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2024-04-24
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It's a Little Dark in Here

Summary:

Link sighed. "Did you have a nightmare?" He reached for a nearby lamp, lighting it to fill the tent with a warm glow.

He stood up to take a step towards Mask, but promptly froze in place.

"Sprite?"

The boy in the corner wasn't his brother.

-----

Or, Warriors meets someone unexpected during the War of Eras.

Notes:

I might come back to this at some point to edit or add onto the story, but for now, here you go!

Tagging this was a nightmare.

Also, I didn't know what to call this version of Dark Link so if anyone has ideas, let me know ^^

Work Text:

The Captain had been sleeping peacefully in his tent after a long day of work. Then he heard a noise. It was quiet and brief, but Link had always been a light sleeper. With a soft, weary sigh, he opened his eyes and listened for anything else.

The canvas walls rustled as nighttime winds pushed against them. Somewhere further away, soldiers on patrol spoke to each other as they walked through the camp. Everything else was quiet.

Link's eyes were slowly drifting shut when he heard it again.

A small sneeze.

This time, the Captain slowly reached for the dagger at his belt. Most likely, Mask or Tune had snuck into his tent after a nightmare, but he could never be too cautious. Link squinted to try and peer through the darkness, searching for the source of the noise. Nothing.

"Sprite? Sailor? Was that you?" He hesitantly spoke.

"...No."

That was Mask, alright, hidden somewhere in the corner of the tent.

The Captain relaxed at the revelation. It was just his little brother, not some assassin trying to kill him in his sleep.

"What are you doing up?" Link asked. He sat up in bed, rubbing at his eyes to try and get a better look around. He thought he could see a small figure curled up in the shadows, but it was too dark to be certain. 

"Nothing," Mask muttered in response.

Link sighed. "Did you have a nightmare?" He reached for a nearby lamp, lighting it to fill the tent with a warm glow.

He stood up to take a step towards Mask, but promptly froze in place.

"Sprite?"

The boy in the corner wasn't his brother.

It certainly looked like Mask, but everything was off. This boy was dressed in all black. He glared at the Captain with blood red eyes. His grey face was framed with silver hair.

Link knew a Dark when he saw one, but the last thing he expected was to see one in the shape of his baby brother.

"What are you doing here?" The Captain's tone was sharp now, angry with the knowledge that this threat was in his tent pretending to be someone he loved. He took a step closer, every muscle prepared to attack.

Mask- Dark Link- the creature hissed, huddling back against the corner. "I'm not doing anything, idiot!"

"Then get out of my tent before I make you," Link countered.

The thinly veiled threat must have done the trick because after a tense moment, Dark Mask warily stood up and slunk towards the tent flap.

As the creature moved past, the Captain grabbed it by an arm. He stared at it furiously, wanting to tell the being never to come back, to leave the camp and crawl back to Ganon where it belonged, but something made him pause.

The boy's skin was hot to the touch, slick with sweat. He was breathing too fast and too heavily.

He had sneezed earlier that night.

Suddenly, all Link could see was his sick little brother staring up at him, and something inside him softened.

"You're unwell," he said, trying not to let his guard down despite the sudden urge to wrap the boy up in a blanket and take care of him.

Dark Mask stared at him silently, his face creased with a mixture of skepticism and confusion.

Link took the opportunity to press a hand to the boy's forehead. "You have a fever. You're sick." Could Dark Links even get sick? Or was this something different altogether?

"I don't know what that means."

"Of course you don't." The Captain sighed. He begrudgingly pushed away his anger and boxed it away for later. "I'm going to help you. Don't make me regret it."

Surprisingly, the boy didn't struggle when Link picked him up. He just stared at Link like he'd grown two heads. It was better than the alternative. If it'd been Mask that was sick, he'd be thrashing and screaming to be put down and left alone. The Captain half expected this one to stab him, but the little Dark didn't do that either.

"I'm going to get you some water, and then you're going to sleep," Link said, placing Dark Mask on the cot and wrapping a blanket around him.

"I don't sleep."

"You do now."

Dark scowled.

"If anyone sees you, they'll freak out, so stay under the blanket." Link picked Dark up again.

"I could just stay here," Dark pointed out.

"As if I would let you out of my sight. You're coming with me."

The Captain carried Dark out of the tent, his embrace firm. He felt like he was being split in half. Part of his mind was telling him he was making a mistake, that Dark would attack him or use magic to destroy the camp... and then the other part of his mind was eager to protect the small boy, reminding him that this was his brother, in a way, and he was sick. Could Dark really do any harm like this? Would he? He'd already had plenty of opportunity to catch Link off guard.

Link sighed, deciding to focus on the plan. He pressed Dark's head against his shoulder, hoping that anyone who saw them would assume it was Mask in his arms.

The mess tent was only a short walk away. When they arrived, Link filled a cup with water and handed it to Dark.

"Here, hold this. You can drink it if you want, but don't spill it," the Captain instructed. He filled another cup, just in case, and carried it himself.

They walked back to the tent, and despite Link's suspicions, nothing bad happened. Dark didn't suddenly stab him in the back, and he didn't try to get away either. He just sat in Link's arms and held his water as he was told to do. Link didn't understand why his enemy was obeying him- he wasn't used to his actual brothers obeying him- so it all felt very unusual.

Once they were back inside, Link placed his glass on the desk, then put Dark Mask on the cot. He checked the boy's temperature again. Still hot. Link grabbed a cloth and dipped it in the water on his desk, then used it to wipe Dark's face. Hopefully it would cool him down.

Link sat down at his desk and watched Dark with a mixture of concern and apprehension. When the boy looked back at him, Link said, "Drink some water and then lie down. You need to rest."

"Why are you helping me?" Dark asked. He gripped the cup of water in his hands but didn't drink yet.

The Captain raised an eyebrow. "You're sick."

"That's not a reason."

"Yes, it is." Before Dark could argue further, Link changed the subject. "What's your name?"

Dark gave him a deadpan stare.

"Other than Link, Dark Link, or Mask," the Captain clarified. "What should I call you?"

"I don't know," came the exasperated reply. "No one calls me anything else."

"Okay... How about Shadow?" Link suggested.

"That's boring."

"Well... Night? Moon? Owl?" The Captain was pretty tired of coming up with names for people who were all different versions of the same person.

"You're really bad at this."

"Hush and drink your water." Link stared at the boy thoughtfully. "Cricket," he mused.

Dark frowned and sipped from his cup. "That's humiliating."

"I think it's fitting. Besides, would you rather be called Mosquito? Or Possum?" Link chuckled. "Cricket isn't so bad. Besides, it's a work in progress. We can come up with something better later on."

Dark paused, his brow furrowed. "What do you mean? I'm not staying here."

"You are for now, at least until you're better. Now sleep," Link insisted.

Begrudgingly, Dark finished drinking his water and lay down. The Captain applied the damp cloth over his forehead, then adjusted the blankets around the boy.

"Goodnight, Cricket," the Captain murmured.

The only reason he didn't get a grumble in response to the nickname was because Dark had drifted off, despite his previous claim of not needing sleep.