One shot written in the Linked Universe AU on Tumblr by Jojo56830. Originally only posted on AO3, I've decided I'd like to have all the stories I've written on one site together. Anything I write for the Linked Universe AU will be posted on AO3 first, but I will eventually have it on here as well. I hope you enjoy this! I had a lot of fun writing it. Full disclosure, Legend's sleeping habits are heavily based on my own. I've literally rolled myself out of bed before XD.
Disclaimer: I own nothing of The Legend of Zelda series and this wonderful AU is by Jojo56830 on Tumblr.
Sleeping arrangements in their camps were habitual by now. Four would bunk down next to Wind, Twilight beside Wild, and Hyrule would claim a spot close to the fire. Sky would sleep wherever his bedroll was laid out that night without any complaints and Time would settle down near the edge of camp away from anyone else. Warriors, though, always always had to sleep beside Legend.
He was the only one who could put up with the snarky boy.
Legend was a terrible sleeper. Absolutely terrible. He kicked and fidgeted and never woke up where he'd laid down that night. It was unbelievably irritating. The worst part was, Legend didn't believe them when they told him. He'd just roll his eyes. A weak joke is what he'd called their complaints, like they couldn't find anything better to tease him about.
The first night Warriors realized what he'd have to be dealing with from now on was actually one of the first nights the nine heroes spent together. They'd only been traveling for a little over a week and it was the first night they'd camped outside instead of paying for rooms at an inn. Each lad had taken care of their needs on their own; dinner, water, and a place to sleep. Warriors had ended up a couple feet from the spot Legend had chosen to bed down. They'd all fallen asleep rather quickly, the day had been a long and hot one, but Warriors had been out almost as soon as his head hit his pillow. His mind and body were thrilled at the prospect of a good nights sleep.
So the slap to his face that woke him was definitely uncalled for.
Warriors had shot up, spluttering and cursing, his nose throbbing. He'd looked next to him and saw that Legend had rolled across the space between them. The back of the younger blonde's hand was slightly pink from the force of hitting his ally's face.
"Wake up! Wake up you idiot!" Warriors roared as he shook Legend awake. The boy blinked confusedly up at him, before understanding dawned in his pale blue eyes and he shoved the older boy away.
"What the hell, Warriors? Why are you waking me up?" He yelled.
"What do you mean why? You hit me!"
"I did not!"
"Yes you did! You little jerk—"
"What is going on?" Time's voice had called across the campsite, thick and rough with sleep.
Warriors looked around and saw that the other heroes had awoken at his outburst. He felt a twinge of guilt and embarrassment in his stomach as seven pairs of tired eyes landed on him. He rubbed a hand across the back of his head and mumbled an apology.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to disturb everyone. Legend just rolled over and hit me and I—"
"I did not!"
"Yes, you did!"
"Enough!" Time growled. "Legend just scoot away from Warriors and everyone go back to sleep."
Seven voices grumbled as they laid back down in their bedrolls. Legend just crawled silently back to his, a tired scowl on his face. He huffed as he settled down on his back and Warriors almost snorted when the boy sent a glare his way.
He didn't feel the least bit guilty the next morning when he awoke and saw bags under Legend's eyes or the exhausted look on his face.
The second night they camped, Four claimed the spot next to Legend. Warriors was so visibly relieved that the short boy gave him a small smile.
"I'm normally a pretty heavy sleeper. He shouldn't bother me." He'd whispered gently.
That gentleness didn't last long though. Warriors was startled awake by the sound of a yelp of pain and a string of colorful curses. His immediate thought was danger, but when he looked around he saw no monsters. Only six confused heroes, a shocked Legend, and a furious Four.
"Are you trying to smother me?" Four yelled. Warriors hadn't known the boy for long, but he'd never thought his voice could sound so scathing. Legend just blinked sleepily at him as he rubbed his ribs. Four must have hit him.
"What happened?" Wild yawned.
"Legend rolled on top of me! I couldn't breathe!" Four glared at the boy next to him. Legend seemed to finally be awake enough to realize what was going on.
"No I didn't!" He yelled back. Four's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Yes, you did!"
"Stop yelling, both of you," Time sighed. "It's late. We can deal with this tomorrow. Legend just move away from Four and everyone go back to sleep."
Legend huffed irritably and grabbed his things and slid them a few feet from the smaller boy. Four muttered something under his breath, Warriors guessed another swear, and then rolled onto his side so he didn't have to look at Legend anymore.
