Chapter Text
“Sheik?”
Bazz pushed through the gate separating the rest of the store and the breakroom, being careful to step over the little cat sleeping right in the way and closing it behind him while he looked around.
The gate only went up to his mid thigh, it was more for keeping in animals who needed a romp and who shouldn't be running around the customers in the main area of the pet store.
“Are you in here? Asleep? Indecent?” As the zora set down a kitten who immediately went to bother the sleeping one, someone poked their head through the doorway watching Bazz and then looking down to the kittens who were now play-fighting a second later. The corner of his lips quirked into a smile and he brushed a sidebang behind his ear.
Bazz finally found Sheik sitting practically under the table, a cat sleeping curled up in his lap while another snoozed next to his feet. He looked up with a questioning tilt of the head.
“Oh thank god I found you-” ever the drama king, Bazz gestured wildly a hand towards the door. “-it’s the 4pm rush and I need to help a couple with some paperwork and then clean out the birds’ cage- can you help the guy who scheduled an appointment?”
“Oh sure.” Sheik reluctantly removed the cat from his lap and draped it next to the other and scooted out from under the table so he could stand and dust himself off. “The appointment with the rabbit duo?"
Bazz looked away almost guiltily to the customer in the doorway, who was now (disobeying the rules) stepping over the gate in one smooth stride to separate the wrestling tabbies and hold both like babies. “Er- no. It’s with Wolfie.”
Sheik’s brow furrowed as he looked up at Bazz. He didn’t say anything but Bazz seemed to get exactly what he was thinking, by the way he wouldn’t make eye contact. “I’m sorry, Sheik but-”
“Hey, these two were fighting,” the customer spoke from near the door, holding the now content kitties. “Should I put them back in their… cat houses?”
Sheik looked him over while Bazz took one of them (Cloud was her name, he subconsciously corrected) and thanked him. He noticed that he had clear blue eyes and a scar stretching over his nose, as well as some smaller ones scattered around his chin and trailing down his neck.
Just as Sheik wondered how he got them (he surely shouldn’t ask, that’d be awkward) Bazz spoke again. “I’m sorry Link but I’m swamped- Sheik will help you with your appointment-”
He’s grateful for the mask that hides his frown. He knows Bazz doesn’t mean any harm, in fact he’ll probably end up generously repay Sheik later by-
“-and then later I’ll buy him coffee and a donut for helping me out.” Bazz sounded casual but when he looked at Sheik he noticed how apologetic the zora looked. It warmed his heart, but also made him feel ashamed. Wolfie’s just a dog. How bad could it be? He should do his damn job, after all.
“Tea.” he smoothly corrected. “And two donuts. C’mon Mister Link, I’ll get Wolfie for you.”
He heard Bazz thanking him while he stepped past Link and through the door, opening the gate and leaving it wide for the other to follow. He confidently headed for the dog section, ignoring the ice in his stomach.
“Just ‘Link’ is fine,” Link said from behind him, hurrying to catch up. “Sorry if I came at a bad time or…?”
“You made an appointment, didn't you? You’re right on time.” Sheik pushed down his nerves at the barking of puppies just waking up. Near the end of the row should be Wolfie.
C’mon Sheik, you can do your job.
“Still..” Link continued but Sheik ignored him and swung open the pen door, looking down at Wolfie the Norwegian Elkhound.
Sheik avoided the dogs whenever he could; being better with cats and birds and literally everything else and basically pretending that there wasn’t a high demand for puppies in Castle Town. They just creeped him out- nothing else.
Wolfie was utterly disgraceful for what was supposed to be a dignified breed. Here he was now, laying on his back with a play bone balanced on his nose and all limbs splayed. What kind of a fearless warrior dog is this?
One day those rubber bones won’t be enough for him. He’ll be coming for MINE soon.
Sheik shuddered but stepped aside and gestured to the supposedly proud and intelligent dog. “Here he is.”
But before he even finished his sentence the other was in the pen and Wolfie was on his feet, getting his face squished by an enthusiastic Link who was showering him in praise.
