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webhead3345 · 2 years ago

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This was born from two prompts I saw around the same time that seemed to go well together. This one and this one. (@candy8448, I don’t know if you’re interested but here’s this in case you are XD)

Tags: Hurt/comfort (I think?), Legend (LU), the Chain (LU), Ravio (even though I’ve never played a game with him), fires,

Words: 4,025

Legend’s House (fic beneath the cut)

Legend was babbling. He knew he was. But still, when they came across a mushroom alongside the road he found himself informing all the others that he only usually found those mushrooms in the forest and that the old potion witch could turn it into a handy magic dust.

The others listened with varying levels of interest, but no one tried to interrupt. Maybe that was only fair due to the rapt attention Legend always paid in the other Hyrules, or maybe they were actually interested in the little tidbits that he came across to talk about.

He didn’t really care either way. His chest was buzzing with excitement to finally be home again and for a chance to show his own Hyrule to the others. Of course, it wasn’t so sparkly and pristine as some of them, but just wait until they got to try his apples.

He knew it was harvest time by now and he hasn’t told them yet that he lived on an orchard, but once they got a taste of his uncle’s apples—

“How much farther?” Wind asked, practically jumping with excitement. Maybe Legend was putting it on too thick. If he got them to expect too much they would be disappointed in his humble abode. “Are we almost to your house?”

“Almost,” Legend shaded his eyes and looked up at the tree line. The fact that they were in a familiar area he’d avoided during his first adventure because it used to be crawling with brainwashed knights was swept from his mind at the sight in the sky. “Oh no.”

That drew all the Links’ attention and gazes turned up to look at the dark plume of smoke billowing up above the highest branches.

Legend’s buzzing excitement turned to worry in half a second, just before Wild voiced his fears. “That’s a fire.”

Legend didn’t wait for more confirmation. He kicked his heels, pegasus boots activating, and dashed toward his house.

He hardly heard the others shouting for him to wait or be careful, and barely registered that Four was right at his elbow keeping up, or the sound of Epona’s hooves behind.

The others would catch up, but they couldn’t wait a second. He skidded to a stop, then turned and took a sharp corner, Four following deftly just behind.

Then his legs froze up so fast he nearly rolled through the grass with all the momentum.

His orchard. His house. All of it was burning.

“No,” the gasp strangled out between his lips, but he didn’t have a second to waste. Ravio could still be inside. He could be in danger. And if that fire spread…

Legend steeled his nerves, shoving down all the emotions and words that wanted to rise up inside of him and he dashed in quiet with resolve.

The fire roared and crackled, but now he could hear voices shouting over the sound. Soot stained villagers from Kakariko were casting buckets of water at the hungry blaze, and some were running back to refill them at the river.

A purple tunic and hood caught Legend’s attention and all his intention to dart into the burning building faded with the sight.

Ravio was coughing into a hand and a woman—one who always shouted for the guards when Legend’s wanted poster had been everywhere—sat beside him, patting his back and bandaging his other hand.

Safe. Ravio was the only other person in the house. Legend didn’t really have many visitors. He turned his attention to the blaze instead.

It was a deadly threat, to everyone here and to the rest of Hyrule, especially Kakariko. If they didn’t stop the fire, it could spread who knew how far.

Legend dug his ice rod out of his pouch and rushed in to help with dousing the flames. He didn’t think of anything else the whole time he worked. Didn’t have time to talk when he passed villagers or when he noticed the other links had arrived at some point and were also aiding in the effort.

It didn’t seem like long at all before he had to drink one of his green potions, but he did so without a second thought and set to work again.

With the additional aid the villagers and heroes were actually managing to get the flames in check.

As the sun was setting that evening, Legend slumped to the ground in exhaustion. His ice rod tapped the dirt beside him and he nearly just dropped it, staring out at the vast expanse of broken remains of charred trees.

His charred trees. Withered and burnt fruits littered the black stained earth, disgusting and destroyed. Not sweet and bright red as they once had been.

His uncle had always boasted about Legend’s careful tending of the orchard. His watchful and meticulous eye over every bit of it, even at a young age. His praise had made the job three times the worth of doing, and quickly shooed away all the wild ideas he’d ever had of being a knight.

Now Legend stared at his orchard. His home. And the pounding of his heart didn’t quite slow as he took it in and finally the calm collected mask of a hero began to drop as he saw the ruins of the last remaining normalcy in his life.

“Legend?” Time’s voice resounded with that same deep-throated command. That calm collection he always wore.

“How did this happen?” Legend couldn’t bring himself to say more than that, staring out at his trees. His uncles trees. His livelihood and life beyond adventures.

A strong hand dropped on his shoulder. “Sometimes accidents happen. We’re lucky the fire didn’t spread further than this one farm.” Time gave him a slight tug. “We’d best be moving on, if we’re going to get to your place before nightfall.”