When Warriors woke up the next day, Four was still miffed and Legend looked like he'd never fallen back asleep.
The third night, Time took Legend's sleep things from him and laid them out beside his.
"You'll sleep next to me tonight, so you won't bother everyone else. " Time told him. Legend looked very much like he'd like to argue, but he just flopped down on his bedroll, pulling the blanket up over his head and curling into a ball on his side. Time sighed and started getting ready for bed himself.
Warriors had a blissful eight hours of sleep. When he woke the next morning, birds chirping pleasantly from up above, he looked around the camp at his companions. Most were waking as well, though Sky still seemed dead to the world. When his eyes landed on Time, he was shocked to see dark bags on the elder man's face. Time glanced his way and then nodded down at Legend. The young blonde was lying on his back, his feet propped up on their leader's lap and his head at the opposite end of his bedroll. The guy had managed to toss himself upside down on his bed.
"He kept kicking me in his sleep. I have no idea how all the moving didn't wake him. "
Warriors grimaced sympathetically.
On the fourth night, Legend was banished to the edge of the camp. The nine heroes were exhausted from a surprise attack by a horde of Bokoblins and no one wanted to deal with the rough sleeper. They'd snatched his things from his hands and laid them out away from the rest of the group, far enough he couldn't possibly bother them with his flailing, but still close enough to be warmed by the fire. Legend had sat sulking on his blanket, refusing to speak to anyone throughout dinner. When Time called that it was time for bed Twilight stood up to keep lookout for a few hours, the battle had made them realize how careless they'd been up to this point, and everyone else settled down. Legend rolled onto his side so he didn't have to face them.
When Warriors woke up the next morning, Legend was sitting in front of a crackling fire, the flames tingeing his hair an odd pinkish color in the dawn's dim light, sleep and anger a heavy mask on his face. When he saw Warriors looking at him, he pulled the covers tighter around his shoulders and scowled into the flames.
"Twilight woke me up last night," was all the explanation he gave. The man in question stepped forward and rolled his eyes.
"He'd nearly rolled himself into the woods. Excuse me for stopping you from spending the night in poison ivy. "
Legend just tightened his grip on his blanket, ignoring the other boy's words. Warriors stared at him, a question prickling at the back of his mind.
"Why didn't you just go back to sleep?" He asked.
Legend didn't answer him. He just pulled the blanket up over his head so his face was hidden from view. Warriors had a suspicion about what the lack of a response meant though.
Oh. He couldn't get back to sleep. Warriors had a friend back home in the army like that. Once the man was awake that was it, he was up for the night. He remembered plenty of times coming to to see his friend leaning back on his bunk, a book or something in hand, and a worn smile on his face. Whenever Warriors would ask, he'd always say "a noise woke me up and... you know." Then his friend would shrug and spend the rest of the day lagging behind everyone else, looking absolutely haggard.
Warriors sighed. As much as Legend grated on his nerves, he really did like the fellow. Plus, they couldn't risk having him make a mistake in battle all because he was tired. He needed to help the lad find a way to get a good nights sleep.
That night, the fifth night, Warriors had a plan. He'd heard Legend complaining about back pain around noontime. Something about slipping in a dungeon full of ice on one of his journeys and falling several feet just to land on his back. He'd said ever since then he'd sometimes get shooting pains up his spine. Warriors also realized the boy liked to fall asleep on his back. So he figured maybe the tossing and turning wasn't just something the lad did, but it was because he was irritating an injury.
So that night when they were settling in for bed, Legend made a snarky comment about being banished to the camp's edge. Warriors clapped him on the shoulder and grinned down at him.
"Nonsense! " he said. "You can sleep next to me. There's plenty of space for all of us. "
Seven pairs of shocked eyes stared at him. He was sure they thought he was crazy, that he'd never get to sleep with Legend anywhere near him. The younger boy just looked suspiciously at him, before nodding and starting to spread his sleeping things on the ground. Hyrule left the camp as he had first watch, but he leaned down to whisper a good luck in Warriors' ear. The captain was certain he didn't need luck though, his plans almost never failed.
Warriors let himself fall into a light doze on his side, facing away from where Legend lay. He knew he wouldn't be asleep for long. Sure enough, Warriors felt something hit his ear and neck, the smack jerking him awake. He took a moment for his instincts to calm down; he wasn't in danger he had to remind himself. The captain pushed himself into a sitting position and looked down at the boy beside him. Legend had rolled the few feet between their bedrolls and was now half lying on his. Warriors turned so he was sitting on his knees, facing his young friend. It was time to enact his plan.
