Archive of Our Own

It's peaceful. They haven't necessarily been having a hard time recently, but it's been almost a week since any of them actually laid eyes on the Shadow. The endless hike is weighing them all down. 

It's affecting his joints rather badly. His knees have been radiating pain up and down his legs all day, tired of carrying the weight of his body. His hip popped loudly earlier, when he sat down, and the wide eyed looks of the others had made him laugh.

But sitting here, surrounded by this group of Heroes, makes him smile softly. They're his brothers and he loves them   not that he'd ever openly admit that to any of them, he has a reputation to uphold   and it's softer moments like these that really solidify that.

The only thing that could make this better would be if they were home. Legend's home, that is. He misses the place, his orchard too, as much as he loves adventuring. He also would like to see his husband, he hasn't seen Ravio since this whole journey through time started. Anytime they've been in his era they were too far away or the merchant wasn't home, which means the others haven't met him either.

He hasn't told them he's married though, and his normal amount of rings hides the meaning of the band on his left ring finger. He has not mentioned his housemate either, at least anything other than telling them he doesn't live alone. And that his "roommate" is a scamming freeloader of a merchant who would absolutely rob them blind if he thought he could get away with it.

Legend misses his husband. Of course he does, he loves Ravio just as much as Sky loves Sun and Time loves Malon. In all honesty, he'd ramble about the bunny themed merchant about as much as the Chosen went on about his partners, if he didn't have a reputation to uphold. Fable has been a victim of this more than once, actually. Stuck listening to her brother pine after the Lolian for hours on end, and Hylia knows he loves talking about his partner.

The main reason he doesn't do this around the other Heroes is because they're Heroes; he can't explain it, but he knows these are the Heroes he heard stories of, and something about them just makes him want to seem less...rabbit-like. Less nervous and fidgety or something. Less paranoid. It's also the Knight part too, at least half of the Heroes are trained Knights and Legend's never done too well around them. And Hyrule, his own successor, he can't seem weak around him.

So he doesn't go on and on about his lover, how much he misses the other man, or how he longs to be within his arms once again. Not out loud. But every letter he writes is filled with his heart itself, like he pulled the beating organ from his chest and gave it to Ravio the day they first kissed.

"Hey, we know Sky has Sun and Groose, and Time has Malon, but does anyone else have a partner?"

Legend startles, eyes flicking around the group before eventually landing on Wind. The Sailor had finished his story, then.

"Flora and I kinda have something," Wild shrugs. "We haven't made anything official though, and we don't really talk about it."

"Artemis and I are dating." Warriors says, nodding at the Champion. "We haven't been together for very long, though. Only after the War was over did we really get to know each other."

"You used to stare at her with sparkles in your eyes," Time deadpans, looking at the Captain with a raised brow. The other man flushes.

"W   Well, she's nice to look at, okay!?"

Time only smiles knowingly, his one eye crinkling with mischief. But the Old Man stays quiet, deciding not to tease Wars too badly, and he's a better man than Legend; he would take any chance to get on the Captain's nerves.

"I'm not really interested in that kinda thing," Hyrule offers. "I've got Dawn and Aurora when I visit the palace, but they're just friends."

"Yeah," Twilight agrees, "I ain't got no one waitin' fer me, not now. She's not really around no more   she ain't dead or nothin'!" He adds frantically at Wild's sympathetic look.

Despite how brief the mention, the way the Rancher talks about this girl reminds him of Marin, his voice filled with regret and sorrow, but lacking the grief Legend's own voice carries when speaking of Dreams. Perhaps she's not gone but simply unreachable, in a place so far not even Wolfie could track.

"I had someone like that too." Four shares with a shrug. "He sacrificed himself for me, but it was a weird situation. I'm not sure if he actually died or if he's just... missing, for lack of a better word," the Smith's eyes swirl with a deep violet at the last few words.

The clearing holds a comfortable silence after that, until the youngest Hero of the group decides to torture Legend specifically.

"What about you, Vet? You haven't said anything," the Sailor starts, looking curious.

For his part, Legend wonders if the Goddesses like watching him suffer. He could lie, say no, tell them he's a sad loser with no one at all, just a roommate they've never met, who could possibly be a cover up of his loneliness. But if   when   they do meet Ravio, the whole facade would come crumbling down. On the other hand, he tells the truth: he's married, has a positively wonderful husband, and possibly faces relentless teasing from Wars.

