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"Captain, a word?"
It’s only the very beginnings of the morning, their plans for the day not yet worked out and most of them only just beginning to wake. The captain is up, of course, he always is by sunrise, a long-standing habit from childhood, but given all that’s been happening lately, and the safety of the inn, he’d rather expected Legend to sleep in.
The vet, however, is not, in fact, sleeping in. He’s standing there in the door of the room Warriors has spent the night in, and where Time and Sky are still snoozing peacefully while Twilight quietly is dressing himself in one corner. The vet’s face is twisted up into an uncomfortable looking scowl, cheeks dusted faintly with a flush that has nothing to do with being well rested if the heavy bags under his eyes say what he thinks they do. In short, the man looks to be rather impatient and not eager to deal with anything crazy today, o the captain questioning him.
More than that though, legend looks decidedly eager to get them both out of the room before Twilight, who is smirking at the two of them with a knowing look, opens his fat mouth and says something stupid.
“Yes,” he’s quick to is feet, faster to snatch for his sword in case they need to do something outside or something, and then hurrying across the room to where the vet stands, “of course.”
“Have fun, lovebirds!” Twilight hisses, quiet enough to not wake the others, but just loud enough to be heard by Legend.
He has to catch the vet by the shoulders to stop the smaller man turning on their rancher. He's not sure what he would do to him, but seeing what he has of the vet’s skill, it wouldn’t be pretty; be it a verbal evisceration or a physical one.
It takes a moment to get a fair distance away, but by the time they have, standing at the end of the hall where only empty rooms lay around them (it’s not the most popular of inns in town), the vet’s relaxed somewhat. His shoulders are still tense under the captain’s hand, but the other doesn’t seem prepared to spring back and muzzle their rancher like he’s threatened to, so many times before.
“So,” it’s only the thought of shoulders loosening that reminds him to lift his hand off of them, “what did you need me for?”
There’s a pause, a moment where his companion sucks in a breath but doesn’t let it out again, a moment where dark eyes refuse to meet his own, face pinched into a frown. Honestly, if Legend was looking at him, he’s not sure he’d be able to look back.
The last few days have been... interesting, to say the least. It was only about a week ago that legend dragged his ass out of a tavern, leading him by the scarf like h was some lovesick puppy or some such, and while the act had done wonders for freeing him from unwanted attentions, the neither of them are keen on looking at each other anymore after it had happened. Add to that that, only a day or so later, he’d sent Wind and Four to keep the vet company and help him relax, and they’d come back to the inn asking if he’d known that it was, of all days, Mother’s Day, or that people would have assumed what is, by now, becoming a more and more common assumption; that the vet is his wife.
An awkward predicament on all counts, but made worse by the fact that their group has taken to teasing them about it. Four and Wind, blessedly, are the exception, but even Hyrule had got in on ribbing his predecessor about the matter, and Sky, despite his best efforts, snorts and laughs about it whenever it’s brought up.
It makes talking to each other, be it in private or around the rest, rather awkward.
If someone sees them now, they’ll assume that they are two parents trying to talk away from their children. If their brothers wake to find them gone, they’ll return to their rooms to be teased mercilessly. If they look at each other, someone might make a comment.
It sucks, but as the vet likes to say; ‘c’est la vie’.
It does make standing there looking down at the vet rather awkward though, although Legend appears equally frustrated with the matter.
Worse, actually Legend’s actively turning red as they stand there. Oh, dear Hylia what’s going on in that head?
“So,” there’s a huff, and then violet, weary, heavy, and pained, look up at him, “I thought I should give you a heads up.”
His stomach flips over itself. He should not be having this conversation, he realizes, without having had his morning coffee. Is he qualified for this right now? Legend’s got his serious face on, the one where he looks like he wants nothing more than to abandon duty and just collapse onto the nearest soft surface. That, and that alone, tells him that his day is quickly going to be sent down the toilet.
“About what?” Is all he musters, tensing.
Legend winces, gaze dropping as he gnaws on his lower lip. “Our little... act.”
Oh. “Are you going to explain where the other three kids came from?”
Another wince, a full-blown cringe really. “Not my place.”
He has so many questions, but no will to actually ask. Instead, he just nods.
“But I thought, if you should run into them, you should know what to say. You know, to keep the story straight.”
