AN: Just kind of a drabbly Blue/Red oneshot I wrote with the Four Swords+ manga on the brain. Reviews would be appreciated. Enjoy~

It was a lazy day on the shores of Lake Hylia, the red sun meandering across a picture-perfect blue sky overhead. Four young teenage boys lounged on the yellow-white beaches. Some laid on the hot beach, others waded in the crystal-clear water. You couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day in all of Hyrule.

These four boys all went by the name of Link. One boy was playing happily in the water, clad in a pair of red shorts. His hair was damp and clung to his head, wisps of blonde hugging his long, pointed ears. He splashed his companion playfully, laughing.

The likeness between the boys was astounding- they could have been quadruplets. But it was simple enough to tell the red-clad and the blue-clad boys apart- they were as different as night and day. There was a certain youthful innocence in the red-clad boy's tinkling laugh and smile, and yet the blue-clad boy's face was set with a gruff scowl, arms crossed over his chest.

"Where do ya get off splashin' me like that?" Blue yelled in response, waving a fist. Red tilted his head, pursing his lips slightly. "Just havin' a lil fun, Blue!" he said solemnly.

"Well you can't just go splashin' people, Red!" he scolded, like an older brother. Red's lips quivered. "I-I'm sorry, Blue, it's just-"

"Just-?"

"Just, well, you were already wet from swimming, so I didn't think you would mind," Red pointed out, gesturing towards Blue's equally damp self. Red's voice was noticably higher than Blue's, but they still, somehow, sounded alike, like a strange harmony.

"Well-" Blue started, but he cut himself off. "I..."

Red turned away. "I guess I'll go see if Green or Vio want to play, then," he told Blue, his tone melancholy. Blue raised an arm in relfex to stop him, but instead clenched his fist, letting his arm fall to his side. Red walked back towards the beach, where the other two Links were. Green was soaking up the sunlight, while Vio was sitting under an oversized beach umbrella, to provide him with shade from said sunlight as he read a book.

Blue crashed his palm into the water violently. "Damnit," the boy muttered under his breath, watching Red as he sulked off to Green. He watched the slight slump of Red's shoulders, the nervous, sincere laugh as he requested for Green to join him in the lake. Blue could feel the soft thump of his heart in his chest. Of course, the request was shrugged off with Green's characteristic smile.

"Not right now, Red," Green had responded. "Maybe in a litle while." Green's voice was a middling pitch between Red and Blue's, like a missing stairstep., equally eerie in its similarity.

"Oh, okay..." Red had said, and although he was turned away, Blue could imagine his face in his mind's eye; the dejected lip pout, the big and puppylike blue eyes, the ever-so-slightly pink blush of embarassment kissing his cheeks...

Red sulked away from Green towards Vio. Blue grit his teeth, heading towards the other three Links.

"C'mon now, Red, you know Vio won't get in the water. He's like a cat, he hates getting wet," Blue threw out before Red could ask the purple-clad Link, adding a signature smirk. It was true- Vio was the only boy present that hadn't changed out of their trademark tunic and cap and into beachwear.

Vio shot a deathly glare at Blue. "Shut up, moron," he cast back. Vio's voice completed their harmonious quartet, a shade darker than Blue's own.

"Moron? Aren't you supposed to be the smart one?" Blue retaliated. "What kind of insult is that? And besides that, why should I? I don't have to listen to you!" he smirked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"You're just butthurt because Red was going to ask me to go swimming with him, and not you," Vio said coolly, slamming his book shut. He looked towards Red. "I'd love to go," Vio told him, casting a sideways glance at Blue. "It's too hot to be on the beach anymore, besides."

Blue opened his mouth to send a frothy comeback, but he clamped it shut, his cheeks turning apple red. It was true; Vio had seen right through him. He had wanted to go swimming with Red, but he had to open his big dumb mouth and tell him to go away. It was his own damn fault. Why did he always have to screw everything up? Why did he say things he didn't really mean?

Vio stripped down to a pair of purple shorts that matched the other three Links' swimsuits, swishing his wispy blonde hair as he removed his purple cap. He took Red's hand in his, leading him towards the lake. Blue watched in misery. Vio didn't like swimming- he didn't even really like Red all that much, more like tolerated. He was only doing this to make Blue mad. Vio always did know how to get under his skin.

