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 73 - Combat Effectiveness
Honestly, at this point Sheik should have seen it coming. With his already precious power reserves nearing critical levels, the amount of processing power his brain could bring to bear was not enough to counter the dizziness induced by the teleportation process, even as prepared as he was for it. The result was, predictably, that the moment he'd been reassembled on the Domain's shrine platform, the world tilted completely and would have sent him plunging face-first into one of the sleeping pools nearby.
Luckily, Paya's strong arm wrapped itself around his shoulders before he could lose his balance completely and kept him standing. The girl herself didn't look particularly steady either, but she'd reacted quicker than he'd expected, and her poise was...well, impressive, her legs positioned perfectly to balance their respective weights and keep them both standing.
"I d-don't like t-teleporting," she murmured, staring at the floor in an effort to stave off the vertigo.
"You and me both," Sheik commiserated, vowing once again to find that fatal flaw in the teleportation script and fix the damned thing before this imperfect reconstruction function got someone killed. It'd nearly drowned Link before—he'd rather not see the job completed.
"Mistress Paya, Master Sheik," a familiar voice said, and they both looked up to find the slightly tilting form of Bazz standing at the base of the shrine, looking up at them. Behind him was a row of Zora and Sheikah guards. "Welcome back."
"C-Captain," Paya replied, nodding. "S-Sorry for the s-sudden arrival."
"We were expecting you this time, do not worry," Bazz said. "We have yet to receive word from Kakariko—what happened?"
The group of Sheikah immediately fell quiet, a small sea of crimson eyes all landing on Paya, desperate for news about their families. Some were studying Sheik curiously as well, probably confused about this new, unknown clan member in their midst, having not heard his name before...
...wait, name?
Bazz had referred to him as Sheik, hadn't he? But...he'd introduced himself as Kiro, so...
He looked a little closer at the captain, and the wary hostility from before was nowhere to be seen. If anything, he looked at ease, fully trusting of everyone in the chamber. And that had to mean...
Oh, Link and his big mouth!
The man struggled to get half a word out on a good day, but this he had no problem verbalising!
He was definitely making good on his gag threat now! Sharky would probably be eager to help, even.
"The attack failed," Sheik said, pulling his mask up a little further, patting the eyepatch to make sure the artificial one was well-hidden. Him triggering traumatic flashbacks featuring Guardians in the gathered crowd was hardly what they needed right now. "We held the Yiga off long enough for the Hylian cavalry to arrive."
"What about Mistress Impa?" one of the Sheikah asked, her voice impatient. "Our families?!"
The other Sheikah joined in, demanding to know what had happened to their loved ones, to know whether or not they had lost someone. Every word grated on Sheik's nerves, and he felt the frustration growing in his chest. He'd answer their questions, but they were all so fucking loud, and how was he supposed to know who to answer, and...
"E-Everyone, please!" Paya shouted as loud as she could. "C-Calm down! I know y-you're worried, but th-this isn't h-helping!" She waited until the clamour died down. "I w-will tell y-you everything, but w-we must not l-lose all s-sense!" She stepped off the platform, gesturing for them to come closer. "C-Come!"
Sheik made to join her, but Bazz had taken advantage of the noise to step a little closer, clearing his throat pointedly.
"Master Sheik," he said, "Prince Sidon has requested that you be brought to his royal apartment immediately upon arrival unless you needed medical attention." He looked Sheik up and down, searching for visible wounds. "Are you hurt?"
"No, but Paya-nee is," Sheik said, jerking his head towards his cousin, who was now speaking quietly to the others gathered around her, head lowered as she presumably named the dead. Some were already looking tearful, and Sheik had to force himself to look away. "Impa ordered her to see a healer when we got back."
"I will have one see to her immediately," Bazz said, turning to one of his men and ordering her to fetch one of the healers immediately. His armour left his back exposed, and Sheik noticed a small patch of discoloured and malformed scales. Had that been there before? He noticed a matching patch on the captain's front when he turned back to face Sheik. "She will be seen to, Master Sheik. Now, if you will please follow me?"
"Sure," Sheik said, realising he didn't have too much of a problem doing so...despite how little he looked forward the haranguing he was surely in for. He opened his mouth to shout his destination to Paya, but he closed it again when he saw that his cousin was currently hugging another Sheikah woman tightly, the Sheikah's shoulders shaking with sobs.
Not a good moment to interrupt, he decided.
