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Legend wasn’t sure whether this was a sign that Hylia favored them or hated him specifically, but either way, having the next portal lead to his era could not be a coincidence. If he’d kept his mouth shut about the possibility of turning to Ravio for aid, they definitely would have ended up somewhere else. Or perhaps not, because Ravio was far too kind and trusting and wonderful and would offer his help either way and Hylia knew that. Legend really didn’t deserve him.
No, he reminded himself. The only one who could decide that was Ravio himself, and he’d made it clear he wanted Legend and nobody else, and he wasn’t going to start an argument by disagreeing with that even inside his head. Just because he didn’t understand it didn’t make it not true.
“Hey, isn’t this your world, Vet?” Wars called out before most of them had even recovered from the portal. “I’m pretty sure I recognize this area.”
“Aw yes, Ravio time!” Wind cheered. Legend bit back a comment about how obviously the pirate would be fond of the merchant, both were out to rob people of their hard-earned rupees after all. It wouldn’t work either way, since Wind wasn’t an actual pirate no matter what he claimed, and Ravio did actually provide goods and services in exchange for his prices. He just had exceptionally pushy marketing tactics.
“It’s a good thing we all know Legend’s woefully emotionally constipated, or I’d be worried that our Sailor seems to be more excited to see him than the Vet himself.” Twilight grinned as Legend threw him a glare.
“If I’m so emotionally constipated, why am I the one who’s mated and married?”
Twilight blanched at that, but Wind was at the ready with a retort. “Why, because Ravio knows what he wants and wouldn’t let you drag your feet, duh.”
Legend snapped his mouth shut, not wanting to argue against what they all knew was the truth. Instead, he shook his head and sighed. “Whatever. We’ll set off once everyone’s recovered from the portal. We should make it to my house in two days if we don’t run into too much trouble.” Because not running into any trouble at all was definitely too much to ask for.
For once luck seemed to be on their side, because they only had to deal with a couple of minor skirmishes. Well, minor for a group of nine heroes and one exhausted yet vicious shade; any random traveler would have been in trouble. He hated that, hated that these black-blooded freaks ruined what little peace he’d fought so hard to bring to his land. But then, that was why he’d been called upon once again, wasn’t it? To put an end to this plague.
At least the monsters hadn’t made it all the way to his little orchard, yet. And if they did, Ravio was sensible enough to retreat behind the walls of the castle. Perhaps his husband liked to call himself a coward, but really he was just smart. Legend and the others were heroes of Courage, not Wisdom, after all.
Ravio could claim he wasn’t a hero all he wanted, wasn’t in fact anything important. Legend knew all too well the silver triangle etched into the back of his hand, just as he knew the magical marvels those clever hands could create. Hell, he even knew just how heavy was the hammer that Ravio swung only when absolutely necessary.
He really should ask Wars for some stories of Ravio’s time in the war. He needed more ammunition for the next time Ravio insisted he was nothing but a coward. Lovingly calling out his husband on his bullshit was basically his duty.
A duty that he was very much looking forward to as they finally got within sight of the orchard. He was as tired as everyone else, the day behind them long and arduous, but he still managed to move a little faster as his home grew closer. The others made some comments behind his back, but screw them. Perhaps he wasn’t the best at showing his positive emotions, he would never be, but he’d be damned if he let them mock him both for his lack of emotional display and the rare moments when he did manage to show it.
“Ravio!” He all but threw the door open. Sheerow cried out either in greeting or protest at his sudden appearance. That didn’t matter, though, because he heard another greeting that was much more welcome.
“Link!” He’d barely made it across the threshold when he had his arms full of purple robes and sweet smell. He must have been on the road even longer than he realized, because he wasn’t sure Ravio had ever smelled so wonderful outside a heat. If he hadn’t known the rest of the Chain were following behind him, he might have been tempted to get very indecent right here.
“Ravio.” He embraced his husband, breathing in sheer relief of having him in his arms again. “I’ve missed you.”
“Not as much as I’ve missed you.” Ravio grinned at him, then peeked over his shoulder towards the door. “Where are the rest of you? Surely you haven’t completed your quest already?”
“Unfortunately, no.” Legend shook his head, his hands still at Ravio’s waist. “I, um, may have run on ahead to get a moment alone with you.”
“Aww, you’re so sweet.” Ha. Take that, Twilight. “I’m glad. There’s something I really need to tell you, and I’d like to get it out of the way before you get distracted by more heroics.”
“Oh?” He would have liked to say he wasn’t about to get that distracted between now and when they settled into bed for the night, but he wasn’t about to tempt fate like that. Hylia would have sent a portal just to prove him wrong.
“Well. Ah.” Ravio seemed hesitant. “You know how you keep complaining about how you never know what to get me for my birthday, or other occasions?”
