Today is Phantom Hourglass's 14th release anniversary! Specifically its Japanese release, which was the first release date, June 23rd.

I've always wanted to do something for this game's anniversary, and this is the first year where I really had the chance and the time to.

I genuinely love this game, and it's unironically my favorite Zelda game. Take that as you will.

As for this fic- minor spoilers up until the middle of the game. Extremely minor.

Of course, it's advised that you've played the game before, since I don't explain things that are explained in the game.

I love this game, and this is the first of many Phantom Hourglass- centric oneshots I will post, though they probably won't show up anytime soon.

It's a bit rough around the edges, but this was mainly written to celebrate the anniversary and act (very loosely) as a sort of character study.

So, enjoy!

Link's feet were a few inches off the ground when he sat in the storage room chairs, so he idly kicked them while Linebeck took stock of their supplies.

It was a clear, cloudless day, and Ciela, Leaf, and Neri were all hovering around one of the windows, peering out at the calm sea. Link glanced at one of the opposite windows. He could see the Mercay Island dock just outside. Across the room, Linebeck closed one of the crates in the room and wrote something down on his notepad.

"Hey, kid." Link jumped, mildly surprised by the sudden sound of Linebeck's voice. He glanced over at the captain, nodding. "How much money do you have on you?"

"U-uh. About 100 rupees. Why?"

Linebeck scowled and scribbled something down. "We're running out of supplies. I'm trying to figure out what we can afford to buy today. Sparkles! Get over here, I've got a job for you."

Ciela flinched and groaned. She flitted over to Linebeck, keeping a good distance from him. "What do you want? I thought you said you didn't want my help with anything."

"Yeah, well, I don't really need your help, but this'll save time." Linebeck waved Ciela away when she tried to get a look at his notepad. "You know where I keep the kid's potions, right?"

"Yeah. Top cabinet shelf in the kitchen."

"Check how many we have."

"Why can't you have Link check?" Ciela dodged Linebeck's waving hand and hovered inches from his face. "Wouldn't he know how many he has?"

"He's too short to reach that shelf," Linebeck retorted. "Just check it. I'll leave sooner if you hurry up." He didn't wait to see Ciela flutter away, turning on his heel and stalking over to Link. Busy watching the fairy fly into the ship's kitchen, Link almost didn't catch the notepad that was thrown at him. "How's this?"

Link fumbled with the notepad, glancing up at Linebeck. The sailor was standing with his hands on his hips, like he was already impatient with Link, but the look in his eyes suggested otherwise. The writing on the notepad was small and hard to see, but it was at least neatly arranged. Link always tried to make his own handwriting neat, even if he didn't know proper spelling and grammar, but Linebeck's handwriting was worse than chicken scratch. Link handed the notepad back to Linebeck. "Can you read it out loud? I can't figure out what you wrote."

Cursing under his breath, Linebeck took the notepad from Link's hand and stuffed it in his coat pocket. "It's just a list of some stuff we need to buy. Food items, clean water- which I guess we can just collect from a lake or stream or something- tools and small parts, sewing materials, matches, lantern oil, candles... the like. Problem is, we're practically broke." Linebeck spat the last word, clearly disgusted with it. He glanced down at Link, adding, "I'm not blaming you. There wasn't much we could do, stuck around that damn Isle of Frost, using up everything and running out of money trying to keep from freezing to death. You don't have any treasures or anything to sell to that creepy old guy at that... treasure exchange shop thing?"

Link shook his head. "No, sorry."

"Well, we won't be able to get much, then. You'd better get something in that Temple of the Ocean King, otherwise we won't be able to go very far... still, we need to go out and do some shopping today." Linebeck sighed. "At least you can fish," he mused, peering out the window. "I can, too, so we don't need that much food, all things considered. Candles aren't too necessary, either so we can leave those off..." he dropped the notepad on the table and erased a line of writing.

"We don't have any potions," Ciela called, fluttering over to Link and Linebeck. "We need to get some of those, too."

