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The first time Wind and Wild spent any quality time together, they decided they’d make a habit of it. It was obvious that Time was like everyone’s dad, and Sky was the emotional support hug friend, but nobody had really crossed into mom friend territory. Everyone assumed they wouldn’t have a mom friend, that’s just how they rolled.
Boy were they wrong.
Wind had been snippety and frustrated all day. The others found it adorable, but he had a difficult time appearing threatening. So far, he’d stolen one of Legend’s rings, refused a hug from Sky, and insulted Warriors hair. Needless to say, everyone was a little on edge.
Warriors was whining, Legend was ready to attack, Sky was close to breaking down, and Hyrule was constantly looking over his shoulder before Wild intervened.
“I’ll go settle this guys, don’t worry,” he assured them. “Just take Time and Twilight and go fish, relax a little. Things will be better when you all get back.”
Wild made sure the others had cleared out of camp before he returned. It was easier to open up or calm down when you weren’t worrying about others listening or seeing you weak, and he knew that’s what Wind probably needed. Wind was young compared to the rest of them, and it was easy to forget he was still a kid. He needed a little more love than he would ever let on, and Wild couldn’t help but want to make him feel cared for.
“Wind?” Wild pulled back the flap of Wind’s “tent”, which was just a combination of patchwork clothes he’d hung from a tree branch. Wind and some of the others would do this whenever they were in an area for more than a week.
“Please just leave me alone!! How many times do I have to tell you people?!” Wild sighed to himself. It was a pretty rough day, then, but he had an idea.
“Want to braid my hair?”
“...”
“...Can I wash it too?...”
Wild smiled and laughed to himself. “You can do whatever you want to it as long as I’m not bald.”
“...You can come in...”
About an hour later, Wild was pretty he sure he was dead, but Wind was smiling, so he didn’t care. Wild had dunked his hair into a pot of water he’d heated more times than he could count, and he’d raked through it with a comb made of unidentifiable material. The knots and tangles still remained, and his hair was still straightened from an extending period of neglect. Wind was currently brushing through the softer parts of Wild’s hair while it dried.
“Hey Wind?” Wild tried to stay as still as possible while he talked. He knew Wind didn’t like it when his hair got tangled after fixing it.
“Mhmm?”
“Do you want to talk about why you were so upset today? You don’t have to if you don’t want to, but we’ve got all the time in the world, right now.”
Wind didn’t say anything at first, but Wild didn’t speak up again. He just gave him time to think.
“I miss my family. My sister and everyone from home, but...” Wind trailed off for a second and breathed in deeply. “I miss the family I don’t have anymore. I miss my mom and dad and uncles and aunts, everyone I never knew. I just...”
Wild reached back and grabbed Wind’s hand that wasn’t currently brushing his drying hair.
“It’s alright, you can tell me anything, and I’ll always be here for you,” Wild assured him softly.
“I feel like I’ve got to be just as grown up and mature as the rest of you, but I worry I’m not. I worry that you feel like I’m just a hazard for feeling and for being sad. Why should I get to be a kid when most of you never got to be?”
Wild bit his lip and turned around to pull Wind into a hug. He couldn’t help it, not after Wind had trusted him.
“Don’t ever feel like you can’t tell us how you feel. Knowing your emotions doesn’t make you weak, it makes you stronger. Some of us burry them because we don’t know any other way to live, but confronting your feelings takes much more courage.” Wild squeezed Wind a little tighter and he moved to kneel in Wild’s lap. He could feel him shaking with silent sobs, and Wild pressed his face into the top of Wind’s head.
“You should get to be young and carefree, and I wish you didn’t have this hero’s burden on. You deserve the entire world, and I’d give it to you myself, if I could.”
Wind threw his arms around Wind and burried his face in his shoulder. Wild just rocked him and let him sit there. Sometimes, words just weren’t necessary. After a little while though, Wind pulled away to wipe his eyes. Wild smiled and pressed their foreheads together.
“I will always be here for you, and I will always take care of you. Don’t ever feel like you’re a burden to me because I’ll stay behind you, no matter what.”
