Chapter Text
He became something of an anchor after a week or two. He wasn't surprised by it, Hyrule, Wind, and Warriors more often outright turned to him for help or advice, Warriors still bantered with him, which was nice. Four, when he slept, would be often much more clingy than usual and with his identity revealed, he was most likely to be near Legend than any of the others. Time even deferred to Legend more often than not, though only when Legend spoke up.
Sky was the only one who didn't treat him differently. Legend found himself seeking the hero out more often in the times he could.
After a particularly long week of... just a lot of stress, which resulted in Legend having to have a one-on-one with literally every other hero in the group, some of them multiple times, they were at an inn and through a stroke of luck and confusion, Legend was roomed with Sky.
He promptly just crashed on the bed.
"Whoa, you good vet?" Sky asked, picking up the things that Legend had dropped on the table haphazardly and setting them a bit neater, along with his items.
"Never in my life, and that's been an extremely long one mind you, have I regretted being a responsible adult more." Legend pressed his palms into his eyes, not that it did much to limit his vision. "I have raised so many kids from infancy, childhood, even teenaged, and they've become amazing, good men and women. Leaders, warriors, farmers, scholars. But goddesses does being a parent drain you."
Sky moved over to him. "Are you okay?" He asked.
"I'm fine," he assured. "Sorry—"
"Let him help."
Legend sat up and shot his Fi a glare, though she remained a sword.
"I'm fine," he repeated, giving Sky as calming of a look as he could at the moment. "Just a bit mentally exhausted."
Sky still looked concerned. "Can I do anything to help?"
Legend shook his head. "No. It's just a matter of—"
He heard a chime and scowled.
"Fi, what did you tell—"
Arms wove around him and he was pulled into a lap, yelping as he went.
Sky hummed softly as he hugged Legend.
"Hey—Sky let me go."
"Fi says this helps when you're stressed," Sky said, smiling at him warmly. "Zelda's Lullaby, hugs, and sleep. I can't help on that last part but I can do the first two."
Legend huffed softly before curling into his arms. Silence settled beneath the quiet tune hummed into the air. Legend felt a bit of magic, Fi's magic, seep into his mind.
"Y'know," he murmured. "She mighta only been there a year or so... but she 'elped raise me."
"Fi?"
"Mhm, didn' know how t'use a sword when I drew her. She taught me 'nough to kill Ganon. Learned the rest from Raven... an' Din, an' Cadence."
"Huh," Sky hummed, "she would be a great mother."
Legend hummed in response, eyes falling shut as Fi encouraged his spirit into rest. "T'was... best."
Sky smiled softly, carding a hand through golden hair as Legend finally faded to a magical sleep, one caused by Fi just like how he would cause Four to slip into sleep.
Legend accidentally became attached to Sky, he realized a bit later as he noticed Sky suddenly become rather protective of him.
He made that comment to Four, having told him about that night that has since repeated twice, and Four laughed; the monsters they faced couldn't even harm the two of them.
Legend wandered a forest, Hyrule in his company and the kid was leading the way excitedly.
"Look!" He ran up to a tree and jumped to pull an apple down from it. "It's got fruit!" He ran back over to Legend and held out the honey-crisp apple.
Legend smiled. "That's an apple, the champion's shared some."
Hyrule's eyes glittered as he nodded. He took a bite of it. "Oh it's so sweet!"
Legend watched him bound around the natural orchard fondly. In another world, he would've been far younger but physically older, Hyrule would be far younger too, running around a familiar, Hylian-grown orchard, helping harvest apples from the trees to turn into pies, turnovers, jams, juices, and ciders, mostly to be sold, some to keep for the coming winter.
In another world, he would've been able to count his one blood child among those he actually raised.
His Sprite looked at him and faltered a bit. "Dev? Everything alright?"
He gave him a smile, knowing it was tinged with sadness and trying to pull it back. "I'm fine, Sprite. Just thinking."