Legend’s eyes stung and his ears burned. All his boasting before seemed idiotic now. His hands trembled as he looked over the lands, but a new thought struck him before he had a chance to say much else.

No.

Legend spun around, dropping the ice rod completely and scrambled to his feet away from Time’s firm presence and back through the charred stumps of once healthy trees.

He passed villagers having burns tended, some by Hyrule and Warriors, and some by other members of the village. He passed Wind and Wild throwing balls of soot at each other and laughing at how blackened they already were.

He passed Four, Sky, and Twilight gathering newly arrived children together for an effort of bringing water to all the adults.

None of that seemed to matter at all. It didn’t take him long to make his way over the familiar path to the old shack he’d spent the majority of his life in.

His home. His uncle’s home before him. Everything that he had left of him. His hands were trembling again as he moved to the door—half off its hinges—and pushed against it, the wood still warm.

The door gave way and dropped into a mound of rubble just behind with a puff of ash. Legend stared at the remains of his small home.

Everything he’d had he’d saved within these walls. Thousands of collections. So many different items, both helpful and totally worthless strewn about in meticulously organized chests.

Legend stepped in, surveying the damage and hardly even noticing the dangerous way the ceiling creaked above him. Though he did see places where it had already caved in, bringing some of the walls with it.

They had to be here. If nothing else, Legend had to find his uncle’s sword and shield. The first weapons Legend had ever taken up and the last thing his caretaker had ever given him. They had to be here somewhere.

“Mr. Hero.” The voice was a nervous squeak.

Legend’s trembling fists tightened into balls and he hunched his shoulders up toward his ears. “Not now, Ravio.” He started in, digging through the ashy piles of ruin and searching for anything that might still be intact.

“But Mr. Hero…”

“What happened?” Legend demanded, shoving through another useless pile of rubble.

“I-I don’t know,” the merchant stuttered. “Everything was quiet and I was looking through my wares and I smelled smoke and I thought maybe the oven, but no, and then I checked outside but I didn’t see any signs and then there was a blaze inside and I didn’t know what to do and I-“

“My stuff,” Legend grunted as he pushed a beam out of the way. “Did you take out any of my stuff?”

Ravio’s silence was answer enough.

Legend kept digging.

===

They didn’t know what Legend was looking for, but whatever it was it was clear it was important to him.

The chain gathered at the fallen door of the old farmhouse and gazed in at the wreckage, and Sky couldn’t help but wonder who the unfortunately soul to lose their house so suddenly might be.

Did they go back with the townspeople when they’d left earlier? Did they have family to stay with until they could rebuild?

Legend was digging through the soot in a serious silence, already stained ashy black and gray from fighting the fire, his efforts were only making it worse.

Similarly, the boy dressed in purple sat near the door with a bunny hood pulled over his face and his head hanging. He didn’t even seem to notice them when they tried to speak to him and that made Sky wonder if this was his house.

Was Legend looking for something for the man?

Four was the first one to move, rolling up his sleeves and screwing his face with determination. “Well, this is gonna take forever if we make him do it alone.”

And then they all filtered into the house after Legend and started sifting through the wreckage for anything they might be able to salvage.

It was dark, the area lit with a few lanterns and candles now. They’d found various odd items in different conditions. A few dented pots that could be salvaged, a chest that was only half charred full of outfits that were a little worse off but not ruined.

They had a small collection near the doorway now, and the man in purple had since joined the search in a sullen silence, and he didn’t lift his hood.

Sky let out a little gasp when he lifted a beam to find a mutilated sword and shield beneath, dented and half melted, and twisted in so many ways it shouldn’t be, he nearly left it there.

But his expression of surprise drew Legend’s gaze momentarily as it always did when they found something new.

Only this time the Veteran didn’t turn straight back to his work. He let out a strangled gasp and climbed over a hill of rubble between them before dropping to his knees in the ash and reaching a hesitant hand toward the sword and shield.

His fingers were trembling.

“Is this what we’ve been looking for, Legend?” Sky’s quiet question drew more gazes, but Legend still didn’t answer.

He didn’t touch the sword either. He pulled his hand back and hugged it to his chest as though he’d been burned and he didn’t move.

“Legend?” Sky lowered himself to a knee next to him, but the hero still didn’t look at him.

He’d been getting the idea for a while now that this meant more to Legend than some request from the owner. This was more personal than just some orchard in his Hyrule.

Sky set a gentle hand on his arm and the younger teen didn’t even seem to notice. “Legend. Is this your home?”

His shoulders hiked higher and his ears pinned against his head. And then it struck the Veteran at once and his shoulders started to shake.

Sky’s hold on his arm tightened and carefully he pulled himself closer and wrapped his arms around the tiny hero, who curled up and crumpled only seemed smaller.

