The waiting was terrible. At one point Sheik climbed out of the attic window and went to the graveyard. When they found him, he had to be taken back to the inn by force and placed under house arrest. It drove him mad, just sitting there, trying to ignore his chaperone who sat by the door. He took all the red potion they would let him have, willing his bones to mend faster. They didn't, they couldn't, all the scrapes and injuries he'd suffered since Link had woken up meant that Sheik's body was being pushed to its limits. It didn't help that he couldn't sleep, couldn't bear the nightmares, the terrible dreams fueled by the fear that, by being trapped here, he was breaking his promise to Link. Still, at least the horrors in Sheik's dreams were just dreams; the ones Link was facing were undeniably real.

Link wasn't sure which he hated more, the Water Temple or this one. The longer he stayed in it the more it messed with his head, making real things seem fake and fake things real, the only upside was the Ruto wasn't anywhere in sight. He sighed before rubbing his face with his hands, he knew couldn't afford to give much more time to the break he was taking. He was sitting in the penultimate chamber, legs dangling down the hole that would take him to the monster that was waiting. He was torn, he wanted to end this soon, to get out of here and go back to Sheik but he was exhausted, having to second guess everything he saw had taken a toll on him. He reached into his bag, pulling out his last bottle of red potion. He uncorked it and took a small sip, it did its job, his mind became sharper and he felt less like he'd been wading through mud for hours. He put the bottle back and gritted his teeth, it was now or never. He pushed off, sliding down into the pitch dark tunnel, praying he could make the landing blind.

Sheik stood in the graveyard, he should still be in the inn healing but the nurse had given up trying to keep there. Instead he had gathered his things, hidden his bandages beneath his bodysuit and come here, to wait. Link had been gone for four days and Sheik felt like a ghost, he was pretty sure he'd worried himself to death a while ago. Now, everything just felt kind of numb, like he'd gone into suspended animation which could only be undone by Link's return. There was barely a moment passed where he didn't have his crystal clutched in his hand, believing that maybe, by holding it, he would be able to sense if Link was in trouble.

He stared down the entrance to the temple. As staring contested went, it was pretty boring, but eventually, Sheik's vacant, blank stare must have caused the entrance void to feel sufficiently uncomfortable to yield. The sound of footsteps trickled out first, followed, at last, by a grubby, worn out, Link. As soon as Sheik saw him he began to wake up, standby mode flicked to all systems go with everything running at maximum capacity. He stumbled at first as he began to run to towards Link, but the unsteadiness didn't last long and fleet feet made short work of the distance. He threw himself onto the other boy and they tumbled to the ground together. It hurt but Sheik didn't care. He pressed their faces together in a kiss that contained exactly zero skill but a wealth of passion.

Eventually and reluctantly, they parted after pushing the kiss to the edge of asphyxiation. Link smiled up at Sheik. He wasn't sure what would happen to him if Sheik kept launching surprise kisses at him like this. The way it made his heart race he worried that at some point it would just burst.

`Hello.'

Link desperately wished that he'd had something better to say, something charming and funny and sincerely heartfelt, but he hadn't. Sheik rested his head on Link's chest, speaking into the folds of Link's tunic,

`I missed you.'

However cold and distant the rest of the world thought Sheik was Link knew that they were wrong. To Link the Sheikah boy was like a storm stuffed in a matchbox. Giant tidal waves of emotion compressed and packed into such a small container, convincing the world that it was plain and uninteresting. Part of Link was happy that it was only him that saw Sheik like this, and he wondered if perhaps that was because he was the one that made Sheik like this. Sheik certainly made Link feel things no one else did. He knew the only thing that was keeping him from putting them both on Epona and riding away from this, from Hyrule and all its troubles, was the fact that both had too strong a sense of duty.

`I missed you too.'

Link put his arms around Sheik gently, not wanting a repeat of the last time he'd tried to hold him. They stayed there for a while, laying the damp grass of the graveyard, just feeling one another breathe, reminding themselves that they were both alive.

`Was it awful?' Sheik asked as he untangled himself from Link and sat up gingerly.

`Was what awful?'

