Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the Zelda Franchise... I wish I did.

Chapter 35 - As Shadow Nears Light

AU: First I would like to apologize for how long it took for me to update this story. I've been quite busy this few months, and I mean really busy. Even then It's my fault for taking so long to start writing again. I will try to get back on my rythm and update as regurlarly as possible. With that said, I hope you enjoy this chapter.

A boom of air erupted within the calming winds howling across the green landscape of the Kokiri Wilds. This jolt of holy energy startled the playful spirits of the forest, the little orbs scurrying away from the forming vortex, carrying with them their voices that for many translates as the melodic song always gracing the deep forest.

Two figures got hurled down from the tempest of magic, forcing it to close out. With a soft thump, they landed on a tall carpet of grass.

From the two blonds that crashed into the forest, Sheik was the first one to pull himself up, one hand brushing against the small ache on his neck. "Goddesses…" He breathed a long sigh, his eyes taking in the familiar sight in front of him. "We made it; I can't believe it worked!"

Standing up, he gave a glance at his surroundings, realizing that they are just a few turns away from the Sacred Temple inside the Wilds.

"Link." He called out the other blond, scanning around him one more time to find his companion.

A low groan echoed out after Sheik's voice, followed by a slow stir within the grass. "I'm here… mostly fine too." Link replied with a little laugh, another groan of pain escaping him right after.

Hastily moving to his aid, Sheik helped Link out from within the blades of grass, both his arms and fingers left itching after wrestling against the pesky things.

Carefully resting Link's arm over his neck, Sheik moved the other blond next to a very large tree. He slowly lowered both of them onto the ground, pushing his companion's back onto the support of the large greyish-brown trunk.

"Your wounds are looking a little better," Sheik said in a small comment as he holds Link's chin with one hand, tilting the blonde's head left and right. He then raised his fingers and traced the very red scar crossing down from Link's forehead to his cheek. "Your sight still bad?"

Link opened his eye, hissing quietly as he did. "A little blurry still, but my head isn't splitting open because of it anymore."

"Hm…" Sheik hummed with a small sigh, he brushed another touch over Link's cheek and then slid his hand away. "They did a number on you…" His comment came with a blank tone, his face twisted with a mixture of remorse and anger. "And it happened because I left you behind with that monster." Stepping to the side, the blond Sheikah leaned against the tree and slumped down until he sat next to Link. "I am… so-"

"You shouldn't be." Link stopped him before he could finish the sentence. "Had you not left, Ganondorf would've killed you, or maybe I would be the one dead." He turned his head toward Sheik, a somber look in his tired eyes. "I reckon he wouldn't bother carrying both of us back to that torturing chamber."

"That is… probably true." Sheik conceded with a small nod.

"Then I'm glad for how things went." Link said and tried to laugh, just to flinch forward clutching his chest. "Sheik… thank you, for coming back for me."

Sheik turned his gaze to the left, his eyes staring fondly onto those piercing red orbs, so intense and so tired in their gaze. He felt a small urge to lift his hand and caress that handsome face, to trace each and every scar left on his skin to try and take them away.

Yet as much as he yearned to give in to this urge, a very loud part of his mind reeled him in, forcing his body to stand still, allowing him just to gaze at this Link while a storming conflict rages inside his chest.

"We are a few minutes away from camp, maybe an hour," Sheik said flatly, prompting a conversation to distract himself. "Think you can walk? I can help you along the way."

Link leaned back against the tree, his eyes glancing to the side as one of his hands brushed against the grassy ground next to his legs. "Maybe… maybe not." He offered with a quirky grin. "Can we rest here for a moment?"

"Are your wounds hurting?" Sheik asked and promptly made a move to stand up, only to stop when Link raised one hand toward him.

"I won't lie, everything hurts. But it won't hinder me much, at least not to walk." He replied just to get a questioning look from Sheik. "Call me selfish, maybe I am, but I just want to stay here a while longer. I've waited so long for… this. Even if it is for just a few minutes, I wish to have you just for myself."

