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They’re near the ranch.
Legend… doesn’t know how to feel about that.
It’s not like Legend hates the ranch. It’s a safe refuge, a roof over their heads, a short break on a perilous journey, a chance to just be . It’s not something Legend can hate.
Yet, at the same time, he loathes the ranch.
It’s not that he loathes Lon Lon Ranch in particular. It’s not that he hates Malon or Time or Talon. It’s not like he hates the work or the cuccos from hell, or the horses, or the cows, or fixing that damn fence, or fixing the damned barn roof that always leaks. It’s not like he hates the smell or the sweat or the food or the break. It’s not like he hates any of it.
He loathes what Lon Lon Ranch isn’t.
He loathes that there’s no rows of apple trees. He loathes that there aren’t any berry patches. He loathes that there’s no smiling Uncle waiting for him with a bowl of stew. He loathes that there’s no annoying Ravio there to talk his ear off. He loathes that Lon Lon Ranch is not home.
It’s not Lon Lon Ranch’s fault. It’s not like Legend can control where the portals go. It’s not like Legend can complain either, because the ranch is a roof over his head and food in his stomach and Malon’s caring nature and a time to relax with his brothers. Lon Lon Ranch is nice, really.
But it’s not home.
But it’s not like Legend can control that, so he sucks in the lump forming in his throat and walks alongside the group and tries to forget that he hasn’t been home for over a year.
It’s easy to forget, most times.
It’s easy to forget that the last time he’d been home had been too long ago. He’d had to save Holodrum. Then he’d had to go save Labrynna. Then he’d had to go off and die on his way home which led to him having to wake the Wind Fish at Koholint. Finally, finally he’d been able to go home.
And then he had to save Lorule.
And then he had to save Hytopia.
And now he has to save every Hyrule in history.
He hasn’t been home since before leaving for Hytopia.
It’s easy to forget, between all the fighting, running, and surviving. Saving a dying world had been a good enough distraction from the fact that he’d been forced away from his home again. Having to save a cursed princess had been a good enough distraction from the fact that the one time he’d decided to travel for himself, he’d ended up having to play hero again. Traveling with eight other heroes is a good enough distraction from the fact that he’d been almost home before the portal opened and he was called by Hylia herself for a seventh time.
But a good enough distraction isn’t always good enough, and sometimes he remembers and it hurts.
It’s harder to forget when they’re at the ranch. Their days are spent working on the farm, and it’s so easy to remember when he’s helping feed the cows, reign in cuccos, fix the goddamn fence, and plant the seeds.
Because his grandma had a farm and he’d helped feed the cows and reign in the cuccos. Because Legend had an orchard waiting for him back home and he’d fix the goddamn fence and plant the seeds every season.
Because his uncle’s getting older, and a wish may bring back the dead but it leaves lasting effects.
Something startled and scared worms it’s way into Legend’s heart and his chest tightens. Realistically, he knows his Uncle’s alive and well. His Uncle may not be able to bend down as well and he might get winded more easily and there may be days he can hardly get out of bed, but he’s alive . But there’s still a nagging voice in the back of Legend’s mind that asks, what if he dies while you’re away , what if you can’t say goodbye.
Legend’s hands pause among fixing that stupid goddamn fence, tightening around the wire in his hands until he feels the wire digging into his skin and his blood running warm down his palms.
“Legend?” Twilight asks.
Legend blinks, swallowing the fear, releasing the wire like it had burned him.
Legend blinks at Twilight, trying to figure out what he needs, what are they doing again?
“The wire?” Twilight asks, lifting an eyebrow.
Legend remembers and begins tying the fence post into place. Twilight holds it steady, and Legend ties the wire so tight it begins biting into the soft wood.
“You’re bleeding,” Twilight remarks.
Legend shrugs. “Must’ve cut myself somehow.”
Twilight looks at Legend. Really looks. Legend can’t help but feel like he’s been seen into. Seen through until his core is laid bare.
Very few members of the Chain have that ability. Warriors, Time, Sky, and Twilight have it to varying degrees. The others try, but they’re rarely as successful or unnerving.
“Are you okay?” Twilight asks, genuine concern filling his voice.
No. Because Legend’s Uncle could die and Legend won’t be home. Because Legend hasn’t been home in a year and he misses his Uncle. Because Legend misses his apples and his stupid broken fence and his boyfriend. He misses his home.
“I’m fine,” Legend says, refusing to look at Twilight’s face.