`That,' Sheik pointed into the temple, `was it bad?'

Link sat up, he didn't really want to talk about the things in the temple, he didn't want to worry Sheik, but he didn't want to lie either.

`Yeah, it was.'

Sheik looked down, then reached forwards, pulling Link into a hug,

`I'm sorry.'

Link buried his face into the crook of Sheik's neck, `what for?'

`For making you go in there. For making you do all these things. I'm really sorry.'

Sheik had gathered fistfuls of Link's tunic, holding them as tightly together as he could manage. He was shaking, he'd always felt guilty for the things he asked Link to do, but until now he hadn't had the courage to ask if things were as bad as he thought they were. He wasn't really sure what had made him ask now. Maybe it was because, now the two of them were aware of what they meant to each other, he had given himself permission to show Link just how much he cared. Now there would be no more walls, no more hiding, no need to conceal how fragile he could be.

Link didn't just take away the emptiness in Sheik. He had destroyed the cold Sheikah mask Sheik had worn and he taught him how to feel again. It had been so long that Sheik had forgotten he could be like this. He was sure that he was strong enough to destroy worlds if Link needed him to, and yet he felt that just one more of Link's heart fluttering smiles would unravel him completely. When all this was done, when both of them could set duty aside, the only thing Sheik wanted was to never have to be away from Link again. When this was over, never again would Sheik just sit and wait for Link to battle through the darkness, instead he would stand beside him.

Link gently pushed on Sheik's shoulders, separating them, `don't apologise. You have nothing to apologise for.'

`But-' Sheik started but Link cut him off,

`No. This isn't your fault, it's never been your fault and . . . and it isn't mine either.' Link felt quiet anger rising in him, `neither of us started this, neither of us asked for this, we're just the ones being forced to clean up the mess. Look at me and tell me exactly what is what that you did that made all this happen.'

Sheik didn't say anything.

`Exactly. Other people did stuff and then, when they fucked up, they came and told us we had to sort it out. You're just as much a prisoner of circumstance as I am. You didn't choose be the one who guided me to the temples, someone told you that you had to. Just like someone told me I had to fight the things in them.' Link rested a hand on Sheik's cheek `all this just got dumped on us, and we both understood that the only real way out was just to put up with it, to just get it over and done with. You're not the one who has to say sorry.'

Sheik smiled wanly at Link, `Thank you. It's stupid, once it was me telling you this wasn't your fault, and now you're having to do the same for me.' He let out a humourless chuckle, 'It's just, all the things in my mind, I can't turn them off and it always seems like I end up coming to the conclusion that everything is my fault even when . . . even when it clearly isn't.'

`I know, I understand,' a kiss fluttered onto Sheik's forehead, 'but it's nearly over, it's nearly done and then, we can just concentrate on living, like normal people. No more of this magical, heroic quest shit, right?'

Sheik nodded emphatically, once this was over they were done, that was it. They may agree that the things they had to do to save Hyrule were necessary but unpleasant but at least the quest had brought them together. Link slid his hand into Sheik's,

`Can you stay, here, tonight, with me?'

Link's eyes were bright, hopeful. Sheik sighed heavily, his face contorting into an unhappy frown.

`I can't. Now you've cleared out the temple there are things I have to do, and, as ever, they won't wait.'

Sheik rolled his eyes, he wanted to stay, Goddesses, he wanted to stay. Part of his brain was already imagining the things that could have happened if he had been able to. The mental images were starting to make him uncomfortably aware of his crotch.

Link chewed his lip in disappointment. He was looking forward to being able to sleep properly and the idea of doing so while holding Sheik had been one of the thoughts that had kept him going in the temple. Thinking about it stirred up sensations that Link couldn't name, they reminded him of the dreams he had about Sheik sometimes. In response to a growing desire to touch him, Link leaned forward and hesitantly initiated a kiss for the first time in his life. His lips ghosted over Sheik's before pressing down more firmly. Hands tangled into hair and their bodies pressed together, mimicking the movement of their lips.

Link leaned back, still holding Sheik's hand, `together again soon though?'

Sheik nodded, `soon.'