Safety and Frogs
AO3 Link
Malon hums to herself, combing her fingers through fluffy brown hair. The screen door to the house swings open; squeaking on the hinges. She should oil it later.
“Got room for one more?”
“For you Fairy Boy? Always.” She smiles up at her husband as he settles onto the wide porch swing on her free side.
“How’s Hyrule?”
“Ran out of energy helping with the fairies. Now we’re both enjoying a nice break.” At her side, the traveler is fast asleep against her shoulder. She’s eased Link to sleep with the same gesture many a time.
“Well, I think I could do with some rest myself.”
“Finished with the horses?”
“The boys are still moving grain. Wild is…helping.” Causing chaos, comes the subtext.
“And Wind?”
“…hm.”
So, instigating said chaos. Well, as long as they don’t set the barn on fire. Link sets the porch swing rocking with a foot and she leans into his side. Even after 10 years of marriage, her favorite place is next to him. They’ve been together long enough that they can be apart, but it will never be her choice.
Link is…different, the more time he spends with the boys. Oh, sure, he’s changed a lot from the young boy who wandered out of the forest. Even more so since they started dating or got married. Those were drastic changes, borne out of struggles and pain.
Now, he changes subtly each time he comes home. Link grows comfortable in his role as the temporary leader of the group. He knows when to keep the boys out of trouble and when to let them learn their own lessons. With so many diverse backgrounds and ages, he deals with all sorts of oddities.
Malon can’t help but look at him with the boys and imagine little ones of their own. Her fairy boy would be a wonderful dad because he already fills that role for eight others.
At her side, Hyrule shifts slightly and she resumes combing through his hair. He settles with a little sigh. Glancing at Link shows a fond smile at the motion.
“How are they doing?” she asks.
Link turns his attention back across the ranch, eyebrows furrowing slightly at the racket in the barn. “It’s good. Everyone’s grown more comfortable with each other and their role in the group. Friendships are still being made but…there’s a lot more trust than when we started.”
He presses a kiss to Malon’s hair. “I love them. Even when they drive me up the wall. All I want to do is see them go home safe.”
“You’re doing that already.”
“But…I feel like I should do more.”
Malon knows this mindset; they’ve battled it for years already. It’s a product of the hero’s spirit; the insatiable need to help. “Link. You are already doing that. Do you let Wild blow up everything he sees?”
“No.”
“Did you let Wind steal Warriors scarf and dye it?”
That gets a snort; one of the funnier stories he shared with her. “No.”
“Do you let Hyrule wander off and get lost?”
“I think that’s impossible to stop, but I send Wolfie after him.”
“What about traveling all night? Not checking for dangers? Eating unknown foods?”
“Okay! Okay!” Link holds up his hands, waving her off. “I get it, I do a lot.”
She smirks and kisses his shoulder. “You do a good job, fairy boy. You’ll get them all home safe. I promise.”
“How do you know?”
“Because with you? There is no other option.” Link will do everything in his power to protect the boys. She’s made her peace with it, even if it raises his chance of injury. He wouldn’t be the man she loved if he was different.
The racket in the barn dies down, and there’s little sound but the odd whinny of a horse and the creak of the swing. Malon lets her eyes close as she leans on Link, taking a deep breath of the warm summer air.
“I can kill 16 bokoblins with thunder.”
Her eyes pop open and she glances over at Hyrule. He’s blinking sleepily up at her.
“…what?”
He just nods and yawns, showing white teeth. “Chu chus are edible if you are desperate enough.”
Well, that’s…worrying. Malon glances at Link, hoping for some help.
“Go back to sleep, traveler.”
Hyrule yawns again. “Legend’s got a pair of red underwear he stole from Wild…” and then he settles back on Malon’s shoulder and falls asleep again.
Malon presses her lips together, trying to stop the laughter from shaking her shoulders. Link rolls his eyes. “Hyrule says the weirdest things mid-nap. He gives me a run for my rupees; I’ve got no idea if what he says is true half the time.”
