Haven't quite gotten to the Farmer part, but it's a process. Modern AU, anybody? Oh yes.

Shad had come to love working at a clinic much more than those large hospitals in the city. This small village needed a capable doctor, considering that it was mostly compromised of farmland, which meant many people came in due to fatigue. Shad was more than willing to help these hardworking people, and if he were to be honest, it was nice being able to work for a small village because of how easy it was to become friends with everyone. He meant that in a literal sense, as well, as he can remember the name of each and every villager, remember their occupations, their habits, their diet (which was rather important for him to know), and in general, he was rather close with everyone. It was peaceful, everyone was looking out for everyone, there were many wonderful holidays to celebrate together, and all in all, Shad couldn't be any happier.

Well, maybe it did get a little depressing every now and then when you begin to realise that the people you meet on a day to day basis are only around because they've either caught some sort of illness or are fatigued. He had expected that, of course, so he can't really complain, but it would be nice to get a friendly visit from a pal once and a while, just for the heck of it.

As he was contemplating over this, the front door opened, the bell lightly chiming, sounding different, somehow. Maybe one of his employees changed it, recently?

He look over from his desk, through the door to the receptionist/waiting room, and saw a man, maybe about his own age, with dirty blond hair and a rather wolfish smile, wearing slightly dirty overalls and thick brown gloves. What stood out wasn't how handsome he was, although Shad most certainly wouldn't deny that, but the fact that he seemed to have a rather nasty cut on his cheek, seeping blood. Shad quickly ran to the waiting room, took hold of the boy, ran back in, and sat him down into a separate room from the other patients.

"I apologise for being sudden, I don't believe we've met, but I'd like to treat your wound as soon as possible, please."

The man simply gave him another wolfish smile, and Shad was beginning to believe it was somewhat his trademark. It was strange, really, that someone who had a, no doubt, incredibly painful cut running diagonal across his cheek to be smiling as if everything were perfectly okay. Anyone else would be possibly crying, or had a very annoyed expression. This lad, however, didn't mind the pain at all, and as Shad worked to both disinfect and clean the wound, then patch it up with a few stitches, the man didn't even flinch. He kept smiling, not too wide as to effect Shad's work, but enough to show that he was rather calm and, if anything, pleased.

"My name is Shad. I'm a doctor who has been working here for a year and a half, now," he said, eye carefully trained on his needle.

The man gave a thumbs up, probably not speaking because there was a needle threading through his face. Understandable.

"Are you new here, by any chance? Thumbs up for yes, down for no."

The man thought for a moment, before shaking his thumb up and down in a "so-and-so" motion.

"I see, so you've been here before, but you only just came back recently?"

A thumbs up. Shad nodded.

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, then. I hope we can become good friends."

The boy quirked his mouth on the opposite side the doctor was working on, which nearly went unnoticed, and Shad smiled, finishing up his work.

"All we need to do is put a good bandage on that and you can be on your way. The wound wasn't too bad, it seems to have stopped bleeding, but you need to be more careful, now. Pray tell, whatever did you do in order to get that gash?"

The man though for a moment, smiled, then shrugged.

"Ah, does it hurt to speak?"

He shook his head, and began moving his hands in a small series of gestures. He opened his mouth slightly and pointed inside, showing that, oh goodness, his tongue seemed to have been missing. In other words, he was mute. That would explain his silence.

"I see... I don't know much sign language, but I'll make an effort to learn some in case we meet again. Ah, would you mind, possibly, writing down your name?"

Shad took out a form, handing to the other.

"And it'd be best if you fill out the other details, as well. As the doctor, I need to have a good knowledge of the villagers of this town, so it'd be nice to know your occupation, date of birth, the sex you were originally assigned with at birth, and any other past medical history such as major surgeries and the such. Oh, and allergies, if you have any. And possibly— ah, I'm rambling. In any case, just to be safe, please fill the form as best as you can."

