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"Boys!" Malon had quite the set of lungs, apparently because Wild could hear her from the road. She carried a bucket in her hand as she headed their way, her beaming smile visible even from this distance. The setting sun brushed the top of the farmhouse a ways off, highlighting the faint wood smoke puffing from the chimney.
Wild wanted to follow Time in running up to greet her, but he and Twilight were currently working together to pull the cart. The portal had dropped them on the other side of Time's Hyrule, so they'd been here for a few days already, fighting cells of monsters and making their way here. When it became clear that they would, in fact, make it today, they stopped briefly in town to pick up some supplies. Wild had to settle for smiling as widely as his skin and scars would let him.
"Is that Malon?" Hyrule asked from where he rode behind Wild, leaning forward a little. "It's good luck that she's out here right when we are!"
"I think we interrupted her chores, she's carrying a bucket," Wild said. "Maybe she was feeding horses?"
"Nah." Twilight adjusted his grip on the cart bar in front of him, which he pushed with his hand and the part of his stomach covered by his belt. "It's too late in the day to do that kind of chore. More likely she's just cleaning up or something."
Twilight's accent always got a little stronger around farms, Wild noticed, no matter whose they were. Maybe it was the smell of sun-soaked soil and animals. Those smells certainly made him feel more down-to-earth.
The group kept walking down the dirt road, throwing up footsteps of dust. They let Time and Malon have their moment in private up ahead—Wind gagged loudly when they kissed. Four and Hyrule moved around a few of the things in the cart, getting ready to get out soon. Warriors and Legend sniped at each other in lazy sign language, while Wind worked on weaving a bracelet or sash, and Sky walked quietly, a somewhat bittersweet smile on his face. No doubt he was thinking of his own Sun at home.
"Well, it's just lovely to see you all," Malon said as they approached, standing right up next to Time's side with her arm wrapped around his waist, heedless of the armor he wore. She looked a little tanner than last time Wild had seen her, or maybe that was just the evening light. "I understand y'all've had a time gettin' here."
Warriors choked. Malon looked smug.
"That we have, Miss Malon," Twilight laughed.
"Well, come on inside, I was just heading in there myself for the night. The cart'll be safe in the barn."
"We should unload it first," Wild said, and he and Twilight started walking again.
"What's inside?" Malon walked alongside them, never letting go of Time.
Four held up an ingot of steel. "I'm going to fix that plow Time said you were complaining about in your letters."
"We got some extra flour and sugar, too," Wild said. "You have an actual oven and I am taking advantage of it. "
"And some general construction supplies." Sky smiled, watching Warriors's hands. "Wars says that he never knew that your husband was such a home improvement buff."
Malon laughed, a sound that made the sunshine feel brighter. "That he is. Of course, I can't say I'm much different. You're all so thoughtful, thanks."
"Comes with the job," Wind said. He offered Malon something yellow and orange, clearly one of his woven creations. "Four taught me how to weave, and I found a book about it somewhere! This is for you, it's a bracelet, or whatever you want it to be."
"Oh, it's gorgeous." Malon slipped it on over her wrist. "Thank you, you did a good job."
Wind smiled back, clearly happy with the praise.
When they made it to the house's side yard, Wild and Twilight pushed a little harder to get the cart wheels onto the lumpy grass. This yard felt like home in a way that only a few other places did, places like Tetra's ship or Wild's house in Hateno.
Hyrule opened his mouth and sang one note with a smile, letting the jostling cart wobble his voice. He cut off after only a second, giggling.
The group followed the yard around to the front of the house, and Wild's eyes went wide. The long front porch was completely different from last time he'd seen it. It looked like Malon had knocked out a portion of the banisters on the left, making an opening for the new ramp to enter. The ramp started near the stairs up to the porch, followed the porch line left, and turned to get the right height. It looked like the whole porch had been repainted, too, an odd mix of blue, red, and green.
