#nexus engineer

A fanfic based on @link-posting's Heroes Nexus AU. A fanficfic, if you will.

Slightly under 2k words.

@livvylupus Ily dont kill me<3

࿐ ࿔:･ﾟ࿐ ࿔:･ﾟ

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The next morning was… clumsy.

Engineer was still flustered about being partially nude when Tauro came into the loft. Tauro, on the other hand, couldn’t stop thinking about the size of Engineer’s arms.

It didn’t help that they were currently sitting shoulder-to-shoulder so Tauro could start teaching him how to read and write in Modern Hylian.

They were sharing a desk in the office, each sitting on a stool with a large scroll of paper laid out in front of them. They didn’t have any smaller paper that would be easy to write back and forth, which, unfortunately, meant there wasn’t much room between them. Engineer being lefthanded did make it a little easier, at least.

Engineer suggested they write their own alphabets, since that was where their language appeared to differ the most. Some of the idioms that Engineer used seem to break Tauro’s brain, but that was a problem for a different day.

“Wow.. your handwriting is so neat,” Tauro said, looking over at Engineer’s side of the paper.

Engineer blushed and adjusted his hat sheepishly. “Ah, yeah. Gotta make sure everyone can read my handwriting on schematics to make sure things get built right. Machines need to be real precise, making sure I write neatly is a safety precaution in my line of work,” he said with a chuckle, spinning his pencil around his thumb out of habit.

Tauro watched him spin the pencil, trying to get his thoughts working again. It wasn’t just the smooth maneuvering of his fingers, but the way his tanned cheeks highlighted pink, the way his ear tips twitched. He was too lost in his own spiral to initially process that Engineer was talking to him again.

“Tauro? You alright?” Engineer asked, his head tilted as he looked over at the other scholar, trying to gauge how concerned he should be about Tauro grinding to such an abrupt stop.

“Wh- Oh!- Yeah- Sorry, what did you say?” Tauro asked, jumping in surprise. He felt his cheeks burning up, and could only hope Engineer didn’t notice.

Engineer chuckled, adjusting his hat again. “Oh, I said I like your handwriting too. It’s.. Strong. Bold,” he said, smiling over at the man beside him.

Tauro turned his head to cough into his fist- hoping that maybe he could stop being flustered for one Hylia-damned second so he could at least say thank you.

When he heard Tauro coughing and saw how red his cheeks were, he frowned with concern. “Are sure you’re okay? Are you coming down with something?” he asked, reaching over to press the back of his hand to Tauro’s forehead to see if he was feverish.

Tauro jerked back, stumbling and losing balance on his stool. Engineer gasped and shot forward, catching him before he hit the ground. They were close- too close- which really wasn’t helping the researcher in any way.

“Woah! Easy there,” Engineer said as he caught Tauro. He carefully (easily!) lifted Tauro back up onto his stool. “Maybe you should go lay down for a little while,” he added, brows furrowed in concern.

“No no, I’m okay, I promise. I just got lightheaded for a second. It happens, no need to worry about me,” he stammered, trying to sound at least a little normal and reassuring enough to lessen Engineer’s concern for him.

Engineer pursed his lips, setting his elbow on the desk in front of them and resting his chin in his palm. “Hm.. If you say so. But if I start to think you’re lying to me I’ll haul you up to bed myself,” he said sternly, poking Tauro in chest.

Tauro forced himself to chuckle, desperately pleading with his heart to calm the fuck down. “Alright, alright,” he said- knowing full well Engineer had the strength to follow through on that threat.

He was pretty sure Engineer could carry him like a baby. Unfortunately, that was part of the problem.

⋆☀︎.

Eventually, the pair managed to get settled down enough to more-or-less function in the same space. They worked together to figure out each other’s alphabets and writing systems. Engineer taught Tauro some of his country’s writing, but they mostly focused on helping Engineer read Modern Hylian.

Engineer wasn’t exactly a quick learner, but he tried his best. However, his writing system was entirely different than Tauro’s. For some reason, Engineer was having a difficult time trying to read Tauro’s alphabet. It almost seemed like lines were morphing on the page, and it was almost impossible to tell the difference between his “D,” “E” and “F.” Not to mention several other letters that seemed identical to him.

Despite his best efforts, Tauro couldn’t stop himself from noticing little things about the man so close at his side. He had long lashes and rough hands. When he was thinking, he either chewed on his pencil or adjusted his hat. It seemed he fidgeted a lot, honestly. If he wasn’t chewing writing implements or adjusting his cap, he was bouncing his leg. If it wasn’t that, he was drumming his fingers. Some part of him was always in motion, even if he never moved from his seat.

When he figured something out, his eyes lit up- but he always went back and double checked before he said anything. If Tauro really watched, it was almost like he could read Engineer’s mind. His thoughts were always so transparent in his expression.

