Chapter Text
Time had honestly never considered that the boys would be dishonest to him. Sure, they all occasionally lied about not being tired or missing home, but never about anything he didn’t already know the truth about. He wasn’t sure any of the boys were really even capable. However, today he saw that was a poor boy's hope.
They had been traveling in Wind’s Hyrule and the boy had brought them to Windfall Island in hopes of getting supplies. It was here that Wind had run into a woman, later time found out was a teacher, who seemed rather displeased with seeing him running around the island. Time didn’t know what the woman had been saying but Wind had grinned at her before spouting the largest bit of bull crap he had heard in a while.
“Of course, I’ve been in school. Don’t worry so much teach” Wind had laughed with all the confidence in the world. If Time didn’t know what the boy had been doing the past few months then he would have believed him. He had no idea how well the boy could lie and apparently neither did the woman because she just smiled and waved them off.
“You’ve never stepped foot in any of the schools we visited” Four laughed from beside Wind.
“Neither have you” He argued back, shoving Four to the side.
This little event had been an eye opener for time. How many times had the boy lied to him? And was it about things that were so obviously not true? Wind was the youngest and sometimes that meant the boys underestimated him, but Time never knew just how badly he had misplaced Wind’s character.
“Don’t act so shocked old man” Wind said and Time just noticed the two boys in front of him had stopped to stare back at him. Wind had a hand on his hip and a smirk on his face. “I’m a pirate, remember?” he asked before grinning and running off ahead with Four trailing behind.
From that day on he noticed all the little lies that Wind would tell so boldly that no one would bother to question it. No way I cheated at cards, You just taught me the game. You really think I’ve been playing long enough to do that ?; Nope I didn’t have breakfast yet, you must be mistaking me for Four; I can take out the bird with one arrow guaranteed. I used to do it first try all the time on my adventure. The thing about Wind was he always backed up his lies with extra details, just so you would doubt yourself that much more. No one else seemed to really notice and so he would get seconds before everyone else, and win all the card games he played with Sky because he could lie with a grin on his face and information to back it up.
This was not the case for Twilight. Twilight didn’t lie with a smile or give false evidence. Mostly because Twilight was a really, really bad liar. This was a good thing really because it meant Time didn’t have to worry about missing it unlike with Wind.
They were training outside the barn and Four had been sparring with twilight trying to show him a sword technique and he didn’t seem to be getting any better. The boys were both covered in sweat and gulping down water as twilight tried to explain the maneuver again. After a bit four got up and tried to attempt it. Time watched the sword turn at the wrong angle as he landed the swing against the tree. Four evidently didn’t notice this angle though and turned to grin at twilight.
“That was pretty good! I think I’m getting it” Four smiled and time looked to see how Twilight would respond. A lot of the group would do that. Look back at Twilight and Time when they attempted a new move to gauge how they were actually doing.
Twilight took a deep breath and smiled back. “Definitely,” Twilight replied rubbing the back of his neck. His posture was all wrong and his eyes screamed that he was hiding something. Time looked back to see Four frowning as he crossed his arms over his chest. The boy looked over his shoulder to where time was sitting.
“That was terrible wasn’t it?” he asked knowing Time would be honest with him.
“Absolutely” Time laughed and the younger boy groaned before drawing his sword again.
“Next time, just tell me if I suck. Let's go again” Four told Twilight and both boys resumed.
Twilight just couldn’t help himself. He lied to make people feel better and he did a very poor job. Um yeah, Wild I think it works well in the recipe; Of course, you could ride on your own, I mean you could probably race me if we had enough horses; No one even noticed that you slept in, promise; Everyone knew whenever he wasn’t honest, but most of them pretended they didn’t. It was the thought that counted. He would do his best to help the situation even if he looked physically pained doing so.
Legend had no such issues. He didn’t grin like Wind or fake it like Twilight. He didn’t have to. His ability to lie was actually a bit scary all things considered. Especially since he chose when to lie very carefully. Never to cover people or to hide a problem, almost always it was to save his own image or, in the heat of battle. Two things Time wished he would never lie about.
