White Wolf Fan Fiction Presents:

~Fallen Angel~

A Skyward Sword Story

Title: Fallen Angel

Words: 1,720

Warnings: Yaoi (Boy Love), minor hurt/comfort, minor angst, minor fluff, minor hints to blood and violence

Pairings: Ghirahim/Link

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not and will never own anything of Skyward Sword. Nor of any of the Legend of Zelda details, for that fact.

Summary: The demon lord had been avoiding him at every turn, since the hero had taken away everything that he'd known and turned his entire world upside down. But when Link is dangerously hurt, Ghirahim can't just stand by and watch him die after all.

-0-

It had been nearly seven months since Demise was defeated and since Ghirahim had started wandering the Surface without a purpose. Seven months since the hero had saved the Surface and his precious home, Skyloft and seven months since Ghirahim had first assumed that Link had just forgotten about him. But all of his doubts had been quelled when he had first heard word, from the local Bokoblins, of the green-clad hero searching all of the Surface for him.

He never understood why until he found the first of what was to be many letters addressed to him from Link.

'Ghirahim, it's been a month since everything had happened and a lot has happened since then. I admit I was distraught, afterwards, having thought you dead, and my friends had questioned my fallen spirits for days, even Hylia had done so, but how could I explain to them how I felt? That my heart had felt like it was being crushed, with the weight of the knowledge that you were gone.

But then I'd discovered something that raised my hopes: I saw you, though just briefly, during a trip I'd taken to the surface two weeks ago for an herb that Hylia needed for Stritch. He'd gotten ill, you see, and I offered to help out. I had needed the distraction at the time, anyway. So I searched the forest and imagine my surprise… and my complete delight… when I found out you were still alive.

But it's been two weeks already and I've been search since then for you. I've been hoping to find you, to tell you that I'm glad you're alive.

I never know if you're going to turn me away though, or if you're going to accept my forgiveness with open arms.

But I will continue to search in hopes of getting the chance to tell you everything.'

That first letter he'd crushed and turned away from with a sneer, his heart clenching tight in his chest and he left, unable to bear what he'd thought was the all-consuming hatred for the hero that had stolen everything from him.

The next letter he'd found was a month and a half after the first one, in the Eldin region.

'The Almighty Demon Lord, Ghirahim… I can't help but snort at the title, it was so… pointless at the time and it's pointless now. It must be lonely… with only the Bokoblin to keep you company. I'm sorry… I manage to always just miss you, everywhere you go and I follow, or I try to, anyway.

I must have written a hundred letters though, each more ridiculous than the last and I never know which to leave where I go, but I've left a few, sometimes in odd places, other times in the most obvious, wondering if you ever get them. I don't even know if you're reading this one now, but… I hope you are.

I miss you so much and I'm trying so hard to find you, because I want to tell you that I miss you, face to face. I miss when we interacted, back when I had to… save the world, I guess. And I miss when I knew that you actually looked forward to our meetings, like at the Fire Sanctuary, do you remember? That was the first time that I… well, that I realized that I… no, I can't tell you this, not in a letter anyway.

I want to tell you in person, I want to see you in person… Ghirahim.

Where are you…?'

Ghirahim didn't throw that letter away, but he still crumpled it up, gritting his teeth because this feeling that was overtaking him was something he hated. So much so that he refused to name it, because it's been almost three months and he was lonely and he missed Link too. But not enough to search for the Skychild on his own and tell him.

He was a demon lord, damn it! He didn't need anyone. Not his master and certainly not that pathetic child, Link.

But as it turned out, maybe that wasn't really the truth, as the feeling only grew by the time he found the third letter.

'Ghira…? Are you reading this? Are you here in Lanayru? I can never tell anymore, I've lost the trail days ago, but I still hope. For all I know though, you could be back in Eldin, or in the Faron Woods. But, Goddess, Ghirahim, I've written a thousand letters by now and have searched for nearly six months for you and I was so close. I know I was… but then you just… disappeared and I can't tell anymore if all it ever was was just my imagination playing tricks on me.

It makes me wonder if maybe this really is all just that… just something my mind made up so I wouldn't be heartbroken anymore. But I still hope, because hoping you're there, that you really are alive and somewhere here on the Surface… is all I have left.'