When Wild ducked out from the cart handle, he joined the small group standing off to the side, watching Four for his reaction. He hadn't noticed yet, working on getting his crutches out from under a bag of flour that probably weighed as much as he did.
…Wild had been a little overzealous buying food, he admitted it.
Hyrule jumped out of the cart and stretched his arms above his head. Twilight put down his side of the cart, though the floor stayed level thanks to a pair of feet on the bottom. He went around to the back of the cart.
"Need a hand, Four?"
Four smirked. "Do you have one to give?"
"Yeah, one whole one." Twilight reached out to help him down, and supported him for a moment while Four got his crutches arranged.
"Nice painting job," Time muttered to Malon, tone teasing, and Wild raised his eyebrows. It was a little weird, but he thought they just had eccentric taste.
Malon pushed at Time's shoulder. "I didn't have you here to tell me which colors were which."
"You're colorblind?" Wild asked, turning.
"Partly."
"She can't tell the difference between green and red," Time said. "Which explains the porch colors."
"There are worse—" Four started, then paused, catching sight of the ramp. He frowned. "Miss Malon, is your father doing all right?"
Wild sucked his lips in, stopping a smile.
"Why, yes, thank you for asking," Malon said. "He participated in a turkey run just last week, he's keeping up nicely."
"Well, then, why…" Four trailed off, then the tips of his ears began to turn red. He glanced at Malon, who smiled in a way that made it obvious why the ramp was there. He turned back to the porch. "That must've… taken a lot of work."
"Oh, not really, and it was very much worth it. I've found it helpful for bringing things in and out of the house already!"
Four started to cry. It wasn't a breakdown, it wasn't dramatic, but he leaned heavily on his left crutch and brought the inside of his right wrist up to his eyes.
Malon knelt next to him and hesitantly wrapped an arm around his shoulders. On her knees, she was a little shorter than him. Four leaned his head a little closer to her.
"This is—it isn't—what I mean is—you didn't even know if we'd ever be back!"
"Hey, hey," Malon said, squeezing him. "It's nothing. While you're here, this is your home. Okay? And that goes for all y'all." She gestured to the rest of them. "This is your home, too."
Twilight smiled, and Wild stepped away from him once. Just to get out of the blast radius. That smile promised mischief. "Oh, man. If it's our home too, I guess we gotta do some chores!"
"Hey, that's not what I said!" Malon protested, laughing.
"Too late!" Hyrule said, catching on. "Sky has already volunteered to take care of the cuccos!"
It took a moment for Sky to process that, watching Warriors's interpreting. He blinked up at them. "I did? Oh, wait, I totally did that. Back there. Yes." He jabbed a thumb at the road.
"Oh, no," Wild said, far too slowly to be genuine. "I can't believe I have to do all the dishes from dinner! We haven't even eaten yet! We should fix that."
Time interrupted, unable to hold a smile in, either. "All right, boys, let's unload. Wars, you have the flour? Wind, do not snack anymore on the sugar, you'll make yourself sick."
"Hey, you should be getting mad at Hyrule for that too!"
"What? Hyrule!"
"Oh no! I can't see! I don't know what I'm eating! Why didn't you stop me, Wind!"
In the hubbub that followed, Wild only faintly heard Four speak again.
"Thanks, Miss Malon, really."
Malon hugged Four once more and stood. "Sweetie, it's just a little construction project."
Four smiled and shook his head, and Wild, ignoring the leaking bag of sugar, understood. Inside the house, he found a few more, albeit less dramatic, changes—a picture frame raised above hand height so Hyrule wouldn't run into it while navigating the house with his fingers trailing the walls; a woodworking vise clamped to the countertop for Twilight to use if he wanted; a linen closet full of more blankets than before; an empty door frame between the hallway and the living room; rearranged furniture for clearer pathways and better lines of sight.
In going to such lengths to make the house accessible, Malon proved to them that this really was a home that they would always be welcome in. In a way, the actual adjustments didn't even matter.
Though the ramp was still nice.