It was going to be a wonderful day!
At least, that's what Mask hoped, as he was getting up that morning. The past few weeks had been quite unpleasant for him, but he knew even more so for Link. His big brother was so obviously tired, and his mood had declined a lot in the past few weeks. Link would always put on a smile for his little brother, but Mask could see right through it. That, and the dark circles under his brother's eyes were a dead give away.
His brother needed a break. A break from all the stress the War was causing him, along with all the pain and suffering he'd been through. Link had been through so much in the past year, it made Mask so infuriated. It wasn’t fair!
Mask hated that his brother was constantly busy working on things, whether it was planning a battle strategy, or actually fighting the battle. He never stopped working, and was hardly taking care of himself!
To make matters worse, today is supposed to be Link’s birthday, but the boy was clearly already up and working for the day. Mask didn't even get to say good morning to him, least of all happy birthday! There was no way he was letting his older brother work the entire day without a break. Link deserved to have a relaxing day for once!
With this in mind, Mask knew he was his brother's only hope at having a good day. He was going to need some help with getting things done though, and he knew just who to ask. The only problem is, how to get said person to help? She was just as busy, and under just as much stress as Link… But, if he caught her at the right time, he should be able to get her to help him. Especially if it was to help Link.
The boy quickly got ready for the day, and actually tried to get his hair to look nice. Normally he could care less about it, and just let it be wild. Besides, he always puts his hat over top of it, so it was hardly noticeable anyways.
Once he was ready, he made his way out of the tent, and headed over to his destination. Princess Zelda’s tent.
He made it to the tent, and as always, General Impa stood guard right in front of the princess’s tent. Her face was completely emotionless, and it kind of creeped Mask out a bit. He knew the general was actually a really nice lady, but man was she still terrifying.
“Hi, umm. Hello general. Could I talk to the princess? It's about Link,” Mask asked hopefully.
“Give me one moment,” Impa answered softly as she turned to the entrance of the tent.
Before the general had even fully turned, Zelda’s head had already popped out from the flaps of the tent.
“What about Link?” The princess questioned.
“Oh!” Masked exclaimed. Perfect. The princess wasn't busy doing something at the second. “Well, today is his birthday, and I need help with getting him to have a fun day.”
At this point, Zelda was fully out of her tent. A smile spread on her lips at the young boy's words.
“It's his birthday!? Oh this is perfect!” She grabbed Mask’s hand and quickly began walking (to where? He had no clue) “We have to make this special for him! Let's go make a cake!”
Mask and the princess quickly ran off to the army’s kitchen, with Impa close behind them. They were going to make sure Link had a wonderful birthday.
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Everything was working out great. The cake came out wonderful (at least in Mask’s eyes), they had a few small presents for Link, and they had everything set up in the Captain's tent. Mask couldn't wait for Link to see it all! The only problem is: they needed to get Link to come to his tent, which would be a lot harder than it sounds.
When the Captain was busy with something, there was no way you could get him away from his work. It was impossible! Mask had tried so many times to get his brother to take breaks, but Link always refused. Today though, Mask would get his brother to come to his tent. Even if he had to forcefully drag him there himself. He wasn't sure how he'd do that, but he would find a way!
He also had a huge surprise for the captain, and he couldn't wait any longer to give it to him.
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Link was having a miserable day. He hadn't gotten any sleep that night, and it was really affecting his thinking. He was no help with the battle planning that day, and he felt awful about it. He needed to be helpful, but he just couldn't think correctly at the moment. He also hadn’t eaten breakfast yet, which was also not doing his head any favors.
Proxi had kept giving him weird glances all day, and acted as if she wanted to say something, but never did. She had been doing that all day, and it was beginning to drive him crazy.
On top of all that, he hadn't seen Mask yet. Normally at this point in the day (it was just slightly after noon), the young boy would have already gotten into a ton of trouble, and Link would be dealing with the aftermath of it. Where the heck was his little brother? Who knew wherr the little mischief maker was, and what he was doing. Link was not sure if he really wanted an answer to that question.
“Proxi? Have you seen Mask at all today?” Link asked his fairy friend.
Said fairy popped out from her comfortable spot in the Captain's scarf. “Um, no I definitely haven't not seen him today, at all whatsoever… Nope.”
Well if that wasn't the most suspicious sounding “no” ever, he didn't know what was.
“What have you two been up to?” Link accused.
“‘What have you two been up to?’” The fairy fumed. “Well I'll have you know the TWO of us have been up to nothing. I’VE been up to nothing.”
“And why don't I believe you?” Link teased his friend.
“I don't know. Why don't you?” Proxi retorted back at him.
“Well, I guess I'll find out later,” Link sighed.
“You should get some food,” Proxi said worriedly. Of course she would notice his lack of eating. She always does.
“Yeah, I should. I have some oranges in my tent, so I'll go get those.” Link agreed.
“Good idea, but you're going to need to eat more than a couple of oranges,” the fairy said disapprovingly.
“I know, I know,” Linked placated. “I'll eat more food as well, don't worry.”
