Happy Holidays to everyone who celebrates, and happy rest of your week to everyone who doesn't! Please enjoy this chapter which consists of... well, mostly just talking! XD Any mistakes you may find are accidental and completely my own. :)

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

The Good Fall Harder From Grace

Chapter Twenty-Five: Respite

Sheik frowned, glancing back over his shoulder as all of the others dismounted from their horses. He sighed, because everything felt altered and changed. So different from only hours ago. Especially when he looked back up into his own saddle and saw Link there, still sleeping. Yeah… that would take some getting used to.

They'd been riding from the castle for sixteen long hours, and none of them knew for sure whether they were still being followed. There hadn't been any signs of pursuit for hours, but Sheik knew that didn't mean safety, not by a long shot. It was more than likely that someone was out there, watching them. He carefully and steadily scanned the horizon, but there was nothing apart from long grass and sparse trees as far as the eye could see. He knew well enough, though, that the quiet meant nothing—that someone could still be out there. Ganon didn't seem the type to give up easily.

Putting that aside, they had at least chosen a good spot to camp for the night. It was a secluded area—perfect because they weren't near any major towns or cities. They'd passed a small township about an hour ago, but that was the closest thing to them, and the little village could hardly be counted as civilization. The open field seemed to belong to them, and even in the gathering darkness of dusk, a little bit of hopeful anticipation was tickling the back of Sheik's head. Maybe things really would start going well for a change.

Zelda was speaking to him. "There's only a couple of trees to shelter us here, Sheik. Do you think we'll be safe enough?" She was about ten feet away, helping William—whose arm was still badly injured—down from his horse.

Sheik scrubbed a hand over his face, his shoulders drooping. He was so tired. "I don't know," he murmured. "Only the night will tell, but we need to keep our wits about us, and to do that we have to sleep." He pushed his hand up into his hair, scraping his bangs off his forehead as he turned to survey their little group. William was sickly pale and looked about ready to vomit. He'd bound some cloth around his wound, but there was still just the smallest inch or so of arrow protruding from his arm. They'd need to fix that before bedding down for the night, or the worst might happen. Somehow, Sheik didn't think William would fancy living with only one arm.

Rowan was standing a little further off, next to Jack and Ben. His tall frame was leant down in front of Benjamin, whispering something in his ear while Jack stood a few feet away, slumped and half-asleep against his horse.

Sheik was so grateful they'd been able to find the two brothers in their hurried escape from the castle. Truly, he would have had one hell of a time forgiving himself if they'd been left behind; goddesses know he would have beaten himself up over it for the rest of his life. Sheik had been leading the charge away from the city when they'd found Jack and Benjamin crouched down in the field, just about where they'd left them—a stroke of pure fucking luck. Sheik had called out to them, Jack had grabbed Ben, and they had climbed up onto the fourth horse, no questions asked.

"First watch?" Sheik asked loudly, because he was absolutely not volunteering for the job.

Rowan stood up from Ben and raised his hand straight into the air. "I volunteer, I guess," he said. "And don't worry." He leaned over and elbowed Jack, who sidled away with an exhausted scowl. "When Ganon's henchman come for you in the night, I'll be sure to sell you for a good price." He cracked a huge grin, and next to him, Benjamin giggled. Jack looked murderous as he snatched his brother by the arm and pulled him away.

"Fuck, Rowan!" Sheik snapped, glaring at him.

"That's not funny," Zelda agreed, crossing her arms.

Rowan let out an exasperated sigh, spreading his hands. "You all think that just because we're dealing with magic and goddesses and tortured princes now, everything has to be serious! You guys need to lighten up! Just get some damn rest already."

"Hey!" Sheik snapped, jabbing a finger in Rowan's direction. "You think what he went through is funny?!" Everyone got deathly silent, eyes darting between the two of them, but Sheik didn't have the energy in him to argue. He put a hand on his hip, turning back to look up at Link, still sleeping deeper than the dead in the saddle.

"That's the way he is, you know," Zelda said kindly, coming up behind him. Sheik gave her a cursory glance, entirely unimpressed with her routine as the mediator. "Completely offensive, but it's just a joke to him. I'm sure he didn't mean it, right Rowan?"

Rowan looked around at all of them, his eyes finally landing on Sheik. "You know I didn't," he admitted, sounding almost… contrite.

Sheik sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose and squeezing his eyes shut. "Let's just set up bedding," he said, instead of arguing. "It's getting dark. It'll be cold, but no lighting fires. That's just a death wish."

Sheik walked away back towards his horse, but he could still feel Zelda's eyes on his face, inspecting him carefully as he moved. "We don't have enough blankets for everyone," she called softly, her eyes narrowing as he passed.

Sheik hunched his shoulders, unhappy with her sudden intense scrutiny. What exactly was she expecting him to say to that? Did they… did they all fucking expect him to share with somebody? Because there was no way that was happening. Besides, the math worked out since there would be one person on watch at all times, and that person wouldn't need a bedroll or blanket. Was she trying to gauge whether he'd be willing to… to sleep with Link? He didn't like that she was wondering about that.

"Rowan won't need one during his watch," Sheik said, pausing his walk and glancing back at Link again, almost absentmindedly. "When his shift is up, we can rotate out. I don't mind taking second watch."