He tried his best not to openly stare at the Engineer. He really did, but it was like the other man’s face was a magnet for his eyes. It was because of this, though, that Tauro could see the increasing tension in the set of Engineer’s jaw. Engineer was trying to figure out how to distinguish certain letters in Tauro’s alphabet, but was having a surprising amount of difficulty. He was about to offer some help when Engineer suddenly clenched his jaw, dropped his pencil and hat on the table, and buried his face in his hands.

“I don’t understand why this is so hard,” he groaned, clearly frustrated.

Tauro frowned, setting a hand on Engineer’s shoulder. “Because it’s entirely foreign to you and we’ve only been here for a few hours. You aren’t a linguist. I’m sure if you tried to show me how to build a train I would be pretty lost too,” Tauro said, giving him a soft, sympathetic smile.

The stoker sighed, running a hand through his hair. He crossed his arms on the desk, stretching out his legs. “I suppose so. Spelling was always a bit harder for me than my peers when I first started learning, but it’s important for schematics to be accurate so I practiced hard to make sure what I was writing was not just correct, but also legible."

“You’re learning something entirely new. Just give it time, I know you have it in you,” Tauro said, smiling softly at the other.

Engineer let out a sheepish laugh, replacing his hat on his head with the brim angled down, partially obscuring his face. “Aw, jeeze. You got me all poked up now,” Engineer chuckled, bumping his shoulder against Tauro’s.

The researcher chuckled, resisting the urge to pinch himself at the moment of contact. He could feel his brain starting to short circuit, so he reached for anything to say to prevent freezing up. “You know, you’ve said that- ‘poked up’- a few times, but I’m not sure what it means, exactly,” he asked, hoping it would give him enough time to reboot.

“Ahh, right,” he said, his cheeks growing pink as he adjusted his hat. “It means embarrassed, basically.. Or flustered, I suppose,” he explained, fidgeting with his pencil on the table.

Tauro could feel the heat rising in his face, but before he could respond, a Rito landed outside the office and called out to him.

“Hoiii! Tauro, I have a letter for you from the Faron research team,” the birdfolk called out, digging through the bag slung across her body for the letter.

The shout took the men by surprise, causing them both to jump. Engineer flushed, looking down at the table while Tauro tried not to lose his balance as he scrambled to get up.

“A-ah! Till! It’s nice to see you,” Tauro said to the Rito, walking outside to meet her.

“Nice to see you too, Tauro,” the courier, Till, chirped happily.

“Do you have a moment to spare so I can read this? In case they need a quick reply,” the researcher asked, taking the letter from its envelope.

“Certainly!” She said, standing by politely as Tauro skimmed the letter.

Engineer stood and walked over to Tauro. “Is everything okay?”

“It looks like the Faron team might have made a big discovery and want me to go down to help the excavation,” he said, frowning as he looked down at the paper.

“It seems like you’re hesitating,” Engineer stated, tilting his head as he looked down at the other man.

“Well, I just sent for Setari because we needed more hands here.. I would feel bad just leaving this to her after she came all the way here, but it sounds like it might be something major,” Tauro said, sighing as he tried to figure out what to do. He wanted to figure it out quickly, so he didn’t hold the Rito courier up.

“Sounds to me she got here just in time to replace you. They need you, and you want to go. You should go,” Engineer encouraged, giving him a nudge. “I’ll go with you if you want. I can be your security detail,” he added playfully- not really expecting Tauro to take him up on the offer.

“Would you really?” Tauro asked, trying his best to not sound excited at the prospect of traveling with the Engineer.

Engineer blinked in surprise, but smiled and rubbed his neck. “Well, if you’ll have me. I do have a sword, and I’d love to see more of your homeland.”

Tauro nodded, flashing a smile at Engineer. “Okay, sure. Give me one second while I write them a reply,” he said, turning to hurry into the office and write a brief letter saying they would leave tomorrow morning for Faron.

Till took the letter for him, saluting and waving before she launched herself into the air and flew off.

“We should let Zel and Purah know we’ll be leaving tomorrow. Zel should be here for a few days, maybe she would be willing to lead things for a while,” Tauro said, half to Engineer and half to himself. “We’ll have to do some other preparations before morning...”

Engineer draped an arm around Tauro’s shoulders and grinned. “How can I help?”

࣪ ִֶָ☾.

Engineer assisted in gathering the supplies they needed for travel. The research team kept supplies stocked up for situations like this, so it didn’t take much time for them to locate a tent (to share!!), two bedrolls, and other necessary supplies like food and a cooking pot.

