Hey guys, as you probably already know, this is the tenth chapter! Woohoo! (Yes, progress, good).

Enjoy reading! I sure enjoyed writing it!

Disclaimer: I don't own any part of the Legend of Zelda. All other original characters belong to me

The Sheikah

Chapter Ten – Easiest Thing in the World

"I cannot believe that I agreed to let you do this to me." Sheik muttered at the blackness, only to have it chuckle back at him. The coarse cloth around his eyes was irritating his skin, and he couldn't see a blasted thing!

"Shh, it's only for a little while." Link murmured next to him, his fingers reaching down to brush Sheik's.

Sheik shivered. He was quite certain that Link had no idea what those little touches did to him; how they made his heart beat just a little faster each time. Sheik bit his lip to calm himself and kept on walking; Link was a sure and steady guide, pulling on his arm to lead him through the small city. They were in search of some sort of disguise for Sheik's eyes so that they would be able to spend at least some of their nights sleeping in a warm bed as opposed to the cold, hard ground out in the middle of nowhere. Especially since during their flight from the last town they had managed to lose Link's horse, the blasted beast.

Link's brilliant plan to enter the town they were in, Amerith, had been to tie a black cloth around Sheik's eyes and pretend he was blind. Their story was that he, at the tender age of six, had been mauled by a vicious wild dog. They were also still pretending to be brothers. Sheik hated being referred to as Link's older brother, Jasten, but he kept himself from complaining. It was their cover, after all, nothing more.

"People are looking at us funny," a pair of soft lips whispered into his ear, causing the hairs on the back of Sheik's neck to stand on end. He sighed, trying to ignore the exasperation that being around Link this way caused him.

"And they're going to," he said bitterly. "I'm blind; of course people are going to stare."

He heard Link snort, and then there was a change in the direction they were walking. He could tell that he was being pulled into some sort of building, because the light shifted as well. "Can I help you?" a raspy voice asked. Sheik pinned it as an elderly woman's. Perhaps in her sixties.

"That's what we're here to find out." This voice was deep and warm, like sweet-smelling clover honey dribbling slowly off of a spoon. Sheik knew it was Link's. He was pulled further into the room and then gently pushed down onto a hard wooden chair. "My brother. There's a problem with his eyes."

"Let's see it, then," the woman hissed.

Sheik felt pressure at the back of his head, and then warm fingers were twining themselves into his hair. He bit his lip, trying to stop himself from exhaling in pleasure. The rough cloth fell away from his eyes, but he kept them shut tight, not trusting anyone apart from Link for a second. He heard the floorboards creak as someone leaned down in front of him. He smelled sour breath, and tried not to wrinkle his nose. "Let's see then, love," the old woman rasped out. He could sense her peering at him.

Ever so slowly he opened his eyes, squinting immediately at the light that streamed into them. He could feel his pupils constricting to filter even the hushed candlelight that permeated the small room. Everything about the room was old wood paneling and dripping wax candles. Locking eyes with the wily old woman, he was hard-pressed not to jump back out of his chair. Her eyes were an electric yellow, almost as if it were a cat staring back at him. The woman growled something unintelligible under her breath, her uneven teeth jutting out from under her upper lip. Her magically-charged eyes flashed back up to Link. "There's nothing wrong with them. He can see fine, the bugger. Watch." Her hand struck out towards Sheik, and he jerked back, lightning quick to avoid her stinging hand.

"It's the color." Link whispered; almost like he was worried there might be someone listening in on them. "Can't you do anything about it?"

Sheik snorted as the woman looked at Link like she thought he was raving mad. "Boy, I don't know what you were expecting when you walked in here, but this is an apothecary. I don't offer none of them trifling treatments the rich folk are all in a tizzy over nowadays."

Sheik studied the woman closely as she reprimanded Link. "You practice magic, don't you?" he asked, and his voice came out as a husky whisper. Where else would those eyes of hers have come from?

"Who wants to know?" She stuck two angry fists on her bony hips, leering at Sheik.

"I do, obviously. That's why we're here. Could you do anything about the color? Perform a spell? Cast an enchantment or a charm or something?"

"Of course I could," she hissed, almost cat-like.

"Would it be permanent?" Link piped up from behind them.

The woman snickered at Link's concerned expression. "If you like your boyfriend's eyes so much, why you want to change them in the first place?"

