Author's notes: And here we are: the final chapter of the story. Since I'm sure some of you are wondering, I'm probably going to write stories set in this little world again. It's too interesting to me to leave it alone now. As for what I'll be doing next, well, I've got plenty of other stories in progress right now, so there's always something.

Thanks to everyone who has stuck with me over the last couple of years, and thank you all for the reviews. I appreciate all of them.

"...Shadow from Light"
Theme: #30 - kiss
Rating: M
Summary: Some things aren't meant to be left undone.

"So, is there any reason you dragged me all the way up here?"

"You didn't have to come," I reply, leaning back against the stone. "I just wanted to see the sunrise."

He sits down beside me. "Yeah, well, what else am I supposed to do? Besides," he moves a little closer and leans against me, "it's cold out here and you're warm."

I smile at him. "It was warm in the shelter."

"Not after you got up, it wasn't. And again, why are we up here? You can see the sunrise from down there, too."

"This is a much better vantage point."

Dark shifts again, moving closer still. "Whatever. I should've brought a blanket."

The eastern sky is getting lighter now, turning pink and orange.

"You didn't seem to mind not having one last night," I say softly.

He chuckles at that, his breath tickling against my neck. "I didn't need one last night."

"In that case," I wrap my arm around him, "you don't need one now, either."

He relaxes against me a little. "All right, then. I guess I don't mind."

We don't talk for a while. The sky continues to lighten, and then the first glowing sliver of light peeks above the distant horizon. The sun slowly rises higher, until its entire face is visible and I have to look away from the brilliant light.

"Nn, it's too bright," Dark mutters, turning away. "Let's go back inside..."

"All right." He's right; it's almost blinding now.

We climb to our feet and head back inside. It takes my eyes a while to readjust to the darkness. Dark grabs my hand and yanks me forward and I stumble, landing in what feels like someone's lap.

"There you go!" Dark says triumphantly, wrapping his arms around me. "Now, isn't this better? It's not quite so cold in here."

"So you say," I reply, leaning against his shoulder. There isn't much of a difference, really, though there's no breeze in here.

"So I know," he says with a laugh. "You got to see your sunrise, so..." He leans in closer. "What are we going to do now? You don't seem too eager to head back."

I'm not, honestly. I don't really know why, and it seems a little selfish to think it, but I don't want to go back yet. I want to stay like this for a while longer.

"No, I'm in no hurry, Dark." Now that my eyes are adjusting, I can see that we're sitting on the stone throne the Iron Knuckle had been resting on so long ago.

"Even if someone worries about you?"

I sigh. "The Gerudo hardly seem like the kind to worry. If anyone recognizes that we can handle ourselves, it's them."

He laughs again. "Well, then... are you just going to sit on me?"

"You pulled me down."

"Yeah, so? You're not moving. Any reason why?" He's teasing me now; I can hear it in his voice.

I smile at him and decide that I feel like teasing back. "Foreplay."

"Oh, really?" He pulls me closer and smirks.

"Perhaps," I reply, leaning in and playing with the laces of his collar. "After all, we didn't play much last night, did we?"

He smirks wider. "No, we didn't. You just wanted to hold me."

"You didn't seem to mind." I pull his collar open and trace a line down his neck. "Yet that was last night, and this is this morning, and this morning I wish to play."

He slides a hand around and reaches under the back of my shirts; his hand is a little chilly against my skin. "Didn't think I'd hear you say that..."

I decide this is as good an opportunity as any to remove my shirts, so I do. "I never thought I would hear you say the things you did last night, Dark." I look down at my right hand and the small band there. "Are you not the one who insists we're rubbing off on each other? Is this really a surprise?"

"Yeah, it is. Not that it's a bad one, but well, it's not like I was expecting this." He shifts beneath me, stripping off his shirts and tossing them somewhere away from the throne. "I like surprises."

I lean in and start kissing the side of his neck, sliding my hands down his sides. He laughs and pulls me closer, and I can feel him untying my breeches.

I reach down and pull his hands away. "No."

"No?" Dark sounds vaguely disappointed.

I stand up and look down at him; he's smirking even now, looking vaguely kingly on the stone throne. I smirk back as an idea strikes me. It's entirely the sort of thing Dark would do, and I feel like turning the tables.

So I gesture for Dark to stand. "You first."

"Me?" He stands up and crosses his arms. "And what do you want me to do first?"

I step in and grab the ties for his breeches. "I want you to strip first." I yank the knot loose and let his breeches fall to the stone floor.