He refused to crumple this letter up, because the emotion he felt, in the shaky ink and the few tear stains he saw was too much even for him.

'I love you. I do, and I can't keep it in any longer because Ghirahim, it's been seven months and I have only caught glimpses of you here and there and I no longer wonder if it's my imagination because… well, you're not there, are you? You never were… you've been gone for seven months but I still can't accept that because that means that I've given up hope and I can't because my heart can't take that knowledge anymore.

I can't go back to Skyloft though, not after having disappeared for seven months, without a word, so I'm making my home on the Surface. I don't know what I'll do though, I've been spending so long looking for you that suddenly not looking… well, it's hard.

I don't know if I'll keep writing but… maybe.

I'm sorry Ghirahim… for everything and I hope wherever you are… it's better than here.'

Ghirahim didn't understand why Link was giving up, because from what he understood, the hero never gave up on anything. But was the thought of losing Ghirahim really that… damaging?

Frowning, Ghirahim had re-read the letter a hundred times, not understanding a word of it. He'd thought that Link loved that girl, the one the goddess had taken control of. Link had been so adamant in rescuing her that Ghirahim never thought once that Link had his sights set on another, but now… now it all made sense.

And suddenly he realized that it was hatred that he'd felt since that fateful day towards Link, it was love.

-0-

Ghirahim was back in the Faron Woods, ready to settle into his life in his new mansion; he'd destroyed his old one in a rage just a few days after he found out about his master. He kept Link's letters close to his heart now, always on the lookout for the hero, but he never had too much luck, not like he had all those months ago, until one day he'd caught the stench of blood.

Summoning one of his blades, he crept through the forest until he came upon a rogue group of Bokoblins, a particular group that had been getting on his nerves for a while now, surrounding what Ghirahim assumed was their fallen prey, given how they were screeching in victory and waving their weapons about. He didn't know what their prey was, however, until he caught the familiar glint of metal scattered far from where the Bokoblin were and Ghirahim bristled when he saw it was Link's favorite sword.

Throwing out his hand, he shot his black diamonds at the largest of the Bokoblin, finding sick pleasure in it's scream before it fell to the ground and he sucked in a sharp breath when he saw Link, lying on the bloodied grass, battered and bruised.

Making quick work on the Bokoblin that hadn't fled when their leader fell, Ghirahim strode with purpose towards the fallen hero, picking him up as easily as if he weighed nothing. Turning to the hero's sword, Ghirahim snapped his fingers, though careful not to jostle Link in his arms, and the sword disappeared in a flash of golden-white diamonds before suddenly he too disappeared from the area, with Link in tow.

When they came to the demon lord's mansion, he made his way to his bedroom, setting Link on the plush bed. And with a hesitated brush of his fingers against the hero's fevered skin, he left to go retrieve the materials he would need to clean the child up.

-0-

When Link first opened his eyes, Ghirahim was cleaning the wounds on his torso, his tunic, hat, and shirt cast off to the side with his belt, sword, and bow as well. The hero hissed in pain and shifted slightly away from the soft cloth the demon held in his hands, but with whispered reassurances from Ghirahim, he quieted and stayed as still as he could. And when he felt he could breathe easy enough, he licked his lips and spoke up, "G-Ghira...him…?" he whispered and Ghirahim's only acknowledgement that he spoke was a stutter in his movement, his shoulders tensing slightly, but that was enough for Link for now. "I… found you…"

It was silent for several minutes before Ghirahim finally sighed and he dropped the cloth to the bed, lifting his violet gaze to meet Link's glazed blue one. "Technically, Skychild, it was I that found you," he hummed and Link cracked a smile, happy nonetheless. When Link closed his eyes and Ghirahim assumed he drifted back to sleep, the demon lifted his hand and brushed the hero's golden hair from his face before leaning over and brushing his lips against Link's forehead, whispering the words he'd longed to say since he received the last letter, "I love you, too, Link…"

Pulling back and standing up, Ghirahim turned to leave, never noticing once that Link's eyes blinked open and a smile ghosted across his lips before he finally drifted back into a peaceful slumber, beyond content for the first time in over a half a year.