That smug, selfish asshole! Okay, so Blue was kind of rude sometimes, especially to Vio, but thats just how he was! He couldn't help saying mean things to the other Links. They just popped into his head and spewed out like word barf. And if Vio's collected intellectualism didn't make him angry, or if Green's constant efforts to lead and mediate didn't infuriate him, then it was Red. Red with his incessant optimism, his annoying, adorable laugh, his aggravating, endearing need to be constantly watched and protected...made him angrier than anything he could think of. In fact, Red was on the receiving end of some of Blue's most harsh outbursts. But...then...

Why had Red asked Blue to play with him first? When Red needed help, Blue was the first one he would seek out. Blue was Red's first line of support, even though Blue constantly turned him away- he did end up helping most of the time, mostly because Red was so goddamn persistent, but why didn't he go to Green or Vio first? Green was always willing to help even for small things, and while Vio seemed to find Red slightly annoying, he was never outright hostile.

Blue watched Vio and Red in the lake while sitting on the beach, the fine sand sticking to his wet body uncomfortably, the hot sun beating down on him. Red had initiated a simple game of Marco Polo, where Vio kind of circled Red halfheartedly, answering Red's loud "MARCO!"s with even-toned "Polo."s as Red splashed around ineffectually. Blue felt a chuckle escape his lips, and he instantly covered his mouth, blushing. He couldn't deny it, as much as he wanted to: Red was cute.

Vio seemed to grow bored of the charade, and he wandered away from Red, leaving him confused as no one answered his increasingly passionate calls for Marco. Vio walked past Blue on his way back to his reading spot, casting a sideways smirk. The purple Link gestured towards Red. "Get over there, Blue."

Blue gazed back in a kind of stupor before returning his attention to Red. Blue rushed over to find him very frustrated on having been abandoned in the middle of their game. "Marco," Red called out flatly, his lips pouting.

Blue came up behind him and placed a hand on his bare shoulder, leaning in close to his ear. "Polo," he whispered, letting go and quickly swimming away, towards deeper water. Red opened his eyes, turning to see Blue swimming away.

"Hey!" Red giggled, clamping his eyes shut again. "MARCO!"

This continued for several more minutes, and Blue suddenly felt a lot better now that he was with Red. Red normally annoyed him, but right now he seemed like a welcome annoyance, someone that he actually enjoyed to be around, which felt weird, for him.

"Polo," Blue called out again, but Red didn't return the call. He turned around to see him, but Red was nowhere in sight.

"Red?" Blue said, a note of apprehension in his voice. "Hello?"

No answer.

They had come pretty far from shore but it wasn't too bad. Blue poked his head under the water, but he still couldn't see Red.

A million possibilities flooded Blue's mind. Was there a stray zola around somewhere? A whirlpool? Where could he have disappeared to? "Red! Are you okay!" He didn't have the Four Sword or any other weapons with him, just his fists. He gazed about frantically. "RED!"

He heard a small splash behind him and a faint giggle. "Here I am!" Red called out, wrapping his arms around Blue's neck. "I surprised you, didn't I? Look, I swam all the way over here and behind you, all by myself! Pretty neat, huh?"

Blue felt his face flush, acutely aware of Red's bare chest pressed against his back. "H-hey!" Blue cried, pulling away and turning to face his counterpart. "That- that wasn't cool! I was worried- what if something had gotten you! You could have been in danger and you think its a game, you idiot!"

The two faced each other in silence for a moment, treading water as Blue's angry stare clashed with Red's empty gaze of innocence. "B-but I was just kidding, Blue..." Red sniffled. Blue thought he saw a tear fall from his eye, but Red had just turned his head down.

The weight of the guilt of his harsh words came crashing down around Blue's shoulder. Tentatively, he proffered a comforting hand to Red, placing it on his shoulder.

"I-I'm sorry, Red," he stumbled. "I- I'm not mad."

Red looked up at him, his eyes wide. "You aren't?

"No, I just...got a little worked up, is all. Hey, why don't we go back to the beach. I'm getting kinda hungry, how about you?" Blue offered. Red nodded cheerfully.

"Okay!"

They swam back to shallow water and started back up towards the beach. Just as they came out of the water, Red turned to Blue and gave him a hug.

Blue froze, unsure of how to react. "You're my best friend, Blue," Red said. Blue couldn't find the words to say back. What was he supposed to say?"

"Uh- me too, I mean, you-" Blue fumbled. "You're mine, too."

Red grinned, pulling Blue by the arm towards a picnic that Vio and Green were already setting up. Blue found himself smiling too. He was Red's best friend. Wow.

Red really was cute...