The man nodded and once again quirked his mouth into a lopsided smile, then quickly began filling in the form. Shad was surprised by how quickly he had gone through it, watching his hands move swiftly, and he wondered how his handwriting was so neat. Shad himself had the typical "doctor's handwriting," as he used to work in a rather large hospital and was forced to rush quite often. This lad didn't seem to be rushing, he just seemed naturally quick with his hands. After he finished, he handed the paper back to Shad, gave a short, playful salut, and left the clinic. A pleasant goodbye without a single word.

Shad looked down at the paper. Link. That was his name. A somewhat strange one, at that. He doesn't believe he's ever heard that one before, nor did he know Link could even be a name in the first place, not that it was a bad thing. It gave the feeling of something short, simple, and honest. Maybe a tad mysterious too, because it begs to question; why was he named that? What prompted his parents into thinking that up? In any case, it suited the man rather well, Shad supposed.

Shad didn't completely realise it until a little while later, but he felt a tad happier after the short visit from the ever silent Link. Possibly because although he did, in fact, come in with an injury, he didn't seem too fazed by it and was actually rather pleasant company. He was calm, and that helped Shad feel less panicky about the people around him getting hurt. He loved helping people, of course, but he also dreaded visits at times because of the idea of the people he cared about getting hurt. He most certainly expected this to happen once he moved to the small village, of course. He knew that he would become friends with everyone in the village, and that he'd get frequent visits.

Frequent visits...

Did he forget to tell Link to come by again tomorrow?

Ah, he did, didn't he? He wanted to make sure the wound would hold up fine. He looked down at the form again and read the address, and occupation. There didn't seem to be a phone number, nor an emergency contact list, strangely. Was there a possibility the lad didn't have a phone? That could be somewhat of a problem, but it was a rather peaceful village. Shad doubted there would be many emergencies in which a phone would be needed. Still, it was a tad worrisome, as that meant Shad would have to drop in unannounced, which felt rather rude, but it couldn't be helped, could it?

Shad stretched, leaning back in his chair. It wasn't too much of an active day, though he wouldn't call it boring. A few family members came in to wish some of his patients a merry Christmas Eve, which was rather pleasant. And Link's visit was something new. However, it wasn't nearly as hectic as he expects the New Year's day to be. He's rather prepared for that day, actually. Children always somehow find ways to get their hands on something dangerous, be it in the city or here in the peaceful village. In his first half year, he had seen how particularly wild the children of the village could be on this particular holiday. He had a little hope that they had learned their lesson from last time, but he sincerely doubted it.

"Doctor, you sure you don't want to come to the Christmas party tonight?"

Shad snapped out of his thoughts and looked over to the young intern, head sticking into the clinic through the front door.

"Ah, yes, I'm rather okay here. I don't do very well with parties, anyways. I'd probably just sit in the corner and read a book, or something."

"Yeah, I know what you mean, I used to be like that too. Well, I won't force you. Have a good night, and happy holidays!"

"You too, Dylan!"

Shad waved and flashed a small smile, then sighed once the intern was out of view. Here he was, worrying again. He supposed he did, in fact, needed to learn to have fun every once and a while, but parties were definitely not going to change anything. Crowds made him rather uncomfortable. Maybe that's why he moved away from the city...? Well, how should he know. It was a rather impulsive decision that he doesn't feel the need to analyse.

There a was small knock at the window beside him, and the doctor nearly jumped out of his seat, looking over and seeing Link, smiling under the rays of moonlight, making it seem even more wolfish than ever. He held up a finger, telling the doctor to wait a moment, and his other hand reached into the bag slung over his shoulder. After a few seconds of rummaging around, he took out a few pieces of paper and unfolded them. He placed one onto the window, and Shad smiled.

"Happy holidays, Doctor. And thank you for patching me up."

"You're welcome, Link. And thank you, as well."

The man smiled and switched out the paper with another one.

"You wanted me to come back tomorrow, right?"

"Indeed, I did. I forgot to tell you, so I was going to visit you instead. Er, it might have been rude, because of the holiday, but I thought it would be necessary. How did you know?"

Link laughed and flipped the paper to the other side.

"Intuition."

Well, he was certainly prepared for this conversation, it seemed. Shad chuckled, and Link switched out the paper again.

"Are you doing anything tonight?"