Very, very carefully, Warriors slid one arm under the boy's head and the other under his knees. He lifted him slightly, panting a little at the unexpected amount of effort he needed to do so, and prepared to roll the boy back onto his bed. Only... his bed was too far away.
Damn! Warriors thought. He hadn't made sure that Legend set up his bedroll close enough for him to roll him back onto it. If he moved the lad now, Legend would end up with a face full of dirt. Even though that sounded like something he'd very much like to see, Warriors didn't feel like dealing with the earful the boy would give him in the morning when he woke.
Warriors glanced at Legend's bedroll, trying to calculate exactly how far away it was. There wasn't too much distance. He was sure if he carried the boy like this a foot or so, he could roll him the rest of the way. Warriors hefted the boy a little higher in his arms, as gently as possible so he wouldn't wake him, and then slid his left leg forward a few inches.
He barely stopped the surprised squeak from leaving his lips when Legend's weight caused him to tip forward. He had to move the hand holding his friend's knees so he wouldn't face plant into the ground. Legend's legs dropped rather heavily onto the dirt and Warriors froze.
"Don't wake up. Please don't wake up," he whispered frantically to himself. Legend mumbled something incoherent, but remained asleep.
"Oh thank Hylia. " Warriors sighed. He lifted Legend again and, this time much more carefully, inched his way towards the blonde's bedroll. Warriors was panting heavily by the time he'd finally gotten near enough to set Legend down. By the Goddess, Man, how much do you weigh? He wondered, glaring at the sleeping boy. Legend twitched in his sleep and then started to roll back the way they came.
"No, no, no. I don't think so!" Warriors whispered. He grabbed Legend by the arm with both hands and then gave him a careful shove. Legend rolled over onto his bedroll and for a moment the captain thought he was going to settle on his stomach. He watched closely as the younger boy fidgeted around, before finally turning onto his right side as he slid his arm under his pillow and rested his cheek against it. Warriors let out a sigh of exasperation. He needed to get Legend to lie on his stomach. Warriors crawled over the rest of the way to the lad's bedroll and started to move him again by his shoulders.
A snort of poorly suppressed laughter from somewhere behind him froze him. He slowly turned his head to see Hyrule standing a few feet away. The brunette was covering his mouth with both his hands, but Warriors could see his shoulders shaking and mirth dancing in his dark blue eyes.
The captain tried to summon his most mightiest glare, but it only made the younger boy double over in quiet laughter.
"I was just coming to wake you," Hyrule said, standing. He let out a shaky breath as the grin on his face stretched even wider. "It's your turn for watch. "
Warriors looked from his laughing friend, to Legend, and back again.
"Not a word about this to anyone," He tried to sound intimidating, but it came out more as pleading.
Hyrule just made a motion like he was buttoning his lip and then headed back towards his bed. Warriors swore he heard the boy start to laugh again.
Warriors let out a tired sigh and then stood to his feet. I'm never gonna live that down, am I?
On the sixth night, they found themselves in a small fishing village called Lurelin in the southern part of Wild's Hyrule. Most of the heroes, Warriors himself included, were awed by the beautiful sea. Except for Wind who, as soon as he set eyes on the deep blue water, promptly threw off his shirt and shoes and with a shout of delight dove into the waves. When it became obvious the boy wasn't leaving the water anytime soon, Sky and Twilight offered to look out for their youngest friend. They were both decent swimmers so they assured the group he'd be fine. As the other six heroes headed towards the village's small inn, with promises to come back and join them later, Warriors looked back just in time to see Sky dunk Wind's head under the water with a carefree laugh.
When it was finally time to rest, the nine lad's hair damp from sea water and skin itchy from sand, Time turned to them all with bad news.
"The village's inn is rather cramped. They only have three rooms with a single bed in each. We'll have to share. " There was a collective groan among the group. Time rolled his one good eye and motioned for them all to head inside. "Come now, it won't be so bad. We'll split in to groups of three and then each group can decide who sleeps where. I'm sure we've all slept in worse situations than this. "
Warriors knew that was true. When you're in the army in the middle of a war, there's no such thing as luxury. He'd spent plenty of nights crammed in a tent with several other sweaty soldiers. Most of whom hadn't had a decent bath in weeks. The captain shuddered at the memory.
