#aog shifter

Heavens, still hunched over slightly, blinked owlishly at you with lips slightly pursed and cheeks faintly tinted with an adorable hue

He was oddly quiet for moment, and you fear that you had messed up but before an apology can begin to form on your lips a face splitting smile breaks his once shocked demeanors. It was like the sun was being dimmed from his smile, and you're sure this is the happiest you've seen him in...years. Not even a trace of tiredness in his droopy eyes!

Heavens, a 45 year old man, has the expression of a lovesick teenager and he wouldn't have it any other way

Maybe it was the boyish smile, or the way his shaky fingers ghosted over the place you kissed him, or the loud blush that had his ears twitching slightly-- Or maybe...just maybe it was the way he looked at you...Like you were the ones who lifted Skyloft into the sky

You can tell that he makes NO move to compose himself, just staring at you with a knowing but loving look

"Goddesses...Your lips are softer than any silks we could weave.." He whispers, not moving an inch from you. "...May I be so bold to ask for your blessing once more? As to grant my journey with bountiful discoveries, of course~"

Mmm, how could you say no to such an ask?

Shifter (Oot/Mm! Link)

The Kiss happened after patching up Shifter's wounds

Shifter had shown up at your door step wounded and battered once more, giving you no explanation or indication that he would EVER give you one, as per usual

Thankfully(?) this wasn't the first time the ex-hero has done this (and youre sure it wont be the last--) so you were able to patch up the man with ease and minimal mess...but that didn't mean you were happy about it

Shifter could feel every ounce of annoyance as your thread the needle through his ripped flesh. It was like you were sewing your righteous disdain into his tainted skin

But Shifter didn't stop you- he deserved it. He deserved to be treated like a torn stuff animal that was under the care of a disgruntled owner who felt no warm for such a broken thing. He didn't deserve you holy, pure love and affection when all he was a burden, an annoyance, a reason to dread opening the door at the possibility of it being him...

But you didn't dread opening the door, not for him. No, you yearned to open it to him

He would never know that it was never him that you held the disdain for, no, it was always the wounds he harbored and the suffering they dealt to him

Gods...He would never know...Never know the pain and grief you felt every time another scar joins his skin. He would never know the longing you held in your heart, the want to hold his blemished scar littered hands, the need to him the love he was so worthy of holding

He may never know...but it was clear to many others, much to your dismay.

One of these people was Malon, the lovely but very teasing farmer you had grown very close to. She was always the first to (playfully) joke about how obvious tension between you two was, poking your side and demanding to be the first one to know if you finally made a move--

You had promised her you wouldn't -but that promise would soon be broken-

At one point, you're not sure when or why, an argument started. Shifter stayed cold and blunt as always, never seeming to react or care about your concerns for his well being. It infuriated you.

And it only made your blood boil even more when he harshly told you that you shouldn't care about him. That it was useless and wouldn't be of any use to him or yourself. That you were better off forgetting him. That--

He felt the slightly pressure to his side, as if something was pressed into his cheek yet his wooden mask stopped any contact it would of made to his skin. It takes him a moment to realize what had happened...and even then he doesn't believe it.

You pull back from his mask's cheek, cheeks warm with embarrassment as licking your lips nervously. Had you forgotten about the barrier between you two? Yes. But that wasn't the point--

"I don't care what you think I'd be better off with, I...I care about you. And I hate seeing you show up to my step coated in blood. Link...Please I can't-- I can't keep seeing you like this.."

The man was quiet, his brilliant blue eye just barely visible from the shadow the mask casted on his face. Its unmoving, never leaving your face, not even as you shift uncomfortably.

Regret, embarrassment, self directed anger. These were all the things you felt as the silence stretched on, but before you could stammer out an excuse to leave you hear the deep rumbles that made up his voice whisper to you.

"I can't promise you anything-" Your stomach drops "But.." Huh? "I'll get better at dodging...For your sake."

The ex-hero, large and intimidating, shrinks in on himself, looking away like a child after admitting to a crime. This...was a first.

It...It was a start. A uneasy, most likely slow start but a start none the less! You couldn't be more happy.