Mute - Zelink Modern AU

Withdrawal (16)

Link had awoken the next day, a weird pit in his stomach that he hadn't felt in quite a while. It was a strange sensation, like an overwhelming feeling on numbness had overtaken his brain. Not giving it much thought, he got up and tried to go on with his daily activities like eating breakfast, but the lingering feeling something missing was there. Link tried to lie to himself; but he knew exactly why.

How are these effects happening so suddenly? I've only missed what, three doses? My body can't be that used to it. The feelings aren't even real. He was thinking to himself. He couldn't trick himself into believing that the positive emotions he had were his own serotonin, which seemed to make him feel even worse.

"Are you leaving now?" He asked his mother in the kitchen.

"Yes. I'll wait until Zelda gets here" She replied, grinning at her son, who was actually out of his pajamas for a change. She was almost convinced that he forgot about normal clothes.

A knock on the door halted the conversation. Both of them could recognise the soft sound of Zelda's fist on the door. Link's heart subconsciously started beating faster, like a premature reaction. 

"You go into the main room, I'll get it" She told her son.

Link obliged and walked into the living room, sitting down whilst trying to calm his breathing down even slightly.

Link's mother opened the door quickly, greeting Zelda.

"Hi Zelda!" After about half a second, she followed up quietly "Would you mind having a word with Link for me?" She asked, desperateness clearly in her voice. 

"Er... Sure" Zelda replied, rather curious as to what was wrong. "What about?" If it was anything that would make Link sad or feel unhappy, then she was almost definitely going to say no.

"He hasn't been taking his medication. I was fine with it at the time but I'm sure you know that coming off them immediately will have negative effects. Especially since he's been taking them for a while" After a long sigh, Link's mother explained.

"Yeah, definitely. I'll make sure to talk to him about it" She paused, swallowing hard. A sudden urge came about which made her look deeply into the other's eyes. "I really care about your son" She finished, starting to shake in the process. 

"I know, Zelda. I can tell that he feels the same way" She smiled down at the young girl, almost as if giving her a nod of approval.

"Really?" An ecstatic tone replied.

"Really really"

She gently patted Zelda's head like a symbol of goodbye, and left quickly as she heard Link walk out of the main room to see what was taking so long. 

Zelda was rather surprised. She would never have thought that Link would just stop taking his medication; that he'd be smarter than that. It was actually more common for people to get addicted to the fake sense of happiness and emotions that the meds give them. It was almost unheard of for someone to want to push them away.

She walked into the living room with the sole intention of talking to him about this. She didn't want to resort to talking to her mother, but Zelda knew all too well that that would have to happen if Link didn't listen to her.

"Hey... How've you been lately?" She cautiously asked as she sat down next to him, thinking of a way to smoothly transition.

"Better than ever, to be honest"He replied, smiling directly at her. His body language was indicating that he was lying though. He was turning his body away, and he couldn't keep eye contact.

"That's good" Zelda replied, she just couldn't really think of anything that could smoothly transition.

"I've been feeling a little down for the past few days, actually" An honest sigh escaped his lips.

"Oh, really?" It was a shock that he went back on his original answer to be honest. "Do you know why that is?"

"It could be something to do with my meds" He paused, unsure of whether to explain. He did anyway. "I've been missing doses"

"Oh. How many doses?" They were getting onto the right track, Zelda was happy with the fact that Link was being honest with her.

"Well, you see..." He paused again, anxiety obviously trying to steer his thoughts.  "All of them" He eventually said quietly.

"Link..." She tried to act surprised. "Do you know what effects that can have on you?" She honestly stated, showing that she was aware of what she was talking about.

"I know now; I forgot that I actually have a problem. I'm sorry" Link admitted, gripping his fists tightly on nothing.

"You don't have anything to apologise for! There's nothing wrong with needing extra support, even if it happens to be from meds" Zelda tried to reassure as she raised her voice, sounding a bit harsher than she intended to.

"I hate that my stability relies on them, though! I shouldn't need help to function like a normal human being!" The feeling came back, the inadequacy.

"For Goddess sake, you are not broken! Your brain doesn't even rely on them. You could do without, but that would make things harder. I understand that you're getting withdrawal symptoms, so why try so hard to stay away?" She reasoned with him, not meaning to turn it into an argument.

"They make me feel better emotionally, sure. But in every other aspect of my life; its terrible. I've gained weight, I'm always tired, the underlying constant feeling of nausea never really goes away. Its like I'm sacrificing one half of my health for another. Yet trying to come off the meds, I'm doing exactly the same thing" The other could really tell how torn he was by how his voice cracked and raised in pitch.

"At the moment, there's nothing wrong with that. If you feel like you're ready to come off of the meds, maybe try slowly giving it up; lowering your dosage. It'll get your body used to it" Zelda's voice was calm, nurturing, like her mother's.

"But... At what cost?!" He desperately shouted, gripping his fists.

"Link! Do it, please. For me?" Zelda didn't want to have to resort to that at all, but she felt like it was her last option at convincing him. It would have been incredibly awkward if he said no to that. 

"I- well..." Link darted his eyes towards his feet, thinking for a second or two "I can't say no to that..." He finished with blushing cheeks. How did Zelda manage to turn this into something that felt like a romantic moment?

"Thank you. This is for your own good" She pulled him into an embrace.

FINALLY A NEW PART HOLY MOLY. 

Happy new year! I hope 2018 will be a great year for everyone. 

I don't really like getting too much into personal things; but I finally have a specific diagnosis for what is mentally affecting my ability to write, stay motivated, sleep etc, so I know a lot more about how to cope and keep afloat in that aspect.

Thanks for waiting and supporting me! :)