Twilight wisely decides not to push.
They finish fixing the stupid fence, and Legend forces himself to forget again.
It’s stupid to be homesick.
It’s stupid because at least they’re on land. At least this Hyrule is familiar to him. It’s grounded, unlike Sky’s beloved islands. It’s dry, unlike Wind’s favorite sea. Legend has at least grown up in a Hyrule that is dry and earthy. He shouldn’t feel homesick over a Hyrule so similar to this one.
But this Hyrule has different trees, a different smell, a different feel. It’s not home, and something in Legend’s chest is tight and there’s a lump in his throat when he realizes once again—this isn’t his. It’s not home. It’s a strange Hyrule in a strange time.
“This is mine!” Four calls excitedly, and Legend can’t even be happy that at least Four is home for a little while.
They’re too far away from Four’s Castle Town to visit, and they quickly pick up the trail of the black-blooded monsters anyways. According to some people in a nearby town, the monsters moved through a few days ago, so they’re days behind the monsters. They probably won’t catch up to them, but they’ve at least found something.
But it’s night and now they’re resting. It’s been a long day of walking, but at least there hasn’t been a battle or fight, which is a small mercy. The night, one spent with them staying up later than usual, is more jolly because of that. There’s joy and laughter thick in the air, and Wild is cooking something that smells delicious, and Wind is telling stories again and— it’s just nice.
Legend lets the activity go on around him, listening but not partaking other than to verbally jab at Warriors when provoked. The others have their fun like they do, and Legend’s just content to listen for now. Wind’s story has ended and Wild’s talking about how he vanquished something called a Fireblight by fighting it inside of a volcano. When no one pipes up to tell more stories, Wind picks up the speed easily, talking about the sailing race they have at his home every year.
“—Aryll and I never won but…” Wind sighs longingly. “It was fun.”
The camp goes quiet, all of them having heard the longing in Wind’s voice. Legend pointedly forces himself to not remember as the silence lingers longer than it should.
Then, as if to break the tense silence, Warriors asks, “So are you going to race again once this is all over?”
Wind laughs. “I’m a bona-fide pirate now!” he crows. “I think that’ll be cheating!” He jumps up, mimicking using a spyglass with his hands as he peers around the group, a huge smile written all over his face. “Imagine—a sea full of dinghy sailboats trying to catch up to a full-blown pirate ship!”
Wind laughs the loudest out of all of them, but the mental image is enough to entice a chuckle out of Legend. Wild begins dishing out the food, and Legend takes it absently as Sky begins describing the Loftwing races at his Hyrule.
Still listening, Legend peers down at his food as he takes hold of the spoon in his bowl, and starts a little. Sky’s voice fades slowly into the background as Legend stares into his dish, getting lost in the deep, thick brown gravy which serves as the home for a plethora of carrots, potatoes, celery, and tender beef. Its smell invades Legend’s nose, delicious and smelling like home.
Everything Legend has been pointedly trying to not remember comes crashing back at once, and Legend suddenly isn’t sitting among his brothers but instead is cuddled into a couch, huddled on his Uncle’s lap as he cries into his Uncle’s shoulder. He’s aching in every muscle and joint, from his head to his toes, and there’s lightning scars down his back. He’s cradling a bowl of stew in his hands, and the wooden bowl is the only thing keeping him grounded to reality even as his sorrows consume him. It’s just a few weeks after Koholint and a tradition has been born.
Then Legend has returned from dealing with some monsters for Zelda, and his Uncle has a bowl of stew and a cup of apple tea waiting. It’s not the tear-fest of the first time Legend has eaten stew after an adventure—even a mini one like this counts as an adventure in his Uncle’s eyes and it makes Legend scoff and roll his eyes, but he’ll never turn down his comfort food ever—but it’s nice and Legend is smiling even if he’s aching and exhausted after a month of tracking down monsters.
Then Legend’s grandmother died and his Uncle went to deal with that and Lorule needed saving at the same time. The house grew empty, then alive again as Ravio opened up shop in their living room. Legend has returned briefly to rest before heading out again, and he tries his hand at his uncle’s stew. It’s not the best, but Ravio is thoroughly enthralled with the food and suddenly impatiently waiting for Uncle to return so he can try the proper stew.