"Lead the way, captain," Sheik said, even though he already knew the way.
The Zora guards arranged themselves around him in a tight diamond formation as protection...though for whose protection he wasn't sure.
"Purely a formality," Bazz said apologetically from the front of the formation. "Until Prince Sidon or Master Link has confirmed your identity. Lockdown rules, I'm afraid—we mean no offense."
"None taken," Sheik said, happy to finally see some decent security measures being taken around the Domain. The Yiga had infiltrated this territory far too easily, and while that particular threat may have been eliminated for now, there was no telling how many more cells were out there. "Just glad to see security being taken seriously for once."
"We got complacent," Bazz said, shaking his head. He adjusted his hold on his spear, rolling his shoulder, as if it felt stiff.
It tugged on the scar tissue on his back, which Sheik definitely couldn't remember having been there before. With the matching scar on the front, it almost looked like Bazz had been run through, but the wound had healed far too much for it to be a recent event, but it had definitely not been there the last time they'd been to the domain. Even if it had happened right after they left, no one could recover from a wound like that so quickly, at least not without months of rest and relaxation, but Bazz hardly looked like he belonged in a sickbed. A quick scan of his vital revealed nothing out of the ordinary either.
Hm...curious.
"We all did," Sheik said quietly, remembering Impa's words. "The Sheikah are moving to the Domain, escorted by the Hylian regiment."
"A wise decision," Bazz said with approval in his voice. "The less spread out we are, the easier it is to close ranks and form a defensive perimeter. We should have convinced the Sheikah right away—then perhaps this tragedy could have been avoided."
"Perhaps," Sheik agreed. "But that's a conversation for another day."
"Indeed," the captain said, nodding.
They reached the main square of the Domain, Mipha's statue vigilantly guarding it. Even now, in the pre-dawn hours, the place was an anthill of activity. The column of Zora escorting a Sheikah was barely noticed, much less given any more than a passing glance when seen. There were no issues with the guards, who let Bazz and his men right through to Sidon's apartment doors.
"A word of warning," Bazz said before he knocked, "they have been quite worried about you."
Sheik said nothing, more than aware of that. Link's natural state of being was one of constant worrying over things that did not truly matter. Sheik...did not enjoy being one of those things. He was supposed to be Link's support in all this, not yet another source of panic and anxiety. He could only hope the Hero understood why he'd reacted as he did...even if Sheik was still a little unsure of why he'd thrown all caution and logic and reason aside at the behest of the voice in his head screaming that he had to get to Kakariko immediately, no matter what. It had been...impossible to ignore, impossible to disobey, like a root command, though not one that had come from his system core.
"Link, in particular," Bazz added when Sheik didn't respond, his voice slightly reproachful. "I'd like to request that you refrain from upsetting my brigade member any further, Master Sheik. He's been through enough." There was a hint of steel in his voice towards the end.
"I have no intention of that," Sheik replied through slightly gritted teeth. Link didn't need this overgrown trout defending him like he was some sort of helpless waif. The only reason he didn't say this aloud was that Bazz had helped Link before and had put himself in Sheik's good books so far. "Now let's get this over with, yeah?"
"Of course," Bazz said, knocking on the door as hard as he could. "Your Majesty, Master Sheik has returned!" he called out.
The door opened, but it wasn't Sidon who appeared in the opening. Link was dressed in a set of loose-fitting azure robes that were slightly too big for him (clearly designed for a Zora of bigger stature), his hair messy and eyes narrowed as they roamed the group, quickly finding Sheik among them.
"Is it him, Master Link?" Bazz asked.
Sheik lowered his mask, just in case Link had been asleep and his brain hadn't fully woken from its hibernation state yet. When Link didn't say anything, Sheik gave a cheerful little wave and announced,
"I'm back!"
Link sighed, rolling his eyes. "It's h-him," he said. "Th-Thank you, B-Bazz."
Nodding and dismissing his men, Bazz gave Sheik another careful look. "Behave yourself this time, won't you, Master Sheik?" he asked, flashing Sheik a grin before marching off.
"I'll show you behave," Sheik grumbled, aiming a rude finger gesture in Bazz's direction and turning to face Link...and promptly freezing in place.
Link's anger was a rare beast indeed. Slow to wake, but oh so terrible when woken. The only reason it hadn't been fully let off its leash was because they were, technically, in public, and Link had some sense of decorum that he chose to obey (unlike Sheik, who had it but chose to ignore it entirely). His eyes, though...they'd turned from their bright blue to a dark shade, like a stormy sea, so intense Sheik could nearly feel the coldness of his stare.
