Author's Note: Full credit for this mildly crazy idea goes to Lunarartistry! Without her, this fic would not exist. She is my partner-in-crime with the concepts and art for Stripper!Link. Please be sure to check her out on Twitter and Instagram! I will be uploading artwork with each chapter if all goes according to plan. We look forward to hearing your feedback!
There was something oddly soothing about the clanging that reverberated off the walls of the factory. At least, Link had always found that to be the case.
Ever since he was young, a mere child of eight when he first walked through the doors of the warehouse, the blond had adored the sounds of machinery and chatter from those who worked inside. When Deku had taken the orphaned boy and his younger sister Aryll in, he made Link the promise that as soon as he was twelve, he would be allowed to learn how to assist the small team of engineers and technicians that worked to build custom-order exotic cars for the wealthiest customers.
Now, at age twenty-four, Link Forrest had worked his way up to the rank of foreman, second in command only to his adoptive father, Deku. Link managed most of the day-to-day operations within the factory, content to leave the rubbing of elbows with the wealthy to the older man.
"Hey, Link! You just gonna stand there all day, or you gonna help me upholster this seat? It won't hand-stitch itself!" Zaeva Koshia called from behind him. The pale engineer stood with her hands on her hips, the bleached-blonde buns on her head bouncing while she shook her head at him. "Your pops said we got tonight and Monday to finish this car before the rich asshole who bought it comes knocking."
"I'm the one who gave you the deadline, remember?" he fired back with a slight laugh. He rolled up his sleeves and went to work beside her.
Deku's Custom Automotive was located at the far end of the main drag through Kakariko, Hyrule's second largest city. The mountains that protected the city from two sides gave the homey feel that Link missed whenever he traveled. There was no place like home, and home was found here. He had no reason to look anywhere else.
"So you're gonna give me that hundred grand, right?" he heard Zaeva say with a smirk.
"What? No way." He playfully tugged at one of the buns in her hair. "Just because I was zoning out, it doesn't mean I'm giving you that kind of cash! Not like I have it, anyway."
Zaeva rolled her eyes and moved out of his reach. "Watch it! I got a date after I get off tonight, unlike you."
"Hot date, huh? Grante taking you to the junkyard again?" Link teased with a grin.
"Fuck you! That was a great date. When was the last time you saw any action outside of ol' lefty there?"
"What I do in my personal time is my business," Link said coolly. "I take questions submitted in writing on the sixth Tuesday of the month between midnight and one am. Responses will be offered seven to ten business days following and only–"
"Yeah, yeah. You give the same dumbass joke anytime I ask." She leaned past him to grab another section of leather. "Isn't that right, Manny?"
The normally silent man just stared at her before returning to his work on the machine across the room.
She shrugged it off. "Grante's taking me to dinner tonight. We're trying that new Asian place downtown. If it comes out, we all should go over the weekend."
Link gave a noncommittal grunt and bent his head over the soft leather. His fingers worked deftly to create the even stitches that were required for the pristine interior of the car they were building.
"You sure you don't want me to set you up with a friend of mine? I bet that she's free this weekend and looking for a good time," Zaeva tried again. "She's a horticulture major at the university and–"
"No thanks," he cut her off. "Not interested in dating right now."
She pouted at him. "But you're depriving some lucky someone from all… this." She gestured to him from head to toe.
He glanced down at the oil-stained jeans and well-worn blue button-down shirt. "How ever will they survive?" he said dryly.
Zaeva giggled. "Admit it. You've got a lot to offer, Link. You just need to work on your self-confidence. Get you out of the factory more!"
"I leave the factory every night and go home," Link countered.
"I swear you two bicker more than my sisters ever did," Teake grumbled from across the room. "Aren't you done sewing those yet?" the older woman groused. Her graying red hair was tied in a braid that rested on her chest while she slid out from under the engine she was assembling.
"We'll get them done by the time you've got the engine and body assembled," Link assured her.
"See that you do," she huffed. She took a long drink from her water bottle before sliding on her dolley back under the half-assembled engine.
Link whistled to himself while he worked. The factory shift was nearly over, and he'd have a couple hours to eat and rest before his second job.
"Catch!"
His hands went up on reflex and he caught the wrench inches before it connected with his nose.
"One of these days, you're going to swiving miss, and I'll be laughing my ass off when you do," Elle drawled as she walked up with the car's computer in hand. The blonde woman was a year younger than Link, with an affinity for technology that never ceased to amaze. "I had to redo all the wiring. The one they sent over had shitty components that would've worn out faster than you can blink." Her red eyes rolled in frustration. "This is why we always check our work, right, boss?"
