Linked AU One-Shots

19. Invisible Pains

Prompt: Invisible disability, in honor of Disability Pride Month!

Note: in this fic, Legend has arthritis. 

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Legend screamed as he gripped his sword so tight that the joints in his fingers and wrist cried out with him. Even filled with adrenaline pumping through his system, he could feel the warm pain distinctly radiating off of each joint in both of his hands. He raised his weapon before dealing the final blow to the lynel, slicing its head right off. Finally. That monster had been down right annoying to kill, even if they were matched 9:1.

The adrenaline quickly wore off, exhaustion quickly washing over him. He listened as there were cheers all around him, but Legend didn't participate. He nearly dropped his sword getting into the sheath, the pain continuing to radiate and now would have been considered unbearable... if he was some villager. Legend? Ha. He could endure any pain. No problem. He had suffered much worse before. This? This was nothing. He wasn't even injured.

He silently gripped his left wrist with his right, absent-mindedly trying to soothe the pain.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

A few hours later, the group was lying beside the fire. Wild was just finishing making dinner, scooping warm soup into bowls one by one. The nearest Hero to Wild, Hyrule, grabbed each one from him, passing it to Legend. Legend then passed it to Time, who passed it on until it reached the end of the line of hungry men. Each time that Legend took a bowl, his joints would protest as soon as the weight shifted into his hands. The joints in his wrists would protest as he swiveled slightly to offer it to Time again and again.

He silently cursed on the fourth bowl – how many more times did he have to do this exactly? He looked over at the others behind him on the line. Three more.

"Can't wait, Legend?" Wars teased with a silly smirk that made Legend want to punch him in the face. (And he most certainly would have if only his stupid overworked hands wouldn't throb in even more pain from the action. That guy annoyed the shit out of him.)

"I'm just hungry." Legend rolled his eyes, stopping halfway through to wince as he took yet another bowl from Hyrule and passed it to Time. Two more. Something about the way he did that made Roolie look at him, but thankfully he didn't comment.

Taking yet another bowl, he turned to pass it to Time, but his stupid hands protested even more than the other times. He flinched, and Time had to quickly grab the bowl from him. "Woah, careful there!" The old man exclaimed as he claimed his own bowl.

Legend just clicked his tongue in annoyance, both at Time for acting as though he was weak and for showing his pain for even a moment. The Hero of Legend should know better than to show any weakness, any pain. This was especially true of anything that wasn't any kind of injury; his pain didn't count since it wasn't real. There was no reason he was in pain, after all.

"You okay, Ledge?" Hyrule's soft voice came from beside him. In his two hands he held Legend's own bowl, though he didn't offer it just yet.

"Of course I am." the veteran only huffed as he forcefully grasped the bowl, taking it even though Hyrule wasn't offering it. He had to use extra pressure to take it, and in the swift motion, his joints cried out all the more.

Oh, right. This was the part where Legend was supposed to grab the spoon and start eating. But something about grasping the spoon nearly made him not want to eat, even though he was hungry. He pushed the thought aside, and began to eat anyway. His joints radiated in pain where he used his fingers to hold the spoon and bowl. The motions he needed to perform proved even trickier than passing bowls, or perhaps his joints were tiring even more.

All around him, the others were conversing about the events of the day. It diverted into one of Wind's tall tales that likely never happened. Usually, he would let himself get caught up in them – even he had to admit, they were usually entertaining. But, not today. He simply could not bring himself to care to even try conversing with the others. He just had to keep up the battle between his noncompliant hands to try and feed himself.

At the same time, however, really having to work for his supper had killed a lot of his appetite. When he had eaten about half of his meal, he silently placed his bowl on the ground and got up. He was so trapped in his own mind, tired of having this battle with his hands that he just wanted to skip to the next day. Maybe then it would be all better. That's what he had been thinking to himself for months now. Some days, his joints were better, just a dull ache. Others were worse, like today, where he struggled to use his hands properly. But maybe, just maybe, tonight would be different – maybe he'd wake up, and the pain would be gone and never return. He laid down on his bedroll, facing away from the fire and the others.

So in his head, he hadn't realized how all the laughter and storytelling had grown silent as he had left and dropped down on his roll.

"He's going to bed already?" Sky of all people whispered. "Even I'm not ready for bed yet!"

"He didn't even say a word, did he?" Wind asked.

"And... he didn't really eat..." Wild sighed, eyeing the abandoned bowl. "I even made his favorite..."

Hyrule supposed he had no choice. He hesitated before standing up. He glanced back at Time, who gave him a supportive nod, before he walked over to his predecessor. He sat down beside his head, sitting cross legged. "Ledge..." He hummed. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong." the man only huffed. "Now leave me alone so I can sleep."

"Legend." The firmness in his tone was enough for the veteran to open his eyes, being met with a surprisingly fierce gaze. It only lasted a few moments, before it waned to a sadness that hurt his chest. "Please... I just want to help."

Why did it have to be Hyrule of all people giving him that look? The look that reminded him of a puppy pleading for scraps? If it had been anyone other than him, he would have easily ignored it. But Hyrule? Gosh, he just... couldn't.

"I'm just... tired." He sighed. Tired of fighting. Tired of having non-existent pain. Tired of worrying about doing too much for his hands to handle. Tired of being like this. He wanted to leave it at that, but those puppy dog eyes begged more from him. "And... just a little achy, is all..."

"Where does it hurt?" Hyrule asked him, his voice sickeningly gentle and caring.

"Hyrule, it's just a little ache. I'm fine. You don't have to overreact." He rolled his eyes from where he laid. But it seemed the traveler was onto him.

"Legend, you never complain about being in pain. If it's bothering you this much, then it must be pretty significant." A pause, where Legend was supposed to respond. He didn't. "Ledge, please. For me?" He tilted his head, giving a cute pout. Damn it, the boy really did know that he was Legend's greatest weakness.

"Just... my hands. It's fine though. They're always like this." The veteran quickly explained.

"Always?" Hyrule echoed. "Did you injure them before?"

"No... and I'm not sick or anything, mind you. It's probably all in my head, so you can leave me alone."

Something about his response made Hyrule sit up straighter. "Legend, if it's affecting you this much, it's not in your head. Is– that why you haven't told us?"

There was something about his words that tightened Legend's throat. In a way, he had always known that, but... still, hearing that from someone other than himself felt different. He pushed himself up to a sitting position, groaning at the pain in his wrists. "I'm a Hero... we're supposed to be strong, not weak." He protested, just like he had protested to himself so many times.

Hyrule visibly flinched at that, tearing open a hole in Legend's chest. But before he could open his mouth to try and make amends, Hyrule had already embraced him into a big hug. He heard his successor sniff as Roolie buried his face into Legend's shoulder. "Legend... it – it isn't weak to be pain. And it doesn't make you any stronger to shoulder it all alone." He sat up and moved back so they could see eye-to-eye. "Here, let me and Wars look you over. We can try to see what we can do to help. You're not alone anymore, understand?"

Legend hesitated, letting the words sink in before he gave a small, ever hesitant nod.