Dark stares at me. "You're impatient today."

"Perhaps I am," I reply, putting a hand on his chest and gently pushing him back towards the throne. "Yet I'm in the mood to indulge, if you'll only humor me."

He sits down, wincing a little -- that's right, the stone must be a bit chilly -- before smirking again. "What kind of indulgence, hmm?"

"You shall just have to wait and see." It doesn't take long to finish untying my breeches, but I pause when I'm done, holding them in place and playing with the laces.

"All right, then. I'm waiting."

I look at him and grin before slowly letting my breeches fall. "I'm certain that you are." I step forward, climbing onto his lap and leaning in close. "You've never been particularly patient, Dark."

He meets my gaze and smirks. "Can you blame me, really? You're always so slow."

"Not always. Only when I wish to be." I shift closer, brushing my hips against his. "And right now, I wish to be."

He sucks in a quick breath and then laughs softly. "I'm definitely rubbing off on you then."

I smirk at that thought. "Aren't I the one rubbing off on you?"

He just laughs and rocks his hips upwards, brushing against me. I put my hands on his shoulders, trying to push him back down onto the throne.

"No," I say softly.

Dark just grins broadly and does it again, grabbing my hips and pulling me downward. "Yes."

I grab his wrists and yank his hands off of me, holding them up and leaning in close enough our noses brush. "No."

"Make me," he hisses.

"As you wish." I force his arms upward, pressing his hands against the cool stone of the throne's high back, rocking my weight back and away from his body as I do.

He growls softly and narrows his eyes, but he's smirking. "All right, then... Since you want to be in charge, what do you want to do?"

I rock my weight forward again, resting against his warm chest, and just stay there for a moment. It's nice to be like this, just him and me, skin to skin.

"You're stalling again..." he says softly.

I chuckle before shifting so I can whisper in his ear. "The more impatient you get, Dark, the slower I'm going to go."

He laughs at that. "Well, now, aren't we being bossy today?"

"Dark?"

"Yes?"

"Shut up." And I kiss him. It's a rough kiss, one he returns in kind, and I decide to take advantage of the chance to press our hips together again.

"Bastard," he hisses when I break the kiss.

"For what? Giving you exactly what you want?" I lean back on his legs a little and start tracing the scar on his stomach. I know he likes it; I can see it in his eyes. Yet that isn't entirely why I'm doing it. I'm trying to calm myself down a little, but... he expects me to go slow and gentle. What will he think if I instead decide to be rough?

He pulls me closer with a soft laugh. "What are you thinking about now?"

I narrow my eyes a little. "I'm merely thinking that you're ignoring me."

"Am I?" He smirks broadly. "Sorry, you know how I can get. Looks like you'll just have to shut me up again."

I smirk back. "I think I shall." I rock my weight onto my knees, shifting it from Dark's legs onto the throne itself, and run a hand over his body, feeling the muscle of his chest and stomach. I then repeat the motion with my other hand, only using my fingernails instead of my fingertips. Dark makes a soft, pleased sound, and I grin.

Then I grab him by the hips and start moving against him, kissing him again as I do. I get rough and I get fast, moving relentlessly against him. He tries to laugh as he grabs my thighs and pulls me closer, but there's not much sound to it. I could make him let me go, but I don't want to let him go to do it. Instead, I break the kiss and move to the side of his neck, sucking and nipping at his skin.

I move until I can't move anymore and the world blurs and falls away; I slump against Dark, gasping for breath. He rocks his head over and nuzzles my cheek.

Slowly my heart stops racing, and my breathing calms down. I feel heavy now, heavy and tired, and Dark's so nice and warm.

"You bit me," he says softly; I barely hear him.

Is that why I taste blood? "I did?"

"Yeah, you did." He sounds proud of that. "Y'know... if this is the reward I get, maybe I'll be sappy more often..." He reaches up and cups my cheek, the smooth metal of his ring standing out against the rough skin of his hand. He's watching me, his eyes almost glowing in the dim light.

I chuckle. "I won't force you to. I know how you are when it comes to tenderness, Dark." I reach up and trace the outline of his choker. "Do whatever you wish, when you wish."

"Are you trying to order me around?"

"Perhaps I am, and perhaps I'm merely making a suggestion." I move my fingers upward, tracing the curve of his jaw.

He tilts his head back a little, grinning. "Maybe I'll actually listen to you." And he kisses me again, grabbing at my shoulders and tugging at my hair.

