Sidon found himself gazing at the small Hylian next to him, taking in his features. Link had shown up at the Domain for a visit that afternoon, and the two of them had spent the entire day talking about anything and everything, eventually making their way to the pier at East Reservoir Lake. They now sat at the end of the pier, after a couple hours spent floating in the cool waters, which were now spotted with the reflections of stars in the darkening sky.

Link was always so serious, a stone expression that seemed to carry the weight of unspoken burdens. That wasn’t to say he was never happy, the champion would often allow small, closed-mouth smiles to grace his face at times he deemed appropriate, yet it always appeared somewhat pained, or forced. Occasionally, however, something more natural would briefly emerge. It would only happen in certain moments, a swift flash of teeth, upturned lips, and brightened blue eyes. It would appear in the victory of a catch, when he and Sidon would go out searching for hot-footed frogs to give to the children of Zora’s Domain. It would appear when Sidon had made a particularly funny remark, or more often when he made a fool of himself. Sidon would take in as much of Link’s face as he could in those moments, although he would often be left feeling somewhat crestfallen as the smile seemed to disappear as soon as it had manifested.

Only once had Sidon ever seen Link laugh- beyond slight chuckles masked by a hand or bit of clothing, that is. It was on a day like this one, Link had visited, and the two had decided to try their luck fishing in the Rutala river. As Sidon was preparing to dive for a particularly plump-looking armoured carp, he was left stunned by a loud bang, followed by a dead fish flying directly into his face. Sidon sputtered, pulling scales away from his lips, and he found himself frozen in place as he looked over to the Hylian on the river bank, surrounded by dead, floating fish, Sheikah slate in-hand. Link’s shoulders shook, his head thrown back as musical laughter flooded from his mouth, his cheeks tinged a pinkish colour, and goddess he was so beautiful.

Ever since that moment, Sidon had subconsciously-or maybe a little consciously-made it his goal to hear that laugh as often as he could. It turned out to be no easy feat, and he hadn’t been able to make it happen since that moment with the remote bombs. Sidon could coax out small huffs of laughter here and there, but what was most infuriating was Link would always try to hide it, casting his gaze downward and allowing his hair to shield his face, or turning away and chuckling into his shoulder, the sound always muffled.

Goddess, this boy was impossible. Why couldn’t he just let himself be happy? What did he have to hide?

Sidon felt that question eating away at his mind, as he and Link sat with their legs dangling into the water. Sidon was submerged up to the middle of his calves, but Link's toes barely punctured the surface, their height difference evident as ever. As the two chatted, Sidon brought up that moment at the river, and Link smiled as he recalled the memory. Yet, once again, Link looked away as if to hide his joyful reaction.

Link peered up at Sidon, a quizzical look appearing in the form of a pinched brow, as he noticed the prince had been watching him.

Sidon felt a slight warmth blossom in his chest.

“Uhm...Link I-...I have found myself wondering...why is it that you always hide your smile?”

Link was a Hylian of few words. It wasn’t that he didn’t enjoy speaking, he just felt that words seemed to always evade him, and he had a hard time making verbal sense of his thoughts. With Sidon, however, he found that speech came to him much more naturally than it did with others around.

“Not sure. I guess I...“ Link trailed off, looking away from Sidon to take an interest in his palms, which were fiddling with each other in his lap. Being open about his true feelings was something foreign to him. After a recent visit to Kakariko Village, Impa had to nearly threaten Link with his life to get him to open up. Something about harbouring your hardships, growing a bitter soul...Link couldn’t remember exactly, but, he knew she had a point. Plus, talking felt good after a while. “I guess I feel like...I just have so much responsibility. There’s so much that depends on me, and if I let myself have fun, then...” Link paused, bringing a hand up to rub anxiously at the back of his neck. Sidon took a moment to notice the goosebumps that rippled along his scarred shoulders, which were bare as Link had stripped down to his boxers for their swim earlier.

