if you didn't make it out of one of your daring fights."

He said nothing. It took a few minutes of focused silence, but eventually she got all the knots out and she tied his hair into a bun on the top of his head. She helped lay him down in bed with some cool cloths on his head and the back of his neck. She got the towels wet with rainwater, so it smelled like the wild. He smiled a little when she dabbed at the sweat pooling on his face from the fever.

"Think about what I said, Link," Purah says softly after a moment. "You can't save Zelda like this."

Link huffs, as if to say What else am I supposed to do?

"You're allowed to take breaks, you know. I'm sure Zelda would understand. Prefer it, even, instead of you doing this to yourself."

That might've gotten through to him. He sighed, the closest Purah was going to get to an agreement right now. She left him in the shelter to rest for the night.

He was up in two days, and left in three. He shouldn't have. His wounds were still healing, and he had to have been still affected by the gloom sickness.

But she couldn't stop him. Nobody could, not until Zelda was back in his arms.  

I adore this one. I love Purah and Link's relationship in TotK and I think it should be explored more. Comments and Kudos give me life. Thank you for reading!