Before Link could stutter out an embarrassed response, Sheik cut in angrily. "Because they keep getting me recognized as a Sheikah."

The woman quirked an eyebrow. "Why say you're brothers if you had to tell me what he was anyways?" She spoke to Link now.

"Force of habit," Link growled. Sheik turned back and smirked at him. Link rolled his eyes. It was obvious to Sheik that Link didn't like this woman. Not in the very least.

"Hundred rupees," she barked, sticking out her hand. Sheik bent down and rolled up his pant leg again, pulling out a silver rupee and putting it in her upturned palm. She raised her eyebrow when she saw the amount of money in the purse, but did not speak on it. She pocketed the money and rolled up the sleeves of her tattered old dress. "Sit tight," she murmured, stepping closer. Sheik sat back in the creaking chair, stretching out his lithe form and crossing his long legs.

Link watched as the old woman slapped a wrinkly, spotted hand on Sheik's eyes. He muttered something, sounding annoyed, but she forcefully smacked the top of his head, and he quieted. Link narrowed his eyes as he watched the woman's lips work into twisted shapes. Her arms were wrapped around Sheik's wheaten head. No one should have been able to touch that head like that but him. Link thought he'd finally gotten through to Sheik when they'd held each other after their bath in the stream, but the stupid Sheikah was as oblivious as to him as ever; and now this grouchy old woman had her fingers in his soft, golden hair. Link clenched his jaw and looked away.

After a few more seconds, the woman hissed out the last words through her crooked teeth and released Sheik. "Won't be able to tell him apart from a Hylian now, and he being a…" She trailed off into mutterings.

Link rushed around to the front of Sheik, kneeling down and putting his hands on his arms. His eyes still had not opened. "Sheik?" He shook him gently, and the older boy's eyes slid open slowly, blinking a few times in the dim light. Link gasped, the air getting stuck in his throat. No longer were his friend's eyes a warm and brooding red; they were now the color of sunshine-dappled pine, just like Link's old home in the forest. "Sheik…" Link breathed, lost in those eyes. They were beautiful on him, so much it took Link's breath away. But they just didn't fit; they didn't look right.

Link looked at the old woman standing behind Sheik. "How do we reverse the spell when we're ready?"

She hobbled over to one of her shelves, taking a key from the pocket of her apron and unlocking a tiny cupboard. She pulled out a miniature glass vile, tinier than Link's smallest finger. She handed it to Sheik, and Sheik took it, watching her with those strikingly wrong forest-green eyes.

"That'll nullify any magical effects on the body, so your eyes will return back to normal, Sheikah," she rasped.

Sheik turned to look at Link, looking lost and unsure about the whole thing. "They suit you, Sheik," Link murmured, a smile pulling gently at his lips. A wave of relief washed across Sheik's face, and Link knew he had said the right thing. He took off his pack and pulled a different shirt from it, tossing it at him. "So the people out there don't wonder why the blonde boy in the blue shirt who was supposed to be blind can suddenly see again."

Sheik pulled off his shirt and tugged on the brown one Link had given him, and Link returned the blue shirt to the pack. "Thank you, Link." Sheik blinked a few times, his long eyelashes shading the new emerald beneath them as he put the vile that the old woman had given him in his rupee purse.

They left the apothecary, blinking to shield their eyes from the sudden intensity of the warm sunlight. "We're just regular Hylians now, the both of us." Link laughed quietly, nudging Sheik's arm. "What do you want to do? I think we deserve a little fun."

Sheik glanced around the street nervously for a moment before his alert posture relaxed a bit, and he began to look a bit more comfortable. The way he was finally starting to look at ease made Link ache to touch him, and yet—

"I'm hungry," Sheik murmured, staring at Link expectantly, like he thought Link was his mother, and was supposed to produce lunch for him as well as tuck him into bed at night and read him a story.

"I'm glad Epona's not here, then." Link smirked.

Sheik turned abruptly on his heel and fixed Link with a steely expression that was actually much less potent without his burning red eyes to back it up. He raised his finger in warning. Link froze, watching him with wide eyes. "One more remark about that, and you will be in big trouble, little boy." He whirled around and stormed off at an even brisker pace.

"Jasten!" Link cried, jogging after him, a smile blossoming on his face. "I'm sorry! Wait, I didn't mean it! Wait!"