“Thanks, mom.”
Wild saw Wind’s eyes widen as he realized what he’d said, but he was having a hard time coming up with words through his shock. He knew he had to do something though because Wind needed him, and a part of him needed this too.
Wind tried to scramble away and leave, muttering apologies under his breath, but Wild pulled him back into a hug. He knew that if Wind ran away now, he might lose him.
“It’s okay, Wind. It’s alright.” Wild muttered into Wind’s hair. “I don’t have a problem with it in the slightest.”
Wind pulled back to protest, but he saw the way Wild was tearing up, and his protests died out. It was obvious Wild wasn’t just trying to spare him, and the thought that Wild could care about like that was overwhelming.
“Hey, Wind?”
“Mhmm?”
“You want to finish my hair?”
Wind sniffed and smiled up at him. “Yeah, I do.”
Wind and Wild feel into a strange sort of routine. Wild would always check up on Wind, and every so often, he’d let Wind fix his hair. Wind began to notice that Wild did the same for a lot of others, but he always took special care of Wind.
He watched Wild bring a cucco for Sky to play with, search for the ingredients to make cookies because Hyrule mentioned he wanted some, make sure Time had enough blankets, help Legend organize his inventory, wash Warriors scarf, and so much more. Wind was a little worried he’d get burnt out, but it all seemed to make Wild a little happier to help the others. Wind still took a little pride in all of the love that Wild gave to him. He liked the extra attention just because he knew Wild was making good on his promise to watch out for Wind.
One day, they’d made camp after dealing with a couple of lynels, and Wind had taken the time to put Wild’s hair into a bun with braids surrounding it, and had made him a crown out of silent princess (after Wild assured him they were no long endangered and it was perfectly okay).
“You’ve actually managed to turn Wild into a presentable human. I’m impressed,” Twilight laughed.
Wild rolled his eyes. “You’re just jealous, old man. You couldn’t pull of this look. The scowl doesn’t really match the flowers.”
“Yeah, yeah, you’re just lucky Wind puts up with you for long enough to fix your bokoblin nest you call hair.”
Wild smiled and dipped more soup into Wind’s bowl. “Ignore him, he just wishes he was as diligent as you. You do an amazing job, Wind.”
Wind smiled at him and stirred his soup in his bowl. “Thanks, momma.”
It took him a second to figure out what was up, but he quickly realized that it was way too quiet. All the other background conversations had completely stopped, and he heard a metal spoon clatter back into someone’s bowl.
The first thing Wind noticed when he looked up was that Wild had leveled a glare at everyone there. Wild might have been a little unassuming, but he looked like he could’ve rivaled Time in that second without breaking a sweat. The second thing he noticed was Four fidgeting in his seat.
“Is that allowed?” Four squeaked and then shook his head and his hands. “I mean like-I just meant...” Four stopped and huffed.
Wind watched Wild’s glare fade, and a smile replaced it as he sat next to Four and put a hand on his shoulder.
“Can I call you that too?!” Four blurted out and immediately clapped his hands over his mouth. Wind laughed a little. He knew Four tried so hard to make himself seem threatening and mysterious, but it wouldn’t surprise him if Four was actually a teddy bear.
Wild just smiled and nodded. “Of course, want some more soup?”
Without much warning, Time bursted out laughing. The others looked at each other anxiously, and Wild once again looked like he was ready to fight if necessary. It crossed their minds that the old man might have finally lost it.
After he managed to calm down a little and catch his breath, Time looked up at the group and whispered, “Malon’s gonna be so mad she’s not the mom friend.”
Everyone else started laughing along with him. It was a rare moment of peace amongst them all, and many of them hadn’t laughed like this in a long time. The laughing only got stronger when Time gasped out, “I’m definitely banished to the couch for a week when she finds out.”
Amidst all the laughter, Wild slung an arm around Wind’s shoulder and hugged him a little closer. Wind was glad that he had a family that would always be there for him, and he was also glad that he could call Wild mom any time that he wanted.