Zelda nodded slowly, her gaze following Sheik's to where it rested on her unconscious brother. He was going to have to keep reminding himself that the two of them were siblings—that there was a history and childhood there—that Zelda knew a thousand things about Link that he didn't. And… that was okay. He didn't mind, and honestly with her there to soak up a great deal of Link's attention, it may just make things easier on him. It was good that she was there with them. Link was going to need her.

"Did he sleep in the saddle well enough?" she asked, still watching her brother. She walked over to stand with Sheik, closing the few paces between them. Behind them could be heard the sounds of the others laying out bed rolls and spreading blankets, Benjamin chattering away. No one was paying them any attention.

"He didn't wake once," Sheik answered, letting out a heavy exhale as he glanced down at her. "But just from the look of him, he's going to need at least one more good night of rest before he's even ready to talk."

"What about eating?" she murmured. "He's gotten so thin. Do you—?" She paused, tilting her head to look up at him. "How badly do you think they starved him?"

Sheik shrugged, a pang of anger and hurt jolting through his heart. "He probably got less to eat than I did, and I was the one in prison," Sheik muttered, closing his eyes briefly. He was feeling wobbly on his feet. So, so tired. None of them would be of any use to Link if they didn't get some rest.

"Should we wake him up to try and feed him?" she asked.

"No," Sheik said immediately. "He'll come to when he's ready. Although… I'm afraid one of us may need to go on a supply run tomorrow. We don't have much left, and I suspect he'll be ravenous."

"Bedding's ready!" Rowan called from behind them. "You can bring his Royal Highness over!"

Zelda broke away from his side to go and rummage inside her pack, which left Sheik to carry Link over to the bed. He turned and walked the last few feet to the horse, reaching up into the saddle and collecting Link in his arms, pulling him down against him. Link's small, hollow body tensed as he let out a quiet whimper, and Sheik was almost afraid of… breaking him, but then he melted against Sheik's chest like nothing had happened.

"He'll be out for a while yet," Sheik murmured, frowning down at Link's face as he carried him over to one of the bedrolls. He knelt down and placed Link on the bed, making sure that his head was supported, trying to make him as comfortable as possible. The Prince's eyes were dark and looked bruised and puffy from exhaustion, and it was just… oh goddesses, he looked awful. For fuck's sake… what had been done to this boy? What had that sadistic, power-hungry madman done to this undeserving, innocent, fucking wonderful person? Sheik's heart ached as he looked down on him, but it wasn't hard to pull his composure back together, because now wasn't the time for rash thinking—it was the time for caution, if anything. Seeing Link look so utterly defeated wasn't an easy thing, but they all had to keep their heads about them—him especially—if they were ever going to do something about it. That was that; and so he'd have to keep it together.

And even though he was angry about what had happened, he didn't know what to do about it or how to fix it. He didn't know if it were something he could even fix. And oh… good goddesses, his emotions were an absolute mess on top of it all. He knew how he wanted to feel about Link, he just wasn't sure whether he was ready to feel those things. He was anxious, in both good and bad ways, to experience things with him—friendship, and maybe… maybe more. If… if that was something that Link wanted. And if he had the patience to put up with Sheik. Fucking hell… it was too late to be thinking about this. He was too tired.

Zelda reappeared next to him with a folded blanket, kneeling down beside him as she set about tucking her little brother in. It was very sweet.

Sheik stood to his feet again, leaving them be, and glanced up as Jack came to stand next to him, little Benjamin lingering beh, clutching at his jacket.

"Is that the prince?" Benjamin whispered, peering down at him from around Jack's leg. "Why's he already sleeping? Is he tired? I wanted to meet him!"

As Sheik watched, Jack reached down absentmindedly and ruffled Ben's hair as the boy let out an enormous yawn. "He certainly is tired, Ben," he answered honestly. "And so are you. You can meet the Prince later. Are you ready to go to sleep?"

"Nope! Nuh-uh, I don't wanna!" Ben answered immediately, shaking his head vigorously. "I wanna stay up and watch the Prince!"

"Hmm," Jack hummed, looking down at the boy. "Too bad." He glanced up at Sheik finally, furrowing is brow as he nodded down to Link. "He going to be okay?"

Sheik shrugged, blinking slowly. "I don't know. I hope so."

"He looks…" Jack frowned, pausing and then starting again. "I don't know what I was expecting from what you described and all the rumors floating around the prison, but it wasn't this. He looks like he needs a lot of sleep, let me put it like that."

"Mm," Sheik hummed in agreement. "We all do."

"All of you need to quit talking about how tired you are and actually get some sleep," Rowan muttered from a few feet away. When Sheik turned round to glare at him, he threw up his hands in defense. "I'm not wrong!" he argued. "The sooner you all get to sleep, the sooner one of you can wake up and take your turn on the watch so I can get some sleep." He returned Sheik's scowl with a grin, raising his dark eyebrows expectantly over his moody green eyes. "Think Link will be available to take the second shift?"

Sheik huffed, turning away and rolling his eyes. "Goodnight, Rowan," he groused, too tired to be all that offended. Zelda had left her brother's side and had gone to William's, sitting beside him on the ground and attempting to tend to his wound.

"How's that looking?" Sheik called to her, watching her hands work with a frown.

"It's stuck," Zelda ground out between her clenched teeth, pressing her hands around either side of the wound to get a good look at it.

"Stop touching it!" William hissed at her, jerking away. "You're only going to make it worse!" Sheik spent a moment watching with mild interest as the two of them glared at each other before deciding there was no real anger between them. Pain just brought out the worst in people—William too, apparently.