"Link…" Sheik started, feeling his chest contrite at the declaration.

"No need to look so troubled." Link chuckled, his cracked voice melting a bit of the tension stiffening the Sheikah's shoulders. "I don't want to force anything onto you. Nothing improper, I just wish to spend a little time with you. When we make our way back… blazing hells, I doubt we will spend even a moment together without people hovering all over me from every side."

This time a giggle escaped the smaller blond, his features softening a little. "Another true statement. Can't imagine Link will be all too pleased about this." He saw the look this Link gave him and it made him shrink back a little bit. "Sorry, I didn't mean to upset you."

"And you didn't." Link replied. "There is no avoiding… it. No matter how much I wish the opposite, he exists still. And so do I." Shifting his body around, Link turned toward Sheik, resting with his right side against the tree trunk. "I understand how difficult this must be for you, Sheik. A few days ago, I wouldn't have even dreamed of having this conversation with you, and yet here we are. Despite the strangeness of it all, you know who I am."

The two blonds sat in silence, Sheik studying the look in Link's eyes before he closed his eyes and responded. "You are Link." The other blond smiled and nodded. "But you are not… my Link."

"I could be." Link offered in a quiet voice, his ruby eyes penetrating in their stare. "You only need to say the words and we will make it true."

"Please don't… don't push me into this, it won't end like you wish," Sheik replied softly. "It can't happen between us."

A loud growl escaped the larger blond, his right hand digging harshly into his messy golden hair. "I still don't get it. Why him?" Clenching his teeth, Link glared down at his legs. "Why me? Sometimes it feels like I've been chosen as the fucking martyr of this world, while there's another version of me being favored even by the ground he walks on."

"You know that isn't true!" Sheik said back, raising his voice despite his reservation.

"Do I?!" Link shot a half-felt glare at the Sheikah.

"Yes, you do." Sheik remained firm in his gaze, managing to outlast the glare he was receiving. "I... I read your diary. I know about your memory problem, about your dreams." Even with the nagging feeling pulling at his heart, Sheik scooted himself closer toward Link, resting one hand on the blonde's pale naked shoulder. "If anyone knows how much Link suffers because of this war, it is you. You know how he feels, how many lives are resting on his shoulders. I felt on those pages the resonance of your pain, and I know that if you two could just get past this unnatural hatred towards one another, the two of you could come to an understanding."

Link sat in quiet contemplation, his ruby eyes staring forward without focus on them. After a few moments of silence, he frowned letting out a faint growl. "You ask too much, Sheik. That buffoon is living my life, my destiny. We can't coexist, it is not natural; and that will be our only mutual understanding."

"Well, you both are stubborn as a mule, that's for sure." Sheik said back with a frown of his own.

"That will happen when two people are a different shade of the same person." With a snort, Link clenched his teeth to outstand the pain of exerting his body and pushed himself up. After a few wobbly steps forward, he raised his hand to stop Sheik that made a motion to help him. "I promised you to not make an attempt on his life. I plan to keep this promise, you have nothing to worry about."

Standing up with an annoying itch on his bare legs, Sheik stared at Link's bandaged back, his glare burning a spot on the blonde's pale skin. "Quiet contempt is just as insidious as blind rage. How will any of this help us against Ganondorf?"

"It won't." Link replied with a grunt as he crouched into the tall blades of grass, fetching his dark sword. "But at least, you won't have me blocking his path. That ought to make a difference."

"Link, you need to see reason." Sheik pleaded.

However, Link ignored the worried words. Instead, he got up on his feet again and trained his gaze on the obscure path between the large patch of grass in front of him. "We should make our way back. The longer we take, the more annoying they will be."

With that said, Link shifted his weight onto his right leg and began walking slowly in a very sure manner.

Sheik, left standing there watching Link walk towards the direct opposite way they should go to reach camp, sighed and rubbed away the itching feeling left by the blades of grass on his bare skin. "How much of a disaster will this be?" He asked himself with a discouraged chuckle. "I just hope they can control themselves enough for them to see reason. I know they can work together; the question is just how to make them?"