"Who's gonna sleep where?" Wind asked. His cheeks were pink from the sun.
"Well," Time answered, "I figured Wild and Twilight could share with me. You could bunk with Four and Hyrule, and Sky, Warriors, and Legend could share. "
There was some quiet snickering when the old man mentioned Legend; Sky had that look of horror on his face he'd sometimes get when Wild went into extreme detail about his scars. Warriors wasn't worried though. He had his plan. All he'd have to do is convince Legend to sleep on his stomach.
Or make him sleep on the floor. He thought with a laugh.
Sky made sure that didn't happen though. As soon as the three of them entered the room, he spread out his bedroll and flopped onto the floor.
"You guys can take the bed. Sleeping on the ground doesn't bother me. "
Warriors sighed. At least the bed was large enough for two people. It was a full sized mattress, a little lumpy but not uncomfortably so, and the headboard it was against was made of sanded driftwood. It seemed the Inn had decided to embrace the nautical theme, if the colorful embroidery of anchors and boats sewn into the quilt and the Lifebuoy hanging on the wall was any indication. Their hosts had been kind enough to bring them extra pillows, as lumpy as the mattress, and blankets, rough but heavy so they were sure to be warm, so they could each have their own. He got ready for bed quickly, his sandy skin had started to chafe, and got settled into the bed. He turned to look at Legend with a hopeful smile on his face.
"Hey, weren't you complaining about back pain earlier? Maybe you should try sleeping on your stomach, it might help. "
Legend looked at him like he'd grown a second head and then promptly told him to shut up.
So much for that.
It was almost two hours after they'd all turned in for the night and Warriors was still awake. Every few minutes Legend would twitch or kick or try to roll over. He'd tried to turn the boy onto his stomach, but he couldn't get a good angle to push him at in the tight space. If he sat up, he might accidentally wake his friend, and they had a long day of traveling tomorrow. Warriors tried turning onto his side, but that only gave the lad more space to flail around. He was growing more irritated by the second. When Legend's hand came up and smacked him in the eye, he'd finally had enough.
Warriors twisted around, and with a hard shove moved his sleeping ally. Legend rolled over onto his stomach and for a split second, Warriors felt blissful relief. Until the young blonde kept going, and with a loud thud fell right off the bed.
Warriors' mouth dropped in shock as the crash from Legend's head hitting the bedside table rang around the room. Sky even sat up from his place on the floor, blinking in confusion, and normally that boy could sleep through a stampede of angry Hinox. There was a moment of absolute silence, that eerie sort of calm before the storm, and then Legend shot to his feet. His face was beet red from anger and the glare he was giving Warriors was fierce enough to strike fear in the mightiest of men.
"What the hell was that! " he roared. Warriors blinked at him.
"Uh... whoops?"
By the seventh night, Warriors was ready to call it quits. After the unfortunate pushing incident at the inn, Legend had quite literally kicked the captain out of bed. Warriors had spent the rest of the night lying on the rough wooden floorboards, staring at the ceiling as he rubbed his sore ribs and listening to the sounds of his friend's constant tossing. He knew the lad had never fallen back asleep either. His face had been haggard the next day, with dark vivid bruises of exhaustion underneath his eyes. Warriors was sure he looked just as bad.
It hadn't helped either when they'd come across a camp of monsters not too far from the fishing village; the beast's watchtower standing high upon the sea on stilts. Wild had suggested they try to take them out from a distance, as it would be dangerous to try and sneak into the waves that surrounded the wooden structure. They all agreed, Warriors silently thankful the plan wouldn't be too strenuous on his tired muscles. That good feeling didn't last long though. The nine heroes had only managed to pick off two red bokoblins when an arrow whizzed towards the monsters mistakenly. It struck the ground in front of a huge black moblin. The beast looked up to where the projectile had come from.
Eight sets of shocked eyes all turned in unison to stare at Legend. The boy in question, dark circles even more noticeable as his face drained of color, was staring at his bow in complete disbelief. He'd accidentally released his arrow too soon. Now, because of that, they'd been spotted.
The sound of a lookout's horn was like thunder in the heroes' ears. Seven of the men spared a second to send the teen furious looks. Then, they were all jumping to their feet to meet the monsters head on. Warriors had cast a sympathetic look towards his young friend, and then leaped into the fray himself.