"Well it can't stay in there forever!" Zelda insisted. "It's been in there long enough as it is! Do you want to die, William?!"

"You don't even know what you're doing!" William growled, hunching away from her. "That hurts!"

"William," Zelda growled. "Be you a member of the royal guard or not, I am going to smack you on your bottom if you can't see sense!" She sat back, crossing her arms with a haughty expression. "What happened to the days when you were so proper and obedient that you wouldn't even address me by my name?! It was 'your Highness' this and 'my Lady' that! And now you presume to tell me that I don't know what I'm doing? Things were almost easier back when you were uptight!"

William glared at her. "That was back in the days when any man who wasn't your brother would end up getting themselves castrated if they so much as got close to you! I had to be proper around you!"

Zelda threw her hands in the air, exasperated. "Oh, well! Now that my father isn't here to have you drawn and quartered, you show your true colors!"

"William," Sheik said, squeezing his eyes shut and pinching the bridge of his nose. Both of them stopped with their bickering, turning their heads up to him. "Let me see it."

William frowned, but he nodded, motioning Sheik over. Zelda scoffed, rolling her eyes and looking away. "Sure, you'll let him do it. You may or may not remember that he's the one who gave you that black eye!"

"He deserved it," Sheik pointed out, lowering himself down next to William, inspecting the wound. It was as he expected—red, swollen, angry.

Zelda gave William a look that said 'that's fucking right.'

William grew a sour expression. "I've already apologized to you about all those accusations, Sheik. It all got blown way out of proportion, anyways. I didn't know who you were then."

Sheik scoffed, glancing up into his eyes for a fleeting moment. "Oh, and you do now?" he said calmly, shaking his head. "Besides, you're the one who blew it out of proportion in the first place. I was dealing with my own shit that night, and then you went and threw all that in my face. It was rude." He prodded at the skin around the arrow, frowning. He knew a few basic things about healing wounds, thanks to Sol, but this one looked problematic.

William winced, baring his teeth in pain. "Ouch—maybe so, but—goddesses, ouch!"

Sheik flicked his eyes up again, searching William's face. "But nothing," he finished for him, sighing. Nayru was playing the silent observer inside him right now—she'd not said much at all since their escape from the castle, but he knew that she would still listen if he spoke to her. Maybe she could even help with all of this.

Nayru… can you heal him? Sheik asked her, leaning down closer to inspect the wound. It's beyond me, and he needs help. He pursed his lips, adding: Farore's healed me before—broken bones and the like—you can too, right?

She was quick to answer, her voice gentle and quiet and almost… tired. I haven't the energy now, Son of the Sheikah.

Sheik furrowed his brow. You're still depleted? How long will it take you to be strong again?

Perhaps my sister can be of some help, Nayru said, neglecting to answer his question.

Sheik frowned. No, we can't. Link is asleep. I'm not waking him up to—

He need not wake, Son of the Sheikah.

Oh. Sheik blinked several times. Then… fine.

He looked back up at William and Zelda, who had been staring at him all this time. "We can use the goddesses," he said. "Nayru told me that we can speak with Farore without waking Link, and that she'll have the ability to heal the wound." Sheik shrugged. "She's healed me before—a broken bone and an arrow wound a lot like yours." He snorted. "Hell, she sort of brought me back from the dead once. Your wound will probably be easy for her."

Zelda cocked her head, her confusion evident. "Back from the dead?"

Sheik merely shrugged, not offering any explanation.

Zelda sighed, shaking her head at him. "Fine, keep your secrets," she said. "But… why Farore? You're right here, why not just ask Nayru to—"

"Nayru says that she used up too much of her power fighting off Ganon and Din. She can't do it."

"Goddesses can get tired?" William asked skeptically.

Sheik shrugged. "Apparently they're not as all-powerful as we give them credit for."

A strong wave of disapproval came from Nayru—it was clear she didn't like what he'd said.

Sheik stood and turned, walking back to where Link lay sleeping on the bedroll, tucked snugly underneath his blanket. Sheik crossed his arms over his chest, frowning down at him. F-Farore? he called with his mind, cocking his head. Are you there?

What happened next was interesting. Instead of answering with words, Farore responded to him by sending out a sense of acknowledgement. Her presence flickering from dormancy to awareness felt altogether different from Nayru, although it was just as grand and perhaps even a bit friendlier. Where Nayru inspired the feeling of composure and serenity, Farore's aura contained tiny tremors of excitement and giddiness. She seemed to be incredibly happy now that she wasn't trapped in the depths of Link's mind.

Will you help us? Sheik inquired. There is a wound that needs attention, and we—

She cut him off not with words but with a sudden and fierce feeling of excited agreement. It was as if she was shouting 'yes! I will help!'

"Ah! Damn it!" William shouted. Sheik whirled around, a huge and sudden gust of magical wind gusting past them as he spun. William was clutching at his arm, his eyes screwed shut in pain. Jack and Ben were watching with wide eyes from their own bedroll, and Rowan was staring on in open-mouthed wonder from his place near the horses. Sheik had seen things like this before; he had felt that sense of raw, crackling energy in the air. But this was all new to the others. They were witnessing the wonderful power of a goddess—one of the beings they'd believed in and worshiped their entire lives.

"His skin is changing!" Zelda called over the roaring wind. "It's healing!"

