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The Yiga Clan had been going through troublesome times over the past few months. A nasty drought had hit the Faron region, diminishing their normally abundant supply of Mighty Bananas. The Gerudo had come worryingly close to discovering their secret hideout multiple times. And to top it all off, Sooga had fallen ill. He, of course, was determined to continue carrying out his duties as normal, but eventually his workaholic behavior caught up with him. Individually, all of these things could be dealt with swiftly and calmly, but together, they snowballed into one massive problem.
So naturally, when the Gerudo finally let up on their search for the Yiga Clan, an alternative source of food was found, and Sooga’s fever broke, Master Kohga took the opportunity to reward himself for working so hard.
“Look, this one’s been sitting down here for over two hundred years!!” He exclaimed, holding out an old bottle to Sooga. The larger man glanced over the worn label, and sure enough, his master was correct. “I didn’t even know we had stuff this old!”
With no small amount of pride, Kohga decidedly tightened his grip around the neck of the bottle, leaving the rest of the alcohol to continue aging as he and his right hand man left the cellar.
“Forgive me, Master Kohga, but I still do not understand why you have requested my presence for this.”
“Well, where’s the fun in drinking alone?”
A silence lingered between the two as they continued down the empty corridors of the Yiga Hideout. Finally, Sooga spoke again.
“Master Kohga....”
“Hm? What’s up?”
“I do not drink,” He deadpanned, as he normally did.
“You... don’t?” Though he tried his best to hide his disappointment, Kohga was notorious for being a very expressive person, even with a mask on. His shoulders drooped, and the tone of his voice betrayed his immense disappointment. “Well... Hey, I’m sure drinking alone can’t be that bad, right?”
It was a huge letdown for the Yiga leader, but that didn’t mean he was going to pressure Sooga into drinking. Would Sooga drink with him if he ordered him to? Most likely. But Kohga would never dream of doing that to his right hand, or anyone, for that matter.
“...I do still have some reports to catch up on. If you would like, I can accompany you while I complete my work.”
Almost instantly, Kohga perked up. “Why didn’t you say so earlier!”
The pair made a sharp right turn where they otherwise would have parted ways, entering the Meeting Room (unofficially dubbed Master Kohga’s Office) together. The room was quite small, only featuring a large rectangular table and chairs, as well as a decent shrine to the Calamity in the upper portion of the space. Usually, the table would be clean and orderly, with a few candles burning upon its surface for extra lighting. However, with Sooga having been out of commission for so long, Kohga accidentally allowed the papers to pile up into a chaotic whirlwind.
“Oh.... Uh- sorry about the mess, big guy.”
Sooga sat down and immediately got to work, sorting through reports, maps, and half finished battle plans while Kohga took his spot at the head of the table. He wasted no time in uncorking the bottle, and only second guessed himself for a moment before tipping his mask up. The mask was only moved enough to reveal the lower portion of his face.
“Bottom’s up!” He declared, before putting the rim of the bottle directly to his mouth and taking a long, satisfying drink.
Sooga kept working.... Well, Sooga should have kept working. Instead, he found himself getting distracted by the sight of Master Kohga partially demasked. He had seen the Yiga leader’s face a few times in the past, but he could never seem to grow used to the sight. His soft face, peppered with stubble. The way his lips curled into a casual grin before they met the rim of the bottle once more…. He found himself wanting to snatch the bottle from Master Kohga’s hands and take its place.
“You sure you don’t want any?” Kohga asked, snapping the other from his abhorrent thoughts.
Sooga had been caught staring. Luckily, Kohga didn’t seem to pick up on the reason behind it.
“No, thank you...”
Before he could get lost in his thoughts again, Sooga turned back to the task at hand. He flipped through countless papers, sorting them all into their respective piles, and giving the important ones a more thorough read-through. This took plenty of time, though neither of the men seemed to realize just how long it had been. Sooga had become entirely absorbed in his work, attempting (with some level of success) to keep himself distracted. Kohga had quite the opposite problem. While he drained the bottle of wine, he watched Sooga chip away at the mess of papers he had created. The guilt that ebbed at the back of his mind about the mess began to fade, replaced exclusively with thoughts of his right hand man. He drank in the sight of the other as he drank away at his wine.