Since Setari’s carriage was still in the village and unpacked, Tauro and Engineer were able to use that to carry their things- it technically belonged to the Zonai Research Organization, rather than just Setari. Engineer expected their gear to take up the same amount of space as their trip from Tarry Town, but Tauro was able to pack it in a way that left room for Engineer to sit. The Lurelian remembered what happened the last time the engineer got off a horse, and repeating that incident would be bad for Tauro’s heart. Not that sharing a tent with the man was going to be good for his heart but you can’t win every battle.

After they were all packed and ready, they went to inform Zel they would be leaving in the morning and ask if she could lead operations here for a while.

“I would be more than happy to! It’s a shame you’re leaving in the morning, though. Nightshade is due to arrive tomorrow evening, and I’m sure he would’ve liked to say hello,” she said, looking genuinely excited to be able to lead the research team in his stead.

“You’ll have to extend my greetings and condolences to him. I’m sure I’ll see him again in Faron somewhere soon,” Tauro replied with a smile.

“Who is Nightshade?” Engineer asked curiously, looking over at Zel from his place beside Tauro.

Zel smiled brightly at him. “He’s my husband. He gets restless if I try to keep him home so he’s off somewhere with his brother.”

“Oh! Well, I’m sorry I won’t be able to meet him,” Engineer said sheepishly.

“I’m sure you will eventually. He tends to find himself in the strangest places,” Zel said with a laugh.

Purah walked up to Zel’s side as Tauro and Engineer bid their goodbyes and left to get some early sleep.

Zel stared after them, going quiet for a moment as she watched them go.

“Purah, is it just me or is something… familiar about him?”

“I don’t know, but I’m still not convinced he isn’t Yiga.”

⋆.˚ ☾⭒.˚

Nexus Engineer Kaine and Nexus Soldat Maddox respectivelly (ocs)

Theyre besties, bonus info ab them under the cut

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࿐ ࿔:･ﾟ࿐ ࿔:･ﾟ

“So, these are the Ring Ruins…”

Engineer looked up at the massive ruins, his hands on his hips. “I didn’t expect them to be so huge when Setari first mentioned them,” he said, voice full of awe.

Tauro nodded, stepping up to stand next to Engineer once he managed to force his heart to slow down again. He tried not to think too much about how Engineer was the first Hylian he met that was taller than him and how flustered that made him.

”Yeah, they are. They first fell during the Upheaval. They’re Zonai in origin, and we’ve been able to learn a lot about them. There were a lot of inscriptions that detailed the contemporary lives of the Zonai and their mythology that completely changed how we thought about them. We knew they were advanced but we had no idea just how advanced they truly were,” Tauro explained, managing to steady himself as he spoke about his life’s single greatest passion: Archaeology.

Tauro led Engineer and Setari over to their working “office/lab”- the repurposed home of a local Sheikah after some of the ruins fell on his roof. Any amount of stabilizing himself was thrown out the window when he saw how Engineer’s hazel eyes lit up as he looked around the research area.

There were schematics posted everywhere, detailing various “Devices”, as Setari had called them. His eyes flitted from one to another- a sled, and what was probably some kind of glider. They were filled with notes along the side, but when he tried to read one of them he came to a harrowing realization.

Despite speaking the same language, in no way did Engineer understand this writing.

He must have been making a face because Tauro asked if something was wrong. Engineer could feel the tips of his ears heat up. He rubbed the back of his neck and adjusted the hat on his head. “Well.. I’m actually from overseas, see. And while this makes me feel a bit poked up to admit, it seems we don’t use the same alphabet, so I can’t read your notes.”

“Oh, well- I can teach you?” Tauro offered, rubbing the back of his head and looking toward Engineer- grateful he seemed too enraptured by the diagram of the glider to notice the blush forming on his cheeks.

⋆.˚ ☾⭒.˚

It was getting late by the time the researchers got all their things unloaded from the horses and put in its proper place. At first Setari suggested just putting it inside and then putting it away in the morning, but Engineer refused the idea. He said he would put it away if necessary, but he drew a line at cutting corners in any situation.

In his profession, cutting corners could be deadly. The Engineer knew that all too well.

Regardless, Setari couldn’t justify leaving him to do it by himself so of course she helped put it all away. Tauro admired Engineer for speaking up the way he did and for the clear respect he had for safety, but when Engineer mentioned “his profession” he had to admit to feeling curious. He made a note to ask about it when he got the chance, but for now he was leading the two of them to the inn so they could rest up before being briefed tomorrow. Unfortunately, it seemed there was only a single free bed at the inn. Tauro recommended Setari take it, and Engineer could come back and stay the night with him. They had extra bedrolls, and there was enough room for one in the loft he shared with Calip- who more frequently slept in one of the research tents closer to the ruins.

Engineer helped Tauro get a spare bedroll up into the loft above the office/lab set up they had. Engineer made note of the rubble still underneath it and that it should get cleaned up sooner rather than later. From the way they spoke about this “Upheaval” it sounded like it happened a few years ago. Had that rubble been there the whole time? Or was there some other reason it was there?

