#...hopefully

“Sorry my love, you walked right into it.”

“Ha ha. I’ll consider forgiving you if you come sit and stop worrying,” she said, poking his nose. “We’re here to relax, remember?”

“Right, right... sorry.”

Sky let Sun take his hand in hers, and she pulled him over to the blanket, Aryll squealing as she ran through the grass nearby. Sky smiled as he watched her sit down next to the river nearby, easily in view of him and Sun, and began chirping hellos to the birds in the trees around her.

Sun sat down on the blanket she’d spread out, and Sky couldn’t help the way his thoughts drifted back to the rest of his family. He had no idea what they were doing, whether they were okay or not, if things were going well... Four was still so young, all of his nephews were, and he didn’t know—

“Sky.”

A hand squeezed his shoulder, and he drooped, looking guiltily at Sun.

“Hey. I’m worried too. But unless we need to worry about them, why don’t we do what we came here to do?” Sun said gently, and Sky exhaled.

“You wouldn’t think relaxing would be so hard,” he chuckled weakly, and Sun leaned on his shoulder.

“It can be. But that’s why we’re here, to just take it easy for a while,” she said with a smile, and sat back down. “We’re just here to sit by the water, or watch some clouds, or... pet ducks, like Aryll.”

“Is she really?” Sky asked, then gulped as he turned to look at her. Several large white birds were gathered around Aryll, their heads bobbing as they followed every move she made. They weren’t acting antagonistic, merely curious, and Sky heard Aryll giggle. “...Those are swans actually.”

Sun didn’t quite succeed in muffling her laugh. “Oh boy. Well, so long as she doesn’t take any home.”

“Please no, I don’t want a repeat of the geese incident,” Sky groaned, and Sun truly laughed that time, falling back on the grass.

“You looked so funny covered in all those feathers though. It was like you’d molted early.”

Sky huffed, joining her on the grass and setting his head on her lap when she sat up to lean against a tree. “Ha ha. You weren’t laughing so hard when we had to vacuum everything up, as I recall.”

Sun’s face turned cross, and Sky laughed, even when his wife plucked a dandelion and blew the seeds at his face.

Their laughter eventually faded, and Sky and Sun watched the clouds as they drifted by, the sound of the river behind them mixing with Aryll’s laughter. Sky’s eyes slipped closed as Sun began to play with his hair, and he breathed out a slow sigh, feeling calmer while he rested against her.

Sun was right. They were here to relax, and he would do his best to do that.

I used to be so good at just lazing around, he thought wryly, distant memories of being teased as a kid for having his head in the clouds drifting through his memory. Even as an adult Sky was known as being somewhat feather-headed, but ever since the island, relaxing had... not come easily. He did often find himself tired and wanting to sleep, possibly more so then he did before the island, but relaxing wasn’t the same as that.

It was just... hard to turn off his sense of danger.

It was better than it had been at least. When Sky had first come back, he could barely sleep at all despite his exhaustion, and found it nearly impossible to turn off his hyper-vigilant nerves. But even now he still found it hard to just... take it easy. Not worry about anything. Not have to constantly deal with life-or-death matters, and pay for a lapse in attention with his life.

But he was getting there. And despite how hard it had been spending over a year clinging desperately to survival, dealing with the fallout, relearning how to live normally again... making it to moments like this, his daughter’s laughter in the air while he laid next to his beautiful wife, her fingers gently playing with his hair... it had been worth it.

Every bit.

Sky hazarded a look up at Sun, still playing with his hair as she watched Aryll talk with the birds. The dappled sunlight that filtered through the tree made her hair glow, even pulled back like it was at the moment, and the few strands that had whisked loose of the style she’d pulled the rest of it into brushed her jaw when the breeze tickled them.

Sun must have felt his gaze, for she looked back at him, smiling as bright as her nickname as their eyes met. Neither of them said anything, but they didn’t need to.

Sky shifted his position to be able to look at her better, then glanced at Sun’s middle, feeling a rush of fondness as he gently set a hand on the raised part. He could feel a light kicking in there, and smiled as he felt the tiny movements.

“Have you thought more about names?” he asked as Sun let out an oof at the kicking, pausing to rub her middle before going back to idly braiding his hair.

“I was thinking maybe some that were related to each other would be nice,” she said with a hum. “Nothing overly theme-y, but just a little something.”

Sky hummed, and was quiet a moment as Sun kept braiding. “Well if they’re boys... how about Reddy, Will, and Abel?”

