zelda fanfic || what after love 1.5;
title: What After Love
pairing: Sheik X Link X Zelda triangle; Sheik X Link and Zelda X Link
rating: PG-13
genre: romance / AU
chapter summary: Zelda comes back to Castle City, and Sheik is forced to recognize the real disconnect between himself and Link.
note: finally i got the new chapter up. i'm such a baller.
But lately Link was forgetting himself- he felt like he kept leaving things behind, he felt scattered, like a fistful of stars thrown over junkie dreams, industrial faces. For him the days prodded as usual, walked along, although with hidden darkness that he couldn't measure. He'd wake up in the morning and by lines of the afternoon wonder what to do about the night; then he'd meet up with the gang and they'd solve that problem with slipping laughter, with reckless money.
Lately, also, he'd spent time at Sheik's house- lie around with lazy limbs, slow sun smiles; recuperate in the damp, peaceful shadows,...in those shadows of Sheik's eyes. The light was like glass as it came through the windows; Link watched as Sheik moved about the house, movements snakelike. He wondered if Sheik talked to Zelda on the phone, or something- if they kept a steady communication. It didn't seem like it. People always talked about how close Sheik and Zelda were- but it seemed like they were close in the way of people when they stand next to each other: like there was nothing but some physical bond keeping them together.
It was weird, but he didn't ask Sheik about it. Like always, Sheik would reveal himself if he felt like it, would unravel his stories if he saw fit.
"What're we doing, tonight, anyway? Do you know?" Link asked, looking up at the ceiling.
"Hm? It depends," Sheik replied, his tone dark and mild, as though he was permitting spirits.
"Raven was talking about someplace downtown that we should try," Link replied, turning over on his side, glance at an angle, "Do you wanna go there?"
Sheik's eyes seemed to smile; seemed to recede, back into plush dark. "If that's where your mind is heading, Hero," he said, voice like laughing.
Link smiled. "I don't know where my mind's heading, lately," he said with a laugh; then he sat up, looked at Sheik- and a thought crossed his mind at the red.
"By the way," he continued, as Sheik fixed him with a curious look," I was talking to Shad the other day- when I was out with him and Malon- and I asked him about Sheikah history, and he said there's nothing really...what did he say- 'out of the ordinary,' or something." He tipped his head a bit- trying to figure out against the quiet strength of Sheik's posture what he was trying to say. Sheik shifted his weight. "I don't know," he finished, not knowing the road of his words.
The hidden crook of a smile lit Sheik's eyes; he leaned against the sofa, grace like death. "And what does Shad know?" he asked, almost as a laugh. "He lives vicariously through textbooks, noise; his life is too clear for him to navigate. It's a false glass." He paused. "History is words and supposition, unless it's history of the heart; and for that, I'm better. I've lived a thousand different lives; I've been in hundreds of situations. Called the shadow people, after all- I know the heart of it."
Link smiled, and he needed no pause to know that was true. Sheik was a mystery to him; he came from nowhere, so it was true, he guessed. He only hoped that Sheik was here to guide him, not to mystify him- and from the way he leaned with the dark weight of a gun in his small frame, Link knew it was that way.
But there was no question about what he owed in return. They hung around for a while longer, called up Raven and made plans to meet up later tonight.
A night like nothing could fit into- all lights and spun-up glamour out of trashcan survivors. A tacky carnival that lily light couldn't expel. Raven had shown up like the king of living dead, a crooked cigarette look in his eyes, and dragged them to a strange carnivorous hipster joint, because apparently the drinks were really good and there was some chick there he was lookin' to devour. Link was already wrapped-up, star-eyed, in the night; Sheik was willing to go along with it.
The people in this place didn't seem to have dreams. Seemed machines, fueled on tactile sensation- seemed like people who needed to be saved from something. Some radical university kids started a conversation with them just as soon as they walked though the door. Their talk was annoying, but Link didn't really have too much of a problem with them. They bought the three of them drinks, but they fell out of the students' graces when Sheik made a comment about some leftist dictator of time gone by:
"I mean," (said one of the kids, as disco lights passed by his head, "Ganon had ideas- he had a vision- it was a lot better than these political pigs. And I mean to get power obviously a little blood's gotta be shed, am I right? And these bastards take blood, too. I mean, I'm right. Right?"
Sheik nodded, and his weight shifted- so that now he occupied a new nice of stars and dark. Link noticed the change and hid a smile behind his glass. "Ganon," Sheik said, tongue soft, "Was a good clown."
The kid started; he and his friends exchanged glances. "Eh?"
"One of the best clowns to grace the ring; clouded over his actors' depravity and believed in the sun of his own eyes," Sheik continued, "How many clowns do you know that can do that?"
"One in every four," Raven joined in, finishing off his glass.
"That temporary breed breathes blood," Sheik said, the edge of a smile in his voice. "Or maybe he was a magician? He turned a trick or two."
"That guy prolly fucked pigs," Raven finished, the rough cleaned scent of alcohol sharp off his breathing.
"What! You guys are seriously brainwashed. Brainwashed by the system, man. All that means to me is that you're against progress," one of the kids said, and who wasn't with them was against them; they walked off and held fast onto their rhetoric, but not without taking Link's drink first.
"Man, what faggots," Raven said, "I'm sure as fuck glad I don't gotta deal with that shit. Bastards'll talk shit then go home t' their goddamn knitting."
"The blind ones are the first to fall. Ganon got whatever he paid for, and whatever he didn't pay for; and besides," Sheik said, leaning against a wall, "What sort of world is this that I should care?"
Link smiled; his mouth cold, and held fast- he could never know how close. "Yeah, there are better things to worry about," he nodded.
Sheik took the light of his smile in stride. "Caring's like a prison," he replied; but that same old feeling struck his ribcage and he had to turn away from that line of thought. "Caring doesn't get a person anywhere; Ganon got someplace and started to care."
Link paused, and then laughed- eyes scanning huddled people. "I don't know anything about history," he said, as though to confess. "I don't even know if Ganon was all that bad."
Sheik's eyes turned bright; penny songs and copper flowers. "Ganon's brain doesn't interest me," he said, leaning to drink light, "But how is yours?"
"My brain's okay I guess," Link answered, with a laugh, and it was just dizzying to Sheik, how Link seemed blind to the closeness between them...
Raven was blind to it, too, of course; shifted like a sailor against a countertop. "Y'should see Zelda deal with pricks like that," he said, suddenly with a full glass in his hand, "She can fuckin' cut 'em."
"Really? How?" Link asked, turning his glance toward Raven.
"Eh? It's jest in 'er," Raven replied, with a shrug; thinking that sufficient, he took a long chug of his drink. Soon enough, with shark eyes he spotted his girl; he decided he didn't need Link as a wingman, and stalked off to go win her for the night. So Sheik and Link were left alone again- savage beats and these swept lights liek paint. An artificial energy, sort of.
"What a weird place," Link chimed, leaning against a wall, "The people are just sort of weird."
Sheik leaned next to him, eased by proximity; the fireworks feeling stretching all the way to his fingertips, numbing them, shaded in anonymity. "These potatoes," he replied, with a shrug.
Link smiled amusedly, looking back to the crowd- they were all potatoes, not in any concrete way, but nonetheless Sheik was right. Sheik was always right in the funniest ways. "Weird vegetables, huh?" Link answered, stretching out. He leaned against the wall, and the way he leaned- street baby sweet, rainy day of his eyes. Sheik fixed his posture, as though they were puzzle pieces, angled toward one another.
"Yes; or else ghosts in photograph nirvana."
"...Sort of like still-life people?"
"That's correct, Hero; where'd you get your eyes?"
"From your words, I guess," Link shrugged, with a small crook of a smile; Sheik laughed, darkly, seemed pleased at Link's answer. But then he caught himself again- he realized he was slipping too far into this strange music. The smoky feeling like being on the edge of a precipice crept over him again. He was still trying to reckon with the stifling colors painted over his heart; it was still too much. Link noticed the way Sheik had paused, was about to ask him why-
Sheik moved forward slightly, either to speak or strike, but then somebody cut through their conversation. "Hey, come dance with me!"- a Zora girl with eyes like black diamonds.
Link quirked his head, eyes spun in confusion. "Uh- me?" he asked, pointing to himself.
"Yeah, you! I'm Ruto, what's your name?" she asked, and her hands- she moved forward, her hands now on Link's arms, pulling, soft- something sharp arched in Sheik's mind, suddenly there black lightning across his heart.
"Oh, I'm Link," he replied, seeming to just go along with it as she pulled him along. He didn't really see any intention there, just figured she was some girl, like usual.
"Link! That's a nice name, I like it. Come on, this is my favorite song! Dance with me before it's over!"
Link wondered how she could even hear the song (every sound in here was mushed together into humming energy, a throbbing pulse, seismic tones), but he just shrugged. He turned back to Sheik as she strung him along; "I'll be right back, okay?"
And then just as easily he was gone; and Sheik's eyes flashed, brilliant with sudden malice. Everything in his body tensed as he watched LInk go- go with some club princess who pawed at him parasitically, who was so irritatingly feline in the way she turned her eyes at him. He'd seen it all in a flash, he could dissect her every movement. And why would Link go with her?- could he really ask that question?
He couldn't control his feelings; it was sickening, the feeling of possession and the knowledge that he ad none. The lights and the music and the crowded sounds became secondary. What could he do? He felt cursed; he felt poisoned. He couldn't say anything to Link, he knew he couldn't. He had sentenced himself to being a second-class citizen, a phantom guard, in Link's heart, but to feel that way was another thing entirely. That his feelings should rest on the ministrations of another- no; he had to recede back, fall back and dissolve...allow this anger to swallow his consciousness in solitude.
On the dancefloor, Link smiled down at the Zora- all desperate hands and pleasing laughs, but he could tell that she was in another place entirely. He'd dance with her for this one song, and then go back and find Sheik, of course. It wasn't too big of a deal to him, so he just enjoyed himself as best he could.
