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It wasn't often that Legend found himself scheming. Okay, maybe that wasn't necessarily true. There were times when he'd sneak around to gather information, or to relinquish the castle kitchen of some snacks without getting caught. Those were usually spur of the moment endeavors, and there truly wouldn't be consequences if he was caught. Today's task ran the risk of turning sour, but that's what made it thrilling.
Something was going on with Eras, more specifically involving that farmer. Legend noticed how they'd been hanging out together more as of late, and they ran off to spar or gather supplies alone. Normally, it was nothing to be scandalized over. But this was his captain, he knew things about Eras that most others didn't.
Eras would not run off alone with someone unless he trusted them. Not once did he give him or Sailor a warning of caution whenever he left with the farmer. Yesterday after a long day of gathering firewood with Twilight, Eras trotted back into camp with a dopey, but genuine smile. If Legend was the betting type, he'd guess Eras fancied the farmer. Unfortunately, Legend knew Eras wasn’t always the best when it came to reading people's intentions.
So when Twilight announced he was heading off to the nearby village to restock on supplies, Legend quickly invited himself along. It wasn’t safe to travel alone, or at least that was the excuse he gave. As they walked through the forest path, he did keep an eye out for threats, so he wasn’t being completely facetious with his intentions.
The walk was painfully awkward. To his credit, Twilight did attempt to keep up light conversation. Legend was certain Twilight talking to him about the weather was the most they had ever spoken to each other. As Twilight rambled, Legend realized something about him. He was a nervous talker. His ears were held slightly down and he kept running his hands through his hair as he prattled on.
As for the reason for his anxiousness, Legend could only speculate. Maybe he was worried about being attacked, or maybe he didn’t feel comfortable going to the village. Another option was that Legend was correct with his suspicions. Twilight was interested in Eras in some capacity and he knew Legend was here to get a read of him.
Before long, the forest opened up into a clearing, revealing a village on the other side. The village was on the larger side, so there were quite a few options to buy supplies from. They stopped at the farrier first and purchased horseshoes and nails, apparently Epona was in dire need of a re-shoeing. After that, they made their way to a general store.
They had limited rupees to work with, so they couldn’t go all out with buying supplies.
“Are you familiar with these spices?” Twilight asked while they stood in front of a display case with little jars of seasonings.
“I am,” he confirmed after taking a closer look, most of them were the dried and crushed peppers he was used to back home.
“Great, would you mind picking whatever’s good? These aren’t familiar to me.”
“Sure. Can you handle a bit of spice?”
“Can I handle a bit of spice,” Twilight echoed almost mockingly, “of course I can.
“Right, but you don’t recognize these peppers?” Legend questioned, surely someone who liked spicy food would know these peppers.
“No, these are different peppers.”
“A pepper is a pepper.”
Twilight picked up a jar of dried red peppers and showed it to him.
“I have never seen these in my life,” Twilight proclaimed while shaking the peppers.
“Those are sichuan peppers, they’re not even hot.”
“That’s not the point. I’ve grown all sorts of food my whole life,” Twilight explained. “The soil and environment here must be closer to how it is in your time. You wouldn’t expect a mountain pine to grow in the desert, right? Same logic goes with these peppers, just on a less dramatic scale.”
“I guess that makes sense,” Legend said and brought his attention to the spices. He knew Twilight was a farmer, he just never really thought about it until this moment. “Alright, I’ll pick out the spices.”
Legend carefully considered all of the options. Salt was a must, so he grabbed a large jar of it. There were all sorts of crushed peppers and other herbs, he had a hard time deciding what to pick. Not once did he think anything of being put on spice duty, until he glanced back and noticed Twilight was quickly buying a vial of liquid and shoving it into his bag.
Rather than causing a scene, Legend pretended not to notice for now and resumed picking out the spices. With a fair variety of seasonings selected, they bought those along with some sacks of dry goods and more health potions. It wasn’t until they left the village when Legend allowed himself to be suspicious of the farmer. Why did Twilight sneakily buy a mystery vial?
