It was, he thought, seven years to the day.

Seven years.

He was waiting for someone he'd known long ago, long to go... but the day was here, now, when he'd said they would meet again.

Being sealed in the Chamber of Time for seven years had done nothing to improve Link's thoughts making any sense. In any case, he was here, and Sheik was late, which probably meant he wasn't coming. Navi, of course, had told him this from the beginning - it's impossible. Didn't Zelda explain? There was no Sheik.

She hadn't read the letter. He'd made sure she hadn't. He'd hoarded it jealously for seven long years until she had given up on trying to see a single word of the scroll, wrapped messily in old leather that had gotten suspiciously newer as time wore on...

There was a hint of long-awaited music as his back and Link twisted in the grass and smiled at the slender man behind him. "Hello. You're late."

It was Sheik, but it wasn't. He wasn't so controlled. His eyes widened significantly when he saw the Hylian in Kokiri clothing and he took a small step back from the Triforce platform. "Hello." The voice was the same, but it held an unusual tinge of emotion that Sheik had kept hidden. Link reached down to pick up the scroll he'd carried with him for seven years and tossed it to the Sheikah.

"That's for you." He said with a soft grin. Scarlet eyes blinked in confusion.

"I don't even know you." The words were soft, almost reproachful.

Link's heart sank a little at that. "I know. But you could have known me. That," he gestured to the scroll, "is from you, when you knew me. He told me to meet you here."

"Oh." Sheik glanced dubiously down at the scroll and then walked over to sit cross-legged beside the Hylian. "Do you mind if I...?"

Link shook his head peacefully and went back to watching the cerulean waters of Lake Hylia. Navi buzzed around Sheik's head and landed on his palm when he held it out timidly.

"Hiya," she chirped. "I'm Navi. Link's forgotten to introduce himself, again. And you're Sheik. It's nice to see you again."

Sheik tilted his head to the side and Link's eyes slid sideways, so that he could see the slight crinkling of a smile appear around the other man's eyes. "The Hero of Time. I didn't need it, this time around. You won."

"Yup." Link agreed easily.

Sheik let out a small sigh of pleasure and surveyed the landscape. He unrolled the leather that surrounded the scroll and cracked it open. He read in silence for a while, eyes occasionally sliding to Link. Once, a faint flush covered his cheeks. He glanced up at Link when he'd finished and blurted, "Did you read this?"

Link turned to look at him. "Yes," he said carefully. "He said I could, if I wanted to. And I... barely got a moment to speak to him. So I wanted to."

There was a pause.

Sheik's hand slipped across the grass to brush Link's knuckles. The Hylian smiled lazily and lay back on the grass. "Something in me recognised you when I saw you." Sheik murmured softly. "And you always knew..."

Navi perched on the tip of Link's nose briefly. "I'm going to fly around the lake!" She decided suddenly, lifting into the air and vanishing in a streak of light. Link chuckled at the fairy's antics.

"She thinks I'm just going to jump you."

Sheik gave him an odd look. "Aren't you?"

Link shrugged. "I've waited seven years to see you again. Just to see you. I'm content just talking. You didn't talk much back then, you know."

"No..." Sheik murmured regretfully. "I wouldn't have. You weren't actually supposed to know I existed apart from the Princess... but I am stubborn. And if I felt..." His cheeks coloured a little and he glared pointedly out along the surface of the lake. "If the letter speaks my feelings true, then I could not have just left you without warning."

Link sat up again. After a moment's pause, he leaned tentatively toward Sheik and tugged down the mask that covered the other man's nose, lips and jaw. He spent a moment with his brow furrowed in intense concentration, and brushed his thumb across Sheik's lips curiously. Then he sat back, smiled, and went back to watching the water.

Sheik tugged his mask back into place and smiled a little at the other man's daring. Perhaps he didn't know that the Sheikah showed their faces only once promised to another for life.

Or perhaps he did.

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