The song ended. The feeling of its bassline faded from the floor. Link nodded and turned away to go off and look for Sheik; the Zora girl grabbed his arm, eyes like "Not so fast," but he just smiled and told her he had to go look for his friend. He ducked out of her reach seamlessly, wasn't aware of her reckless infatuation, and headed back to the wall he'd left Sheik by-
And Sheik was nowhere to be found. Link smiled, bemused; Sheik didn't seem like the type who waited, after all, so he wandered around for a bit. He expected to see Sheik by the bar, by a cluster of interesting people, or maybe back with Raven- but as time passed by and he passed by lights, he found nothing. Maybe Sheik had gone someplace else?- out for a smoke, or maybe just to be by himself, Link knew that Sheik liked to be alone. He decided to wait and get himself a drink, but then as the bartendress was taking his order, remembered that without Sheik he had no money. "Oh, no, nevermind, thanks." So, bummed and confused, he went on his search again.
Nowhere on the floor; nowhere by university radicals, or in the flush of solitary darkness. Link knew that finding Sheik was like cornering a fox...He figured he'd just wait and Sheik would pop up; in the meantime he went to find Raven again. Even though, he couldn't shake the anxious feeling that something was wrong- like electricity gone haywire- had he done something, said something?
He found Raven on a lounge chair, in some corner dark as a thief alligator's den. He had a drink in his hand, a girl on his lap- a different girl from before, she was half out of her senses, kissing on him sloppy and careless. He barely looked up to see Link. "Oh, hey, faggot," he said, with a slight nod; then back to the girl- "'Ey, Christ, chick, let go'a my hair- whaddyou, high?"
"Hey- do you know where Sheik is?' Link asked, leaning down next to Raven.
"What? I can't fuckin' hear you!"
"Sheik- do you know where he went?" Link asked, turning up his voice a bit.
Raven rose an eyebrow. "Why? He ain't here?"
"No," Link answered, shaking his head, "I was dancing with a girl and then when I came back he was gone. I went looking for him, but I couldn't find him."
Raven let out a slight "tch," was about to answer but the girl captured his mouth in a heavy, loaded kiss. He managed to push her off when he was done with it, then turned back to Link. "He prolly just disappeared or somethin'."
Link paused. "Huh? Disappeared?"
"Yeah, he just fuckin' schlepps off sometimes. Like a fuckin' lizard. Just fuckin' disappears."
Link paused; thinking that in the short time he'd known Sheik, he'd never done that. The music swelled and Link's eyebrows knit together, but Raven just waved it off. "Don't worry 'bout it. He just fuckin' does that. Fuckin' weirdo."
Link nodded. An unfamiliar line of melody slipped into his mind, and Raven suggested, "Why dontcha get a girl? There's plenny for the fuckin' takin', ya goddamn eunuch." It wasn't that Sheik had gone- it was that he'd just vanished with the shell of his darkness rattling behind him- the music of his eyes there and gone. It didn't seem right; but then again, Raven knew Sheik better than he did, so he decided to take Raven's advice and not worry about it. At the end of the night, he was alone; his hands in his pockets, the air cool and fresh- some people passing him by were chatting excitedly. They seemed to have come from an Indigo-go's show, and were jabbering about how the guitarist had drunkenly kissed the bassist during the show; all this excitement, but again he was remembering how tough it was to be alone on these streets.
"And at the bottom of it, I've been every name; what strange bell you'd call a heart by- or a set of memories; everything collects in memories, but graffiti is reality- to be an everyone you have to be no one at all," Sheik was saying (eyes of blood and copper bells); "A thief, about right. But I'd be a cheat to recycle thoughts, and to live lawlessly, honesty is imperative; so we could sum it up to say that the lucks of light and darkness are the only truths."
Link smiled- positively beamed; this was the first time since in a couple of days that they'd seen each other, and Link had missed Sheik's words. They'd become his gateway to the world, and they might of confused other people but every syllable created clarity in his mind. He didn't mention the other night; he figured that Sheik wouldn't want to talk about it, and besides if they were okay now, they were okay. Sheik seemed to be in a good mood, so he didn't question it.
Shad shuffled into his jacket with a slight smile, shook his head. "Sheik," he said, "I'm convinced that you were born to write fables."
"Fables?" Sheik hummed, turning snake eyes on Shad. "Fables aren't necessary; life lies enough. I have no use for paper."
"Fuck fables," Raven rejoined, taking a deep drag on his cigarette, "I'm convinced this fucker was put on earth to confuse the shit outta people."
There was a pause. Link and Sheik turned to each other; a smile crooked across Link's face, sly. He turned back to Raven. "Or just to confuse begg-"
"What's that?" Raven asked, grabbing Link by the collar and trapping him in a headlock.
"Raven, why are you always sexually harassing me?" Link laughed. "I'm starting to worry."
"Sexual harassment my fuckin' ass, you good-for-nothing-"
"Raven the Rapist!" Link interrupted, with a sputtering laugh. Sheik turned back to watch them; laughed a bit himself.
"Ah, fuck you," Raven spat, pushing Link away.
Link moved forward, sorta clumsy, but didn't lose his balance; managed to get on his feet and turned to Sheik with a smile of chilling light. Sheik's eyes shaded; Link just put his arm around Sheik, whistling as they walked, bad luck blues in the notes, boyish eyes. The lonely fire of touch, the lines of the body seamless into each other...Sheik tensed, just slightly.
"You gotta admit, I'd be a pretty fuckin' cool rapist, though."
Nobody bothered to question what weird logic Raven was employing there; didn't bother to question anything, actually, not even the dead people shuffling by them. As they made their way down the street, the sidewalk got cleaner, the buildings slick and marble-bound. They reached a building that wasn't too imposing, colored beige and steel, with flags flying out front- the Castle City Hylian Heritage Center, or something. Link suddenly remembered, oh yeah, they'd been walking Shad to work- that was why they were out with the sun still shining overhead.
"Well, here is where I leave you," Shad said, with a smile and a nod.
"Yeah yeah," Raven said, waving him off, "Make sure t' finally bang that intern today, huh?"
Shad shook his head, laughing slightly; Link waved. "Seeya later!"
"Have a good day, you three," Shad answered with a nod, and then turned off, through the sleek revolving doors and out of sight.
"Man, what a fag," Raven said, turning away. "Well, whatever, he's cool."
"He does- uhm- what is it- something with history, right?" Link asked, leaning heavily on Sheik, turning toward him.
Sheik looked up at him, the mask shifting a bit, and nodded. "He's a pawn of academia. We'll wish him the best, I suppose."
Link smiled; then his eyes brightened on memory. "Oh yeah, I remember Malon said something like- that Shad was...with Zelda? No, that's not right...oh yeah, that he liked her!"
Raven scoffed. "Yeah, that dude's got a fuckin' hard-ass boner over Zel," he answered, "It's 'cause she's smart and shit."
"Is she? Shad is pretty smart too," Link said.
"Yeah, they'd like- fuckin' read books an' shit together," Raven said, rolling his eyes; he let out a small, sharp laugh from behind his teeth. "Read books an' like, talk."
"The two great evils of the romantic mind," Sheik answered, with a small laugh; Link laughed along with him- not really understanding what he meant, but the sound of Sheik laughing was nice enough to go along with. Sheik continued, "A woman's belief is that love can save everything; and a man believes in the comfort of the physical. The place they meet is in the trenches of their rhetoric- miscommunication as a battlefield."
"Is Zelda like that?"
Sheik paused; eyes smiled. "What does Zelda believe in? It's anybody's guess," he answered, but immediately wished he hadn't said it- suddenly the dark realization came over him that something like that would make Zelda intriguing; and Zelda was all too intriguing herself...
But Link didn't continue on that line of thought. "What about you?" he asked, earnest and curious, tipping his head.
Sheik paused. "What about me?"
"Do you think that's true? How do you see it?" Link asked.
Some lonely brass notes; close sweet, Sheik's eyes lowered. "As a song," he answered, "Or a train as it's leaving. Or money in hand- that sort of peasant magic."
Link paused thoughtfully. "I guess I'm the same," he said, with a serious nod; Sheik turned his eyes, to see Link clearer. "I think love is simpler than people make it out to be." He paused, then laughed. "Then again, I wouldn't really know." Sheik paused, took a breath; he knew that Link would know- he was someone so filled with love, every low lost movement he made was sick with it...
"Man, love can suck my dick," Raven said, finally cast out of the spell of a girl passing by, "If I got a girl, I got a girl, that's it- none of this fuckin' sonnet serenading bullshit."
Link laughed; smoke from an alley, some people throwing out rotten fish. He turned back to Raven. "What do you guys wanna do now?"
Raven paused, as if thinking; then he made a slim movement as though to cut through air. "Let's get drunk and see a movie," he suggested.
Link smiled and agreed and Sheik was fine with that, would follow if he wanted it. They walked along till they found a drugstore, and Raven went in to get the proper tools for to get inebriated with while Sheik and Link waited outside.
Sheik and Link played catch with a dog ball that Link found lying around; then Raven came out, cursing that the cashier gave him the stink-eye. No matter- they slugged past minutes, slipped past and stalked off to look for a movie theater- like refugee schoolkids on the lam from curfew. They drank as they went; Raven had bought two bottles of something green and wicked bitter. Link and Raven passed one of the bottles back and forth until they reached a big movie theater, old-style and neo-constructed. At night, it must have been breathless looking, concrete glam, all lights and big-name letters; but in the clear light of the afternoon, it looked like any old public school folly.
They decided to see a movie called The Leviathan, about the legend of the Hero of Time venturing into Jabu-Jabu's belly to save the princess Ruta. Raven and Link were already laughing and tipsy when they reached the theater, so Sheik bought the tickets with a sly line, and they went inside.
It was shot in drab colors that would suddenly turn primary at decisive moments, shot in a fast speed; it was an okay enough premise, but the actor playing the Hero of Time was way too dramatic, and the script was horrible. Besides, twenty minutes into it Raven had gotten the idea to shout "GET IN MAH BELLY!" as was (in)appropriate; then he started to throw popcorn at the "dumb broad" actress, and the audience shifted in disapproval, in discomfort. Link was breathless, in tears with laughter; because, aside from the steady buzzy he was under and Raven's manifestos, Sheik was doing a very subtle and quiet re-narration, turning it into a carnival love/hate story between the stomach and the hero.
