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The idea came after several months of travel and no breaks.
Time had noticed how several of the boys, especially ones used to family and companionship, would cast longing looks toward the houses with their lanterns still on in the windows, or would quietly look away after a child asked their mother for something. It tore at him to see them so depressed, and so when they finally returned to his Hyrule, he schemed.
It was hard. He was the unofficial leader of the group, the eldest (so to speak), so whenever something bad happened, he was the first one they came to. It was aggravating, to say the least, when Sky came to him for help with the cuccos, and immediately after Wind accidentally knocked something over and set off the horses.
It was a long time coming, but finally. The table was set. The food was cooked. It was time for the feast to begin!
He could see the joy in the boys’ eyes when he brought them out to the barn and they were greeted with the mountain of food Malon had cooked. Time and Malon had brought out the special table and chairs, the dark oak ones they had at their wedding, and decorated it with a plain white tablecloth with lace around the edges. They had placed flowers on the table, a mix of lilacs, gardenias, hyacinths and Silent Princesses Malon had convinced Wild to give her. Strings were strung up horizontally across the roof; they had managed to convince (re: bribe) some fairies to sit on the strings and enjoy the festivities for the night.
“What…” Legend spoke in shock, “How did you manage to do this?” The other boys nodded in agreement, their faces mirroring Legend’s. Time swore he could see a tear coming out of Sky’s eye.
“With some hard work, determination, and lots of love.” Malon spoke up from beside Time, “Now come on, let’s eat!”
They didn’t have to be told twice. Wind was the first to the table, a bright grin on his face. Wild was right behind him, sitting beside the younger boy and beginning to take some of the food set. The others soon followed suit, with Hyrule staying behind to thank Malon for all of the food.
“Oh, it was nothing, dear. Enjoying it is enough thanks for me.” She shooed him toward the table, turning toward her husband once he left.
“Proud of yourself?” She cocked an eyebrow at him, a small smirk on her face.
“Couldn’t have done it without you, love,” He kissed her, pulling away when someone shouted, “Ew, Mom and Dad are kissing!”
“Shush, you!” The boys laughed and continued dishing out food to each other and admiring the decorations. He looked toward his lovely, beautiful, fantastic wife and said, “Shall we join them?”
“We shall!” She cried with a flourish and dragged him toward the group. Malon had really outdone herself this time. Plates were piled high with mashed potatoes, salt-grilled vegetables and mushroom skewers. He saw some rice balls on the other end of the table, almost halfway gone. There were a few different types of stews being passed around, along with some cornbread. A big bowl of salad was near the middle, next to the main attraction: the Hylian turkey.
It was huge, a masterpiece among turkeys. The skin was browned to perfection, the meat nice and juicy. The stuffing looked amazing, filled with bread, herbs, and spices. He couldn’t wait to have some.
“How’d you manage to find one that big?” Twilight asked across from him, gesturing toward the meat. Time smiled behind his glass,
“Trade secret, pup.”
Twilight rolled his eyes and took some for himself. He took a bite and visibly melted.
“That good, huh?” Warriors spoke up from beside Four. Twilight nodded, a euphoric look on his face.
“Malon, you are a Goddess’s send.”
Malon giggled beside him, “Why thank you, dear.”
“Ms. Malon, is there any more?” Wind asked eagerly, his plate already clean.
“If you wait a little longer, Wind, I may bring out some carrot cake.”
“Really?!”
Malon nodded, “And some cookies and fruit cake, too, if you’re good.”
Wind gasped in delight, turning to shovel some vegetables onto his plate. Wild laughed and patted him on the back, urging him to slow down. Around the table, individual conversations struck up, securing the bond between them even tighter.
Twilight turned toward him, a grin on his face. “Ready to eat?”
Time grinned right back, “Absolutely.”
Hours later, after the feast was done and they had cleaned up, they laid together in bed, the house quiet and content. They had spent many hours in the barn, sharing stories and smiles over plates of food and, eventually, a campfire. The fairies had migrated with them, interested in the tales of the different incarnations, and had formed a glowing halo above them.
“Did you ever imagine your life would turn out like this?” She spoke from where her head rested on his chest.
He thinks for a moment. When he was his youngest, he hadn’t even known of the world outside of Kokiri Forest. He thought he was going to live forever, like the rest of the Kokiri. Then Navi and the Great Deku Tree and the Master Sword happened, and suddenly he was friends with a princess and had traveled through time, and then he stopped a kingdom from the moon. At that point in his life, he had considered settling down with something, maybe have a kid or two, but he felt he wouldn’t have deserved it. Now, though...
He sighed, “I don’t think I could’ve imagined anything that happened to me when I was younger. But,” he kissed her head, “I wouldn’t change it for the world.”
“Not even if someone put a sword to your heart?”
“Not even then.”
She huffed out a laugh, “Sap.”
“You love me.”
“I do, and sometimes I wonder if that’s a good thing.”
Time rolled his eyes, “Gee, thanks, dear.”
Malon sat up from his chest with a laugh. She kissed him, a soft smile on her face“I love you. And this family.”
Time smiled back, “I love you too.”