Legend didn’t move to return the hug or seem to notice it at all. He still faced toward the sword, curled inward, and cried silent tears.

Sky waved the others off. He didn’t know if they realized what was going on by the sight of Sky hugging Legend, or if they were just ready to listen to any guidance given, but they backed away and gave the Veteran some space.

After another few minutes, the quiet hiccuping breathes choked off and Legend’s body stiffened, as if noticing the arms around him for the first time.

“I’m fine,” he said in a hoarse voice, gently pushing Sky’s arms off him and still not looking his direction as he scrubbed at his face. “I’m fine.”

By the reverent, almost scared, way he picked up the shattered and melted blade and shield and carried them out of the house with a hanging head, Sky didn’t really believe him.

===

“Ah, the comforts of an inn,” Warriors said sarcastically as he dropped onto one of the beds. “I guess we can’t blame the Veteran for failing to calculate a fire into his schedule, but I’d certainly hoped we were closer to his house than this.”

“Warriors!” Sky’s snap was enough to draw everyone’s attention in the room. “Didn’t you put it together?”

Their whispers floated over Legend’s ears like distant waves. He squeezed the sheet in front of him where he faced the wall, but he didn’t move more than that.

“That house was Legend’s.”

Sky’s simple words brought a silence to the others. Legend hated that even more. The pitying looks he knew—could feel—were being pointed in his direction. Not least of those coming from Sky who’d seen the way he lost it by his uncle’s old sword.

It was broken, beyond repair. It would never be used again.

Legend closed his eyes and tried to push the thoughts away. Tried to drown them in the idea that this was just another adventure and someday he would go back and find his home waiting for him.

It didn’t work. Even as each of his companions dropped off one by one, Legend couldn’t sleep.

Ravio had burned his hands trying to put out the fires. Knowing that made Legend feel a little guilty for blaming him for the whole thing, even if he’d never voiced any blame for the merchant to hear.

He knew the others wanted to talk without him by the not-so-covert glances they kept sending at him, so he took Ravio for a walk to get his hands rebandaged so they could have the chance.

He felt sick the whole way, half because of what he knew had happened, and half because he knew exactly what they had to talk about. He didn’t know if he could take any pitying looks. If he could take that constant reminder and that shame.

He could use more Red Potion. He considered for more than just a minute sneaking out the back of town and making his way to the witch’s to buy more.

But time wouldn’t really gain him anything. In the end, he would have to face them again, and when that time came, it wouldn’t be different than it was going to be now. There was no point in prolonging the inevitable, so together he and Ravio made their way back toward the inn and the ring of heroes gathered before it.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Hero,” Ravio said quietly, fiddling with his sleeves over his newly bandages hands. “I-“

“It’s not your fault.” Legend’s words came out harsher than he intended, but Ravio didn’t try to take the blame again.

That was the last thing Legend wanted to be talking about when they re-entered the ring of heroes. Not to mention it wasn’t Ravio’s fault for all he could tell. He had to keep reminding himself of that.

The Chain was serious and quiet when they stepped up to the circle. It was a stiff silence that made Legend feel awkward.

He was about to break into it with an ill-tempered comment, but Ravio was faster.

“I suppose now would be a bad time to bring up the new flame-proof merchandise I have in store?” He chuckled a little beneath the bunny hood he hadn’t removed since the fire. “But the again, I’d hate to see the same happen to any of you and I’d be willing to part with a sample for only thirty-one odd rupees.”

Wind spluttered his shock, but Legend pushed Ravio’s words aside. “Well, I don’t have anywhere to take us to stay better than this. We might as well get down to business sooner than later. No sense sitting around doing nothing.”

“Legend…” Sky’s voice was soft and all too full of pity. Legend glared at him. It wouldn’t surprise him if the Skyloftian had spilled all the juicy details of Legend’s breakdown while he was away. Sky snapped his mouth shut at the look, but he lifted his chin and firmed his expression.

“We’re not leaving just yet,” Time said, crossing his arms.

“Yeah? Why not?”

Four hefted a hammer over his shoulder and gave a crooked smile. “Because we’ve got work to do.”

Legend blinked at him.

“We can’t replace everything you’ve lost,” Sky said softly, “but we’d like to help with what we can.”

Legend’s eyes burned again and his face grew hot. He pinned his ears and forced a half-hearted sneer. “Do what you want. I won’t stop you.”

Most of them grinned at that. They turned to start the trek toward where there was still a smoldering smoke in the air above his old house, and Legend felt off balance.

They took his comment with none of their own, their easy smiles and their willingness to help.

All his years on the road and adventuring, of course he’d had people help him, but…

Not like this. He’d never once experienced what it felt like to be on the other end of all those insistent quest, only he didn’t even have anything to offer to them in return.