Sheik cast a look over his shoulder at Link that stopped him dead in his tracks. His eyes had been filled with… was that yearning, or irritation? Or maybe it was hunger? Whichever it was, it had been very intense. Link followed closely behind as Sheik turned into a respectable-looking tavern.

Unlike their last experience with taverns, this facility was quite nice, and nearly empty, which Link was grateful for. He overtook Sheik, shrugging past him to the counter. "What have your cooks made today?" he asked eagerly, jumping up on the barstool a little too quickly. The force of his jump caused the stupid thing to tip, and before he could even blink, Link could feel himself plummeting towards the ground. He had expected to hit the floor, but then there were strong arms gripping his waist and pulling him in towards a warm chest. Link could feel Sheik's sigh of relief as he sagged into him, the stool clattering on the floor. His eyes flashed up to Sheik's only to find the Sheikah looking back down at him. "Thank you," Link whispered, wishing he could nestle himself further into the Sheik's arms. Now that he was pressed into his chest, the urge to hold and feel was nearly overbearing.

"Be more careful, silly," Sheik breathed, setting him on his feet again and picking up the stool as he gazed at Link with what could only be affection. Sheik smiled at him, rubbing little circles into his lower back as he turned to the clean-shaven man behind the counter. "Excuse my little brother here," he said jovially, tugging Link closer. "He can get a little over-excited."

The man chuckled warmly. "No harm done. Are you alright, lad?"

Link nodded bashfully, casting his eyes down. He couldn't believe that he made such a fool of himself in front of—Sheik's arm suddenly squeezed him, making him gasp quietly and blush at the ground. After that, he mostly just looked at his feet while Sheik ordered them food. The way Sheik was holding him—with his arm around him, hand on his back—wasn't how someone would have held their brother. Surely that had to mean that Sheik cared, or at least felt something for him. Perhaps not the same as what Link felt, but there was something there. He looked up again when Sheik's arm fell from his back. He was walking over to a table in the back of the room, far away from the door. Link followed obediently.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Sheik asked as he sat down. "You got quiet all of the sudden." His green eyes looked almost glassy in the darkness.

Link looked away. "It's nothing." He wanted to be alone with Sheik, where he could show him what he was feeling, rather than just share words about it. He didn't have any words for it. It could only be spoken through the caress of a hand or a soft brush from lips; a fiery gaze and gentle smile. But his rumbling stomach pushed all those thoughts back. As if he'd have the courage to ever do any of that, anyway. They were nearly alone in the tavern as it was, though a small group of off-duty soldiers lounged and drank a few tables away, talking about trouble stirring in Termina. Something to do with… Link couldn't hear them very well, and soon grew bored of eavesdropping.

He looked back at Sheik, who had been watching him. "I'll never get used to those," Link mumbled, taking a stab at conversation.

"I'm sorry?" Sheik frowned at him, brow raised in thought.

"I miss your other eyes. These ones are pretty, but red just…" He shrugged. Red suits you better." Link swallowed, his cheeks blushing a furious pink, the back of his neck heating. "It's like I'm looking at a different p-person." He was stumbling over his words. "You're still Sheik, but-but—"

Sheik blinked, smiling with pleasure as he moved a few feathery wisps of hair from his face. "Thank you, Link. I'm quite fond of your eyes as well, you know."

"Heh, that's not—"

"Sapphires, almost. Better, even," Sheik hummed, resting his chin on his hand. A few moments of awkward silence passed between the two of them. "Goddesses, I'm hungry," Sheik groused, changing the subject. Link was grateful to him. It was as if he knew how much of a novice Link was at being affectionate, if that's even what they were doing, complimenting each other like they were.

"Me too." Link smiled, biting his lip. "What are we eating?"

"The man told me it was a lamb stew," Sheik replied.

Link lit up. "My mother used to make that!" He looked at Sheik excitedly, blushing a bit more when he saw the bemused smile Sheik was giving him. "Well… she used goat," Link amended. "So I suppose it's not quite the same, but it was always my favorite thing in the world."

Sheik laughed, raising his chin off his hand and leaning back in his seat. "Link-mala, I knew I chose the right person to leave Hyrule with."

Link laughed along with him, but he felt crushed on the inside. Mala meant friend in Sheik's language, and Link had thought… well, that they were progressing towards being… more.

