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lucky-clover-gazette · 12 minutes

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For short fic prompts, maybe Vio and Shadow at a fancy event and they are hiding away somewhere because Vio is being antisocial. Mayhaps it leads to...... kisses 😳

If you wanted to do a modern AU you could have the classic hiding in the bathroom during a house party

i like how i said "short fic," and by no fault of anon, proceeded to crank out 1926 words. my first vidow fic! also on ao3. gotta say, i'd recommend ao3 because they have functional line breaks.

It does strike Vio how bizarre this situation truly is: the same maniac who once personally ordered his execution and nearly destroyed the land of Hyrule, is now sleeping peacefully in his lap. Snoring softly. Contentedly. The guy who once told Vio that he was his first and only friend, the only person he ever trusted, only for Vio to betray him stone-cold and watch him die. That person is currently laying in his lap, defenseless, trusting him to stay.

Read it under the cut:

Shadow feels like an idiot standing around with two glasses. It’s been almost twenty minutes since Vio asked him to get the drinks, and he’s been posted up in the corner of this ridiculously ornate ballroom ever since.

The ball was Zelda’s idea, an annual event to memorialize the Hero Hyrule lost and celebrate the four (five?) it gained. So naturally, both Vio and Shadow were named guests of honor, and therefore obligated to attend.

Shadow likes parties enough, despite the awkwardness of it all. It’s only been a few months since everything happened—the four’s decision to stay divided in the sanctuary, Vio’s restoration of the mirror, and Shadow’s resurrection—and for the most part, things are weirdly okay. Most people seem to believe that it was only Vaati and Ganon causing the mass destruction Shadow totally did for them, thank you very much, but he can’t complain when the others cared enough to protect his identity. The only people who know first-hand what Shadow did are Zelda, the four, and the castle knights… but of course rumors spread. Random Hylians must have gotten glances of Shadow atop his dragon, raining fire on the countryside. Shadow wonders if they noticed Vio there, too.

Anyway, the party isn’t that awkward. All things considered, Shadow’s getting off way too easy for all of the, you know, atrocities. He can handle a few weird looks and rude comments, although resisting the urge to be antagonistic right back is a challenge. Not because the criticism is undeserved, but because Shadow thinks it’s fun to be antagonistic.

It also doesn’t hurt that Vio is almost always by his side. Despite everything that happened between them, quiet coexistence is surprisingly easy. The living arrangements weren’t even a question when Vio brought Shadow back from the void—it was pretty much a ‘stray cat being brought in from the cold’ kind of deal. Which by the way do not exist in the dark world, and now that he knows cats are a thing, Shadow makes sure to say hello to every single feline he meets. If there was a contest of who could greet, say, twenty cats at the quickest pace, Shadow would easily win that heart piece.

It’s not perfect, though, between him and Vio—they’ve barely discussed the betrayal and fallout, or really anything that happened between them at all prior to Shadow’s death. The first thing Vio said to Shadow after the resurrection was “I’m sorry,” but he has yet to elaborate even months later.

Shadow channels his apologies into nearly everything he does these days, both around Vio and the rest of Hyrule. The words themselves just haven’t found their moment. Surely someday they will.

For now, Shadow is perfectly content sharing their tiny cottage at the edge of town, fulfilling their respective duties in the restoration of greater Hyrule. And whether they like it or not, showing up to this ball is one of those duties. And Vio appears to have, for lack of gentler words, totally fucking bailed.

Beverages still in hand, Shadow straightens from his leaning position against the wall and scans the ballroom for an exit. He recalls which particular doorway leads deeper into the castle from a, uh, very different visit to this location, and makes a beeline through the crowd.

