The Legend of Zelda, its characters and locations are all property of Nintendo. Any and all OCs and original locations belong to me unless specifically stated to belong to someone else.

The Voice
Chapter 67 - Fifty-Fifty

Departure day came sooner than Link would have liked. He'd enjoyed his time in Gerudo Town, despite certain events, and wouldn't have minded staying longer. However, as he'd told Riju, time was a luxury they could not afford to waste. Ganon had been contained for a century, but there was no telling how much longer Zelda could keep it at bay. The mere thought of the princess fighting the Calamity on her own, while Link lounged around...

"Whatever you're thinking, it's stupid," Sheik said, looking up from his attempt to put the rider's harness on his sand seal. "Stop it."

The sand seal was a calm one, apparently well-suited for beginners. Sheik had scoffed at being told this and demanded the meanest one they had so he could prove he wasn't a wuss, but Ayla had refused to budge. The last thing she wanted on her conscience was getting the Hero of Hyrule's partner killed in the dumbest way imaginable.

"Nothing wrong with going out in a whirlwind of glory," Sheik had muttered angrily, but seemed to accept his mount when it gently licked his hand.

Link had nearly died at the sheer cuteness of the smile that had graced his lover's face then, and if it hadn't been for Risa cooing it might have stayed for a while. Instead, an ugly grimace had marred Sheik's face for the rest of the morning.

Now it was just replaced by one of annoyance, the one he kept giving Link whenever he'd somehow managed to read the Hylian's thoughts, and found the results wanting.

"I d-don't kn-know—"

"You were feeling guilty about something, weren't you?" Sheik said, his uncovered eye narrowing considerably. "You were making the Guilty Face. Usually means you're beating yourself up over something ridiculous and unnecessary, so stop it and come help me with this stupid bridle."

Link paused, wondering how he knew the name was capitalised. Something about his voice. As usual. He supposed having no other way to convey emotion resulted in a particularly well-developed tonal control, which he still retained in his new body. Just another way Sheik was amazing, in Link's opinion.

"Now what are you thinking?" Sheik asked. "Your face is about to split in half."

"N-Nothing," Link said, smiling unrepentantly back at the Sheikah as he fixed the mistake Sheik had made in the knots of his seal's harness.

Fine motor controls were still a bit out of Sheik's reach, especially since he tried to do as little with his left hand as possible, unnerved by its appearance. Ridiculous, in Link's opinion. Sure, it looked a bit unconventional, but it was just a hand. Sheik's hand, and that could never be ugly. Too bad its owner refused to see that. To make up for it, Link accidentally-but-also-on-purpose positioned the buckles so Sheik had to fasten them with his left hand.

The sooner he learned to work with it, the better.

"You're really annoying sometimes, you know that?" Sheik muttered sourly.

"Pot, k-kettle," Link said, repeating a phrase he'd grown rather fond of lately, finding it very apt in many situations that involved his surly lover.

This one in particular. Funny, how Sheik was so eager to point out the lack of flaws in Link's character and mannerisms (despite the mountains of evidence to the contrary) when he'd easily rattle off a list of reasons why he himself was a disaster.

Either we're both perfect, or we're both disasters, Link thought, staring at Sheik's wrinkled brow, which grew more and more wrinkled with his mounting annoyance at the harness' refusal to cooperate.

He didn't mind being a disaster, as long as Sheik was there.

Or maybe he could stand a little further away, he corrected himself as Sheik's patience snapped and he started screaming in anger at the innocent leather that had so refused to buckle itself firmly to the sand seal's form, accusing it of the most heinous of crimes. How a length of tanned leather could be responsible for an extinction event (whatever that was), Link didn't know, but he still felt sorry for it as Sheik condemned it to a thousand years in the deepest pits of oblivion.

The sand seal didn't seem bothered by its rider's infuriated screaming, simply staring up at Sheik with a look of pure adoration on its face.

Link didn't realise Sheik had effectively distracted him from his guilt until hours later.

But by then he had other things to worry about.

"Well, I guess that it's, then," Ayla said, surveying the three sand seals, as well as the pair of travellers. "You two ready?"

They were standing just outside the northern gate of Gerudo Town, a small crowd having gathered to say goodbye. Link had hoped he'd get used to all the attention by now, but he still found himself shrinking slightly in the face of the crowd. Sheik, on the other hand, basked in it, hands on his hips and a slightly cocky tilt to his hips.

"As ready as we'll be, I guess," Sheik said. "You?"