His Sprite approached him, holding the apple with both hands against his chest. "What's wrong? Did... Did I do something wrong? Are the apples not ripe yet or—"
"No, no, you did nothing wrong," he promised quickly and softly. "I just... Sprite, you know how I said I didn't realize you were the hero when we first met?"
Hyrule nodded. "Yeah... Don't tell me you feel bad about that. I don't mind! It's okay—"
"No, no, Sprite," Legend held his face gently, almost as if he would break if he'd done anything more, "that's not what I mean. I mean... I mean I thought the divine courage I could sense on you came from somewhere else."
"What? If you could sense it—Where else would it come from?"
"Your blood," Legend answered softly. "Did you know there's a bit of wisdom in your blood too?"
"Wisdom? But that's the royal..." he trailed off. "You... The Hero of Legend was a Prince of Hyrule."
Legend nodded silently.
"And-And the hero before you died before he had any kids, I-I can't be descended from..." the apple hit the ground as Hyrule gaped at him, his hands flying up to grab Legend's wrists. "D-Dev—You're kidding."
"I'm not, Sprite," he promised softly. "I'm sorry."
Hyrule stared. "Sorry? Dev, that's—" he floundered for a moment, "Dev, that's amazing!"
He slammed into him, hugging him tightly and Legend staggered back a single step.
"You're my dad, why would you ever apologize for that?" Hyrule whispered against his chest.
Legend hugged him tightly. There was a lot of things he could apologize to his Sprite for... but having him, knowingly or not, was not one of them.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner," Legend corrected softly. "I'm sorry I wasn't there earlier."
Hyrule's grip somehow tightened. "I really couldn't care about whens."
It was a soft night that it happened, music from a harp, ocarina, and recorder rang through the camp. Hyrule had taken up Legend's other side that Four didn't, he never had a second alone between the two of them, but he couldn't find it in him to be upset about that fact as long as he wasn't always required to put brainpower into advising them. Sky began a familiar medley, Legend had soon joined in, and Hyrule excitedly joined too.
Legend heard a thump and he stopped playing. His ears flicked as he listened, Hyrule and Sky both ceasing fairly quickly, everyone tensing as they noticed him.
The voice was distant, just barely within earshot, it was a wonder Legend heard them at all.
"No, no, no! Link! Cub! No—I can't leave yet!"
Legend was moving. Four and Hyrule at his heels as he darted through the woods. They fell behind fast as he slipped through the forest with ease.
A familiar, pelt-wearing rancher was standing there, a bit older, eyes a bit too wolffish, and stance not quite normal.
Legend stopped, he'd gotten ahead very quickly, so the others were left behind a good distance back.
Twilight spun and stared at him.
Legend chuckled a bit. "Welcome back. How's the cub?"
Twilight stared at him. "Holy—Dev?"
Legend nodded. "Congrats, you're the fastest at figuring it out. He's okay, you know. We've both enjoyed getting to know you all over again for the second time."
That seemed to help calm the slightly older rancher, who let out a shaky breath as he fell back.
"They took me back," he all but whimpered. "He was going into the sanctum, Dev."
"I know," Legend assured, kneeling in front of him and putting a hand on his shoulder.
He heard the others arriving and stopping a few feet back.
"But he won, remember? You met him. He... You need to know though," Twilight looked up at him, "when you disappeared, so did the Champion. Cub's on a second adventure, and to my memory he survives and rejoins us. He's going to be a fair few years older though."
Twilight inhaled shakily. "Oh."
"He'll still be that feral little cub you corrupted."
"I did not corrupt him!"
"Two years!"
"I was a—" Twilight cut himself off with a glance at the others. "I did not corrupt him."
"Yeah well, whenever our cub goes with my teachings, he doesn't end up burning down forests, now does he?"
"That was only twice!"
"Twice when I was present! How many times did he do it when I wasn't?"
Twilight scowled.
Legend just laughed and offered him a hand to his feet.