"We can't," Linebeck muttered. "Not enough money." He tapped the pencil against the tabletop. "We can afford some food, medical supplies, sewing supplies, repair supplies, water can be collected pretty much anywhere on this island... we don't need to buy cigarettes or lantern oil this time... We can't afford potions or candles, and we'll need to cut back on the repair parts and food."

"Link needs potions!" Ciela protested. "He might die in a dungeon or out in the field without them!"

"Then he should be more careful." Linebeck wrote a few numbers down. "When he's injured, I can bind his wounds and the like with medical supplies. Potions are expensive. We've only got roughly 400 rupees." The three of them were silent for a few seconds, and Linebeck straightened up. "Well. The kid and I will head out to go buy supplies in a bit. Make sure you and your moth friends don't break anything, Sparkles. You three are gonna stick around while we're gone."

"We're not moths, you jerk-"

"Check back when I actually care," Linebeck grumbled, swatting her away. "You've got a few minutes kid; I'll meet you out on the deck."

Ciela grumbled something under her breath when Linebeck turned away with a mild flourish and left the room. "You can yell at him later," Link mumbled. "But he's right. We've still got medical supplies."

"Are you at least going to try and get some more rupees soon? It's not fair to completely refuse to buy any potions."

Link shrugged. "I'll be able to buy some once we go to Goron Island." He began to walk away, making sure that he had his own money on hand, but Ciela flew in front of him. She was barely larger than his palm, but he cared for her enough to know that she had something she wanted to say, even if he could easily walk past her.

"Do you want us to follow you guys? I mean, you and I haven't really been apart a lot since we met."

With a sheepish smile, Link shook his head. "You guys should go talk to Oshus. Either way, Linebeck probably doesn't want you guys following him around." He gave her a small wave and jogged out of the room. "I'll be okay without any potions for a bit!"

Link found Linebeck silently standing on the ship's deck, checking and re-checking what he wrote on his notepad. He shifted slightly, glancing up at Mercay Town, an admittedly small settlement, but the largest Link had seen in these seas. Every week, the town's shopkeepers set up a market in the streets, making it easier for inhabitants and travelers to find goods and materials without looking far.

"I'm ready to go," Link declared, grinning up at Linebeck.

The sailor gave him an empty look, then put the notepad back in his coat pocket. There was an anxious jerk to his movements, but his voice was perfectly steady. "Let's get going, then. We can get some vegetables, some thread to fix your tunic, some tools and materials I'm missing. Nothing else."

"You said that already," Link said, tilting his head to the side. Linebeck blinked at him, then quietly walked away, down the gangplank. "What are we gonna get first?" Link asked, following Linebeck, undeterred by the lack of a response. He wasn't the one who knew how Mercay Town worked; he'd seen the notes Linebeck took, lists of people's routines and the market layout. "You seem like you have a good plan."

"Of course," Linebeck sighed, giving the island mailbox a wide berth. "We'll do it in roughly that order." He tugged on the strap of his messenger bag, a worn, black-colored bag Link had really only seen when he accompanied Linebeck to help pick up supplies. It was used to carry whatever they bought, more often than not, but Link couldn't help but guess that there were a few secret compartments for hiding items.

As expected, there weren't many people on the smooth, stone streets of the quaint little town. The shopkeepers set up the marketplace along the longest street, which began at the bridge to Oshus's house and ended at a fork, near the edge of the sea. Booths and stands were attended to by different shop keepers, most unfamiliar to Link. A few groups of both island inhabitants and overseas travelers milled around, talking to vendors and buying supplies. From what Link could tell, it a was small crowd of a few dozen people.

"I told Ciela and the others that they should go talk to Oshus," Link said, having to jog to keep up with Linebeck's long strides. "I don't think she and the others will follow us or anything."

"They better not," Linebeck mumbled, glancing over his shoulder. "In any case, we won't need to be here very long. If we've got some leftover money, you can get something extra, but we don't have nearly enough for potions. Damned Isle of Frost, draining our resources. That damn Goron Island had better be kinder to us."