The young Sheikah hurried after the other blond, hoping to stir them towards the right path before Link could pull them deeper into the green sea of plants. And as much as the young spy may muse on his dilemma, the only answer that would get what he wants is one that he feels too scared of it to even consider a possibility.

Because, perhaps the only thing both Links would wish for more than their need to destroy one another, is the young Sheikah himself.

Blessed by an unusual moment of pure quietness, Doctor Rose has managed to make a little piece of heaven for herself in her clinic. A few pieces of roasted pork, a bowl of salad, and a very generous tankard of ale; while not her favorite beverage like wine, the good doctor manages to find pleasure with the odd alcohol that comes her way.

Paying a small glance toward the entrance, Rose shifted her attention to her treat. Quickly she moved to start stuffing her mouth full of food, giving a few chews and then washing it all down with a long gulp.

"Ahhh, this is bliss." She smiled at her plate, taking another sip from her cup.

Sadly for her, this quiet respite ended as soon as it had started.

From the corner of her eyes, Rose saw the curtains at the entrance of her clinic sway forward, followed by the sound of erratic steps.

"Blazing hells, and here I thought those thick-headed fools would leave me alone for one afternoon." A low growl escapes the woman, her mood properly ruined as she spotted two figures wrestling with the curtains. "Stop fighting against the damn curtains and get in, you fools." She yelled, placing her cup down at her desk.

Getting further annoyed by the rushed voices and the long wait for these people to get in, Rose jumped out of her chair and marched angrily towards the entrance; just to then get slightly pushed back as a pair of bruised blonde-haired young men walked in.

With a gasp, Rose stared at the duo as her eyes scanned around the taller one. "What in heaven's light happened to you, brat?"

"A bit of a long story, doctor." Sheik replied with an apologetic smile, and then with his eyes, he pleaded for her help as his companion's heavy body weighted down on his shoulders.

"You as well, boy! Where have you been? This one here was almost driving everyone crazy looking for you." She chided the Sheikah despite moving to grab Link's other arm. "Found trouble while doing your spy things for the Princess? Is this why he is in such a state? Playing the stupid reckless Hero to save your skinny bums?"

With a sigh, Sheik tried to glare at the small woman, just to get a fiercer glare from her. "Not quite like that, like I said, it is a long story." And he stopped at that, even with the questioning glare coming his way.

A soft unintelligible groan came from Link as he wobbly tried to raise his head to look at Rose.

"Blasted hells, what… what happened to his face?!" Shocked by the sight in front of her, the doctor couldn't restrain the cry that flew past her lips, quickly she reached out for Link's other arm and helped Sheik carry him toward the closest bed.

"No." Sheik pleaded as soon as she made the motion to drag them there. "We need to place him in a quiet place, somewhere in the back." The older woman looked at him baffled at the request, telling with her eyes that the Hero's condition is more important than this odd plea. "Please, you will understand it soon enough."

Rose threw another glare at the thinner blond. "Let me guess, it's a long story?" She snorted in frustration, turning to help drag Link's heavy weight towards the end of her make-shift clinic. "Know what, kid? I'm hastily growing tired of your long story horse crap. You're lucky this one looks half dead, or I would not let it slide so easily."

"Thanks… doctor." With a meek reply, Sheik fell in silence as they dragged Link to a bed on the farthest corner from the entrance possible.

With a crying effort, the two of them rolled Link into the bed with enough care to not worsen his battered state.

Only when he was placed properly on the bed Rose could see properly the alarming number of stitches and bandages covering the hero's pale naked torso. In a professional instinct, she quickly went in to check on his condition, pealing the gauze away from the reddened skin, she drew in a breath and flinched.

