Warnings: (Very) mildly dubious consent. Shounen-ai/Yaoi. Male Sheik.

The storm clouds above the graveyard had settled over an hour ago, and yet, there was still no sign of the Hero.

Sheik ignored the voice that nagged at him. He had a knack for expecting the worst of any situation, and so far Link had proved almost effortlessly that such expectations were doing nothing but turning Sheik's hair prematurely grey.

But still.

The Shadow Temple was a terrifying place anyway, but having to go in there and face all manner of nightmare material when amplified by evil was just…

There wasn't an accurate word to describe it.

So he felt his worry was a little justified this time around.

But Sheik wasn't one to work himself into a frenzy. He simply perched on the fence above the entrance, plucked quietly away at the strings of his lyre and waited.

The sun was perhaps an hour or so away from touching the horizon when the gentle wind picked up, signifying Link's return.

Sheik faced out over the graveyard, hiding the relief he knew would be all over his face, and continued to play a gentle melody.

There was a beat of silence.

"Sheik?" The voice was so small and vulnerable that Sheik forced his face into a stoic mask. Showing any kind of acknowledgement of Link's fragile state in this situation would only cause the Hero to turn tail and flee. Better to hide the concern for the moment.

He stopped playing and turned, expression neutral as he took in the state of the other.

"Can we go back to the forest tonight?"

Sheik didn't say anything. He simply nodded and slid off the fence to place a hand on Link's shoulder, before they both played the Minuet and disappeared from the mouth of hell.

xx

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Link visibly shuddered, and let his spoon fall into the tiny wooden bowl they were using for their food.

They had landed in the Sacred Meadow and had remained silent the entire trek back to Kokiri Village. The children were, thankfully, mostly in their homes at that time of evening, and so they had been able to take shelter in Link's tiny old treehouse for the night.

Sheik nudged him gently, trying to coax him out of the protective barrier he'd erected around his heart.

"No," came the quiet reply. "At least, not yet."

So he'd fallen silent again.

When darkness claimed the forest, Link slipped out to bathe in the nearby stream. He was covered in filth from the temple, and Sheik reasoned that a bath might make him feel better.

They settled down on the floor (as the bed was far too tiny for even Sheik's small frame), and sleep claimed them.

For a little while.

It was probably three in the morning when Sheik was jolted into wakefulness by the scream that tore through the air. He shot out of bed like an arrow, already on alert with a needle half drawn when he realised they weren't in danger. Well, not physically at least.

Link was thrashing violently on his bedroll, making agonized noises of horror. Words were in there somewhere, but they were indistinguishable.

Navi was buzzing around in distress, flitting between Link and Sheik as she cried shrilly for Link to wake.

"Navi," Sheik called to her. "Go and calm down. It's just a nightmare."

He barely gave her a second glance as the fairy zoomed out of the treehouse, attention completely focused on the flailing form beside him.

Reaching out, he placed a hand on Link's shoulder trying to hold him. The other hand moved to grip his jaw, trying to keep his head still.

"Link, wake up!" No response. Link continued to writhe, his face contorted into something that would have resembled absolute terror if it were on a normal person. "Link!"

Sheik smacked him soundly on the cheek, causing him to jolt. "Wake up!"

Finally, the writhing settled, and Link's expression softened a little.

And then his eyes blinked open and he promptly drew in a long, shuddering gasp.

Before Sheik could stop it, he was wrenched forward into a harsh embrace, finding himself with an armful of traumatised hero.

"Hey now," he tried to soothe. "It was just a nightmare, you're safe."

Link didn't cry, nor did he make any other kind of noise. He simply trembled something horrendous, clutching Sheik close as he hid his face from view.

"Link," Sheik said softly, bringing a hand up to rest in the dishevelled blonde hair. "You're safe. I'm here, nothing's going to hurt you."

"Sheik…" Link's voice was weak, but he was clinging on as if his entire life force was close to being snuffed out.

For all Sheik knew, it might have.