"I've heard that Gorons are very nice. I think it'll be a better island."

Linebeck scoffed. "Sure. Whatever. Keep up, I don't want to run into too many people while we're here." There was a resentment to his voice that surprised Link. He sounded to be in a terribly bad mood, surprising when taking into account his fame around the islands.

All things considered, despite how he seemed to talk with island inhabitants and told modified stories and put up a front of bravado and arrogance, Linebeck seemed to resent that mask he'd made for himself.

But Link didn't know anything about that kind of stuff. So he jogged after the tall sailor, his sword and shield quietly jostling on his back.

They approached the first vendor and Link watched people walk by while Linebeck bought bandages and small bottles of gauze. He was already familiar with the vendor, a friendly but jumpy young man. Before Link focused on the crowd, he could tell that Linebeck had immediately jumped into arguing the price down, and the vendor did little to protest, looking to be slightly intimidated.

Only a few of the people that walked by were people that Link recognized, most of them being sailors or traders from overseas. A few that Link recognized were from brief encounters on the sea, but all others were unfamiliar.

In fact, Link was a little surprised to see so many people docked at the Mercay harbor. When he first washed up on the island's shores, Linebeck was the only one who had traveled to the island, and for a good bit, was one of the few people that Link noticed sailing across the seas. After he managed to drive off the ominous Ghost Ship, however, more sailors found the courage to return to seafaring and more people visited Mercay Island.

An unintentional side effect to running off the Ghost Ship while working with Linebeck was that the people of Mercay gave all of the credit to Linebeck himself. Upon learning that the people of Mercay all believed that it had been Linebeck's doing, Ciela had furiously cornered the man about it, only to learn that the citizens of Mercay had come to that conclusion themselves… but it wasn't a surprise when Linebeck didn't deny the rumors when asked about it. Linebeck never told the story of being on the Ghost Ship, however, even though some islanders begged to hear it.

Link was personally curious to hear how Linebeck would spin that encounter. He'd heard a few of Linebeck's stories before; he never tried to take credit for Link's work in rescuing the three spirits, but did tell of the three temples. For someone who spent so much time on the sea, Linebeck was skilled at creating strong imagery while telling his mostly fictitious stories.

"Come on, pay attention," Linebeck mumbled, setting a hand on Link's shoulder and shaking the boy, snapping him back to reality. Putting the bought goods into his messenger bag, Linebeck sighed. "Couldn't get the price down too low, but we might have some extra leftover. Nice, huh?" With a nod, he walked off to the next small shop, followed closely by Link.

"Why did you even bring me along?" Link asked, quickly skirting out of the way of a group of younger kids. "I mean, you don't really need my help with this."

Linebeck shrugged, giving Link a wry grin. "Well, I need to keep my crew's morale up, huh? Can't do that if I don't get your opinion on what kind of food or materials we need." He went quiet for a moment, walking up to the booth selling sewing supplies, then paused, handing Link some of the remaining money. "Let's speed this up. You can go and buy the food, that's all I can really trust you with. You know the deal, get some decent stuff, but try not to use all of this money, alright?"

Link gave him a short nod and then asked, "Where's that section of the market?"

"By the bridge. It's the first one. I'll probably be by the parts shop by the time you're done if you don't get lost or something."

"I think it'd be impossible to lose you in a crowd."

Linebeck scowled, but didn't have time to reply, as Link was already walking away through the crowd. The boy smiled to himself and at his own joke, and almost ran into a wandering dog. As a sort of apology, Link gave the dog a scratch between the ears before continuing on his way. He considered turning back and telling Linebeck about the dog, but decided against it.

Dogs, whenever they were seen on Mercay, seemed to put Linebeck on edge. On the other hand he enjoyed coming across the town's stray cats. It was a small detail that Link only recently discovered, and one that confused him, considering how Linebeck had referred to him as a 'treasure dog' in that letter he'd sent him. Perhaps he was just really bad at writing letters to people. He didn't seem like he talked to anyone on a regular basis, either, unless on Mercay. It was almost funny, but, at the same time, Link had no idea what it must've been like to live alone for so long.