This was something that happened often, far more often than either of them would have liked to admit. It was a pattern that had been playing itself out for years now. One would be so caught up in their work, they wouldn’t notice the other staring. Sooga tended to feel much more conflicted about it than Kohga, but that never seemed to stop him.
The more Master Kohga drank, the less coherent his thoughts became. To make matters worse, his vision began to blur and sway, and the room grew awfully warm.
“Say, Soogie, has anyone ever told you you’re... Uh, totally buff?”
At that, Sooga stopped what he was doing, finally facing Kohga again.
“Um.... yes,” He answered, though with a hint of atypical uncertainty. He understood Master Kohga was drunk, but he had yet to realize just how drunk.
“Riiight, right, of course you’ve heard that before! But- uh…. But has anyone ever told you how totally hot you are?” As he spoke, Master Kohga’s lips curled into a lazy grin. He was no longer able to comprehend the weight his words held, for both himself and Sooga.
Under normal circumstances, a comment like that would very obviously be a joke. But now... Sooga wasn’t so sure.
“...With all due respect, Master Kohga, how can you know I am... Attractive if you have never seen my face?”
“Psh, that’s easy! You’ve got that husky voice, and the body of a god!” Kohga declared, throwing his hands up as he leaned back into his chair.
“.......Master Kohga, I believe you have had enough to drink.”
“Whaaat? No!” He scoffed.
“Master, please give me the bottle.” Sooga held his hand out, but Kohga only maneuvered the bottle further away from his grasp.
“Nope!”
“You can finish it some other day. Right now, you are far too intoxicated to-”
“Nuh uh! I… earned this!”
As Kohga leaned further away from Sooga, so did his chair. Before he had time to react, the chair was falling, dumping him off as it went down. He landed with an unceremonious “oof!”
“Master Kohga!” Sooga immediately rushed to his Master’s side.
“I’m alright, ‘m alright...”
While Kohga was distracted with the mild pain his fall had caused, Sooga snatched the bottle (which thankfully hadn’t broken) right out of his hand. Usually he would never even think of doing something like that to Master Kohga, but it was his job to keep him safe, and sometimes that meant cutting him off when he got too drunk.
“Hey! What’d ya go and do that for!?”
“Like I said before, you are far too drunk as it is.”
“Yeah right! I’m totally, one hundred percent... fine!”
“Then stand up.”
Kohga huffed, grabbing at the table for support as he hoisted himself off the floor. As soon as he was on his feet, he began to sway, until he stumbled directly into Sooga.
“Hey, Soogie...”
Sooga sighed at how the ridiculous (yet endearing) nickname made his face heat up. “Yes, Master Kohga?” he replied, trying to keep his voice level.
“Would ya mind usin’ those big… strong muscles of yours to carry me?”
Sooga didn’t respond verbally. His answer was simply to do as Master Kohga asked. With only some effort, he scooped up the Yiga leader bridal style. Though he was a more heavy set man, Sooga had lifted weights much heavier.
As Sooga carried Master Kohga off to his chambers, he tried (to no avail) to ignore the way Kohga wrapped his arms around his neck so affectionately. And when the drunk man pressed his face into Sooga’s chest as though it were a soft pillow, he almost collapsed in the middle of the corridor.
But he didn’t. He did as he was asked, which was to carry Master Kohga to his bedroom. Once there, Sooga very, very gently laid Master Kohga down upon his bed, trying his best not to wake him from his drunken slumber.
Quietly, Sooga started back towards the hall. But the soft mumbling of Master Kohga stopped him just short of the doorway.
“g’night.... soogie.”
“...Goodnight, Master Kohga. Sleep well.”