"Ah, no, not really. I'm simply here to watch over the two patients. One's sick, and the other recently broke her leg. So close to Christmas, too, it's a pity..."

Link nodded slowly, looking at his next page of paper and contemplating for a moment. He bit his lip, not necessarily frowning, but not smiling either, which Shad realised wasn't something he'd think he'd see so soon.

After a minute or two, Link switched the paper he was looking at with another one, placing it flat onto the window.

"Could I come in?"

Shad chuckled and nodded, standing up and going over to the front door, since it could only be opened from the inside, and letting in the silent man. A cold chill escaped into the room as Link quickly came in, hand grasping over Shad's to quickly close the door. Shad raised an eyebrow, but saw Link looking over to the door that led to the hall, and smiled. The boy didn't want to patients to get cold, it seemed.

"You know, you're not exactly wearing the best attire for the season, old boy. You could get sick, and rather easily, considering just how cold it is..."

Link looked down for a moment, at his worn down green overalls and short-sleeved brown shirt. He wasn't even wearing those soft boots that every other farmer in the village were wearing. No scarf, either, or hat, or earmuffs. He was fairly unprotected against the cold wind. Link looked back up and gave a small, sheepish smile, but seemed to quickly get over it and walked over to sat down in a chair in front of the receptionist desk. Link grinned at the doctor and patted the seat next to him, which Shad happily took.

"So, Link, I still don't know how exactly you got that cut."

Link lost his smile for a moment, not entirely frowning, really, but most certainly not smiling, either. Shad wondered if Link actually had the capability to physically frown, at the moment, which was why he wasn't expressing it. Or, maybe he was just like this. Shad wasn't completely sure.

With a sigh, Link took out a piece of paper from his pocket and unfolded it, handing it to the other. He really was quite prepared, wasn't he?

"I got distracted while holding some new tools I bought, and I tripped."

"This sounds like a fake story."

Shad laughed, along with Link, who reached over and flipped the paper.

"I know."

Well, he supposed that his answer would be expected. It really did sound fake.

Link gathered up his small pieces of paper and straightened them out, then flipped through them, looking for one in particular. He made a small sound when he found it, quickly handing it to the doctor.

"Could we be friends?"

This was a surprising question. Shad couldn't think of the last time someone flat out asked him that. Adults, he supposed, could be complicated in that sense, considering they weren't ones to ask such questions so bluntly. It was always a slow build, expecting others to understand what you're getting at. Link was honestly something else, wasn't he?

"I was under the impression that we were already becoming quite good friends. I think your company is quite pleasant."

Link nodded, seeming to agree.

"Well, then, I'd say we're friends. It's official now. You can stop by any time Link; and not just for health reasons."

Link laughed and nodded, keeping it quiet, however. The patients were probably sleeping by now, and it was getting a bit late. Shad frowned as the moon rose higher into the sky, and dark clouds quickly rolled closer from over the horizon.

"Link, you don't perhaps have any plans tomorrow, do you? It's getting rather dark, and I believe it might snow tonight. They seem heavy too, it might snow the clinic in..."

Link once again lost his smile, looking over at the sky outside. He leaned back in the chair, not seeming to be too troubled by the clouds rolling in. If anything, he seemed a bit entranced. After a few moments, the lad took a pen from the desk and slipped a small notepad out of his pocket, quickly jotting down his thoughts, and handed it to Shad.

"I love the sky, and I love clouds. I can't help but watch them, even if most people don't like rain or snow. Before I became a farmer, I had wanted to be a photographer."

"Is that so?"

Shad smiled, turning to the other.

"That sounds rather wonderful, actually. I don't know many people who actually enjoys cloudy skies."

Link smiled and took the notepad again, quickly writing, and handing it back.

"Clear skies are boring. They're just blue. Clouds gives it life."

Before Shad could respond to that, Link took it once again and added some more.

"Clouds move. They have definition. One side becomes painted with red in the sunset, the other a dark shadow."

And once again, he added more.

"They come in many forms. Wispy tufts, smeared across the blue canvas, big and fluffy. They're beautiful. I love winter."