"Check and double check, every step of the way. 'For the satisfaction of a job well done–" Link began.
"'And the happiness of our customers, new and returning alike.' I see you remember my lessons well." The aging man finished from the doorway. He hunched over his cane and cleared his throat, devolving into a fit of coughing. "How's everything here at the shop today?"
Link was up in an instant to assist his adoptive father. "You should be resting," he chided.
"I'm sick, not dead. Don't coddle me," Deku scolded, shaking his cane at the blond. "If I stayed in bed any longer, then you'd be stuck filling up holes in the walls." His laugh devolved into a coughing fit again.
Link silently winced but wisely didn't argue. He changed the subject instead to something safer. "No new calls for orders today, which is good. After we finish what's left on this one, we've got the order for the two specialty armored cars needed by the Parliament before the end of month."
"Good. Any new orders will be pushed back til the next season. Quality over quantity, like we've done for the last four decades." Deku stopped beside Elle. "Tell your grandma I said 'hello' and I missed her company."
"I will. She's giving my dad a hard time. He thought she'd slow down once she got into her eighties. Not a chance. She's every bit the firecracker she was when I was a kid." Elle shook her head. "But enough about Granny Purah. What did the doctors say?"
Deku waved her off. "Same garbage they're always spewing. Got months to live, barring a miracle. They've been saying that for years. I'll believe it when I see it!"
"You're not allowed to die til we say so," Link quipped.
"Oh, I need your permission, do I?" Deku barked a laugh. "And what if I decide to ignore that little rule?"
"Then you'll have all of us to contend with!" Zaeva declared. She wiped the leather oil off her hands with a rag and came over to give him a hug. "We've missed having you in the shop. Someone's gotta keep Link in line."
"You make it sound like I'm constantly getting in trouble," the blond foreman protested. "I'm the one keeping you from slacking off!"
"Ladies, you're both pretty. Can we get back to work now?" Elle said dryly. "This swiving car won't build itself."
"No, it won't. And the buyer will be here on Monday evening. I'm taking her to dinner before we bring her over here to pick it up," Deku explained. "I trust everything will be completed up to standard by quitting time on Tuesday."
"Yes, sir!" The group of employees chorused, with Zaeva offering a playful salute.
"In my office, Link. Rest of you, back to work." Deku waved them off but gestured for his son to follow him.
Link stepped around him to open the office door, ignoring the faint protests. Once both were in the room, he closed the door and took his usual seat across the desk from Deku. "How are you, Father? Your cough has gotten worse."
"It's this blasted COPD. The staff is doing all they can." Deku took a long drink from the water bottle sitting on his paper-covered desk. "How are things with you and Midna?"
Link shook his head. "She's not my girlfriend." Never was, he added internally. "We're still working together, but she's got her eyes on someone else. Cute girl, too sweet for her, honestly."
Deku's brow furrowed. "I thought you made a great couple."
Link kept his tone light. "We're still great friends. I'm glad there's no awkwardness."
"Are you working tonight?
"Yes. I start at eight. Do you want me to cook dinner before I head in?"
Deku coughed before he replied. "If you don't mind. Takeout is fine if you'd rather not."
"I don't mind," Link smiled at his father. "We've still got a couple of those steaks in the fridge, if that sounds good."
The old man ran his hand over his face. "That would be a wonderful dinner." He eyed the blond, noticing the dark circles under his eyes. "They treating you right? Urbosa's not overworking you, is she?"
Link shook his head. "She's not overworking me. I'm getting enough rest."
"Good. If she gives you a hard time, send her my way. I've known that woman since she was a wee sprout." Deku leaned back in his seat, blinking his tired brown eyes at the ceiling. His once-dark brown hair had long since turned gray, his face wrinkled with years of age and wisdom. "I've made an appointment to see Impa about the will we talked about a couple weeks ago. I want you there with me for that meeting."
Link gave a slight nod, not betraying the twist he felt in his stomach from his father's words. The man who had raised him for most of his life was dying. There was no escaping that reality. "When's the appointment?"
"I have it set up for Tuesday morning. My dinner with this new buyer on Monday shouldn't go very late. She wants to take the new car back to the Capital that night."
"Late drive," was all Link said. It took about six hours by car to navigate the winding roads through the mountains and travel from Kakariko to Castle, or simply the Capital as it was more commonly called.
"She insisted. Dinner's at four so she can make it back by midnight if all goes well," Deku explained. He cleared his throat and gazed at his son. "I'll have you start attending these meetings with me soon. So you're in the habit of it when it's your turn to take over."
He forced a small smile. "They'll take one look at me and dismiss me because I lack the wisdom you do."