"Won't be going far enough to need anything than my trusty companion here," she replied, tapping the hilt of her scimitar.

This far south, and so far away from Vah Naboris, which had trotted away soon after their return to the town, they were out of the Sheikah Tower Network teleportation range.

Sheik could manage a weak connection, but he'd rather not take the chance on using it to transport them as, in his words, he might make a boo-boo and accidentally scatter them over an extremely wide area.

When asked how wide, he'd simply said, "Wide enough to call yourself the Hero of the World."

After hearing that, Link had agreed to trek through the desert far enough to establish a proper connection. Just some dozens of miles northwards, he was assured. He couldn't fight off the slight suspicion that Sheik just wanted to ride a sand seal himself, though. He'd certainly seemed to find the experience exciting while stuck in the slate, so...

"I leave their safety in your hands, Ayla," Riju said, coming a little closer, Buliara following closely behind. "Don't make me regret it."

There was no actual heat behind the words, and Ayla simply snapped off a sharp salute in return. "You won't, chief!"

"As if we can't look after ourselves," Sheik muttered under his breath, absently petting his seal's head with his right hand.

"S-Someone needs t-to bring th-the s-seals back," Link reminded him, giving Kei some affection as well. The seal seemed to enjoy having his chin rubbed, which Link was happy to do.

"Hmph."

"I..am not sure what to say," Riju confessed, looking at them with a sad frown. "You have done so much for us, yet I feel like I am not even close to returning the favour." Her eyes met Link's for a long moment. "I am sorry for monopolising your time, Link, especially in such a fruitless endeavour."

Link felt horrified at being apologised to for such a thing. "N-N-No n-n-need to ap-apologise, I'm s-s-sorry for n-n-n-n—"

"Breathe," Sheik said, hiding it under a cough.

Link paused, taking a deep breath, relieved when the roaring in his ears immediately began to subside. "I w-was happy t-to help," he said, trying to keep his voice calm and steady. To their credit, the crowd seemed content to ignore his slip-up. "And it is n-not a f-fruitless endeavour. W-We w-will continue wh-when w-we m-meet again." He smiled at her. "Urbosa's F-Fury will b-be yours t-to command, I'm s-sure."

Her returned smile could have lit up the deepest pits of oblivion to which Sheik had condemned the leather harness, Link was certain, and he made to thank Buliara for her help as well when he found himself with an armful of Gerudo Chief. Or, rather, Riju grabbed herself an armful of Hero, and squeezed. Tight.

"Hurkh!" he said.

"Thank you, for everything," Riju repeated quietly as she released him, before turning her eyes towards Sheik, whose face paled at the predatory gleam in her eyes.

"No," Sheik said firmly, taking a step back.

"Yes," Riju said, following him.

"Tiny, don't you dare!"

"It's happening, bastard. Just accept it."

"Slagathor, she used a bad word! Wanna step in here?"

"I think not, Master Sheik."

"Tiny, I swear to Din that I will—argh!"

Link hid his laughter under a cough, pretending not to see Sheik begrudgingly hugging Riju back, tapping her shoulder when he'd had enough. Of course, that only made her prolong the hug by another few seconds out of spite. They eventually separated, stared at each other for another long moment, and nodded.

Mutual respect had been achieved?

"I owe you an apology, Champion," Buliara's voice suddenly rumbled above Link, and he nearly jumped at how close she was standing. For such an enormous woman, she was surprisingly stealthy when she wanted to be. "I was unkind when you first arrived here. My words were not worthy of a warrior, no matter the reason. Will you forgive me?"

Link shook his head. "There is n-nothing t-to forgive," he said. "Y-You were only p-protecting R-Riju. I w-would do th-the same in y-your position."

And I probably have, he thought. From the fragmented memories he had of Zelda, he knew the princess was strong-willed and didn't need anyone speaking for her. He still would have done whatever he could to physically protect her, however.

And had.

"Nevertheless," Buliara continued, "I would have us formally bury the axe." She held out her hand, which Link mistook for a handshake. Buliara, however, grasped his forearm, prompting him to do the same. "You are a friend to the Gerudo," Buliara said, "and I will be honoured to fight by your side when the time comes."

"L-Likewise," Link said.

After that, it seemed like most of the town wanted to say their own goodbyes. Risa and several of the soldiers who'd been with them on the mission to retrieve the Thunder Helm were particularly eager to show their thanks, crushing Link's poor ribs again and again with strong embraces, and making him promise to give them more advice on how to seduce voe up north.

Sheik wasn't spared the onslaught either, the Gerudo having grown quite fond of him, despite his short temper.

