Waking up that morning, they hadn’t expected the pink ribbon tied to their room door. It was a day they often showed little interest for back in Hyrule and they hadn’t expected to see even a glimpse of a ribbon so far from home. Gently untying the pink ribbon from the doorknob, their crimson gaze focused carefully on it and even they couldn’t help the warmth that crept from their cheeks to the tips of pointed ears.
Link…
He would know the tradition right…? The nervousness welled in Sheik’s chest and all rational thought told them it was that young Gerudo who never failed to make their heart pound in their chest. Yet uncertainty still remained… What if they hoped and had it wrong? It would be easy enough just to toss the ribbon away and forget about it.
Biting nervously at their lip, they came to a decision.
With one quick, easy motion, they pulled out the black tie that kept their braid together. Taking the pink ribbon in hand, Sheik tied it to the end of their braid in a neat, small bow.
A secret admirer… they could only hope.
It was the only ribbon seen on Sheik that day, never minding the odd questions that came from friends at the sight of it tied into their hair.
Name: Link Dragmire
Age: 17
Do you like to cuddle?: Who doesn’t LIKE cuddling?
Can we make-out?: Do you even need to ask? ;)
A night in or dinner out?: I’m sure we could entertain ourselves if we stayed in~
Ice cream or chocolate covered strawberries?: Ice cream is cold. Lets go with strawberries.
What makes you a good Valentine?: You mean aside from my looks, my dancing, and that I’m a good lay?
Would you cook for me?: As long as you don’t mind Gerudo food, sure~
Would you let me cook for you?: Hey, if you want to!
Valentine’s Day Applications —
”Sounds like quite an…eventful Valentine’s Day.” Oh, Sheik was interested. Very interested. “Though I would have to personally see for myself that last point on what makes you a good Valentine.”
Teasing glances and suggestive smirks aside, a warmth had settled in tanned cheeks. A night with just the two of them inside and perhaps…more… for once…
It sounded nice…
“How am I supposed to say no to such a nice time?”
❛is it a bad idea to use mountain dew instead of milk in your cereal?❜
|| bad idea starters
It was like walking in on a natural disaster.
Of course, Link was always a natural disaster. Though the problem that he was about to create was certainly not natural. And Sheik wanted absolutely no part in this if only to save their own stomach and limit the amount of trips to the toilet. Seeing the dry cereal in the bowl and a bottle of that vile, abundantly sugary drink right next to it nearly made the Sheikah turn away right on the spot.
There was a distasteful glance toward the drink.
…It was a mystery why they felt any sort of desire toward this boy.
“Use your own judgement for that, Link. But you’re dead wrong if you think I’m going to tell Gan that his brother died choking on the most vile and probably most Hylian concoction I’ve ever seen in my life. It was nice knowing you though.”
The tell tale sign hiss of the bottle opening.
…Oh no…
Sheik truly needed to reevaluate their choice of friends and especially crushes.
“L...link...?” He didn’t understand. He didn’t... REMEMBER. The last thing he could recall, he thought, was... ANGER. It had been all consuming, flooding his veins like ice and fire, hot and cold clashing to give life to a windstorm inside of his chest. Touching that... thing, the pedestal they’d been approaching -- it had brought the feelings to him, unbidden and unwanted, and he hadn’t been able to stop it.
His blood was only frozen now, though, staring at the expression upon his brother’s face. The rage, the fire, it had burned itself out, when he had... WHAT HAD HE DONE?
“I’m -- I -- “
Hands TREMBLED as his knees began to buckle, strength leaving him as he realized just how exhausted he really was. They hit the hard packed dirt with a THUMP that reverberated through his bones, chattering his teeth in his skull. Why was he... so tired? What....
“What... just happened..? W-why are you -- Link...”
The taste of cheap wine was heavy on Sheik’s tongue, a familiar taste this late at night. They had lost count of how many bottles they drank in Link’s company at this point and the entirety of the Sheikah’s body felt warm. Though drinking in secret away from the watchful eyes of the teaching staff was not an unusual experience at this point, it was not often that they allowed themself to slip past tipsy. After all, they valued control over themself more than anything else. They had always been too honest with wine through their veins.
Tonight was an exception.