“Right.” For an enthusiastic purveyor of curiosities, or perhaps exactly because of that, Ravio was exceptionally difficult to find gifts for. Neither of them was lacking for any basic goods or even a fair few luxuries, and for the more exotic stuff Ravio was likely to have his own contacts for anything he wanted. Legend had generally found most success with some rare magical items that his husband loved to study to figure out their construction, but there were only so many of those that even an experienced adventurer could find.
Why Ravio was bringing it up now of all times, though? And why was it so very urgent?
“I’ve thought of something I’d rather like you to get me.” Ravio licked his lips, looking nervous. That wasn’t right. Ravio should never look nervous to talk to him. “I, ah. I believe it would be customary for you to give me a collar.”
For a moment, Legend’s thoughts ground to a halt. Surely he misunderstood. But no, Ravio wouldn’t misspeak, not about something like this. For all his self-deprecation and occasional fluster his dear mate was always very specific with his words when it came to something important, and there were few things more important than this.
“I don’t suppose this is about some Lorulean custom I’m unaware of.” Of course it wasn’t, or Ravio wouldn’t speak as though he expected Legend to already know. No, this was about Hyrule, about Legend’s Hyrule. While the fashion of omegas wearing collars had changed throughout the different eras, as they were both aware from their time travelling adventures, in their present it carried a very clear message.
A collar was only worn by omegas who had pups.
“The royal doctor confirmed it, soon after you left the last time. For now, she and Zelda are the only ones who know. And now you, of course.” Ravio ducked his head, looking up at Legend through his fringe. “I — are you happy?” He looked so uncertain, so hesitant that it absolutely broke Legend’s heart.
Legend gave a wordless sound, pulling Ravio into a crushing hug. He buried one hand in the fluffy hair, trying to ignore how close it was to shaking. “Of course,” he breathed. “I’m happy, so, so happy.” He’d never thought he would have kids. At first he’d thought he would never find love, or just wouldn’t live long enough to get that far. Then he’d fallen for Ravio, and convinced himself it was beyond reach due to his not being an alpha. It wasn’t impossible for a male beta and an omega to reproduce, but the odds weren’t good. But now, when it was being dangled in front of him? Nothing could have felt more perfect. Or more terrifying, but then, a lot of things involving Ravio terrified him. He’d never had quite so much to lose. “…Are you?”
“Me? I’m ecstatic!” Ravio assured him, burrowing deeper into Legend’s chest. “I just… I wish this didn’t happen while you’re on a quest. I know it’s important, and you can’t help it, but I would feel better if you were here.”
“If I could find Hylia, I’d grab her by the tits and make her leave us be.” They both knew that wasn’t true, though. He couldn’t stand back when an enemy was threatening all their Hyrules, no matter how much it ached to think of Ravio going through this without him by his side. “She owes me that much at least.”
“That’s my Mister Hero.” Ravio finally drew back enough to look at him. “Zelda offered to have me move to the castle, but I told her no, for now at least. Staying in our home, with all our stuff, is helping. And the doctor is checking up on me regularly, anyway.”
“Oh?” Legend frowned. “Because I’m not here? Or — because I’m not an alpha?” He’d heard about it all too often, after all. An expecting omega’s instincts demanded an alpha to be around to feel safe, not having one could cause immense stress, of course it was his fault twice over that Ravio wasn’t doing well —
“Stop that.” Ravio actually flicked his nose like he were a misbehaving puppy. “You can’t help that you’re needed elsewhere, and the doctor told me your dynamic actually doesn’t matter much for my health. If I had no mate at all, that would cause additional stress, but your being a beta is not a factor.” He shook his head. “She’s mostly worried about all the suppressant potions I used to take, though the longer things go without trouble the less of a concern that is. There’s also my magical balance. I’m mostly adjusted to living in Hyrule, but with the pregnancy my magic’s focused on protecting the pup, so I have less leeway for myself.”
“Right.” That — gave him ideas he wasn’t sure he wanted to study too closely, not just yet. “Could you let Rule check you over? No shame on the good doctor, but I’d feel better.”
“Don’t tell her, but I would feel better, too.” Ravio offered him a faint smile.
“Also, I’m going to make sure you have the prettiest, purplest collar this side of Hytopia.” Legend drew him into a kiss. “Is it okay if I let the others know? Besides the Traveller, obviously.”
“It’s fine.” Ravio chuckled. “They’ll need to know why you’re even more of a worrywart than usual.”
“I’m not —” Ravio didn’t even bother to speak, just lifted his eyebrows. “Okay, yeah. I might be — a bit protective. About you, anyway.”
“Oh, please. You know you’re terribly soft on your brothers.” Ravio nuzzled closer, rubbing his head against the scent gland at Legend’s throat. “Our poor pup will be absolutely smothered.”
“Smothered? No. But if they ever have to touch a sword, I’ll have failed.” He huffed. “Also, no pup of mine will ever be called Link.”