Shad nodded, somewhat taken aback by how passionate Link seemed to be over the sky. Shad himself was rather fond of the sky, for many reasons. He smiled, remembering an old memory.

"I completely agree with you, old boy... The sky is wonderful. My father, who was a fighter pilot, would tell me quite enchanting stories when I was young. He talked about a kingdom that floated above the clouds, ruled by a race that was closer to the gods than us humans. He told me they had beige feathers and red eyes. Back then I thought that was his description of angels, but nowadays I'm not so sure. In any case, I grew a soft spot for the sky. I tried to make my own flying contraptions as a kid, and I still make little figurines now and then as a hobby."

Link was very attentive, and it made Shad feel rather happy. Considering he was known to ramble, he found himself in situations where he wasn't sure the listener was really... willing to be a listener. Link, however, had an expression that showed how engrossed he was in the conversation. Shad supposed that because of Link's muteness, he voiced his opinions through his expressions more often than not. Which was quite comforting, to say the least.

"The sky is something I dream of often. My father was kind of crazy, since he actually believed in these sky beings, and I did for a long time as well, but I loved him and I loved his stories, and they stuck with me. I still dream of the sun setting over the horizon and a beautiful city floating, encased in clouds, hidden from the view of the outside world."

Link got excited for a moment, which was rather evident because he bounced on his chair and flapped his hand a bit, and quickly wrote down his thoughts, showing the other.

"Do you think the clouds were painted red by the sun? Light filtering ever so slightly through little cracks of this cloud barrier, shining elegantly across a lake suspended into the sky, or onto a castle?"

Shad was surprised by how beautiful Link's imagination seemed to be. He would be an excellent writer if he wanted to be, Shad thought.

"That sounds perfect. Maybe both a castle and lake?"

Link flapped his hand again for a moment, then quickly wrote again, this time his writing getting a tad bit sloppy. Shad was surprised by how interested Link was of this story. Maybe he believed it to be real? Probably not, but even if he did, Shad didn't find himself feeling much against that. Maybe he, himself, still held a little hope that it existed.

"A waterfall, maybe? A waterfall next to a large castle, nearly every inch covered in thick green vines, surrounded by a meadow. Impossibly large birds sleeping comfortably on the branches of trees that stretch high into the atmosphere, large, sweet budding flowers. An island floating above the ocean, maybe?"

Shad never really thought of anything like this. He had always imagined the kingdom in the sky to be somewhat civilised, buildings like those of either Russia or England. He had never thought that, possibly, the buildings could have been taken over by the environment, that possibly the people of the sky may no longer be there, that only remnants remained. Ruins taken in by mother nature herself, turned into something beautiful. Shad supposed being raised in the city was to blame. He had learned only of the future, how people talked of new technology almost every waking moment. Link was very different. His heart most certainly lied within the forest. A child of nature, Shad's father would call him.

"You know Link, your imagination is absolutely beautiful. I'd love to hear, or, I suppose, read more of your thoughts. It's drastically different from mine, and it's rather refreshing."

Link smiled and tapped his pen to the notepad for a moment, then when he thought of what to say, he quickly jotted it down.

"Opposites attract, I suppose? That's the phrase, I think."

"Indeed."

Shad chuckled softly, and slowly, wind seemed to knock on the clinic windows. Gently at first, but it quickly became apparent that it would simply grow harsher. Shad worried his bottom lip, wondering if it would be safe to let Link go back home, now. Probably not, and he most certainly couldn't have the old boy getting hurt.

"Link, there's many beds here. Are you alright with staying a night? It would be dangerous to go out, now, especially with those clouds rolling in. Not to mention it was dangerous to begin with considering how underdressed you are."

Link chuckled and rubbed the back of his head, nodding in agreement. He jotted down some more.

"Should we do something about the windows so they don't wake up the others?"

Shad wondered what exactly they could even do about the windows. Link was probably asking if there was, in fact, anything to do. Which it seems as if there isn't, sadly.

"Well, I have no idea how we could stop the windows from rattling. The best we can do is probably try to block off the sound, somehow."