They stayed still for a few minutes, and gradually Link's trembling subsided. He slowly relaxed, until he was simply leaning on Sheik for support.

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

Link was quiet for a second, before he twitched slightly, and lifted his head. His eyes glittered almost eerily in the darkness, and the Sheikah found himself drawn to them. The expression there was intense, and it was only then that Sheik realised how close they actually were.

"Make me feel alive."

His breath caught. Silence fell between them for a second as they just stared at each other, only inches between them. Sheik had to stop and wonder if he'd heard correctly and, if indeed he had, whether the words meant what he thought they did.

Link ended up answering that riddle for him. With a tiny exhale he slipped his hand around Sheik's neck and pulled down his cowl, kissing him fiercely. For a second, Sheik's brain bluescreened, and then he caught himself returning the ferocious kiss with equal fire.

"Sheik," Link breathed between hungry kisses, never finishing his sentences. He moved so he pulled the Sheikah over his lap, strong hands mapping out the planes of the lithe body.

Sheik was on fire. His face felt like the sun, and his body was responding far too enthusiastically than should be allowed. Reason gave way to instinct, and he pushed Link's shoulders so he was on his back. Sheik's hands made quick work of his undershirt, shoving it aside where his tunic had been discarded before sleep. Link's back arched slightly as Sheik descended upon his skin, mouth trailing small bites along the planes of his jaw and collarbone.

He felt Link's hands hedging his own shirt upwards, and he sat back a little in order to rip it off, cowl and head wraps following. His skin sang as Link's hands raked across his body, temperature rising fast.

Sheik let out a small noise of surprise as Link suddenly rolled them both, finding himself on his back with a very excited hero between his legs. His breath was coming heavy, and he didn't protest as he felt Link's fingers curl against the hem of his pants, allowing them to be tugged free without restraint.

He had to stop however when he felt Link's lips ghost across his hips, reality jolting him back to awareness.

"Wait…Link," the Hero paused and glanced up, eyes like glittering blue fire in the darkness.

"What?" came the impatient reply.

"This is…we shouldn't be doing this."

"Why not?"

"Because you're…not yourself at the moment." A gentle way to put it.

Link sat up, and Sheik followed, rubbing his forehead with his palm in an effort to collect himself. Hard to do, when half of his brain was currently in his pelvis.

"What do you mean?"

"You just had a nightmare about…whatever happened in there. You freaked out and you're making rash decisions. I can't…take advantage of you like this."

Stunned silence.

"You think you're taking advantage of me?"

Sheik stared at his feet and didn't respond.

A gentle hand tilted his chin up a little so he was forced to meet Link's eyes.

"In that temple, there was nothing but death," Link said quietly. "It was horrifying…every second of it. I felt like the life was being sucked out of me every second I was in there. When I…" he shivered, "when I finally beat the monster, It felt like it was trying to take my spirit with it…to the netherworld. Impa had to leave the Sacred Realm to find me."

Sheik was transfixed, eyes wide with the realisation that Link had, in fact, come very close to death.

"I've never felt my own mortality so keenly before," he continued softly, hands brushing the dishevelled bangs out of Sheik's eyes. "And I…with only one temple left…I want to feel alive. I want to forget the cold feeling of death clutching at my soul."

He leaned forward again, lips ghosting against Sheik's, who found himself trembling slightly at the intensity in Link's eyes.

"You're not taking advantage of me," Link breathed against his lips. "I want you to help me forget…"

And he sealed their lips together again, so passionately that Sheik's resolve crumbled into dust. He wrapped his arms around Link's neck, dragging him down with him as their bodies moved together, the warm feeling of their heated skin together causing a sigh to escape his lungs.

"Link," Sheik breathed, groaning as their hips rolled together with abandon. "Have you…lantern oil?"

Link paused, and sat up a little to tug his pouch over. While he rummaged, Sheik took the opportunity to rid him of his own pants, smiling at the muffled groan that escaped from above him when he gripped the Hero's length.

