Fan Fiction ❯ The Link/Sheik Saga ❯ Hero's Hero ( Chapter 2 )

Disclaimer: I don't own Zelda.

Author's Notes: This is a sequel to He Never Spoke A Word. I know that I described the events up through Link's death in the previous instalment, but I also skipped about fifteen years in there. This is the time period I'm going to over this time. Once again, Sheik's a guy. Maybe a bit shorter than last time, not to say that last time was very long, but there is a very specific plot I want to get across before I can write part three Destiny.

Hero's Hero

Sheik awoke one night to what he could only descibe as an odd noise. Blinking awake, he looked into his lover's eyes, they were screwed shut and small tears were leaking out from the corners. The odd noise was a cross between wimpering and choking issuing from the back of Link's throat. Sheik's blonde eyebrows knitted together, forming creases on his usually unmared forhead.

"Link!" he called out softly. "Time to wake up, love."

The strangled wimpers continued and Link snuggled down deeper into the loose cloth of Sheik's night clothing. Sheik removed his mask only for three people. His mother, Impa, his might-as-well-be sister, Zelda, and of course, his lover, Link the Hero of Time. A small scar ran along the left side of his cheek, reaching a little way down his chin, evidently Link responded to the slightly rough flesh more than words, because his eyes snapped open and he clung to Sheik, sobbing harder and harder. Something had happened, somthing that Link didn't want to face something Sheik wouldn't force him to. By dawn he still hadn't calmed down. Sheik was past worried now, he was terrified. He had a feeling that something going on in Link's mind was forcing him into insanity.

"Link!" Sheik persisted, more loudly this time. "Link...I-I won't lose you!" His hero's response was only a slight weezing noise creeping out between the the odd wimpering noises.

Sheik starred in horror at the blonde man in his arms as Link's body began to shiver and convulse. His calming words were having no future effect om the Hero of Time. He was going to have help on this one. Thinking hard, he remembered the spell Impa had taught him to summon the Sages.

"Forest, fire, water, "he began, "shadow, spirit, light. Sages, Sages, hear my plea. Princess Zelda, come aid me!"

He waited, clutching Link to him as the seizure-like state continued. Finally, a faint blue and golden mixed aura morphed into Princess Zelda. When she had fully materialized, Zelda gasped, a hand moving to cover her mouth, as she spotted Link's convulsing body.

"Sheik, what happened to him?" She demanded. "Is he having a seizure or something?"

"I don't know." Sheik admitted, having never prided himself on his medical expertise. "If I had do you really think I would called you?"

Zelda offered him a dry look, her cheeks stained slightly pink. "Maybe..." she mumbled. "Why didn't you call your mother first?"

"Impa..." Sheik responded softly. "Impa doesn't know about...us." He made a small gesture between himsefl and the shuddering blonde Hylian.

"Aren't you ever going to tell her?" Zelda asked him quietly. She took note to, quite sadly, to the sweat streaming down Link's face and dripping from his hair.

Sheik's was about to respond to her inquirry when Link gave out a maddened cry, of what Sheik was afraid to ask. The crys continued as Link forced his way out of Shiek's arms, retreating to the corner of the room. Sheik watched sadly, helplessly, as his lover slipped into insanity right infront of him. Silently he stood and walked over to where Link was currently rocking back and foth, digging his finger nails into his scalp.

"Link."Sheik murmured. "Ignore them. Don't listen to them, love. Ignore them and they'll go away."

Link removed the Kokiri Sword, now little more than a knife, from its sheith and began to carve into the wooden floor a message reading. 'THEY SAID YOU DIDN'T LOVE ME ANYMORE.'

"No." Sheik whispered, embracing Link into his arms. "No, Link, I love you far too much to even consider leaving you." Link din't move now, other than the tremors, still rolling down his spine. Still like he had been for so long before, he remained silent. "Link," he tried again. "Link...I-" Sheik hiccupped a little, choking on his tears, as his voice caught in his throat. "Hero...my hero..." he whispered. "You may have saved Hyrule, but you saved me too." The salty substance leaked over the edges of his ruby eyes and ran down his face, staining his cheeks a slightly darker colour from their normale pale complexion. "I...I was about to be lost...just like you are now, Link. You came to me...you saved me." He stopped for a moment as the sobbs became as fast as his tears. "N-now it's my turn, love." he whspered, pressing his lips close to Link's ear to make sure that the Hylian could hear him. "No matter what happens today, Link, I'm never going to leave your side." His voice caught in his throat again and he burried his face into the catatonic Hylian's shoulder. "I...I'm going to save you this time, Link. I...it's my turn to play the hero."

"A hero's hero?" Zelda whispered, then noticed that Link wasn't responding to Sheik's words, at all. "Sheik," she continued, "this is serious. We need help, I'm calling the others."

"No!" Sheik shouted at her, knowing what would happen if Impa came here right now. "Zelda-"

But she began her spell, ignoring the young Sheikah. "Forest, fire, water!" She shouted. "Shadow, spirit, light! Sages, Sages, hear my plea. Please, oh, please, come aid me!"

The room filled with the magical auras as the Sages filled the room.