It shouldn’t be too hard to track Vio down. After all, Shadow’s had plenty of practice.

~~~

Vio found the castle library about twenty minutes ago, but you could have fooled him.

Usually, lacking the Hero’s memories is a burden in Vio’s practical life—but in instances like this, it’s magical. Surely the Hero stepped foot inside this library before his dissolution, but Vio is seeing it for the very first time. The world could be on fire right now and he wouldn’t notice. In fact, a little warmth would be rather cozy as he sinks his teeth into these heavy historical volumes.

“I should have guessed,” a voice says from the doorframe. Vio glances up from the first book he grabbed—The Legend of Groose, whoever that is—and grimaces at the person he sees.

“Shit,” Vio says, shutting the book in his lap. “I found the bathroom, I swear, but then on the way back I just… got a little distracted.”

Vio still isn’t quite sure what to expect from Shadow in terms of emotional response. It’s clear that Shadow has been putting a lot of work into his own stability, but still… Vio tries to be careful. He would try to elaborate on this cautionary urge, but something always holds him back—the same thing that holds him back from discussing most urges related to Shadow.

Luckily, in this instance at least, Shadow doesn’t appear to be upset. He places one glass on the table beside the couch and clutches the other as he plops down beside Vio.

“Careful around the books,” Vio lectures, taking a sip from his glass. “Is this… not root beer?”

“Apparently they’re out since we, y’know, pillaged the place, so I had to settle for wine instead.”

Vio gives Shadow a small smile and drinks again. “Probably not the most morally upright thing to hoard our supply, given how it was acquired, but I just can’t bring myself to return it.”

“Cheers to that,” Shadow says, raising his glass. “We almost successfully took over the world, and all we got was a dumb cellar full of evil root beer.”

They say cheers and it’s not the first time. Vio wonders if Shadow’s experiencing the same deja vu. If he is, he doesn’t show it.

“You’re in a good mood,” Vio observes, shifting towards the end of the couch to give Shadow more space to spread out. If there’s one thing about Shadow, it’s that he will drape himself onto any surface in the most dramatic, ridiculous way possible.

“What can I say?” Shadow shrugs, contorting his body in a way that cannot possibly be comfortable. “Parties are fun. Although I’m gathering, not your thing.”

“I’m still figuring out what my ‘things’ are, honestly. I’ve only really existed as me for half a year.”

“So does that make you a baby?” Shadow teases, flicking Vio’s hat. From the start, Shadow has always seemed perfectly comfortable invading Vio’s personal space. What once felt startling (but not unwelcome) is now just the norm. “Probably should be taking that wine from you, then, junior.”

Vio holds his glass out of Shadow’s reach. “No take. My wine.”

“Wow, now you’re even talking like a baby. How the mightily pretentious have fallen.”

“Seems like you’ve taken my place, with a phrase like “how the mightily pretentious have fallen,’” Vio quips, opening his book up again.

Shadow takes the cue, leaning back and elevating his legs on the coffee table. His boots make a loud thump against the wood.

Since the split, Vio has noticed that each iteration of the hero has developed their own personal style. For Shadow, that includes heavy lace-up boots that take him fifteen minutes to unequip every. single. time. For Blue, it was a buzz cut. Red and Green are using new pronouns. Vio is by far the least inspired, but he is growing out his hair. It’s finally long enough to put in a little ponytail when he reads… although his bangs still get in the way.

It’s fine, though, right now. Vio’s mind refuses to stick to the page. Instead, he struggles to understand why in the world Shadow would abandon a fancy ball to lounge silently beside him as he fake-reads dusty old books.

Time passes; maybe not for Vio, but he can tell it’s wearing on Shadow. His yawn is so indescribably pleasant, and yet again Vio wonders why the hell he would even think something like that. It’s a yawn. He didn’t even get to see Shadow’s crinkled nose and biiiig stretch and fascinatingly monstrous teeth as it happened—

Vio puts down the wine.

“You can go back, you know,” he tells Shadow gently, mustering a reassuring smile.

“I don’t need to,” Shadow says, eyelids drooping almost cartoonishly. “We did the guest of honor stuff at the banquet already, and besides, wine apparently makes me sleepy.”

“We could go home,” Vio begins, but then groans. “No, we can’t, because of the—”

“Wine, yep, not very safe to travel without our wits about us. Who knows what kind of strange encounters we could have in the woods.”

Vio chuckles and Shadow does a weak fist-pump in the air.

“Uh, you good?”

“I made you laugh. Scooore.”

Vio cocks his head. “You make me laugh all the time.”

“I know, but you usually try to hide it.”

Well.

He’s not wrong.

“I’m sorry,” Vio says, and he isn’t sure why.

“I know,” Shadow replies, his eyes drooping shut. “You told me that already, when you brought me back to life.”

