Side Quest
It was one of those rare, perfect Hylian mornings. The sun, just creeping over the horizon, turned the dewy grass into a field of sparkling gems. The air was fresh with the scent of water, and a few eager fish greeted the morning with exuberant acrobatics.
Link sat against a rock wall, boots lying carelessly beside him, toes stretched out in the cool grass. A crude fishing rod lay limp in his hands, its line stretching out into the pond before him.
Every inch of him ached, but with such a beautiful morning, he was content to sit and let it ache. The battle with his dark twin (or whatever that thing was) which had caused this misery seemed almost an eternity away, now. How could such misery and strife exist in the same world as this perfect tranquility?
Navi, his guardian fairy, lay curled up in his hat. Sometimes she liked to chase the fish about the lake. But today, she was just resting too.
He sighed. The only way to make this morning better would be a fresh glass of Lon Lon Milk. And maybe a certain pretty red-head to share it with.
"What do you think you're doing?" snapped a cold, familiar voice.
Two months earlier, he would have jumped straight to his feet. He'd been so uptight then. Now, he yawned and kept his eyes on the lake.
"Hello, Sheik," he said. "Good to see you again, too."
The strange man's soft footsteps pattered closer. "Does the King of Thieves have a fish allergy I'm unaware of?"
Link chuckled. His ally could be such an ass at times. But that's what made him so valuable. On more than one occasion, Link had pulled himself from an angst-ridden pity-party simply because he was too embarrassed at the thought of Sheik ever finding out about it.
"Only one way to find out," Link said. "Wanna help?"
"Our land is dying. Our people suffer. And you catch fish." He almost spat the words. He probably would have, if he didn't have that ridiculous cloth over his face. One day, Link would find out why he wore it. That couldn't be easy to breathe through.
"Yeah, that's been going on for seven years now," Link replied. "They can wait another day."
Sheik glared at him. Link sat there at let him. Eventually, the man sighed and sat down beside him. Right on cue.
"Some legendary hero you are."
"Hey, you know what I did yesterday? I killed a giant gooey water thing. And before that? A dragon. I killed a dragon. Dragons don't even exist. Why don't you go 'hero' about for a day? Then I'll come and give you some cryptic messages. Better yet: I'll send Navi. Then I can just sit and enjoy my day."
"You are the Hero of Time," Sheik said, drawing out his words with exaggerated patience. "You have to be the one to awaken the sages. It's your destiny."
"Well maybe today, my destiny is to catch a legendary fish."
"Can the fate of the world really depend on such a lazy boy?" Sheik muttered. Link did not deign to respond.
They sat together for some long moments. From time to time, one of them would shift, and Link would feel the brush of an elbow on his, or perhaps their legs would relax and bump together. He let himself enjoy this, too. Most of his physical contact happened when he was trying to kill something. The exceptions were few. One was the fairy under his hat, a faithful friend throughout time. Another was Malon, the farmer's daughter. Her smile alone would have been enough to thaw Zora's Domain after its curse.
"I give up," Sheik said at last. "Tell me how to convince you to help me."
"Did you want help with anything specific? Or were you just planning on walking around randomly until one of us bumps into another magic temple? Because that sounds like something I really don't want to do right now."
"Don't be stupid. I'm training the Kakariko resistance tonight. We could use your expertise."
Link sighed.
Sheik waited.
"Well?" he said, at length.
Link shrugged, pondered some more, then thrust the fishing pole into Sheik's hands.
"Catch me a fish."
"What?"
"Catch me a fish, and I'll help you train tonight."
Sheik's red eyes narrowed.
"Oh come on! You ask anyone else to train up an army, they'd charge what, hundreds of rupees? Thousands? This is a great deal here!"
"Why?"
"Because it amuses me, and because you need to relax."
Sheik scowled, but he said nothing, so Link closed his eyes and dozed.
Some time later, a rather bony elbow drove into his ribs.
"Link, I got one! I got a bite!"
"Careful," he grunted. He turned to see Sheik driving his heels into the ground, leaning backwards with all his weight.
Sheik's outburst must have woken Navi. She drifted out of his hat, her color a dampened blue. "What… oh. Morning, Sheik."
Sheik did not reply. His focus was so deep he did not even grunt. He got that way sometimes.
"Sheik's… fishing?" Navi asked.
Link nodded.
"For fun?"
Another nod.
"Please tell me how you got him to do this."
"Let's just say he owed me a favor," he said, grinning.
Moments later, a large thrashing fish plopped ashore.
"Wow, that must weigh at least eight pounds!" Navi said.
"That's pretty good, Sheik," Link said. "Ready for lunch?"
It was the work of moments to find enough twigs and branches from surrounding tress to build a fire. Once they were all stacked, Link ignited them with a whisper of magic. Sheik suck the fish on a spit, and they began to slowly roast it.
"Hey! While we're waiting, we should go for a swim!" Link said.
"I thought you'd be sick of being wet by now," Sheik said. He had a point. Link still felt a bit damp and clammy from his excursion in the Water Temple. But that was different.
"Nah. I just want to actually enjoy it, you know?" He pulled his tunic over his head and folded it neatly by the fire. "Come on!"
Sheik shook his head. "I'll pass."
"Why? Have you ever even tried swimming for fun?"
"I'm not interested."
"How would you know? What's so horrible about swimming?"
"I… I don't want to undress," he said, almost whispering.
Link paused, considering, then broke down in raucous laughter. "You're shy? The mysterious lone Sheikah is timid about his body? That's just too funny."
Sheik shrunk back, folding his arms defensively across his chest.
"Link," Navi chided. "If he doesn't want to, he doesn't want to. Leave him alone."
He sighed. "I suppose you're right. Sorry, Sheik. I know what it's like to be made fun of."
"It's okay. I know you just want me to be relax a bit." His eyes softened. "Enjoy your swim."
Link dived backward off the pier into the newly-filled Lake Hylia. He paddled out a bit, surrounding himself in the clear water. It had been filled with Zora once. Now only their king remained. He tried to push it from his mind. If he thought about it, he'd start to wonder if maybe he could have saved more of them if he had come earlier. That way lie madness.
He floated on his back and let himself drift. Himself, his thoughts, and the world. The last time he let himself relax like this, he had been a boy. Malon had found him struggling across Hyrule Field in the wee hours of the morning and brought him back for a proper rest at her ranch. She had given him his first cup of Lon Lon milk, taught him a beautiful song, and later, when Talon was asleep and Ingo distracted, given him his first kiss. Even the thought made him blush.
After far too short a time, Sheik called out that the fish was cooked, and Link climbed back onto dry land. He let himself drip-dry as Sheik cut off a portion of meat for him.
"I don't think I've ever seen you look so happy," Sheik said.
Link shrugged. "Not much else to be happy about. Gotta take it when you can."
"I think, when this is all over, I would like to swim with you," Sheik said.
"But not now?"
"No. I can't just stop. Not like you."
Link placed a hand on his shoulder. Sheik tensed, then relaxed. Link knew how he felt. He had been much the same, at first. He'd almost collapsed trying to scamper his way up Death Mountain. Then, he decided that enough was enough, and he was taking a day for himself.
"Just remember that you're important, too," Link said.
Sheik nodded, though Link didn't think he understood. Not really. Then the man rose to his feet.
"See you tonight?"
Link nodded. "I look forward to training with you."
Sheik stepped backward. With a flash, he was gone. Link turned back to his fish. He had spoken the truth. He really was looking forward to training with Sheik. The man could certainly fight. But for the rest of the day, he was just going to enjoy Lake Hylia.