That had been hours ago. Now, the group of heroes was camped underneath a rocky outcropping, even more annoyed as rain poured from the sky above them. They'd gotten a fire going for warmth and the shelter above kept them directly out of the storm, but they were still miserable. The wind along the beach would send the rain blowing sideways at them every few minutes, so despite their precautions they were all steadily getting soaked to the bone. Wind had even tried using his Wind Waker to force the gale in another direction, but it seemed that no matter which way it blew, they somehow got wet. Most of the heroes had chosen to huddle together to share body heat. All except for Legend and Warriors.
Legend had been volunteered for watch duty as punishment by the other seven men as soon as camp was finished being set up. He'd gone without a single complaint, which was quite shocking, though Warriors suspected it was because the lad felt guilty at giving away their position in battle. He on the other hand, had given himself his own sort of repercussion. Instead of bedding down next to the rest of the group, the captain had chosen to sleep beside the campfire. It was plenty warm, but he was in direct line of fire for the rain surrounding them. He felt it was the least he deserved.
He knew better than to wake Legend up last night, no matter how grating his ally's poor sleeping habits were. The fellow had barely gotten two nights worth of decent sleep in almost an entire week. Warriors knew his friend was exhausted, bone-numbingly so at this point. The captain should have left him alone to sleep last night, his own rest be damned, or at least told Time what was going on. He hadn't though, and now the guilt sat like a heavy weight in his stomach, making the sleep he was trying to get fitful and full of twisted dreams.
Looking back on it, Warriors was sure the haze of being woken from a rough nights rest was the only reason his plan ever worked. He vaguely remembered being woken by cold fingers hitting his ear, the chill from them bringing him to alertness more-so than any sort of pain. There was the sound of soft snoring near his ear, and something like a sandy foot hitting his shin. Warriors looked blearily over his shoulder to see a headful of strawberry blonde hair. His brain took a moment to register that this was Legend. Then without thinking he sat up, gave the boy a gentle shove, and then promptly laid back down and fell asleep.
Footsteps around his head were what woke him the second time. Warriors looked up to see wet rock hanging above him against a grey, overcast sky. He could smell the tantalizing scent of fish being grilled somewhere near him. His stomach gave a hungry gurgle. He heard a soft voice chuckle as he sat up, stretching his arms high above his head.
"Morning, " Wild said in his soft voice. He was busy carving a juicy, sweet hydromelon into thick slices to go with their breakfast. Warriors grumbled back a greeting as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. "I'm surprised you were so fast asleep, you know, considering. "
"What? The rain? " he asked.
"No," Wild laughed again, "Considering you're lying next to the world's worst sleeper. "
Warriors looked to his side and almost shouted in success. Legend was lying on his stomach, arms curled around his pillow and blanket wrapped tightly around his legs. His breathing was deep and even, a good sign that the boy would be fully rested for their travels today. A grin broke out onto the captain's face. He thought he remembered rolling the boy over last night, but the memory was foggy with sleep.
"I can't believe it worked..." he whispered to himself.
"What worked?" Wild asked. Warriors just shook his head though, a smile still stretched across his lips.
It became routine after that, how each boy slept. Four and Wind would spread out their bedrolls beside each other so each lad could take turns telling stories of their homes until they both fell asleep. Twilight would lie next to Wild, an ever present source of comfort should his protégé's dreams become filled with nightmares from a past long forgotten. Hyrule would stretch out beside the fire alone, the crackling flames a gentle reminder of how he'd overcome the trials of journeying by himself and was now safe and secure with trusted friends to watch his back. Sky would flop down wherever his bed had been set up that night, always the first to fall into a deep sleep, a calm smile on his face as he rested. Time would lay far away from everyone else, not because he felt he needed the distance, but because it brought him comfort and relief to be able to fall asleep with the sight of his eight young comrades lying safe and sound before him.
Legend, on the other hand, always slept by Warriors. Whether they'd argued all that day, spent it making ridiculous wagers, or teasing their friends, Legend always found his stuff laid out beside the older boy's things.
"I'm the only one that can deal with your flailing," the captain would say.
"You know that's a weak joke, right? " He'd always respond. Warriors would just grin though and they'd both head off to sleep. Legend would wake the next morning, warm and rested, confused to be on his stomach because he was sure he'd gone to bed on his back; but also too happy to have gotten a good nights sleep to care.
And Warriors would just grin at him like he knew something Legend didn't. He'd grin and laugh and say "I knew my plans never failed."
Whatever the hell that meant.