A quick swipe of Link's hand.

"Music?"

Shad raised an eyebrow.

"Now, wouldn't that just be creating more noise?"

Link shrugged, writing down some more.

"Maybe. Better than banging windows, though."

Well, Shad couldn't exactly argue with that. So, he walked to the other side of the desk, taking out a small CD player, and sifted through the small CDs that the clinic had. Shad knew the employees enjoyed some music to fill in the awkward silence at the clinic, so he usually brought some classical music. None of the loud orchestras with highs and lows, like birds in flight, but the more calming and slow pieces, mostly because it was the type of classical that nobody had a problem with.

He heard Link scribble something down and looked down at the notepad that was lightly tossed onto the desk.

"Do you have Clair de lune?"

"You like classical?"

Link shrugged and smiled. Shad didn't find himself that surprised, but still, it was unexpected.

"Well, I think I should have it somewhere in here... Ah, yes, Claude Debussy. On repeat, this should probably help drown out the rattling."

Link nodded and watched the doctor place the CD in, first keeping the volume low. A sudden burst of music, after all, would most certainly wake up the patients. As time passed, and the shaking of the windows grew more violent, Shad slowly raised the volume, until it was bordering too loud to play for sleeping people. Luckily, it seemed that they were deep sleepers, if the snoring from their rooms meant anything. Shad thought that it would be best to check in on a treatment for the snoring later. It can't be good for them.

Link had long since fallen asleep by the time the clock marked the beginning of Christmas day, and Shad continued to stay awake, leaning back in his chair, studying the outside world as snow now filtered down to the surface. He saw Link's reflection on the face of the glass, and with a sigh, Shad stood up and walked over to the lad. He lifted him up careful, trying not to disturb his slumber, and carried him over to an empty hospital bed, tucking him in.

Link was honestly something different. If Shad didn't know any better, he'd say Santa dropped him off as Shad's Christmas present, even though he didn't celebrate Christmas. (Not that he disliked the holiday. If anything, it was rather beautiful to observe.) Link seemed to be someone Shad couldn't help but admire, and it was easy to talk with him. Well, talk to him. He was attentive, imaginative, a tad mysterious, admittedly, and all in all, he seemed to really brighten Shad's mood by simply being there. He barely even knew the man. All he knew was that he was friendly, mute, and somewhat of a dreamer. Of course, he knew the man's age and medical information but honestly that wasn't much of something to base a friendship off of, was it?

Shad sighed and stood up, about to the leave room, but stopped and looked back over. He had taken off Link's boots to get him under the covers, but forgot the gloves. With another sigh, he quickly slips them off and places them on the table by the sink, moving to tuck Links hands under the thick blanket to keep them from freezing off. The heater wasn't nearly strong enough in this damned clinic, honestly.

As Shad moved the tuck in the man's left hand, he realised rather quickly the yellow triangle that seemed to ever so slightly radiate, like a celestial being. The doctor's pulse rose slightly, remembering reading those old legends that dated back a thousand of years ago. About a hero of legends, bearing the triforce of courage, clad in green. A hero who could transform into a blue-eyed beast. A hero who trekked the volcanic land, swam into the deepest parts of the shimmering lake, braved the blizzards of the high mountains, and, as not only the legend but his father had told him, reached the heavens and walked amongst the beings of the sky.

Shad inspected the hand for a moment, pulse further rising as he realised that it was, in no possible way, a tattoo. It was very real, and it was most certainly glowing within this dark room. And now that Shad thought about it, Link did have somewhat of a wolfish smile, didn't he? And the way he flaps his hands when excited, it did, in fact, remind him of a dog wagging it's tail...

And he most certainly had blue eyes. Beautiful ones, at that, easily recognisable. And green very much suited him. He was already wearing green overalls.

Honestly, he couldn't seriously believe this, could he? It was much too surreal, too... He can't possibly be confusing fantasy with reality. But frankly, it was the mark of courage, and it was quite literally glowing in the dark. He couldn't overlook that. How could he possibly deny this...?

...

Great. Just perfect. It just had to be the guy he has a slight crush on. Isn't this just dandy.