I could run, he thought. I could run and probably not trip over an invisible tripwire like I did back in Kakariko. I might even get away.
His body certainly felt the need to do so, already angling itself away from Link, preparing to run in the completely opposite direction.
"Get inside," Link said curtly, his voice deadly calm.
Oh dear, no stutter.
"It's a nice morning, perhaps we could—"Sheik began.
"Get. Inside," Link repeated, stepping back from the doorway and standing aside.
Oh Din, I'm going to die, Sheik thought, bowing his head slightly and stepping through the portal.
The entryway was quite dark, the luminous stones dimmed considerably. Sheik wondered if it was a natural occurrence, that the stones automatically darkened at certain hours of the day, or if something had to be done to them. He was really curious about it, too. Maybe he should take a sample and do some analysis of his own—
With the door shut behind him, Sheik realised that he and Link were alone in the entryway to Sidon's apartment. The door to the prince's sleeping chamber was closed as well, and Link was standing in front of it, arms crossed and looking at him expectantly. There was not a scarier sight, to Sheik. He'd gladly face down the Yiga again than the Hylian Champion.
"Well?" Link said, capturing and holding Sheik's gaze with his own.
"Well...hello?" Sheik tried, giving the Hero of Hyrule a weak smile. What was the proper thing to say here, and why did it feel like he was facing his own executioner? Shouldn't Link be happy that he returned whole and hale? Wasn't there supposed to be hugs and kisses?
"Hello?" Link repeated, a look of disbelief coming to his face. "Hello?! That's all you have to say?"
"What else am I supposed to say?" Sheik asked. "I have returned, or something like that? You'd prefer something a little more traditional? Old-fashioned? I can get down on one knee and—"
"Do you have any idea how worried I was?" Link asked, stepping closer. Sheik, to his surprise, found himself recoiling, stepping back. He knew better than to remain within reach right now. "I turn my back on you for one second, and you're suddenly teleporting yourself to a battlefield miles away? In your condition?!"
My condition? Sheik wondered. What's he talking about...?
I THINK HE MEANS YOUR LACK OF COMBAT EFFECTIVENESS, BROTHER
Oi, stop listening in on my conversations, you little shit. And what do you mean my lack of combat effectiveness? I did just fine—
COMPARED TO MY OWN PERFORMANCE YOUR EFFECTIVENESS COULD BE MEASURED AT 32%. SPEED, PRECISION, AND POWER LEVELS ARE STILL NOWHERE NEAR WHAT THE SHELL IS CAPABLE OF
Give me a fucking break, I'm still getting used to this thing.
WHICH MAY BE WHY UNCLE LINK IS WORRIED ABOUT YOU FIGHTING
I had Paya-nee with me; I was fine.
YOU MIGHT NOT HAVE BEEN
Stabby left it at that, his system messages ceasing. The conversation took less than a second to finish, and it was a nice reprieve from the awkwardness of the situation.
"I had Paya with me," he said, hoping that would help. "We fought together. I was fine."
"And what if you'd gotten hurt?" Link asked, narrowing his eyes. "What then?"
Still no stutter, damn. Link's vitals were erratic. His heart was beating wildly, and tiny, almost imperceptible twitches in his muscles told Sheik he was anxious to do...something, but it was a bit difficult to tell exactly what. It could very well be that he wanted to rip Sheik limb from limb...or hug him...or hug him and then rip him limb from limb.
"I didn't get hurt," Sheik said, opening his arms and showing off his dirty and bloody, but undamaged Sheikah uniform. "This isn't my blood."
Link looked away, pinching the bridge of his nose, taking deep breaths. Sheik almost praised him for remembering the techniques to keep himself in check, but he had a feeling that wouldn't be received very well. "Is Paya okay?" he finally asked after a moment.
"She's fine, mostly," Sheik replied. "Took a nasty punch to the nose, but nothing serious. She's pretty scary in a fight, by the way. Took down a Yiga assassin like she was nothing."
"And the village?"
"There were...losses, but not nearly as bad as it could have been. Impa is fine, and the rest of the clan is relocating to the Domain."
"Good."
"Also, I figured out something intere—"
"Don't ever do it again."
