I leaned against one of the support beams backstage, bobbing my head to the music idly. I tapped my fingers on my elbow with the beat. The Indigo-gos were amazing as always, and it seemed they finally got a new lead guitarist. He used the same guitar as Mikau as a way to remember him, and my heart saddened just a little at the memory. Just one more person I failed to save.

The wind picked up a little, and I could smell the chill that came with an impending storm. The lanterns strung above the festival whipped and swayed with the breeze, but the people down below paid no mind. Already, there was lighting off in the distance, and periodic rumbles of thunder.

I suddenly stilled.

Behind me.

I whirled around and my blade was at their throat and curse it how did I let them get so close without me knowing–

I stopped, every inch of me freezing in horror. For a second I wondered if I was imagining things, or worse, was dreaming again.

Familiarly unimpressed, red eyes met mine.

"Hello, Hero," Sheik said, tone flat. "Fancy seeing you here." I could hear the bitter smile he wore underneath the cowl, and my heart hurt.

I retracted my blade as if I was burned, and I just stared at him, uncomprehending. How in the hell–

"Where have you been all this time?" He asked, tilting his head.

I stepped away, shaking my head, everything in me trembling, because Nayru Din and Farore he wasn't supposed to BE here–

I turned away, shoving a rough hand through my hair, my insides a squirming mess.

"Link?" Sheik's voice softened behind me, and oh. Oh no. Nononononono, I'm going to ruin everything I worked for these past six months if I give in to this desire, this one wish, that thrummed through my entire being.

"...Why aren't you talking to me?" A hand touched my shoulder and I honest to Din flinched. It was too much.

"Because I can't talk to you," I whipped around, hysterical, "I can't talk to you, I can't be with you, I can't even look at you."

The hurt in his eyes was comparable to getting stabbed in the heart a million times over.

And then he was gone.

As I walked out, it began to pour.

I set my jaw, shoulders bunched as I strode stiffly back towards the pedestal on Lake Hylia. Why did I even bother wasting my time? What did I have to prove? Why was I worried if he cared about me or not?

…Why did it hurt so much?

I blinked back more burning tears as the rain came down in fat droplets, soaking me in seconds. I swiped at my eyes roughly with a sleeve, frustrated at myself, and at my weakness. I hated how vulnerable I was. I hated that he had this effect on me. That he meant more to me than I apparently did to him.

And I hated being kept in the dark.

As I was about halfway across the bridge, a rough hand grabbed my shoulder and yanked me back. I swatted his hand away unsuccessfully, and I turned to look at him out of habit, even though I shouldn't have! I should have left him alone like he WANTED!

"Sheik, Ladies above, wait, let me explain–" Link said, sounding panicked over the rain.

Good.

"Oh, is that what we're doing now," I spat, injecting as much venom as I could into the question. I shoved his hand off of my shoulder, and glared at him.

"You know what? I don't care anymore. You can keep your Gods forsaken secrets to your fucking self."

Link flinched, and a pang of guilt shot through me, despite the anger that roared through my veins.

"I've been asking, no, begging for you to tell me what the fuck is going on, but all I get is… is nothing! I was given nothing!"

"Zel–"

"And now," my voice broke, dammit, "Now, you can't even be bothered to look at me anymore? If that's what you want so fucking bad, then rest easy, hero. I'll never bother you again."

I couldn't take it anymore. It hurt so much looking at him that I wanted him away from me. On impulse, my fist lashed out, aimed at his face. Link caught it, Din fucking damn it, and he wouldn't let go of my hand no matter how much I yanked at it.

"Let me go," I hissed.

Lightning flashed above us, and I saw, in vivid detail, the dark circles under his sunken eyes, a haunted expression that reminded me of the old timeline, and the hurt he wore on full display. He looked thinner. His shirt fit him more loosely than it usually did.

My heart stopped, and we were plunged back into darkness. Rain still came down on us like a sheet.

What… What happened to him?

The sky flashed again and he pulled my cowl down roughly with his calloused, crooked fingers and leaned in, a desperate glimmer in his eyes that burned with an intensity that made my traitorous heart quiver.

And, oh Nayru, his hands were shaking.