Sheik’s pretty damn sure that Wolfie isn’t ‘the best boy in town, no in the entire UNIVERSE’ but he won’t say anything.
“Are you sure you want to sign everything today? Normally people visit a few more times-” Sheik was cut off by a dorky giggle from Link as Wolfie covered his face in slobbery licks. Probably tasting him. Eugh.
“Nope! I’ve decided that I can’t live without this big doofus- isn’t that right, Wolfie? You can't live without me , right?”
Sheik pulled out the last of the forms and looked it over to avoid answering. The past few minutes have been nothing special, even if this customer has a way of making things a lot funnier than they were normally. "Alright, I'll need you to sign… about five different papers. You up for that?"
The blond had Wolfie sitting up, holding both his paws in his hands. He shook one as if waving Sheik off. "Yes, the court is ready to………"
Sheik raised an eyebrow.
"...prosecute you." Then Link cut his losses and said, in a slightly rushed tone of someone who knows his joke didn't land, "I'll sign."
"Here," Sheik handed him one, then waited.
"And here," another paper. This one stated that he couldn't sue the store if Wolfie decides to eat him, or something.
"Sorry, I know this is getting old," Sheik said as he handed the next. Link laughed under his breath.
Link signed the final paper in a scratchy scrawl and handed it back, hands brushing Sheik’s own for just a second.
Sheik blinked at his hands for a second before shrugging it off and tucking the papers under his arm. Oh right, customer service. “Congratulations, Link! You have yourself a dog.”
Link stood while holding Wolfie, who looked very concerned at being lifted like he weighed nothing. He smiled and bobbed his head in response before kissing Wolfie’s head with an exaggerated ‘muuuah !’ “Thank you for helping me with the paperwork…” he paused, tilting his head and waiting for a name.
“Hm? Sheik. You can call me Sheik.”
“Sheik. Sheik.” He had to try it out a few times before snapping his fingers. “Sheik! I knew you seemed familiar, we’re in History together, aren’t we?”
Are we? He hates to admit it but he doesn’t pay much attention to any of his classmates. “Oh, Professor Robbie? …huh.”
Link hefts Wolfie up a bit, grinning. “Doctor Robbie, you mean. But yeah, I’m a seat next to you. We should study together some time! I always zone out while he's talking.”
Sheik’s first response was to politely decline but… Link did make the normally dull paper signing process interesting… maybe he could make ancient history interesting too. “I’d like that,” he admitted finally with a shrug. He can’t make plans with people to save his life, but-
“Wanna swap numbers?” Link started to dig around in his pockets with one hand, the other arm struggling to hold Wolfie up. Just as Link seemingly found his phone Wolfie kicked a leg and almost fell causing Sheik (with a few months worth of experience dashing to save pets from being stupid) to lunge forward and steady him. This brought Sheik much closer to a dog than he would like.
“Aha! Got it- oh oops.” Link finally noticed and handing his phone to Sheik, hefted Wolfie up again. Wolfie seemed totally fine with it now. “Can you add it for me?”
Backing away from the dog and lifting up Link’s phone, Sheik clicked it on. His home screen looked to be the view from the top of Satori mountain in Farore Park; just around sunset. Sheik didn’t realize he had been staring for as long as he had until Wolfie sniffed loudly and he jumped.
Clicking his contacts and entering his information by heart, Sheik internally wondered what he should put as his name. Does he add an emoji? And if so, which one?
Definitely not a heart, he thought with an embarrassed squirm, shifting his weight onto his left foot. He looked up briefly to Link who was thoroughly occupied with letting Wolfie stand on the desk and attaching a blue collar around his neck. After a moment of thought... Sheik typed his name into the spot and added the wolf emoji.
There; both helpful and ironic. Sheik almost felt proud of himself.
“Do you want help carrying anything?” Normally he never asked customers if they needed help. What’s different this time?
“I should be good..” Link mused, checking over his pile of things. One plus size cage with a bed inside, a few containers of food, a bag of chew bones and- the list went on. Sheik looked up, raising a single eyebrow like ‘really?’