Somewhere in between Raven suggesting that the Hero "shoot it in the stomach" and Sheik saying, "But why are leaving me? I'm in love with you," the white flare of a flashlight found them. The usher waved it at them, telling them to get up; Raven shrank back- "Jeez, ya wanna shine that any brighter, faggot?" Another usher came in, and, unwilling to fight it out, the trio bid adieu to the gladdened theatergoers. It was funny, the other usher apparently knew Raven, they had gone to the same school- "rich bastard," he'd said (Raven was the son of a long line of knighted soldiers in the Royal Guard; where he fit in that genealogy, nobody was quite sure).
"Shit," Raven snapped, "Those fuckin' people just don't know what comedy really is. I should be a goddamn actor. Fuckin' shoot the door in." He took a long slug of what was left in the last bottle; he was beyond sense- the afternoon was rushing out, fall winds spinning on the edge of night.
The feeling was wearing off for Link- he leaned against Sheik again, crutch of shade. Sheik shifted to accommodate, feel for support and blind man walking. "Look, the moon is up already." Link said, pointing to the sky; and there the cloudy caricature moon, pale caricature against the clouded sky.
"The moon; a woman of secrets- a false balloon," Sheik observed.
They walked to nowhere, knowing tacitly that any old place would be fine. The streets they crossed dwindled down from sleek, clean buildings to your everyday apartments, drugstores, local jives. Sometimes dirty, sometimes everyday. In front of a bank was an older man- homeless, in rags- who looked with a scowl as they laughed on by.
"You're hopeless," the man spat, under a frown- eyeless, thoughtless.
Raven was about to walk past him (that slight grimace he put on whenever they came into contact with the needy), but Sheik stopped- soft walk suddenly halted, and he turned to the man, meaningful in the lines of motion. "How so?" he asked.
The man sort of laughed, not a happy sound. "A bunch of thugs with money in hand," he answered, shaking a finger, "There's no hope for you and no future either."
Link felt sorry, slightly vexed; but Sheik seemed to smile- eyes bright red. "That may be," he replied, and took out a cigarette, handed it to the man; nothing simplistic in his movements. The man accepted it grudgingly, knowing instinctively that Sheik was not giving it by charity. They turned again; Raven spat a line about how fuckin' retarded it was to give shit to people who couldn't give anything back, but then he started to blubber about some girl's tits, so they didn't pay attention to him.
Link was conscious of certain things around him- the feel of the air, Sheik next to him, the fact that he kept losing balance- but his mind was a still a little muddled. "What did you think of the Hero?" Sheik asked.
"The- huh? What hero?" Link asked; as if by instinct he reached forward for nothing, and then remembered the movie they'd "watched." He nodded. "Oh- the Hero- I dono. He was too brave."
"In what regard?"
"I dono, well- I just think that if I had to do something like that, I wouldn't be all- like- gung-ho and so serious and so y'know good versus evil. That's all fine but it must be scary to get chosen for something," Link said, words slurring a bit.
"Ah," Sheik answered, with a slight laugh; Link's arm around him outstretched, and he seemed to be making some sort of motion, a diagram.
"You know, I don't know if what he said is true, but I don't really think about hope that much," Link went on, looking at Sheik with a soft expression crossing his eyes, moved like water- distracting from the path ahead, "But you know, I think as long as you have somebody, you have something. That doesn't make sense. It does, though."
Fall breeze falling gold; Sheik felt the urge to just lean forward, to silence desire- he'd only ever heard truth from Link. Instead he just shifted their weight, arid wind.
They ended up calling it quits for the day and caught a cab to Link's placed. Before Link went inside, tho', Raven called him back, half-hanging out of the cab (careful not to lean over Sheik too much). "'Ey, you! Get yer ass back here!"
Link went back, leaned his head inside. "Yeah?"
"Remember- Zelda tomorrow night," Raven said, pointing at Link drunkenly. He gave Link a skeptical glance. "An' dress snappy- try an' fix yerself up. It's highbrow shit. Can't go 'round lookin' like a gaddamn hobo."
Link nodded and said goodbye with a smile, turned back around to go inside; Raven told the cabby to start it up again and leaned back heavy into the seat. Sheik didn't bother to watch the scenery; seemed content with the insides, the jangling necklace off the rearview mirror.
"Man, Zelda's finally gettin' her ass back t' Castle City," Raven said, voice a bit weary, "'Bout fuckin' time."
Sheik's eyes darkened, blood red moon, and he paused quietly. He was never exactly excited to see Zelda return from a trip- her presence was so normal and unaffected to him that it didn't matter if she was with him or gone. But there was another variable here- something new, and he wasn't sure if the gloom laying low against the colors in his mind was a bad omen. It was a question of numbers, in a way: two, the number of perfect balance, of harmony- and three, an uneven number and too strong ignore. To throw off the magic would be too easy- he leaned forward, feeling the spell break.
He and everyone around them had brought up Zelda so many times with bloated words and honeyed suggestions like "You'll like her," and now he was getting the creeping feeling that he didn't want Link to meet her- swallowing up his mind at the at the inference of her oncoming presence. Her trip was over; she would come back, she was bound to. It wasn't like she wouldn't. That was something he knew he had to accept, but he didn't want to introduce her Link, because he was right- he would like her. And that was too much of an upset, would sweepingly overthrow the regime in one fell blow. He paused, recalled her face, her clouded eyes- Zelda's charm echoed in his mind, bellowed like a warning through the goldwire hollow in his brain.
Link didn't really understand what "snappy" meant; wasn't even sure if he had something that could be considered snappy, so he just figured that he'd get extra clean and wear something either white or black, since dressing nice usually meant either one of those colors. He wondered what kind of shindig this would be- if it was the Princess, it had to be something pretty ritzy, no-nonsense type stuff. Champagne, bright lights and all. He was sure he'd feel out of place, but it would be okay if Raven and Sheik were there.
It was dark out, dark as Hell, trees twisting up toward the sky and no forgiveness in the color of night; but the streetlights were vivid against the black. Small autumn hurricanes pulled up the dregs of summer so that it was biting cold. Half a gold moon; it seemed okay out.
They picked him up in an unusual car, by their everyday standards- black, a long and sleek thing, looking like a criminal's drive, ready to sink back into the dark on command. He felt self-conscious about the way he looked, all ordinary shoes, but he didn't pay it too much mind. Raven rolled down the window and shouted "Hoiii!" and Link ran over, opened the door and ducked inside.
"Hey!" Link said, with a breathless smile; reached over to hug Sheik, who seemed to be there by accident- not very dressed up at all, still in dark colors, slim jeans, boots. He looked around, saw Raven was in a button-down shirt and jeans. The Lauryn Hill Brothers were also here. He blinked. "Why are you guys here?"
Their expressions snapped out of the usual lazy, blank look, and they exchanged a mutually offended glance. "Why wouldn't we be here?"
Link paused. "Oh, yeah," he said, "Sorry."
"Whatever," one of them answered, shrugging.
Link laughed nervously, sat back next to Sheik. "So who else is coming?"
"Fuckin'- Shad, Fado, uhm- Malon's not comin' 'cause she gotta work today," Raven said, counting on his fingers; he made a dismissive gesture. "An' Hell if I know the rest. All the other turtleneck poet bastards."
"In the world," Sheik continued, "All of them- simultaneous bliss- writing poetry about water and their mothers."
"And street chicken," Raven scoffed. "This bullshit man. Cocktail parties and retarded intellectuals."
"Is it like that?" Link asked, turning to Sheik.
Sheik didn't so much shrug as just rolled his shoulder slightly; the crest of the movement with seamless grace. "More or less; it's an exercise of ego. Vapidity, hands full of coins- grins and that chain gang."
Raven turned back with an alleycat smile. "Good thing we got Sheik on our side, eh?"
"Who's got Sheik on their side?" Sheik asked, a vague smile crossing his expression; he seemed to sigh. "I have no idea who this 'Sheik' character even is. I'm glad I'm not him; he seems to be popular."
"Ah, shaddap," Raven answered. Sheik quirked his head a bit; Raven's frown deepened a notch. "Fine, fine. What's good is that we're goddamn VIP guests, kid. Ain't you glad you got connects?"
"Oh, yeah," Link nodded, smiling a bit. "I guess."
"'I guess,' he sez. Getting a little arrogant, eh?" Raven asked, smacking Link on the knee.
"Arrogant? Ew, Raven germs," Link said, sticking his tongue out.
"Arrogance- I would rather he didn't care," Sheik said, simply, an odd note striking in his voice.
Raven rolled his eyes. "What's got you in a goddamn mood?"
A small turn of silence, and Sheik looked back at Raven with something combative in his eyes- low venom. He laughed. "Mood?" he asked. The syllable- the inflection- shifted the atmosphere just a tiny bit. Link flinched mentally, recognizing the tone.
"Awright, jeez, I'm sorry," Raven snapped, rolling his eyes; he relaxed against the seats and banged on the back of the driver's seat. "Hey, goddammit, we ain't payin' you ta go back in time- speed it the fuck up."
Link wasn't sure how to react; against good judgement he gave Sheik a slight glance, wondering if something was wrong. But Sheik just paused, laughed a little, leaning back against Link (and his good judgement was gone, too, it seemed; allowed himself to break the distance with contact). so everything was fine, for now.
Link figured the place was far from his house- fifteen minutes and they were still down on the ribbon road, getting into the heart of the city, big lights and everything white and beige. Raven turned around to face Link. "Awright, so pay attention: this shit is real swanky," he said pointedly, "So what yer gonna do is scope out anybody who looks stupid and loaded."
Link quirked his head. "Huh? Why?"
Raven grinned. "Challenge 'em to a game'a pool."
Link laughed. "Man, that's sneaky," he said, and they shared a sort of fistpump-handshake.
"Alright, that's enough of that homo bullshit," Raven said, wiping his hand off on his pant leg; "We're almost there."
The place they stopped in front of wasn't a convention hall or anything like Link was expecting; it was just an apartment building- albeit a nice one- with heavy framed metal doors and a sleek lobby. They shuffled into a gold elevator along with some people who seemed to be heading to the same party. They tried to open conversation, but Raven made it a point to ignore them, and Sheik was completely uninterested in them; the furthest they got was asking Link how his night was.
"Turtleneck shitheads," Raven muttered under his breath.
It was weird that Sheik seemed to have an air of marked disinterest- or maybe the odd part was the anxiousness in the rhythm of his walk, the fact that he seemed ready not to be there at any moment. Link wondered why he wasn't excited; he and Zelda were supposed to be close, after all. "Do they have drinks? It would be funny if Raven got drunk here," Link said, tarrying behind the group with Sheik as they strode down an anonymous hall.