This came to light when they were sitting around visiting with Wild and his Zelda. The princess had been asking all of them about their time spent in their Hyrules, and comparing maps as she took notes. It was here that Zelda asked the question, “sir Legend, What about you? Did you spend much time at the palace? What was your princess like?”
Legend didn’t even look up from the book he had been reading. “I didn’t go to the palace much,” he said, still turning the pages in front of him. Not a long explained answer, and not overly enthused. Legend just said it as if he had said the sun rises every morning. A fact. And of course, no one beyond Twilight and Time had been the wiser.
Time wasn’t very surprised that lLgend could do so, but he was then realizing that meant there had been countless other times the boy could have been lying. He hadn’t even known where to look for the tells. He still didn’t. All of his lies came to light far after they were believed. I woke up Sky for watch last night; S ky had said he hadn’t. You guys go ahead! There are only a few moblins over here!; T here had been 40, according to what Wild reported. I hate lady Hylia; Hyrule had seen him crying at the Hylia shrine. The boy was gifted. Scary gifted. Those had just been the lies that Time had caught, and only with the help of other people tattling to him out of concern.
Warriors was similar in style. The problem was, he lied more often. He wasn’t careful or cautious about who was around or why it was happening. Even though he was a strategist, he had no tact when it came to things like hiding secrets. He was overconfident, and it was his downfall.
They had been reviewing the guards' quarters in Warriors' Hyrule. General Impa had insisted he needed to check in on his soldiers he had left behind. They had made it to the training grounds before all the guards started to beg Warriors to spar with them. As Warriors was prone to doing, he accepted without hesitation. So all the other heroes sat along the wall with the other guards as Warriors commenced duel after duel.
Time watched his current opponent, Costis, everyone had been yelling, gestured for Warriors to look at an ax displayed on the neighboring wall. He could guess what the boy had been suggesting. That Warriors and him fight with different weapons. It seemed Legend figured out the exchange as well because he narrowed his eyes on Warriors.
“You sure you know how to use that?” Legend yelled as the older boy grabbed the ax off the wall. Warriors just glared in their general direction.
“Of course, I do” He huffed back readying himself to fight Costis again.
It was at this moment that Time noticed Zelda came in. All the guards looked to her but she waved them off to resume watching the sparring. She came and sat neatly on the ground beside the Hyrule's visitors. She was smirking as Warriors swung the ax a bit too hard and stumbled a bit with the inertia.
“He has no idea what he’s doing” Zelda whispered to him before laughing when Warriors inevitably was knocked off balance by Costis’ bo staff. Time was amazed that the boy would have lied about knowing such a thing. A lack of training wasn’t something to fool around with. People could get hurt. Not that the princess seemed at all concerned.
“You should know sir Time” Zelda interrupted his thoughts as she smiled while Costis helped Warriors stand. “If you ask my knight, there is nothing he doesn’t know or cannot do” she told him before striding across the training field to slap Warriors head with her hand. He glared at her as she began to lecture about being more careful and respectful towards his knights.
Time noticed his little lies from that point on. Of course, I can set up a tent. I’ve done it a million times before; I don’t need lessons in using a boomerang, I am already well equipped with it as is; I believe the river is that way since the mountain is flowing to the east; Zelda’s analysis proved correct. There was nothing the boy didn’t know, according to him. It was still difficult to tell when he lied, after all sometimes the hero really did have obscure knowledge. But Time knew what to look for now.
Hyrule was probably the most unexpected to Time. He was such a sweet child and Time couldn’t fathom why he would ever want to lie to people. However, he underestimated how much Hyrule and Warriors had in common. Hyrule wasn’t prideful, but he always wanted to be an honorable hero and sometimes that meant he did things that were really stupid.
“Come on Hyrule! Don’t you want to come swimming with us!?” Wind yelled from the ocean that he and wild were currently soaking in. Wind had been ecstatic when time suggested they stop and swim for a bit after traveling in Gerudo for so long. Everyone had agreed and they all ditched their gear to swim. Well most had.