After a long slew of midterms and weeks of studying, they both deemed that alcohol was a perfectly good way to celebrate their hard work (or at least drown out the possibility of failing). Sheik was far past tipsy at this point and it had been out of the anxiety over the pending results of the exams that they were more than happy to drink a bottle or two extra.
Long ago was the turban unwrapped and tossed off to the side as their fingers fiddled with the tie of their braid. Even the brown of their skin couldn’t hide the red flush dusted over their cheeks and neck to the tips of their ears. Yet more than their own anxiety was that of Link’s and they knew quite well that the Gerudo boy was anxious over what came from the exams. The alcohol was only a distraction and one that did not serve all too well.
Even as the film they were watching in their drunk haze (with teasing comments and jabs on the film throughout) began to roll its credits, there still rested tension in the air. Uneasy and a very real apprehension over what results they would both see in their classes the day after. Alcohol tested at Sheik’s inhibition as they looked toward Link and every part of them wanted to draw him forward and ease his anxieties through whispered words and warm lips.
It was all they could think of doing…
After all, didn’t Link deserve to finally have…
What they both wanted after all of these months?
Sheik couldn’t help but admire all that Link was even with only the gleaming light from the television as their only light source. They had never shied away from their admiration for the young man. From the curve of his lips to the freckles dotting his dark skin or the way the muscles in his arms moved as he stretched and drew the bow. They could only imagine what his bare back looked like as well after all those years of archery.
It had been easy to shift toward the Gerudo teenager as their hand reached to freckled cheeks and their foreheads pressed together. Oh how simple it would have been to pull down their scarf and finally kiss him.
“It will be o–”
❝ Fuck me.❞
There was no surprise at Link’s words as it cut sharply in, no matter how breathy it sounded. They would have both been fools if they couldn’t tell how desperately they wanted each other. How often they danced around one another, each a tempting fruit they could not quite have yet. The Gerudo did not dance around their words or thoughts in the same way the Sheikah clan did and two simple words made Sheik’s body burn.
It was without warning that Sheik pushed Link down onto the couch they were sitting on as they shifted on top of him, straddling the younger man’s hips. Reaching up, long and deft fingers pulled the tie out of their hair though dark red eyes could only focus on the Gerudo beneath them.
“D’you know how long I’ve been waiting for those words?” Sheik questioned, their own voice breathless. To see Link sprawled underneath them like this, body wanting and willing for their touch and body– it was an image that passed through Sheik’s mind more than once. A thought that burnt brightly in the forefront of their mind on those nights alone.
How easy it would have been to tie Link`s wrists over his head and to make his body burn the same way their own was right now. To take teeth, lips, and tongue onto tanned skin and mark up every bit they could reach. To make him beg and cry for more and bring him so close until all he could think of was them. Even if it was only to distract him–
And they would have done it.
If it were months ago.
But Link had become important to them. Even drunk, they knew they did not want to have him like this. Months ago, they would have accepted a quick intoxicated one night stand with the ever tempting Gerudo. Now though… All they could see was the scared boy who had come into their room one dark night. Someone who had let down some of his walls for them… Sheik would not betray that trust.
They wanted to hear those words from him.
They wanted to hear all that he thought of them without the pleasant haze of alcohol playing with both of their words. To remember every touch and kiss– and for Link to not regret it the morning after.
They could not lose him.
Sheik’s hand reached down to brush the Gerudo’s bangs out of his face and they could feel their heart quicken at the sight of him, even in the darkened room. More than marking his body or fucking him, they wanted to kiss him. Goddesses… had it always been like this? When did it become like this?
“Ana’ llusraiya na,” Sheik whispered. “Not tonight, Link… Not like this… No’ when we’re both drunk…”
The Sheikah could only slip off of Link and onto the little extra space left on the couch, laying next to their friend. It was with a moment’s hesitation that they finally gathered the courage to pull the smaller boy to them, a warm and familiar yet rare pressure to their chest.
“You will be ‘kay.” The warmth of lips rested on the back of Link’s neck, their breath soft against the freckled skin. “You worked hard… ‘m proud of you, no matter the result…”
At the very least, they could wait for just a bit longer.