Sheik sent a glance up toward Link. "Nothing that Raven would like," he said, slightly laughing, "The delicate intestines of the upper class wouldn't take it it."
"Oh," Link said, smiling; Sheik watched with careful mind as Link's smile turned low, too close. "Yeah, Raven's kinna heavy, huh?"
Sheik laughed. "Iron-heavy," he agreed, averting his eyes from Link and looking ahead. "Dead weight, I'd surmise."
Link laughed, stretched his arms over his head. "Although, I don't know, why this kind of party? It doesn't seem like something you guys would like."
Sheik shrugged small. "It isn't; it's the way things fall into place- mirrors and curtains- there is something to be found even in the artificial, I suppose. Even if it's just plastic nonsense."
"Yeah," Link nodded, "There's something in every place, I guess." It was odd; he wasn't that excited to meet Zelda- he felt as though it was just something commonplace that he was doing. He wondered if he should be more nervous, but figured it was better to be natural, nevermind that she was a princess.
They knocked at the door, had to wait a bit before admittance. A band playing some weird arhythmic music in the background; that same strange breathless feeling that LInk had felt on his first night in Castle City came back to him in waves- but without all the lonesomeness of looking in from the other side of the window. Just all these ghosts, sort of, a lot of people smiling, a lot of people with strangely straight faces.
"Raven!" someone said, with a wide grin, and started a conversation with him that seemed slightly official.
"So where's that girl hidin' at?" Link heard Raven ask.
Link paused in his walk to take a flute of champagne off a tray held by a waiter-type dude who just blustered by before Link could say "thanks." "There are a lotta people here," he said, looking around, and then back to Sheik, "Would Zelda even be here? It seems weird."
Sheik shrugged slightly; leaned imperceptibly back. "She's here, she's not here," he said, mysteriously, "It would hardly matter." Link paused, wondering what he meant by that.
"Fuck it," Raven said, walking back toward them; he cast his eyes to Link's glass "'Ey, where the Hell'd you get this?" he asked, grabbing it out of Link's hand.
"Oh- there was a dude passing by," Link answered, as Raven took an experimental sip of it.
"Ugh," Raven spat, wincing as he handed it back to Link, "Tastes too fuckin' fancy. Pansy shit."
"Want?" Link asked, holding the glass out to Sheik- totally forgetting, as he usually did, about the mask.
Sheik waved his hand. "I'm fine," he said; something in his voice seemed drained. Link was suddenly feeling slightly drained himself- it was all these lights...
The Lauryn Hill Brothers went off someplace and the three of them were left on their own. Nobody asked about Zelda; it didn't seem to be a question. Link spotted the blonde head of the nameless writer. Iza, nowhere by him; and then Link remembered with some vexation that Iza probably wouldn't be here. And why was that?
To Link's surprise, Auru, the soldier, found them. "Hoiii, you guys! Hello, Sheik," Auru said, with a solid nod.
Sheik folded his arms, nodded back slightly. Link smiled in surprise. "Wow! Auru! What are you doing here?"
"Ah," Auru said, returning the smile, "Work."
"Work? Auru, are you a waiter?" Link asked, grinning.
Auru laughed a bit. "No- I'm on the Royal Guard. To protect the princess." He paused and looked to Sheik. "I was told to tell you that Zelda is here; as is Impa."
"Ah," Sheik said, but it sounded laughing, condescending- "All the usual, hm? Nothing's changed."
Auru looked back to Sheik unsteadily. "Ah, I- suppose so," he said, and turned his attention to Raven. "Raven! How about a job! I always said you should be part of the Royal Guard- you've got the family history for it."
Raven rolled his eyes, with a loud "tch." He waved his hand. "Nah fuckin' thanks," he answered, "Ain't my thing."
"Ah, well! You can't escape the soldier's blood, no matter how long you think you'll be young," Auru laughed, and gave Raven a good-natured clap on the shoulder. Raven's expression sort of wilted, his eyes and mouth flatlined; Link managed to hold back a laugh at Raven, of all people, being treated like a kid. Auru seemed to pick up on the joke and winked. "Ah, well, I'm back to work. It's been nice seeing you all." He turned on his heel and left them with a salute.
Raven seemed a little frazzled at Auru's surprise visit, and Link had, in his laughter, forgotten about Sheik's odd response; it wasn't even felt, the tenseness of Sheik's body. It was all just lights to get drunk on, low music, booming laughter and the chatter of haughty conversation- everybody in black or white, silver jewelry, diamond smiles.
Ten minutes, fifteen, twenty; Raven was getting drunk too steady for his tastes and there was no sign of change. They played some kind of trick of light on a guy who knew them vaguely- they seemed the only living people in a room of dumb happiness. A girl tried to get it on it, but they were too far gone already, and that was okay.
At one point, Link noticed a woman standing off, some feet away from them, with her expression solid stone and her eyes alert, strangely lit. Almost scary, the way her eyes were confident. She was of strong build, wide-framed; tan skin, white hair, red irises. Link recognized that she might be a Sheikah. He made some connection between her and Sheik for some reason- it might have been the way she moved, every line in place, fluid grace (although the though struck him that nobody really moved the way Sheik did- nobody really had that unaffected nightshade, coiled and uncoiled like a snake to a drum).
Link was looking over in her direction unabashedly; she seemed to catch his gaze instinctively- and then looked past him, recognition crossing her face. Link looked to Sheik. Sheik's eyes moved, just slightly, just at such an angle, and some desert light passed into them. There wasn't any pleasant feeling between the two. Link looked back and the woman started to lift her hand, as though to signal Sheik-
But Sheik, not missing beat, simmering down low on his own silence, swiftly turned away and started to walk. Raven, of course, followed without a question- Link flung a glance back at the woman and then turned to follow Sheik, pace staccato in uneasiness. "Did you know that woman?" he asked, the question coming off his tongue almost subconsciously.
By a subtle movement Sheik seemed to concede; his eyes splashed with that clandestine energy. "And it's funny," he said, and it seemed sardonic, "I didn't want to speak with her. I wonder what end of the moral spectrum that puts me on?"
Link paused, affected by the poison in Sheik's words; his mouth softened into a sort of concerned frown and he put a hand on Sheik's shoulder. Sheik's eyes lowered. "I'm quite alright," he said, sliding out of Link's grasp. "And you, Hero?"
Link smiled. "I'm oka-"
"Oi! You guys-" the Lauryn Hill Brothers, from outta nowhere- "Come on- Zelda."
Raven grinned. "Damn, finally! Fuckin' A, that girl!"
The brothers began to walk, observing out loud that Raven was a stupid idiot; the movement forward. Link laughed at their jibes, looked to Sheik still smiling. He followed them, Sheik for a moment was stuck behind- some new color clouding his thoughts, putting his nerves on the edge- the lights were still effervescent, bright, but his blood felt like bad luck and every step was sickening. Link's laugh, bright, bubbling; Sheik's own savage jealously, ineffective, misplaced- not even a realistic conclusion as it was, but he knew that Zelda would...
The drum; the moments tightened- they were in a quieter place now, and there was a group of people, centered around a girl. Her posture was serene; wearing a pink shirt, slim cigarette cut black jeans. Sheik felt as though he were clutching a cross- Zelda was of course the same.
"Zelda! Goddammit, Zelda!"
Zelda turned her eyes up toward them. "Oh," she said- her voice was soft but spoke loud and there was some sort of fugitive lightning when she said it, "Raven."
Link had tarried in the back of the group with Sheik; Sheik separated from Link at once- couldn't bear to feel it that close- and Link for a second couldn't get a clear view on Zelda, was stuck behind some people.
"Jeezis, Link, what the fuck are you doing all the way at the back? Greet 'er properly. whassamatter with you?" Raven barked, now standing next to Zelda- to Link's left were the twins, and to his right, Shad and the writer, and they all moved a bit to let him past.
"Zel, this is Link," Raven said, laconically, lazily, "Link, this is Zelda."
Link opened his mouth, about to greet her; her eyes lifted to his- drifted to his- and he paused, wondered what she meant by that. Her eyes stone-cold, clouded by a dream haze, dark blue- she looked at him not judging, not expecting- just cool. She looked and just looked. He found a word on his tongue but like static he couldn't shake it off.
She didn't smile at him. She just seemed to observe him. Her face was heart-shaped, dipped down to a small chin; nose, elegant. Mouth was small, little drop of rose, still unsmiling, cold and fresh. Her face seemed untouched- everything about her seemed untouched- her skin had brightness like dew, radiant. Hair soft gold, close to brown. Everything about the way she looked at him was indifferent, but something about her just called like honey, sweet- something about the way her eyes were unresponsive to his was a world in itself. Bells in the dip of her neck and then all this white light, turning, bright. Suddenly Link was confused- he blinked, unaware of his limbs- she was beautiful.
The gravity of her mouth, and Link was immune to every sound before him, felt like he could- reach out for anything and it'd be completely tangible. She seemed to notice something in his demeanor and the light in her eyes turned slightly, rippled over. Peaceful, cosmic, stonelike. She was different from everything in this city- Link vaguely heard Raven going, "Oh shit, I gotta tell you what Sheik said," but he didn't even recognize it.
And on his end, Sheik had seen it happen- the way Link was looking at her, the way his mouth was so softly near expression but not there yet- the way Zelda just looked back at him, without taking mark of anything. It was painful, almost, it was like music falling apart or like some long damn barren river. Tore past his eyes and straight to the ribcage, the heart, the veins. Oh, God, what comfort dark would provide- what suffering- he felt like some sort of animal, ripped and tossed aside, only the shell of a voodoo curse. He couldn't help it, of course; it was inevitable, Zelda had this effect on everyone. But Link- did it have to be Link? The only one- of all the people...of all the people, the one he wanted so badly. He prayed it would only be infatuation (would he deny Link happiness if it suited him?)- because Zelda was the only person Sheik knew of who came close to deserving Link.
note: LOLOLOLOLOLOL sheik got pwn3d
oh, link, you're such a little boy X3
this fic is a goddamned trainwreck XD
i cant wait to introduce zelda in the next chapter. not gonna lie, shes a fuckin g in this fic.