“Yeah, but I just… yeah.”

Shadow yawns again, and Vio’s brain struggles to find the words and wisdom he so desperately needs.

“Don’t stress yourself out,” Shadow says. He can’t even see Vio’s face, but he can just tell how he’s feeling. Hasn’t he always, though? “We have all the time in the world to figure this out.”

Shadow’s serene expression makes something happen in Vio’s chest, because what he says is so simple yet so true. And Vio feels hopeful about this, whatever this is, in a way that’s terrified him since he first encountered Shadow in those woods.

“Read your books, nerd,” Shadow murmurs. “I’mma just take a little nap.”

“Okay.”

“Don’t go anywhere, though.”

“I won’t.”

And Shadow dozes off, and Vio is finally able to read, and everything is calm and normal until gravity does its work and Shadow’s precarious juxtaposition fails to support his limp, sleeping body.

In other words, his head falls right into Vio’s lap.

Gingerly, Vio lifts Shadow’s head and slides a pillow beneath it. He doesn’t, however, even attempt to change his position. Shadow’s unpredictable, Vio reminds himself; who knows how he’d react to a rude awakening?

He does his best to focus on the historical volume, but Vio finds himself absently running a hand through Shadow’s hair. He’s always meant to ask about the purple, actually—does he dye it? Probably not, given the lack of blonde roots.

Vio is… oddly comforted by that. He likes that Shadow isn’t nearly identical to the Hero, like the others and Vio used to be. Really, the more time passes, the less they resemble each other, or him, at all.

Should he be touching Shadow like this? How’d he even end up stroking his hair in the first place? Why didn’t he just move Shadow’s stupid head off of his stupid lap back when the stupid idiot fell into it?

Shadow sneezes in his sleep, an objectively scientifically adorable event, and Vio’s eyes go wide. Because of a sneeze.

For once, Vio doesn’t overthink it. He sets aside his book, pushes the hair out of Shadow’s face, and plants a kiss on his forehead.

He can’t know for certain, but he thinks he sees a smile.

#first vidow fic <3

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lucky-clover-gazette · 2 hours

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made a vidow carnivore shadow short!

also go look at it!! amazing art by @space-puppeteer its so good!

(post manga shadow lives situation)

The others were honestly a little terrified the first time they came home to Vio with his hand in Shadow’s mouth. They had been taking advantage of the quiet space. Since his initial curiosity he hadn’t had much time to delve deeper into Shadow’s unique intricacies.

It only made sense. He required a different diet than them after all. Why not learn the most he can? Vio was charting how many, where, and how sharp his mouth of canines were. Shadow was sitting patiently, mouth wide and frozen solid as the rest of Link stood there mortified.

Vio hadn’t noticed them until Red started crying about Shadow eating him.

Boy, that was a fun conversation.

Shadow focused back on Vio as he snapped back swiftly with a hiss. He’d nicked himself on one of the more dangerous teeth. Despite it really not being his fault, Shadow found himself apologizing.

“Sorry…” he held out his clawed hand to ask for Vio’s. He took it and gently rolled it over. He inspected it closely. Just a small cut on his finger, clean like a fresh knife. He made eye contact and kissed the spot softly pressing his tongue to it for a second. “You ok?”

Vio’s cheeks flushed from the unexpected intimate gesture. It shook him out of his hyperfocus. “Ah-” he cleared his throat. “Ahem. yeahh thanks. I’m okay,”

Shadow gave him his hand back.

“Do you…” He rolled over how to ask, “Have you… hunted for animals? with these?” Vio held Shadow’s hand this time, admiring the painted nails.

He laughed, “Hahaha, what, like a wolfos?” he could see it, funny as that was. “Not here I haven’t. There was always enough from the hinox and other creatures under us.” he waved his unoccupied hand dismissively. “There are markets, you know.” He subconsciously licked his teeth at the thought. “I have to be a wolfos for Halloween now.”

“Hm.” Vio stopped his inspection, interlacing their fingers instead. “Do you think maybe that accounts for your occasional over aggression and bloodlust?”

“You’re always so blunt.” he snorted, but not offended. “I dunno. Maybe? Are you suggesting I go serial killer on the local wildlife?”

“Haha, no no. I’m just thinking out loud. We should make a trip in town soon though,” Though, they might end up hunting anyway, lest they sell out the butcher. He got lost in thought about it again, mumbling. Did he need to sharpen either, like a cat? What type he liked better, how cooked, would he eat a cow?

“A cow??” oops he said that out loud. Shadow laughed really hard. “hahahaha what? like, just bite it??” His big grin showed off the sharp set. “If you bet me to, I would.”

Vio shook his head, amused. “No…well…maybe. The others would be upset.”

“Nerd.” Shadow leaned in and pecked his cheek.

#the first line took me OUT

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