"Here," he felt the bottle being pushed into his hands, and he pulled Link down again for a kiss as he fumbled with the top.

They both ignored the awkwardness as Sheik instructed Link on what to do, and it was quickly forgotten as Sheik felt his body spark with the intrusion of slick fingers. He murmured quiet encouragements as Link nervously tried to avoid hurting him, and when he moved just so, Sheik arched and gripped his shoulders roughly at the fire that spread through him.

"Okay," Sheik said, already feeling like jelly. "I think I'm good."

There was a moment of quiet fumbling, and he suppressed a grin at the curse Link uttered for whatever reason. He felt Link settle between his legs, and he propped himself up.

"Hold on." As Link paused, Sheik rolled so he was on his stomach, arching his back a little. "Okay."

With the go ahead, Link, settled himself along Sheik's body, kissing his neck and shoulders as he eased himself forward. Propped up on his elbows, Sheik's head fell forward as the first nudge of pressure ignited a small spark of pain, but he urged Link on.

Gently, Link managed to ease forward, both of them gasping as their bodies slowly joined, and when Sheik felt like he could take no more, Link snaked one arm beneath his chest, holding them still as he trailed kisses along his neck and shoulders.

After a minute of adjusting, Link slowly began to move. Their legs tangled together, and Link caught Sheik's jaw in one hand, twisting his head slightly so he could kiss him breathlessly. The hand at his jaw trailed down to the curve of his neck, both of them emitting gasps of pleasure as the speed picked up.

Any other time, Sheik might have been embarrassed at the noises he was making. But the sharp sparks of pleasure that shot up and down his spine with every thrust had him moaning, Link's hot breath at his ear making him tremble and shiver.

"Harder," he hissed between clenched teeth, and Link propped himself up on his hands wordlessly, picking up the pace until he was moving fast, plunging himself deep into Sheik's body with every thrust.

The movement was causing delicious friction against the bedroll as well, and Sheik felt absolute euphoria approaching fast. He reached back to twist one hand into Link's hair, mouth open and eyes closed as pleasure ripped through his entire body.

"Sheik…I'm…"

"Don't stop," he interrupted, relishing the feeling of heat between their bodies, sweat beginning to prickle on his neck and forehead.

Link dropped his head down between Sheik's shoulder blades, his hot breath cascading along his spine in time with every thrust. The breaths became gentle moans, gaining volume as his climax approached, and with a few more hard, bruising thrusts of his hips, Link came with a long, guttural groan.

Sheik pushed himself up then, still joined, so they were both on their knees. His head fell back against Link's shoulder, and he continued to grind ruthlessly. He felt Link's hand snake around him, making purchase against his length as he began to work to bring Sheik over the edge as well.

Link buried his head against the curve of Sheik's neck, one arm holding him close while the other pumped hard, and with a cry that had Sheik's spine arching against the iron hold he was in, he climaxed in a haze of bliss.

Link managed to catch most of it with his discarded shirt, and as Sheik calmed he settled back against him. One arm was still wrapped around Sheik's chest, the other tracing circles on his stomach, while Sheik fought to catch his breath.

They stayed like that for a few minutes until the chill began to return to the room, and they disentangled wordlessly. Neither of them bothered with clothes. They moved together, shifting until they were laying against one another on the bedroll, sharing each others body heat beneath the blanket.

Link's fingers trailed through Sheik's hair, his eyes lidded as sleep began to call. Sheik just smiled, leaning forward to press a lingering kiss against his forehead.

"Sleep, Link," he murmured, "I'll be here when you wake."

"Thank you," came the half mumbled reply, and within a minute, Link had dropped off to sleep.

Sheik stayed awake for the rest of the night, eyes on one thing and one thing only.

The expression of utmost peace and contentment that had replaced the terror that'd been there since they left the Kakariko Graveyard.

AN: Drop a review if you enjoyed! I'm taking oneshot prompts on tumblr and this was one of them. Drop me a line at sheikofthesheikah dot tumblr if you have a prompt you'd like to see written!