Or maybe it was because of his temper they liked him so much.

It was hard to tell with the Gerudo, to be honest.

Link was still surprised to see him accept the hugs and well-wishes with as much composure as he could muster.

Which wasn't much, but at least he kept his barbs verbal rather than physical. Honestly, the only Gerudo who was spared the yelling was Risa, whom Sheik actually smiled at, assuring her she would find love very soon.

"In fact, I think—argh!"

It was the second time he cried out that morning, and this time he actually went down. Hard.

"You can't leave!" Sivan yelled, sitting on Sheik's chest, her arms crossed, levelling a fierce (for a child) glare down at him. "You can't!"

She presumably meant for that to sound like a command, making herself look intimidating and firm, but Link just found the sight adorable. Moreover, the look of awe Sheik had on his face was just...impossible to describe. A mix of surprise and horror, and no small amount of affection (no matter how much he'd deny it later).

"L-Look, kid, I have to—"he began, but Sivan shook her head.

"I won't let you leave," she said. "I don't want you to."

In the corner of his eye, Link spotted Sivan's mother, who had a look of absolute horror on her face as well. She made to grab her daughter, but Ayla was keeping her back, giving Link a shit-eating grin, clearly warning him about interfering in Sheik's suffering-time.

"Do you know why we came here, kid?" Sheik asked, looking up at her. His face had taken on a bright shade of red, clearly aware of how many eyes were on them. Link was impressed at the restraint his lover was showing at this moment...and slightly worried for how he'd take it out on the world later.

Sivan screwed up her face in thought. "To...help us?" she said.

"Yeah," Sheik said, nodding. "We came to stop Vah Naboris from hurting any of you, and also because we need your help. You know about Ganon, right?"

She nodded. "I do."

"Ganon's even worse than Naboris when it's angry," Sheik explained. "We need to protect the whole world from it...and that's why we have to leave. If you don't let us...everyone will be in danger, including you. And I can't let that happen. I won't. Okay?"

The logic was sound, but Link knew Sivan wouldn't quite see it that way.

"What if you never come back?" she asked quietly. "What if...if you get h—"

"I'm too strong," Sheik said haughtily, tapping his eyepatch. "Remember this? Ganon will never see what hit it. One shot and it'll be done."

"Really?" Sivan's face brightened considerably.

Sheik lifted the eyepatch, letting her see the glowing blue of his artificial eye. The iris clicked shut in an imitation of a wink.

"Hell yeah," he said. "And even if it doesn't, I have the Hero of Hyrule with me. That sword of his was made for destroying evil. As long as we're fighting together, Ganon won't stand a chance."

Sivan considered that for a moment. Then she stood up, walked over to Link and stared up at him with a serious look. "You won't let him get hurt," she said.

It wasn't a request.

Link gulped, nodding. "I'll p-protect him w-with my l-life," he said.

"Do you swear?"

"I d-do."

Satisfied, Sivan nodded. "Good." She returned to Sheik, who'd gotten up in the meantime, and tugged on his shirt until he kneeled. It was just about the only hug Sheik offered willingly. "Please come back," Link heard her say quietly into Sheik's ear.

"I will," he replied, just as quiet.

The assurance wasn't enough, though, and big, fat tears were rolling down the girl's cheeks as she returned to her mother's side, where she hid.

The last person to say goodbye was Kiro, closely followed by Barta, who took her bodyguard role very seriously.

"I don't really have the words," Kiro admitted, scratching his neck embarrassedly. "Other than...thanks?"

"We didn't do anything," Sheik deadpanned, staring at him.

"You did plenty," Kiro insisted, looking at Link. "You could have walked away and let me die on Death Mountain, but you didn't. You saved my life. You could've killed me after the interrogation, but you let me go." He wasn't able to keep the eye contact, dropping his gaze to his boots. "If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have thought of defying Kohga, and...and ended up here." He took a breath. "Thank you."

"Y-You're welcome," Link said, patting the boy's shoulder. He didn't seem comfortable with hugging, but his face lit up well enough.

"Remember what I said," Sheik said, inclining his head slightly. "Find the others..."

"...and bring them north," Kiro finished. "I know. Thank you, Master Sheik. I won't fail you."

Sheik's face flushed even more at the title and respect offered to him. "Eugh, whatever, just don't fuck it up, yeah?"

"I won't!"

"I'll look after him," Barta promised. "Make sure he doesn't get himself into more trouble."

"That would be best," Sheik agreed. "Thank you."

