Disclaimer: The Legend of Zelda, its characters and locations are all property of Nintendo. Any and all OCs and original locations belong to me unless specifically stated to belong to someone else.
Explanation:
In the course of the five years it took to write the three Souls stories, a great number of potential ideas for one-shots and AUs have piled up in my mind. Rather than clutter up my profile with all these, I have decided to create this collection, where each chapter is a new one-shot or longer story. These stories all take place in the Souls universe, or alternates of it. It is basically a way for me to explore the universe further and see what would happen if certain events did or did not take place, and what happened to certain characters after their respective parts in the stories were over. Hopefully, they will prove interesting.
IMPORTANT: IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THE TRILOGY (SOUL MATES, SOUL REMNANTS, AND SOUL SECRETS), THEN NONE OF THESE STORIES OR CHARACTERS WILL MAKE ANY KIND OF SENSE. PLEASE READ THOSE BEFORE TACKLING THIS COLLECTION!
Sheik Watches
Sheik watches.
It's his purpose in life. Watch, analyse, report, and act. From the moment he could walk and talk, he had been trained to do so. Serve the throne, serve the princess, serve Hyrule. He does it without question, without doubt, and he is proud of it. He follows in his ancestors' footsteps, and though he is the last Sheikah to bear the name, and will likely be the last one to walk upon this earth, he does not flinch in the face of duty, even when it involves mortal peril.
For he always watches, and analyses. It is the key to everything. Watch for long enough, and all answers will become apparent. The solution to every riddle will offer itself, if only you let it stew long enough in your head, and your eyes continue to follow. Sheik had lost count of many mysteries had been solved, how many murders had been investigated, using this method. Impa had never hesitated to tell him just how important this quality was.
It was the way he had always done things.
But the Hero of Time could not be analysed. His being was simply...incompatible with this sort of observation. Every attempt at discerning his thoughts, his motives, and even his actions through sheer sight alone, was impossible. His eyes did not flicker back and forth, like everyone else's. His body did not make the telling little movements that revealed so much about a person and their mental state. His words were guarded and vague, never letting on more than exactly what he wanted everyone else to know. It was out of fear of changing too much, he claimed. He only knew how to prevent the disasters he already been through-not the ones he would unwittingly set off if he gave away too much.
His motives...why was he doing this? With the power to manipulate time, surely he could see every possibility, every permutation of a single action? With that sort of power, why be so careful? Why keep undoubtedly valuable information from the princess and, indeed, Sheik?
Sheik watches the Hero's every move, hoping to understand the mysterious boy who claimed to have already witnessed the end of this war, and the start of two others, one of which had left the world a ruin. The other had ended in a crushing defeat, and the deaths of every person precious to him. Is he so paranoid to lose them a second time that he will not get close to anyone, this time around?
Sheik watches the Hero's every move, hoping to understand why his alternate self, the one who had surely perished along with everyone else, had seen fit to supply the Hero with his mother's name, one of the greatest secrets he had. Clearly, that Sheik had not been convinced that he would take anything the Hero said seriously, and gave him a word this Sheik would recognise. But why that name? Surely there were so many other things that Sheik could have offered?
Sheik watches the Hero's every move, hoping to understand why his thoughts invariably revolve around the Hylian, even when he is acting on the princess' orders, whether it is sabotaging Ganondorf's men's equipment or assassinating his officers. Sheik wonders why even the slightest smile directed at him from the green-clad Hero makes him feel satisfied and excited. Sheik wonders why, whenever they are alone, the Hero only offers him sad smiles, his voice wistful and longing when speaking of his past...or future, as the case may be.
Sheik wonders why the Hero of Time, after another long meeting with the princess, requests a companion to take on his journeys across Hyrule, and specifically asks for him. Zelda agrees, but is hesitant. She, too, is wary about the Hero of Time's extensive knowledge of the future to come. Undoubtedly, he is on their side...but he seems detached from the situation, as if he is simply watching and acting with the bare minimum of effort. It is as if he wishes he was a simple observer, rather than an actor.
