"So…" I said to Link as we pulled into the parking lot of Lon Lon diner that afternoon. "Do you do this a lot?" We had met up after school to pay our debt to Malon. I had planned to offer my chauffeur, but at Link's insistence, we had taken his small, beat-up car to our destination. The car sputtered and came to a stop as Link eased it into the last open spot.

"What do you mean by 'this?'" Link asked, straightening his signature green hat. He got out of the car and walked around to open the door for me while I struggled to force the buckle to work for me. This has got to get fixed, I thought. I was about to exclaim my effort was hopeless when the buckle came loose.

I got out of the car and started walking towards Lon Lon Diner. I glanced through the window of the diner as we neared the door and used the opportunity to tuck a stray hair behind my ear. That morning a complicated braid had seemed like a good idea, but my relentlessly stick straight hair decided braids were overrated and seemed determined to fall out as much as possible. It occurred to me that I hadn't answered Link's question. "What did you ask again?"

I walked back a few steps to match where he stood, presumably looking at a nearby store's window decorations. "I was just asking what you meant when you- oh you meant do I come and help Malon out a lot?"

I nodded.

Link tugged his oversized green hat farther down his face. "Sort of?"

"Where did you get that hat anyway?" I asked, sensing his desire for a conversation change.

"My aunt made it. Her name's Impa. And I guess she's not really my aunt, she just takes care of me and Aryll. I mean- ugh," his cheeks flushed and his feet stuttered to a stop. "This is why I-"

"Don't talk much?" I interrupted, "I don't mind." I smiled to try to put him at ease.

Link shrugged and he resumed walking towards the diner door. "I guess I mean Impa made the hat."

"Is it based on the Hero's hat, like from the museums?"

Link nodded. "I used to be really into the history of the Hero."

I, too, remembered a long phase where I'd spend hours researching the Hero history. We reached the doorway, and I pushed open the door while Link followed closely behind. A bright bell sound rang out.

Lon Lon Diner was just how I remembered it: cozy and inviting. The other customers must have sensed it too, because every seat was full. And of course the building was full of its signature heavenly music and smells. Except-

"Is that new?" I asked, pointing up to the general air.

"The… ceiling?" Link asked as we dodged around tables and customers and crossed the Diner to the front counter, Link momentarily putting his hand on my back to steer me around someone I hadn't noticed. I did notice his hand.

I shook my head. "I mean the smell."

Link paused to sniff the air. "It does seem pretty sweet. We can ask Malon."

We reached the front counter, but it was empty of Malon or anyone else. Link pressed a small rectangular device next to the cash register, and a short melody played from somewhere behind a door.

The notes sounded familiar and I listened closely while they played. "Zelda's lullaby!" I said, when I placed the melody.

Link waited for it to finish, paused for another moment, then tapped the device again. While we stood there, I more carefully examined what I had previously thought was the back of the diner. Wooden shelves lined the walls, and the long table that held the cash register and a cookie display stretched from a side wall to just a few feet before the opposite wall; presumably the gap was just enough space for Malon or another worker to walk through.

"Maybe she's busy?" I remarked. "I've never seen anyone else who works here, so she might be cooking."

Link took off his hat and fiddled with a loose string. "Nah. Some of her siblings and some other people work in the kitchen. She's just the one who hands things out and takes orders after school."

"Ah," I said simply. Link put his hat back on and absentmindedly pressed the rectangle again.

The swinging door to the kitchen burst open. Malon came through carrying-

"Din, seven at once?" Link exclaimed.

I did a quick count of the gray trays Malon had carefully- and precariously- balanced. Yep. There were seven. She even had one on her head, so she couldn't turn to see us.

"I'll be with you in a second." She said.

Link and I turned around to watch her walk from table to table, asking customers to take their trays. After a minute or so she rushed back around the counter to face us. "What do you- Oh! Zelda and Fairy boy!"

I waved.

Malon gestured for us to follow her through the backdoor into the kitchen. "Sorry I left you waiting there. Olive- Olive wave," She said to one of the people in blue aprons and gloves moving around the kitchen. A Hylian girl with a pixie cut looked up at us and smiled.

"Anyway," Malon continued, "Olive accidentally shattered a glass measuring cup into a bucket of flour and it was a bit of a hassle between me and my dad to get it out without anyone using that flour." She laughed breathlessly and pushed her hair back. "Have you seen the number of customers out there? It's crazy! Super awesome, obviously, but definitely crazy."

In the moment it took me to process the sheer volume of information that had just been thrown at me, Link said, "I'm impressed with all of these customers. Finally Hyrule is realizing how amazing Lon Lon Diner is."

Malon laughed. "Thanks. Now can you two wash dishes? I wish I could explain more but-"

"Order's ready!" A gerudo next to Olive called.

"You're a bit busy," I finished. Malon nodded and rushed away.

"This is crazy," I told Link, "and I've seen the kitchens at my house before a party."

"They have to work hard here," Link said simply, "follow me."

I trailed after him to a large sink against the wall. Olive was busy washing a plate when she saw us coming.

"Oh thank Farore," Olive said, "I've been switching between dishes and cooking and let me tell you- mistakes get made."

"I can see that," I said.

Link took a place beside one of the sections of the sink- of which there were three. "I'll scrape off the food and rinse," he told me, pointing to a trash can and the first sink. The sink was full of water with faint bits of food floating in it. The second sink was bursting with bubbles. And the third looked to be simply for water. "Then can you wash and disinfect?"

"...how do I do that?" I asked.

"Just put soap on the sponge, and scrub the dish. Then hold it in the last sink- it's full of disinfectant- for about ten seconds."

"Sure," I said.

With that, we got to work. I realized quickly that I didn't need to put soap on the sponge between every dish. And that counting out loud for the disinfecting step saved me from getting distracted by our conversation.

"... then Aryll did what?" I asked, finishing up a cup.

Link laughed. "She stole the durians from the parrot and smashed them all over her hair."

I started laughing so hard I had to reach up with my forearm and wipe away a stray tear. "She didn't know that they would smell bad?"

"Nope! She complained for hours that she couldn't smell anything else."

"That's awful!"

"...but also kinda hilarious."

"Kind of," I agreed.

After an hour that felt like only a couple of minutes, Malon stopped by the sink and informed us we were "free from the chains of debt."

"You have a penchant for the dramatic," I said.

"It keeps life interesting," she said, then hurried away again.

Link handed me a cup, then leaned against the sink. "That's the last one for today I guess."

I scrubbed and disinfected it. "That was a lot more fun than I thought it would be."

"It helps if you're cleaning with someone you like. This one time I was back here and this goron guy named Bo was just the worst at conversation."

"Go on," I said while we started walking for the door.

"Like," Link said once we had exited Lon Lon Diner and reentered the parking lot, "I said something like, 'how are you?' and he goes, 'I like rock roast.' Maybe he misheard me, or was joking or something but-"

"That did not actually happen," I said, and poked Link in the arm, "you're making things up."

He danced away from another poke. "It totally did. Of course by the end of the job he'd said a little more than that but his first words- 'I like rock roast.'"

We both got in the car and got buckled. "Do you have anyway to verify this story?" I asked.

Link shrugged as he turned the sputtery car on. "You just have to believe me I guess."

"Alright fine," I said. "But until future notice, I'm taking your stories with a serious grain of salt."

"You wound me…"

So the conversation continued until we reached the tree lined path up to my house.

"See you tomorrow?" I asked before I got out of the car.

"Tomorrow's Saturday," Link said.

I nodded. "Right. Monday then. Bye!"

He waved, and then drove out of sight.

I don't own Legend of Zelda!

Thanks for reading chapter eight :)