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The Divine Beast was recaptured and Zora’s Domain was safe, so Link didn’t understand why he was still here. Prince Sidon had taken one look at him after he’d come back from fighting Waterblight Ganon and sent him to the inn to rest. That was sensible—Link certainly couldn’t go off to the next Divine Beast until his injuries were healed—but the next morning, Sidon had looked at him, declared him ill, and had him moved to a bed in the infirmary.
Sure, Link felt pretty congested and his head pounded, but he was used to pain. He always walked around with more than a few injuries. He just didn’t understand why a few coughs every once in a while meant that he couldn’t leave.
“How are you feeling, Link?” Sidon boomed as he burst into the room, making a beeline for the hero. Link narrowed his eyes and motioned towards the door. The prince laughed.
“Oh, no. Not yet. I’m afraid you’ll be here for a few more days at least. I suspect you were already getting ill before you even boarded the Divine Beast, and the exertion from… whatever you did up there pushed your body too far to fight it off properly.”
Link pouted, and Sidon laughed again.
“I see what Mipha meant when she said you were cute when you’re sick. You really are adorable.” He patted the Hylian’s head.
Link furrowed his brow.
“Oh, that’s right, you wouldn’t remember,” Sidon remarked. “Well, I don’t remember it very well myself, having been so young, but from what Mipha told me, you came to the Domain rather often with your father as a child. As the story goes, one time when you came you were actually sleeping in your father’s arms. Mipha found it quite charming.”
Link looked defiantly up at the Zora prince.
“Oh, don’t give me that look,” Sidon said with a chuckle. “You might play up the ‘stoic knight’ persona, but deep down you’re just really adorable.”
Wether from the fever or something else, Link felt his face flush, and something fluttered in his chest. He pushed it down. Now was not the time to drop his mask.
Sidon sat there telling stories for some time more. It was weird to hear stories about himself, but that was what Link got in exchange for being alive. He’d take it. Besides, just the timbre of Sidon’s voice was soothing to him. He felt a smile spread across his face as his eyelids grew heavy.
Link could swear that, just before he fell asleep, Sidon had pressed a quick kiss to his temple.