Work Text:
When the hero awakes, he’s nestled tightly in strong arms. There’s a dull ache to the back of his head, and a sharp stinging pain in his side. He can see the light crimson stains of blood on the fabric of his tunic, as well as the wrappings around the foreign hands that hold him.
Grunting, he forces himself to sit up and break free of the grasp that keeps him still. The effects are almost immediate, and he lets out a soft cry of pain as his wounds are irritated. The body next to him stirs, up and alert like a watchdog within seconds.
“You are hurt, hero. You must rest.” The voice is deep and soothing, a calming tone that helps ease his anxiety and take some of the ache away. He knows this voice. He knows these arms.
A gasp, and he turns his head to the side sharply to get a glance at the eyes. He knows those eyes. He knows this man.
“Sheik?”
A small tuft of blonde hair sticks out from underneath tightly wrapped cloth and blows softly in the gentle breeze. Link watches it with carefully trained eyes, and before he really knows what he’s doing, he reaches forward and tucks it gently back into the fabric.
“Yes, hero. You must lay down once more. I will watch over you.”
And Link does as he’s told because he knows that Sheik will keep to his promise. Sheik always keeps to his promises, no matter how simple or complicated they may be.
He meets the other’s eyes, looking up questioningly and Sheik already knows what Link is going to ask before the words come out of his mouth.
“Yes, I will play for you. Get comfortable.”
Link closes his eyes and waits patiently. Soft fingers sweep across his pulse point for a second or two, followed by the sound of rustling. Within moments, Sheik’s beautiful lyre music fills his ears and all of a sudden the pain simply vanishes.
He hums along to the melodies he knows, and listens closely to the ones he’s not yet heard. He can swear in that last moment before he slipped off to sleep, he felt the press of soft lips against his own.
He dreamt of gentle touches and warm kisses far off into the night.
But when he woke later that day, he woke alone.
Sheik was gone, and all that was left to prove he was ever there was a broken lyre string and the shattered remains of a Deku nut.