Thank you, Sheik said to Farore, knowing that everything was taken care of now, and his attention was no longer needed. William would be healed and the others would all stay up a bit longer chattering about the goddesses with all manner of excitement.

Sheik wasn't interested in joining them—he'd seen the goddesses' magic several times by now—and the promise of sleep was so much more alluring. He stood up and stumbled over to the empty bedroll nearest Link, crawling beneath the blanket. He forgot his hunger, he forgot his trepidations that they were being hunted, and he forgot that as he closed his eyes, William was still being made whole by a goddess. He ignored the world around him as he succumbed to his exhaustion and fell asleep with Link on his mind.

Sheik opened his eyes to someone shaking him awake. It was Rowan, which was just fucking great…

Sheik groaned, sitting up and rubbing his face, shivering at the biting cold that greeted him when the blanket fell from his chest. "I guess this means the next watch is mine," he grumbled, eyes half-lidded.

"Look at the bright side," Rowan whispered, a touch of kindness to his tone. "You were able to get in a whole three hours of shut-eye. Not too shabby, when you consider we're on the run."

"I suppose I'm meant to be grateful for that," Sheik groused, raking the hair off his forehead. He got to his feet, stumbling somewhat, sleep-drunk.

He let Rowan claim his warm bedding as he stumbled away through the grass, arms wrapped snugly around himself against the cold. He sat a little bit away from the others, facing away from the camp and prepared himself mentally for the task of keeping watch until dawn. His eyes were half-lidded and he still felt groggy, but he would sooner die than fall back asleep. Keeping watch was an important thing to do in case they were found, and he didn't plan on losing Link again.

So he kept his arms around himself and watched the darkness. He watched the grass being pushed down in gentle waves by the mild wind, watched the overall stillness of the night, and was grateful for every second of that stillness.

He'd only been sitting watch perhaps an hour when he decided that he'd give the others two or three more at max. It would be best if they got a move on before dawn broke, and he—

The shifting of bedding coming from behind him alerted him that someone was waking up. The soft groans and snores of everyone sleeping had been white noise over the past hour, but this was different—there was scrabbling and rustling and more than one soft groan of exhaustion. Sheik turned, but couldn't see which of them it was in the darkness. It was more than likely that one of them was just getting up to relieve themselves, so he kept quiet and didn't bother them. He didn't feel much like talking, anyways.

He was still running the day's events through his mind, and having a hard time actually believing that he'd participated in a battle of magic with Lord Ganon. How someone like him—a lowly Sheikah who'd grown up poor and in the prisons—had one of the three goddesses working through him was a lot to take in and process. He was living a life in which he was rescuing princes, speaking to princesses, asking goddesses for favors, and wielding magic that was more powerful than anything he'd ever encountered. How was this his life? It sounded like something out of a story book.

The prisons and the problems and fears they'd caused him seemed very small and far away now. They were not gone, they just seemed… dim. He'd never be rid of those old fears, but he had other things to turn his mind to now which was oddly comforting. And admittedly, despite the desperation of their situation and the danger they were in, the thing he felt the greatest need to think about was not Ganon and his henchman or the goddesses. It was a small someone with blonde hair and blue eyes that he had back in his life all of a sudden.

"Sheik?"

Sheik turned, his eyes widening in surprise at the dark shape approaching him. He knew instantly that it was Link because of the way the boy was limping, holding his arms around himself like he was worried about falling apart, or maybe he was just cold. Whatever the reason, it made him look smaller than he already was, and an overwhelming desire to protect him welled up inside Sheik. What was Link even doing up at this hour? Sheik had expected him to sleep well into the next day, at the very least.

Sheik cocked his head, staring up at him as he opened and then closed his mouth, unsure of what to say. He hadn't been expecting this situation and felt unprepared for the talk that was no doubt about to take place. It felt… awkward. Not counting earlier that day during their escape, Sheik hadn't spoken to Link in weeks, and they hadn't parted on perfect terms, either. As they stared at one another, Link's brow creased, his sallow skin pinching together on his forehead. He looked so troubled. So tired and unsure, standing there alone, hugging himself.

Sheik knew he needed to say something. There would be no skirting around the edges of feelings between them anymore. "Hello," he managed finally, clearing his throat right after. He looked back down at his hands, wringing them, and then back up at Link. "None of us expected you to wake up. I'm surprised you did."

Link's face was blank for a moment, but then he wrinkled his noise. "You mean like you thought that I was dead?" he blurted.

Sheik barked out a laugh. He couldn't help it; what an unexpected answer to come out of Link's mouth. "Of course not," he said after a moment, putting a hand up to suppress his chuckle. Why was he feeling so giddy? He shook his head, fighting his sudden grin. "No, not at all, we just… we all thought you'd sleep longer."

Link cocked his head, regarding him with an odd expression before shrugging his slender shoulders, his eyes flickering to the ground. "I'm still pretty tired. Can I… can I sit down?"

Sheik's heart skipped in excitement, and he wasn't sure why. This giddiness, this eagerness that he was feeling—it was so new and completely unexpected. But seeing Link standing there—a little worse for wear but alive and able—was something he'd been holding his breath for. It felt so good to see him, and Sheik was pleased that no part of him was reacting negatively. There was no fear, no worry, and no terror. Aside from a few nerves dancing around in his stomach like butterflies, he felt fine. He knew who Link was and what he was made of, and he felt… contented. There was nothing to fear from him.