It was when Tauro offered to go back downstairs to give Engineer the privacy to change that the stoker had to make another admission.

“Uh, actually, I kinda found myself here unexpectedly so I don’t… have any clothes to change into,” Engineer said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Oh! Well, you’re, uh- You’re a bit taller than me, but we’re probably around the same size. I have some extra sleepwear you can borrow,” Tauro offered, his heart skipping when Engineer flashed a smile his way.

“Are you sure? I’m much obliged for the offer,” Engineer said gratefully, smiling brightly at him.

“No need to thank me. Consider it a favor for helping us out here,” Tauro replied, turning his head to hopefully conceal his blushing face as he went to a nearby chest and digging in it for some of his spare clothes- soft pants and a loose shirt.

Engineer set his hat down on the bedside table between Tauro and Calip’s beds. He unzipped his jumpsuit and exchanged it for the loose pants Tauro gave him, then tugged off his tank top and pulled on the shirt. He was glad this was better than the shirt Setari had given him- at least he could get his arms through it. He called Tauro back up, sitting on his bedroll with his legs crossed.

Tauro came up the ladder to Engineer pulling his hair out of the short ponytail it had been in under his cap. Engineer was shaking out his hair and looking up at the schematic the archeologist had above his bed.

“Were you the one that drew these schematics?” he asked, looking over at Tauro as he came back up.

“Yes, I did. That’s one of the pieces of Zonai technology that fell from the sky during the Upheaval. We’ve studied a couple and discovered they can glide pretty far, but we aren’t really sure how it works given its weight. It seems like it should be too heavy to stay airborne,” Tauro explained, taking off his vest and setting it on the chest that he’d taken his clothes from. He was used to being shirtless, but there was something about being shirtless in front of Engineer that made him feel extra exposed.

Despite Tauro's sudden-onset shyness, Engineer was still taking in the schematic. He tapped his chin thoughtfully, one arm crossed over his chest. “I might be able to figure it out, but I’d prefer to look at one myself before I say anything in case I’m wrong,” he said, lips pursed. “This is a beautifully drawn schematic, by the way,” he added, looking over at Tauro and smiling.

Tauro ducked his head and chuckled shyly, ruffling his hair after setting his cap beside Engineer’s. “Thank you, I appreciate that.”

After a few more questions and answers, the pair finally settled down and Tauro blew out the light on the table.

⋆°.☾⋆.ೃ࿔*:⋆

The stoker stood in darkness, unable to see beyond a few feet in any direction.

He looked around himself, unable to locate any source of light. It felt like he was standing in a tunnel- unable to see the ends. He reached out to feel for a wall or something, though as soon as he took a step his foot bumped into the tracks of a train. He tripped over a slat of wood, falling onto his knees as he lost his balance.

When he hit the ground, he found himself in an ankle-deep pool of water. The tracks were still there, beneath the water. Tunnels flooded sometimes, so that was still a possibility. He tried to ignore the speed with which the water appeared as he pushed himself back up to his feet.

The sound of skittering beetles suddenly surrounded him. He spin on his feet and looked around as fear suddenly rose within him. His ribs ached as he remembered what it felt like to be grabbed by the pinchers of the Stagnox from the Forest Temple.

Link- Engineer- stumbled backwards, nearly falling again. The skittering sound gave way to the clacking of bones. Link started running as fast as he could. He struggled not to trip again as the sound of water splashing joined the haunting knocking of vertebrae which steadily turned into the sound of a train racing down the tracks. A teal-blue fire engulfed the outer rails of the tracks as Link pushed himself to run faster.

All of a sudden Link let out a scream as a thorned vine shot out of the water and grabbed onto his ankle. He tripped and landed hard in the water, surrounded on either side by searing heat and flames. He tried to pull free as the clatter of the train grew louder and faster. The ground beneath him shook. He begged his body to get up and move, to overcome the fear holding him in place. The vine around his ankle tightened, drawing a scream from Link’s throat as the thorns pierced his skin and stained the water red.

Just as Link thought he was about to be run over, the scene he found himself in abruptly dropped away.

࣪ ִֶָ☾.

Engineer sat bolt upright, gasping for air. He felt disoriented, the world around him foreign and unfamiliar.

“Hey, it’s okay, you’re awake now,” came a deep, soothing voice beside him.

The stoker gradually came back to full awareness. He could feel a hand rubbing slow circles on his back, another hand resting on his arm. Engineer pressed a hand to his chest, trying to get his heart to slow back down to a less painful pace.

“Sorry… I hope I didn’t wake you,” Engineer mumbled, running his fingers through his hair. He kept his eyes down, like he felt too much shame at his night terror that he couldn’t look Tauro in the eye.