Eras had alluded to being poisoned before, so that thought popped into Legend’s mind right away. It was no secret that some of the others in the group disliked and distrusted the captain, but would they go as far as to poison him? That seemed highly unlikely. Eras was overly cautious, and for good reason. If he wasn’t worried about Twilight, then that was probably a good sign. Still, Legend wasn’t about to blindly trust this stranger with his brother.
“So, what’s our potion supply like now?” Legend asked casually.
“Six healths, two magics, and a stamina. I think that’ll be fine,” Twilight replied without skipping a beat.
“Right, that’s a good amount for now,” Legend said and braced himself. “So what was that little bottle you bought, then?”
“A pain relief tonic,” Twilight said easily, much to Legend’s surprise.
“Can I see it?” Legend asked, fully expecting to receive retaliation in some form.
“Oh, yeah sure, here you go,” Twilight said and procured the vial with no protest.
Legend grabbed it and frowned. He must have been worried over nothing, Twilight wouldn't be this casual if the liquid was anything harmful. With a quick motion, he uncorked the bottle and sniffed the pale blue liquid. It was a familiar scent, he recognized the chamomile and herb blend all too well.
“This is for cramps,” Legend announced and replaced the cork.
“Yeah, you never wake up with a danged leg cramp?” Twilight said and laughed dryly, though his demeanor shifted slightly.
“It’s not for that kind of cramp,” Legend said while taking a cautious step away from him.
The only two people here who knew he was trans were Sailor and Eras. He knew Sailor wouldn’t blab and he assumed Eras wouldn’t either. He felt sick at the thought of Eras breaking his trust like that and telling Twilight to get cramp medicine for him. His captain wouldn’t do that. He wouldn’t. Legend didn’t want to believe it.
As he prepared to yell and defend himself, he realized Twilight looked equally as worried.
“Give it back,” Twilight ordered calmly, though his ears were fully pinned back and his hand was shaking slightly.
“Did Captain tell you to buy this for me?” Legend asked instead, partially for clarification but mostly to let Twilight know he was someone safe to talk to.
“What, no, he didn’t,” Twilight replied and he tilted his head ever so slightly. “It’s for me.”
“Right, sorry about that,” Legend said softly and handed the vial back to Twilight.
Neither of them moved or said a word for a moment.
“Can we sit down for a minute?” Twilight asked and Legend nodded.
They rested on a fallen log a small distance away from the road, there was plenty of shade from the surrounding trees. Twilight took a sip from the vial and he held a hand over his stomach.
“I never knew my birth parents,” Twilight said casually as he fiddled a twig between his fingers. “I was raised by a kind couple in a small farming village. They were delighted to have a daughter, but when I was thirteen, they told me they were proud to have a son.”
Legend listened quietly, this was all too familiar to him. He never had the chance to tell his uncle, but he was certain the man would have responded similarly.
“I left home for the first time during my adventure,” Twilight continued while grabbing another twig. “I didn’t know what to expect, but the city was nothing like home. The people pitied me, not outwardly for the most part, but I could tell. They wanted to save me from the rural backwaters, but they never asked if I enjoyed my homeland.”
“That must have been annoying,” Legend commented. He never experienced that personally, but he knew he’d snap if he had to deal with it.
“It was,” Twilight huffed. “After everything, I tried to find others like me. At first, people acted like I wanted to hurt them or something. Then after I explained, they treated me like I was a damsel in need of saving from my family. Never returned to the city after that.”
Legend hummed to show he was paying attention, he didn’t want to interrupt. A part of him wondered if Twilight never had the opportunity to rant about this to anyone.
“There is a reason I’m explaining all this, I hope you won’t be too upset with me.”
“Upset?” Legend laughed, he didn’t know how he could possibly be even relatively annoyed with Twilight after all of that. “Why in the world would I be upset?”
“You and Eras are close, and, well…” Twilight trailed off and his cheeks darkened. “We’ve gone on a few dates, I really like him.”
