Admit it {Dark Link X Reader}

“Tell me you hate it here.”

His irises were a fiery red, but his eyes were as cold as ice.
It scared you to look into those eyes, those eyes you knew had the capability to be caring, gentle and even happy.
It scared you how close your bodies were, just a hair’s width away from each other- close enough to feel the heat emanate off of the shadow being.

It scared you how scared you were.

One of the arms beside your head slammed against the wall again, making you flinch and cower away from Dark Link’s scalding gaze.

“Tell me you regret this.”

His voice was low but threatening, harsh yet oddly calm.
And though those few words were spoken as a near whisper, you had to bite your bottom lip to keep it from trembling.

It was a plea thinly disguised to be intimidating, and both of you knew no one would be fooled.

Tell me how you feel.

You refused to make eye-contact. You knew that once you gave in, there was no telling what would happen.

“Tell me that you wish you never came here.”

Tell me how it ended up this way.

You kept silent and pressed your fingers into the wall behind you, prying for an escape that you knew you wouldn’t find.

For how long had he been commanding you to say such strange things?
A few minutes? A couple of hours? Perhaps even the entire day?

For all of his requests, you remained silent.
You wanted to scream at him until you were hoarse, tell him how much suffering you had endured because of him, how much misery and agony both your mental and physical state had withstood.

But you couldn’t say it.

“Say it!” Dark Link suddenly boomed, causing you to shrink and squeeze your eyes closed, afraid more of the forthcoming tears than the person towering over you.

You opened your mouth, though no words would come forth.

He was a monster. A wretched beast born from the light of a hero, twisted into a shadow- he was nothing: not even his own person.
He was undesirable in so many ways, and it disgusted you. He was cold and miserly, always brooding and plotting against the beings of light.

But you couldn’t tell him.

Because then you would be lying.

The tears managed to slip from between your closed eyelids, brushing past your eyelashes and streaming down your cheeks.

You had hated living in custody of the Dark Lord, Ganon- and hated living beside the ever-spiteful Dark Link, who treated everything but himself as vile and inferior.

You had regret ever opening your mouth in attempts to upbraid the Dark Lord.
You had been foolish, and overcome with emotion upon witnessing the disappearance of Saria-your closest friend. And though you wished to do much more than insolently scream at Ganon, you should have kept your mouth shut- because now you had been dragged into a hellhole run by  a cunning shadow and a deceitful Lord.

You had wished with all of your soul to escape this condemned castle. You had resorted to nearly throwing yourself off the bridge and into the lava to end your agonizing misery. You had regret coming here.

It was true, you had felt all these things at one point, but now-

Dark Link carefully wiped away your tears with his thumb, turning your face back towards him.

But now-

He placed his forehead softly against your own, his breathing slightly uneven and mingling with your own shuddering breaths.

But now…

You finally allowed your eyelids to flutter open, reddened eyes gazing into wine-colored irises, a fierce color dulled by sorrow, gleaming with tears.

You had hated living in custody of the Dark Lord, he was a bitter man who only kept you alive so that you could wish you were dead.
But he had given you a reason to live.
When he saw you at your most pitiful, he shoved you so that you could push back.
When your emotions were nothing more than a heap of anguish, he taunted you until you were nothing but furious- you fell for his antics again and again, determined to rip him to shreds each time.

You had regret ever opening your mouth in attempts to upbraid the Dark Lord. But if you hadn’t-

Across from you, Dark Link shut his eyes and said your name- his voice hushed, wavering and just a bit unsure.

You had wished with all of your soul to escape this condemned castle- but if you hadn’t been kidnapped-

Dark Link muttered your name again, sounding almost desperate.
His eyes held a slew of emotions- more than you have seen before, but the most prominent was shame.
His arms fell away from the wall beside you, falling back silently to his side. In a tone so despairing and hollow, he whispered

“Tell me you hate me.”

You wouldn’t have met him.

For some reason, you feel your body relax, your shoulders drooping and your fingers stray from the wall. You feel a sad smile tug at the corners of your lips, despite the fresh batch of tears that accompanied it.
You take a single step towards the shadow, wrapping your arms around his waist and burying your head into his chest, closing the distance between you two.

You feel his body begin to wilt at your actions, his spine curving away from it’s usual proud stance, his face hidden in your shoulder.

You knew that your tears had probably soaked his tunic by now, but he didn’t seem to mind in the least.

You opened your mouth again, and this time the worlds flowed out of your mouth without the slightest hesitation

”I don’t.”

At this, the warrior of darkness wrapped his arms around you before completely crumpling to the ground, bringing you with him.
You heard no sobs from him, but the quaking of his shoulders and the wetness of your back and shoulder told you more than enough.

There you two sat, in the light of the setting sun. One crying, one comforting, and wondering if the other had ever felt the sting of tears prior to this event.

After what could have been an eternity, the shadow, his eyes rimmed with red from crying, pulled away from you. Your hands slipped from his waist, only to be encased in his own.

His eyes gazed into your own, ruby red nearly putting you into a trance.

With a breathy voice and sorrowful yet hopeful eyes, he said the words that you never thought you would hear from him

”I love you.”

Your eyes were wide, staring back into the pools of red that shared a resemblance to that of a lost child’s.
Shock whittled away, and a small smile tugged at your lips your eyes softening.

”Then kiss me, you idiot.”