She arches an eyebrow. “And the underwear?”
“You’re welcome to ask.”
The silence stretches, and then they both break into quiet giggles. The gentle motion of the swing lulls her into a doze. She should go inside and start on dinner. Maybe bake some rolls? What would the boys like that she can make in a kitchen? Wild deserves a break from cooking, especially over a campfire.
Perhaps…she can make…
~
Malon wakes to whispering. She doesn’t move at first, although her ear flicks as she listens.
“Take the picture,” someone hisses. Legend.
“I did! Look, they’re all conked out.” There’s Wild.
A pause. Then Four asks, “Hey, what if I tickle the old man’s ear with a feather.”
“Don’t do that!” A light slap and some shuffling.
“Hey—”
“Shh!”
Someone else has joined the trio and Malon works to feign sleep.
“Why are we whispering?”
“They are asleep. Hey, whatcha got, Sky?”
“A frog! Look, it’s a small one.”
“Can I hold it?” Wild asks.
“Sure, here you go.”
Silence. Suspicious silence. It’s a silence that points to a prank in action.
“Hello, boys.” Link’s voice has Malon opening her eyes to take in the situation. Wild stands directly in front of Link, hands cupped around the frog. There’s a slight look of panic.
“Have a nice nap, old man?”
He ignores the question. “You weren’t going to put that frog on me, were you?”
“O-of course not! I would never!” Wild glances back at the other boys, looking for backup. Four edges away. Sky is confused, and Legend has a highly insincere smile on his face.
Next to her, Hyrule wakes up and blinks, looking around. “What’s going on?”
“Wild has a frog.”
“Cool, can I see?”
Wild passes the frog over, relieved at the distraction. Hyrule examines the frog and then pops it in his mouth.
Did he just…eat…a frog? Is that something these boys do? Goddesses, is she not feeding them enough?
“Hyrule.” Link’s voice is cool and he’s making use of his disappointed face. “Spit it out.”
The traveler does; the frog none the worse for its sudden journey into a mouth. Sky swoops in and saves it before anyone else decides they want a snack. Hyrule gives her a sunny smile. “Frog legs are excellent cooked.”
She manages a faint smile. “I’m sure they are.”
No, her fairy boy will have no trouble with children in the future.
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SHORT DP X DC WRITING PROMPT #6
(Had this idea and it wouldn't let go. If there's already a fic that exists with this idea, please link me!)
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Escape to Smallville
Danny's identity gets discovered by the GIW on one of Danny's patrols. They out him to his family when they go to capture him for experimentation and pretty much shoot him while he's sitting at the dinner table. His parents stand up for him and pretty much go to war with the GIW right then and there.
Jack hauls ass with an injured Danny in his arms while Maddie covers them from behind fast enough to barricade themselves in the Ops Center then turns to Danny to patch him up as best and quickly as possible. After him and Maddie do as much as they can, Jack then looks Danny in the eyes and tells him he needs to run. He straps a fully stocked travel backpack with plenty of extra bandages on Danny's back, hands him a prototype signature blocker, a map, and a location to go to. Danny is shocked at what the signature blocker means and his mom and dad reveal to him that they've know for a year or two already, at least right before Jazz headed off to college. They tell him they love him regardless of if he's alive, a ghost, or a bit of each.
They split up from there. His parents take the Ops Center and lead the GIW on a wild goose chase across the Midwest, while Danny secretly flies as fast as his injured state will allow. He tries to pace himself but anxiety and a sense of urgency push him to keep going and don't stop. When he finally finds the location his dad told him about he almost immediately drops from the sky and crash lands in a corn field in the middle of nowhere in the state of Kansas.
That's where he's found by a very distressed Mama Kent.
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Up to you to decide what Jack's, and therefore Danny's, relationship is to the Kents. Are Jack and Martha siblings? Cousins? Is Jack another Kryptonian? Is Danny half Kryptonian and half ghost? You decide!
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