If he takes the second option he can talk about him, ramble like Sky, sharing the littlest things he finds in the merchant. Like his bucked teeth, or his freckles, or his rupee colored eyes, or the way his eyes widen just a smidge when he's surprised, or how his smile is bright enough to clear the rain. How he cares for Legend on the bad days, when his joints are more bothersome. How his face softens when he sees the Hero.

Legend bites his lip in thought. He can keep his reputation or throw it out the window and publicly fawn over his husband; a truly difficult decision.

"Veteran?"

Oh right, he hasn't said anything yet.

"Uh," he says intelligently. "Yeah. I mean yes. To your question."

Din's flaming tits I'm a fucking idiot.

"Really?" Wars is looking at him with raised eyebrows and wide eyes. He looks surprised. "Someone liked your attitude enough to stick around?" He teases.

"I'll have you know we are happily married, thank you very much!" Legend retorts, crossing his arms in front of him.

"You're married?!" Wind shrieks, jumping to his feet with his hands holding the sides of his face in shock.

Oh, right. He didn't actually say that yet.

"Yeah," he replies, normally, there isn't even a smidgen of dreaminess in his tone.

"What's their name?" Time asks patiently.

"Uh, well. You know how I mentioned I have a "roommate"?"

"Oh my Goddesses, they were roommates!" Someone, Wild probably, gasps.

"That...actually, that makes a lot of sense," Warriors says.

"Yeah. I'm hoping the next time we're in my Hyrule he's actually home, and we can drop by." He says wistfully. He really wants to see Ravio.

"Oh right," Sky starts. "You haven't seen him since this whole thing started, have you?" The Chosen's voice is sympathetic, no doubt thinking of how he'd feel if he hadn't seen Sun for this long.

"No, I haven't."

"You miss him, then?" Wild questions, tilting his head like a confused animal. Legend just nods.

"What's the ring look like?" Twilight asks.

Holding his left hand up for them to see, Legend points to the gold band on his ring finger. Ravio had enchanted it too   a special, home-made enchantment, designed specifically to help with his joint pain. It worked well, especially on his fingers and hands. An emerald sits in the middle, shaped like a heart. It always reminds him of their mirrored anatomy; Lolians had a mirrored biology compared to Hylians. Ravio's heart sits on his right side, Legend's on his left. He actually wears his ring on his right hand for that reason. That's how it is in Lorule anyway, and he claims it's closer to his heart anyway.

"That's a mighty pretty ring," the Ranch hand comments. "Real nice."

Legend shrugs, ears flicking back. "Thanks."

"What's he like?" Four inquires, and as much as he'd love to talk about his partner, he has a reputation.

Which is thrown right out the metaphorical window.

"Well, he's a scammer. And a freeloader! Didn't even pay rent when we met, and he literally invaded my house! He's smart though, always knows just how to get you to pay his price on items even though they're absurd. Nice, to me at least. His two front teeth are bucked, actually, kinda like a rabbit. Oh, and he has dimples   and freckles. They look like mini constellations on his skin, y'know?" He sighs. "And his eyes are green, really green. Like a rupee, but prettier. The face he makes when he's surprised is really cute too, his eyes get all wide and   well, he's got nice eyes.

"He's really talented, too. Especially with magic. He can enchant anything. He enchanted my wedding ring actually, to help with my joints, make 'em hurt less. It works. He fixes my magic rods when they get damaged, and I got at least three of them from him. They were real fuckin' expensive though, I spent so many rupees...

"He can cook, too. Real good. I mean, rivals Wild's cooking, good. We bake together sometimes, I do that better than him, but I'm teaching him how to bake pastries. He's good at it, he's a fast learner," he nods.

"He's very thoughtful too," Legend continues. "Always thinking of others and how he can help them. He's brave. Thinks he's a coward, but he's not. Only ran cause he knew he couldn't fight, and he was trying to get to someone who could. Would a coward do that?"

"Uh...no...?" Someone answers, but he isn't paying attention to it.

"Oh, his hair is really soft. Feels nice to run my hands through it. His smile is so pretty too. Have you ever seen someone literally light the room when they smile? He does. It's like the clouds just leave when he smiles." He sighs longingly.

He misses his husband. A lot. He's got more to say but his throat is dry and he's already been talking for long enough. This is the longest he's gone off in a while, and the first time he's ever rambled around the other Heroes.

