Monochrome

Chapter Eighteen: When Life Gives You Lemons

Over the next several days, her mind had been in a scramble. She just shut herself off from everything and everyone, no matter the danger it put them in. It was selfish on her part, but he was supposed to be hers. She had always been sure that Link not being able to see color with her was just a fluke, a mistake on Hylia's part. The only thing that would sometimes allow her to come back to life was knowing that once this ended, Ghirahim would be dead, skewed on the Master Sword.

"Miss, we must travel faster," Impa advised. As Zelda's feet slowly dragged themselves along the ground, a small smile played itself along her lips.

Once this was over, everything would be perfect.

---

Link's eyes slowly blinked open and he was greeted by the image of a certain demon lord's chest. Not wanting to face the day yet, the hero snuggled closer to Ghirahim who was idly playing with the boy's hair for the time being.

"Good, you're up," Ghirahim observed. Link let out a groan of frustration and refused to look at the fallen villain. "Come on now, we have a lot to do."

"Like what?" He sleepily muttered.

"Like the fact that you need to go through another timezone to get Zelda. After that, you can take a break before Wysteria comes into play."

"I don't want to," Link declared. His response came out slow and sluggish, and Ghirahim had to fight the urge to dunk him in cold water.

"You've been saying that for the past two days. Do you really have such a death wish?"  The demon's voice came out slightly more irritated than he had intended, and Link finally looked up at him warily.

"I don't want to be the hero anymore."

"Well like it or not, you're still the hero, and unless you're ready to see this world get plundered by satanic beings, you need to get your act together," Ghirahim snapped.

The demon lord, now done with Link's childish antics, was prepared to get up and leave the boy until the other kissed him on the nose. "Thank you for choosing me and staying."

Link's voice came out so meager, he almost double checked to see if the hero had said it at all. "Anytime, Hero," he nonchalantly replied.

Hesitantly, Ghirahim brushed the back of his hand along Link's jawline and felt the other shift even closer to him. One of the demon's legs managed to end up between Link, and that could have been marked off as a harmless, affectionate gesture if the demon lord hadn't immediately pushed his knee up against the other's crotch. Calloused hands gripped Ghirahim's shoulders tightly as the demon rubbed against that sensitive area of the Hylian.

The demon lord enjoyed taking in the boy's reactions. A smirk graced the villain's lips as the way Link's eyes would cloud over or the way his lips became wet from the hero biting at him. Almost as an afterthought, Ghirahim kissed Link, and he was only mildly surprised when the hero roughly kissed back, trying to dominate the action.

"Do you want this, Hero?" He whispered against those now swollen lips where a few pants would escape, most likely from his kneeing. "I know you haven't in the past."

A low chuckle of amusement made it's way through Ghirahim's throat, as the boy kissed him again. "Yeah, I'm sure now."

At that, the demon lord quickly flipped over to where he straddled Link. He drew a hand down the hero's chest and stomach as attentive eyes eagerly watched him. His hand, however, stopped when he reached the other's belt. After a few seconds, he pulled himself away from Link.

"Sorry Link, but I'm not doing this with you right now. Come on, let's go." Ghirahim held out a hand for Link, but the boy just stared at him.

"Why?" The simple question left the demon lord speechless for a moment. "Isn't that what you wanted from the beginning of all of this. Even, while you were doing just 'research,' you-"

"That was then and this is now."

The finality in his former foe's tone discouraged Link from prying anymore. He cautiously took the other's hand, and let himself be pulled up.

"Never thought the day would come where you would be denying me," Link haughtily muttered before stomping off.

---

"You've grown," the old woman observed. "But not quite enough. That sword on your back won't get you to the end of your journey."

Dim light filtered into the Sealed Temple from one of the many cracks in the ceiling. As old as it now was, the place still held a charm, and Link believed it was probably once beautiful in it's former glory.

"Are you saying he needs to buy a new sword?" As if on cue, the sarcastic, velvety voice of his counterpart interrupted the hero's moment.

"I'm saying he needs to forge a new one with three sacred flames and the blessing of a goddess," she answered back. She shifted her weary gaze back to Link. "You won't be able to enter the dimension Zelda's in with the dull power that resides in that sword. It needs to be awakened to it's full potential."

"Alright, I just need to find a little bit of fire, talk to Zelda, and then I can take a break from all of this hero nonsense," Link chirped in conclusion. Out of the corner of his eye, he swore he saw Ghirahim facepalm.

"This isn't something you can get done in a week," the demon explained. "This will be the most trying task of your journey."

Link stared at Ghirahim with confidence before brushing by and walking past him. "Watch me," was his simple reply.

A/N: You guessed it. I'm sorry to say that this is just a filler chapter with no character development, but it sets up the stage for the next chapter.

Sorry about my long ass absence but marching band has currently taken over my life.

And I came out to my mother, so that was fun.

But I'm back!

Til next time, Keep Calm and Read On!