Legend decided he would rather stay on shore and bake in the sun. Hyrule had been the last to ditch his extra clothes for his trousers. He lingered near the edge of the water and chewed his bottom lip which caught Legend's attention. He sat up in the sand to get a better view.
“What’s wrong kid? Not a fan of swimming?” Legend asked and Hyrule hurried to shake his head.
“No! I do, I’m just checking the temperature first.” he argued.
Legend didn’t believe it for a minute and neither did Time from where he was watching. Hyrule was many things, but hesitant wasn't one of them. In all honesty, none of them could afford to hesitate. “You’re always welcome to join me in soaking up the sunshine.” Legend offered and Time smiled. It was good that the boy was trying to help, coming out of his isolated box, but it seemed Hyrule wouldn’t have it.
He walked straight into the water trying not to pause. Time could see him taking deep breaths even before his chest submerged. Twilight hurried and swam over to the boy joining the rest in the water. Obviously he was intending to watch him as well. Time could only stare as Hyrule keep a conscious effort to be aware of where his feet were. He briefly wondered if the boy had some sort of anxiety with water like Legend?
Before that thought could be continued Legend yelled out from on the shore. “Wave! Guys look out!” he yelled, sounding more desperate than Time had heard in a very long time. Wind and Four laughed at the news but Hyrule screamed as the water came up over their heads and pulled them back to where the water was about 7 feet deep. Time thought it was from surprise but when Hyrule resurfaced and was flailing he realized. Hyrule can’t swim .
Apparently, Time didn’t notice first though, because Legend dove in the water -shoes and all- and was making a beeline for the boy. He reached over and pulled his arms over his neck as he swam for the both of them. Time and Twilight reached them shortly after they came towards the shore. Twilight reached over and took Hyrule onto his own back to get the load off Legend.
The older of the two was shaking like a leaf both from adrenaline and most likely the water. Time put a hand on his shoulder and started rubbing his arms to warm him up. Not everyone in their group was aware of Legend's fear, but he knew better. “Heads up!” Warriors yelled as he launched a blanket their way. Time caught it easily enough and wrapped it around Legend's shoulders as he walked him fully out of the water and sat with him in the sand.
“Why in Hylia would you go in the water if you can’t swim?!” Four yelled now joining them on the beach.
“That’s just stupid! You could’ve drowned!” Wind added.
Twilight had let Hyrule sit on the ground with him and Warriors had come running over with yet another blanket. The boy looked up soaking wet and looked like he was gonna cry. “Everyone else was having so much fun and clearly all of you know how. I didn’t want to ruin anything,” he confessed.
“No one would have cared, Hyrule.” Sky interjected before the boy could sulk any further. “We can always teach you how to swim, but not saying anything was a good way to get someone hurt.”
“I’m sorry” Hyrule apologized, looking absolutely devastated about the whole thing.
“It’s ok. We can show you next time” Wild offered and Twilight smiled at his efforts.
Time smiled too, relieved everyone seemed alright. Now he could direct his attention to the hero under his arm. The fact that the veteran hadn't pulled away yet said a lot about his condition. “Are you ok?” he asked Legend and the boy nodded through his shiver mumbling something about ‘everyone’s a moron’. Time ignored that and instead turned his supporting arm into a side hug.
All things considered, they had been lucky that day. Legend proved that when it came down to it he would swim, and he could swim fast. He was strong enough to carry both boys faster than Wind could carry himself. Not to mention he had had his shoes and tunic on. Hyrule didn’t inhale much water either. Though he did catch a cold a few days later.
Time knew from that point on that if it made everyone feel included, Hyrule would lie. I love mushrooms too!; Sure I can climb the tree with you; Yeah of course I killed Ganon...duh; He has been ecstatic to be a part of the group and if it meant fitting in and feeling like a hero he would do anything.
Wild was an odd one. He didn’t really talk, so he didn't really lie. Or at least, Time hadn’t caught him yet. This was mildly concerning but he hoped it meant that the boy was just extremely honest. Seeing the pattern among the rest of the triforce heroes that option seemed unlikely.
