|Chapter Three|
The next morning, Sheik set about burning the bodies of their attackers, making a pile of their weapons and supplies. Link tried to help, but Sheik wouldn't allow it; he settled for organizing their spoils from the men.
For the next few days, Sheik didn't let him go far. His wounds were still healing and the moment Sheik saw him without his armor and tunic, he was being handed double the food during meals. Link supposed he had gotten somewhat thin since leaving the castle, but he couldn't decide if it was serious or if Sheik was just being overprotective. The sheikah had been quite protective during the war, but Link had always assumed it was due to the fact that all of Hyrule relied on him. If Link was killed during those times, all would have been lost. There wasn't a war now, but Sheik still watched him like a hawk.
In all honestly, though, Link didn't mind in the least. The more time he spent here with Sheik, the more he started to remember just how vital the man was to his sanity. While the horrible restlessness was slowly starting to fade, a new feeling was seeping into its place. It was a jittery feeling he got every time Sheik's fingers brushed his skin while he changed Link's bandages. It was the little jolt in his stomach when he caught Sheik looking at him. It was the way his heart sped up slightly when he saw Sheik doing something mundane like pushing his hair out of his eyes or the way he truly could not sit still. At first glance, it looked as though the sheikah could sit perfectly still for centuries. Link soon found that even if Sheik sat around the fire for a few minutes, he would invariably start moving his fingers or bouncing his leg or even taping out some rhythm with his fingertips.
As the days turned into almost two weeks, it was time to hunt. At the rate that Sheik was shoving food at Link, it wasn't a huge surprise. Unfortunately, Link couldn't scribble fast enough to argue with his companion about his presence on this hunting trip. This was one of those occasions that being mute was an enormous disadvantage. The idea of Sheik going out there on his own worried far more than it should considering he'd been living out here for a long time.
"You're still healing," Sheik insisted while gathering up arrows, "and knowing you, you'll do something stupid the moment I look away."
Link glared daggers at him, which earned him a firm look from Sheik.
"I'm not saying you're incapable of hunting," he amended. "But having you out there with me is going to distract me."
Link stared in confusion. Why would his presence be a distraction? That strange feeling welled up inside him again as his mind flashed through the implications. Sheik saw the confusion and looked at him with a calculating sort of gaze. He strapped on his sword and pulled the bow over his body.
"I worry about you enough as it is, Link."
A moment later, he left. Link sat there trying to decide what Sheik meant. His insides fluttered oddly. Maybe he meant just that, though. He was always getting himself into trouble; Sheik would have to watch over him like a child if he went along for the hunting trip. The thought twisted his insides into a vicious knot and he found he couldn't move for a long time. When he finally could, he forced himself to stand and go back into the hut. Everything inside smelled like Sheik: sandalwood, burning sage, and the slight dusty smell from the desert. The inside itself was very plain, which hadn't surprised Link at all, but as he half-heartedly snooped around, he found that there were plenty of personal affects hidden away. As curious as he was, he refrained; the last thing he needed was to offend the Sheikah on top of being a burden.
The sun had sunk a quarter in the sky when Sheik came back, laden with his kills. He refused to allow Link to help him haul the heavy carcasses up onto the wooden rack, insisting that he still needed to favor his wounded shoulder. It only made the knot in his gut twist impossibly tighter. By dinner – after Sheik had handed double his own serving to Link – the Sheikah knew Link was perturbed.
"Something's troubling you," he stated, giving Link an even look with those clear, red eyes.
Link didn't want to lie, but yet he didn't want to have to pull out the paper and attempt the impossible task of trying to explain how he felt without feeling like a ridiculous child. So he did the only thing he knew how to do: stay silent.
"Are you still offended by what I said earlier?" Sheik offered.
Offended wasn't the right word, but Link didn't know what the right word was. He sat still, staring at the ground and desperately trying to determine his next action. Link was sure Sheik would push the matter but, surprisingly, he didn't. Silence fell between them once more and Link was left wondering if this subject would be brought up later or not.
For the rest of the night, Sheik fixed things here and there, skinned his kill, and threw unreadable glances at Link. He found it interesting that their situation made Sheik seem almost talkative. Back in another time, he only said what was necessary for the next temple (and now that he thought about it, probably what Zelda had told him to say) and hardly anything else aside from telling him how careless he was. With Link now mute, Sheik was doing all the talking. It was a horrible pair when one considered just how little conversation was actually occurring. They communicated with looks more than anything, however. When that failed, then the words came. But with the way Sheik was looking at him, it was apparent that looks were working just fine. While he couldn't read them, they pinned him to the spot every time he met their gaze.