"Come on, everyone missed you."
Arriving back at the camp, Legend wasn't surprised when Time and Twilight hardly left each other's orbits, Four decidedly slipping from Legend to attach to Twilight as they settled again. Sky went back to playing, and Hyrule joined in after a bit. Legend did too, but he had his senses out and reaching.
His Cub left about the same time as Twilight, so...
He felt it, that aura of divine courage wreathed in Farore's wilds, dropped by a flicker of bright temporal magic.
He smiled a bit as he looked up, reaching out with his own magic and he sensed them draw nearer.
"Hey bunso," Legend called, "pour out another bowl, won't you?"
Wind looked up. "Uhh, yeah sure. Why?"
"You don't need to hide Cub. Twi went back to your first adventure and only just got back," Legend called to the air when the presence didn't walk the last few feet to enter the camp.
Twilight instantly perked up, Hyrule gasped.
"Damn, you had to out me? What if I wanted a dramatic entrance, huh, Vet?" His Cub stepped out from the shadows, walking into the light of the camp. He was a couple inches taller than last they saw him, not much but just enough, just as lean and lithe though he didn't quite look it, Legend knew it was just the extra padding of wearing chainmail and another layer now. He pulled his hood off and crossed his arms, Sheikah tech arm glowing softly.
"I think you got a plenty dramatic entrance already," Legend commented as Hyrule tackled Wild, followed by Wind and Sky. Twilight waited his turn to hug him tightly and study his face for the changes.
Legend watched everyone listen eagerly to the stories, Wild hadn't hesitated to tell them about the sages or anything. He smiled softly and just listened.
All his kids were back, Hyrule perched beside Wild and listening intently, Four curled up beside Twilight and Warriors, and in front of Time, Legend let a bit of sleep magic seep into the smithy's spirit, Warriors had Time at his back and Wind curled into his side, drifting off without any magic necessary. Wild had Hyrule right by his side as he was gesticulating a lot as he told very watered down and vague stories about his most recent adventure.
Legend leaned against Sky's leg as they watched, Sky sitting on the log and Legend on the ground with the log at his back. Sky carded a hand through his hair, scratching lightly.
Fi prodded him gently before a bit of magic, exactly the same way he was doing to Four, seeped into his spirit. He nearly told her off, before relenting and letting it happen.
She would watch while he slept.
"Dude, they're ancient. Nothing shocks them anymore, you might get the Smithy by surprise but I've never seen Dev get caught by surprise, even in battle."
Legend sent Four a telepathic snort, Four rolled his eyes and returned the laugh. Currently, walking down a dirt path, Wild, Warriors, Hyrule, and Wind were talking near the front, Legend and Twilight took up the back, and Four, Sky, and Time were at the very front.
"Nah, I think I could catch him off guard," Hyrule said with an odd certainty. Legend raised an eyebrow, Four glanced at him and smirked a bit at the sight.
"Bet," Wild dared. "Fifty rupees."
"I'll make it a hundred," Wind joined in.
"So you're owe them both fifty if they win," Warriors warned.
Hyrule laughed. "Want to make it a hundred fifty, Captain?"
"He doesn't even have that much money!" Legend told Four. "I don't know what he could possibly do. Especially because now I'm expecting it. He's caught me off guard plenty times before, yeah, but I'm also a lot older at this point..."
"I don't know. Have fun with that." Four laughed.
Legend looked over at Twilight, who clearly heard the bet be placed.
"Be on guard, vet," Twilight warned with a soft laugh. He pet Epona. "Seems like that successor of yours is gonna try to scare you."
Legend shook his head, laughing softly. "He can try. I don't exactly abide by Hylian rules when it comes to sensory things. My vision and hearing reaches as far as my magic does."
"Huh... Neat—Is that how you always knew where the Cub was?"
"Yep. And he's got a certain magical signature. You all do. It's kind of how I see you."