He laughs when we pull apart. "Now was that incentive to be tender or not?"

"Perhaps I'll leave that up to you," I say softly. "Though to be honest, Dark, I'm more in the mood for sleep."

"And here I thought you got plenty of that last night..."

I sigh. "We woke up early so we could watch the sunrise, remember? I'd like some more rest."

"Okay, then. Up we go!" Dark picks me up and stands before I have a chance to protest. "Now... where should we sleep? Not exactly any beds in here."

"There's always the floor. We have our bedrolls, and there's the carpet in here. We've slept worse places."

He seems to think about that. "That works. Besides, if we stay in here, we don't have to worry about our clothes, now do we?"

I give him a look. "I thought we were going to be sleeping?"

"I'm not tired just yet. Besides... I think it's my turn to indulge..."

"And how are you going to indulge, if I may ask?"

He sets me down on the throne and snickers. "Oh, I don't know. I'm sure I'll think of something." He starts unrolling our bedrolls on the carpet, humming something as he does. I can't really make the tune out from where I am.

Since I'm waiting, I decide that it's worth using some of my water to clean off; I'm starting to get sticky. After a moment, Dark comes over and claims the rag for himself, snickering.

"You do remember that I'm rather tired, don't you?"

"Yeah, I do." He leans in and bites at my ear. "I'm not going to rile you up. I'm going to make you relax."

"How are you going to do that?"

He waves a hand at where our bedrolls are. "Lay down on your stomach, and I'll show you."

I shake my head but lay down anyway, folding my arms under my head. "Very well, then show me."

He sits on my thighs. "Relax, Link. You don't need to be so tense."

"I'm not tense."

"Mm-hmm. Then why so you look like it?"

"I'm not tense," I repeat. "I'm fine."

Dark leans forward and presses his hands against my upper back, making slow circles. "You're tense."

I sigh. "Perhaps I am."

"Then I'll make you stop." His hands press harder against me, working against the stiffness in my back. I flinch slightly. It hurts a little, but it doesn't hurt for long. He continues to work at my back and shoulders and the knots and tenseness break up and go away beneath the pressure of his hands.

I make a soft mmm low in my throat. This is nice. "I didn't know you were good at this."

"I didn't either, but as long as you're enjoying it..." He starts working lower, his hands kneading at my back.

"I am," I say softly, closing my eyes. "Very much so..."

---

I wake up sometime later with Dark asleep beside me. I'm not sure how long I've been asleep -- this part of the Temple has no windows, after all. It doesn't really matter; I'm in no hurry. I look at his face, peaceful in sleep, and reach down to gently trace the bite at the base of his neck.

I should be ashamed or apologetic, shouldn't I? After all, I bit him... Yet I'm neither. I'm... I don't think proud is the right word, but there's something satisfying about seeing that bite there.

"Mmm..." He half-opens his eyes and smiles. "Feel better now?"

"Yes, I do. What about you?"

"Yeah." He laughs and sits up, making a show out of stretching. "Ah, I feel all better now. So, are we ready to go, or do you want to stay here and watch another sunrise?"

"There will always be more sunrises, Dark. The view changes, but the sun always rises."

He grins. "And it always sets, too. Don't forget about that, Link."

"I don't believe I could if I wished to," I reply, climbing slowly to my feet and getting dressed. He's right, though. We don't really have any reason to stay now. I've seen what I wished to see and we've rested, so there's nothing keeping us from traveling again.

"Then I suppose I should ask where we're going, shouldn't I?"

He looks over at me and smirks. "East, obviously."

"Obviously? There are other directions."

"Huh. You're right. So, want to see what's beyond this part of Hyrule?"

I shake my head. "Not right now, I don't. Perhaps later."

He nods. "Yeah, I know. We're not done seeing how Hyrule is, are we?"

I sling my pack across my back. "Not quite yet, no."

"Well, then, shall we?"

We make our way back through the Temple towards the entrance. It's nearly evening now; the Colossus' shadow covers most of the canyon. If we start now, we should be at the Fortress well before dawn.

"Ready to go?" Dark asks beside me.

I look at him and then out at the darkening sky before us. "Yes, I'm ready." I reach out and take his hand as we start walking eastward. "Dark?"

"Yeah?"

"Where are we going next?"

He laughs and tugs me closer, letting go of my hand and instead wrapping his arm around my shoulders. "I guess we'll figure that out when we get there, huh?"

So, just walk and see where our feet take us? That's as good of a plan as any. "I guess we will."