The other’s shoulders slumped. “Help might be nice…”
Link’s car was a darker mishmash of green and blue. Little stickers were littered across the lower corners of the windows, the most noticeable one being slapped across the lower back.
“‘My other ride is a horse?’” Sheik read out, making Link cough out a laugh and look away, ruffling the back of his hair while Wolfie sniffed out the new car. “My friend put that on there-”
“Is that so?”
Link huffed. “Fine maybe I put that there but-”
Sheik surprised himself by laughing. His laughter got cut off by his surprise at a small faded sticker to the bottom left.. a pride heart, in fact
Oh.
~~~
Sheik thumbed the strap of his messenger bag, looking out the window of his apartment. He idly tapped a foot against the floor as he studied the cars going past, waiting for the familiar dark teal to slow in front of his doorstep.
How did he get here again?
Link had asked if Sheik had wanted to study with him a few days after he bought Wolfie, and Sheik had agreed. It went… fine.
(“ Just fine?” Paya raised an eyebrow, pencil stilling over her paper and forgotten tea lightly steaming. Papers were spread over the table, half of them scribbled over. “Your face is all red and you’re smiling, and the study date- oh sorry-” she wasn't sorry he could tell “-study SESSION went just ‘fine?’”)
Yes. It went fine.
The next morning Sheik had woken up to a very sweet text from his, ahem, studying partner consisting of at least three smiley faces. A question followed, something about sharing lunch together on campus. Sheik was against it until he saw that Link said there was a river nearby, and that he wanted to look for rocks.
And there's no harm in rocks, so he agreed.
Sometime later throughout the week Sheik was very diligently not paying attention in class when a folded up scrap of paper hit his elbow. He didn’t hide his surprise while looking around to see who threw it, (Link was very obviously staring straight ahead) and unfolded it to see a little doodle of- Wolfie?
Okay. Okay yeah that’s cute.
And so had started their note-swapping. Link’s handwriting was atrocious but Sheik could tell exactly what he meant nonetheless. Sheik’s writing was smaller, more rounded, and generally only took up the corner of whatever sticky note they were swapping. The other’s notes were always folded haphazardly in half, while Sheik folded his in easy origami he remembered from Paya’s two year long origami phase.
(The napkins at dinner have looked great ever since.)
Which brings him to Friday.
A note had appeared at his elbow once again, making Sheik smile under his mask. Nonchalantly tucking it into his hand he opened it with his other fingers and peeked at its contents.
A fair, huh?
“And where are you going at such an hour?” A voice startled Sheik out of his flashback. He whipped around to look in the doorway, where Paya stood with her arms crossed and her foot tapping against the ground in the perfect impression of Impa.
He relaxed and raised an eyebrow, looking back out the window to where the sun was in its last stages of setting; spreading pink and red across the mountains like they were a special canvas. “To the Twilit Fair.”
She quickly dropped the act and came over to look out the window with him while tilting her head and sounding excited. “Oh really? Wait.. but by the time you get there they’ll be closed, won’t they?”
Sheik’s shoulders sagged while he leaned against the window, forehead against the cold glass. Truthfully he had been fretting about the same thing.
Despite its name the Twilit Fair was running the whole day, but it was only around twilight that it truly got “interesting.” At least according to the internet. He wasn’t sure what that meant but he wanted to know.
They could’ve left earlier but Sheik had to work until.. only around two hours ago. Giving him one hour to take a nap, and another to pretty himself up for his (it's not a date) hangout with Link.
And around fifteen minutes to stand here and hope that they’d have enough time to see what's so interesting about the Twilit fair that someone on the internet would put quotations around the word.
“We’ll see, I guess.” he finally answered Paya with a shrug, sinking onto the couch with a sigh. “Maybe I should’ve asked Bazz to take my shift-”
“Shoulda woulda coulda,” Paya answered simply, peering out the window. Sheik frowned. She always used that because she knew it would work. He opened his mouth to argue when-
“Oh your little boyfriend is here! C’mon c’mon hurry up-” In a flurry of movement she was tugging on his hands to pull him up and push him to the door while he insisted that “He’s not my-!”
“Have fun!”
And the door fell shut behind him.