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English
Series:
Part 20 of You’re a Part of Me
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Published:
2024-04-13
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2,203
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1/1
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Fever

Summary:

Captain Link had a big day of training planned for him and Mask, but when the kid wakes up sick, the plans are set aside and he spends the day taking care of him instead.

Later, Time gets a little cold, and Warriors once again takes care of him.

Notes:

HELLO HELLO!!

I'm back after having not posted to this little series for a hot minute. None of these fics in this series really need to be read in any specific order, so if you're new here don't worry.

As usual: my apologies for odd spelling errors or weirdly autocorrected words, I'm dyslexic and my beta reader is me

Also this came from a mini fic request on Tumblr that I got way too carried away with

I hope you enjoy!!!

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Work Text:

Routine was something Link knew was important to Mask, it was something he thrived on. He loved the safety that came with knowing what would happen next, and while battle was chaotic and horrible, Captain Link always made sure their mornings stayed the same to provide just a little bit of stability for him.

Every day he’d sit on the edge of his brother’s cot and gently shake the kid awake, talking to him softly while Mask usually grumbled and slapped at him. Occasionally he’d mess with him to get his brother to wake up faster, like dangle the kid upside down by the ankles, but for the most part he’d just sit patiently and wait for him to blink sleepily at him, or tell him to fuck off. After Mask was up and about and had some time to clean up and get ready for the day, Link made them both breakfast, and that was how every morning for them went.

However today when he sat down at the foot of his brother’s cot, softly calling the ten year old’s name as he rubbed his back gently, the kid didn’t stir at all. Link could feel the heat coming off of him and he frowned, peering over Mask to see his flushed cheeks as his brother had his back to him. 

“Mask?” Link brushed the kid’s short bangs out of his face, letting his hand rest on his too hot forehead.

His brother let out a soft groan, frowning in his sleep. Leaning closer to him, Link could hear his breaths coming out as wheezes, and it sounded almost as if the kid was struggling to breathe. 

“Buddy?” He called, gently shaking Mask’s arm. 

His brother’s eyes flickered open, glassy and unfocused, and he let out a small panicked sound looking around wildly, his little body shaking as he gasped for air.

“Hey, hey,” Link backed away as Mask flipped himself around to face him, “it’s okay, it’s just me.”

“Cap’n?” Mask coughed, bloodshot eyes finally focusing somewhat on him. He looked miserable and exhausted, and his voice was so hoarse it crackled when he spoke.

“Lay back down, kiddo,” he smiled softly at him, gently guiding Mask down onto his pillow. “We’re taking the day off.”

Link had had a full day of training prepared for the two of them, but with the kid in this condition, it wasn’t happening. He knew first hand how awful it was to be forced by superiors to train while sick, and he had spent many of his early days in the military training until his body gave out. He refused to be like his old commanding officer and do the same to Mask. His brother would be getting the whole day to rest undisturbed if it was the last thing Link did.

“We are?” His brother blinked, looking around the tent. 

“I’m going to make you some tea, is that okay?” Link asked, pulling the blankets up to the kid’s shoulders, fighting to control his expression when Mask shifted around to snuggle up to them. He knew how much the young hero hated being treated like the child he deserved a chance to be, and while Link was fully aware of how strong and powerful his brother was, the kid was still ten and had moments where he was painfully cute.

“Okay…” Mask whispered, eyelids drooping. Link unwrapped his scarf from his neck and tucked it around his brother carefully before heading off to get him some warm tea.

When he got sick as a little boy, his Ma would always bring him tea and sit with him, keeping him company as he napped. She’d also read him stories, and while Link had a strong feeling Mask might kick him if he tried to tell the kid a story, he could at least sit by his brother and look after him.

When the tea was done, he walked back over to the cot, sitting down on the end of it once more, and setting the cup of tea down on the side table so he could help Mask sit up before handing it to him. His brother was half awake, so Link let him lean on him for support while he drank, helping him hold the cup so he wouldn’t accidentally drop it and spill the hot liquid on himself. 

To his surprise, when all the tea was gone, Mask cuddled up to him, clinging onto his tunic and burying his face in his side, Link’s scarf still wrapped over his shoulders.

“Wanna go back to sleep now?” He spoke softly, holding the kid close to him. It was a real testament to how horrible the poor boy was feeling when all he did was nod, letting out a sad sound instead of speaking. Had he been feeling well, he knew Mask would be fighting him right now, pushing him away and yelling at him for ‘coddling’ him.

Link helped him get back under his blankets, and it broke his heart a little to have to pull Mask’s fingers off his tunic so he could get his brother laying down. The kid looked up at him with big eyes poking out from under the covers, silently begging for comfort, and Link caved, laying down next to him and pulling Mask close. The little hero, wrapped in all his blankets, snuggled up to his side, letting out a miserable sounding sigh and closing his eyes. 

He rubbed his brothers back, and started softly humming one of the songs his Ma used to sing for him, hoping it’d bring Mask some of the comfort it used to bring him. Soon enough, the kid was fast asleep, and Link pressed a kiss to the top of his brother’s head, holding him close and allowing himself to drift off as well.

He woke up a few hours later with Mask still pressed firmly against him, sleeping fitfully. His eyes were flicking back and forth under their lids, and he kept letting out sharp breaths. Link gently rubbed the kids back, whispering soft things to him until he fell still. He got up carefully, frowning down at his brother. Illness running through camp wasn’t an uncommon thing, but with how clean and careful Link was, he and Mask were usually among the last to catch the monthly illness, and no one else in camp was sick right now.