Thanks for reading! :D
pairing: Sheik X Link X Zelda triangle; Sheik X Link and Zelda X Link
rating: PG-13
genre: romance / AU
chapter summary: Zelda comes back to Castle City, and Sheik is forced to recognize the real disconnect between himself and Link.
note: finally i got the new chapter up. i'm such a baller.
But lately Link was forgetting himself- he felt like he kept leaving things behind, he felt scattered, like a fistful of stars thrown over junkie dreams, industrial faces. For him the days prodded as usual, walked along, although with hidden darkness that he couldn't measure. He'd wake up in the morning and by lines of the afternoon wonder what to do about the night; then he'd meet up with the gang and they'd solve that problem with slipping laughter, with reckless money.
Lately, also, he'd spent time at Sheik's house- lie around with lazy limbs, slow sun smiles; recuperate in the damp, peaceful shadows,...in those shadows of Sheik's eyes. The light was like glass as it came through the windows; Link watched as Sheik moved about the house, movements snakelike. He wondered if Sheik talked to Zelda on the phone, or something- if they kept a steady communication. It didn't seem like it. People always talked about how close Sheik and Zelda were- but it seemed like they were close in the way of people when they stand next to each other: like there was nothing but some physical bond keeping them together.
It was weird, but he didn't ask Sheik about it. Like always, Sheik would reveal himself if he felt like it, would unravel his stories if he saw fit.
"What're we doing, tonight, anyway? Do you know?" Link asked, looking up at the ceiling.
"Hm? It depends," Sheik replied, his tone dark and mild, as though he was permitting spirits.
"Raven was talking about someplace downtown that we should try," Link replied, turning over on his side, glance at an angle, "Do you wanna go there?"
Sheik's eyes seemed to smile; seemed to recede, back into plush dark. "If that's where your mind is heading, Hero," he said, voice like laughing.
Link smiled. "I don't know where my mind's heading, lately," he said with a laugh; then he sat up, looked at Sheik- and a thought crossed his mind at the red.
"By the way," he continued, as Sheik fixed him with a curious look," I was talking to Shad the other day- when I was out with him and Malon- and I asked him about Sheikah history, and he said there's nothing really...what did he say- 'out of the ordinary,' or something." He tipped his head a bit- trying to figure out against the quiet strength of Sheik's posture what he was trying to say. Sheik shifted his weight. "I don't know," he finished, not knowing the road of his words.
The hidden crook of a smile lit Sheik's eyes; he leaned against the sofa, grace like death. "And what does Shad know?" he asked, almost as a laugh. "He lives vicariously through textbooks, noise; his life is too clear for him to navigate. It's a false glass." He paused. "History is words and supposition, unless it's history of the heart; and for that, I'm better. I've lived a thousand different lives; I've been in hundreds of situations. Called the shadow people, after all- I know the heart of it."
Link smiled, and he needed no pause to know that was true. Sheik was a mystery to him; he came from nowhere, so it was true, he guessed. He only hoped that Sheik was here to guide him, not to mystify him- and from the way he leaned with the dark weight of a gun in his small frame, Link knew it was that way.
But there was no question about what he owed in return. They hung around for a while longer, called up Raven and made plans to meet up later tonight.
A night like nothing could fit into- all lights and spun-up glamour out of trashcan survivors. A tacky carnival that lily light couldn't expel. Raven had shown up like the king of living dead, a crooked cigarette look in his eyes, and dragged them to a strange carnivorous hipster joint, because apparently the drinks were really good and there was some chick there he was lookin' to devour. Link was already wrapped-up, star-eyed, in the night; Sheik was willing to go along with it.
The people in this place didn't seem to have dreams. Seemed machines, fueled on tactile sensation- seemed like people who needed to be saved from something. Some radical university kids started a conversation with them just as soon as they walked though the door. Their talk was annoying, but Link didn't really have too much of a problem with them. They bought the three of them drinks, but they fell out of the students' graces when Sheik made a comment about some leftist dictator of time gone by:
"I mean," (said one of the kids, as disco lights passed by his head, "Ganon had ideas- he had a vision- it was a lot better than these political pigs. And I mean to get power obviously a little blood's gotta be shed, am I right? And these bastards take blood, too. I mean, I'm right. Right?"
Sheik nodded, and his weight shifted- so that now he occupied a new nice of stars and dark. Link noticed the change and hid a smile behind his glass. "Ganon," Sheik said, tongue soft, "Was a good clown."
The kid started; he and his friends exchanged glances. "Eh?"
"One of the best clowns to grace the ring; clouded over his actors' depravity and believed in the sun of his own eyes," Sheik continued, "How many clowns do you know that can do that?"
"One in every four," Raven joined in, finishing off his glass.
"That temporary breed breathes blood," Sheik said, the edge of a smile in his voice. "Or maybe he was a magician? He turned a trick or two."
"That guy prolly fucked pigs," Raven finished, the rough cleaned scent of alcohol sharp off his breathing.
"What! You guys are seriously brainwashed. Brainwashed by the system, man. All that means to me is that you're against progress," one of the kids said, and who wasn't with them was against them; they walked off and held fast onto their rhetoric, but not without taking Link's drink first.
"Man, what faggots," Raven said, "I'm sure as fuck glad I don't gotta deal with that shit. Bastards'll talk shit then go home t' their goddamn knitting."
"The blind ones are the first to fall. Ganon got whatever he paid for, and whatever he didn't pay for; and besides," Sheik said, leaning against a wall, "What sort of world is this that I should care?"
Link smiled; his mouth cold, and held fast- he could never know how close. "Yeah, there are better things to worry about," he nodded.
Sheik took the light of his smile in stride. "Caring's like a prison," he replied; but that same old feeling struck his ribcage and he had to turn away from that line of thought. "Caring doesn't get a person anywhere; Ganon got someplace and started to care."
Link paused, and then laughed- eyes scanning huddled people. "I don't know anything about history," he said, as though to confess. "I don't even know if Ganon was all that bad."
Sheik's eyes turned bright; penny songs and copper flowers. "Ganon's brain doesn't interest me," he said, leaning to drink light, "But how is yours?"
"My brain's okay I guess," Link answered, with a laugh, and it was just dizzying to Sheik, how Link seemed blind to the closeness between them...
Raven was blind to it, too, of course; shifted like a sailor against a countertop. "Y'should see Zelda deal with pricks like that," he said, suddenly with a full glass in his hand, "She can fuckin' cut 'em."
"Really? How?" Link asked, turning his glance toward Raven.
"Eh? It's jest in 'er," Raven replied, with a shrug; thinking that sufficient, he took a long chug of his drink. Soon enough, with shark eyes he spotted his girl; he decided he didn't need Link as a wingman, and stalked off to go win her for the night. So Sheik and Link were left alone again- savage beats and these swept lights liek paint. An artificial energy, sort of.
"What a weird place," Link chimed, leaning against a wall, "The people are just sort of weird."
Sheik leaned next to him, eased by proximity; the fireworks feeling stretching all the way to his fingertips, numbing them, shaded in anonymity. "These potatoes," he replied, with a shrug.
Link smiled amusedly, looking back to the crowd- they were all potatoes, not in any concrete way, but nonetheless Sheik was right. Sheik was always right in the funniest ways. "Weird vegetables, huh?" Link answered, stretching out. He leaned against the wall, and the way he leaned- street baby sweet, rainy day of his eyes. Sheik fixed his posture, as though they were puzzle pieces, angled toward one another.
"Yes; or else ghosts in photograph nirvana."
"...Sort of like still-life people?"
"That's correct, Hero; where'd you get your eyes?"
"From your words, I guess," Link shrugged, with a small crook of a smile; Sheik laughed, darkly, seemed pleased at Link's answer. But then he caught himself again- he realized he was slipping too far into this strange music. The smoky feeling like being on the edge of a precipice crept over him again. He was still trying to reckon with the stifling colors painted over his heart; it was still too much. Link noticed the way Sheik had paused, was about to ask him why-
Sheik moved forward slightly, either to speak or strike, but then somebody cut through their conversation. "Hey, come dance with me!"- a Zora girl with eyes like black diamonds.
Link quirked his head, eyes spun in confusion. "Uh- me?" he asked, pointing to himself.
"Yeah, you! I'm Ruto, what's your name?" she asked, and her hands- she moved forward, her hands now on Link's arms, pulling, soft- something sharp arched in Sheik's mind, suddenly there black lightning across his heart.
"Oh, I'm Link," he replied, seeming to just go along with it as she pulled him along. He didn't really see any intention there, just figured she was some girl, like usual.
"Link! That's a nice name, I like it. Come on, this is my favorite song! Dance with me before it's over!"
Link wondered how she could even hear the song (every sound in here was mushed together into humming energy, a throbbing pulse, seismic tones), but he just shrugged. He turned back to Sheik as she strung him along; "I'll be right back, okay?"
And then just as easily he was gone; and Sheik's eyes flashed, brilliant with sudden malice. Everything in his body tensed as he watched LInk go- go with some club princess who pawed at him parasitically, who was so irritatingly feline in the way she turned her eyes at him. He'd seen it all in a flash, he could dissect her every movement. And why would Link go with her?- could he really ask that question?
He couldn't control his feelings; it was sickening, the feeling of possession and the knowledge that he ad none. The lights and the music and the crowded sounds became secondary. What could he do? He felt cursed; he felt poisoned. He couldn't say anything to Link, he knew he couldn't. He had sentenced himself to being a second-class citizen, a phantom guard, in Link's heart, but to feel that way was another thing entirely. That his feelings should rest on the ministrations of another- no; he had to recede back, fall back and dissolve...allow this anger to swallow his consciousness in solitude.
On the dancefloor, Link smiled down at the Zora- all desperate hands and pleasing laughs, but he could tell that she was in another place entirely. He'd dance with her for this one song, and then go back and find Sheik, of course. It wasn't too big of a deal to him, so he just enjoyed himself as best he could.