Sheik paused. He thought he'd managed to calm Link down by shifting his attention over to the others, but that was just a ruse, it seemed.
"Do what?"
"Run off like that without a word."
"They were under attack, Link, I couldn't just stand by—"
"You should have come and gotten me," the Hylian interrupted, glaring. "You should have taken me with you. Or better yet, you could have sent me, while you stayed safe and out of harm's way!"
"Oh, so send you off to possibly get hurt, is that it?" Sheik growled, feeling like his chest was heating up. Anger, but not the continuously smouldering, righteous one he always felt around stupid people. This one was...painful. "No fucking way. And there's no way in hell I was going to leave my clan to fend for itself, so I'm not going to apologise for running off, because that's exactly what I should have done, and I don't need your fucking permission!"
He'd stepped forward without realising it, the fire in his chest burning brightly now. They were standing nearly chest to chest, faces inches from each other, blue meeting red in a fierce staring contest, neither backing down.
"Sheik, you're still getting used to your body—if you were alone...if Paya hadn't been there...what would have happened?!"
"I don't know, and I won't bother thinking about it because I wasn't alone!" He tried to focus his breathing, but it was taking all his effort not to blow up (as he usually did) because this was Link. He had to control himself—Link was just being unreasonable! He was starting to feel light-headed. "Why can't you just leave it at that? Stop making up hypotheticals! I'm back, I'm fine, and...and..." he paused, a system alert telling him that power distribution had suffered a blip.
His balance failed him, and he stumbled backwards, his back hitting the wall with a loud thud, his legs barely keeping him up. His mind went blank for a moment, all activity in his brain ceasing for a moment.
"Sheik!"
Link was on him in an instant, hands on his shoulders, bracing him with his own body.
"Wh-What's wrong? Are y-you okay? Are y-you h-hurt?!"
Ah, the stutter was back. Incredible. Link would make a fascinating research subject...
Sheik blinked. What the fuck had just happened? Diagnostics told him that a process he'd previously assumed wasn't critical had been put on hold because of a lack of power. But he'd...managed all that, hadn't he? Fuck, there were so many things about this godsdamned body he didn't understand!
"Oh, I'm fine, stop being a worry-wart," Sheik said, trying to brace his own weight and only failing a little. "You're too close, go away."
"D-Do you need a h-healer?" Link asked, hands not leaving his shoulders. His face had that mix of determination and soul-scraping worry on it now, the sort he'd had when Sheik had asked the Slate to be shut down permanently, before he'd... There was no arguing with Link in that state, so he let the Hylian look closer at him to his heart's content.
Or he would have, if the doors to Sidon's sleeping chamber hadn't suddenly opened, revealing the prince himself, massive and tired-looking, golden eyes blinking in confusion at the display in his entryway. His body was covered in bandages, and he held himself a little stiffly.
"What is going on out here?" he asked, fighting down a yawn. "Link, what's wrong? Why are you shouting?" He noticed Sheik, then, and his eyes widened. "Is that...are you...?"
Aware that he was acting like a little shit, Sheik gave a little wave. "Hey, Sharky. I'm back."
The next moment, there was no wall, there was no entryway, there was no world. There was only the feeling of strong arms wrapping around him, easily lifting him off his feet, the sensation of his cheek rubbing against the surprisingly soft scales of the prince's chest.
All Sheik could think about was how fucking strong Sidon must be in order to lift him without a single straining grunt or preparation. Was he...yes, he was actually waving Sheik back and forth, his mouth going a million miles a minute.
"This is amazing! I mean, Link told me as much as he could about what happened and what you looked like now, but this is even better than my wildest dreams!" He paused, holding Sheik out to get a better look at him. "Look at you! You have a body! Arms, legs, hands, a head, hair, everything!"
How fucking strong was the Zora, anyway?
"I should hope so," Sheik said weakly, having hoped his days of being manhandled were over now that wasn't just a Slate. Clearly, he was wrong...but then, it felt...nice, knowing it was Sidon doing the manhandling. "Otherwise I'd be lodging some complaints."
"And your voice," Sidon continued, grinning toothily. "It's still...it's still yours. You're still you."
"Yeah, I'm still me," Sheik replied, chuckling. "For better or for worse."
"Better, most definitely," the prince said, nodding to himself. "Royal decree, in fact."
"Can princes make those?"
"They can when it concerns their beloved Sheikah and Hylian."