He gingerly pressed his lips against mine, eyes fluttering shut, and I stood there, rigid, uncomprehending. His other hand cupped the back of my head, tangled in my hair, and my heart was pounding so hard I thought he could hear it.

Link pulled away just enough that our noses brushed, and he leaned his forehead against mine. We stared at each other for what could have been moments, or hours or days, but time seemed to flow differently when we were so close.

I never wanted to be apart from him again.

He looked away suddenly, as if he finally realized what he had done, and his calloused, gentle fingers fell from my chin.

"I–I'm sorry, I–"

In a fit of what must have been madness, I grabbed the collar of his tunic and yanked him back. He made a choked, incredulous noise as I kissed him again, a quick touch.

The rain had lightened to a drizzle, and I could make out his expression more clearly in the dim light from the overhead lanterns. His surprised face was illuminated by the pinks, blues, and greens of the lanterns strung above us, pupils blown wide.

"Leaving again?" I whispered lowly, and he shivered, his breath ghosting over my lips. That kiss wasn't enough. It wasn't nearly enough.

I captured his lips with mine once more, and he made this noise in the back of his throat that had me weak in the knees. The kiss was insistent, unyielding, and I needed more. His face was slick from the rain, and his sturdy arms wrapped around the small of my back, pulling me closer. My hands released his collar and reached over his shoulders to wrap around the back of his neck, further closing the gap.

The wind picked up around us, and it was so chilly my hands were going numb but Link was there and he was so warm, and not once did his hands leave me. My bandaged fingers tightened in his hair, and he let out a low moan. My chest once again erupted with butterflies, and all those years of yearning, of pining, of quietly accepting that my feelings wouldn't be reciprocated–it was all washed away with the rain.

Link pushed me back against the bridge's wooden railing, and it dug into the small of my back uncomfortably. I didn't care, but I deepened the kiss and I swear to Nayru I was drunk on it. On him.

I heard the footsteps too late.

"Wha–Are you serious?!"

I jolted, and we broke apart in panic. I cursed under my breath, hastily pulling my cowl back up over my nose. I tried to straighten up, but Link's arms were firmly braced on either side of me, his grip tight on the railing. He looked over his shoulder at the unexpected voice, and tried to shield me as much as possible from the stranger's sight.

Straining myself on my toes, I saw the tell-tale red hair of a Gerudo woman. Her bracelets clinked together as she held her umbrella over her head, and she was staring at us with a slack jaw. She whistled, impressed.

"I've been trying to get your attention all night," she said, eyebrows raised practically to her hairline, "Shit, you shoulda just told me you were into guys, handsome."

She…she thought Link was making out with a dude.

Even though my heart was still hammering in my chest, I had the sudden urge to laugh hysterically at the appalled expression on his face. We sure must've been a sight. Link gave her a dead look, and the urge grew stronger. Ladies above, if I wasn't so mortified, I would be dying laughing.

The unfortunate Gerudo held her hands up, walking around us on her way across the bridge. "Pardon the interruption," she said drily, "But y'all might want to find, you know, a drier place to canoodle." I couldn't fight the choked laugh that escaped me at the pained look on Link's face.

And then she was gone, her silhouette swallowed up by the lake's fog.

A burning trail suddenly raced across my arm, and I hissed a sharp intake of breath between my teeth at the pain. I barely had time to register the open wound staining my wrapped arms a dark scarlet before Link recoiled away from me. His chest heaved up and down heavily, his eyes wild as lightning cracked once again over us.

In his hand was a small dagger, its sharpened edge slick with crimson.

Out of pure reflex, I jabbed him in the stomach and disarmed him before he could make another move, kicking the blade into the water. My arm stung in protest, but I ignored it, swinging underneath his arm and kicking out at his knee to buckle it. I shoved Link face-first into the railing, and it made a concerning creak at the impact. I flipped him around, my own dagger pressed against his throat. However, my mind was racing a mile a minute, a whirlwind of confusion and hurt and something I couldn't quite put to name–

A scathing question was on the tip of my tongue, but it died as I noticed that he wasn't looking at me anymore. His gaze was focused over my shoulder, and the dark circles under his eyes stood out so much more as the color drained from his face. I blinked and looked behind me, and stopped.