He let out a soft sigh.

“If I enjoy myself too much, I feel that I’m neglecting those responsibilities. There’s so many bad things going on in the world, and a lot of it is up to me to fix. How can I be sitting here, laughing and smiling, when all of this is going on? What sort of hero does that make me?”

A feeling of sadness tugged at Sidon’s heart. Link was so important to him. He did so much good, he didn’t deserve the weight that his shoulders carried.

Link gasped as Sidon grabbed for his shoulders, turning his body to face him, maybe a little too forcefully. Link felt his cheeks grow warm under the intensity of the zora prince’s gaze. Sidon noticed a flutter in his belly as his large hands almost completely enveloped Link’s frame. The Hylian really was tiny.

“Link. Don’t ever think that you aren’t deserving of happiness. Bad things are always happening in the world,” Sidon slid his hands from the side of Link’s shoulders, coming to rest them on top, on either side of his neck. “You cannot fix all of them at once, and just because they’re happening, does not mean you can’t still experience joy!”

Link looked away once more, feeling moisture begin to prick at the corners of his eyes, muttering in a small voice, “I’m not so sure about that...”

“Well I am!” Sidon removed a hand to cup link’s cheek, bringing his face back to look him in the eye. The prince could have melted at the sight, Link’s round, blue eyes glistening with the hint of tears, his lips turned down slightly in a soft pout. “You have done so much for Hyrule, more than any other person I know and...certainly more than me.” A single tear managed to escape, rolling slowly down the porcelain curve of the champion’s face. In a motion to catch the tear, wipe it away before it could fall, Sidon swiped a finger down along Link’s jawline. However, as his claw passed by the spot just below his ear, he stopped. Link had flinched ever so slightly, the right corner of his mouth twitching up for half a second. It was a moment that would have been missed had Sidon not been so fixed on the Hylian's face.

“Are you alright? Did I hurt you?”

The pink that lingered in Link’s cheeks seemed to spread to his pointed ears as Sidon spoke.

“U-Uhm...no. I mean yea, I’m fine. You didn’t hurt me.”

Excitement sparked within Sidon as he pieced the moment together. “You know Link, you really should smile more. Laugh, especially. It can’t be healthy to hold so much stress with no release.” There was no hiding the grin that took over his face.

Sidon relished in the look on Link’s face, as it shifted from confusion to realization to panic in one swift second. Link’s pinkness flushed deeper, taking on a more reddish hue. “S-Sidon, I don’t know what you mean.” The Hylian began to shift nervously in the large zora’s hold, which tightened gently on his shoulders.

The red zora chuckled. “Nonsense. Come here.”

He reached to pull the Hylian closer, but Link scrambled to his feet, turning on his heels in an attempt to bolt out of reach, but Sidon took hold of his ankle and yanked him back, careful so as to not injure him. Sidon’s enormous size and strength allowed him to easily grab Link by the waist and plop him right into his lap, cradling his back with one arm, taking hold of the champion’s thin wrist at his side, the other one trapped between himself and Sidon’s torso.

Sidon tapped his chin, making sure to take on a thoughtful expression, humming, “Now, it was a long time ago, but I do believe I can recall Mipha and I used to play a game quite like this when I was young. Although, I was always on the receiving end. It never failed to cheer me up.”

Link flushed even deeper, if that was possible, and felt a swarm of nervous butterflies dip into his stomach, as he attempted to tug his wrist from Sidon’s grip. It did not budge remotely. “I-I’m not sure I understand.” Link feigned confusion, biting his lip to suppress the involuntary smile that was already threatening to emerge.

Sidon tsked , looking down at Link in a near predatory fashion that made his stomach tie in knots. “Oh, I think you do. And this may just work, if that little reaction you gave me earlier is anything to go on.”