"By the goddesses… what happened to the boy?" Carefully examining his wounds, she instantly frowned in concern. "These are not battle wounds. Too precise, too clinical. Someone tortured him… but, how? I saw him not more than a few hours ago." She glanced at Sheik, who kept staring firmly at Link's unconscious face. "And these piss-poor excuses of stitches, I would recognize them anywhere. Would you mind telling me how did that old hag manage to apply first aid to him?"

"Doctor…" Sheik started, but quickly shut up when Rose pointed one of her sharp tools at him.

"I swear if you say it one more time, I will sew your useless mouth shut." She puffed angrily to then turn her glare right back at her patient. "Astra is a genius in the art of healing people, hells, I would even dare say the old hag could bring the dead back to life. And yet she is still as lazy as ever when doing the more 'mundane' jobs. It's a miracle not one of these shitting wounds hasn't burst open and bled the boy to death."

Mumbling and swearing, Rose began to check and properly treat injuries on Link's body. Turning completely into her professional façade, she promptly ignored when Sheik announced that he needs to find Zelda and that he is living Link in her care; casually placing the Dark Sword close to the bed.

In this working trance, Rose shut herself off from her surroundings for minutes. Snipping, cutting, and sewing with the utmost care, and still making the young blond cry out in pain in sporadic bursts of consciousness.

By the time she was done, her hands were red with blood and her brown wet with sweat.

Dragging her chair close to his bed, Rose switched her glass of ale to a small flask of water, placing another one close in case he came to his awareness again, and most likely ask for a drink too.

She sat there, watching Link's bandaged chest rise and fall, a relatively peaceful look showing on his marked and bruised face. Her eyes drifted toward the horrible scar on his right eye, her nails digging deep into the skin of her arm in a disturbed reflex.

"You'll have one hell of a story to tell us, brat." She brought the flask to her lips, never tearing her eyes away from the pale youth's face.

"Sheik?! SHEIK?!" Link's voice stormed into the clinic in an uproar, in a fright Rose almost choked on her water.

Her eyes went wide as saucers as she got up and leaned over to Link's sleeping body, thinking herself crazy for hearing voices.

Then the blue-eyed blond himself walked past the corner with an agitated look on his face. Quickly he spotted Rose watching over a patient and turned to address her.

"Doctor Rose! Have you seen Sheik? I passed a couple of people talking about him; they told me he came this way." Link walked forward, puzzled by the look of pure shock on her face. "Doctor? Hello? I asked if you have seen-" And then his eyes followed her gaze toward the person sleeping on the bed.

Link's expression changed at a rapid pace. At first, he looked visibly confused, and then he glanced at Rose with a baffled and hurt look, finally his facial features twisted in a pained look of anger and betrayal.

"Where is he?" He asked coldly, not tearing his gaze away from the man lying on the bed.

"I… I-I don't know, kid." She replied with a small stutter. "Wait a second, why are there two of you? Who's this?" Rose asked pointing at the pale blond, but her question went completely ignored as Link stormed out from the clinic, fuming from his nostrils. "That skinny spy is on for a world of hurt it seems…" She fell on her chair and rested her chin on one hand. "Just how long is this story of his?"

"You have brought… that, here?" Zelda asked with a hand over her mouth. "Why?"

Sheik felt slightly lost at her wary gaze at him. Looking for solace in the pretext of reporting his actions to the princess, instead, he found himself under scrutiny from the person he thought would understand him the most.

"He saved our lives, Zel." He explained, stepping closer and kneeling in front of her chair. "How could I leave him there? You didn't see what they did to him, how much they've hurt him to get to us and he never told them anything."

The princess' eyes flinched in their cold stare, her brother's account managing to at least scratch the wall of indifference she raised on the topic. "And some people dare say you are cold and heartless." She replied with a soft chuckle. "Sheik, I understand your point of view. I do." She raised a hand as he was about to protest. "However, you have to see this from my perspective as well. This…"

"Link." Sheik said softly, frowning at her.

With a sigh, she relented. "This Link can and should represent nothing but dangers to us. He may have a fixation on you, but our Link himself has told me about this person." Smiling kindly at her little brother, Zelda leaned forward and took one of his hands in hers. "Think how this will affect him. It can't end well."

