Link sighed as he trudged up the side of the cliff. He hoped it wasn't another dead end. He prayed like crazy this would be the right place, the right time. He'd been late last time-by a month, and he knew that meant he had a good chance of finding him this time. Sheik had been settling in a villa for two months at a time, and it had been six since he'd seen him. His heart was a mess, and he looked like hell because of it. He'd only slept by Sheik's side for a month's time, but it was enough to be a constant, and he couldn't sleep well without him now at all.

Blue eyes scanned the town as he neared it-it was beautiful, he would give the other that. Link rented himself a room in one of the inns of the town and began to search… He could rest later. Much, much later-preferably after he found his lover. A familiar thought pierced his brain-what if Sheik had found another lover? One who wasn't so childish, one who was as refined as he was? One who deserved him, truly? He shook the thought from his mind and headed over to the market, asking around…

`~.~`~.~`~.~`

"Ah, thank you!" Red eyes were filled with joy as their owner was handed two extra loaves of bread. "No problem!" the baker laughed, and leaned closer, winking as he said, "To take care of the baby, of course. I want him to be healthy!" "Of course," Sheik replied, and gave the other another smile, "You all are wonderful-every one of you villagers. You take such good care of my mother, the baby, and I." He nodded and patted Sheik's head. "Naturally, cher! Because you are so grateful. Now go home so you can rest! We don't want any complications!" The Sheikah nodded and went on his way, smiling as he looked in his basket… More fruit than he could eat before it went bad, extra cloth, an outfit or two for the baby, extra bread, spare sweets… This town spoiled him, and come hell or high water, it was where he was having his child.

He hummed as he walked up the path to his and his mother's house, rubbing his stomach absently with one hand. "I wonder," he pondered, "will you have your father's eyes?"

`~.~`~.~`~.~`

Link shook the cloth merchant's hand vigorously, and jabbered, "Thank you! You have no idea what this means to me!" The woman offered a smile, but her look darkened as she warned, "I swear, though, hero or not, if you harm him or that child in any way, the people of this village won't hesitate to hunt you down and throw you in the deepest, darkest dungeons we can find." He nodded solemnly and replied, "I came to find Sheik because I love him, but if he discards me, I'll be more than content with closure. Thank you again, ma'am."

It wasn't until he was a good six yards away that he processed the fact that she'd said something about a child, and when he looked back, she was gone.

```~~~…~~~```

With a trembling hand, Link knocked on the door, and shifted from foot to foot. Oh Goddesses… What if Sheik turned him away? What if he never loved him? What if this turned out to be someone else? What if-what if-what if-! Then the door opened, and he found himself being glared at fiercely by the woman who'd once taught him his first, life altering song.

"What are you doing here? How did you find us?" He opened his mouth to speak, but Impa rose a hand to cut him off. "No matter. Come in-you're making the neighbors stare. Come in, now." He did, and admired the house, having to admit that compared to his treehouse, he could see why it was preferred. "Sit down. We have a lot to discuss." He sat at a round wooden table and looked up at the snow-haired woman obediently, and there was silence until he murmured, "I just want to know how he is. If he doesn't want to see me, I'm fine with that… I just… want to know he's okay." He tried not to let remorse seep into his words, nor bitterness, but he had fallen asleep one night with his lover in his arms and awoken the next without him, gone without a trace.

She laughed, shaking her head. "Not want to see you? No. Goddesses, no. He's just…scared of what you might think. He's fine though-better than fine. He's fantastic, aside from missing you." "Then why did he leave? I could never reject him, for anything! I could never deny him anything… Why did you both l-" "That's for him to tell you. But you'll have to wait until he wakes up-he needs his rest. He's in the middle of his third trimester, you see." Link blinked. "Tri…wha?" Impa chuckled, and replied, "You'll see, poppet."

So, for the next few hours, Link described his journeys and Impa listened raptly. He was in the midst of laughing about a cabbage peddler who'd had their wares knocked over by a group of five running teenagers, when from the corner of his eye he saw movement. Quickly, he looked, and there was a teary-eyed Sheikah, a hand pressed to his mouth, the other to his stomach. A very round, very bloated stomach. Link stood so fast his chair fell over, and Sheik stepped toward him slowly, leaning heavily on the wall of the hallway. "L-Link? Is it really…?" He nodded and walked over, cupping Sheik's cheek softly and wiping away one of the steadily-falling tears with the pad of his thumb.

"I don't understand what's going on, but I'm staying if you'll have me. I can't live like this, waking up without you…" Then his arms were full of a shaking Sheik, and he let him cry for a moment. The elder of the two pulled away and wiped furiously at his eyes, murmuring, "Gah, it's theses damn hormones making me cry so much…" Link tilted his head curiously, and Sheik glanced to Impa. "You didn't tell him?" She shrugged. "Not my story to tell to anyone but you, my son." He rolled his eyes a bit but nodded, and smiled tiredly at Link. "Would you like to sit again? This will take a minute, and I don't want you to feint."

He picked up the chair and sat in it as Sheik sat, nibbling on a sweet roll before he began his story. "Long ago, when the three Goddesses roamed the earth still, they created each creature with a certain destiny in mind for them. The fairies were designed in the Goddesses' images, which is why there are only three colours but hundreds of shades. Hylians were produced so there would be a Hero to protect the world and its inhabitants. The Gerudo were created to help the Hero, but also to hinder him. The Kokiri were made for only one Hero-which would be you-and their soul purpose was to raise you and guide you later on. The Gorons were conceived so the Hero would have a literal 'family', because each time there's been a Hero, the Goron leader has declared him his brother before they even became what they were destined to. The Sheikah…" He smiled a little, and his mother chuckled softly. "The Sheikah were dreamt up so when the right Hero came along, the last of the Sheikah would bear his child. The Goddesses themselves didn't know if the Sheikah would be a boy or a girl, so they gave both genders the ability to have children, and therefore gave themselves a reassurance that no matter what, the ultimate race would be made in the end."

He rested his hand on his stomach and looked at Link with a wry smile. "That, love, is where you and I come in. My mother knew we made love, but didn't tell me until after a month had passed that there was a high possibility I could carry your child… So she took me away to see a doctor-the one at Hylia Lake. He confirmed with an odd potion that, yes, I was pregnant, strange as it may be. I…couldn't bring myself to tell you…" He looked away and bit his lip. "I was afraid of what you'd say, afraid of what you'd think. I've missed you though-so much-and-" Link's eyes grew wider with each comment, face becoming paler and paler, and before his head hit the table, he managed to mutter, "Oh, wow…I'm gonna be a dad…"