Sheik watches the Hero as he shares intimate moments with two dear friends from his past. The Sages of the Forest and Fire temples are happy to see him again, but they too realise that he is far from the boy he once was. There is something much older behind those impossibly blue eyes. So much sadness...
The nights on the road are long and cold, but the companionship makes it all bearable. Used to travelling alone, Sheik finds himself...enjoying it. Caught in a rainstorm, they are forced to cling to each other to share body heat, lest they both freeze to death. Uncomfortable, but necessary and all for a good cause. The princess did order him to offer any assistance he could, after all. Sheik doesn't understand why this makes his heart beat faster than usual, nor why his face heats up as much as it does. All he knows is that he enjoys the reverberations of the Hero's chuckles passing through him. The morning after is awkward, and they push on.
Sheik is annoyed when, upon reaching the Water Temple, the Hero tells him to wait outside. He claims that the risk of drowning is too great, that only he should expose himself to that danger. Sheik does not accept the explanation, and wonders why Navi the Fairy is allowed to accompany him-surely she too is at risk of drowning? He obeys, however, and remains outside the temple, loitering on the small island in the very middle of Lake Hylia. After all, the Hero is his commander...for now.
And Sheik serves.
The Hero's gruff tone upon entering the temple is the opposite of the relief in his voice upon returning from the Sacred Realm. He gives both Sheik and Navi happy looks, as if he has accomplished something of great value.
And why wouldn't he? He has awakened yet another Sage. Four down, two to go.
Sheik doesn't understand the Hero's smiles. And there are many.
The self-satisfied smirk he gives when the creature from the well in Kakariko Village attacks them, and they easily beat it back. Upon being questioned, the Hero reveals that the same event went quite differently the last time. He reveals no details, leaving Sheik confounded at the amount of details being withheld from him. Upon noticing his expression, the Hero's grin grows wider, and he laughs, as if he was remembering some sort of joke.
The cold, calculating grin he gives to his enemies. The sheer intensity of his stare, coupled with that smirk, reminds Sheik of a wolf-one that knows it is in complete and utter control of the situation, that the prey is absolutely helpless. He always proves Sheik right.
The genuine, eye-reaching beam whenever he sees someone he knew in the past-future. They do not know him, but the simple knowledge that they are there is enough to make the Hero happy, and, strangely enough, Sheik as well.
And finally, the secret ones. The ones he gives Sheik whenever he thinks he is being surreptitious. Sheik sees them all. They are, without a doubt, the warmest Sheik has seen him give.
They make Sheik's chest feel warm.
The Hero insists on Sheik using his name instead of his title when talking to him. Sheik refuses. It is unseemly for one such as he to refer to the great Hero of Time with any familiarity, despite what happened in the future-past. The Hero refuses to see reason, however, and continues his badgering. When Sheik finally caves, they are standing outside the Shadow Temple, the final resting place and gravesite to his people.
Again, as if he is enjoying some sort of joke, the He-Link laughs.
"This is where you stopped resisting saying my name the first time," is all he says, and walks inside the Temple, leaving Sheik to wonder just how parallel their journey was running to the previous one.
Their trek through the desert is gruelling and warm. Many times, they fear they are about to die of dehydration, but luck has them finding conveniently placed sources of water just as the thirst becomes unbearable. Of course, Sheik has to remind himself every time they find one. Of course the Her-Link would know where the water would be found.
The nights are cold, and though the two are no longer strangers to sleeping close to each other to preserve heat, with Navi the Fairy curled up beneath Link's cap, Sheik feels...strange. Like he...belongs there, with the Hero of Time's arms unconsciously wrapping around him, mumbling in his sleep.
Sheik fears the implications.
Surely that was not it?
One night, upon reaching an area he clearly recognises, Link announces that they should make camp early. Sheik complies, trusting the Hero to lead them correctly on the path. They spend the evening gazing into the fire...though Sheik knows that Link is really watching him. It makes Sheik's heart flutter, and his face heat up in a blush. He gives Link a questioning look, but receives only a shrug in reply.
"Just remembering something," Link says.
Sheik asks what.
"Something that made me very happy," Link replied cryptically.
He yawns, says it is getting late, and that they should get some rest. The next few days were going to be eventful, he claims.
