He sat on the grass outside the gates to Lon Lon Ranch. He stared into the bright, blue sky, into the clouds. The wind blew through his hair and against his skin. He held the golden hairpin in his hand, rubbing his thumb against it. He could feel the small metal flower embroidered at the end of the hairpin. Ok, I'm just gonna go in there, and I'm gonna give it to her, he thought. Hey, Malon, how're you doing? I won this hairpin and… what else should I say? He contemplated for a little while.
The heat of the sun beat down on him. It would have made him sweat if it wasn't for the wind. Something blue shone brightly in the corner of his eye.
"Are you gonna give it to her or not?" Navi asked.
Link blushed. "I will! I just… you know, need some time."
"Lord Jabu-Jabu isn't gonna wait," she reminded him.
"I know! Just give me a minute." But Link still sat there, unwilling to budge. The hairpin was for Malon, of course, something he won in a game in Castle Town. It was a contest held for kids, involving boomerangs, cuccoos, and flower bombs. The games in Castle Town were normally fun, but that one made him shudder to think about. But, at least he won a prize for it. He had no use for it for himself, but he thought he'd give it to her. The problem was, for him, was how she would take it. Would she like it? Would she hate it? Would she wear it? He'd like for her to at least try it. He thought it would look really pretty on her if she did.
Navi fluttered. "Amazing that someone who's supposed to be a brave hero, who can kill giant spiders and an oversized Dodongo, can't even tell a girl that he likes her."
His face burned. "I don't like her!" he exclaimed.
"Why are you blushing then?"
"Shut up!" he yelled, throwing a punch at Navi.
She dodged the punch. "Hey!" she fluttered, "Don't hit me!"
He pulled back. "Sorry." She had a point, though. Why was he so nervous about this? Granted, he was nervous for all of those other encounters with those creatures, but this situation was different to him. He sighed, got up, and walked through the arch into the ranch.
The ranch was as lively with animals as ever. The cuccoos clucked beside the house, which Link made a point to stay away from. The horses ate and ran within the ranch itself. Malon was near the gate, washing Epona. He tensed up as he saw her. He hid behind the stables, peaking out to see her. Navi flew out of his hat.
"Oh, come on, give it to her already," Navi said.
"Alright!" Link snapped back. He took a deep breath and walked over to Malon. Ok, I can do this. It's not a big deal.
Malon was still hard at work washing Epona, when she looked up. "Oh, hi Link!" she exclaimed.
Link blushed as she acknowledged him, "Um, hey Malon." Navi, you'd better be quiet.
"Just hold on a minute," she said. Good, he thought. He needed more time to mentally prepare himself.
Epona trotted off after Malon finished washing her. She turned to Link and said, "Hey! Come with me real quick! I wanna show you something!"
"What is it?"
"Come on!" she said, grabbing Link's hand. He caught his breath at the action. She pulled him all the way to the awning at the other side of the ranch to a crate resting underneath.
She stopped in her tracks, turned to Link, and said, "Shhh."
They crept over to the crate and looked inside. Inside was a bird's nest, with freshly hatched eggs. The baby birds chirped as the mother fed them. The baby birds' eyes were barely opened, just giant bulbs where the eyes should have been, and they were half-bald, their feathers not really grown in yet. Their beaks stuck in the air, open, chirping. Their necks stretched out to reach for their mother as she was giving them food. Link's face scrunched looking at them.
"Aren't they so cute?" Malon asked.
More ugly than cute, thought Link. "How old are they, do you think?"
"Just a few days. I heard them chirping here yesterday."
Link looked at Malon's face seeing her sense of wonder. He needed to hurry and give her the hairpin. His heart sped up, and he could feel his temperature rising. "So, by the way, I got you something."
She turned to him, eyebrow raised, "You got me something?"
He gulped, "Um, well, I won something in a contest and I can't use it, so I figured I'd give it to you," he pulled out the hairpin from his pocket and showed it to her.
Her eyes went wide at the gift. "Wow! It looks so pretty!"
Relief swept over him at her reaction. He smiled. "I figured you might like it," he said, handing it out to her. She reached out and grabbed it, and stared at it in her hand. "Put it in your hair," he said.
She took the hairpin and stuck it on one side of her hair, past her bangs, pulling some of her hair out of her face. Just as he thought, it looked really pretty on her.
Epona walked in and neighed, rubbing her face against Malon's, and she giggled. "I think she likes it," Malon said.
"Yeah," he replied, petting Epona's mane. Malon petted her mane as well, and began humming Epona's favorite tune. She had such a pretty voice, one that Link enjoyed listening to any chance he got.
Epona snorted, snapping Link back to reality. Lord Jabu-Jabu isn't gonna wait, he thought.
"Um, I gotta go now, Malon," Link said, briskly walking away, facing the ground.
She stopped humming. "Aw, already?" Malon asked.
He stopped. "Yeah, I'm sorry," he replied, forcing himself to look back. She had a frown on her face. His stomach sank about leaving, but he forced a smile and said, "I'll come over later though, I promise!"
She still frowned, but looked more accepting. "Ok," she said.
He hated hearing the disappointment in her voice, but he turned around and ran off, this time not looking back. He passed the gate to the ranch when Navi came out from under his hat. She did nothing but giggle.
Link stopped in his tracks, looking at Navi. "What?" he asked.
"Nothing," she said, still giggling. "But seriously, I'm sorry you can't stay longer than that. This just needs to get done."
"Yeah, I know," he said.
"Alright then. Let's get going."
"Ok."
"But I'll just let you know too," she said. "I think she likes you."
Link's heart skipped a beat, and he smiled from ear to ear. "Really?"
"I think so, seeing how sad she was when you left."
He tried to contain his excitement. "Are you sure?"
She snickered. "So you do like her?"
His face turned the color of pure red. "I-what? N-no!"
She busted out laughing.
"Shut up!" he retorted, still blushing.
She kept laughing, but calmed down. "So, are we ready to head on?"
His brow furrowed. "I hate you!"
She still laughed. "Alright, I'm sorry about that. Let's move."
Still angry, he took a deep breath, resigning himself to his fate. "Ok," he sighed. and they headed off to Zora's Domain.