Sidon raised his free arm, wiggling his fingers in the air, before slowly lowering it towards Link’s exposed stomach. Before he was even halfway there, the Hylian dissolved into a mess of anticipatory stammers, a smile creeping onto his face against his own volition, squirming helplessly in the zora’s hold. Sidon’s heart nearly leaped from his chest the moment that rare smile erupted on his dear friend’s face. However, this did not shake the mischievous mood he’d found himself in.

“My! I have yet to even touch you! Just how sensitive are Hylians anyway?”

The teasing turned Link into a puddle of redness and a toothy smile, as he turned to hide his blushing face in his shoulder. “Sh-shut up!”

While Link was snickering lightly before, it was nothing compared to the giggles that exploded forth once Sidon’s clawed hand made contact with his pale waist. Link’s back arched, grinning as wide as ever as Sidon spidered along his belly. The zora prince took his time exploring Link’s torso, admiring the softness of his skin, the toned divots of his abs. Trailing his claws within said divots seemed to pull out especially sweet sounds, as Link’s giggles raised several octaves in pitch. Sidon found himself laughing along with the Hylian in his arms, completely taken with the mirthful expressions on his face. What Sidon didn’t predict was Link bucking so hard that he managed to roll out of his lap, when Sidon randomly moved to twirl a finger around his belly button, eliciting a squeal of laughter.

Link panted, his back pressed against the cool surface of the pier. Little giggles continued to slip out, and there was no removing the grin on his face.

“Oh? And you thought I was finished with you?”

Link yelped in surprise as Sidon rolled on top of him, straddling the Hylian and effectively trapping him beneath his large form.

“Sidon, no! P-please no more!” Link stammered, still grinning and blushing madly, especially being in such a position with the prince.

Sidon remained silent, his intent clear in the look in his eyes, as he took link’s wrists easily into one hand, raising them high above his head. Link’s eyes had been squeezed tightly shut for the past few moments, and when no torturous sensations came, he tentatively opened them. Sidon’s gaze appeared to be scanning Link’s entire body, lingering on his soft belly, then his neck. His pupils seemed to expand larger, his yellow irises thinning as the deep black took over.

Link was here. Beneath him. Grinning, heaving, ears and cheeks flushed red, exposed.

Link’s smile vanished. “S-Sidon...” Their eyes connected.

Before Link could even make sense of what was going on, Sidon had quickly dipped his head and placed a huge raspberry right on his belly button. Link positively shrieked. He threw his head back as laughter overtook his entire body, his legs kicking out behind him and Sidon. The prince sat back up, bringing his free hand back to squeeze and spider along Link’s hips. He had reduced the hero of Hyrule to a heap of laughter and nothing more. Sidon released Link’s wrists, bringing his other hand to join the torture. Link instinctively shot his arms down to protect himself, but he was so weak and disoriented from laughing that all he could do was swat half heartedly. His pleas were incoherent, and the need to breathe quickly washed over him. In a panicked moment, without much thought at all, he grabbed Sidon by the fins on the side of his face, pulling him down into a kiss, giggles spilling into the zora’s mouth.

Sidon froze, propping himself up with his hands on the ground, on either side of Link’s head. As Link inhaled precious bouts of air, and his giggles calmed, he realized what he’d just done. He looked up at Sidon. The prince was staring, cheeks a bright shade of blue.

Huh. Zoras really do blush in blue.

Link felt a different type of panic set in, regret quickly pitting in his chest. “Sidon! I’m so sorry I-“

He was cut off abruptly, as Sidon swooped down to kiss Link deeply. The shock melted, and Link’s hands raised to grasp at the back of the zora’s neck. Sidon’s own hands found purchase, one in Link’s hair, the other grasping at the dip of his waist. Eventually, they both broke away, panting.

“I...” Link was at a loss.

“I love you.”

Link almost didn’t register what Sidon had said, wanting to pinch himself, to see if this was reality. No, this was real. It was real.

“I love you too.”

Sidon bent down to kiss Link again, softly, peppering smiling kisses down along his jaw. Link grinned incredulously.