Then Lorule was saved and Uncle came home a week or so later, and the moment he came home he immediately began brewing a batch of stew. Legend and Uncle have settled down by the fire, and Legend is feeling the hole Ravio left behind, and tries to fill it with stories that somehow just ends up in tears again as Legend realizes that he’s once again lost more people he loved. And Uncle—his wonderful, amazing, loving, kind, not dead Uncle—is there and holding him and helping him through the loss.
Then Ravio is suddenly back, arriving through a portal of glowing yellow light and scaring Legend shitless after landing in the orchard. Then Ravio is scaring Legend shitless again when he reveals he’d been fighting in a war in another time period entirely. But Legend is happy, happier than he’s been in a long time because someone finally came back , and when Uncle proposes stew for dinner to celebrate, Legend instantly agrees. And between the happy tears and the laughter, Ravio agrees that Uncle’s stew is by far the best.
And then Legend has finished saving Hytopia and has properly survived a boat ride back to Hyrule, and he’s written a letter to Uncle saying he’ll be back soon—he’s looking forward to having stew—when a portal opens and Legend is sucked into another adventure even before the last one has properly ended.
Now Legend is sitting among his brothers on an adventure and he’s breaking down over a goddamn bowl of stew.
“Legend?” a worried voice that sounds like Four asks.
“What’s wrong?” Wind asks.
“Is it not good?” Wild asks worriedly. “Did I do something wrong?”
“Are you hurt?” Time asks, all serious.
Anxiety rises in the air as Legend doesn’t answer, his tears just growing more powerful. Gentle hiccups crescendo into sobs and Legend’s shoulders are shaking and he has to set aside his stew so he doesn’t drop his perfectly good food.
A hand touches his shoulder, easing him close to them, and Legend doesn’t have the strength or the will to fight it. Legend presses his face into the warm shoulder beside him, and Sky’s sailcloth is suddenly draped over his shoulders, and Sky is rubbing circles into his back.
“What’s wrong, Legend?” Sky asks gently.
Legend rubs his wrist across his face, swallowing his tears even as the lump in his throat grows. He’s well aware of the trembling of his bottom lip, of the frown tugging his lips downwards, of the tears welling in his eyes. Still, he insists, “Isstupid.”
“It’s not stupid if it’s upsetting you,” Sky says, no hints of malice or teasing in his voice. He’s just concerned, purely and totally concerned.
Whatever hold Legend managed to reign over himself for the past few seconds is gone and Legend’s left crying ugly tears again, face pressed into Sky’s shoulder and Sky’s sailcloth draped over his back. Legend grips Sky like he’s a lifeline. Another hand begins rubbing his shoulder, and when Legend peeks out of the corner of his eye, Hyrule has joined them, looking a little out of his depth but nonetheless willing to help his predecessor. The others have gone silent, and suddenly Twilight is settled on Legend’s lap in wolf form, letting Legend snake his fingers through his impossibly soft fur. The others have gone silent, sending worried glances Legend’s way, but keeping quiet and letting Legend have some semblance of privacy when they can’t immediately help.
Eventually, Legend’s cries begin to subside, fading into sniffles. Legend rubs his face, and the atmosphere lightens up just a tad as the others realize Legend’s beginning to calm down.
“Feeling better?” Sky asks.
Legend nods, but he doesn’t let go of Sky. He doesn’t dare look at the others yet.
Sky keeps rubbing circles into his back, even as Twilight backs off and returns to Hylian form. He comes back a second later with a waterskin and all but forces Legend to take a drink, finally getting Legend to release Sky a little. With shaking hands, Legend lifts the waterskin to his lips and takes a long drink, still settled against Sky’s side but no longer clinging. Once done with the water, Legend settles the waterskin onto his lap and fiddles with the lid absently, an awful empty feeling suddenly beginning to creep in now that the tears have subsided.
Wind asks the question no one is daring to: “What happened?”
Wild is quick to follow up, “Was it the stew?”
Legend opens his mouth to speak, feels the lump in his throat when he tries, then swallows it down before he manages to say, sounding choked and on the verge of tears again, “My Uncle used to make stew.”
“Your uncle… oh,” Four realizes. “I’m sorry, Legend.”
“He’s not dead.” Anymore, but that’s a discussion for another day.
Confused expressions cross the others’ faces. Everyone but Sky, who just smiles sadly down at Legend, begins to rub the vet’s shoulder as he tugs Legend closer to him.
“You’re homesick, aren’t you?” Sky guesses.
Legend swallows thickly, feeling terribly exposed in front of now-pitying gazes and knowing, sad looks. Still, Legend dips his head and nods into Sky’s shoulder. “It’s stupid,” Legend hisses.
