Link heard a bolt click as he slid his keycard over the pad, balancing his mountain of paperwork precariously with one arm. He managed to push on the door handle, the door swinging open and giving him a glance into the room. It was dim as he stepped inside, the only light coming from the now setting sun as it sank behind the forest of buildings.
He gave a low whistle and dumped his papers on a nearby table, flicking on the lights as he wandered further into the suite. H.I. had really outdone themselves. There was a spacious living area, complete with plush furniture and shaggy rugs, as well as an entire kitchen attached. The whole room screamed luxury, from the granite countertops, mural windows, and even the frilly fruit basket sitting on the coffee table.
Flopping down on the leather couch, Link inspected the basket curiously, helping himself to the delicately wrapped chocolates, hand skipping right over the fruit. He casually discarded the card which most likely had some cheesy personalized message, turning insead to a sleek black box tucked among the Wildberries. Upon further inspection, he found it to be the latest Fi phone. A bit shocked, he opened it, the smooth device already fitted with a custom case bearing Harkinin Industries famous logo.
Link tapped the screen to life and scrolled through the pages, "Shut up," he muttered, tapping on every social media platform he could find. "They don't miss a thing, do they?" he chuckled, turning the phone over in his hand.
Somehow, and by the goddesses, Link didn't know how; every single one of his accounts had already been logged into, contacts fully restored, and even his photos had been transferred.
He stuffed the rest of the chocolates into his mouth, grabbed his paperwork, and headed for the bedroom, thumb swiping through his contacts. He barely noticed the spacious room as he collapsed onto the soft bed, kicking off his shoes in the process. For now, he was content to enjoy what felt like paradise to his stiff body. Back in the camps, they didn't have the luxury of a plush king bed.
Forms were the furthest thing from his mind as he lay there, still scrolling on his new phone. While he'd been in Faron there hadn't been any network or any sort of communication, meaning he hadn't had a phone or any way to stay in contact with his family and friends. It hadn't been a particularly hard thing for him to do, his work had kept him busy enough, but it had put a strain on a few relationships...or rather what used to be a relationship.
Links finger hung over the contact the read 'Mipha' for a few moments, debating whether or not to press down. When he'd left it had been a mutual break up, both had decided that long distance with barely any contact would be too hard to maintain. Of course, it had stung, but it hadn't been that serious anyway.
A blush crept onto Link's face as the girl from that afternoon crossed his mind. That same feeling of excitement grew in his stomach, burning his skin and making his brain go fuzzy.
He shook his head to clear the feeling away. It was too late and he was too tired from traveling to be thinking about this. Without hesitation he tapped the phone icon by a familiar name and brought it to his ear, flicking idly at the pages next to him while it rang. After a few rings, he heard the call connect as someone answered.
"Yello?" a man answered, a noise like a television distinctly in the background.
"Yello yourself, old man."
The TV instantly clicked off, "WILD?!" the man shouted into the phone, "you little prick, when did you get back?!"
"Nice to talk to you too, Twi." Link chuckled, "I got into Castle Town about an hour ago."
"Wait, you're in the city? Which part? How long are you staying? And is this a new phone?" the questions came flying out faster than Link could process them.
He wasn't surprised that his brother wanted to know everything, it was just his nature. It also wouldn't be long until he'd be wondering when he'd be visiting.
"Harkinin Inc. got me a suite at the Elde Plaza, so I'm downtown. As for how long I'm staying, I don't know. They said they needed me for some sort of special assignment." he tried not to let the bitterness seep into his voice, picking at a loose thread on the comforter to keep his hands busy, "And yeah, they got me a new phone."
Twi immediately filled in the silence, gushing on and on about how great this new 'promotion' was. Link supplied 'yeah's and 'mhm's' when necessary, gritting his teeth and pulling the inevitable pile of paperwork towards him and scratching his name lazily. He listened as the conversations drifted to Twi's favorite subject; his children. He filled Link in on all the trouble they caused now that they were running around. Link had to admit it was nice to hear such a familiar voice again, it certainly made his work less dreary. Getting caught up on his brother's family was just an added bonus.
As time slowly marched on, Link's pile of completed slip steady grew larger. He glanced up towards the window, the bit of sky he could see completely black as the city came alive with bright colors and flashing billboards. With a sigh and a very sloppy signature, he finished the last of his work, shoving the papers off his bed and spreading out all his limbs.
"You don't seem very thrilled about this job," Twi spoke up, breaking the silence Link hadn't even noticed they'd lapsed into.
"No, I'm not" Link sighed, not even trying to hide it, "I didn't ask for this promotion or whatever it is. I was perfectly happy where I was."