There, on the dais next to the gnarled, dead tree, stood an eerie, lone figure in the fog. His silhouette bled into his surroundings like ink, and he was unmoving, watching us. A shiver crawled up my spine at the sight, and the bitter taste of burnt hair rose in the back of my throat. My Sheikah senses, honed from a time long forgotten, Saw that he was surrounded by thick cursed energy.

I turned back around, pretending I didn't see him, and leaned in to whisper, "What is that thing?"

Link's faded eyes once again grew life, and a knot loosened in my chest at the fact his gaze was clear again. He released a shuddering breath.

"You… You can see it?" He asked, voice shaking.

I frowned, "Why wouldn't I be able to?"

For the first time in months, there was a glimmer of hope in those hollow, tired eyes of his.

He suddenly sagged with a shaky breath, and I lunged to catch him. His forehead rested on my shoulder, and he was muttering to himself, too low for me to hear. But they all sounded relieved, and I could only hold him. His hands were loosely wrapped around me.

By the time I had the presence of mind to look back up, the rain had stopped and the figure was gone.

I jostled him, but all he did was murmur a little bit and nuzzle deeper into the crook of my neck. His breathing remained the same even rhythm. I shook him again, but nothing. I sighed, exasperated. Really? Did he really just pass out on me?

I somehow got him on my back, and his head lolled next to mine. I might have gotten some blood on his shirt, but I didn't have the energy to feel bad about it.

Even in sleep, his brows were pinched together in worry. It wasn't a pleasant feeling, knowing how close he was to coming undone.

I adjusted him on my back, and trudged my way back to the raised dais in the middle of the lake. My arm burned like shit from the large gash he cut into me, but I couldn't really do anything about it at the moment besides concentrate some magic to staunch the bleeding.

I considered my options. Could I take him to a nearby inn? No, that wouldn't work. If he woke up spooked, then it would be too easy for him to escape once more into the night. I got lucky once, finding him. I didn't think luck would smile on me again if he fled.

Additionally, I needed to figure out what curse was affecting Link. Fast. The cursed energy emitted by that shadow was strong enough that I had a bitter taste akin to burnt hair in the back of my throat, which was a telltale sign of strong dark magic. There was even a faint trace coating Link—goddesses, how did I not notice it before. He practically oozed it the second he slashed me. It was a subtle magic that goes out of its way to hide itself, but still, I should have seen it.

I stepped onto the dais with Link's weight on my back, and an entirely different weight settling onto my shoulders. My mind raced, trying to connect dots and threads, hoping it would create a bigger picture. Link started acting strange after our visit to the Water Temple… and there was a shadowed silhouette that apparently cannot be seen by the normal eye. Was it a monster that had attached itself to Link? Something more ancient? What did it stand to gain?

I glanced over my shoulder, worry welling within my chest. No matter how much I moved, he hadn't even so much as twitched. Whatever it was that he was dealing with, we were running out of time.

Though I knew it would take more mana than if I had used my lyre, I whistled 6 notes, a song of my own making that let me teleport to differing Sheikah stones across Hyrule. Light surrounded us.

Angus didn't care what the other soldiers said about it; he enjoyed the night watch.

There was just something so calming about the peace of the night, and a solace to be found in the hush of the atmosphere, as if the world was holding its breath.

He stood there under the awning, listening contentedly to the rain pattering onto the greenery, and the tarp above them. The gentle breeze that accompanied it carried the scent of petrichor, of wet earth, and of home. It brought back memories of his mother, who was still waiting for him in Kakariko to return on leave.

Mical, his watch-standing partner tonight, paced back and forth, stifling a yawn with the back of his hand, trying not to fall asleep. Angus just barely suppressed a disappointed head shake–he's not appreciating the moment, and it made him just a little sad.

Lightning cracked across the sky, and the rain began to fall in earnest. Mical actually looked up at the display, Angus noted. Then a bone rattling boom followed, and Angus closed his eyes, savoring it. He loved storms.

