Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It's been two months since he brought Shepherd home. Two months of learning everything he can about baby sign language, two months of Prisca laughing at him of FaceTime, and two months of Malon barging into his apartment to 'feed a growing boy something real'. Malon is an angel, sent by Farore to help him for sure, while Prisca is a Din's damned devil place in this country to drive him to an early grave. No he's not being dramatic, thank you for your unwelcomed opinion Naboris.

Currently though, it's been three whole days of waking up in the dead of the night to screaming or crying. And wow, weren't instincts kind of cool sometimes? He just... wakes up, like he's got a radar specifically tuned to Shepherd. A scientific marvel, or something. What's not a scientific marvel and more like a mystery of the universe is what exactly is plaguing his little brother's dreams so much that neither has slept much in three days.

Case and point, he's sitting up in bed to see a little shadow imp sniffling in the doorway. The shink of the lamp illuminates little hands fisting his slightly too big sleep shirt and round cheeks a flushed, damp red. There's a deep groaning cry of noise below them that makes a sob come out of the kid.

"C'mere, short stuff."

Shepherd just whines from the doorway, rocking slightly on bare feet. The light from the kitchen shines an orange glow on the wall behind him. He makes a motion that isn't one he recognizes. Little hands shaped into claws and motioning down. He makes the sign again through little hiccupping cries when Link calls for him again. When the sound comes again, the floor rumbles with it and Shepherd bolts back into the hallway with a scream.

Shit. Finding the kid when he hides is always a trial in patience and paying for every prank he played while hiding as a kid. He knows this, he accepts this. He just wishes it was easier to find Shepherd in moments like these. When he's scared and in need of reassurance. Checking all the usual spots - under the bed, in his closet, in the clothes hamper - do not yield results.

He hears a sniffle from the hall bathroom and makes his way in there. He sits on the floor in front of the cabinet before knocking on it gently. Not a peep. It's honestly concerning how scarily good the kid is at being quiet when it's expected of him to be loud and falling apart.

"It's just me, tike," he whispers.

Slowly opening the cabinet door to reveal Shepherd's squeezed himself in between the sink's pipes and the extra toilet paper. His big, watery, blue eyes peeking open to look at Link from over where his hands are pressed to his mouth before squeezing shut again. A sob bubbles out of him, muffled by his hands, and he presses himself back further into the back of the cabinet.

Link has never wanted to meet his mother nor his father, not even after finding out about having a little brother did he ever want to meet them. Now he does just so he can put the fear of himself in them for whatever they did to give Shepherd such haunting fears at such a young age.

He reaches into the cabinet and rests his fingers on his knee. "Hey buddy, can you look at me?" A sliver of those eyes again. "I like your hidey hole, but I need you close. I can't fit in there with you."

A sniffle, then that same sign. Clawed hands motioning downward, cramped by his legs and the pipes. It clicks suddenly as the rumble happens again and Shepherd crumples. It sounds monstrous, even to him now that he's paying it more attention. Nayru's nose, he's an idiot.

"I'll protect you from the monster, lil buddy," He smiles at him. Soft and reassuring, gentle rubbing his thumb on his knee. "I promise."

A shuddery breath precedes the child looking up and he seems to be taking it into consideration before the apartment pushes him to decide. Someone above them must be using their sink, because the pipes next him groan and shudder. The noise of it is jarring enough that Link jumps right along with Shepherd and it does the trick of sending the boy scrambling out of his hiding spot. A trembling, crying, scared bundle of chilled little feet against his legs and gripping little fingers tangled in his shirt. Link just sits there for a moment, soothing him with a hand pressed to his head and an arm around his back.

Getting up without putting down his terrified brother in their cramped hall bathroom takes some doing, but he manages before making his way to the kitchen. It's the kind night for something warm and sweet. Let's see... milk from the fridge, honey and cinnamon from the pantry, mugs from the cabinet. Malon would kill him for it, but he sets Shepherd on the counter next to where he's set up his items. The kid whines but a quick run of his hand over his head soothes him enough.

"How bout something sweet?"

He gets a long stare and a slow blink. He watches him slowly sign tired - open little hands pressed to his chest, elbows and head up before tilting his head down with the curve of his back, pulling his elbows in and twisting his hands downward - before leaning back towards Link to watch him prepare the drink. While the milk warms spins in the microwave, a tug on his sleeve pulls his attention away.

Shepherd pulls his upper arms into his sides, stiff, and shakes them. His expression is pulled into one of the unhappier ones that Link's seen him make.

"I know buddy." He reaches over to pull him into a brief hug. "This will help with the cold."

The microwave beeps and he pulls away to set to work. A warm, sweet milk that he hopes will wash away the bad night and let them both sleep well. He lets Shepherd stay on the counter to drink it, swinging his feet in contentment as he holds their smallest mug in both hands. He hides a snort in his own drink when it's pulled away to reveal a milk moustache.

He's wiping away the foam when he notices Shepherd's starting to lean a little more heavily into his hand. "Ready for bed again, tike?"

He just gets a huff for his troubles. Well, he'll make him pay the tickle tax for that tomorrow. For what remains of tonight, he'll take scaring away any more monsters that try to creep into the dreams of little boys.