"Of course you can sit down," Sheik mumbled, his lips twitching. He motioned Link over, watching closely as he limped over, slow and pained.

Link reached down and used Sheik's shoulder as leverage, lowering himself slowly to the ground. Sheik had to fight his initial reaction of tensing away from the touch, but that was okay. He just had to remind himself again: there was nothing to fear from Link; and after that, he allowed himself to relax. Link cast him a grateful expression, sighing heavily once he was sitting, hunching his shoulders up against the cold and staring ahead at the dark nothing of Hyrule Field.

Link must have been just as unhappy with the silence as Sheik was, because they both opened their mouths to speak at the same time.

"Where are we?" Link asked.

"How are you?" Sheik said at the same time, snorting in amusement when Link gave him a helpless expression.

"We're still in northern Hyrule Field," Sheik went on, continuing to stare at him. He could hardly believe his eyes; after all this time, all those weeks, there he was, inches away.

"Still?" Link whispered, his soft, sad eyes going wider.

Sheik hummed. "Well, we were on horseback for sixteen hours, so I can assure you we made good time, and we didn't stop until nightfall." He hunched his shoulders defensively, turning forward again. "We could have kept riding, but I was starting to doze away on the horse, and that wasn't working because I was the only thing holding you on. Both of us almost fell off, and goddesses fucking know I would never be able to live that down, and—"

Sheik paused, wrinkling his nose. Link was… well, he was fucking staring at him with this sleepy sort of smile, almost bemused. It made his heart do uncomfortable things.

"What?" Sheik asked in a flat tone, pulling on a scowl.

Link gave a small shrug of his slender shoulders, burying his hands in his lap. "I'm sorry, it's just…" He looked away. "I guess I just don't know what to say."

Sheik furrowed his brow, looking down at his hands. "Funny… usually that's me." He sighed gently, trying to keep his muscles from tensing up with nerves

"I don't know," Link said softly, not looking at him. "It always seemed to me that you had plenty to say."

Sheik frowned, fiddling with the hem of his coat for want of anything useful to do with his hands. "Are…" Fuck, he was so bad at this… "Are you okay? You know? How are you… er, how are you feeling?"

It took Link a while to answer, and when he did, he was somber and quiet. "I'm feeling… wrong. I don't feel like myself. But I'm okay. It' a little difficult even believing the last few weeks even happened, you know?"

Sheik snorted, scratching the back of his neck. "Believe me, I know. Everything feels wrong. If I'm going to be honest, it still feels that way."

"Like none of this is really happening?" Link asked, and Sheik could feel his eyes on him. "Or like it's a dream? Because if I'm to be perfectly honest, I keep having this fear that any second I'll wake up and be back in my cell in the castle, all the more miserable for having such a good dream."

They'd kept Link in a cell? Sheik shook his head. "No, more like…" He sighed. "More like I never thought I'd talk to you again, and here I am, talking to you."

He could feel the way Link stiffened. "You didn't have to come for me, you know," he said.

Sheik raised his eyebrows, considering that thought. "Of course I didn't," he said after a moment, glancing sideways at Link, who was looking down at his lap. "Just like you didn't have to make such a big impression on your kidnapper that he decided to come back after you."

Link immediately blushed, tucking his chin down against his chest. "Is that so?" he asked, a playful tone to his voice. "Well, in that case, I-I…" He laughed softly, looking back up at him demurely. "Ha, wow, you've changed a bit, haven't you?"

Sheik shrugged, looking back down at his hands. "I don't think I've changed, necessarily. I-I've always been this way, a bit. Y-you've just n-never seen it." He laughed, shaky and nervous. "You never really got to see my good side. You know, if I h-had a good side."

"Sheik," Link said gently, his voice hoarse. He still sounded like he felt awful, and goddesses only knew how long it would take him to heal back up from whatever Ganon had been doing to him. "Look at me?" Link pleaded.

Sheik hesitated, teetering on the edge of wanting to be closer to Link, and his anxiety with closeness.

"Y-you mean you don't feel different at all?" Link whispered, the hurt evident in his voice. "About anything?"

"Link…" Sheik began, giving him the briefest of glances. "Of course I do. I… I feel ages older than I did when I left you, and maybe I don't feel any different about myself, but I… I feel different about other things."

Link was staring at him, Sheik could feel his gaze. "Am I 'other things?'" he asked, embodying innocence with his hopeful tone.

Sheik snorted with mild amusement, looking away. He had to fight a coy smile, tearing absentmindedly at the grass in front of him. "Maybe. Or… I don't know, maybe I don't feel different. Maybe I feel the same as I felt before."

"But—" Link started to protest.

"Maybe I still liked you three weeks ago," Sheik went on, ignoring Link. "And now I'm just feeling more… free. Free from myself."

"You liked me three weeks ago?" Link asked, sounding partly amused, partly nervous.

"Was the part where I kissed you not clear enough?"

"No, not really," Link answered, sighing. Sheik snorted again. "I feel older, too, if it makes any difference," Link went on. "I feel like I've aged ten years. I'm sorry, you know, about the way I acted before. I just… I was so sad for you. I wanted to be your person, you know? Your someone. The one to make everything better."

Sheik shook his head, still fiddling with the grass. "You have to know by now that it doesn't work like that. I'll never be completely better."

"I know," Link mumbled. "But that's okay with me."

Sheik sighed, feeling a little more tired than before. These were heavy topics, after all.

