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Though his many travels, Link has met many people. It came with the occupation, of course, meeting and helping people was just part of being a hero, and while Link was a far cry from a people person, he would be lying if he said he didn't enjoy the occasional company of another person, or in some cases, a talking animal, or tree. Thankfully those he met were usually pleasant people, people that Link could get along easily with. Usually.
And then there was Ralph.
Ralph was pompous, arrogant, stubborn, hotheaded, loud, and charismatic in all the wrong ways. He got under Link's skin more than the hero ever thought someone could; he may have a short fuse, but when it came to Ralph, it was even shorter. Though, as irate as the red head made him, somehow, Link still found himself thinking of him.
Along his travels in Labrynna their paths seemed to constantly cross, which, quite honestly, Link should have expected as much if Ralph was set out with the same intentions as his own, yet somehow it would still catch Link off guard. Ralph would show up and derail Link off course, a sly grin on his face as he would prod at the hero, waste his time with banter that was less than witty, then leave with a flurry of his (stupid) cape.
Link would usually always meet the interactions with distained silence. Usually. Silence was not uncharacteristic for Link by any means, most of the time that's how he would stay, though he found that with Ralph's backhanded comments and narcissistic declarations, it was hard to always hold his tongue; sometimes he couldn't stop himself from quipping back with a roll of his eyes, which would only seem to push Ralph forward, getting into Link's space, cocky smirk and all, trying to egg Link on further, as if he wanted to push his buttons to see what would happen, but Link wouldn't give him that satisfaction.
Over time, it seemed as though the interactions become more frequent, as if Ralph was deliberately seeking the hero out. At some point, he wasn't sure exactly when, but his knee jerk reaction to seeing Ralph went from being annoyance, to excitement. Of course Link wouldn't admit that, not out loud, but he couldn't ignore how his heart would begin to pick up as Ralph would start his usual banter, circling him like a hawk and keeping his eyes trained on the hero, like if he looked anywhere else Link would be gone and the interaction would end too soon. Far too soon.
Another virtue of Ralph's was that he was reckless, doing things without thinking of the consequences or the dangers, yet another thing that got on Link's nerves. It seemed every time they ran into each other Ralph had a new bruise, a new cut, and frankly he was lucky it was never anything worse, not yet at least; having run ins with monsters was always a dangerous gamble, even if you are prepared, but even more so if you jump into battle without any sort of plan, which, as it seemed, was Ralph's preferred method. Of course, battling monsters wasn't the only way Ralph would constantly put himself in danger, annoyingly, there were things he most likely didn't even consider as dangerous, not thinking twice and doing as he pleased. Annoyingly.
One such thing, was sleeping out in the open.
Link halted with a click of his tongue at the sight he saw before him: Ralph hunched over against a tree trunk, fast asleep. At first, Link worried he was injured, quickly straying from his path to check on the other, though as he got closer it was clear the red head was only sleeping; with as much experience as Link's had, he knew better than to fall asleep somewhere so open, lest he turn into easy pray for some wandering monsters. Ralph, however, was inexperienced with the real danger a hostile world held, and let himself be a sitting duck.
With an admittedly over dramatic sigh and a roll of his eyes, Link shrugged his sword and shield off his back, setting them to the side as he sat down next to Ralph against the three. Link was a hero after all, it was his duty to protect others, is what he told himself, though the way he gently guided Ralph's head to rest on his shoulder was surely something other than a heroic duty, but he didn't think about that.
It had to have been a couple of hours at this point. Link had begun to grow tired himself, and he had half the mind to get up and leave, but yet he stayed, and eventually, to his relief, Ralph began to stir. He sat up slowly with a groan, rubbing his eyes as he gradually became aware of his surroundings, along with the extra body that hadn't been there when he had fallen asleep.
"Link?" Ralph's voice was raspy with sleep, and hearing his name in such a way on the other's tongue made a tingle shoot down Link's spine. His ears twitched.
'Stupid to fall asleep out in the open like this, you're lucky I found you, had it been a monster that found you first you would have been dead meat,' Link signed with a furrowed brow as Ralph watched his hands move, eyes half lidded as he sluggishly tried to keep up with Link's words. Ralph raked his eyes back up to look at Link's face, and the hero could practically see the wheels turning in the other's head.