Four was more difficult. The boy didn’t have a lying problem per say, but he definitely had a defiance problem. Time told him one thing, he did the exact opposite. Especially since he was prone to wandering off when he shouldn’t. A prime example would be in Hyrule's world when they had returned to the Maze dungeon. Time would’ve done anything to avoid repeating what had happened the last time they were there.
“Alright. Everyone stay together. No going in the mazes, and definitely no going off alone” when Time had given that order he was pretty sure Four heard ‘please wander off. The maze would be a great place to start’ because when he finished setting up camp and took a head count they were one person short.
Hyrule had immediately volunteered. “I know the mazes like the back of my hand. I can go get him no problem,” he told time smiling proudly. He always loved when he could feel useful. Time had allowed it since he promised to take Twilight with him.
They all sat around the campfire and waited about an hour before all three boys emerged from the cave opening. Time sighed in relief and hurried over to make sure everyone was ok. “No one's bleeding” Twilight could read his mind sometimes.
“Four, what in Hylia were thinking? Do you listen to anything I say?” He couldn’t help but ask as Twilight and Hyrule excused themselves from the awkward conversation.
“When I want to, sure” Four responded, clearly feeling cheeky, before letting off a short laugh. “But for real, I didn't mean to go, it was sort of a Lady Hylia was beckoning me kind of thing,” Four told him letting his face go soft. Time hadn’t known what to say to that, because if the boy was telling the truth there was nothing he could do about it.
Time had believed him in that moment, but it didn’t last long. The next week when they did sword practice and Four had blatantly pulled a flip he had promised not to use. he looked at Legend with dead eyes before telling him ‘ I use it for my adventure. I have enough training by my Hyrule's captain.’ Time realized then that Four thought he could get away with what he wanted if he could say it was the will of the triforce. I don’t carry potions, my king ordered everyone to keep them away from me because the princess believed I may be allergic to the foul taste; I know you said not to go to market but it felt like the master sword was calling me there; I understand why you’re upset, but it’s not like I can get hurt. I have the triforce’s blessing. The boy used his legendary adventure to the fullest and expected everyone around him to cower at the idea they were defying Lady Hylia. It worked, on the villagers. On the boys? Not at all.
That left only Sky. His golden child. The boy wouldn’t know a situation that he couldn’t burn his positivity into. He was much more like Twilight when lying to the group. He couldn’t say anything bad to their small family. To villagers? Sure if he felt it would keep them safe, they all could lie when it came to that. And lie well, save Twilight. However, in their camp was a different story.
“Look, I know you’re the one that started it Wind. Now, are you gonna tell me how or not?” Time asked as one of Wild’s monster camps burned in the background. They had been trying to set up camp when he smelt the smoke and saw that half the forest was on fire. When he gathered all the boys back up Wind had soot everywhere on him and Sky too. The older boy had gone in to get him most likely.
Just as Wind went to answer, Sky stepped forward. “It was my idea,” he told time with the best poker face time had seen in a while. Had he never met the boy, maybe that would have worked. “I thought that if I burned just the camp since we were in wetlands, it wouldn’t spread. I wasn’t thinking” he continued.
Legend started wheezing from his spot on the log nearby. Warriors, who had been sitting with him, started laughing too. They both fought for oxygen to try to speak but kept falling into helpless giggles.
“You honestly think, anyone believes that?” Four asked grinning and holding in laughter too. At that point, even Wind and Twilight joined in. Time couldn’t help but shake his head and smile as Sky looked around the group confused. Time could practically hear him think. ‘What gave me away?’
“It was a valiant effort Sky, but pirates don’t accept favors” Wind smiled, giving his version of thanks for the attempted save.
That was what it took for his most innocent fighter to lie to him. Not to be included, or to avoid deep personal talks. Sky lied to protect other people. I suggested Wild climb the cliff. It was a dare; I was the one that took Epona for a ride. I was missing my loftwing; Wind couldn’t have done that, he was with me helping me clean out the barn; Wild woke me up for my shift; Sometimes the boys accepted his little offers, other times they felt too guilty to pretend he was telling the truth.
Even with all of his observations, Time knew none of the boys would lie to him when it really mattered.
...right?