His father laughed. "'Wisdom'. You mean the gray hairs you and Aryll gave me?"
"Most of them were from me," Link admitted with a faint chuckle. "But you were patient with us. I know she'd say the same thing if she were here, but Aryll and I had a good childhood all things considered, and that's thanks to you."
Deku's response was cut off by the sultry tones of Lady Gaga instructing them to 'Just Dance'.
Link flashed an apologetic smile and answered the call. "Hello?"
"Last minute gig booked for tomorrow night. Meet up at 7. It'll be you and Fae. We'll make sure your spots are covered here. Address is being sent to you momentarily." The deep, husky tones of his second job's female manager filled his ears. "Full details when you get here tonight."
"Got it. Thanks." The line went dead before Link could hang up.
"Busy weekend," Deku grunted. "I better head back. Hestu's waiting for his supper."
"Better not keep him waiting. That cat's more spoiled than I am," Link laughed as he stood. "I'm going to inventory what we've got left to finish on this car, and then I'll be right behind you to fix our dinner."
Deku paused to give him a hug and a pat on the shoulder. "You're doing good, kid. I'm proud of you."
The blond felt his throat tighten, and he swallowed hard. "Thank you, Father."
"See you at home." Deku waved at him before shuffling back out to his car.
Link watched him go. The man had just turned eighty, and the recent years had brought increasing health issues. The blond couldn't help but be concerned when his father started sounding like he was going to be gone the next day. Death was inevitable, but having lost his birth parents in a crash when he was young, the thought of losing the father figure he'd leaned on for so long was sobering.
He pushed the morbid thoughts from his mind and grabbed a new checklist and clipboard off the office wall. Duty called. They had an elite, wealthy customer to impress.
"You're late!"
The chastisement from his best friend welcomed Link into his second job, along with the wave of fumes from the fog machines and heavy beat from the music pumping onto the stage of the club.
"Had to wait for the freight train from Faron to pass. They were early, so I was late," Link explained. He slammed his locker open, quickly shoving his sneakers and street clothes inside. "You know how long those damn trains can be."
"The Lady's got Twi opening, followed by the twins. Then we've got our "Hero and Demon King" routine at 9:30." Faesule paused for breath and adjusted his long red wig. "Did she tell you about the gig for tomorrow night?"
"Only that it's you and I, and we're meeting here at 7." Link pulled up his thong and adjusted himself in front of the mirror before reaching for the skintight leather pants. "Oh, and she sent me the address but I haven't had a chance to look at it yet."
"It's a bachelorette. Only note is that the bride-to-be is known to be a little shy, so go gentle on her." Fae smirked at him. "You wanna take the lead on this one?"
"I think it was my turn anyway." Link eyed him through the mirror. "What's the dress for it?"
"No preference. Just sexy." The redhead turned to the second mirror and checked his dark tan, muscled appearance, adjusting his wig again until he was satisfied with the tightness. "Hero and Demon King are most popular when we're both sent out."
"Works for me." Link slowed down to undo his loose ponytail and properly brush out his long blond hair. "What's the rest of the night look like for performances?"
It wasn't Fae who replied. "Twi's off at midnight, so he's back on at ten, then making rounds til end of his shift. Midna's on after you two, then back on main at midnight. Link, I want you to time it so you're doing your last dance with her at one thirty, then Fae you'll close us out so we can be shutting down by two. I got the girls filling in the gaps whenever there's downtime." Urbosa paused in the doorway and looked them both over. "Don't forget your wig after the Hero number."
"Yes, ma'am," Link said with a slight duck of his head.
"Hey Aunt Lady? What's the deal with the last minute gig tomorrow? Know anything else about it?"
Urbosa raised an eyebrow at her nephew. "Only that they paid extra because it was last minute. Said it's the bride and a few of her friends, and they wanted 'the best we got.'" The redhead smirked and rested her hand on her hip. "I promised them a night they won't soon forget."
Fae grinned back as the sounds of whoops and hollers came from the front of the club. Twi's body glistened with oil and sweat as he made his way past them back into the main dressing room clad only in his platform heels and thong that barely covered his erection. He collapsed into a chair and grabbed a towel to start drying himself.
"How'd it go?" Urbosa asked, raising an eyebrow at him.
The tanned, dark-blond guzzled down half a bottle of water before responding. "Good. Got a lap dance and two private dances already scheduled. Lap dance is for a new guy here with a couple buddies, and he's smokin' hot."
"Take five so you're not panting like a wolf, then get your ass back out there for that dance."
"Yes, Lady Urbosa." Twi offered her a two finger salute before returning to cleaning himself up.
