Chapter Text
"This is my family. I found it all on my own. It's little, and broken, but still good.
Yeah.
Still good."
Stitch
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Where was that kid?
Link hopped on top of crate, past the point of caring whether it was beneath his dignity as a captain, and scanned the camp.
No luck. Not that he was expecting much, the gremlin was appropriately gremlin-sized, after all—but he was starting to get desperate. He’d started looking for Mask, but no one he’d asked could give him directions to the sprite’s tent.
That was two hours ago now, and if Link didn’t find Mask soon, he was going to tear the camp apart until he found him. The kid was his responsibility, despite all the effort Mask had put to avoiding him, and the Captain didn’t take responsibility lightly.
By the three, if Mask was hiding from him while Link was worried out of his mind, he’d—he’d—
Well, to be honest, Link hadn’t quite figured out what he’d do yet, but it wouldn’t be pleasant. He’d put Mask on kitchen detail, if Link wasn’t convinced that would end up with half the army down with food poisoning—
“What are you doing, Link?”
Link nearly fell off the box. Windmilling his arms frantically, he managed to keep his balance, if not his dignity. That had clearly sailed away, if Sheik’s folded arms and arched eyebrow said anything.
Link coughed hard and looked away, trying to avoid the sheikah’s piercing red gaze. There was something about her eyes that made his chest feel like it’d been stuffed with warm cotton and keese. The sensation was even worse when Link managed to look like an idiot in front of her, which the captain was fairly certain he’d succeeded at.
Link shoved a hand through his hair and sucked several breaths in between his teeth, trying to get the stupid keese in his stomach to behave. “I was looking for Mask.” He said shortly.
Sheik straightened in surprise. “The little hero? What’s wrong?”
“Besides the fact that I’ve been looking for him for the past two hours and haven’t found a trace?” Link bit out. “No idea. That’s why I’m looking. Proxi and I split up a while back but she hasn’t come back yet.”
No one knew where the brat was. And he—Mask might have been a hero, but he was still a kid. And Link knew that Mask liked being alone; preferred it, even. But just because that was what the boy thought he wanted doesn’t mean that was healthy.
The sprite had proved he could take care of himself and more on the battlefield, but this wasn’t the battlefield. Just because it was their camp didn’t mean it was totally safe, either. Darkness lurked everywhere.
Link had learned that the hard way.
Besides, Mask could be hurt, or sick, or-or—Link could feel his brain overheating as thousands of possibilities, each worse than the last, raced through his head faster than Epona. He curled his fists, nails biting into the leather of his gloves, and breathed through his teeth again.
One. Two. Three.
Link was helping nobody by freaking out. Least of all the sprite.
“Nobody knew where his tent was?” Sheik asked quietly, tapping fingers on her elbow thoughtfully.
Link shook his head. “I’m starting to think he doesn’t have a tent.”
The two of them shared a solemn glance. For once, the seriousness of the situation kept the blasted keese wings at a minimum, which Link was almost thankful for, if it weren’t for his kid missing—
“I might have an idea.” Sheik murmured, and all of Link’s breath left his lungs in a whoosh. He was so relieved he might have kissed her—
Wait, no. Bad Link. Bad. Stop that.
“Really?” His voice was breathless, and Sheik gently set a hand on his shoulder, long, slim fingers squeezing gently, reassuringly.
“It’s just a guess, but it fits the sprite’s character,” She said. “Follow me.”
She took off at a sprint, and Link followed her, scarf flowing on the wind as they dodged through rows of tents.
The relief abruptly dived off a cliff when Link realized Sheik was leading him towards the edge of the encampment.
Din’s fire, just what was the kid thinking—
“There!” Shiek’s hand shot out, pointing towards the base of a nearby tree. Link’s head snapped around, following her gesture—and nearly tripped and fell face-first in the mud.
There was a small figure curled up in the nook left by two protruding tree roots, tucked up against the trunk. A tiny, lumpy bundle of green and yellow, a sword and shield leaning against a nearby root.
Link gulped hard. Farore, he looked so terribly small…
“Hey, Sheik?” He said quietly, gaze not leaving Mask’s body. He could see the sprite was shivering even from here.
“Yes, Link?” the sheikah replied, her voice a little softer than usual.
“Can you get an extra cot and blankets brought to my tent, right away?”
The sharp red gaze cut to his, and Sheik tilted her head thoughtfully. “You planning on sharing your tent?”
“Of course.” Link huffed, crossing his arms and frowning down at the kid. “The Three know he won’t stay in a tent if there isn’t someone there to make him stay in it. If that has to be me, well, it has to be me.”
There was a little moment of silence, one that stretched long enough that Link turned to look at his companion.
When he did, his heart nearly stopped.
Sheik was looking at him, her head tilted to one side, her long, wrapped blade sliding along one shoulder, and her eyes—
Her red eyes, which Link was so used to seeing sharp and cutting and all-seeing—were soft, and gentle, and smiling at him.