After hours of silence, Sheik told him to sit – he'd been pacing around like a lunatic – and he brought out fresh bandages. This was their nightly routine but this time Link felt far more nervous having the Sheikah's breath barely touching his neck, his bandaged fingers ghosting over his skin. He knew he wasn't afraid that the man would harm him, but there was a kind of intensity between them that gave him cause for worry.
Slowly and carefully Sheik unwrapped his wound, inspecting it with narrowed eyes. "It's almost healed now," he said quietly, voice muted even more by his cowl.
Link just nodded, afraid to meet those eyes.
Sheik soundlessly rewrapped the wound, putting only one layer of bandages on this time. When he was finished, Link waited for him to move away…but he didn't. He stayed crouched next to Link, eyes fixed on the wounded shoulder. He wasn't there, though. His mind was wandering so far away his eyes dimmed. Link realized he was staring and quickly looked at the fire. This movement seemed to rouse Sheik from his reverie and it became a childish game of avoiding the other's gaze.
Link knew he was being an idiot. Sheik probably knew that too. Emotions eluded Link, however, regardless of where he was in whatever timeline. These were especially confusing emotions as well, so Link honestly didn't have much of a chance. With Sheik still sitting there so close, Link could feel the knot starting to overwhelm him. What in the goddesses was this? He needed time to think and he needed time to cool off. He got up, forcing himself to keep his eyes from the Sheikah, and walked out of the camp.
Link could feel the Sheikah's eyes watching him, but he didn't say a word. Sheik might've gotten up and started following him silently, but as long as he didn't see him, he didn't care. The night was cool and calm. His hair had gotten a bit longer since leaving the castle; it barely brushed his shoulders, though it had nothing on Sheik's, which was just past his shoulder blades.
Ugh. There he went thinking about Sheik again.
He wanted to clear his mind out here, not fill it up with more confusing thoughts! But it was futile, he found, as the minutes ticked by and he walked over still-warm, cracked clay. So, maybe he'd have to think about the Sheikah to get to a clear mind. That would be his luck.
About two hours later, he found some sort of clarity.
As he followed his footsteps back through the shrub plants and rocks, he came to his conclusions: he was far more attached to Sheik than he ever thought possible. Everything the Sheikah did and said affected him more than anyone else. Once he admitted that to himself, it was much like opening the flood gates. Now that he found him, Link didn't want to let go. He wanted to stay with Sheik forever. But even more than that, he wanted to…touch him. That part confused him. He didn't know why he did. It made him feel like a child. Was it something like that strange kiss Malon had given him a month ago? Did he like Sheik…like that?
Link blushed the whole way back.
When he returned, Sheik was sitting at the fire, more jittery than normal. He was poking almost angrily at the fire and he kept moving his legs like he was trying to keep warm. There was a frustrated look in his eyes and for a moment, Link just had to stop and stare; the sight was actually endearing. Link didn't know what had him so agitated, but the more he stared, the more he smiled and realized that he thought it was adorable. Sheik was beautiful…but then he was adorable. The combination felt foreign to him, especially accompanied with the fluttery feeling in his now un-knoted stomach. He didn't get much more time to observe Sheik, however. The Sheikah jumped up the moment he caught sight of Link. There was in a look in his eyes that was now bordering on…panic?
"I thought you were leaving." He didn't say 'leaving me', but he might as well have. His voice was monotone but his eyes burned. The words quite literally broke Link's heart. Those red eyes were an unbearable mixture of sad and worried. Link had never seen Sheik be so emotive.
Despite Sheik's sudden exposure of emotion, the fact that the sheikah even thought Link would just leave so abruptly was rattling. Link vigorously shook his head, walking closer to the fire and out of the darkness. Maybe if Sheik saw his now calm face, he would be that way as well. As Link got closer, Sheik's eyes darted back and forth over his face, trying to read him.
After a long moment, Sheik turned and picked some paper and charcoal up from the ground; by now there were scraps of paper with scattered one-sided conversations on them everywhere. He handed them to Link and said, "Why were you so bothered that you had to go away?"
Link stared at the paper, mind drawing a blank as he tried to think of a suitable response. There was really no way he could admit his feelings – whatever they were – to Sheik…so maybe sticking to his first feeling was the best option: the fear of being a burden.
I feel like I'm a burden to you. I don't want you to have to take care of me like I'm some idiot child.
It only took Sheik a moment to read it and then scowl. "You're not a burden. I've been alone, haunted by memories of you, for half my life." His eyes softened. "And sometimes you do reckless things, but you're not an idiot. You're just so…you don't think about yourself first."