Tauro kept rubbing his back, frowning as he looked at the other man. “You don’t need to apologize, it’s okay. You haven’t done anything that warrants an apology,” he replied quietly. “Do you.. want to talk about it?” Tauro asked tentatively. This was alien territory to him- he’d never known anyone prone to nightmares, let alone whatever Engineer had been experienced. He’d never heard someone cry out like that before.

Engineer shook his head, crossing his arms on his lap. “I... I think I’d rather not…”

He appreciated the offer, but this wasn’t exactly something others could relate to. He didn’t know anyone who had experienced anything even analogous to what he had with the semi-exception of Zelda. She had been at his side for much of his adventure as a spirit, but even that wasn’t quite the same. She had her torments, but Engineer had the wounds to go with them. He wrapped an arm around his ribs, still feeling the way they throbbed as they had in his dream.

@livvylupus Its time to Rizz 'em with the 'Tism! Start | Previous | Next

── ⋆⋅𖤓⋅⋆ ──

As it turns out, the only difference between an explanation and a lecture is simply a matter of attendance- and an audience is easy to gather in a village full of scholars.

It started with Engineer explaining aerodynamics while Setari made him tea. He thanked her warmly when he took the drink from her, sipping it slowly before letting out a small, pleased sound. He thanked her for the delicious drink, smiling brightly as he felt its warmth spread through him, the tea giving him a similar thrum in his veins that coffee usually gave. Setari blushed and stuttered out a “you’re welcome” before Tauro jumped in with another question.

Several hours passed this way. It started with just Engineer and Tauro, then Setari joined in with her own. Soon other researchers and travelers interested in the ruins had joined, standing around to listen to him talk. He started with aerodynamics, but realized in order to explain lift he also had to explain about air density and its interaction with heat. When Engineer told them hot air rises over cold air, comprehension flashed across Tauro’s face.

“That’s how the hot air balloons float, isn’t it?” he asked, looking over at Engineer, who flashed him a bright smile.

“Yes! Exactly. The hot air trapped in the balloon causes it to rise into the air. In order to sink back down you need to vent out the hot air, because that’s what’s keeping it afloat,” Engineer replied, leaning against the table the glider was on, legs crossed at the ankles and his arms crossed over his chest.

Engineer used this question as a jumping off point to explain more about how the glider stays in the air despite its weight. The explanation was meandering, wandering from aero- and thermodynamics, to lift and momentum. He couldn’t answer all of their questions, and he didn’t pretend he could. He was honest about the limits of his knowledge and when he wasn’t certain of the answer. Each question was answered with equal sincerity, no matter who asked.

࿐ ࿔:･ﾟ࿐ ࿔:･ﾟ

In all honesty, Engineer barely noticed the size of the crowd. Just about every researcher in Kakariko was standing around and listening to him, but all the stoker cared about was being able to endlessly talk about the things he was passionate about. Back home, these were the things he lived for.

Before his quest across New Hyrule, he had found purpose and meaning in being a Royal Engineer. After his quest, he threw himself back into his work with even more fervor to cope with the trauma he’d experienced. Maintaining the fires has become harder after the toll his adventure took on his body, but it wasn’t something he was ready to give up yet. He found a mental calmness in the back-breaking work, even if his body was often left screaming in protest after long shifts.

Even now he could feel the tension building in his neck and shoulders, just from standing around. He rubbed his shoulder, tilting his head to try and stretch the muscles in his neck as he did so. He kept chatting through these motions, taken without much thought to them. Well, at least not by Engineer.

Tauro would be a liar if he tried to deny noticing the way Engineer rolled his shoulder, or the slight pinch of pain in his voice as he did so. He continued rolling through his explanation, which seemed to prevent concern from building up in anyone else. Setari had a slight frown, so Tauro could only assume she noticed as well. The senior researcher wasn’t sure how long the two had known each other before making their way here from Tarry Town, but he was under the impression it hadn’t been very long.

The senior researcher snapped his eyes back to Engineer, not wanting to miss a single word he said.

☀︎⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

The impromptu lecture was cut short by the arrival of a young woman, riding astride a large horse with a golden coat. She was accompanied by a Sheikah woman of a similar age, riding her own dappled horse.

Tauro waved over to her as she trotted through the village. The two women headed down to the main square as the other researchers split apart to go to their respective stations.

“Good evening, Zel!” he called out to her, smiling warmly at her.

“Good evening, Tauro,” she replied, her voice soft and kind. She had short blonde hair, worn in a half-braided updo.

Engineer shifted where he stood, not entirely sure what he should do. Should he go somewhere else to let Tauro talk to whoever this was? Maybe him and Setari could go somewhere? Unfortunately when Engineer turned his head to find where she was, he realized he was too late- she was already a good distance away, pulled away by some other researcher with a question.