As they walked away, Link couldn't help but shoot Sheik a smug look. "How w-will you explain th-this t-to Impa?" he asked.

"I'm thinking," Sheik replied curtly. "So far very few approaches leave me with my head still attached to my body. Schisms are easy, reunifications not so much."

Link opened his mouth to comment on this when a box was suddenly thrust into his hands by Ayla. It was made of wood, very simple with no ornamentation save for a small eye carved into the front. About the size of a jewellery box, it'd barely fit in Sheik's pack.

"A little parting gift from the girls in the barracks," Ayla explained. "They said not to open it until you're away, and definitely not when you're in close quarters."

Link looked sceptically at the box. "It's n-not a b-bomb, is it?" he asked dubiously.

"I have no idea," Ayla said happily. "Could be, though I can't imagine you having done anything to warrant such an explosive send-off."

"Funny," Sheik said drily.

"I know, right? I guess the only explosions around here lately have been inside your room, though."

"Eugh..."

Link carefully put the box in his pack, all the while wondering what he'd done to deserve this.

"Well, I think it's time to go," Ayla said, gesturing to the wide-open desert plains ahead of them. "Time's wasting, and we have a march to plan, so...chop-chop!"

The crowd was starting to disperse, and only Riju, Buliara, Kiro, Barta, and Sivan and her mother remained to watch them depart. It was sad, seeing their forms shrink in the distance behind them, but Link knew their rest had to end sooner or later. Besides, it wouldn't be too long until he saw them all again.

Forcing the sadness down, he focused on the sheer joy on Sheik's face as he urged his sand seal to go faster, trying increasingly daring manoeuvres with the shield he was sliding on. His sense of balance was still a little off, but he was careful not to exceed his limits.

That alone made the heavy feeling in Link's chest lift quite a bit, and he found himself coordinating little routines with Sheik, careful not to crash into each other along the way. Ahead of them, Ayla led the way, and while she didn't join in with their foolishness, she didn't comment on it either.

It took two hours or so of riding before Sheik finally announced that the signal was strong enough for teleporting. They came to a stop in the middle of nowhere, nothing but dunes around them. Ahead, the mountains that encircled Hyrule's temperate region loomed, high and tall even this far away. There wasn't a single cloud in the sky, and the temperature was rising steadily, the heat wrapping itself around Link like a suffocating cocoon.

"Well, I guess this is where we part ways for now," Ayla said, giving them a quick once-over, grinning. "If someone had told me a month ago that I'd be standing here with you two idiots today I'd laugh in their face." She gripped their shoulders firmly, giving them a slight shake. "Don't do anything stupid until I get to the Domain, okay? None of this self-sacrificing, go-it-alone, martyr bullshit, yeah? You risked your lives for us, now it's our turn to repay the favour." She paused. "Actually, that's a bad comparison, since you did technically lose your lives, the both of you."

"Thanks for the reminder," Sheik muttered.

"N-None of th-that," Link agreed, nodding.

"Right," the captain said, standing back and taking the reins of their sand seals. "I'll get these babies back home, and then I'll join the first caravan heading north. You won't be rid of me for long."

"Take your time, please," Sheik said. "The Domain can only take so much insanity."

"Honestly, I think your arrival alone will be the thing to topple it, Sheiky," Ayla said, grinning at him. "And as for you, Hero...well, don't let him push you around too much. Remember, he's not nearly as tough as he likes to make himself out to be."

"Hey!"

"I kn-know," Link said.

"I'm plenty tough, just you—"

"And that is all for now," she said, elegantly stepping onto her shield and whistling loudly. The sand seals immediately started moving, pulling her along at much greater speed now that there were three seals to one rider. "Don't go dying on me!" she reminded them with a wave.

They watched her until she was nothing more than a cloud of dust rapidly disappearing in the direction they'd come.

"What are the chances of her breaking her neck on the way back to the town?" Sheik asked.

"Fifty-fifty," Link said without hesitation.

Sheik sniffed. "Oh well...you ready?"

"R-Ready," Link confirmed. "B-Back to the D-Domain?"

"Back to the Domain," Sheik said nodding, closing his eyes. The familiar blue light began to surround them, and Link didn't need to look down to know that his feet were slowly dissolving. "Although," Sheik said, giving Link a slightly regretful look, "there is one more thing we have to do first."

"Wh-Wha—?" was all Link managed to say before they both disappeared in a burst of brilliant blue, leaving nothing behind other than their footprints in the sand, which were soon covered up by the winds.