“No. You’ve been ignoring her, and your family, and... and everything, for far too long. I... I didn’t want to hurt you. I wanted to let you recover in your own time, but... but you’re being a coward.” Calloused hands curled into fists, and she stood FIRM before him, drawing herself to her full height. She had sprouted in recent years, in the time they had spent in the wilds and the world. It was a strange thing, to tower over most of the men in court, and it oft only served to remind her of how LANKY she was, how long and how thin. Now, though, she didn’t slouch to hide it. She straightened her shoulders and stiffened her spine, arching her chin high to stare down at him.
“I thought you were getting BETTER, but you’re not. You’re just using me as another crutch, like the wine, and everything else. But I REFUSE to let you do that. I won’t. Either you talk to your mother YOURSELF, or... or I’ll have you dragged to them in chains. Do you understand me?”
That was a BLUFF, and probably, they both knew it. Harsh though her words were, and firm though her resolution to help him was, she... didn’t have it in her to hurt him like that. Goddesses, though -- what else could she do, but try to shock him? Her gentle words and softness had done NOTHING for him, so it seemed. He was... avoiding all of it... and as much as she understood why, she couldn’t just let him continue.
He needed to see them. To see that the only person who blamed him was HIMSELF, and that he... he still had family. Friendship wasn’t enough to cure the hurt in his soul, and she wasn’t self-absorbed enough to assume that the care she held for him would ever magically fix what was wrong. Hell; she wasn’t even foolish enough to believe that his family would CURE anything, but... It had to help. And she had to try. For his sake. Even if he didn’t agree.
Warmth was the first thing that Link registered when he woke that morning. There was a comforting heat wrapped around his form, more than anything that a simple blanket could provide. Along with it, a rhythmic thudding could be heard against the Gerudo’s pointed ears, and sound that nearly lulled him back to sleep more than once.
It was some time before the boy was coherent enough to wonder where he was. When blue eyes opened, they found themselves staring at a arm, one clad in a loosely fitting shirt. Vaguely did he recognize it, but it was only when the young man shifted slightly, his gaze falling upon a cowl-covered face that Link knew all too well.
For a time, Link found himself unable to pull his gaze away from Sheik’s face, or at least that which he could see of it. He’d never seen them sleep before, and though such a state was nothing special, the boy found himself intrigued nonetheless. There was something about seeing the older student in such a relaxed state, free of the stress that generally came from day to day activities at school. Even with the cowl covering their mouth, the sandy-haired boy could hear soft breathing, sign enough that Sheik was still deep in the world of sleep. He wondered if his sudden appearance last night had deprived the other of rest…
It seemed like a poor thanks to give
considering that Link could still remember
a comforting murmur in his ear as the other rocked him.
Fingers curled slightly into the fabric of the night shirt that Sheik wore, and suddenly, Link wondered if he should perhaps leave before they woke. Surely that would avoid the awkward questions that would come later, a way of hiding the fact that the Gerudo’s face had been buried against their shoulder late last night, his tears soaking their shoulder - then again, was that also a poor way of saying thanks… ?
It was a quiet sigh that slid past Link’s lips, even as the boy continued to watch as the other slept peacefully. Once more did eyes linger on the scarf, and the young man couldn’t help but wonder if they slept wearing it normally - or was it, perhaps, only because Link was there? The realization that this could easily be the only instance that he would have to see what lay beneath that scarf entered his mind, and suddenly, the seeds of temptation were planted in his head. It would be so easy to pull the cloth down, to carefully tug it away and reveal what they hidden underneath, to sate his curiousity…
To give a kiss
that Sheik more than deserved.
And yet, freckled fingers halted before they could brush the fabric. Temptation mixed with curiosity or not, Link knew that it would be wrong, and surely Sheik wouldn't forgive him for such an act. There was a pang of guilt, something that Link rarely felt, even as he settled back down on his friend’s bed. Part of him felt as if he didn't deserve the arms that seemed to tighten around him slightly, drawing him closer.
But the boy was admittedly to selfish to draw away, as he likely should have. Instead, blue eyes slid shut again, and the young man who was often so difficult to keep still found himself content in doing nothing more than listen to that comforting heartbeat once more.
And so he would remain
for as long as he could get away with it.
