I've seen a number of Sheik fanfics that make him out to be very cold and alone and independent. I suppose that would be because he never spent much time near anyone. But this Sheik couldn't be like that - he's literally been stuck with Zelda 24/7 for the last five years. I would guess that sort of thing makes you a little more used to talking to people, even if reluctantly.

Zelda: Reluctantly? Sheik loves me.

Sheik: Hahahahaha no.

Disclaimer: This thing that we all love? Sheik? I don't own him. Or Legend of Zelda. I am very much not Shigeru Miyamoto.

~4~

-Unless you shut off the source, this ice will never melt…-

Zelda was wrong. Impa gave Sheik a bowl of soup, twenty minutes to scarf it down, and sent him off on another mission. He was finally done with the mission by nightfall. It had been raining all day, and he was shivering constantly. Zelda was actually starting to express true concern.

He jogged along Hyrule Field in the pouring rain, heading home. He normally would run, but he was starting to get a little dizzy. He jogged on autopilot until he hit a wall. Literally.

"Okay, I know you're tired, but seriously? You just ran into a wall."

Do you want to switch places? Be my guest. He pushed away from the wall and studied it. It was the wall that surrounds Lon Lon Ranch. His mind raced. Impa wouldn't need him until tomorrow, and Kakariko was still pretty far away. He could hide here. He knew how to hide.

"Okay… Yeah, even I like the sound of that. Just…try not to steal from them, okay?"

Sheik made no promises as he climbed over the wall and jumped over it. His eyes blurred a little from a light coming from a house. He settled on resting in the barn next to the house. It would be safe there until morning, and dry.

Stop.

Repeat that thought.

Dry.

He ran.

Reaching the barn, he cracked the door open enough to slip in. Closing it behind him, he took a deep breath. It smelled refreshingly strongly of hay and dust. Silently, he crept further in, passing the animal stalls in search of a place to sleep. A few stalls held cows, while most had sleeping horses. Reaching the end of the row of stalls, he found a large pile of hay bales, stacked high to the roof.

Zelda seemed to already be asleep, or whatever she would normally do when she, thank the heavens, shut up for the night. Left to his own devices and far too tired and feverish to keep searching, Sheik decided that hay bales were good enough for a lovely bed. He fell on to them and nearly dosed off right away.

Except a horse started braying like mad.

Sheik whipped his head to look at the demonic beast. The horse's determined, wild eyes glared at him. It was a flaxen horse with a white mane, and looked almost ready to murder him, as if the hay bales were forbidden territory. Sheik glared back at it until the barn door opened. He scurried behind the hay bales to hide. Had he not been sleep deprived, dizzy, and hungry, he would have slapped himself for the stupid hiding spot.

A light entered the barn, probably from a lantern. A girl's weary voice rang out "Epona? What's wrong? Shh...Girl…" Suddenly the barn was quiet again, save the pounding of the rain.
Then her voice spoke again, this time harsher. "Who's there?"

Sheik stiffened. She continued. "If you don't come out, I'll let Epona loose. She'll tear you apart. I'm not joking. I've seen her rip a cucco's feathers off."

What would he do? He could tell that the horse could destroy him. The girl started counting. "Three."

He couldn't show himself, he was a Sheikah! But, a death by horse… He shivered.

"Two."

He hoped Impa would forgive him. For everything.

"One…" She stopped when he sneezed. Sheik stood and allowed his eyes to be illuminated. He held his soggy mask over his mouth to avoid recognition. His eyes took a long while to focus with the light, but when they did, he wanted to groan from the irony.

Of course it had to be the girl he had saved.

Her hair was messier and she wore a cloak to protect her from the rain. Underneath, he spied a pale pink nightgown. She glared at him with cold, azure eyes. "Who are you? Why are you here?"

It was bad enough he let himself be seen. He would not speak to her. That would give him away completely. But he had to communicate somehow to keep her from releasing that evil horse, so he did what he never thought he'd do. He lowered his guard on emotions and let his eyes convey everything. Zelda would have called it a puppy dog look, but Sheik was too dignified to identify it as such.

He was amazed it worked. The girl's eyes softened and she raised her lantern. "Oh, you poor thing. You don't have anywhere to go, do you?"

She thought he was a hobo. Well, it would have to do. Sheik shook his head, making his head spin more.

The girl frowned. "Why won't you speak?" He shook his head again. "Oh, whatever. I'll let you stay for the night, but don't try anything funny! Epona will hunt you down."

Sheik nodded his head and sneezed again.

The girl lifted her lantern to get a better look at him and gasped. "You're soaking wet! Are you trying to catch your death? Here," She grabbed an armful of horse blankets and dragged them to him. "Take off those wet clothes and warm yourself. I won't look." She turned away and covered her eyes.

She is incredibly too trusting, Sheik thought while raising an eyebrow at her back.

Glancing at the threat of the horse, Sheik decided to obey. She was right – the wet clothes would probably encourage illness that he simply did not have time for. Sheepishly, he peeled the wet armor and white Sheikah shirt off. Taking off his boots, he decided to not strip completely. He left his pants on and covered himself with blankets, making sure to mask his face.