Mical cursed shakily under his breath, and Angus cracked open an eye to see his partner pressed against the wall, fists clenched and eyes squeezed shut. Angus sighed, dragging a hand across his fatigued face, his whole body still aching from the day's training. The kid was very obviously struggling. What would Captain Link do at a time like this?

…Captain Link…

He wasn't going to lie and say that he knew very much about the man (and he's barely that… the lad was barely 18!), but he had a way of carrying himself that told even the simplest of folks of the journeys he'd braved, and just how much he had to learn the hard way. His attention to detail was razor-sharp when it was focused on combat techniques and strategies, and he had an uncanny knack of knowing when one of them needed something to push them further. Hell, he even took the time to learn their names! Angus couldn't remember a captain before him who actually took time out of his day to know one of them, or anything about their personal lives.

Angus remembered how Link had asked about his mother and daughter after a particularly grueling training session, and just that almost made this seasoned soldier tear up a little.

The sir's second in command, Commander Yalik, was fine, but he didn't have that charisma that Link did. It was like comparing a match to a bonfire.

He frowned, crossing his thick arms over his chest, lost in thought. Where was the sir? Yalik said that he had left on an urgent mission, but it had already been six months. What was he doing?

As he was thinking, the rain had lightened to a mere drizzle, until it finally stopped. Mical was back to being bored–was he picking his nose? (Angus cuffed him upside the head for that one)-and the night had returned to its usual, quiet self.

Until it wasn't.

There was a singular pair of muffled footsteps crunching the gravel along the path, and Angus snapped to full alert. He nudged Mical, who just yawned and waved him off. Angus gritted his teeth. Damn that boy!

Emerging from around the corner was the now-familiar form of a Sheikah and…

And Captain Link?

The Sheikah had the sir carried on his back, unconscious and looking hollow as a husk, his eyes unreadable as always behind that cowl of his. Those red eyes seemed to glow in the darkness as his penetrating gaze caught Angus. He suppressed a shiver. No matter how many times he came into contact with this force of nature, he never got used to those intense eyes. It was as if the Sheikah was taking him apart and putting him back together, analyzing every detail from his posture to the dirt underneath his fingernails.

The Sheikah stopped once he caught sight of him, blinking in surprise (now that was something to cross off his bucket list), and adjusted the unconscious man on his back. Now that he was closer, Angus noticed that blood soaked through the Sheikah's usually pristine arm wraps, and his pulse picked up speed at the implication someone landed a hit on him.

"Angus," Sheik's low voice murmured, quiet enough to be lost in the wind but with enough authority that he found himself standing up straighter. It was rare that he heard the Sheikah speak at all.

Mical startled, and whipped around to face Sheik, weapon at the ready. The Sheikah shot him a withering glare, and Mical flinched, shrinking in on himself. Sheik turned his attention back to Angus, and he gulped, throat suddenly dry.

"His quarters. Where?"

"T-this way, but… but are you sure he doesn't need to go to the infirmary?"

The Sheikah studied him, and Angus felt as if he was being examined underneath a magnifying glass. He nodded once. Captain Link hadn't moved the entire time that they were talking, and it worried Angus. He tried to tamp it down, reasoning with himself. It was common knowledge that Link and Sheik preferred to work together when going out on assignments and other missions, and… well. If Link trusted this mysterious figure, then so could he.

He pivoted on his foot and led them to the building that housed all of the soldiers and officers, with an eerily quiet Sheikah trailing behind him. They made it down the carpeted hall, and up a staircase.

"His room is at the end of the hall, to the right," Angus said, voice hushed. The Sheikah nodded once again.

"Thank you," he said quietly, and disappeared into the room.

Angus let out a breath once he was far enough away. The kinds of friends that Captain Link made… He shook his head, and went back to his post. Welp, if Mical wasn't awake before, he most certainly should be now, he thought to himself with a dry chuckle.

There was a flicker of shadow in the corner of his eye, and a shiver crawled its way up his spine.

[in case anyone's a shadowhunterverse fan, there's this one scene in the rain between Jace and Clary in City of Fallen Angels that is literally what inspired this entire fic lolol

Just thought I needed to give credit where credit was due!]