Tired and defeated by her words, Sheik slumped against her legs, pressing his forehead onto her hands. "Ahh… he will hate me for it. Zel, I know he will. But deep down I know this to be right." Brushing his blond locks against the fabric of her dress, Sheik raised his face to look at her. "They are both Link. Together they can destroy that monster; I saw they fight against the tyrant. If they just had a little more time to get stronger, I know they can do it."

"I can't say for sure, Sheik. If the Goddesses will it, you are right. Maybe this is one more blessing coming from them." She sighed again, running one hand over his blond locks. "Or maybe this can be a mistake. All that I know is that you will have to tell this to Link, our Link, your Link."

"How?" He asked quietly, burying his face in her dress again.

"The hard way, of course, silly." She giggled at his sigh of exasperation. "Link adores you, he may get angry, but it won't last. I just know it." Looking down at Sheik's almost completely naked back, she felt an urge of mischief overcome her upset mood. "Especially if he sees you dressed like this. Might forgive you on the spot."

Sheik quietly removed himself from Zelda's hold, looking as vexed as he is embarrassed. "I asked you to pay no mind about these clothes…"

"Oh, It's not that hard when there is barely any clothing at all." She quipped with a smirk that turned into a giggle when Sheik tried very hard not to pout as he frowned.

"Are you really going to try to tease me about these disgusting rags when there are at least two red marks on your neck?" He pushed right back at her with a grin of his own. "Something you want to tell me, Zel?"

"Well…" She started, blushing slightly as she glanced away from his searching gaze. "I listened to your advice, remember it?" A small giggle escaped her. "There is this per-"

The sound of commotion brought their conversation to a full stop. Glancing at the flailing curtains, they shared a look right before Link stormed inside, one of the royal guards trying to calm the young hero as he pushed the man aside.

His bright blue eyes searched the room, ignoring the pleading guard at his side, only when he found Zelda and Sheik, standing next to one another, that he stopped and frowned at the Sheikah.

"Princess! I-I tried to stop him, but-"

Zelda raised her hand to stop the guard. "You may leave." She ordered and they complied with a stiff nod. "I will leave you two alone." She said softly and then walked over towards Link at the entrance of her quarters. "Just give him a chance to explain things, okay?"

A quiet grunt was all that she got from the tall blond warrior, his eyes never leaving the frame of his red-eyed lover.

Letting out a sigh, Zelda shifted her eyes back to Sheik and smiled softly. Then, she walked away and left them alone in the spacious living quarter.

Feeling very conscious of himself and his attire under the sharp staring he is getting, Sheik shuffled awkwardly toward the chair he was sitting, resting one hand on the top rail.

"Link…" He started quietly, annoying himself with his lack of courage.

"You lied to me." Said the young hero, his voice clear and sharp, not a shred of doubt on his handsome face.

Of the numerous accusations that could've been thrown at him, this is the one that relieved Sheik the most. It gave him back the confidence to press his foot firmly forward and shake his head at the other blond. "I never lied to you, Link. You are angry, I understand, but I did not lie."

Chewing on his lips, Link was ready to burst out in an angry spout. His chin twitched more than once as he debated internally what to say.

In this little time of quietness, Sheik moved closer enough to stand face-to-face with him. "I know how this looks for you but isn't what you think…" He moved even closer, reaching with one hand until he touched the Hero's arm. "He saved us, Link. All of us escaped and we left him there to suffer. I couldn't let go." Biting his lower lip, Sheik lowered his gaze. "Thinking that a part of you was in the hands of that monster, in his twisted mercy to do as he pleases… I couldn't bare it."

"You lied to me." Link said again with the same cold certainty from before.

Raising his ruby-colored eyes, the blond Sheikah sighed profoundly. "Link, don't be childish. Of everything you could toss at my face, lying isn't one of them."