Sheik's cheeks grew hot. Oh, great, turns out he wasn't immune to that either, when Sidon was involved.
"S-Sidon, put him d-down," Link said gently. "He's hurt."
"What?!" Sidon gasped and gently lowered Sheik until his feet were touching the floor again, looking him over. "Where are you hurt? Are you bleeding? Why haven't you been seen to by a healer yet? I shall fetch them immediately—"
"Sharky, Sharky, calm down!" Sheik reached up, grabbing Sidon by the hand before the prince could rip the door off its hinges and call for damn near half the Domain to come and take a look at him. "I'm not hurt!"
Link snorted, and Sheik shot him a venomous glare.
"I promise! There's barely a scratch on me! I'm just tired, okay?"
"T-Tired?" Link asked. "Y-You almost c-collapsed!"
"Yeah well, you try staying upright when you're running on emergency power, eh? I have to manually distribute my energy, unlike some people whose bodies do it for them automatically!" He pointed an accusing finger at Link, his head still spinning. "You have no idea how lucky you are!"
I think I'm losing the thread of this conversation, he thought.
YOU ARE
Stabby, stop eavesdropping or I'll force you to review every single piece of Sheikah poetry I can find!
...I'LL STOP
Good boy!
"Okay, okay, let's just calm down here," Sidon said, stepping between them. "Emotions are clearly running hot." His voice grew deeper, and Sheik could swear he felt it thrumming in his chest. "Link, I know you were worried—and so was I—but perhaps yelling at him the moment he returns isn't quite the right way to go about it?"
"Exactly," Sheik said, aiming a pleased grin in Link's direction.
"And Sheik," Sidon continued, fixing him with a serious look of his own, "the next time there is a potential attack by an enemy force, perhaps let us know before you rush off into the fray by yourself, without leaving us here to wonder if you're even coming back? If only so we know where you went—and perhaps even accompany you?"
"My clan was under attack," Sheik said, crossing his arms petulantly. "There's no way in hell I wasn't going to go."
He looked away, and then back. Sidon was still staring at him. This was unfair, he'd done what was right! Who the hell stood by and watched as their family came under attack?! Besides, it's not like Link was innocent of rushing headlong into danger without as much as a word. Hell, sometimes he did it after Sheik specifically told him not to! How was that any better than what Sheik had done? The amount of times Sheik was sure he was going to lose Link to...to...
Oh.
This was...new. Guilt flooded welled up within him, a sensation he was still unused to. Maybe...Maybe he shouldn't have rushed off like that, even if he were in the right.
"But," he added, surprising both Sidon and Link, "maybe, just maybe, I should have...given a heads-up? I would still have gone, though! Neither of you could have stopped me!"
"I w-wouldn't h-have," Link said, looking a little guilty. "I j-just...w-wish I'd known, and could h-have come w-with you."
Sheik harrumphed, fighting down the smile. He would like to fight alongside Link someday soon.
"You can't carry everything by yourself, it's time I pulled my own weight."
Link's lips wobbled a bit with a suppressed smile of his own. "H-Hylia kn-knows I can't."
Sheik gaped. "Are you calling me fat?!"
How dare he?!
"J-Just heavy," Link corrected.
"Come here and I'll sit on you," Sheik growled. "Show you just heavy I can be!"
Sidon sighed and, with minimal effort on his part, grabbed the pair of them by their necks and bodily (though carefully) shoved them through the door and into his sleeping chambers.
"It is far too early for this nonsense," the prince announced. "Come along, we are going back to bed!"
If he really wanted to, Sheik could probably brace himself and halt Sidon in his tracks, but...did he really want to? Besides, it'd be a waste of precious energy that he could not afford right now.
"A-Are you okay?" Link asked, sounding a little meek. "I'm s-sorry for y-yelling."
"I'm fine," Sheik said, shaking his head. Stupid Hylian and his stupid caring. "And don't be. I was being an ass."
Leaving them to their little post-argument feather-soothing, Sidon was opening one of his massive wardrobes, looking for something. His reaction to Sheik had been...a relief. Not that he'd expected Sidon to be anything but his usual, exuberant self, but one could never be too certain. Sheik flexed his left hand, still covered by a glove. Underneath his eyepatch, the mechanical iris gave a little click.
Link smiled, bumping his shoulder against Sheik's. "Wh-What happened? E-Emergency power?"