He could almost see Twi's face in the silence that followed. Brows furrowing, lip jutting out in thought, and his sharp blue eyes full of sympathy. He prepared himself for the 'stop being childish, it's been years, forget it' speech.
Now it was Twi's turn to sigh, his voice gentle when he spoke, "I know how much you hate living in the city, I really do-" there was a pause, the older man most likely choosing his next words, "just... give it a chance, ok? Maybe you'll meet your group of people on this project and have a good time."
"I know," Link mumbled, hating that his mind instantly jumped to the girl from the airport.
Twi hummed in reply, "Have you talked to Mipha yet?" he started cautiously, "I know you two were...taking a break, but maybe now that you're back-"
"Um, not yet," Link grimaced at how fast he rushed out the words, or that he couldn't stop thinking of thick golden hair that swayed as fluidly as a willow, "I thought we um, would just be fine...being friends." he tried to cover up his embarrassment, only to stumble over his words and feel hot in the face.
He really loved his brother and was grateful that he cared about his wellbeing, but he also had a tendency to stick his nose a bit too far into other people's business. It was all done in the best interest of course. Now looking back Link had to chuckle. Twi was probably as invested, if not more, into his relationship with Mipha. He even went the extra mile, much to his annoyance, and became one of Mipha's closest friends. Though, the multiple and extremely blunt hints for him to propose had always terrified him.
"Rightttt," Twi responded, clearly not buying his quick cover-up.
"So what's Time up to?" Link cut in, desperately trying to direct the conversation away from his disastrous love life.
"Who knows, it changes every day. Now about you and Mipha. I thought things were-"
"Wow! Would you look at the time," Link interrupted with a nervous laugh, "It's getting late, and you have toddlers, so I should really let you get to bed."
"I'm fine," Twi scoffed, "I married a woman who's basically nocturnal, therefore so am I. Now spill. Why are you avoiding the subject, Wild?" His voice was stern, but Link could hear the smile cutting through when a woman's voice protested in the background.
"I'm not avoiding anything," he tried, not even convincing himself, "I just don't think I'll have time for a relationship. Because my job must be important since I'm meeting with the director tomorrow."
Link physically cringed at how bad his reasoning was. Luckily for him though, Twi took the bait.
"The director?" he breathed in awe, "Just what kind of job is this?"
"I honestly don't know."
They lapsed into silence again, only the whirr of cars down on the streets below to break it. Link was worried the call had disconnected when it continued, until Twi spoke up again.
"Just, don't be a stranger, ok. We'd love to have you stay here while you're in the city...The kid's really miss you," he added hopefully.
Link grinned, weighing the options. Stay here by himself in a giant hotel room, or with his brother and have the chance to see his little niece and nephew.
"You really don't have to," he mumbled, barely containing his smile, "but, um, I'd love to."
He heard Twi's muffled voice repeat his answer, most likely to his wife, before turning back to the speaker, "Perfect! We'll have a room set up. And don't worry, there's always room for my little brother." Link could hear the smile on his face.
"We're not technically related," he reminded the older man playfully.
"Quit being a sour chu," he shot back in a heartbeat, "Not all family is blood. Now go to bed, have a good meeting, and get your ass over here after."
They exchanged a few more words and laughs before saying their goodbyes and hanging up. Link still had a fond smile as he set an alarm for the next morning, heart soaring at the prospect of staying with Twi's family. True, they technically weren't related, but they'd formed their own sort of family at the orphanage; him, Twi, and Time. He chuckled when he remembered how hurt, and maybe even a bit jealous, he'd felt when he learned of Twi's engagement. Thinking that after he had a real family of his own he'd want nothing to do with his makeshift one. He was glad to be wrong.
With an alarm set, he flicked off the light by the bedside table and set down his phone. Even with the lights off, his room was barely darkened, not to mention the constant noises of the city down below. He was used to being lulled to sleep by a lush current of a river, or even the soft chirp of crickets, not the mechanical hum of the city. Link groaned and buried his head into his pillow when his phone began beeping, alerting him to the hundreds of notifications from Twi that were probably all pictures of his kids.
Finally, he was able to find a position of max comfort and muting, leaving the world muffled. This left him only with his thoughts, which were racing as the reality of what was about to happen tomorrow settled in. Mostly he felt apprehension about his meeting tomorrow, after all, it was with the director. Someone who wasn't known for meeting personally with lowly archeologists.
His heart raced the more he thought about it. Then he took a deep breath and adjusted his pillow to better cover his ears, playing Twi's words over and over in his head. Just give it a chance.
A/N
The pain I felt having to manually add all the Italics in ;-;