...his reputation is ruined isn't it?

Well that's just too bad for him, he's homesick and they'll just have to deal with it. And if a single one of them decides to tease him about it, he'll revive Ganon himself to raise hell.

"It...really sounds like you love him, Ledge." Warriors says after a moment of silence, a soft look on his face.

"I do," he responds. "Love him with my whole heart, and then some, because my heart isn't big enough to hold it all."

Hylia's tits that's so sappy isn't it? Sounds more like the Old Man than Legend, honestly. Oh Goddess, he's turning old!

"Uh, I mean. Yeah," he corrects himself.

"How long have y'all been together?"

"We met during my sixth Adventure, which was about...three years ago? Could've been four though," in all honesty he doesn't really know. "And after that whole thing he had to figure out how to get back, and he started living with me when he did. But he technically wasn't a citizen of Hyrule so we got married for that and the tax benefits   don't look at me like that, I'm not done!" He shakes his head. "We technically started dating after we got married, which is kinda backwards, but oh well."

A comfortable silence falls over the group. By now everyone's finished eating, empty bowls gathered on the ground by the fire, and paying attention to Legend. It's only now that he realizes just how much he said about Ravio, and his ears flick as they heat up.

"Anyway!" He starts, "I'm tired, so I'm gonna head to bed early!"

He stands stiffly, shuffling over to his bedroll hastily. He'd changed into his nightwear earlier, when they first set up camp, so he just climbs in with his back to the fire. His face is hot. He ignores it.

He is actually tired though, and it's within the minute that he's fallen deep asleep, hoping to see his lover soon.

A portal opens the next day as they eat breakfast, courtesy of Wild. Everyone is already packed, thankfully, so they're able to leave relatively quickly.

Legend nearly cries with happiness when his feet fall on the familiar ground of his Apple Orchard. He's home. Turning to the others with a wide smile he announces it's his own Hyrule, and his house is within a few steps.

He waits patiently (he was not patient at all, shifting from food to foot) for everyone to come through and get ready to see Legend's house again. As he leads the way through the trees to the front door he looks at the house, noting the signs advertising Ravio's shop. They used to bother him, back when the merchant wasn't technically living with him but taking space in his house. Now he actually lives here and Legend doesn't mind the signs, despite their garish designs.

A light is visible through the front window. It catches his attention, because the past few times they've visited, the lights have been off. Someone else is home. His heart skips a beat at the realization, the only person who could be behind that door is Ravio. His husband who he hasn't seen since this whole time traveling Quest started, and who he misses dearly.

He picks up the pace, walking swiftly. Not too fast, his knees already ache and running will only make it worse, but fast enough that he gets to the door in a matter of seconds. He doesn't bother turning to check if the others are behind him or not, just wraps his hand around the handle of the door and turns to pull it open.

A man in a purple robe, the hood up and covering his face, pokes his head around a corner to look at the door. He pauses for a moment, and Legend knows he's smiling underneath the rabbit hood.

"Mr. Hero!" He cries, fully coming out from behind the corner and dashing down the short foyer to the man at the door. "You're back!"

He smiles as Ravio wraps his arms around him in a hug. "Yeah," he says. "It's good to see you too, Rav. Missed you." His face rests on the merchant's head, smile growing.

Ravio is the one to break the hug, pulling back slightly but leaving his arms around Legend's back. The Hero's own arms rest on the other's shoulders, crossed at the wrist behind his head. Their foreheads press together neatly.

"I missed you too," the merchant says, though it's more like a whisper with their proximity. "I got your letters. Sorry I wasn't home when you were around, but this new adventure sounds interesting."

"Mhm. It's fine, I know you get busy." He says back, "We can talk about the Quest later."

Ravio smiles, then presses his lips on Legend's own in a kiss. The blond kisses him back, eyes slipping shut. It's not their first kiss, but it's sweet and slow. 

"...Ahem." A cough interrupts them from somewhere behind Legend's back, and the two startle, parting quickly to look at the source of the sound.

Oh. The other Heroes. He'd forgotten about them in the happiness of seeing his love.

Warriors is avoiding eye contact, so he's likely the one who coughed. Sky, though, is doing the opposite   he watches the two with a smile, like he's about to say something about "young love."

"This is your husband?" Wild asks, gesturing to Ravio curiously, and Legend only nods.

"Ravio?!"