The song ended. The feeling of its bassline faded from the floor. Link nodded and turned away to go off and look for Sheik; the Zora girl grabbed his arm, eyes like "Not so fast," but he just smiled and told her he had to go look for his friend. He ducked out of her reach seamlessly, wasn't aware of her reckless infatuation, and headed back to the wall he'd left Sheik by-
And Sheik was nowhere to be found. Link smiled, bemused; Sheik didn't seem like the type who waited, after all, so he wandered around for a bit. He expected to see Sheik by the bar, by a cluster of interesting people, or maybe back with Raven- but as time passed by and he passed by lights, he found nothing. Maybe Sheik had gone someplace else?- out for a smoke, or maybe just to be by himself, Link knew that Sheik liked to be alone. He decided to wait and get himself a drink, but then as the bartendress was taking his order, remembered that without Sheik he had no money. "Oh, no, nevermind, thanks." So, bummed and confused, he went on his search again.
Nowhere on the floor; nowhere by university radicals, or in the flush of solitary darkness. Link knew that finding Sheik was like cornering a fox...He figured he'd just wait and Sheik would pop up; in the meantime he went to find Raven again. Even though, he couldn't shake the anxious feeling that something was wrong- like electricity gone haywire- had he done something, said something?
He found Raven on a lounge chair, in some corner dark as a thief alligator's den. He had a drink in his hand, a girl on his lap- a different girl from before, she was half out of her senses, kissing on him sloppy and careless. He barely looked up to see Link. "Oh, hey, faggot," he said, with a slight nod; then back to the girl- "'Ey, Christ, chick, let go'a my hair- whaddyou, high?"
"Hey- do you know where Sheik is?' Link asked, leaning down next to Raven.
"What? I can't fuckin' hear you!"
"Sheik- do you know where he went?" Link asked, turning up his voice a bit.
Raven rose an eyebrow. "Why? He ain't here?"
"No," Link answered, shaking his head, "I was dancing with a girl and then when I came back he was gone. I went looking for him, but I couldn't find him."
Raven let out a slight "tch," was about to answer but the girl captured his mouth in a heavy, loaded kiss. He managed to push her off when he was done with it, then turned back to Link. "He prolly just disappeared or somethin'."
Link paused. "Huh? Disappeared?"
"Yeah, he just fuckin' schlepps off sometimes. Like a fuckin' lizard. Just fuckin' disappears."
Link paused; thinking that in the short time he'd known Sheik, he'd never done that. The music swelled and Link's eyebrows knit together, but Raven just waved it off. "Don't worry 'bout it. He just fuckin' does that. Fuckin' weirdo."
Link nodded. An unfamiliar line of melody slipped into his mind, and Raven suggested, "Why dontcha get a girl? There's plenny for the fuckin' takin', ya goddamn eunuch." It wasn't that Sheik had gone- it was that he'd just vanished with the shell of his darkness rattling behind him- the music of his eyes there and gone. It didn't seem right; but then again, Raven knew Sheik better than he did, so he decided to take Raven's advice and not worry about it. At the end of the night, he was alone; his hands in his pockets, the air cool and fresh- some people passing him by were chatting excitedly. They seemed to have come from an Indigo-go's show, and were jabbering about how the guitarist had drunkenly kissed the bassist during the show; all this excitement, but again he was remembering how tough it was to be alone on these streets.
"And at the bottom of it, I've been every name; what strange bell you'd call a heart by- or a set of memories; everything collects in memories, but graffiti is reality- to be an everyone you have to be no one at all," Sheik was saying (eyes of blood and copper bells); "A thief, about right. But I'd be a cheat to recycle thoughts, and to live lawlessly, honesty is imperative; so we could sum it up to say that the lucks of light and darkness are the only truths."
Link smiled- positively beamed; this was the first time since in a couple of days that they'd seen each other, and Link had missed Sheik's words. They'd become his gateway to the world, and they might of confused other people but every syllable created clarity in his mind. He didn't mention the other night; he figured that Sheik wouldn't want to talk about it, and besides if they were okay now, they were okay. Sheik seemed to be in a good mood, so he didn't question it.
Shad shuffled into his jacket with a slight smile, shook his head. "Sheik," he said, "I'm convinced that you were born to write fables."
"Fables?" Sheik hummed, turning snake eyes on Shad. "Fables aren't necessary; life lies enough. I have no use for paper."
"Fuck fables," Raven rejoined, taking a deep drag on his cigarette, "I'm convinced this fucker was put on earth to confuse the shit outta people."
There was a pause. Link and Sheik turned to each other; a smile crooked across Link's face, sly. He turned back to Raven. "Or just to confuse begg-"
"What's that?" Raven asked, grabbing Link by the collar and trapping him in a headlock.
"Raven, why are you always sexually harassing me?" Link laughed. "I'm starting to worry."
"Sexual harassment my fuckin' ass, you good-for-nothing-"
"Raven the Rapist!" Link interrupted, with a sputtering laugh. Sheik turned back to watch them; laughed a bit himself.
"Ah, fuck you," Raven spat, pushing Link away.
Link moved forward, sorta clumsy, but didn't lose his balance; managed to get on his feet and turned to Sheik with a smile of chilling light. Sheik's eyes shaded; Link just put his arm around Sheik, whistling as they walked, bad luck blues in the notes, boyish eyes. The lonely fire of touch, the lines of the body seamless into each other...Sheik tensed, just slightly.
"You gotta admit, I'd be a pretty fuckin' cool rapist, though."
Nobody bothered to question what weird logic Raven was employing there; didn't bother to question anything, actually, not even the dead people shuffling by them. As they made their way down the street, the sidewalk got cleaner, the buildings slick and marble-bound. They reached a building that wasn't too imposing, colored beige and steel, with flags flying out front- the Castle City Hylian Heritage Center, or something. Link suddenly remembered, oh yeah, they'd been walking Shad to work- that was why they were out with the sun still shining overhead.
"Well, here is where I leave you," Shad said, with a smile and a nod.
"Yeah yeah," Raven said, waving him off, "Make sure t' finally bang that intern today, huh?"
Shad shook his head, laughing slightly; Link waved. "Seeya later!"
"Have a good day, you three," Shad answered with a nod, and then turned off, through the sleek revolving doors and out of sight.
"Man, what a fag," Raven said, turning away. "Well, whatever, he's cool."
"He does- uhm- what is it- something with history, right?" Link asked, leaning heavily on Sheik, turning toward him.
Sheik looked up at him, the mask shifting a bit, and nodded. "He's a pawn of academia. We'll wish him the best, I suppose."
Link smiled; then his eyes brightened on memory. "Oh yeah, I remember Malon said something like- that Shad was...with Zelda? No, that's not right...oh yeah, that he liked her!"
Raven scoffed. "Yeah, that dude's got a fuckin' hard-ass boner over Zel," he answered, "It's 'cause she's smart and shit."
"Is she? Shad is pretty smart too," Link said.
"Yeah, they'd like- fuckin' read books an' shit together," Raven said, rolling his eyes; he let out a small, sharp laugh from behind his teeth. "Read books an' like, talk."
"The two great evils of the romantic mind," Sheik answered, with a small laugh; Link laughed along with him- not really understanding what he meant, but the sound of Sheik laughing was nice enough to go along with. Sheik continued, "A woman's belief is that love can save everything; and a man believes in the comfort of the physical. The place they meet is in the trenches of their rhetoric- miscommunication as a battlefield."
"Is Zelda like that?"
Sheik paused; eyes smiled. "What does Zelda believe in? It's anybody's guess," he answered, but immediately wished he hadn't said it- suddenly the dark realization came over him that something like that would make Zelda intriguing; and Zelda was all too intriguing herself...
But Link didn't continue on that line of thought. "What about you?" he asked, earnest and curious, tipping his head.
Sheik paused. "What about me?"
"Do you think that's true? How do you see it?" Link asked.
Some lonely brass notes; close sweet, Sheik's eyes lowered. "As a song," he answered, "Or a train as it's leaving. Or money in hand- that sort of peasant magic."
Link paused thoughtfully. "I guess I'm the same," he said, with a serious nod; Sheik turned his eyes, to see Link clearer. "I think love is simpler than people make it out to be." He paused, then laughed. "Then again, I wouldn't really know." Sheik paused, took a breath; he knew that Link would know- he was someone so filled with love, every low lost movement he made was sick with it...
"Man, love can suck my dick," Raven said, finally cast out of the spell of a girl passing by, "If I got a girl, I got a girl, that's it- none of this fuckin' sonnet serenading bullshit."
Link laughed; smoke from an alley, some people throwing out rotten fish. He turned back to Raven. "What do you guys wanna do now?"
Raven paused, as if thinking; then he made a slim movement as though to cut through air. "Let's get drunk and see a movie," he suggested.
Link smiled and agreed and Sheik was fine with that, would follow if he wanted it. They walked along till they found a drugstore, and Raven went in to get the proper tools for to get inebriated with while Sheik and Link waited outside.
Sheik and Link played catch with a dog ball that Link found lying around; then Raven came out, cursing that the cashier gave him the stink-eye. No matter- they slugged past minutes, slipped past and stalked off to look for a movie theater- like refugee schoolkids on the lam from curfew. They drank as they went; Raven had bought two bottles of something green and wicked bitter. Link and Raven passed one of the bottles back and forth until they reached a big movie theater, old-style and neo-constructed. At night, it must have been breathless looking, concrete glam, all lights and big-name letters; but in the clear light of the afternoon, it looked like any old public school folly.
They decided to see a movie called The Leviathan, about the legend of the Hero of Time venturing into Jabu-Jabu's belly to save the princess Ruta. Raven and Link were already laughing and tipsy when they reached the theater, so Sheik bought the tickets with a sly line, and they went inside.
It was shot in drab colors that would suddenly turn primary at decisive moments, shot in a fast speed; it was an okay enough premise, but the actor playing the Hero of Time was way too dramatic, and the script was horrible. Besides, twenty minutes into it Raven had gotten the idea to shout "GET IN MAH BELLY!" as was (in)appropriate; then he started to throw popcorn at the "dumb broad" actress, and the audience shifted in disapproval, in discomfort. Link was breathless, in tears with laughter; because, aside from the steady buzzy he was under and Raven's manifestos, Sheik was doing a very subtle and quiet re-narration, turning it into a carnival love/hate story between the stomach and the hero.