"What do I look like?" Twilight asked curiously.
Legend shrugged. "Like the dusk and dawn. You're dark because of the twili magic all over you, but some light spirits are very territorial over you too. Then there's the divine courage we all share. It's kinda like the dawn in a forest, with bits of darkness from the shadows of the trees but the sun is shining right through the trees and it makes this kind of hazy light."
"Oh... I like that," Twilight decided.
"I'm glad—"
"Hey Dad!" Hyrule called.
Most everyone looked over but Hyrule was looking right at Legend with a bright grin.
He short circuited. He stopped walking and just sort of stared at him, mouth dropped a bit.
Hyrule bounded up to him and hugged him, rocking on his toes. "Love you. Thanks for helping me win 150 rupees."
Legend stared at him.
Wind burst into laughter, hysterical, rolling laughter that had him crumbling to the ground in said hysterics. Everyone else just stared.
Legend then promptly crumbled and hugged Hyrule tightly. "Goddesses, Sprite, warn a guy before you do that."
Hyrule giggled.
"Wait he's not joking," Wild realized aloud. "Wait—You're related?!"
They pulled apart and Hyrule laughed. He leaned an elbow on Legend's shoulder. "What? Couldn't see the family resemblance? Mama said I look just like him."
"Of course she did," Legend rolled his eyes and let out a soft laugh. "Obsessed with me, that fairy was."
"How... How does that even work?" Warriors questioned.
"Do I need to explain how babies are made to you, Kit?" Legend asked bluntly.
"No!"
"Then take a lucky guess."
"No, I mean— Sky!" Warriors looked over at the chosen hero desperately.
Sky sighed. "You're a sword spirit. How did you have a kid?"
"Unwillingly," Legend deadpanned.
The air grew very tense and sharp rapidly.
Hyrule elbowed Legend. "Don't say it that way!"
"It's true!" Legend protested, shoving him down with a hand in his hair, ruffling it. "Navi never mentioned kids!"
"You left!"
"And because I left she chose to use my blood I left behind to make a child. You think I would've left if I knew?"
"I mean no, but—Don't make it sound like Mama raped you," Hyrule huffed, though he was smiling a bit.
Legend chuckled softly. "Fine. Fine." He looked at Warriors. "That's how a sword spirit procreated. A very powerful fairy created a child using magic. Now you have this kid."
"Did you say Navi?" Time asked.
Legend nodded while Hyrule lit up.
"Yeah! That's Mama. She's a Great Fairy, used to be a guidance fairy for this ancient race of forest spirits, but after they were gone, she eventually became a Great Fairy!"
"You... fell in love with a fairy," Warriors said slowly.
Legend snorted. "No. We were just friends, probably my best friend, frankly. She wanted someone who wouldn't fade within a decade or two like most fairies do. She said that a long time ago, their lives were bound to the lives of those immortal forest spirits, but since those spirits faded, fairies only really lived about ten to twenty years while a Great Fairy lives for multiple millennia. It's a lonely existence, immortality. Navi used my blood to make Rulie, our child by all intents and purposes, just... she did it after I left her when the wanderlust got a bit too loud."
"Navi." Time repeated.
Legend nodded slowly. "Yes... Navi. She was a good fairy, a great friend."
"I love hearing my Dad call my Mom his friend and saying he never loved her," Hyrule said, Legend rolled his eyes even though he could tell Hyrule was joking.
"I'm not going to lie to you about that, Sprite. We were always just friends. Not even friends with benefits, sex was never something we engaged in."
"Whoa!" Warriors covered Wind's ears. "Vet! There's kids!"
Legend looked Warriors dead in the eyes. "Sky had a proper education, so did you, Twilight's an adult and I assume he's had the talk, and I was the one who had the sex talk with the rest of them."
Wind grimaced.
"You what?! With him?!" Warriors gestured to Wind.