Just as Engineer was about to slink away somewhere, the woman took notice of him.

“Who is this?” she asked, looking from Engineer to Tauro as she slid off her horse.

“Ah! This is Engineer. He came from Tarry Town with Setari,” Tauro explained, stepping back and looking over his shoulder at Engineer.

The foreigner stepped forward, sweeping his hat from his head and bowing his head politely. “Good evening, ma’am. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance,” he said, holding back a wince when he felt his accent grow more formal. Something about her presence felt… above his station.

“Oh, there’s no need to be so formal,” she said with a polite chuckle. “It’s nice to meet you, Engineer. You may call me Zel.”

Engineer looked up at her and smiled as he replaced his cap. “I’ll make you a deal- I’ll be less formal if you are.”

Zel looked surprised at this, but nodded and smiled over at him. “It’s a deal,” she said- and Engineer caught what looked like relief in her eyes. “May I ask, where are you from? I don’t recognize your accent.”

“Oh! I’m from overseas,” he said, waving his hand and adjusting his hat- momentarily flustered by the question.

“Really?” she asked, her eyes going wide. “I’ve never met someone from outside Hyrule before!”

Engineer could recognize that look in her vivid blue eyes: Curiosity. He couldn’t help but chuckle, figuring he was about to spend a few more hours answering questions.

The Sheikah she had arrived with stood next to her, crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes suspiciously at Engineer.

“How do we know you aren’t Yiga?” she asked bluntly, leveling a glare at him.

“Yiga..?” Engineer asked, tilting his head and looking over at the white-haired woman.

”Oh, come on, feigning ignorance? Everyone knows who the Yiga are,” she said, her tone a bit more harsh than she intended.

“Purah! I’m sure if he’s here with the Zonai Researchers they’ve already made sure he isn’t Yiga,” Zel said with a slight frown.

“You can’t be too careful, Zelly! I told Shade I could watch out for you while he was out running around with the wolf boy. If anything happened to you he would have my head,” she said, huffing and setting her hands on her hips.

“Uh, I don’t know who or what the Yiga are, but if there’s some way I can prove I’m not one I’d be more than happy to,” Engineer said as he stepped closer- though he stayed a bit behind Tauro.

He was trying not to appear as anxious as he was starting to feel. Something about this blonde woman felt familiar, yet alien at the same time. It was making his head spin. He tried to push down the uncanny feeling building up in him, adjusting his hat on his head in an attempt to ground himself.

“How do you feel about bananas?” Purah asked, looking at him with such genuine suspicion Engineer felt his spiraling thoughts crash to a halt.

His eyebrows knitted together, his head tilting as he looked at her. “I’m sorry- about.. what?” he asked, trying to figure out what he was being asked.

“Bananas. You know, the thin yellow fruit?” Purah pressed, not letting up her suspicion.

“Sorry, ma’am, I don’t think we have bananas where I’m from,” he admitted sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Hm.. Alright. But I’ve got my eye on you,” she said sternly, pointing to her eyes then at him.

“Yes, ma’am,” he said, tipping his hat to her. He had no idea who this woman was or why she was so suspicious of him, but he didn’t think it would be good to ask. Maybe he could ask Tauro later.

Tauro looked between the two women and over his shoulder at Engineer, who looked more flustered than Tauro had seen him. The tips of his ears were pink beneath a fluff of blond hair. He had looked cool and confident all day, so it was a stark difference from how he had been before Zel and Purah had arrived. Thankfully, Tauro knew them enough to know how to salvage the situation.

“Listen to this, Zel, Engineer knows how the glider works! And the hot air balloons. It turns out his home country has technology that’s intermediary between ours and the Zonai,” he told the young woman, whose eyes lit up once again.

She stepped forward, grabbing Engineer by the hands and grinning almost manically up at him. “Tell me everything.”

࣪ ִֶָ☾.

Zel spent the next several hours bombarding Engineer with questions- even more fervently than Tauro had. He was more than happy to answer each one, especially seeing how she hung on to every word he said. Purah eventually forgot her suspicions in favor of furiously taking notes about everything he told them about. She asked her own questions, but notably less than Zel did.

And, of course, Tauro had his own to ask.

⋆°.☾⋆.ೃ࿔*:⋆

Eventually the two pairs split ways.

Zel and Purah had to go speak with someone they called Paya, and Tauro and Engineer needed dinner. Engineer could feel his energy fading fast. He had been talking almost all day, which was rather unusual for him. He wasn’t a talkative person in general, so once he had a moment to breathe he felt the exhaustion hit him all at once.

He pick his way through a bowl of meat and rice, savoring the flavor but running too low on steam to eat it enthusiastically. He headed back toward the loft with Tauro, thanking him for letting him sleep with him again.