Sheik yawned, gazing out of their room's one window at the darkness outside. Link and he had shared a remarkable day. The kind of day Sheik had pictured them having when he was still in Hyrule and dreaming about running away with him. They had talked for a while after lunch, and then reserved a room at the inn before quietly wandering the city of Amerith, taking in its sights and sounds. Sheik was silently elated about it all; he was thrilled with finding himself alone in a large city with only Link for company, but he kept quiet about it. He was the peaceful, calming presence to Link's ecstatic rushing about. The boy seemed excited about everything he saw, no matter how small or insignificant Sheik thought it was. An exotic fruit or interesting fabric pattern would set him into a several-minute-long rant, and he'd keep going on about it until Sheik moved them on. Castle Town had been the only city Link had ever visited, so Sheik supposed t was natural for him to be as excited as he was. He had a lot to learn.

They had found a little bookshop that Link had run wild in, darting between shelves and scanning through pages faster than Sheik thought it was possible for anyone to be able to actually comprehend written words. He hadn't known Link was such an avid reader, but he loved this newly discovered little oddity. It was sweet to see the wheaten-haired boy so enthusiastic about the book he had picked out: Races of Hyrule. Link burbled on forever about all the tribes and ethnicities included in the book's contents, and how excited he was to read it. Sheik talked animatedly about it with him, and at one point, Link pulled him aside against the cool stone wall of a building and told him that he had never felt closer to anyone in his life.

When the sun started to set, they stood close together in the city square and listened to a bard, who sang an epic about a Hylian woman who had once braved the desert-dwelling Gerudo women to rescue her true love, who was a solider that had fallen prey to the voracious, dark-skinned females.

Sheik rather enjoyed the ballad. All the lamentations about the dry desert sand burning the woman's feet as she made her way towards the prison of her beloved reminded him of home, and his tribe. Fen and Betali. Goddesses above, I miss them… Sheik had thought.

They had returned to the inn after the sun had set; tired and footsore, but feeling happier than Sheik was sure either of them had felt in a long time.

Sheik glanced over at Link, who was laying propped up on pillows on the room's one bed, nose already deep in his book.

Sheik liked their talks. Today, and the first night they had been on the road together as well had taught Sheik so much about Link; and escaping from the soldiers together by the skin of their teeth had brought them closer together as well. Link himself had told Sheik—looking into his eyes the entire time with a poignant intensity—that he had never felt as close to anyone as he had to him. So why was it that they were all alone in a room at an inn together, in a city by themselves, doing activities by themselves at opposite ends of the room?

"We'll be crossing the border in a couple days," Sheik commented.

"Hmm?" Link hummed, holding a finger in his book and looking up. The hair that fell into his eyes cast a slight shadow on his face in the dim candlelight.

"We'll be reaching Termina soon," Sheik restated.

"Oh, yeah." Link cocked his head, smiling. "What's wrong, are you nervous?"

Sheik stood and walked slowly over to the bed, Link's eyes following his progress the entire time. He crawled onto the mattress, sitting down next to Link; perhaps closer than he had to be, and they looked at each other. "There will probably be Hylian guards at the border, looking for me," Sheik murmured.

"That witch in the apothecary said—"

"I know, I know. But it's healthy to be worried."

Link shrugged. "To an extent."

They both looked at each other, each waiting for the other to say something. "Link, I—" Sheik bit his tongue. He was starting to feel like maybe he shouldn't say anything.

"Sheik, just spit it out."

Sheik swallowed and shifted to sit on his knees, fully facing Link. He stared at his legs, so afraid to say what it was that he was so desperate for Link to know… and reciprocate.

"I—well…" Sheik glanced up at him from underneath his lashes. Link's face was kind; bemused, even.

What was it that Fen had always told him? The truth isn't meant to be hidden away, and life is too short for shame.

Sheik dipped his head down to capture Link's lips, his eyes sliding shut just as their mouths came together. They both inhaled deeply as they settled into the kiss; giddy and nervous. Sheik felt Link's hand cup the back of his neck, pulling him down over him. Link tasted like the peppermint the innkeeper had given each of them after their meal.

When their bodies slid together, Sheik on top of Link, it was like they had been made for each other all along. Sheik was sure two bodies had never fit against each other like this; he was sure it had never felt so good to have someone so close. Their mouths worked together slowly, clumsily. Sheik could feel Link's breath puffing out through his nose, fast and warm against his cheek. His eyelids fluttered at the sensation—he still felt a bit of a giddy nervousness, but now that he had Link under him, mouth pushing up against his, his confidence was growing. Kissing Link was so much better than Sheik could have ever dreamed.