“Is that all?” Legend asked and raised a brow when Twilight didn’t continue. “I mean, I’m not mad if you two are dating. I want to see him happy.”
The admission wasn’t too much of a surprise, in all honesty. Just as Eras seemed pleased to be in Twilight’s company, Twilight always looked like the world’s happiest puppy-dog whenever they got to hang out.
“Oh, good,” Twilight sighed in relief. “Sailor kept giving me the stink eye and he’s threatened to fight me multiple times now. I can’t fight a fifteen year old, that just ain’t right. I was worried you’d be the same.”
“The older brother instinct is strong with him,” Legend said after letting out a laugh. “Don’t get me wrong, I would absolutely destroy you if I thought you wanted to hurt Captain, but I don’t sense that. Besides, us trans guys gotta stick together, yeah?”
“I suppose you’re right,” Twilight said and he looked at Legend with a frown. “I haven’t told Eras anything. A part of me worries he’ll be like those city folk back home, and he’ll think he needs to save me. Another part worries it’ll be worse. He’s only into men, what if he doesn’t want to be with me anymore if he knows?”
“If it helps, I know he’s not from the city,” Legend said and furrowed his brow. “As for your second point, you see yourself as a man, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then so will he.”
Twilight didn’t seem convinced. He dropped his twig in favor of running his fingers through his hair again.
“Listen, I don’t fully identify as a man. I like to be referred to neutrally. I explained all of it to him, and do you know how he responded?”
“How?”
“He gave me a hug,” Legend replied and smiled upon recalling the memory. “He accepted it right away and never made a big deal over it. I know he would appreciate you talking to him, but I’m not going to force you to. Regardless, this conversation will stay between us.”
“Thank you,” Twilight replied quietly. “I want to tell him, I just don’t know when or how.”
“I’m probably not your first choice, but I can be there with you, if you want.”
Sailor had been nearby for him when he told Eras, having someone else there for him made it far less terrifying.
“I’d appreciate that,” Twilight said and his ears flicked up. “Let’s do it now. I’ll keep putting it off otherwise.”
“Alright.”
Legend led the way back to camp, this time the walk was relatively silent. Twilight was likely rehearsing whatever he wanted to say in his head, and while he wasn’t nervously talking, he kept on playing with his hair. When they approached Eras, Legend noticed that Twilight opted to stay slightly behind him.
“Everything okay?” Eras asked while quickly looking them over. He was in the middle of sharpening Sailor’s sword.
“Yes,” Twilight said after a brief pause. “There’s something I need to talk to you about.”
Eras set the sword down and he placed his hands in his lap after glancing to make sure they weren’t in earshot of any of the others. Legend decided to sit next to him so it looked less like Eras was about to be scolded. The captain’s knee had been acting up that morning, so making him stand and walk away from camp wasn’t the most ideal situation. Twilight followed suit and sat across from them so they were in a tight-knit triangle formation.
“I’ll be honest, I’m nervous but I won’t beat around the bush,” Twilight said and he took a deep breath. Legend smiled and nodded to encourage him to continue. “Well, I’m trans. That’s all.”
Eras looked at Twilight and offered his hand, Twilight held onto it.
“Thank you for telling me,” Eras said while sporting a warm smile. “Know that I don’t see you any differently.”
Twilight lurched forward and enveloped Eras in a hug, Eras returned it and gently rubbed his hands against Twilight’s back. They stayed like that for a while, but eventually withdrew. Twilight then looked at Legend with large, wet eyes.
“Okay, fine,” Legend said while opening his arms. “Just this once.”
Twilight hugged him, short and sweet. Before he pulled away, Twilight mumbled a ‘thank you’ that only Legend could hear. Legend gave him a quick squeeze before letting go.
Legend smiled as the two began to talk with each other as they normally did. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind that they would be okay. While Legend was highly curious about their relationship, that was a conversation for another day. In the meantime, he was happy to hang out with his brother and with his new friend.