"Together." The hero said flatly, his azure eyes sparkling with a thin veil of tears. "We do things together, as a team. Never alone, not anymore…" He raised his chin, trying to hold the small lines starting to wet his cheeks. "You lied."

"That isn't fair." Sheik rebuked, trying to raise his voice but failing after seeing the tears in his beloved eyes. "I had to do this, Link. It's important, for us, for everyone. This war is so much bigger than this, Ganondorf has to fall and he… he can be an ally."

Link recoiled back as Sheik tried to wipe his cheeks. "I don't care about… that! I mean, I care, but this isn't the problem." Pacing left and right, he tightened his fists angrily. "Forget that this thing tried to kill me, kill us! My problem is that you went alone, to the Dark Capital, by the spirit's light!" He paused and looked at Sheik again. "Not even a warning, a note, or anything."

"You would try to stop me." Sheik tried to reason.

"Shocking, isn't it?" The hero said with an awkward laugh.

"Don't do that. I know you are angry, but don't dismiss what I am saying without a thought."

Brushing his hair with both hands, Link shook his head. "You could've died in that place. We wouldn't know, not a clue of what happened to you."

"And you forget what I am." Sheik replied. "Subterfuge, interference, infiltration… Link, this is my job, my life. It's what I've been doing for years, even before I met you."

"Sheik… I know I am not the smartest guy around. There are a lot of things that I fail to understand, and I hate being this dumb." Groaning in vexation, Link brushed the back of his head, crooking his hat out from its spot, letting the green headpiece slide down his back. "But even I can see when things are not right."

"Which is?" Sheik asked with an annoyed voice, despite the swelling guilty in his chest.

"We do things together, unless you want to do it alone." Link began, a fierce frown returning to his expression. "We are a team, until I'm not worthy of being included. It doesn't feel very fair to me."

Daring a few steps forward, Sheik grabbed both of Link's arms and forced the other blond to look at him. "Please, you need to understand."

"No, you listen to me!" Link barked back, gritting his teeth. "I'm tired of being fooled by people. It is so annoying, and painful. I learned to second guess my first impressions, and to hold my trust around people. But… having to think this way with you?"

A painful sob escaped the taller blond, his head bobbing down in defeat.

In a jerk reaction, Sheik felt his own eyes sting with tears, his hands pressing firmer in their hold of Link's arms.

"I thought you were different. I thought t-that I could be safe with you." Link swallowed a sob, rubbing his eyes to dry away his tears. "Guess… this is another lesson learned."

Softly brushing the Sheikah's hands away from him, Link turned around and left the spacious tent.

With a stream of words stuck in his throat, Sheik watched as his beloved vanished behind the curtains. After the sound of Link's steps faded behind the hustling of grass, the young Sheikah fell to his knees, one hand reaching for his eyes to contain his tears, and yet they kept sliding between his fingers.

Rocking forward with a louder sob, Sheik felt the soft touch of Link's green hat against his hand sliding against the cushioned carpet.

Taking the piece of cloth with hesitation, he slowly brought it toward his face, placing his forehead against it.

"I'm sorry…" He whispered to the hat as if Link could hear him. "I never wanted to hurt you."

Sheik kept crying in his little spot until Zelda walked back in and pulled him into her embrace. The princess kept telling him that Link will come around and that he will forgive Sheik after a night of sleep.

And yet, the Sheikah kept crying. Not because he felt hurt or sorry for himself. At least, not hurt in a selfish shade of this emotion. What kept pushing his tears out, was the image of Link's pained eyes, looking just like they were when he found his hero outside the Forest Temple.

They looked so lost, hurt and alone.

Chapter End.

Reviews

Kaito chapter 1 . Jul 2 – Heya, I'm glad you gave my fic a shot. The soul Trilogy was and it is very important to me, so much so that I've "hold myself" from writing this story for a long time, because I didn't think I could make it justice when compared to that master piece.

I hope you enjoy how I'm pathing their arcs and the characters within this story. Thank you for reading and leaving a review.