"What? Don't tell me you were protecting me, how sweet of you," Ralph's words dripped with condescension as a smirk came to his face, leaning into Link's space slightly. Link could feel his cheeks warm, though if it was from the close proximity of the other or having his actions called out he couldn't say.
'it's my duty to protect, even people like you,' he grimaced, giving a wrinkle of his nose to accompany his glare. Ralph was quick to bite back.
"People like me? And what kind of people would that be?" He questioned, grin ever present.
'People with their head too far up their ass to see how dangerous it is to sleep out in the open,' Link all but spat, his words eliciting a chuckle from the other man, and Link's cheeks grew warmer.
"Your words sting, dear hero," Ralph spoke with a fake whine to his inflection. Barely a beat passed and he was leaning in further. "Is that truly all you think of me? Surely there must be something more," his hands were planted on either side of Link now, boxing him in and pinning his back to the tree. Link wasn't stuck by any stretch of the imagination however, if he wanted to, he would have no trouble with shoving Ralph into the dirt. If he wanted to.
"Yeah, that you're a bastard," Link bit, their close proximity forcing Link to speak rather than sign, and he could swear he saw Ralph's pupils dilate.
"Is that so? Because judging by how red your face has gotten, I'd say there's something else," Ralph urged on, leaning in closer until Link couldn't press himself into the tree any further. Link's heart beat picked up its pace as his face only flushed more at once again being called out, though he stayed silent, which caused Ralph to press. "I'm willing to bet that you actually like me, you're just too petty to admit it. I'm right, aren't I? I'd bet you like me being this close too, I can tell whenever we talk that you like it when I get in your space, it's clear as day," they were practically nose to nose now, Ralph's breath ghosting over Link's lips as he spoke.
"You're so full of yourself," Link stated, his voice betraying the even tone he tried presenting as it cracked slightly, nerves rising in his throat.
"Am I wrong?" Ralph questioned, Link said nothing. A few beats of silence passed before Ralph picked up again, his voice quieter this time. "You can tell me to stop you know," another beat of silence.
"What if I don't want you to?" Link's voice came out as nothing but a whisper.
"Then I won't."
The short distance that was left closed, and Ralph's lips were on his. The kiss was feverish, almost desperate in the way that Ralph pushed further, taking a hand from where it had been planted on the tree to grip at Link's waist, painted nails digging into his tunic slightly as Link's own hands came up to rest against Ralph's stomach and chest, gripping onto the fabric; Link groaned into the kiss, and Ralph took the opportunity to lick into his mouth with all the enthusiasm in the world, simultaneously pulling Link into him by his waist and pushing him into the tree.
Link's heart was practically beating out of his chest, grunts and groans muffled by each other's mouths, and while Link wasn't keeping track of the time, he had enough awareness to know that this really isn't what he should be doing. Link was busy, he had people to save and problems to solve that wouldn't wait for him to play tonsil hockey with another man, as much as he may want to; beyond that, the heat was becoming too much for Link to handle, the nerves in his stomach coiling, and it felt like his head was spinning, truthfully, he couldn't handle much more. Just as Ralph's hands began to wander, Link mustered up the will to finally push the red head away.
"I don't have time for this," Link panted, wiping his mouth of saliva as he began to get up, collecting his sword and shield from where he had sat them.
"Link-" Ralph called after him, though Link kept moving, beginning to walk away as he waved the other off over his shoulder.
"Don't fall asleep in the open again, otherwise I might not be the first person to find you next time!" Link warned, not even bothering to turn his back as he heard Ralph call his name again, continuing down the path he had been set down to begin with.
Ralph was infuriating beyond measure, he struck every one of Link's chords and got on his last nerves. But, Link would be lying if he said he hadn't grown to look forward to when he would see the other man again, it almost felt like a breath of fresh air, everyone else Link met on his travels was usually suffocatingly nice, something that Link struggled to match most times, but with Ralph he could match his banter, play and feed into it, and Link loved it, snide comments be damned; no matter the comments, as long as they came from Ralph's mouth Link would eat them up to fuel his own fire, a fire that the red head ignited in his chest. Maybe Ralph wasn't so bad after all. Maybe.