Sun paused. “...Why those?”

Sky couldn’t help the grin that stretched across his face. “So that whenever we agree to go somewhere, we can say that they’re ready, willing, and able.”

Sun groaned, and Sky cackled, still laughing when she poked him with her elbow.

“Time certainly passed on his dad jokes,” she snorted, and Sky smiled up at her.

“Yep, him and my Dad. Time’s have always been worse though.”

“That bad, huh?”

Sky nodded, chuckling as he thought back to some of Time’s worst jokes. “I know exactly where Wild got his love of puns from.”

Sun chuckled, and it was quiet between them again for a moment as she finished the braid. Sky heard a distant splash, and Aryll’s laughter rang through the air.

“You know, if there’s a boy... I was maybe thinking Crimson would be a nice name,” Sun suddenly spoke up, her voice soft. Sky looked at her in surprise.

“Really? Why?”

“Because of you, silly. Your hero name. And your father’s,” she said more quietly, and Sky felt his throat tighten rather suddenly.

“Oh. Yeah, that... that’s nice,” Sky whispered. He couldn’t quite get out what he wanted to say, but Sun understood, running her hand along his ear as she smiled.

Crimson Blade had been his father’s hero name, and Sky had taken the first part for his own in memory of him. The thought of also naming one of their kids after him wasn’t one he’d ever even thought of, but...

He liked it.

Sky took her hand in his, and she twined their fingers together, silence drifting between them for a moment.

“Do you have any more ideas?” Sky asked after he’d gotten more ahold of himself. “That’s only one out of three. Maybe if there’s a girl we can call her Songbird?”

“Might be a tad suspicious along with Crimson,” Sun replied with a smile. “If we really want a nod to it, then something like Lyric or Melody might be better.”

“Those are nice,” Sky agreed. “Oh hey, maybe if there’s a boy we can name him Link.”

Sun groaned dramatically. “Another one? Really?”

“It runs in the family, Zelda! We have to!”

She gave him a look. “Only if we can’t think of anything better. You know we don’t need more Links.”

Sky grinned, but he couldn’t help but think of the rest of his family again at the name. His smile faded, and Sun noticed, giving his hand a squeeze.

“You okay?” she asked, and he nodded.

“Yeah. I just wish we could help them,” Sky murmured, wishing he hadn’t been left behind, wishing he was there and fighting beside his family. Sun hummed thoughtfully, looking at the sky.

“Maybe we can.”

“Oh?” Sky said in interest, and Sun tapped her chin as she thought.

“Not in the fighting sense. But there are other ways to be helpful. Maybe we could go to Time and Malon’s place and get things ready for when they return,” she said. “Get medical supplies out, and make some dinner for them. And then whenever they all get back, they don’t have to do as much.”

Sky nodded eagerly in agreement, feeling a little burst of excitement. Finally, a way to help! “That’s a great idea. When do you want to go?”

Sun laughed. “Slow down, Link. Let’s enjoy things here first. Then we can go. We have plenty of time.”

Sky nodded, a little sheepishly, and they both relaxed again, silence drifting over them. An undercurrent of eagerness to help ran through him, but he did his best to set it aside for now, and properly relax.

They would help out, but first... they would rest.

Sky closed his eyes with a slow breath out. He breathed in again slowly, taking in the faint perfume of the flowers in the tree above them, and the grass and water in the breeze that brushed his face.

It really was a gorgeous afternoon.

Several quiet minutes went by, Sky lightly dozing, Sun still playing with his hair. A squeal and some louder footsteps eventually roused him though, and he opened his eyes to see Aryll charge up, her dress damp at the bottom, a grin on her face.

“Look!” Aryll said proudly, and Sky stared at the large frog in her muddy hands. “A heron showed me how to catch frogs, look look!”

“Wow, very nice,” Sky said with a smile, and he heard Sun muffle a laugh.

Aryll wiggled happily. “Watch this! If I do a— oops!”

The frog leapt out of her hands, and landed on Sky’s head, making him startle upwards. The frog went flying off of him as he straightened, and Sun yelped as it scrambled across her dress in its scramble to get away. Aryll shrieked happily as it leapt into the grass, and she ran after it as it hopped frantically away.

Sky wiped some mud off his head, Sun staring down at her now-damp and dirty clothes, and they met eyes.

“...On the other hand, maybe we should leave sooner,” Sun said, an exasperated smile twitching at her lips.