Somewhere in between Raven suggesting that the Hero "shoot it in the stomach" and Sheik saying, "But why are leaving me? I'm in love with you," the white flare of a flashlight found them. The usher waved it at them, telling them to get up; Raven shrank back- "Jeez, ya wanna shine that any brighter, faggot?" Another usher came in, and, unwilling to fight it out, the trio bid adieu to the gladdened theatergoers. It was funny, the other usher apparently knew Raven, they had gone to the same school- "rich bastard," he'd said (Raven was the son of a long line of knighted soldiers in the Royal Guard; where he fit in that genealogy, nobody was quite sure).
"Shit," Raven snapped, "Those fuckin' people just don't know what comedy really is. I should be a goddamn actor. Fuckin' shoot the door in." He took a long slug of what was left in the last bottle; he was beyond sense- the afternoon was rushing out, fall winds spinning on the edge of night.
The feeling was wearing off for Link- he leaned against Sheik again, crutch of shade. Sheik shifted to accommodate, feel for support and blind man walking. "Look, the moon is up already." Link said, pointing to the sky; and there the cloudy caricature moon, pale caricature against the clouded sky.
"The moon; a woman of secrets- a false balloon," Sheik observed.
They walked to nowhere, knowing tacitly that any old place would be fine. The streets they crossed dwindled down from sleek, clean buildings to your everyday apartments, drugstores, local jives. Sometimes dirty, sometimes everyday. In front of a bank was an older man- homeless, in rags- who looked with a scowl as they laughed on by.
"You're hopeless," the man spat, under a frown- eyeless, thoughtless.
Raven was about to walk past him (that slight grimace he put on whenever they came into contact with the needy), but Sheik stopped- soft walk suddenly halted, and he turned to the man, meaningful in the lines of motion. "How so?" he asked.
The man sort of laughed, not a happy sound. "A bunch of thugs with money in hand," he answered, shaking a finger, "There's no hope for you and no future either."
Link felt sorry, slightly vexed; but Sheik seemed to smile- eyes bright red. "That may be," he replied, and took out a cigarette, handed it to the man; nothing simplistic in his movements. The man accepted it grudgingly, knowing instinctively that Sheik was not giving it by charity. They turned again; Raven spat a line about how fuckin' retarded it was to give shit to people who couldn't give anything back, but then he started to blubber about some girl's tits, so they didn't pay attention to him.
Link was conscious of certain things around him- the feel of the air, Sheik next to him, the fact that he kept losing balance- but his mind was a still a little muddled. "What did you think of the Hero?" Sheik asked.
"The- huh? What hero?" Link asked; as if by instinct he reached forward for nothing, and then remembered the movie they'd "watched." He nodded. "Oh- the Hero- I dono. He was too brave."
"In what regard?"
"I dono, well- I just think that if I had to do something like that, I wouldn't be all- like- gung-ho and so serious and so y'know good versus evil. That's all fine but it must be scary to get chosen for something," Link said, words slurring a bit.
"Ah," Sheik answered, with a slight laugh; Link's arm around him outstretched, and he seemed to be making some sort of motion, a diagram.
"You know, I don't know if what he said is true, but I don't really think about hope that much," Link went on, looking at Sheik with a soft expression crossing his eyes, moved like water- distracting from the path ahead, "But you know, I think as long as you have somebody, you have something. That doesn't make sense. It does, though."
Fall breeze falling gold; Sheik felt the urge to just lean forward, to silence desire- he'd only ever heard truth from Link. Instead he just shifted their weight, arid wind.
They ended up calling it quits for the day and caught a cab to Link's placed. Before Link went inside, tho', Raven called him back, half-hanging out of the cab (careful not to lean over Sheik too much). "'Ey, you! Get yer ass back here!"
Link went back, leaned his head inside. "Yeah?"
"Remember- Zelda tomorrow night," Raven said, pointing at Link drunkenly. He gave Link a skeptical glance. "An' dress snappy- try an' fix yerself up. It's highbrow shit. Can't go 'round lookin' like a gaddamn hobo."
Link nodded and said goodbye with a smile, turned back around to go inside; Raven told the cabby to start it up again and leaned back heavy into the seat. Sheik didn't bother to watch the scenery; seemed content with the insides, the jangling necklace off the rearview mirror.
"Man, Zelda's finally gettin' her ass back t' Castle City," Raven said, voice a bit weary, "'Bout fuckin' time."
Sheik's eyes darkened, blood red moon, and he paused quietly. He was never exactly excited to see Zelda return from a trip- her presence was so normal and unaffected to him that it didn't matter if she was with him or gone. But there was another variable here- something new, and he wasn't sure if the gloom laying low against the colors in his mind was a bad omen. It was a question of numbers, in a way: two, the number of perfect balance, of harmony- and three, an uneven number and too strong ignore. To throw off the magic would be too easy- he leaned forward, feeling the spell break.
He and everyone around them had brought up Zelda so many times with bloated words and honeyed suggestions like "You'll like her," and now he was getting the creeping feeling that he didn't want Link to meet her- swallowing up his mind at the at the inference of her oncoming presence. Her trip was over; she would come back, she was bound to. It wasn't like she wouldn't. That was something he knew he had to accept, but he didn't want to introduce her Link, because he was right- he would like her. And that was too much of an upset, would sweepingly overthrow the regime in one fell blow. He paused, recalled her face, her clouded eyes- Zelda's charm echoed in his mind, bellowed like a warning through the goldwire hollow in his brain.
Link didn't really understand what "snappy" meant; wasn't even sure if he had something that could be considered snappy, so he just figured that he'd get extra clean and wear something either white or black, since dressing nice usually meant either one of those colors. He wondered what kind of shindig this would be- if it was the Princess, it had to be something pretty ritzy, no-nonsense type stuff. Champagne, bright lights and all. He was sure he'd feel out of place, but it would be okay if Raven and Sheik were there.
It was dark out, dark as Hell, trees twisting up toward the sky and no forgiveness in the color of night; but the streetlights were vivid against the black. Small autumn hurricanes pulled up the dregs of summer so that it was biting cold. Half a gold moon; it seemed okay out.
They picked him up in an unusual car, by their everyday standards- black, a long and sleek thing, looking like a criminal's drive, ready to sink back into the dark on command. He felt self-conscious about the way he looked, all ordinary shoes, but he didn't pay it too much mind. Raven rolled down the window and shouted "Hoiii!" and Link ran over, opened the door and ducked inside.
"Hey!" Link said, with a breathless smile; reached over to hug Sheik, who seemed to be there by accident- not very dressed up at all, still in dark colors, slim jeans, boots. He looked around, saw Raven was in a button-down shirt and jeans. The Lauryn Hill Brothers were also here. He blinked. "Why are you guys here?"
Their expressions snapped out of the usual lazy, blank look, and they exchanged a mutually offended glance. "Why wouldn't we be here?"
Link paused. "Oh, yeah," he said, "Sorry."
"Whatever," one of them answered, shrugging.
Link laughed nervously, sat back next to Sheik. "So who else is coming?"
"Fuckin'- Shad, Fado, uhm- Malon's not comin' 'cause she gotta work today," Raven said, counting on his fingers; he made a dismissive gesture. "An' Hell if I know the rest. All the other turtleneck poet bastards."
"In the world," Sheik continued, "All of them- simultaneous bliss- writing poetry about water and their mothers."
"And street chicken," Raven scoffed. "This bullshit man. Cocktail parties and retarded intellectuals."
"Is it like that?" Link asked, turning to Sheik.
Sheik didn't so much shrug as just rolled his shoulder slightly; the crest of the movement with seamless grace. "More or less; it's an exercise of ego. Vapidity, hands full of coins- grins and that chain gang."
Raven turned back with an alleycat smile. "Good thing we got Sheik on our side, eh?"
"Who's got Sheik on their side?" Sheik asked, a vague smile crossing his expression; he seemed to sigh. "I have no idea who this 'Sheik' character even is. I'm glad I'm not him; he seems to be popular."
"Ah, shaddap," Raven answered. Sheik quirked his head a bit; Raven's frown deepened a notch. "Fine, fine. What's good is that we're goddamn VIP guests, kid. Ain't you glad you got connects?"
"Oh, yeah," Link nodded, smiling a bit. "I guess."
"'I guess,' he sez. Getting a little arrogant, eh?" Raven asked, smacking Link on the knee.
"Arrogant? Ew, Raven germs," Link said, sticking his tongue out.
"Arrogance- I would rather he didn't care," Sheik said, simply, an odd note striking in his voice.
Raven rolled his eyes. "What's got you in a goddamn mood?"
A small turn of silence, and Sheik looked back at Raven with something combative in his eyes- low venom. He laughed. "Mood?" he asked. The syllable- the inflection- shifted the atmosphere just a tiny bit. Link flinched mentally, recognizing the tone.
"Awright, jeez, I'm sorry," Raven snapped, rolling his eyes; he relaxed against the seats and banged on the back of the driver's seat. "Hey, goddammit, we ain't payin' you ta go back in time- speed it the fuck up."
Link wasn't sure how to react; against good judgement he gave Sheik a slight glance, wondering if something was wrong. But Sheik just paused, laughed a little, leaning back against Link (and his good judgement was gone, too, it seemed; allowed himself to break the distance with contact). so everything was fine, for now.
Link figured the place was far from his house- fifteen minutes and they were still down on the ribbon road, getting into the heart of the city, big lights and everything white and beige. Raven turned around to face Link. "Awright, so pay attention: this shit is real swanky," he said pointedly, "So what yer gonna do is scope out anybody who looks stupid and loaded."
Link quirked his head. "Huh? Why?"
Raven grinned. "Challenge 'em to a game'a pool."
Link laughed. "Man, that's sneaky," he said, and they shared a sort of fistpump-handshake.
"Alright, that's enough of that homo bullshit," Raven said, wiping his hand off on his pant leg; "We're almost there."
The place they stopped in front of wasn't a convention hall or anything like Link was expecting; it was just an apartment building- albeit a nice one- with heavy framed metal doors and a sleek lobby. They shuffled into a gold elevator along with some people who seemed to be heading to the same party. They tried to open conversation, but Raven made it a point to ignore them, and Sheik was completely uninterested in them; the furthest they got was asking Link how his night was.
"Turtleneck shitheads," Raven muttered under his breath.
It was weird that Sheik seemed to have an air of marked disinterest- or maybe the odd part was the anxiousness in the rhythm of his walk, the fact that he seemed ready not to be there at any moment. Link wondered why he wasn't excited; he and Zelda were supposed to be close, after all. "Do they have drinks? It would be funny if Raven got drunk here," Link said, tarrying behind the group with Sheik as they strode down an anonymous hall.