“It’s not stupid,” Sky assures him. “I get homesick too.”
“At least it makes sense!” Legend snaps. “You live up in the clouds, Sky. This―” Legend gestures broadly to the forest around them. “―is so different from your home that it’s no wonder you miss it. You and Wind both. But I…” Like that, all the fight has left Legend and he leans against Sky once more. Legend hates the way his voice wobbles when he says, “... I grew up on the ground. I shouldn’t be missing home this much.”
The camp has gone quiet, only the sounds of crickets and the fire filling the air. A couple of the others shift uncertainty, their gazes having dropped to the ground at Legend’s outburst.
Eventually, Wild speaks up, “I miss my house.”
Legend looks up at him from where he was pressing his face into Sky’s shoulder, trying his hardest not to cry anymore. Wild is sitting directly across the fire from him, eyes staring distantly into the fire but not seeing it.
Wild continues: “I went there a lot during my journey. There’s a shrine in Hateno so I could always teleport there whenever I wanted.” He huffs out a small laugh at himself. “After I conquered each Divine Beast, I’d immediately teleport there and sleep for at least a day.” A few of the others let out their own weak laughter, but it dies away by the time Wild adds, “It’s weird, not being able to go there whenever I want. It’s weird, not sleeping in my own bed and it’s weird to wake up and not have Bolson loitering on my lawn or my horses waiting for me to feed them.” Wild’s hands tighten on his knees as he curls a little in on himself. “It’s just… I miss it.”
There’s a long stretch of silence. Legend remembers Wild’s house from the few times they’d stopped there. The interior that was riddled with stuff Wild had collected on his journeys―crates of monster parts and ingredients hidden under the stairs, bottles of that awful Goron Spice lining the cupboards, wildflowers on the table, the well-loved bed in the loft, the new bedroom below for Flora to use, the weapon showcases on the walls that displayed Wild’s lost friends’ weapons―and Wild had spoken about it so fondly. Everyone in Hateno had spoken about Wild fondly―supposedly, he’s helping clear monsters on a plot of land so they can add a new school for the kids―and Flora has always been accommodating and happy to listen to their stories, even if they all have to fight to keep her out of the kitchen.
Now that Legend thinks about it, while they’ve been to Wild’s Hyrule a lot, they’re usually too far away to visit and Wild has always been a little more distant during those visits. If Wild had always been able to go home from wherever in the world, it’s no wonder he’s upset when he’s not physically able to anymore.
What Legend wouldn’t give to be able to go straight home from anywhere in his own Hyrule.
Suddenly, Twilight speaks up: “I miss Ordon. I miss helping Fado out with the goats and teaching Colin and the other kids how to fight. I hope they’re all okay.”
Then, Four speaks before Legend can even process what Twilight’s said. There’s a sad lilt to Four’s voice when he explains, “My grandpa and I never really had a tradition when I came home from adventures, but he always likes to ask me who the best swordsman I met on them was―and if he could challenge them one day.” Four rolls his eyes fondly. “My grandpa was a swordsman when he was younger. He taught me how to use my sword and how to forge too. We run our shop together, but he’s mostly selling now that he’s getting older. He always tells everyone that I’m the hero of Hyrule.”
Four’s smiling, though, so he can’t be too embarrassed either.
Legend can feel his own lips quivering upwards. He remembers his Uncle’s pride in Legend being a hero, before it had become a curse of its own, and how the orchard is still called the Hero’s Apple Orchard, even though the sign has long since rotted away. Uncle would always tell everyone how Legend himself defeated Ganon, even if the townsfolk showed blatant disdain toward Legend, even if the soldiers who were still recovering from Agahnim’s spell came in to try to take Legend away, even if no one cared. Uncle always cared, and he made sure Legend knew he did. He made sure the whole world knew he did.
“I miss the ranch,” Time says and that’s a no-brainer. With how much he writes Malon, Legend knows he misses Lon Lon Ranch all the time. “It’s always hard leaving it behind. I’ve grown so used to being there and being with Malon that it’s hard to not be around her. I love all of you boys but―”
“You miss her,” Warriors finishes for Time.
Time nods. “Yes. More than anything.”
If Legend were feeling better, he’d snark at Time for being so lovestruck, but as it is, Legend can’t bring himself to speak at all.