His phone rings and like most events in his life, it's a harbinger of change. Especially because Malon talks him into bringing Shepherd to the ranch to meet the kittens the barn cat just had and he regrets every nice thing he's ever thought about the woman. She's as much of a plotting devil as Prisca. He better not go home with a kitten after this.

Shepherd is instantly enamored with the Ranch. Practically making Link drop him in order to get down and see everything. The kittens follow him around everywhere he goes, much to his delight. He giggles and stomps his feet in childish glee when he notices, pointing to them with the biggest smile. Link absolutely denies taking a video of it, on principle. Malon does not, within the hour all of their friends have a copy.

The boy initially shies away from the cows, hiding in Malon's skirt, before she crouches to his level to talk him through the big animals. His eyes go big and round when he pets one. Before long, he's running around the farm like he's lived there all four years of his life and the only concern either of them has is Epona. They shouldn't have, he guesses. She's never given them any reason to really worry before.

It's just Shepherd is so little.

Epona just snuffles at his hair though. Drawing giggles and then squealing laughter when she nuzzles and nudges at his pockets. All worries soothed away with the sight.

And the fact that he sleeps the whole way home, groggily eats dinner, then sleeps the whole night afterwards? Makes the whole trip worth it.

Even if Malon tried to help Shepherd smuggle a kitten into the car.

Eventual Captain changed to Brat

Guess who's in town?!

That bastard Tingle better not be back

Why are you like this every time?

Me. I am in town.

Oh. Good.

Why?

Because I had some time to use for family

and like hell am I going back there. Sooo you. :D

Ah. That tracks.

oh yeah. U have a new cousin btw.

What!

[image of Shepherd grinning at the camera with bright eyes and arms thrown out wide]

Be nice. This is Link Shepherd. My little brother.

That explains nothing!

His younger cousin, the only person he ever knew of prior to the whole DNA thing, was honestly one of the few people from his blood family he could stand. Prior to acquiring one (1) extremely cute brother in the form of the baby dangling from Earle's outstretched arms. It's an entertaining image. Especially since Shepherd is a fairly docile kid most of the time and currently looks like he's completely done with everything. It's a new expression. The betrayal that follows the shutter sound of his phone taking a picture is not.

"Uh," Actually a Private Now But Still A Brat sounds rather uncertain. "I don't think he likes me very much."

"Well considering you're holding him like he's a feral cat trying to eat you," Time says, "I don't blame him. Put him down."

"If I put him down, he's going to attack me!"

He sighs. "He's four. The worst he can do kick you in the shins. Stop acting like your four and put him down."

Malon texts him to invite his cousin to join them at the ranch on their next visit. He does, if only so that Shepherd can play with the cats again.

"Take him back! Take him back! Take him back!" Their cousin frantically begs as he runs bow legged from the barn with Shepherd dangling from his awkward hold like naughty puppy. "He's a menace just like you!"

Earle’s arms are wrapped under his arms and chin, holding him in a slipping grip to his abdomen. The four year old looks decidedly unimpressed. The moment he's free to use his hands again, he making a pinching motion by his face and pulls the hand away - ah, cat - and pouts.

"He just wanted to see the kittens," he says as he runs a hand through the fluffy, sun warmed hair to soothe away any potential fussing.

The seventeen-year-old sputters. "There were cuccos!"

"Ah," He looks down at Shepherd in askance.

Shepherd's face lights up, pulling his arms in before throwing them out and then poking the finger of one hand to the palm of another - Big! Cucco!

"Were you excited to see the birds?"

A nod. Ah.

"Not scared?"

A head shake.

"Is our cousin a," he mimics the signs for big and cucco as he says them much to the little boy's delight, "big cucco for running away?"

Shepherd presses his hands to his mouth when he giggles. He laughs outright when Earle dives for him, playfully missing and chasing him. Link scoops him up to blow a raspberry on cheek when he tries to hide by him, earning another peal of squealing laughter. The older boy wiggles his fingers at him, teasingly threatening to tickle him, and the little boy giggles into Link's shoulder at it.

He's glad they get along. Even if the brat is five times more obnoxious about being kept in the loop now. Whatever that means

They send off Earle at the train station with hugs and snacks, a little plush cat that Shepherd all but demanded with big puppy eyes and promises to call first chance he can. They're both a little surprised when the little boy bursts into tears, but neither can get anything more than a 'no' out of him. Link finds himself rubbing the little boy's temples in the car before they leave the station till he finally dozes off in the seat.

Shepherd lays quietly on his chest now, muzzily watching some kid's show about blue dogs, with one of Link's hands resting heavily on his back. He holds his phone in his other hand, idly scrolling through his email till it updates with a new one.

'Good day Mr. Asrun,

We're reaching out to you today to inform you of a new familial connection that has just come up in the system. We send this to you as a heads up that you may have a representative from the Skyloft Child Protective Services team reach out to you in the next coming days.

What we can tell you of the situtation is very little. The connection is through your mother...'

There's another one. Another one of them, left behind.

He puts the phone down and curls around the little boy he's already found. Breathes in the scent of strawberries from their shampoo, sunshine, and what's probably maple syrup in his hair from breakfast. Shepherd gives a sleepy, fussy noise. Clearly unhappy at being moved, but accepts the smothering. He's a remarkably easygoing child.

Link wonders how easily he'll take to having someone new show up and throw their freshly established routine out of wack.