```~~~…~~~```

"Link…Link… Honey, wake up…" Cerulean orbs opened, blurry, and blinked, clearing the fog to find that he wasn't hallucinating when hearing Sheik's voice…which meant…his freaky awesome dream wasn't a dream! He sat up and put his arms around Sheik tightly, nuzzling into his shoulder and breathing deeply. Oh, wow, he'd missed his smell. He loved this smell. He loved this man. A pale hand moved from Sheik's back to his stomach and rubbed, and Link grinned when a firm kick met his touch. "L-Link…" He looked into crimson eyes and told him, "I'm still not going anywhere. This is unbelievable."

"I think… I think it'll be a girl. Everyone says 'oh, he'll be healthy and fine' or 'he's gonna be such a cute kid', but I honestly think she'll be a girl." A random fact, yes, but it made Link smile. "I'm sure you know best, Sheik. You're closest to her." Sheik pressed a kiss to the top of the blond's head and murmured, "I love you." "I love you too. And this time, neither of us is going anywhere, right?" "Right."

`~.~`~.~`~.~`

"Link, Link! Impa sent me to get you! It's-the kid, he's-! You gotta-!" Blue eyes widened, and he looked to his boss pleadingly, setting down his rope when the man nodded. "Get to your Sheikah, boy. I can handle the goats." He grinned and thanked Pash as he ran off, but then his mind was focused-he had to be there when Lytia was born… He'd promised.

~~~?~~~

"Ow! Ow, ow, ow…" Sheik whimpered and clutched tightly to Link's hand, and more, 'ow, ow, ow, ow'-ing was done. "That's my boy… Just a little more…." Sheik let out a pained cry-his first and only during the process of this birth (what? You thought he was saying ow? Oh, no.)-and Impa grinned, wiping slime from the baby with a wet rag. "She's a girl! And healthy as a horse-look at this! Link, look, such pretty eyes, such pretty hair…" The child was wrapped in a blanket, name not meaningful until Sheik actually said it aloud. He looked over to Link and gave him an almost apologetic smile before he announced, "Lyrica."

Not the name they'd agreed on, no… but the Hero of Time was fine with that, especially now that Sheik handed Lyrica to him. "Hello, baby... Hello, my beauty… Welcome to the world, sweetheart…" And, grinning, he carried the tiny girl out the door, two pairs of bright blue eyes scanning the valley below-one in a new way, and one for the first time

~~~THE END~~

I know this is a really abrupt and random ending, but I honestly never thought I'd write the second chapter. I had the temptation many times to go back and edit things so it was a oneshot, but couldn't-the last line is the most amazing ending I've ever written, in combination with the things around it.

Thank you so much for reading! You all make my day, you know that?

~Mel