“Legend,” this is the first time they’ve spoken to each other since the pub, and it makes it all the harder to focus. Given that the last time Legend actually met his eyes was when he’d been leveling him with a stare bordering on seductive, he thinks he’s within reason to struggle with the words. “What did you do?”
He misses whatever the vet's face does at the question, instead, sees Legend just drop his head into his hands as another heavy breath is drawn in, but not released.
He’s a bit afraid that the man might explode.
At last, however, there’s a slow release of air, and long fingers are dragging back to push mused hair out of the face of his brother. Somehow, he’d missed that Legend isn’t wearing his cap until right now. “I didn’t 'do' anything, but I don’t really have the right to explain what was done by someone else. That's for them to explain.”
The dread in his gut doubles. “You know that’s worse, right? At least with you, I know it’s within reason, that you handled it as best you could and probably minimized chaos in the long run. If it’s someone else-” it’s his turn to sigh. “Vet,” his own hands drag through his hair, something he expects he will be doing a lot today, “do you know what sort of incident report I had to fill out because of Twilight? How may I've done for Wind? Time?”
Another cringe from his companion. “I get it, but it really isn’t my place.”
Maybe, just maybe, in this case, he can pull the plausible deniability card with Zelda. If she asks, whatever chaos their group caused to increase the amount of children he’s rumored to have helped produce, he had no clue, and he can’t be held responsible. (If only it was so easy).
“If you run into the- our... children -” the words come slow, almost choked, and he finds himself wincing at the sound, just as Legend flushes brighter than his current attire, gaze decidedly fixed on the wall behind his head, “I thought I’d better say something so you’re prepared.”
That, he appreciates, nodding his thanks, but not eager to speak it
The vet doesn’t wait for it anyhow, hurrying onwards. “Violet, you know. Vio for short. She’s eight now, officially, and should people ask, she’s shy, avoidant, and clingy with me. Likes climbing away from her problems.”
He nods. Okay, that sounds like one of his sisters, he can remember that.
“She’s one of four.”
He cannot handle that. “Pardon?”
“You heard the gal,” Legend groans, “there’s quadruplets.”
“Legend,” he chokes, “how?”
“We’re not talking about that.” He’s not even sure if the vet is talking about the hypothetical how: how ‘Kit Taylor’ had had four children in one go, or the more realistic how: how there are three more people that apparently pass as Four’s siblings. Instead, Legend pushes on. “They’re identical.”
Warriors feels a headache coming on.
“Olive is next, or ‘Ollie’, for short. Trouble-maker, wanderer, head in the clouds sort. Think a mix of Hyrule and Sky, but without the lightning.”
“Legend-”
The vet cuts him off. “You’ll know her when you see her, trust me.”
“Legend-”
“Scarlet is the bubbly sweet one. Good with people, we don’t have a nickname yet, but she’ll stay close and she’s well behaved and helpful. Likes sweet things, looks out for the rest.”
“Legend -”
The vet holds up a hand. “Periwinkle prefers being called ‘Peri’, and you do need to keep her on a tight leash because she will attack if provoked. Not you, probably, but anyone who messes with the rest of the ‘family’,” he frames the word with actual air-quotes. “Helpful and usually somewhat calm when Scarlet is around, but don’t count on that.”
“Ledge-”
Legend doesn’t even glance at him, instead focusing firmly on the floor between them, hand still raised to pause him. “Last is Raven. Don’t freak out if you see him, and don’t attack. I don’t know if you’ll run into each other, that one’s new and I don’t think even Four knows yet, it was a last night thing.”
“Did you-”
“He’s a kid, he’s needs someone to watch out for him, and I’m not entirely sure I made the right call but I went with my gut.” And while Legend is trustworthy, enough that he will put his pride on the line and leave himself in the hands of the other, that is not an assuring statement to hear spoken. Especially this early in the morning.
“Vet-”
“He probably won’t come to you, but if you think you found him, hold yourself back, treat him like he’s yours. Chances are, you’ll know on first sight.”
“If not?”
“Than hope I’m close by to handle it.”
“Why tell me this then?”
Legend’s hand falters, drops, and the flush over cheeks and ears darkens. “Because, I... plan on... spending the day elsewhere .”
Something in his mind clicks. “You’re kidding.”
Feathered boots toe the ground as green clad shoulders hunch.