"We lived in a military camp, Captain," Time said rather bluntly. "Someone had to tell us what those soldiers of yours were doing that shook the tent, and it was either asking Dev, Marin, Midna, or Ravio."
"Marin's nice and all, but she also didn't know what a real ship looked like when she lived on an island!" Wind exclaimed. "And I'm not asking Midna or Ravio anything."
Legend sighed. "So, on that note, yes I gave them, Sprite, Cub, and the Smithy the sex talk. Smithy already knew it but I did it again to make him embarrassed."
Four glared at him and flipped him off.
"How... is it not embarrassing for you?" Twilight slowly asked.
Legend shrugged, crossing his arms while Hyrule leaned more on his shoulder. "Rancher, I raised several generations of princesses, I raised kids whose parents couldn't raise them themselves, I have had that talk so many times. Really. I have no shame for that."
Hyrule left his side and moved over to Warriors, Wild, and Wind.
"So? Money?"
With loud groans and continued complaints, they continued on the road, the three formerly mentioned heroes' wallets lighter and Hyrule's heavier.
Legend found himself walking in time with Time.
"You knew Navi," Legend said quietly.
Time nodded slowly.
"She mentioned knowing a hero... but I know it wasn't really you," Legend admitted. He looked at Hyrule, who was unaware of the set of eyes on him. "You, in our timeline, were killed when you fought Ganon. Fi said so."
Time listened silently.
"If you're Navi's Link... you would've died young, she must've known you from an early age..." Legend considered it. "Rulie's named after you though."
Time looked a bit surprised by that. "Why do you think that?"
Legend smiled. "Because I never told Navi my real name, not until after he was born. Also, at the time I had dark brown hair instead of purple or blonde, which is probably why Rulie's got brown too." Time glanced over at Hyrule. "She didn't know my name, but she would've known yours if she's your Navi."
"You weren't involved with naming him?"
"I wasn't there, remember?" Time hummed softly when Legend said that. "I would've named him Raven, unless Navi really wanted him to be Link.... Raven was the name of my mentor, he taught me a good part of what sword fighting I know. A great man... a true hero. He didn't have any divine courage, he was a normal guy, and he did everything he could to help people. That's who I would've named my kid after."
Time nodded. "I see... And if you had a girl?"
Legend smiled softly. "Cremia," he answered without much hesitation. "Cremia Romani."
Time looked a bit startled. "Why... Why those names?"
"My grandmother always wanted to name her daughter Cremia," Legend told him. "She had two sons, no daughters. My father, I never did learn his name, was the queen's consort. His daughter would be named Zelda, and she was. My uncle, Alphon, who raised me, never had a wife nor children." He chuckled softly. "I promised her that if I ever had a daughter, I would name her Cremia. Romani because my grandmother's name was Romani."
"So in another world, had you had kids, they would've been Raven and Cremia?" Time concluded.
Legend nodded with a slight hum. "You?"
Time shrugged. "Whatever Malon would like to make them, I suppose."
"Well, Raven's family owned a ranch and Cremia is a farmer name," Legend offered. "If you needed ideas."
Time chuckled. "I'll keep them in mind if—when the times comes."
Legend laughed softly. "You do that."
"So," Sky started when they were walking through a town, paired together to gather supplies, "you're a, ah, prince? Was, I guess."
"Mhm," Legend confirmed, he supposed Sky must've heard him explaining that Time. "Mother was the queen, sister became queen, and the blood of the goddess flows in my veins—well it would if I had veins." He gestured vaguely. "So yeah, I had been a prince."
Sky grinned. "You knows what that means?"
Legend raised an eyebrow. "What, pray tell, does that mean?"
"You're my descendant." Sky nudged him with his shoulder.
Legend blinked, then he returned Sky's grin with a soft smile of his own. "I guess it does."
Sky followed him over to the blacksmith. They needed to get more weapon-care supplies, and arrows.
"That makes Rulie yours too," Legend pointed out.
Sky's grin grew brighter. "I know."