“I think we all have people we miss,” Warriors admits. With a heavy sigh, he recalls, “I had to say goodbye to lots of people after the war. Some had to go home to their time periods. Others… they died. And others just left.” There’s something hollow in Warriors’ voice as he speaks, like he doesn’t want to think about it. “I miss them. I’m… glad to see some of them again, even if they’re different from what I remember, but sometimes it’s like rubbing salt in the wound. I’ve already said goodbye and now I have to do it all over again.”
Legend wishes he didn’t understand that as deeply as he did. He swallows, his heart sinking as he remembers his tearful goodbye to Ravio and then his sudden reuniting with the bunny-loving merchant later on. He hates that he has to say goodbye before every adventure now, just in case this one may finally really be the end and Legend won’t make it home.
He never got to say goodbye before this one. He’d last spoken to Ravio in person before Hytopia.
“I miss my home,” Sky admits, holding Legend a little tighter. “I love Skyloft and it’s just so different from everyone else’s Hyrule.” He takes a deep breath and adds, “I’d jump off of Skyloft to get to the surface. It’s the best feeling in the world, just… it’s like flying. For some reason, I feel like you’d really like it, Wild.”
There’s a few weak chuckles from around the fire. Legend smiles a little.
“I don’t have a lot of people left on Skyloft anymore. My Zelda’s down on the surface helping the people who moved down there and I’m sure I’ll help her when this is over. I guess… it’s kind of the same situation as you, Wild. I could always go back whenever I wanted, but now I can’t.” Sky sighs heavily. “I keep expecting to see Skyloft above me and it’s just not there.”
Everyone’s quiet for a long while. Legend can’t help but feel a little jealous of Wild and Sky. Able to go home whenever they wanted and see the people they’re close to whenever they wanted.
“I miss the Great Sea,” Wind says, voice small. “I know it’s kinda obvious to all of you, but… I really miss it. Legend, you were right when you said my and Sky’s Hyrules are really different from the rest of yours. I miss the smell of the sea and the cry of the seagulls all around me. Even when I was on the Great Sea, I could still kinda pretend I was home because those were always there. Here… it’s not. And… and I miss my grandma and Aryll. I know I travel with Tetra, but it’s weird not being able to visit as often. I always make sure to visit on their birthdays and mine, and Grandma always gets really excited when I come home and she makes enough food for the entire crew. And she… she makes the best homemade soup.” Wind rubs at his eyes a little, and Warriors not-so-subtly pulls him closer to him. “When I was little, she’d always make it for me when I was sick, and she’d sing lullabies and read to me when I fell asleep.”
There’s a lump that’s settled in Legend’s throat when he admits, voice trembling, “My uncle would make me strew whenever I got home from my adventures. Even… even if it was something small like having to go to the next town to get rid of some monsters. It didn’t matter to my Uncle―they’re all adventures to him.” Legend swallows, feeling his lips trembling a little. Sky begins rubbing his arm again and Legend leans into him. Legend rubs his arm across his face, trying to wipe away the tears before they fall. “We… We own an apple orchard. And… and we’ve got berries―strawberries, blueberries, raspberries―and we raise bees and… and I’d help my Uncle with it, when I was little. I loved tending the apples.” Legend huffs a little. “After my first adventure, my Uncle renamed the orchard to Hero’s Apple Orchard. It was…”
Legend’s first instinct is to say stupid, but it’s not. So instead he says, “It was sweet. But then I just kept adventuring and it lost its charm, I guess.” Legend shrugs, not quite looking at anyone now. He sniffles a little, his voice distant to even his own ears when he adds, “I was on my way home from another journey when I ran into the portal. I’d told my Uncle when I would be home―I promised that I would be home―and I practically begged him to have stew ready when I got there. But then the portal opened and… I had to go.” His voice cracks at the end. His voice is so small when he mournfully confesses, “I haven’t been home in more than a year.”
And there the waterworks are again, not quite as powerful as the first time but still sending tears coursing down his cheeks and making sobs wrack his body.
“Oh, Legend,” Sky whispers.
Somehow, Sky manages to situate Legend on top of his lap, cradling him close while Legend just sits there, being held and surrounded by his other brothers.
“I want to go home,” Legend sobs.
For a moment, Legend is not eighteen. He’s not a seasoned hero. He’s not an adult.
He’s just Link. He’s a kid who’s been through far too much and who just wants to go home and rest.
And sometimes, he’s slowly learning, that’s okay. And maybe he’s not alone in how he feels either.