"So…" he started, wanting to turn the subject of their conversation away from him. "You're really alright?"

Link hummed a noise of assent. "It wasn't anything I couldn't handle, Sheik, honest," he said.

Sheik clicked his tongue, shaking his head. "Just because you can put your head down and get through something and survive it doesn't mean you handled it. I'm living proof of that. Fuck, I—" He raked a hand back through his hair, frustrated.

Something surprising happened then. Without warning, Link ducked his head down and pushed himself into Sheik's side, leaning into him with a soft huff. He nuzzled his face into the warmth there in the same way that Sheik often saw Benjamin do to Jack, and it was… unexpected, but also kind of nice. He… he didn't mind it.

"Well, hello to you too," Sheik muttered under his breath, lifting his arm to give Link room to lay his head down.

"It was hard, though," Link went on, pretending like nothing had happened. "You're right. Lots of times I wished I were just dead. It felt like it would have been easier, at the time."

Sheik hummed in quiet agreement, settling his hand tentatively on Link's arm. "I can't tell you how many times I've had that same thought."

Link shifted, letting out a huge breath. "And you… you went back to the prisons?"

Sheik didn't want to talk about that just yet. He was still far more interested in hearing what had been done to Link. He… he wanted to know how Link felt about everything, whether he was really okay. No more of the wishy-washy 'I'm fine' answers.

"I did," Sheik answered. "But there's nothing much to tell there." That was a lie. There were a million and one things he could say about his weeks there: such as how he'd started standing up for himself, how he made a friend, how he dealt with his father, and maybe how he murdered the man who'd had a big hand in ruining his life. You know, for starters.

He could feel Link looking at him, though, so he turned and looked as well, meeting his eyes steadily. "'Nothing much?'" Link echoed, turning in Sheik's lap to stare up at him. They both studied each other for a moment, eyes scanning faces, taking everything in. "I… I'm sorry, I don't understand. You… you always spoke so badly of that place that I thought returning to it would be horrible for you."

"It's still the fucking worst place in the world," Sheik cut in. "It's awful, and it's full of cruelty, and my life was ruined there, but… ah." He shrugged. "I did alright for myself this time around. I…" He had to break their eye contact in order to keep speaking. "I managed to hold my own there…" Oh goddesses, he didn't want to say this next part, but he felt he should. He felt that it was what Link was really asking. "I didn't let anyone t-touch me. Fuck no."

When he looked back, Link was smiling softly up at him. "Sheik, that's wonderful. I'm so happy to hear that. I'm… I could cry." He laughed softly, shakily, rubbing his eyes with the heel of his palm. "W-when they—when they dragged you out of the throne room, I wanted to die I was so worried for you. I kept thinking of all the things you told me about that place and how… well, how awful it was. And when Ganon ordered you sent right back, I… I couldn't stop thinking that it was all my fault." He pressed his eyes shut, shaking his head, sniffing just a little with his wet nose.

"I'm…" Sheik began. "Hey, it's okay. I'm a little more worried for you, truth be told. Me, I'm fine. I survived pretty well this time around. You know, aside from the whole Nayru inside of me thing."

Link nodded, giving Sheik a sympathetic expression. "Don't I know it," he agreed. "How in hell we both ended up as hosts to goddesses is beyond me. You'll have to tell me the story of how you discovered her."

Sheik nodded, pressing his lips together. "Maybe another time." If he mentioned how he came to know about Nayru, he'd need to mention blowing up the prisons, and if he mentioned that, he'd have to mention Dack. And… no. Sheik shuddered, hunching his shoulders a bit. He wasn't prepared to deal with any of that yet. Link would have to understand.

"Of course," Link said, giving that soft, tired smile again.

Sheik bit his bottom lip, sucking it into his mouth as he fought for his next words. "And…" he cleared his throat, forcing himself to look straight into Link's eyes again, ignoring the tremors in his heart. "I'll tell you a lot more about what happened to me. Just… not right now."

"Okay," Link agreed, voice soft. He yawned then, turning his head away.

"Tired?" Sheik guessed.

Link exhaled heavily again, deflating a bit as he seemed to shrink in on himself. He reached up and mashed the heel of his hands into his eyes, rubbing them vigorously. "Yes—I mean… no, I'm not sick. I'm alright, really," he stopped his rubbing, dropping his hands, and leaving his poor eyes looking even redder, puffy, and chafed than before.

Sheik knew better than anyone not to push someone before they were ready. He didn't want to broach the subject of the torment Link obviously survived if that was something he didn't want to talk about or dwell on right now. Sheik absolutely fucking hated it when people would do that to him, but he understood that not everyone had as much insight on the subject of hurting as he did. He was an expert by now.

"Okay," Sheik said simply, glancing up and scanning the field. He felt content with leaving the conversation there for now. Link needed more rest, after all, and it was perfectly alright for their talks to move slowly if that's what he needed.

"Hey Sheik?" Link murmured.

"Yes?" Sheik answered.

Link shifted, lifting his head up off Sheik's lap and rolling over so he was kneeling beside him, the tips of his knees brushing Sheik's thigh. "Can I… Will you, uh—can I—"

With light, deft fingers that gripped so daintily and carefully, Link reached out and grasped his arm, glancing up at him immediately to see if it was okay. When Sheik only raised an eyebrow, Link lifted Sheik's arm up and ducked under it, folding himself against his side. Sheik sat stiffly, his back ramrod straight as Link curled against him, his thin shoulders hunched underneath Sheik's arm.