Sheik sent a glance up toward Link. "Nothing that Raven would like," he said, slightly laughing, "The delicate intestines of the upper class wouldn't take it it."
"Oh," Link said, smiling; Sheik watched with careful mind as Link's smile turned low, too close. "Yeah, Raven's kinna heavy, huh?"
Sheik laughed. "Iron-heavy," he agreed, averting his eyes from Link and looking ahead. "Dead weight, I'd surmise."
Link laughed, stretched his arms over his head. "Although, I don't know, why this kind of party? It doesn't seem like something you guys would like."
Sheik shrugged small. "It isn't; it's the way things fall into place- mirrors and curtains- there is something to be found even in the artificial, I suppose. Even if it's just plastic nonsense."
"Yeah," Link nodded, "There's something in every place, I guess." It was odd; he wasn't that excited to meet Zelda- he felt as though it was just something commonplace that he was doing. He wondered if he should be more nervous, but figured it was better to be natural, nevermind that she was a princess.
They knocked at the door, had to wait a bit before admittance. A band playing some weird arhythmic music in the background; that same strange breathless feeling that LInk had felt on his first night in Castle City came back to him in waves- but without all the lonesomeness of looking in from the other side of the window. Just all these ghosts, sort of, a lot of people smiling, a lot of people with strangely straight faces.
"Raven!" someone said, with a wide grin, and started a conversation with him that seemed slightly official.
"So where's that girl hidin' at?" Link heard Raven ask.
Link paused in his walk to take a flute of champagne off a tray held by a waiter-type dude who just blustered by before Link could say "thanks." "There are a lotta people here," he said, looking around, and then back to Sheik, "Would Zelda even be here? It seems weird."
Sheik shrugged slightly; leaned imperceptibly back. "She's here, she's not here," he said, mysteriously, "It would hardly matter." Link paused, wondering what he meant by that.
"Fuck it," Raven said, walking back toward them; he cast his eyes to Link's glass "'Ey, where the Hell'd you get this?" he asked, grabbing it out of Link's hand.
"Oh- there was a dude passing by," Link answered, as Raven took an experimental sip of it.
"Ugh," Raven spat, wincing as he handed it back to Link, "Tastes too fuckin' fancy. Pansy shit."
"Want?" Link asked, holding the glass out to Sheik- totally forgetting, as he usually did, about the mask.
Sheik waved his hand. "I'm fine," he said; something in his voice seemed drained. Link was suddenly feeling slightly drained himself- it was all these lights...
The Lauryn Hill Brothers went off someplace and the three of them were left on their own. Nobody asked about Zelda; it didn't seem to be a question. Link spotted the blonde head of the nameless writer. Iza, nowhere by him; and then Link remembered with some vexation that Iza probably wouldn't be here. And why was that?
To Link's surprise, Auru, the soldier, found them. "Hoiii, you guys! Hello, Sheik," Auru said, with a solid nod.
Sheik folded his arms, nodded back slightly. Link smiled in surprise. "Wow! Auru! What are you doing here?"
"Ah," Auru said, returning the smile, "Work."
"Work? Auru, are you a waiter?" Link asked, grinning.
Auru laughed a bit. "No- I'm on the Royal Guard. To protect the princess." He paused and looked to Sheik. "I was told to tell you that Zelda is here; as is Impa."
"Ah," Sheik said, but it sounded laughing, condescending- "All the usual, hm? Nothing's changed."
Auru looked back to Sheik unsteadily. "Ah, I- suppose so," he said, and turned his attention to Raven. "Raven! How about a job! I always said you should be part of the Royal Guard- you've got the family history for it."
Raven rolled his eyes, with a loud "tch." He waved his hand. "Nah fuckin' thanks," he answered, "Ain't my thing."
"Ah, well! You can't escape the soldier's blood, no matter how long you think you'll be young," Auru laughed, and gave Raven a good-natured clap on the shoulder. Raven's expression sort of wilted, his eyes and mouth flatlined; Link managed to hold back a laugh at Raven, of all people, being treated like a kid. Auru seemed to pick up on the joke and winked. "Ah, well, I'm back to work. It's been nice seeing you all." He turned on his heel and left them with a salute.
Raven seemed a little frazzled at Auru's surprise visit, and Link had, in his laughter, forgotten about Sheik's odd response; it wasn't even felt, the tenseness of Sheik's body. It was all just lights to get drunk on, low music, booming laughter and the chatter of haughty conversation- everybody in black or white, silver jewelry, diamond smiles.
Ten minutes, fifteen, twenty; Raven was getting drunk too steady for his tastes and there was no sign of change. They played some kind of trick of light on a guy who knew them vaguely- they seemed the only living people in a room of dumb happiness. A girl tried to get it on it, but they were too far gone already, and that was okay.
At one point, Link noticed a woman standing off, some feet away from them, with her expression solid stone and her eyes alert, strangely lit. Almost scary, the way her eyes were confident. She was of strong build, wide-framed; tan skin, white hair, red irises. Link recognized that she might be a Sheikah. He made some connection between her and Sheik for some reason- it might have been the way she moved, every line in place, fluid grace (although the though struck him that nobody really moved the way Sheik did- nobody really had that unaffected nightshade, coiled and uncoiled like a snake to a drum).
Link was looking over in her direction unabashedly; she seemed to catch his gaze instinctively- and then looked past him, recognition crossing her face. Link looked to Sheik. Sheik's eyes moved, just slightly, just at such an angle, and some desert light passed into them. There wasn't any pleasant feeling between the two. Link looked back and the woman started to lift her hand, as though to signal Sheik-
But Sheik, not missing beat, simmering down low on his own silence, swiftly turned away and started to walk. Raven, of course, followed without a question- Link flung a glance back at the woman and then turned to follow Sheik, pace staccato in uneasiness. "Did you know that woman?" he asked, the question coming off his tongue almost subconsciously.
By a subtle movement Sheik seemed to concede; his eyes splashed with that clandestine energy. "And it's funny," he said, and it seemed sardonic, "I didn't want to speak with her. I wonder what end of the moral spectrum that puts me on?"
Link paused, affected by the poison in Sheik's words; his mouth softened into a sort of concerned frown and he put a hand on Sheik's shoulder. Sheik's eyes lowered. "I'm quite alright," he said, sliding out of Link's grasp. "And you, Hero?"
Link smiled. "I'm oka-"
"Oi! You guys-" the Lauryn Hill Brothers, from outta nowhere- "Come on- Zelda."
Raven grinned. "Damn, finally! Fuckin' A, that girl!"
The brothers began to walk, observing out loud that Raven was a stupid idiot; the movement forward. Link laughed at their jibes, looked to Sheik still smiling. He followed them, Sheik for a moment was stuck behind- some new color clouding his thoughts, putting his nerves on the edge- the lights were still effervescent, bright, but his blood felt like bad luck and every step was sickening. Link's laugh, bright, bubbling; Sheik's own savage jealously, ineffective, misplaced- not even a realistic conclusion as it was, but he knew that Zelda would...
The drum; the moments tightened- they were in a quieter place now, and there was a group of people, centered around a girl. Her posture was serene; wearing a pink shirt, slim cigarette cut black jeans. Sheik felt as though he were clutching a cross- Zelda was of course the same.
"Zelda! Goddammit, Zelda!"
Zelda turned her eyes up toward them. "Oh," she said- her voice was soft but spoke loud and there was some sort of fugitive lightning when she said it, "Raven."
Link had tarried in the back of the group with Sheik; Sheik separated from Link at once- couldn't bear to feel it that close- and Link for a second couldn't get a clear view on Zelda, was stuck behind some people.
"Jeezis, Link, what the fuck are you doing all the way at the back? Greet 'er properly. whassamatter with you?" Raven barked, now standing next to Zelda- to Link's left were the twins, and to his right, Shad and the writer, and they all moved a bit to let him past.
"Zel, this is Link," Raven said, laconically, lazily, "Link, this is Zelda."
Link opened his mouth, about to greet her; her eyes lifted to his- drifted to his- and he paused, wondered what she meant by that. Her eyes stone-cold, clouded by a dream haze, dark blue- she looked at him not judging, not expecting- just cool. She looked and just looked. He found a word on his tongue but like static he couldn't shake it off.
She didn't smile at him. She just seemed to observe him. Her face was heart-shaped, dipped down to a small chin; nose, elegant. Mouth was small, little drop of rose, still unsmiling, cold and fresh. Her face seemed untouched- everything about her seemed untouched- her skin had brightness like dew, radiant. Hair soft gold, close to brown. Everything about the way she looked at him was indifferent, but something about her just called like honey, sweet- something about the way her eyes were unresponsive to his was a world in itself. Bells in the dip of her neck and then all this white light, turning, bright. Suddenly Link was confused- he blinked, unaware of his limbs- she was beautiful.
The gravity of her mouth, and Link was immune to every sound before him, felt like he could- reach out for anything and it'd be completely tangible. She seemed to notice something in his demeanor and the light in her eyes turned slightly, rippled over. Peaceful, cosmic, stonelike. She was different from everything in this city- Link vaguely heard Raven going, "Oh shit, I gotta tell you what Sheik said," but he didn't even recognize it.
And on his end, Sheik had seen it happen- the way Link was looking at her, the way his mouth was so softly near expression but not there yet- the way Zelda just looked back at him, without taking mark of anything. It was painful, almost, it was like music falling apart or like some long damn barren river. Tore past his eyes and straight to the ribcage, the heart, the veins. Oh, God, what comfort dark would provide- what suffering- he felt like some sort of animal, ripped and tossed aside, only the shell of a voodoo curse. He couldn't help it, of course; it was inevitable, Zelda had this effect on everyone. But Link- did it have to be Link? The only one- of all the people...of all the people, the one he wanted so badly. He prayed it would only be infatuation (would he deny Link happiness if it suited him?)- because Zelda was the only person Sheik knew of who came close to deserving Link.
note: LOLOLOLOLOLOL sheik got pwn3d
oh, link, you're such a little boy X3
this fic is a goddamned trainwreck XD
i cant wait to introduce zelda in the next chapter. not gonna lie, shes a fuckin g in this fic.
Thanks for reading! :D