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“I can stand the sand,” Four says, pulling away from his orange-colored drink. “I can stand the seals. I think they're cute. I can even stand the heat. I mean, what am I saying? I love the heat. And I have this fancy cold drink to help cool me down. Cantaloupe is delicious.”
Twilight sucks on the straw of his own fancy cold drink, a bright blue one with basil leaves sticking out of the ice, of all things. It's actually not too sweet, which he enjoys. He tastes a few different unfamiliar flavors, but a lot of them work really well together.
Four and Twilight sit under a canopy stretched between two of the clay-brick desert buildings, at one of the small metal tables decorated with angular shapes of mismatched tile. Even here in the orange-tinted shade, it's quite hot. They've dressed for the heat, down to a layer or two of loose, light clothing with sandals. Twilight wears a scarf around his head to ward off some of the direct sunshine, though there isn't much here beneath the canopy, and Four pulled his hair up off his neck.
They sit across from each other, Four’s crutches leaning against their table. He says it's much easier to deal with them than try to maneuver his chair around the crowds and the dusty roads.
This is a quiet corner of the busy market near Wild’s Gerudo Town, outside the town proper, so the quiet alley they're in looks out on a crowd made of Hylians, Gerudo, Rito, Gorons, even a Zora or two, of all different colors and sizes and genders. It's been a nice place to relax from their adventure in that half-frozen lake and wait for Legend’s relapse to subside. Twilight and Four spent today exploring and trying some new foods.
Twilight gives Four a side-eye. “I feel a but coming on.”
“But,” Four continues with a vengeance, “I very much dislike all these tall people thinking I am a child.”
There it is. Twilight makes a sympathetic face while Four keeps talking.
“I can't get mad at them, though! I am small. I can't blame someone who isn't even Hylian for thinking I'm much younger than I am. I can't even blame Hylians. It's just something I have to deal with. But I am going to complain about it.” Four takes another sip of his drink, and somehow makes the liquid running through his straw sound frustrated. “This is so good.”
“I can sympathize,” Twilight says. He pulls at the empty sleeve that hangs from his left shoulder. It doesn't dangle too badly, since Warriors helped him wrap a sash around his chest to keep the sleeve from looking too obvious. “I know the feeling. People assume I can't do things all the time. I don't get asked too often, but there was one old guy once who assumed I needed help getting up the stairs.”
“I bet.” Four sighs and flicks a very small pebble off the table. “Sorry for complaining.”
“Nah, complain all you want.” Twilight smiles on one half of his face, going in for a bit more of his drink.
Four eyes him. “Is that an invitation?”
“If you want it to be. Go ahead,” Twilight says around his straw. He keeps his smile, though privately he pauses in concern. Is Four okay?
The answer appears to be no. Four drops his head on the table and groans loudly, one of his hands still wrapped loosely around his drink. “I'm just so tired of this, sometimes.” His other hand gestures vaguely. “I’m tired of people staring and pretending they aren't. Of them not wanting to serve me when I ask for something alcoholic. Of being in pain more often than not and needing to do things differently and—”
Four cuts himself off. He sighs heavily again.
Twilight doesn't know what to say, but he also knows that words don't necessarily need to be exchanged here. He lets go of his drink and reaches forward to lay his hand on Four’s shoulder in silent solidarity.
A few seconds pass in silence, only the sound of the market crowd filling the space between them.
Then Four lifts his head. “Sorry,” he mutters again, not quite looking at Twilight. “I think I'm just tired. I'm really okay.”
“I believe you.”
“Just… forget I said anything. This is supposed to be relaxing.” Four rubs a hand down his face and goes back for his drink. He doesn't shrug Twilight’s hand off, though.
Twilight lets his hand linger for just a few moments more, then pulls away. “I think sometimes, getting stuff out is important to actually relax. Like pulling burrs out of a coat, or weeding. Can't grow much until you get that stuff out.”
Four hums. “Weeding, yeah. That's a good analogy. I can't always help the bad feelings… but I can always try to pull out what I don't want.”
“As long as you know the weed seeds aren't your fault,” Twilight says, sipping at his blue drink. It's nearly gone, which makes him a little sad. “Or… whatever. I might’ve lost the analogy. You can feel whatever you feel, it doesn't make you bad. Every garden has weeds.”
“Yeah, I know.” Four offers a small smile, more fragile than his usual. “I’d just rather focus on the flowers now, though. Or vegetables. Whatever’s in this metaphorical garden. The good stuff.”
“Hm… You're a carrot,” Twilight decides, nodding.
Four’s expression twists in confusion. “A carrot?”
“Mhm. Leafy green and pretty on top.” Twilight reaches forward again to playfully flick at a piece of Four’s bangs, to a roll of Four’s eyes. “And the good parts of carrots stick out just a little from the dirt while they grow, making them look really small.”
“Thanks?”
“I'm not done. There's a lot to you, under the surface, and you're tough, but also really sweet.”
“You're being sappy.”
Twilight’s smiling again, and so is Four. “That’s how I get when I'm tired, so yeah, sappy, but I ain't wrong. I like carrots. No stew is complete without a couple.”
“Ha.” Four sucks up the last of his fruity drink, contemplative, then plucks the mint garnish off the side of the glass and sticks the leaves in his mouth. “You’re a pumpkin.”
“Huh?” Twilight finishes off his drink, too, but doesn't eat the basil.
A Rito dressed in Gerudo patterns approaches to ask about their empty glasses and potential refills, but Four and Twilight are both done and hand off a few rupees in a tip, having paid when they ordered the drinks. The Rito takes their dishes and leaves them alone with a smile and some kind words.
“Pumpkin,” Four continues as he hooks his crutches over his arms and levers himself up to his feet. “You're kinda hard to miss.”
“Is there a but coming to that one, too?” Twilight asks. He tucks his chair in, then moves around to get Four’s too. As they maneuver around the mostly empty tables in the alley, Twilight stays a step ahead to push in what chairs remain out and in Four’s way.
“Nah, just an and. You're hard to miss, and you kind of do look exactly like what you are—a tough kid from the farm.” Four laughs and follows Twilight through the maze of tables. “That isn't all to you, though. You're super soft and goopy on the inside.”
Twilight can't help but laugh back. “I love pumpkins. That's a compliment.”
“Good, it's meant to be!”
The two of them head back out into the half-shaded market, though Twilight purposely sticks to the edges, where there aren't as many people. He'd been kind of overwhelmed the first time he visited this market, but it's grown on him. He feels such a fondness for the Gerudo people that he's met in other times, and wonders where they are in his.
When he can see the low walls of the inn, a tiled waterfall cascading down the side and into the cactus garden, Twilight turns back to Four, whose smile has faded again as he focuses on swinging his crutches. It's been a long day. Hopefully a good one, but long. They're both tired and could use some rest.
“You know,” Twilight says, and Four looks up. “We're all here if you want a break, or any kind of help. I'm sure Wild would be more than happy to go run an errand for you every so often, if you didn't want to deal with people. I know that I'm willing to be your intimidating guard dog, if you need it.”
That brings a smile back to Four’s face. “Yeah, I know. I'll… try to ask, a little more often. And, you know what, Twi?”
“Hm?”
“You're also like a pumpkin because people are really happy to see you. Me included. I like having you around.”
“Aw, now you're being sappy!” Twilight gently bonks the side of Four’s head in lieu of the headlock or hug he'd give to someone else. “I must be rubbing off on ya.”
“Say it isn't so!” Four laughs, ducking away.
“Too late.”
“Oh, Golden Three, it is too late, ugh. For me and the day. Let's get inside already.”