"Is—is this okay?" Link asked quietly.

It felt pretty okay, if Sheik were to be honest. Warm and close and somewhat unfamiliar but… welcome.

Sheik had to clear his throat to get his voice to work. "It's okay," he answered, squeezing Link's shoulder gently. "I'm okay, too, Link. I just… When it comes to us, I need things… slow… This—" He gestured between the two of them. "—isn't how I normally operate. Does that make sense to you?"

Link snorted softly, gently. "Are you actually acknowledging an 'us'?" He yawned while he was thinking, snuggling in closer against Sheik's side.

"I went to the trouble of saving you, didn't I?" Sheik grumbled.

Link gave a small huff. "Of course it make sense," he said. "And of course it's okay."

It felt like there was a hazy, dream-like quality to everything around them. The words, the touches, the looks—none of them felt like they could be real. Because not too long ago, Sheik had been miles away from doing or saying anything like this; and that they were saying it now was just… it was huge. It meant a great deal to Sheik, and it gave him another pang of tremors in his heart.

"Can I show you something, Sheik?" Link asked suddenly, after a few minutes of silence. Sheik almost jumped—he had thought Link to have fallen back asleep already.

"Of course," Sheik answered immediately. Show him what?

"…Promise not to overreact?"

That made Sheik suspicious. He realized and was willing to admit that he overreacted to a lot of things, but now Link was just worrying him.

"I…" Sheik cleared his throat. "I promise not to… make too big a deal." He wrinkled his nose. "But you have to remember that I react to things differently than normal people, and I'm prone to—"

"Shh," Link shushed him, sitting up from under his arm. Sheik watched without speaking as Link crawled around him, coming to kneel right in front of him. He looked glum, his expression somber as he met Sheik's gaze.

"What is it?" Sheik asked, staring into his pensive eyes—and they stared back unwavering, big and blue as ever.

Link chewed on his bottom lip, staring at Sheik. "I…" he began, resting his hands tentatively on Sheik's knees. Sheik tensed, leaning away from the touch for a short moment before collecting himself from his surprise and allowing it. Link's hands were warm, and the touch was nice; it was comforting, in simplistic but wonderful ways. Link took a deep breath before speaking again. "R-remember that time—it was that little city where we stayed at that inn for the night, and I tried to run away. Remember that city?"

Sheik nodded slowly, furrowing his eyebrows. He was unsure where this was leading to.

"Remember the morning after the inn?" he went on. "We went to the stable to get the horse, and then that sorceress was there? She threw you against the wall, and you hit your head, and you were acting all funny?"

Sheik looked away, off to the side. He remembered, yes, though he couldn't recall much from after he'd hit his head. That was all a bit of a blur. He sighed, looking down at his lap, where Link's hands still rested on his knees, and—

Link's hands. His hands, they were… Something was wrong with him. One of his hands was heavily bandaged.

Gently, Link touched the side of Sheik's face, drawing his attention upwards again. "Sheik, do you remember that?" he asked earnestly. Sheik got the sudden urge to lean in and kiss him, and wow, where had that come from?

Sheik narrowed his eyes. "Yes, I do," he lied. "But first tell me what the hell happened to—"

"We were on horseback, and you weren't supposed to be falling asleep," Link continued on, leaning in. "You mentioned something, when we were riding and you were half-conscious," Link went on. "I asked you to tell me a story, and you said you'd tell me the story of how you'd lost your finger." Sheik didn't like where this was heading. He flexed his hand, the one with only four fingers, remembering.

"Link," Sheik started.

Link shook his head, running his thumb across Sheik's cheekbone. Sheik flinched out of the touch a bit, but Link's hand followed him, and remained there on his face—gentle and comforting.

"Would you tell me that story now?" Link asked softly. "Please? I'd like to hear it."

Sheik furrowed his brow again. Link was setting up to tell him something; that was obvious. What was wrong with his hand? Had Ganondorf done something to it? "I'll tell you," Sheik agreed, his voice quiet. "And then you'll tell me." He nodded down towards Link's bandaged hand, swallowing.

Link nodded. "I promise."

Sheik blinked, looking away for a moment. When he looked back at the earnest expression Link wore, he didn't know whether his vow to not overreact was a promise he could still keep. He knew why Link wanted to hear his story, just as he knew what he would find under that bandage on Link's hand. What other conclusion was there to draw?

Sheik took a deep breath before speaking. "I was about twelve, I think, and it was the first time I'd ever gotten caught stealing. I can't remember exactly what it was—a loaf of bread, an apple. I only remember having to constantly steal food because my mother and I were starving." He shrugged, reaching up and taking the hand Link was holding his cheek with, bringing it back down to rest in his lap, near his bandaged one. "Th-there's not much to tell, really." He cleared his throat. "They finally caught me doing it one day, so they dragged me into the square, and made me get on my knees. Then, while a crowd gathered around us, a soldier grabbed my hand and sawed off my finger with his belt dagger. It was… I remember it vividly, like it was yesterday, but only certain parts. I don't remember the pain so much as I remember being afraid, and all the people looking at me, and my mother pulling me back home as she tried not to cry right along with me."

Link looked so unhappy. "And then the second time you got caught stealing—"

"When I was fourteen," Sheik cut in, nodding sharply.

"Right," Link continued. "That's when they brought you to the prisons?"