Ravio giggled. “Oh, agreed. Not just to avoid heroics; between all of you around, they’d just end up being called Baby.”
“Lolia forbid. Junior would be bad enough.” Also, while he didn’t want to think of being parted from his brothers, he also hoped the quest wouldn’t last long enough for such nicknames to be necessary.
“It’s adorable when you swear by her.” This time Ravio was the one stealing a kiss. “Now, the rest of the heroes will be here soon. I’ll get the spare blankets out, shall I?”
“Please do. Oh, and we’ve got a new companion, at least for the time being. Not exactly a Link — I’ll let the Smith explain.”
“Now, aren’t you mysterious.” Ravio smirked. “Go make sure your fellow heroes don’t track too much mud inside, hm?”
“I’ll threaten them with a cleaning fee.” He couldn’t help but steal one last kiss. “Don’t push yourself too much.”
“I know what I can handle.” Ravio nudged him towards the door. “Now, shoo.”
He had every intention of being calm and rational, of passing the message clearly and with a side of threats not to cause his mate any further stress or else. However, as he saw his brothers walking up the path to the house, he found all sensible words escaping his mind. It wasn’t until Time frowned at his no doubt stricken expression, asking him if something was wrong, that he managed to force out something.
“Ravio asked me to get him a collar.”
For anyone else from any of their eras that might have been a complete non-sequitur. However, the matter of collars and cultural differences had been something the Chain had discussed before. As such, it only took a moment for the first of them to react — Hyrule, shortly followed by Wind, both of whom all but tackled him into a hug — with the rest soon following with congratulations and well-wishes. Even Shadow murmured something presumably positive once Four had explained the situation to him.
Good. He wasn’t sure he was capable of any further explanations, not when all he could think of was Ravio, his beloved Ravio who was pregnant and alone and too far for him to protect and care for.
With everyone getting settled in and helping Ravio figure out the arrangements, there was no time for him to wallow in his worries for too much. It wasn’t until everyone was gathering up for dinner that he managed to slip outside to catch his breath.
Legend leaned his back against the wall of the house, looking out into the orchard. It looked sweet and familiar in the shadows of the falling night, and his heart ached at the idea he’d have to leave it again soon. The orchard, the house, Ravio, their pup — how could he walk away from all that?
How could he not go, when he knew how much was at stake?
“Aren’t you being gloomy.”
Legend managed not to jump. Instead he just huffed, watching from the corner of his eye as Shadow settles against the wall next to him. “Can you blame me?”
“No, I suppose I can’t. I know I would be out of sorts if I found out I had to leave my hero behind in such a vulnerable state.” Shadow gave a bitter little laugh. “It’s bad enough that I’ll have to convince him to leave me instead.”
Legend was quiet for a while. They hadn’t had a chance for a proper talk yet, but Shadow seemed to be quite ready for it. “I think you know what we need to discuss, then.”
“I’ve got a pretty good idea, yeah.” Shadow sighed. “Now, my dear hero doesn’t want to admit it, but I can’t really hang along, not as I am. These last couple of days have me pretty much at my limit. Any longer on the road, and you’ll have to be protecting me again every time there’s a fight.”
“And we can’t afford to do that, not if there’s another choice.” Legend grimaced. “Another choice that allows you to be safe and regain your strength, while being somewhere we can find you again. Anything short of that, Four would never agree.” Not that the rest of them were about to abandon him just out in the wilderness either, of course.
“And as it turns out, the person you already suggested might be able to help just so happens to be in dire need of protection and companionship for the foreseeable future.” Shadow smirked, a bit too wide and with too many teeth. However, Legend didn’t get any sense of threat from him. “And I happen to be capable of being absolutely vicious when need be, while being both spoken for and physically a juvenile so I’m no threat to your relationship.”
“That doesn’t hurt, I’ll admit.” Not that he had any doubts about Ravio’s loyalty, but it was good to know he wouldn’t have to deal with unwanted advances from someone supposed to protect him. “Don’t get me wrong, I don’t trust you. I don’t know you enough to trust you. However, I’m willing to trust the Smith’s judgment of you.” He paused. “I’m willing to trust the way you look at him just like I look at Ravio.”
“I want to argue but that wouldn’t be good for me, I don’t think.” Shadow gave him a sideways glance. “You’re not worried about me causing mischief elsewhere?”
“As long as you don’t get Ravio in trouble or annoy Zelda too much, I don’t give a damn.” Knowing his sister, she just might name some of the more insufferable nobles to give him some deserving targets. “So. Think we can come to an agreement? You protect my omega, I protect yours, and neither of us has to find out exactly how much divine light I have lurking in my blood?”
Shadow threw his head back with a cackle. “Oh, I like you!”
It wasn’t as good as actually being by Ravio’s side himself, but perhaps he would at least be able to breathe.