“Oh, it’s no problem at all,” Tauro blushed, waving his hand in a motion he hoped was nonchalant and not flustered. He was just grateful Engineer couldn’t hear his heartbeat.

Engineer chuckled and smiled over at him. “No need to get all poked up. Consider me in your debt,” he said, nudging Tauro with his shoulder as he looked down at him.

Tauro was glad they reached the research office, shooing Engineer up the ladder. “Go on, change into something to sleep in and call me up,” he told the taller man, holding himself together just long enough for Engineer to climb the rungs- laughing!

Once Engineer was out of sight, Tauro buried his scarlet face in his hands and silenced a groan as he leaned back against the ladder. He’d never felt his heart beat as hard as it did when he was around Engineer. The way passion lit up his eyes as he spoke, the sheer breadth of his knowledge, the freckles dusting his nose, the dimples in his cheeks when he smiled… Tauro pounded his fist into his chest, trying to get his heart back under control before Engineer finished changing.

A few minutes passed without a signal from Engineer. Tauro tried to call up to him and ask if he was done, but got no response. Tauro frowned, placing a hesitant foot on the bottom rung of the ladder. He called out to him again, but was met by silence. He hesitated, then climbed up the ladder to check on the engineer. Once he reached the top, he nearly fell off again.

Engineer had changed out of his jump suit and back into his borrowed sleep pants, but it seemed he fell asleep sometime between taking off the shirt he wore that day and his night shirt. He was laying on his back, limbs akimbo, hair sticking out every which-way. The real problem for Tauro, though, was seeing Engineer’s muscles for the first time. He’d seen how beefy his arms were that day, of course, but the man also had massive chest muscles and defined abs. His chest was also covered in dark, coiled chest hair, which really only made the situation worse for Tauro. The Lurelian didn’t even know he was into that and yet here he was, heart hammering in his chest.

He leaned his forehead against the top of the ladder and let out a quiet noise somewhere between a groan and a whine.

Hylia really was testing him, wasn’t she?

⋆☀︎.

Engineer woke up the next morning with a blanket draped over him.

@livvylupus ITS YAOI TIME

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Tauro had no idea what to do.

Engineer was unconscious in his arms, his bloody palm face up. Something had gone wrong faster than he could process, and he had no first aid or medical training that would apply here. He could set a bone, or stitch and bandage a wound. He knew how to do quick and rudimentary injury treatment simply because of how frequently people tended to get hurt in the field. But setting a bone was nothing like internal bleeding.

It’s not like Tauro even knew what had caused this sudden decline.

Tauro shook his head abruptly, trying to clear out the panic from his head. He had to do something. He carefully laid Engineer down on his side- in case he started coughing more blood- and hurried over to the cart. He found a waterskin and a clean cloth. He kept digging through the food crates until he found some ice fruit he had been planning to use to cope with the humid Faron weather. They were great for keeping water cool and treating heat exhaustion, so hopefully it could help En feel less feverish.

When Tauro turned around to go back to the tent, he glanced toward the moon. He frowned, realizing he’d forgotten it was a blood moon tonight.

He looked from the moon back to En, trying to figure out what time exactly En really started to go down hill. He hadn’t been doing well since the early afternoon, but it had seemed like he was just tired. Once the sun set, he got exponentially worse. The moon would’ve started to rise by the time they arrived here and set up camp.

It was common knowledge that people more sensitive to magic had a harder time dealing with blood moon nights, but he had never seen or even heard of a reaction this strong.

Tauro worked this out as he tended to Engineer in the only way he knew how. He bundled up an extra blanket and tucked it under his head after rolling him onto his back. He wet the cloth and wrung out some of the extra water, wrapping the ice fruit in it before resting it on En’s forehead after checking his temperature. He was still burning up, but there wasn’t much Tauro could do besides grab another blanket and tuck him in.

It wasn’t quite midnight yet, so all Tauro could do was pray his hunch was wrong- or else things would only get worse for Engineer before they got better.

⋆.˚ ☾⭒.˚

Tauro’s worst fears were confirmed as the moon rose higher in the air. He could feel the hair on his arms standing on end, but that was the worst he dealt with during a blood moon. He was sure no one was immune to the miasma, but it wasn’t like they had done a survey of Hyrule. Most people didn’t have a hard time simply because they weren’t especially sensitive to magic. It wasn’t a big part of daily life these days, though archeological records suggest there might have been a bigger emphasis on it in the past.

Tauro prayed to Hylia that Engineer wouldn’t suffer too much, but it would seem she wasn’t listening.

Around 11, Engineer started to stir. He let out a pained whine, shifting under the blanket. The ice pack slid off his forehead, but he moved again before Tauro could replace it. He rolled onto his side and curled up in apparent pain, his breathing hitched. He gripped his head, his hands pressed against his ears as if he was trying to shut out some loud noise.