Link grinned and gave his head a shake in front of the mirror. The shorter locks he kept in front of his ears now framed his face, surrounded by the hair that came down just past his shoulders. It gave him an older, wilder look that the patrons loved. And he would admit, he enjoyed the attention, both male and female. Vanity wasn't a struggle of his, but he prided himself on keeping fit and meeting the expectations on how the 'hero of legend' would look when facing the nefarious 'demon king'.
"Still good for our run at seven tomorrow?" Fae asked, as he applied oil to his chest and arms.
"Definitely. I'm taking a nap when we get back from breakfast though." Link stood and rolled his shoulders, then dropped into his stretches.
"Same though. Leysra's talking about wanting to do lunch. Something about wanting me to meet this girl he just met or some shit. I don't even know. Guess that's my plan outside work." Fae eyed him from head to toe. "You ready to get your ass kicked, hero?"
"Only if you're ready to fall like the demon you are," Link bantered right back. The routine had started by accident, when the two were sparring before rehearsal two years prior. Urbosa decided that by combining martial arts with their pole routine, the two could engage in a 'battle' of good versus evil, like the legends of old. Fae was a good sport, and Link was never one to back down from a challenge.
What none of them anticipated was the popularity of the characters the two men portrayed. Word spread fast through Kakariko, and Champions After Dark soon became the popular destination.
Link checked the mirror again as he rose to his feet. Few of his friends knew that he danced, and fewer still knew the reason why he chose to do so. But he was content to keep it that way, at least for the time being.
As he usually did before his shift began, he dropped into a meditative pose and focused his breathing. Mind, body, spirit all aligned. Only then could he perform at his best. The money was good on most nights, but he always felt off balance if he neglected to spend just a few brief moments to quiet his mind. It was the same as martial arts to Link. A focused mind and soul brought the body to follow.
The hype music for Fae's entrance was his key back to reality. He blinked his eyes open, rolled his shoulders and rose smoothly to his feet.
Outside, he could hear the excited cheers as Fae posed and performed, only shedding his shirt in preparation for the show to come. Link adjusted the neckline of his tear-away tunic and waited.
He knew how it would look. He wasn't terribly tall, only 5'6" in contrast to Fae's 6'0", and unlike the redhead, he would emerge on stage barefoot to further set the two apart.
He'd lost track of how many times they'd done this show. Performed this dance. Sometimes they mixed it up, with a slight signal from Fae that Link always watched for. But usually it went the same way.
Fae would give a feral roar, one he admitted put a strain on his voice, so he was thankful it only happened once a night, then the music would change. 'Hero' would play… Link's theme.
On cue, he vaulted forward from offstage, doing a front flip before landing a few feet from the redhead. Body roll, lunge, hip thrust, spin, roll up to full height toe-to-toe with Fae who had a hardened stance, ready to destroy him.
The two faced off, combining martial arts sparring with the sexy dances patrons paid to see. Fae pinned him down, then ripped Link's tunic away, his eyes dancing with laughter as they always did when the crowd gasped with shock.
Link 'broke free' and rolled to the side, aiming a kick towards Fae that the redhead caught, throwing him into a well-choreographed spin that ended with Link grabbing the nearest pole and using his momentum to swing around and 'kick' Fae in the chest.
The dance was modified when they took the show to places where they didn't have a pole, of course, but at the club, the poles made for a spectacular performance.
Fae would lose his pants in rage, before 'chasing' Link around the stage. Link made for the 'mountain', a highly decorated ladder that was added to the stage for their performance.
Fae tore the blond's pants off too, leaving both men in nothing but their thongs while Link scaled higher, turning to face the enraged redhead.
The crowd went silent, waiting with baited breath to see what would happen. Link was grateful for the long hair covering his smile as Fae reached up and gave the crowd just a peek at the blond's erection.
Link timed it just right, when they were all cheering and screaming over how well he was endowed… then he 'kicked' Fae off the ladder in an exaggerated manner. He took the moment they were distracted to adjust the waistband of his thong to cover himself again and waited.
Fae cried out and landed on his back in a carefully rehearsed move. He lifted his head as if to start getting up before Link took a flying leap and landed straddling his waist. The blond planted a fist in the middle of his chest before turning to give the audience a wild, smoldering look as the song ended. Then the stage went dark, and both men scrambled to stand in the few seconds they were given before the lights came up and they took their bows to each other then the patrons.
The rush of adrenaline and noise from the excited patrons sent a flash of heat and joy that settled in his chest. This was fun. This was a way to make people smile. This was why he was one of Lady Urbosa's Champions After Dark.