"Link!" Sairia shouted when she'd completed the inter-dimensional transition. "What's wrong with him?" she demanded, shoving Sheik out of the way to be able to get into see her childhood friend. "Well?" the Kokiri girl was getting angry now. "Tell me!"

"He's going insane..." Sheik stated softly, tears continuing to flow down his face, against his will. "And there's nothing I can do about it."

"Sheik, how do you know this?" Impa asked her son, calmly.

"And whaddya mean he's goin' insane?" Nabooru wanted to know. "I didn' know the Hero of Time could go insane."

"Anyone can go insane if they've been through enough trauma." Zelda stated, brushing off the Spirit Sage's question.

"Sheik?" Impa persisted. "How do you know?" She asked him again.

Sheik had not moved from where Saria had pushed in the time that the Sages had been present, but he did now. Scrambeling back to his feet, he quickly made his way over to the corner again, rapping his arms around Link's waist, pulling the semi-conscious Hylian into his lap, as he had when Link had first come back to this time, eight long years ago.

"The same way you knew dad was sick." he told her quietly. "I know because I love him." Silence met his statement, until Nabooru laughed out loud and ran over, throwing her arm's around Link's unresponsive shoulders.

"Congratulations, kid!" she said, happily. "I knew you'd find someone! Although I have ta' admitt, I was expectin' it ta' be the princess." she shrugged.

It took Sheik a moment to figure out that she'd been talking to Link, not him. But when he looked up from Link's blank eyes all he could focus on was his mother's glare.

"Don't compare this situation to your father's death." she told him coldly before disappearing in a flash of purple smoke.

It was Saria's turn to give the young Sheikah boy a dessing-down.

"Sheik," her green eyes were watering up with excess emotion. "If he ever wakes up from this, you'd better swear in the name of all three goddesses that you'll take good care of him." she sniffled.

Sheik nodded as the Forest Sage backed up, climbing up to sit on the kitchen table. Then he turned his gaze to the three Sages who had not given him their opinion.

"I'm still not sure if the Hero of Time should be in a relationship, but he is and there's nothing we can do of it." Rauru shrugged. "Take good care of him, Sheikah." Then he too went to join Saria and Nabooru at the table.

"I'm not happy about it." Ruto admitted. "But as long as he loves you as much as you claim to love him, and he's happy, then I can get over it." her eyes narrowed and her aura flarred up around her. "But hurt him, and it will be a very wet day in Hyrule indeed."

Sheik raised his eyebrows and offered her a questioning look.

"You're going to punish me by making it rain?" he asked, involuntary humour sneeking into his tone.

Ruto just shook her head and offered him a sarcastic look. Sheik next turned his gaze to Darunia, the last of them left.

"He loves you?" Darunia questioned him.

"I hope so." Sheik replied softly, as Link continued to have the shuddering spasims from his lap.

"And you love him?"

"More than anything."

"Then I'm fine with it." Darunia said happily. "Be good to him, Sheikah boy."

It was then that the calm moment was interupted by strangled screams issuing from the blonde Hylian. His pupils dialated and he doubled over, empting the contents of his stomach onto the floor. The wheezing and odd whimpering noiser, worsened as the evening wore on. Sheik had retreated with him back to the bed, whispering constantly calming words, Zelda and the others were doing everything they could to snap their hero out of this semi-catitonic state.

"Ignore the vocies Link." He was whispering to him quietly. "Concentrate on me. Everything will be okay if you just ignore the vocies. Come back to me, love. Come back to me now, I won't lose you again. Please just come back to me..."

By dawn the delirium had ended and Link was sleeping at rest. Sheik, purely exausted, had fallen asleep beside him. Saria, begrudgingly, smiled at the two, sleeping peacfully in each other's arms.

"They wouldn't have been accepted, huh?" she winked at Zelda who, in turn, gave her a mildly shocked look.

"I didn't think you'd remember that." she whispered softly.

"Ah, but I did remember." Saria responded. "And just think that none of this would have happened, most likely, if you'd just let him stay here in the first place."

"Saria..." Zelda whinned.

"Ah, ah, ah." the Kokiri scolded, wagging her finger at the princess. "No excuesses."

"Come on, you two." Nabooru, sighed. "Quite bickerin' an' let's go."

Darunia agreed and grabbed the two girls and they left. As soon as the magical aura from the Sages left the house, sapphire met ruby as Link and Sheik opened their eyes and gazed into the other's.

"Are you feeling better now, love?" He inquirred softly.

Link gave him a sad look and grabbed a pad of paper and a pen writing quickly. I can't talk you know. He wrote to Sheik. I'm not even sure if I remember how to anymore.

"I know, love." Sheik replied softly. "I know."

Did you mean what you said? About never leaving me?

Sheik took the paper and pen away from Link, tossing them aside. He then pressed his lips, gently against his Hero's. "What does that tell you?" he asked, after pulling back.

Tears were welling up in Link's eyes and he threw his arms around Sheik's neck, embracing him to the fullest extent he could.

"I love you too, Link." Sheik murmured, knowing what message the blonde Hylian was trying to get across. "I love you too."

~*Owari*~

Coming soon ~ Destiny

It was five years after that terrifing night and nothing had happened since then, other than the obvious. Sheik determindly planted one foot in front of the other, willing to sacrifice the rest of his life, if only to find out what had happened to traumatize his beloved so...