“En! En, what’s going on?” Tauro asked, trying to keep the panic out of his voice as he set a hand on Engineer’s shoulder.

En jumped back and into a crouch, his hand going for the hilt of a blade that wasn’t there. He looked toward Tauro when he moved back in surprise, his vision blurry as he tried to fight through the haze filling his skull. He felt the deafening chatter of restless spirits, their hunger and excitement growing louder the higher the moon rose. Engineer pressed a hand against his head, falling onto one of his knees.

Tauro gasped and fell back at the sudden burst of movement from his companion. His instinctive reaction was to feel fear, but when he looked into En’s eyes all he saw was terror and pain. Tauro moved slow, tucking his legs underneath him and holding a hand out toward Engineer.

“En, it’s okay. I want to help you,” he said softly, hoping his body language and tone was reassuring.

Engineer took deep breaths, trying to get his thoughts straight. He shook his head, letting out another pained groan. “Too… loud…”

“What’s too loud?” he asked quietly, unable to hear anything besides the occasional cricket or nocturnal bird.

“You can’t hear them?” Engineer whimpered, turning his fear-filled eyes toward Tauro.

The Lurelian shook his head slowly. “Hear who, En?”

“The monsters. You can’t hear the monsters??”

Tauro felt his heart sink. He was right. This was a reaction to the blood moon. He hadn’t thought to explain the blood moon to En- it was such a normal part of life here, so it completely slipped his mind. He had forgotten Engineer was a foreigner- or at least assumed they had the blood moon too.

En let out another pained groan, ducking his head as he pressed his hands against his ears. Tauro moved forward, reaching out to En in an attempt to offer any possible comfort that he could. He knew midnight was fast approaching, and couldn’t even imagine the cacophony that was echoing in En’s head.

Before he could reach his companion, Tauro watched as he slowly moved one hand to wipe his hand under his nose. When he lifted his head and pulled his hand away, his fingers and face were smeared with blood. Engineer felt his head swimming as Tauro jumped forward, catching him as he went limp yet again.

Despite his worry and panic, Tauro couldn’t help but feel like losing consciousness might have been a mercy.

࣪ ִֶָ☾.࿐ ࿔*:･ﾟ

En woke up several hours later, still in Tauro’s arms. Tauro held him against his chest with his arms around him- he’d even managed to pull a blanket over them and wipe the blood from his hand and face. There was a waterskin and a cloth nearby- with red stains presumably from Engineer’s blood.

Engineer shifted, rubbing his bleary eyes as he started to wake up and process his surroundings. He looked up at Tauro, who was dozing off despite sitting up and holding the larger man. There was sunlight coming through the tent, so Engineer could only assume it was morning. En didn’t want to move too much and wake Tauro up- figuring he had probably been up late worrying.

Besides, En would be lying if he said it didn’t feel nice in his arms. It had been quite a while since his last hug.

Engineer let out a quiet sigh and relaxed against Tauro’s chest and tried to ignore the way his cheeks warmed as he did.

The movement was small, but it was enough to jolt Tauro awake. He looked down at En, who was looking up at him. The sense of relief that rushed through Tauro was enough to keep him from getting too flustered. For now, at least.

“En! You’re awake! How are you feeling?” he asked, sitting up straighter and raising his hand to check if he was still feverish.

“Much better, thank you. My head is quiet again. I just wish I knew what happened,” En replied, letting Tauro check his temperature.

En’s fever had gone down, but his cheeks were still flushed and Tauro’s hand felt pleasantly cool. Without thinking, En leaned his face against Tauro’s hand with a slight smile. Tauro blushed at this, feeling his heart skip a beat. The researcher let his hand rest there, slowly stroking his thumb across En’s cheekbone. Engineer felt his cheeks burn even more, and could hear the way Tauro’s heart started beating faster.

Surprisingly, Tauro was the first to snap out of it. He could see En’s cheeks grow redder, and could feel his heart pounding in his throat.

“Y-You uh- You don’t feel feverish anymore, but I-uhm- I bet you’re thirsty- you should drink some water,” He stammered out in a panic, reaching for the waterskin next to them.

His trembling hands fumbled it at first, and Engineer couldn’t help but chuckle as he watched Tauro catch it and hold it out to En, who was still leaning against Tauro. Engineer took the waterskin and sat up a bit to drink easier- though he still didn’t pull too far away from Tauro. Judging from the way Tauro kept one hand on the stoker’s back, he didn’t seem to want En to move away either.

“Thank you for taking care of me,” Engineer said, leaning his head against Tauro’s shoulder as he replaced the cork of the waterskin.

Tauro felt like his cheeks were burning, but he still smiled down at the other man.