He folded his arms in front of him and ducked his head as the reality sank in of how much he lost and how much their words meant to him. “Guys?”

The heroes ahead of him stopped at his tone, glancing over shoulders and casting him inquisitive looks.

Legend tightened his fingers in his sleeves and forced himself to meet each of their gazes, even if only for a second. “Thanks.”

Warrior’s grin broadens. “Don’t thank us yet. Who knows what this house is gonna turn out like.”

“Yeah! I don’t expect us to do all the work, either,” Wild said, waving for Legend to follow them. “C’mon! We never even saw the house when it was whole.”

Legend rolled his eyes and threw his hands into the air. “That’s not how side-quests are supposed to work and you know it!” But he was smirking too when he followed after them, Ravio dogging his heels.

The heroes made fast work, and even some of the villagers came to help. At least now that they considered Legend and hero and not a fugitive they were more than happy to lend a hand here and there.

He was especially glad for the presence of an actual builder to make sure his new house was sturdy and not just a pile of wood slapped together.

Legend went out to survey his trees, and some actually managed to survive on the outer edge, though a lot of them were saplings he only planted recently.

Legend tended to the endangered remains of his apple trees in a reverent silence, and once he sat back on his heels, wiping his face with dirt covered hands and looking at one of the small trees, he felt his throat tighten.

It wasn’t all gone. He hadn’t lost everything. He smiled and ran his fingers down one of the branches. “The next batch is sure to be the best one yet, Uncle. Just you wait and see.”

The heroes worked hard on the small cottage until they had it completed. They all cheered as Legend stepped into his newly built home and looked around.

The charred remains of salvaged goods sat in one corner, and in the other was a pile of new furniture the chain had either built or bought—he wasn’t sure because he hadn’t seen any of it until this moment—precariously wobbling as if it was ready to fall any second.

It was small and cozy, and so similar to what he grew up in, even if the differences were glaring and obvious. They were beautiful too.

Sky had carved some extra designs into the mantle when Legend mentioned the old one had engravings, but Sky’s were clearly from a practiced Skyloftian, depictions of loftwings, the Triforce, and pumpkins for some reason.

Wild somehow had a picture of the Chain framed on the wall, and Wind had hung hooks and shelves all over one side of the house for Legend’s various instruments.

Time and Warriors had worked together on his endlessly creaky door and actually got it to stop being the way it always was, and Hyrule and Twilight cleaned the whole place so it was more spotless than ever.

Legend stared at it, but his eyes caught on the empty hooks above the fireplace. The hooks that should’ve had something of great family importance hanging on them.

His heart twinged, but this moment was honestly too happy to let something like that bother him. He’d just have to find one of the weapons from his adventures to display there when this was all over.

“Ledge?” Four stopped just behind him and Legend turned to find him holding the shattered blade and shield in front of him.

His uncle’s weapons had been mended as well as their mangled frames would allow. They were still bent and melted and in no way sturdy, but they were certainly more suit for display now.

Legend took them gently and he couldn’t even bring himself to meet the smithy’s eyes. He just stared at that blade and his reflection in it. His dumbfounded and awestruck reflection.

All this. For him?

“Well? You gonna hang it up or stand there staring all day? Trust me, a real mirror would work a lot better than a battered blade.”

Legend snorted and raised his eyebrows at Warriors. “I haven’t a doubt that you would know.”

He turned and lifted them above the fireplace, and he paused after he’d set them on display, looking at the weapons that started this all. A small smile pulled at the corners of his lips. “I think we’ll be okay, Uncle.”

He turned and found all the heroes watching him with satisfied smiles, and even Ravio had his hood down in the corner where he was setting up a tiny shop.

He met Four’s eyes and gave him a single nod of thanks, then he stepped away from the fireplace. “I’ve got good friends watching my back,” he murmured.

“What?” Warrior’s grinned as he raised a hand to his ear. “I didn’t quite catch that.”

Legend rolled his eyes and shoved past him playfully. “None of your business, fancy pants.” He paused in the doorway and breathed in the fresh air of a northern wind, already blowing away the smoky scent. “Thank you all. You have no idea how much this means to me.”

Quiet murmured ascent drifted through the room after his statement. Then Wind broke through it all. “Does that mean we can stay here for free?”

Ravio opened his mouth and Legend had to rush to get the words out first. “Of course you can!”

Ravio hunched his shoulders and Legend smirked at him.

At least in this house he knew, even when this was all over, he would have a home and at least one friend to come back to.

He turned to look it over again and his chest warmed. And with all these reminders, he would remember each and every one of them.

#Webhead originals #Webhead writes #lu fanfiction #linkeduniverse #linked universe #lu legend #legend linked universe #manga canon #Fires #I’ve never written LU fanfiction before #Please forgive any mistakes 😅#Barely any editing - be warned XD

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