Wherever the poor kid had picked this up, it must’ve been from one of the villages they’d passed through, not their fellow soldiers. Link went to get Mask a glass of water before walking back to his cot, gently shaking the boy awake. 

Mask opened his eyes groggily and stared at him with a blank expression. “L’nk?”

“Think you could drink this water for me, Sprite?” He asked, holding the glass up.

His brother nodded, shuffling around the blankets so he could sit up and reach for the water. He was much more coordinated than this morning and didn’t have any trouble staying upright or maintaining his grip on the glass, and Link had hope that maybe he’d be able to sleep this off. 

He took the glass back from Mask when the kid was done so he could fill it up again, and his brother trailed behind him, keeping one of his blankets wrapped around him like a cape. The young hero dragged his feet over to the table in the middle of the tent before sitting down hard in one of the chairs, letting his head fall down onto the wood surface with a soft groan.

“Hungry?” Link wondered, coming over and setting the now full glass down on the table.

Mask nodded, coughing weakly. “Can I have soup?”

“Of course, buddy,” he smiled, quickly resting a hand on the kid’s forehead to see if it was any cooler and after deciding it wasn’t, heading off to heat up some soup for them both.

His brother pressed his cheek into the cool wood of the table, watching him closely as he moved around to make lunch for him. Link frowned when he realized he could hear Mask’s wheezing from halfway across the tent, and he made a mental note that if it didn’t go away or sound better by the end of the day, he’d take the kid to the healers. He could feel the ten year old’s tired gaze on his back as he worked, and while something like that might’ve bothered him if it were anyone else, this was Mask, the kid who was becoming family to him more and more by the day, and he forced himself to relax.

When he was done heating up the soup, he poured some into a bowl for his brother, setting it down on the table in front of him. “It’s hot, don’t burn your mouth.”

“Whaddya take me for,” the kid grumbled, “an idiot?”

Link burst out laughing, shaking his head with a smile. If Mask was up for being a little shit, he had to feel at least a little bit better.

“I’m dying,” Time announced, coughing pathetically before letting himself slump into Warriors. The captain wrapped his hands around his brother’s waist, trying to at least slow the fall if he couldn’t steady him, and Time ended up landing right on top of him.

“I hate you so much,” Warriors wheezed from where he was being crushed underneath the larger man. “You’re actually the worst.”

Time sniffed, not moving, and Warriors struggled to get out from underneath him.

“Spriteeeee!” He whined, fighting to breathe. “You’re crushing me!”

His brother rolled off him, landing face down in the grass with a low groan. Their ‘fearless leader’ had woken up with a stuffy nose that morning and decided to be ridiculous about it. He’d scared Twilight nearly half to death by announcing he was dying earlier, first thing after opening his eyes and not even bothering to get off his back. The others hadn’t expected such dramatics from the usually serious and closed off man, and he’d certainly caught them off guard.

Warriors, on the other hand, was more than used to his antics, and while everyone was worrying something was seriously wrong with Time, the captain had snapped at him for being a little shit and made him get up. He knew what it looked like when his brother was actually sick, and resting the back of his hand quickly against Time’s forehead had only confirmed his suspicion that all that ailed their leader was a little stuffy nose.

The others had gone off in groups, some to scout ahead for a town, others to frolic since they were not moving camp today, and Warriors and Twilight had gotten stuck on ‘Time Duty’. It had taken a great deal of persuading to convince Twilight that their leader’s death was not as imminent as the man’s griping might suggest, but the rancher was determined to stick by his ancestors' side. Wolfie had been laying in a patch of grass with his head on his paws until Time had flopped onto the ground when he’d run over and pressed his nose to the back of Time’s neck with a nervous snort.

“I’m fine,” his brother huffed, reaching a hand behind him to swat at Wolfie.

The wolf let out a low whine, and Warriors reached over to wrap an arm around him, pulling him close.

“Remember when I told you he’s a whiny brat and you didn’t believe me, rancher?” Warriors sighed, patting the wolf on the head.

Twilight let out a boof, tail wagging slowly and dragging through the grass. He still seemed a bit anxious, but with Warriors being so relaxed and calm, the wolf must’ve realized there was really nothing to worry about. 

“I’m not a brat,” Time huffed, pushing himself up on his elbows. “Stop corrupting my kid.”

Warriors had to try hard not to laugh when Twilight’s spine straightened under his hold and his tail started wagging faster. “Your kid now? What does that make me, his uncle?”

Wolfie’s tail kept wagging, but the rancher did let out a low, playful growl, and Warriors pushed him over, tackling him onto his side.

“Oh shut up, you,” he rolled his eyes, letting Twilight wriggle out from underneath him. “You’d be lucky to have an uncle as amazing as me.”

A wave of pixels washed off the wolf and an unimpressed rancher sat in its place. “Pfft, I’d much rather have Sky.”

Time laughed, quietly coughing into his arm while Warriors let out an offended squawk. 

“How could you!” He gasped. “You’re my least favorite nephew, I hope you know.”

Twilight rolled his eyes, opting to fall back down in the grass next to Time instead of keeping up their petty squabble. They were lucky it was such a nice, sunny day after so many consecutive days of rain and misery. Warriors was starting to think that might've been how Time got sick in the first place. If that was the case, they might be about to have a bunch of sneezy heroes on their hands.

They were about to be in for a rough few days.

 

Notes:

Remember to drink water and take care of yourselves!! :)

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