Link could feel the tips of his ears tingling, and swallowed hard. Now was not the time.
“They say the strength of the hero is his courage,” she said, her voice softer than Link had ever heard it, and strangely musical, “And while that is true, I think they’re missing something.”
After a few second and a great heave on behalf of his brain, Link managed to get his tongue working enough to respond.
“Oh. What’s that?”
So it wasn’t the most intelligent response, but it was better than nothing.
Sheik reached out, and with one long finger, tapped Link right above his heart.
The instant her fingertip touched his tunic, Link’s lungs switched off. By some divine mercy or blessing, Sheik didn’t seem to notice. Link was going to take extra time to thank them tonight.
“The strength of the Hero,” Sheik said, her tone somewhere between solemn and smiling, and it sent a rush of warmth to Link’s gut. “Is his courage to be kind.”
There was a moment of silence. Link was staring cross-eyed down at her finger.
“O-oh.”
Din’s fire, where had the rest of his braincells fled, the cowards?
Before he could rally his fleeing faculties for a more intelligent sally, Sheik had stepped aside, bending over to scoop up Mask’s wayward gear.
“I’ll see you back at the tent.”
And with that, she was gone. Link’s lungs, equal cowards to his braincells, finally decided to start working again, and he let out a sigh, shaking his head.
Despite whatever that was, Link had more important things to deal with right now. Namely, his kid.
Link crouched down, eyeing the sprite. Mask had curled up into a tiny defensive ball, his shallow breathing and the light shivers that wracked him periodically making it clear that the kid’s sleep was anything but restful.
Still, when Link reached out and shook his shoulder, Mask barely stirred.
“Guess we’ll do this the hard way then,” the captain murmured, before he cracked a faint smile. “Though that’s rather par for the course when you’re concerned.”
And with that, Link unwrapped his scarf and carefully draped it over the kid’s shivering frame, bundling him up and into Link’s arms.
Mask stirred sleepily, before slumping against the Captain’s warmth, face buried in the elder’s shoulder.
Link felt his heart stir, a warmth he hadn’t truly felt since he was a kid.
“I guess, you gremlin of a sprite,” he murmured, hand protectively pressed against the kid’s head as he maneuvered to his feet, “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
/\ - /\ - /\
By the time Link had made it back to his tent, moving slowly so as not to disturb his burden, Sheik had gotten everything set up. An extra cot, a little smaller than Link’s own, was set next to his, complete with a pillow, sheets, and what looked like a thick, warm quilt.
“Wow, you got this together quickly,” Link said, looking over it with a smile. “Thanks, Sheik.”
Sheik shrugged and ducked her head, sending the ornament at the end of her braid swinging. “I am glad to be of help.”
“Still,” Link said, carefully transferring his kid onto the cot, leaving him wrapped in the scarf. Hylia knows the kid need it more than him right now. “You went above and beyond. Where on earth did you get this blanket? This isn’t military-issue.”
“Oh.” Sheik ducked her head even further, shoulders rising against her ears, and she bent down to carefully pull the quilt up Mask’s neck, smoothing the hem tenderly.
“I… It’s mine. From my bedroll before I joined up with the army. I thought he’d need it way more than me.”
Link turned and stared at the sheikah. Her shoulders were still hunched defensively, but even in the flickering lantern-light of the tent, Link could make out that they were steadily turning a bright red.
Link felt the keese wings flicker to life in his stomach again, and what was worse, a resurgence of his utterly stupid desire to kiss her.
He really needed to get ahold of himself, before he did something truly idiotic.
Sheik, however, hadn’t noticed his hesitation, and instead leaned over and brushed her fingers through Mask’s bangs, murmuring some sort of blessing under her breath. Finally, she turned back to Link, the redness already gone from her ears and shoulders level once more.
Link wasn’t sure if he was more relieved… or disappointed.
“That boy is quite the handful, isn’t he?” She said, her voice rich with exasperated amusement.
Link let out a groan. “He’s a gremlin, is what he is. I’ve had my hands full with him, and now that I’m making sure he’ll be underfoot, I can only imagine it’s going to get worse.”
“Well,” She replied, with a quick tilt of her head that made his heart do funny, stupid things, “If your hands are full, how about if I lend you mine?”
Link blinked. “Pardon?”
She chuckled once, and tipped a nod at the sleeping huddle of child hero on the cot. “I’ll keep an eye on him too, so you won’t get overwhelmed. You certainly seem to need it.”
If Link weren’t such of mix of exhausted and relieved, he might have bristled at the insinuation he couldn’t handle it. As it was, he was merely grateful.
“Thanks,” he said with a sigh and a smile. “I’d appreciate that.”
“Well, then,” Sheik replied, and stuck a hand out. “Is it a deal?”
Link grinned wider, and took her hand, shaking it firmly. “Deal.”
And that was the beginning of a beautiful partnership.
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