“You better,” the fairy grumbled as she made her way back into Link’s scarf.
Link began the trek back to his tent, which was, fortunately, not too far from where he was currently. He opened the flap of his tent, and then stepped in. What awaited him was not something he expected in any way.
“Surprise!” Mask, Proxi, and Zelda yelled at the same time, as they all jumped out from their hiding places. Well, in Proxi’s case, she just flew out of his scarf.
Mask rushed over and gave Link a very big hug, which made the young captain beyond happy. Mask was actually hugging him! And he initiated the hug, instead of Link having to pull him into one! Link’s arms quickly wrapped around his little brother, and he smiled.
“What is all this for?” He asked, just now noticing the cake, and the suspicious looking crate on the ground.
“It's for your birthday, silly!” Mask exclaimed as he pulled out of the embrace.
“Oh!” Link exclaimed. “I had completely forgotten about that!”
“Of course you did,” Zelda said as she made her way over to them. “You've been way too busy to remember it! Sit down and relax for the rest of the afternoon.”
“I couldn't,” Link shook his head. “There is so much I need to get done.”
“It can wait until tomorrow. You need a break, and today's your birthday, so it's a win win!” Mask exclaimed.
“He's absolutely right,” Zelda agreed. She then stepped over and gave Link a gentle hug.
“Happy birthday.”
“Thanks, Princess,” Link smiled at her.
The two pulled away from the hug when Mask began pulling at his brother's scarf.
“I made a cake. With some help from Zelda. But I did most of it by myself! We also made a picnic for us all!” Mask told his brother as he dragged him away to the cake. “And I've got you a birthday present I think you'll really love!”
Link was so happy to see how excited Mask was. It was very rare to see him smiling this much.
“Oh really? Well, I can't wait to try the cake, have a picnic, and see what you have for me,” Link replied.
The cake was a vanilla cake (which made Link VERY happy), and it was very lopsided. The icing was unevenly placed all over the cake, but Link didn't think he’d seen a more beautiful cake in his life. His little brother made this (with some help from Zelda) for him. For HIM. This was the best cake ever.
The cake tasted wonderful, and Link enjoyed every bite of it. It was very fluffy and soft, and the icing was perfectly creamy and sweet.
“Thank you guys so much. I really appreciate this,” Link told his friends.
Impa, who had been silent most of the time, spoke up, “we’re glad you're enjoying it. You deserve to have a good time.”
“Yeah!” Proxi chimed from her place on the captain's shoulder. “You really do deserve to have a wonderful birthday.”
“Thank you,” Link smiled softly at them. He was so blessed to have such wonderful people in his life.
They were interrupted by a small mew coming from the small crate in the room.
“What was that?” Link asked.
Mask quickly got up and carefully picked up the small crate. He very carefully brought it over to his brother.
“Guess you'll have to find out!”
Link carefully grabbed the heavy crate from his little brother and looked inside. It was completely full of fresh oranges, each one had a blue ribbon tied into a bow on it. What really caught his eye though, was the small, fluffy, orange ball sitting in the middle of all the oranges, with a blue bow on it as well. It had to have been the fluffiest kitten that Link had ever seen!
“Oh my gosh!” He exclaimed as he carefully picked up the small kitten. “Where did you get this?!”
“Well, I found her the other day, and I thought you would want her. I just decided to wait to give her to you on your birthday. I've done a pretty good job at taking care of her,” Mask bragged.
Link couldn't stop hugging the little kitten. This was definitely a surprise! Genuine tears began falling out of his eyes as he pet the kitten in his hand.
Zelda quickly noticed. “Oh no! Are you okay?!”
“Yes,” Link sniffed. “I'm fine. I'm actually really happy.”
“Yay!” Masked exclaimed. “I'm so glad you're happy! What are you going to name her?”
“Well,” Link began as he wiped the tears from his eyes. “I think Oranges would be a very fitting name for her, don't you think?”
The other three agreed quickly. Oranges was the perfect name.
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After the day ended, Link and Mask bid the others good night, and left for their tent. It had been such a wonderful day, full of many surprises, and Link couldn't remember the last time he felt this happy and relaxed. Yes, the war and Cia were both still a major issue that he would have to continue dealing with, but for the moment, Link could enjoy these precious moments. And he could enjoy the time he had with his little brother, and his new little friend.
Once in the tent, Link set his scarf on the desk near his cot. He then placed the sleeping kitten on it, who then snuggled up into the blue fabric. Link could not get over how cute she was.
Mask came up beside him, still with a big smile on his face. “So, did you enjoy your birthday?”
Link smiled back at him. “Yes, yes I very much did. It was wonderful.”
Mask beamed up at his big brother. “I'm glad. You deserve the best, big brother.”
Tears flooded out of Link’s eyes for the second time that day. How did he get such an amazing little brother? He could never be more thankful than he was for Mask.
Link wrapped Mask up in another hug, and set his tear stained cheek on top of his brother's head.
“Thank you, Mask. You're the best little brother ever.”
“Happy birthday, Link. You're the best big brother ever.”
