#your companion as link was just this gruff but ultimately kind and compassionate warrior

[bigfan-fanfic]

Writing Game 1.2: Disappointment

Prompt: Disappointment Pairing: Geralt/Link

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So, this Link is sort of an amalgam of all of them, though most closely linked (pun not intended) to the Breath of the Wild or Twilight Princess ones.

Geralt knows, deep in his soul, he can never let Dandelion know what he's thinking at this moment. Knows the bard would be oh-so-giddy to know that Geralt finds himself perplexed and uncertain at times when his companion remains so silent.

"Oh, looks like the shoe's finally on the other foot, eh, Wolf?" he'd say, perhaps. Or worse, he'd compose a ballad on how the quiet, stoic witcher met his match in the silence provided by the young swordsman he traveled with.

Link sits, staring into space with more than just his usual silence permeating the air between them. If it were normal silence, Geralt could easily tolerate it, but the lad was... if he weren't so stoic, Geralt would have thought he was distraught. Something in him had a kindred spirit in the Hero, though he was just a wanderer who stumbled into Hyrule, into a legend not his own. Geralt knew what it was like to be entangled in the games of Destiny, and he resolved then that the lad would not be alone in her grasp.

"Another one of those damn temples cleared. A good sign of progress." he began neutrally. It was still so awkward to be on this side of the silence. Geralt was beginning to feel some sense of sympathy for Dandelion. "And yet you seem... unsatisfied."

Link turned his head to look at him and sighed softly.

"You thought you'd find her there." Geralt states. It's not in his nature to dance around the point. "Your princess."

A nod. Geralt wonders if his own eyes can convey such a feeling of being lost. Wonders if he's ever mirrored the lad's unspoken need for a companion, a friend.

"I've had my share of lost people. And that... that ache of missing them. Every corner you turn a fresh disappointment. A reminder that you're still... incomplete."

Link's eyebrows furrow, but he's turned fully to face Geralt across the campfire, across the pot that the witcher still isn't sure how Link managed to make a wonderful meal from (Geralt has eaten better on the road with the Hero of Courage than ever before and he isn't sure how to feel about that).

"But... I still found 'em. In the end. What I'm trying to say is that while it hurts like hell, while you can feel the separation and distance in the hollows of your bones... it doesn't mean you're a failure." Geralt's hands move as he speaks, as if trying to help impel the words and impress them on his companion's heart. "I'm not... good with words. I know it all sounds like the shit anyone would say to try and make you feel better..."

Link chuckles a little at that. Geralt forestalls the tide of words and lets out a soft chuckle of his own.

"We'll find her. And we'll make them pay for it."

The smile becomes a grin - a little violent, but at least the gloom was dispelled. Geralt nods, pleased.

Link's smile softens, and then turns to a curious look. "Your... lost ones. You found them?"

"Yeah." Geralt cracks his neck, stretching. "Dandelion tells the story better. My Child Surprise. My... daughter."

"Surprise?" Link raises his eyebrow, lips quirking in amusement.

"Oh, great, now I have to explain the Law of Surprise..."

The night passed in story - though gruff, Geralt was not a poor storyteller by any means, and finally there was an audience that could relate with him. And Geralt chased the lad's disappointment and heartsickness away with his own stories, sure that one day their goal would be within reach.