VI. Apples and Bunny Love
Ravio admires his partner. Also, Link gets to ramble about apples
(This was supposed to have at least somewhat of a plot, but then it turned into Link talking about apples for 30+ minutes and Ravio thinking about how cute he is)
Link hummed softly as he weaved through the trees. The orchard was doing well this year- some trees even had full-grown apples! They were much better than the tiny, sour things that had been growing previously, too sour to do anything with except leave for the birds and the deer. But now? Link’s mind whirled with all the possible recipes, long left to gather dust but now had a chance at being used after all these years.
Apple pie, tarts, cakes, salads, cider... so many possibilities, and it would only get better from here! He let out a happy squeak, his steps turning to hops as he drew closer to the house. He couldn’t wait to share the news with Ravio!
Speak of the rabbit, and he shall appear: clad in a soft sweater and his usual scarf, the merchant waved to him from where he stood by the backdoor, Sheerow perched on one shoulder. As Link drew nearer the bird took off, fluttering first around Ravio’s head, then Link’s, before disappearing into the trees.
“Hi, Ravi,” Link smiled as he slowed to a stop before his partner. In a sudden burst of courage, he leaned closer, waiting for Ravio to nod before planting a kiss on his freckled cheek. Ravio beamed, flapping his hands and rocking back and forth even as he leaned in to nuzzle his partner. Link flushed, bashful at the quiet pride in his eyes. His own hands flicked happily at his sides.
“Guess what?” He asked excitedly as they drew back. Ravio held out a hand and Link took it eagerly, swinging their joined arms as together they turned to go inside.
“What, honeybee?” As always, the nickname made his cheeks go pink, and he ducked his head, momentarily flustered. Ravio simply smiled and kept swinging their hands.
“Uh-! Um, y’know the orchard? How all the apples have been really, really small? An’ how sour and gross they are, so you can’t even use ‘em for anything? Well some of the trees grew bigger apples this year! They’re near all red and actually almost sweet, which means we can use ‘em for baking soon! Or- or, we could turn them into cider, or apple butter- I think you’d really like apple butter, Ravi, you can put it on just about anythin’. Oh! There’s a whole bunch of other things you can make with apples; I think we have a recipe book somewhere. My Uncle got it ages ago when we first started the orchard. It’s got stuff in it I think you’d like. I’m pretty sure we have a few different kinds of apples, too, so we can try a bunch of things!”
Ravio listened with a warm smile as Link rambled, the other boy too caught up in his excitement to notice they’d come to a stop in the kitchen. The merchant guided him to the table and into a chair, where he was free to rock and wave his hands as he continued talking.
Ravio hardly ever saw his partner so openly excited or happy about anything. Link tended to keep his emotions tucked close to his chest, presenting a quiet (if not silent), stone-faced front to the world. It was an unfortunate result of starting his many adventures so young. He’d had to lock away the childish, carefree boy he was before his uncle passed to make room for the hero he’d had to become.
He shook his head; no need to get caught up in the past when Link was right here with him, happy and full of life. He leaned back against the counter, chin in one hand as he watched his partner (and oh! how happy that made him feel: all bubbly and light and feather-soft) with a content smile.
“— an’ one of my favourites was these apple-cinnamon cookies! You could hardly tell there’s apples in ‘em ‘cept for the flavour. I think maybe Uncle used cider or juice when he made ‘em; I don’t remember. I think he wrote it down somewhere, though. I hope so, I miss them.”
Link frowned then, the vibrant purple of his eyes darkening briefly in sadness. Then he shook his head as if to rid it of the memories.
“You mentioned other kinds of apples,” Ravio spoke up. He was determined to make those pretty violet eyes sparkle again, and right now that meant indulging him in his long-term interest: his orchard and the apples that Link had been trying to encourage it to grow for years. Link looked over at him, surprised, and Ravio gave an encouraging hum.
The other boy bit his lip, emotions Ravio couldn’t decipher flickering across his face. “Um. O-okay.” He stopped to gather his thoughts from wherever they’d gone when his mood took a turn. His hands fidgeted, fingers twisting his myriad of rings in a nervous tic.
Ravio pushed off the counter to join him at the table. Sitting down across from his hero he took Link’s hands gently in his own and gave them a squeeze. Link returned the gesture after a moment, taking a deep breath as he settled.
“There’s, um. Not all apples are, or uh- can be used for the same thing. Some are just for eating, some apples only for um, for baking, like- like pumpkins!” There was the glimmer he was looking for. “Let’s see, um...” The tip of Link’s tongue poked out of his mouth as he thought, a tiny spot of pink between his lips. It was one of the cutest sights Ravio had ever seen, he thought.
“There’s granny smiths, people use ‘em for baking all the time. Um, red delicious you can eat, or, uh, put in something like a salad. Those are good. Then there’s golden delicious- you can use ‘em for j’st about anythin’. McIntoshes can be used for anythin’ too, though they don’t hold their shape real well when you bake with ‘em.”
Link’s eyes were growing brighter, and he played mindlessly with Ravio’s hands as he talked. For his part, the merchant hummed and made interested noises to show he was listening. It really was interesting, to be honest; as far as he knew Lorule didn’t have quite so many varieties of produce, or if they indeed had apples at all. He couldn’t quite recall, having been a little more focused on finding food he could actually eat than what it was exactly. He was infinitely glad not to have to worry about that here.
Oblivious to his partner’s musings, Link continued rambling, his mood now back to what it was before. His cheeks were flushed, making the faint freckles scattered across his skin stand out like little stars. Ravio loved those freckles as much as Link adored his.
Link paused for a moment, chewing his lip in a sudden bout of self-consciousness. “I... I’m not boring you, am I?” he asked abruptly.
Caught off-guard at the question, Ravio stuttered for a moment before hastening to reassure him. “Goddess, no! I love listening to you talk, honeybee. Especially when it’s about things you enjoy.” He squeezed his hands before disentangling one and reaching across the table to rub his thumb against Link’s cheek. The other boy leaned into it, still looking unsure. “It makes me happy to see you happy. Plus, I get to learn all sorts of things I didn’t know before!”
His hero made a little ‘oh!’ sound and glanced away, down at the table where their hands sat, still clasped. Ravio caressed his cheek one more time before standing and moving towards one of the cabinets.
“Don’t worry, I still want to listen,” he consoled before the other could get too upset, opening the cabinet and reaching for two glasses, bringing them over to the sink to fill with water. “I’m just getting us something to drink, that’s all.” Glasses full, he brought them over to the table and set one before Link before sitting down with his own.
Link didn’t say anything. “Bunny?”
Link met his eyes before glancing away again. “Um, I like- I like listening to you, too.” He gave a short nod, pressing his lips together in a thin line.
Ravio’s heart swelled, making him squeak happily and drum his hands on the table. Link gave a soft huff of laughter, then started talking about apples again. Ravio smiled, settling in to listen.
He wouldn’t trade this for all the rupees in the world.
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