The entire night, Sheik wonders just what made Link so happy...
Sheik is utterly perplexed when Link, upon realising they are being ambushed by a group of Gerudo, begins to laugh. He has laughed in battle before, but in those cases the odds have always been on their side. Sheik sees no way out of this situation, which is why he nearly tackles Link to the ground when he simply walks forward and offers his hand to the leader of the group. Predictably, she knocks him out with the butt of her spear. Sheik tries to intervene, but suffers the same fate.
Bloody Hero...
Link and Ayla, the Gerudo warrior, get along famously, especially after Sheik defeats her in single combat. The revelation that Ganondorf abandoned his own people in favour of the dreaded Legions is a surprising one...and Sheik sees an opportunity to gain allies for the princess' cause. His ancestors would most likely frown upon his thoughts, but they had never been in such a desperate situation before...and if anything, desperation makes for strange bedfellows. In a rare moment of fortune-telling clarity, Link reveals that the Gerudo's help will be instrumental in the coming battle.
The first kiss happens later that night.
Sheik is tired of watching and analysing something that clearly will not allow itself to be unravelled like a riddle. The Hero is Link. And Link is...strange, mysterious, frightening...and exciting.
The wine is a big factor in it, of course, but it is mostly his burning curiosity that leads Sheik to corner Link in their chambers, pin the Hero of Time against the wall with his superior reflexes and technique, yank down the mask covering his own face, and put his lips to Link's.
It is a clumsy kiss. Sheik's first. Their teeth knock together, their respective noses getting in the way. Sheik doesn't know how long a kiss should last, and even through the haze of wine his thoughts begin to race.
Am I doing it right? Has it gone on for too long? Will he be offended? Have I misinterpreted his smiles? What if the relationship we shared in the future-past was simply platonic?
When Link does not respond, Sheik knows he has done something wrong, and quickly breaks away, staring at the floor, the ceiling, their packs in the corner-at anything but Link. Surely there is no greater offense than forcing such unwanted attention upon one another?
Link clears his throat; beckons Sheik to look at him. Sheik does so hesitantly, preparing himself for whatever reprimands the Hero has in mind for him. The only thing he silently wishes, however, is for Link to not send him away.
Navi hovers above them, silent for what is probably the first time since they first arrived in the Temple of Time. She does not know how to react.
"Why did you do that?"
The Hero's question slices through every other thought in Sheik's head, and all he is left with is...
"Because I wanted to."
Link raises an eyebrow-an absolutely spot-on imitation of Sheik's own questioning tic, and asks, "Did you do it because of the wine?"
Sheik has not had that much to drink, and he clearly recognises the difference between a spontaneous action borne out of alcoholic consumption, and one that has been carefully deliberated and planned, even if it was on a subconscious level. So he shakes his head, and says, "No, it simply made me brave enough."
The silence that falls over the room is unbearable. If the Hero reacts badly, Sheik is prepared to blame anything to explain the unwanted kiss. Anything to avoid being sent away.
"And how did it feel?" the Hero says, unrelenting in his interrogation.
And how did it feel? It was the only thing Sheik had ever been truly, one-hundred percent certain of.
"It felt...right."
Many years' worth of hardness built up in those blue eyes of his seem to melt as a brilliant, dazzling smile comes to the Hero's lips as he steps forward and envelops Sheik in a crushing hug-one of desperation, relief, want, and a million other emotions that leaves them both exhausted, clinging to each other to stay upright. Link draws back and rests his forehead against Sheik's, staring into his eyes, leaving Sheik feeling like he is drowning in an endless, bottomless ocean. The Hero of Time speaks.
"Thank the gods...I could not bear another day without telling you, or showing you..."
The veil obscuring a great part of the future-past is lifted, and Sheik understands the role he must have played in it. It was not strange, then, that Link knew his mother's name.
He wonders how Zelda will react to this...
Sheik watches.
And what he sees is promise.
Obviously, this takes place after Link turns back time in Soul Secrets, and starts his journey anew. I thought it'd be fun to see how Sheik reacts to the "new" version of the Hero of Time...and really, all we see is that the boys really were inevitably going to be drawn to each other no matter what.