Wind stands with a shocked expression, jaw dropped and eyes wide, pointing at the merchant. Apparently he recognizes him, though Legend can't fathom as to how or even where the two would have met. Ravio's never mentioned the Sailor before, nor the Sailor mentioned Ravio.

"Oh! Mr. Sailor Hero!" The hood of his robe was knocked off, leaving his smile on display. He waves at Wind, "You've grown, haven't you?"

"Yeah, actually!" He exclaims, "how long has it been for you?"

"I just returned recently," Ravio replies. "That's why I wasn't home when you all were here before   Mr. Captain Hero Sir, is that you?"

A rhetorical question evidently, Legend watches as he waves to Warriors. The Captain simply waves back, looking thoughtfully between the two.

"Is Mr. Mask Hero with you all, too?" He asks, running his eyes over the Heroes.

Time smiles suddenly, before raising his hand in greeting. "It's wonderful to see you again, Bunny Man," he says.

The merchant does a double take, staring at the Hero with wide eyes for a second. "Well! It's been a while for you, I take it? You've certainly grown quite a bit," he remarks.

"Yes, it's been several years for me. I'm taller than the Captain now!" He sounds proud of himself, ignoring the offended side eye from Wars.

"Hold on a damn minute!" Legend finally interjects, waving his hands in front of him. "How in Hylia's name do you three," he points at them, "know Ravio?"

It was weird enough that Wind knew him, now Time and Warriors too? It's clear something happened, something big if it caused the merchant to be away for so long. And it involved Heroes, not just one but three, and he knows just how dangerous the Hero business is.

"Oh, he was in the War."

He stares at the Captain. "What War," he starts after a moment of tense silence, "are you talking about?"

"The War Across The Ages...? I've mentioned it before, Vet."

"You neglected to mention my husband was in your War!"

"I didn't know you knew him!"

He huffs, eye twitching, and turns back to Ravio. He looks the other over for any residing injuries. While he knows the man has always claimed to be more cowardly, he is aware that he can defend himself when needed. If he actively chose to participate in the Captain's War and still stood here before Legend, he's okay, but he still worries. He can't blame anyone for this either   the Goddess doesn't give a shit who or what he cares for, never has and never will, and no amount of placing blame elsewhere will help that. It's not Warriors fault Ravio got dragged into his War.

He doesn't bear any new injuries, not that Legend can see right now. "You're okay, then?" He asks anyway, because it's better to be safe about this sort of thing.

The merchant nods. "Yeah, Mr. Hero. I'm fine," the corners of his mouth tilt up in a small smile. "Now! Why don't you all come inside?"

He moves to the side, leaving the entrance open for the other Heroes to walk through. Legend waits beside him, making sure everyone gets in. He holds the other's hand in his own, thumb rubbing in circles over the back of his hand.

"I really am alright," he says, once the others all piled in. "Besides, now I've been on an Adventure of my own!"

"Really now? Did you have fun?"

"It was a War, but when we weren't fighting, yes. Heroes make good company," he answers truthfully. "It was...odd, though. Being in another time period."

 "Tell me about it," Legend snarks, rolling his eyes. "That's basically this entire thing, just jumping through time. The portals are a whole other thing entirely."

"What're they like?"

"Well they're not like the rifts between Hyrule and Lorule, that's for sure." He shakes his head, "Colorful. Not in a nice way, more like dull blobs flying past your face at a speed too fast to properly see. And they mess with magic, too   well, no, it's more like magic messes with the portals. We call it portal sickness."

"Oh. They don't sound very fun," and Legend has to agree. He doesn't like the gates they use to hop around the timeline, because they really aren't the best.

He walks in the house behind Ravio, toeing off his boots and leaving them by the door. He places his sword beside them, leaning it against the wall, and continues trailing after his husband. They end up in the kitchen, where Sheerow sits sleeping on a counter.

He winces as his left knee locks up for a moment, sending a jolt of pain through his leg. Ravio takes notice of his reaction though.

"Are your knees bothering you?"

"Yeah," he admits. There's really no point in lying about it, he already noticed, and by now Legend can't be bothered to try keeping his reputation untarnished. He's led to their living room, gently pushed to sit in the armchair, and receives a kiss on his cheek.

"Don't get up, kay? Rest."

As he watches his husband return to the kitchen, he thinks about the past few days. He's glad to be back home, with his partner, safe and able to stop worrying about the Adventure that lies ahead.