“Legend...” he doesn’t even get cut off by the vet this time, trailing off on his own as he stares down at the other hero.
“It will give me a chance to get a better understanding of this era, and anything happening around here.”
“Are you serious?”
“The alternative is staying here and dealing with Twilight!” Dark eyes flicker up, and despite himself, he get’s caught under their weight, all but pinned to the very wall behind him as desperation flashes there for a moment. “I can't. I'd rather play tea-party with strangers for a few hours and pick up on the local gossip and happenings, learning potentially valuable information for us outsiders, then deal with him all day.” Heavy violet, the color that stated all this nonsense to begin with, fall, long lashes shielding them from view for a moment as Legend sags back against the wall. “Rancher has his good points, but dear heaven! I am this close to muzzling that man!”
Legend’s fingers are touching .
He nods though. “You and me both. I swear, next time he makes a comment, I cannot be blamed if I put him through the window.”
There’s a snort in answer. “I’d cover your ass if you did, say he was being rough with the kids or something.”
“You know he’d get tossed in the clanker for that, right?”
“Serves him right,” comes the scoffed answer, sounding like it was punched free from labored lungs. “Maybe having us save his ass again would teach him a lesson!”
For a second, blue and violet meet, and for the first time in a long time, he manages to smile at what he sees there. In answer, the vet’s own lips twitch, and in a moment they’re both snorting and choking out laughter. It’s a tired sort of laugh, an exhausted, put-upon, long-suffering sort of laughter that comes out as more gasps than peals, but something uncomfortable in the air seems to dissipate with the sound.
When they fall quiet again, the vet is wiping at his eyes with the back of his hand, snorting though his nose a bit and shaking his head. “Anyways, yeah. I'm going to join Bertha for that ladies thing. With luck, it’ll give me more to do than sitting around waiting for your princess to give us orders.” Dark eyes lift, meeting his without struggle this time. “You can handle ‘the kids’, right?”
He nods, wincing. “I’ll do my best.”
“You really will know when you see them,” the vet assures again. “We tried to keep it simple. Usually, they do their best to keep out of trouble, but it doesn’t always work, so I wanted to make sure someone would be there if something did happen and I couldn’t take care of it.”
A part of him, that isn’t his flipping guts, twinges with the words. Gods, Legend looks exhausted. It seems even his attempts a few days ago to give the man a break haven’t worked, and he has a feeling that the magical exhaustion from their last battle still has a hold on his brother too. Maybe... maybe that inn-keeper was right. Maybe the vet really does need some time away from the rest of them, relaxing with other people his own age, even if they are all women. Who knows! Perhaps Legend even secretly prefers female company! It’s not like it would be all that shocking compared to everything else the vet has been pulling out of his pockets!
He nods, finding that wary, expectant but unsure expression fixed on him, and the urge to quell what he finds takes over. “We’ll be fine.”
“You’re sure?”
“I was a single father before all this started,” he reminds, “with Time as the baby of the family, I’ll remind you.”
Legend actually shudders at that one.
He snorts at the sight. “I think I’ll be alright for one day.” Violet eyes lift again to meet his own, piercing and searching, like they can see into his very soul. This time though, he can meet it with some ease, smiling his best and trying to project an air of confidence as he settles a hand on the veteran’s shoulder. “I’ve got this, Legend. After all,” he scoffs, more tired than cocky, but it earns a weak smile in return, “what’s the worst that could happen?”
They part ways after that. Legend back to the room he’s sharing with the younger heroes, to prepare for his day out, and the captain back to his own.
It was good, he thinks, talking. Not that he’s any less confused, but at least now he can look the vet in the eyes and offer him a ‘good luck’ which is returned with a chuckle and a ‘keep it, you’ll need it’ that feels far more amiable than they’ve been to each other in a long time.
The vet turns out to be right though. He does need the luck. Desperately. And maybe some patience too.
It’s not a moment before he’s got the door open and has slipped into the room before Twilight is staring him down, smirking in a way that shows all his considerable teeth and wiggling his brows in a way that makes the captain's hand tighten on the door handle.
“So~” the rancher singsongs the moment the door is fully closed. “Do I want to know why you were whimpering the vet’s name just now?”
He thinks even Time would excuse him for the swing he launches the wolf-hero's way.