"Done?" She asked. He coughed in answer. Turning, she noted the change. "Good. I bet you're nice 'n warm now." She was right, he felt better already. He sat on a bale of hay. "Oh, but you left your head-wrappings on."

She reached for his head and he pulled away. He held up a free hand in defense. "Oh, is it important to you?" He nodded dizzily. "Okay." She grabbed a blanket and sat down against the evil horse's stall. When she noticed his inquiring look, she laughed. "I'm staying right here." She said firmly. Sheik shifted his weight and nonchalantly looked away.

The rain was getting heavier and the wind was starting howl outside. The flaxen horse shifted and snorted, keeping one wild eye on Sheik. The girl squirmed restlessly and finally spoke again. "I'm Malon, by the way."

Sheik turned his red eyes to her. "I'd ask your name, but you probably won't tell me." A pause. "Are you a sheikah?" He stiffened. "You are, aren't you? I recognized the symbol on your clothes. Don't worry, I won't tell. I know you guys are the 'secret shadow tribe.'" She sighed. "Do you have a family?" He shook his head. "You don't? That's sad. My mother died when I was little, so I think I know how you feel. But I've got my pa. He's really nice and good, except when he sleeps during work." She giggled. "And Epona here is like my sister. We're so close. We share a birthday, too! She was born on my ninth birthday." Malon blinked. "Is it after midnight? If it is, it's our birthday today."

Malon sighed heavily. "Look at me, rambling to some random person in my barn. I don't even know if you're real or not. I could just be dreaming." She looked at him curiously. "If so, you are by far the weirdest dream I've ever had."

The rain proved to be a storm by that point. Lightning flashed and thunder cracked at the same instant, loud and vicious. Malon shrieked and jumped in surprise. More thunder crashed, causing the horses to throw a fit. She gaped at the horses. "Oh, I have to calm them before Pa comes." She jumped up and began to calm the horses.

Sheik watched her as she walked from stall to stall, caressing each horse's fears away. Despite being unsettled herself, she was gentle and calming. Her hand was steady as it brushed a horse's muzzle. Sheik would have been more fancinated if he had not been busy planning a way to escape.

While she was distracted, Sheik stole a glance upwards. The rafters seemed thick enough to hold his weight. Quickly and quietly, he dropped the blanket and scooped up his clothes. While Malon soothed another horse, he climbed up a beam and into the rafters. He jumped among them towards the main door, then hid in the shadows, waiting and listening.

Malon still had not realized his escape and continued to comfort the horses. He found that her serene demeanor was helping him himself relax. The rain had seemed to lighten a significantly, becoming a luring pitter-patter on the roof (Sheik had to wonder what kind of a storm changes that quickly). Closing his eyes, Sheik finally heard Malon's humming. She was humming to each horse, carrying the lovely tune with perfect skill. Sheik rather liked the sound.

Malon turned away from the last soothed horse to speak to him. "There, all…" She stopped. Picking up her lantern, she walked over to the hay bales and picked up his forlorn blanket.

Perfect, Sheik thought. With a small burst of shadow magic, he forced the door below him to swing open loudly. Just as he planned, Malon turned with a jump, saw the open door, and sighed. Resigning that her guest had obviously run away, she put away the blanket and latched the door shut again. Grabbing her lantern and saying goodnight to Epona, the girl left to return to her own bed.

Sheik was feeling very proud of himself for getting the girl to leave. Carefully, he jumped down from the rafters, and landed ungracefully like a cow.

Silently berating his dizziness and fatigue, he made his way back to the haystack to sleep. All the horses had slipped away into slumber themselves, except the last two in the barn. The blue roan seemed upset, but it was – Epona? – who looked ready to call her mistress back.

He needed to calm the horse down, or who would start braying like the mule she was. Remembering the girl's method of comfort, Sheik began to hum the same melody Malon had. Hearing, the horse instantly picked her ears forward and relaxed. The roan across from her did likewise. Smiling at his luck that it worked, Sheik climbed around the haystack and settled in the shadows. He was asleep within seconds.

Zelda's blasted voice woke him up. "Sheik, it's almost dawn. We'd best get out of here before anyone comes."

Sheik cracked an eye open. Somehow, he felt great. His headache was gone, and breathing came a little easier. Slipping his dry clothes back on, he stood and began to clamber out from behind the haystack.

"Oh!"

Sheik froze. Why did he assume the barn was empty?

"You suck by the way." Zelda commented.

He looked up into the surprised face of the ranch girl. She was standing in Epona's stall, grooming the mare. "I thought you had left."

"What does she mean? Sheik?" Zelda inquired.

I'd rather not talk about it. I think we can bother agree I'm dealing with enough shame right now.

Malon gazed back at Sheik's panicked stare. After a solid moment of tense silence, Malon cracked a smile. "I guess you weren't a dream then." She returned to grooming the mare beside her. "I double checked that you didn't steal anything, even if I did think it was a dream, but you didn't take anything." She paused. "Even though you are real. Does that make sense? Anyway," she resumed her brushing. "I feel like I can trust you. You're welcome by anytime, traveler." She flashed him a bright smile.

"What in Hyrule happened last night?!" Zelda exclaimed.

Sheik spared one last glance at Malon before darting out of the barn.

So this chapter got a very heavy make-over about an hour ago. Please Please Please review and let me know what you think of it!