After a few more breathless moments, Sheik pushed himself up so that he could look down at Link. The boy's cheeks were flushed, his blue eyes were heavy and lidded, and his pillowy-soft lips already had a kiss-bitten swollenness to them. He was also smiling.

Neither of them said anything, because right just then there wasn't time. Their mouths came crashing together again with jarring force, hands running feverishly over each other—chests, hips, hair, face—desperate for what they had both known they wanted ever since the desert. Link's hands clung with bruising pressure to Sheik's hips, and Sheik's fingers tangled in all the younger boy's soft wheaten hair. Link groaned loudly into Sheik's mouth, his breath leaving him in sharp pants.

Their kiss deepened, Sheik pressing down on Link as they moved. Link's tongue begged entrance to Sheik's mouth, and he let it, welcomed it. There was a bit of a fight for control with the tongue-kissing, Link licking into his mouth while Sheik tried to stop and control him. He was pleased when he won the small battle and Link relented a bit, submitting and sinking back down into the mattress with a soft mewl, his body relaxing.

Sheik poured over him, relishing Link body while he marveled at what he was doing. Link pulled away after a time, his bottom lip caught between Sheik's teeth, chest noticeably rising and falling as he fought for more air in his lungs. He blinked a few times, looking dazed and heavy-lidded. Sheik rolled off him to allow the boy more air, but Link immediately caught him by the waist, pulling Sheik tightly against him again.

He laid his head on Link's shoulder, taking a deep, shuddering breath. "I've been thinking about you like this—about us—for a while, Link-nalí."

"Nalí." Link hummed against Sheik. "What does that mean?"

"It means 'one of my heart'." He took a deep breath, collecting his courage. "Link, I—I think that I may love you. I was growing tired of you not knowing it." The raw ache in his own voice surprised him.

"I wish I were as brave as you," Link murmured. "I've been too scared to breech this subject since… since… well, I—I've been thinking about you this way since that night in the desert."

Sheik chuckled, snuggling closer, draping his arm over Link's waist. "If that is what comes from getting you drunk off of wine, I'll definitely be doing it again, and soon."

"That was months ago!" Link protested.

"So if this is from the wine all those months ago, imagine what good it will do me now." Sheik stretched his neck up and kissed Link's jaw. "Goddesses," he breathed, skimming his nose along the bone. "I'm so glad I can do this now—touch you." He wiggled closer, burying his nose in Link's warm skin, enjoying his scent. The other boy hummed with pleasure. "Mmm," Sheik breathed against him. "You smell good." And he did, like mint and vanilla.

"You feel good." The arm around Sheik constricted tighter.

Sheik lifted his head and blinked sleepily up at Link, feeling content. He stretched up to reach him, and then their lips met again, folding together like a warm embrace. It was the easiest thing in the world, like slipping into a warm bath.

"Sheik," Link panted, his head falling to the side as Sheik's lips worked up and down his neck. His lips felt swollen, but he found that he didn't much care; he relished the ache—it was a trace left there by Link.

Sheik exhaled heavily, letting his head fall and rest in the crook of Link's neck for a few moments as he caught his breath. Link started tracing a finger up and down the middle of Sheik's back. "How do you like your book, Link-nalí?" Sheik asked, suddenly curious. He sat up on his elbow. Now that he'd had Link in his arms and the taste of him was on his lips, there was suddenly all the time in the world.

"It's great so far!" Link trilled, beaming and instantly distracted by Sheik's question. "It started off with sort of a brief history of Hyrule. Nayru, Din, Farore…"

"You like that sort of thing?" Sheik sat up all the way, watching Link.

"Mmm, yeah." Link smiled, absentmindedly fingering the book, which had been discarded on the bed off to the side of them. "I tried to find one once about the Sheikah in Castle Town, you know. The guy laughed at me when I asked him about it. This book has you guys in it, though."

"When was this?"

"About a month ago."

"I'm not surprised," Sheik murmured, letting himself be pulled back down under Link's arm. He was so sleepy.

"In Termina, you're going to be who you were born to be, and I'm not going to let anyone say anything against you. You won't have to hide. We won't have to hide."

"Link-nalí," Sheik hummed, eyes fluttering closed. "You're—you're so beautiful."

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