As he handed the parchment back, Link was still stuck on 'haunted by memories of you'. Link had been haunted by memories of Sheik more than anything; had it been the same for Sheik? He didn't want to ask. There was only one thing he could think to ask.
What do we do now?
Sheik read it and gave him a long look. He sighed and crossed his arms across his chest, a pose that took Link back to the days of the Imprisoning War. "I don't know, Link." He paused for a moment, looking up at the star-filled sky, his cowl slipping a little bit down his nose, drawing in Link's eyes. "The princess will want to know where you are eventually. I can tell by your armor that you're her personal guard now and, considering she remembers that you're the Hero of Time, she'll be quite frantic to know you're safe. I'm not sure how she'll react if she knows that you've found the truth about our identities. I don't even know if the blood oath is really even valid anymore."
Link reached forward and snatched the parchment out of his hands and hastily wrote, I don't care what she thinks. The desert is outside of her jurisdiction. Besides, I think I've earned the right to know the truth after all the horror I've been through.
Red eyes widened a bit as he read Link's handwriting. Link himself didn't know where the anger came from, but the thought of Zelda trying to punish Sheik for letting this happen made him see red. He still couldn't even understand her motive for lying about it in the first place. She was probably the last person he needed to see any time soon.
"You have earned it," Sheik said softly, lowering the note and giving him a gentle look that Link had never seen before. "You've earned even more than that; the right to be happy. But you can't find that, can you?"
He hesitated for a moment, but slowly shook his head. Link had never admitted anything like that before nor let anyone in that deep to his true feelings.
"Neither can I," Sheik said. His voice was hollow and his eyes drifted to the cracked clay beneath them. The red eyes were heavy with sadness in a way that looked suffocating. Link knew what that felt like.
He moved without thinking.
It only took two steps to be in front of Sheik and just one short motion to pull him into his arms. His shoulder stung, but he couldn't even acknowledge it. Sheik stiffened like a board in his arms and Link wasn't surprised. He doubted the Sheikah was frequently touched by others. Honestly, he wasn't touched by a lot of people either; being mute deterred people from getting close. With Sheik – a quiet one like him – it drew them together. After a very long, unsure moment (Link had held his breath the whole time), Sheik finally reacted, wrapping his arms around the hylian's back and pressing his face into an unwounded shoulder. They held onto each other as if letting go meant drifting away into oblivion. Sheik was endlessly warm; Link hadn't realized how cold he had gotten.
He felt a lot of things, standing there and holding onto Sheik, but he was mostly shocked. In hindsight, Sheik could've pushed him away…but he didn't. Did he need this as much as Link did? Regardless of how many bandages Sheik wrapped around him, the embrace was far more healing. Link was sure he could've fallen asleep like that, but a loud cry of a hawk interrupted them. The sheikah jolted in his arms and snapped his head up, muscles rigid as stone. Link looked up as well and immediately understood why Sheik had tensed; it was a royal messenger hawk.
Speak of the devil.
They separated as the hawk – a chestnut colored bird with tawny eyes – swooped down towards them, dropping a letter from its talons. The parchment hit the ground between them and flapped away into the still night. Link's heart thumped against his sternum as he watched Sheik crouch down and pick up the letter. The crest of Hyrule was pressed into a golden wax seal and it made his stomach churn. Horrible ideas of what that letter would contain plagued his mind, wreaking havoc on his composure. Sheik looked nervous too, though.
As he opened it, Link waited with bated breath, eyes fixed on the Sheikah's obscured face. His red eyes darted back and forth, widening at some points and narrowing at others. After a moment, he seemed to reread it, then slowly fold it again, staring off in thought. Link, nervous and desperate to know what the princess wanted, took a step forward.
"She wanted to know if I remembered…" Sheik said, glancing up at Link with still far-away eyes, "and if I would find you for her. She's worried about you."
Relief filled him. If Zelda wanted Sheik to find him, then the blood oath was broken. Sheik looked relieved as well, but something else was picking at his mind now, he could tell. Link watched – as they made their way to the hut for the night – something worked rigidity into his shoulders and tightened his jaw. They were both tired, however, and Link didn't know if he wanted to go any further into emotional territory tonight. He pushed Sheik towards the cot – he'd been forcing Link to take it for far too long – and immediately took up Sheik's spot on the floor, forcing the other to take the bed. Sheik scowled but caved in.
Sorry I was a little later than expected. Midterms are this week and I've had a super busy week. Hope you enjoy this chapter!