"Right," Sheik agreed. They were both quiet for a long moment—staring at each other, at the ground, at their joined hands… "That's the whole story," Sheik finally said, looking at Link from underneath his lashes. "Now for yours."

Link shrugged, looking away as he spoke. "It's not as sad as yours."

"Good," Sheik encouraged. "Nothing you experience should ever be as sad as anything I have. That should be the fucking rule."

Link raised an eyebrow at him, smiling coyly, though his exhaustion was still plain to see in his face and the way he held himself. "That's a rather protective thing to say, Sheikah."

Sheik shrugged, grumbling to himself as he cast his eyes down. "Stupid prince…" he rumbled. "If I hadn't already decided that I cared about your safety, I wouldn't have just risked my ass rescuing you. Don't make me remind you of that again."

The coy smile that Link wore turned into something sleepy and fond. He moved off of his knees, settling himself closer to Sheik's side again, as before. His nose was very near to Sheik's chest, and though Sheik wasn't in love with the sudden closeness, there was something comforting about it.

"Ganon cut off my finger," Link said abruptly, the words cutting through Sheik like a dagger. "Th-that's why I asked about yours. I-I swear, though. That's the worst thing he did to me there, and I'll get better eventually. With rest. This…" He shifted his bandaged hand. "This is the only permanent thing he did to me. And I'm okay."

Since the moment Sheik caught sight of Link's hand, he'd been expecting to hear about some kind of injury, and Link inquiring about Sheik's own wound had made him guess what kind of injury it could be; however, that didn't stop him from wanting to get up, jump on his horse and ride all the way back to Castle Town so he could fucking murder Ganon in his sleep.

"Sh-Sheik?" Link murmured, shaking him gently, trying to peer up at him from the side.

"He cut off your fucking finger?!" Sheik hissed, staring out into the distance at the rolling grassy plane.

"Don't tell Zelda!" Link squeaked, burying his nose in Sheik's jacket. "She'd freak out, I don't want her to know yet! I just… I wanted to tell you. I felt like you'd understand better, because… well… we match now."

"We match now" Sheik agreed glumly, closing his eyes and shaking his head. "That's a pretty dark thing to say, Link, fucking—"

"It was the first and only time I tried to escape," Link interrupted, his voice muffled because of the way his face was buried in Sheik's jacket. "I fought with one of his guards, and I hurt her pretty badly, so he brought me to the throne room—remember it? The place where he—"

"Yes, I fucking remember it," Sheik growled. It was the room in which Ganon had sentenced him back to the prisons.

Sheik could feel Link swallow against him. He moved his bandaged hand off of Sheik's knee, a little further up his thigh. "He dragged me to my father's throne and made me sit in it."

Sheik's hand found its way around Link's shoulder and he clenched his fingers tightly into the fabric of whatever overly-fancy ceremonial prince garb he was dressed in.

Link went on, "And then he had his guards hold me down in the throne, and he grabbed my hand and started cutting through my smallest finger. He s-said it was supposed to serve as a lesson.

"A fucking lesson?!" Sheik hissed.

"I learned later that he gave my severed finger to my father as a threat," Link said, voice dull. "It was all such a nightmare."

Sheik was so angry—so fucking disturbed with what he was hearing—and with the way his gut was twisting, he felt the need to throw up. Nayru was reacting to his anger and alarm, and she was attempting to sooth him—Farore was as well—but he was having none of it. "Link," he said, his voice gruff and low.

"Y-yes?" Link asked, moving his face to peek up at him.

What the fuck should he say? Link had just told him something incredibly personal about something terrifying and traumatic that had happened to him. Sheik felt like he wanted thank him and shake him all in the same instant. The stupid, headstrong little prince, fucking hell…

Instead, though, he cleared his throat and looked down, meeting Link's sleepy eyes. "I promised not to overreact, and so I won't. But let me say just this one thing: if I ever see that bastard Ganon again, I'm going to cut his balls off for what he did to you. No one deserves that, least of all you."

Link snorted, his eyes crinkling in the corners as he smiled weakly. "Cut them off for what he did to us."

"I just might," Sheik growled. And listen… thank you for telling me this. I want to know everything that happened to you, and… hey, you know—just… fuck—give me a little time, and I'll tell you all the shit that happened to me too, okay?"

"Thank you," was all Link said, and he sunk down further against Sheik, practically using his lap as a pillow at this point. "I-I know that's a big deal, and I—I want to be the… the person… the person you… tell."

…Yeah, Link was nodding off, that much was obvious. He looked so warm and comfortable where he was that Sheik found himself with a sudden urge to lay down in the grass curled against him, but… no. He wasn't ready for that yet, he knew he wasn't; and besides, he was supposed to be keeping watch.

"Don't worry," Sheik said softly, tentatively giving Link's soft blonde hair a few gentle strokes with his fingers. "You'll be that person. At this point, I think you'll end up being that person no matter how much I try to fight it."

It was true. Link wasn't someone or something he could fight against anymore, because… well, every part of Sheik seemed to want him. He could feel it, in more ways than one; however, that made him nervous and anxious and a hundred other scary things.

But it wasn't all bad, because it also made him smile a private smile—a smile that was meant only for himself. This was Link he was dealing with, after all. Everything would be fine.

Thank you so much for reading. Like I said, mostly talking, but it was GOOD talking, right? Heh, anyways, please let me know what you think! And as always, I hope you enjoyed! ^^