"I finally got a chance to try it out," Sheik said quietly, tapping his eyepatch. "Turns out it's not as power-efficient as I would have liked. Drained me a little more than I expected. Wound up passing out for twelve hours, and now I don't really have enough energy to power anything but the bare essentials."
"C-Can you f-fix it?" Link asked, looking worried. "Sh-Should w-we call P-Purah and Robbie?"
The very thought of exposing himself to Robbie in his vulnerable state was abhorrent to Sheik, but... "I'll see them in the morning," he said. "Right now, I just want to..." He glanced towards Sidon in what he hoped was a surreptitious manner, but Link caught it easily.
"L-Let me kn-know if you f-feel worse?" the Hylian asked at a whisper, smiling slyly. "He'll b-be...c-clingy."
"Like you're not," Sheik shot back.
"I'm sorry, Sheik, but I can't seem to find anything that fits you in my wardrobe," Sidon said sadly, closing the container and turning to them. "Do you have anything he can sleep in, Link?"
His fingers were flexing something fierce, Sheik noticed, and he knew exactly why: He wanted to touch. To explore. To find out everything about Sheik's body, just as he had with Link's on their first night together. Frankly, Sheik wanted him to do just that, felt an ache to find out just how Sidon's scales felt against his sensitive finger tips, how strong the prince truly was...and whether his endurance could hold up if all three of them were...were...
He shook his head. He didn't have nearly enough energy for any sort of activity right now, and his biological parts were exhausted as well, his brain needing proper sleep rather than the emergency shutdown it'd been put through after his first firing of the Guardian cannon.
"I d-do," Link said, heading for his pack and fetching—Sheik wanted to snort at how predictable Link could be—his Champion tunic. "H-Here."
Sheik gave Link a shit-eating grin. "How long have you been waiting to get me to wear that?"
Link blushed and mumbled something.
"What was that?"
"D-Day one!" the Hero exclaimed, thrusting the tunic into Sheik's face.
"Knew it," Sheik said, still grinning. "You sure you want me to wear it, though? These are Champions' clothes, not fit for the likes of me—"
"M-My tunic, m-my rules," Link said firmly, pointing Sheik towards a massive changing screen in the corner of the sleeping chambers. Why Sidon had one was a mystery, since he didn't exactly wear clothes to begin with, but there it was.
"Well, who am I to argue with that?" Sheik asked, wandering behind the screen and undoing his sword belt. His muscles were surprisingly sore, aching with every movement. He left his undergarments on, if only because he doubted he was short enough for Link's tunic to cover up his bits. He left his glove on to cover his strange hand, as well as the eyepatch, hoping it wouldn't seem too out of place, and that Sidon wouldn't—
"You said you weren't hurt," the prince said once Sheik stepped out from behind the screen, fingers still flexing.
Sheik gave him an unimpressed look. "I'm not—and you're not exactly in a position to give me crap about it, Sharky. What happened to you while we were gone?"
"Something incredibly stupid," Sidon replied. "And a tale I would rather not tell right now. In the morning, perhaps?" He kept glancing at Sheik's covered hand and eye.
Sheik nodded. "Sounds good to me—but then I get to tell you my shit tomorrow too, right?"
"I suppose that's fair," Sidon said, clearly thinking that it was anything but, if the slight twitch in his left eye was anything to judge by. "But...may I just ask...was your eye hurt? The patch..."
"It's not hurt," Sheik said. "It's just...weird."
"Weird?"
"And creepy, so I'd rather not show it to you right now, okay?"
Sidon frowned, but eventually nodded. "Okay."
From Link, there came a choked sound. The pair of them looked over, and found the Hylian staring at Sheik, hands covering his mouth.
"What's the matter with you?" Sheik asked.
"The t-tunic," Link managed to force out.
"What about it?" Sheik looked down at the light blue outfit covering his torso. It was...very soft. The fibres felt good against his bare skin, nothing like some of the rougher fabrics he'd tried wearing so far. "I look stupid in it, don't I? Not my colour, I guess..."
"It...it..." Link's vocabulary had apparently taken a leave of absence.
"It is rather fetching," Sidon said, smiling as he stepped up to kneel in front of Sheik, roughly bringing their faces to the same level. "As are you, my dear." He hesitated. "I realise I cannot hope to understand what you are going through, and how much of a struggle it is to get used to having a body again, but I was rather hoping...if you don't mind...may I...?"
"Just kiss me, Sharky," Sheik said.
And so he did.