Not to mention, Linebeck didn't appear to have any friends. The closest he had to any kind of meaningful connection seemed to be a few enemies. Link looked around at the small crowd he passed. He could remember the names of all of the islanders that he passed, while Linebeck had admitted not even knowing the town's tavern owner's name. Link didn't understand solitude, since he was very rarely every alone at any point in his life, but Linebeck seemed sad at times, and he seemed aware of it.

The produce vendor was a kind woman, patient while Link peered at all of the fruits and vegetables. Link asked about prices and about things he didn't recognize, and slowly filled the basket that the vendor gave him. It took a few short minutes, and he had to be careful not to drop the basket as he dodged people in the crowd. He was shorter than most everyone on the island, which led to a lot of the people hesitating to recognize Link as an experienced fighter. It was nothing he wasn't accustomed to, and didn't bother him too much.

He spotted Linebeck at one of the smaller booths, standing a few feet away from it and looking over the wares- a variety of potions. Link stopped, curious as Linebeck walked up and got the vendor's attention. He seemed to ask her a question, leaning in a bit, over the baskets of potions. Even from a fair distance, Link could see the prices; there was no way Linebeck was going to try and buy any at that price. Especially still when they had more to get.

The vendor clearly recognized Linebeck, and the irritation was obvious in his eyes even while he smiled convincingly. He appeared to ask her a question, pointing down at a vendor down at the end of the line of booths. Link watched their conversation with bemusement, until a slight movement caught his eye.

Linebeck reached down for one of the red potions. The vendor was looking away, her attention on whatever he was talking about, and not the way his fingers curled into the glass loop on the potion's container, hooking it up and carefully slipping it into his bag. With a surprised blink, Link's eyes were glued to Linebeck's careful hands as he stole another red potion, slipping it into the bag like the first all while he talked with the vendor. The cautious dexterity and skill that he exhibited was a glaring sign that this wasn't something new to him.

Thievery wasn't something Link thought much about. He'd done it before in order to save his sister, and he'd seen Tetra and her crew do it for the sake of punishing corrupt shopkeepers. But that was certainly different from shoplifting red potions- now Linebeck was carefully removing a purple potion from its basket.

If Linebeck was seen by just a single person, his reputation would probably be shattered. The vendor was distracted, but anyone walking by could see his shoplifting, even while he was positioned to hide most of his hand's movements.

After Linebeck took the fifth potion, Link jogged over and tugged on his coat. "I'm back, I got the food."

Linebeck quickly withdrew his hand, straightening up. The vendor frowned, and Linebeck shrugged. "Th-thanks for you help, but that's all I needed." Before the vendor could say anything, Linebeck turned and walked away, glancing back to make sure that Link was following.

Neither of them said anything. They found the last shop, spent the last of their money, and left the market without saying a single word to each other.

"…I won't say anything to Ciela," Link promised, looking up at Linebeck. The sailor said nothing, only giving the boy a brief glance.

As they neared the ship, Linebeck cleared his throat. "Well, now, uh, you'll be good to go for any next dungeon we go to. I don't know for sure if there's anything on Goron Island, but I'm sure there'll at least be something of value for me if not for you. I think I deserve some kind of compensation for helping you out, something more than a wish I might not even get by the end of all of this."

Link frowned to himself, stopping in his tracks. They were almost at the ship, now stopped at the beginning of the docks. He could see Ciela, Leaf, and Neri flying around above the deck, probably playing with each other. Linebeck stopped a few steps in front of him, peering down at him with a frown. "What? Did I say something wrong?"

"What do you think you'll do after all of this?" Link asked, a little hesitant to speak. Linebeck begin to answer, but Link quickly cut him off. "I mean, if you wanted, you could go somewhere else, somewhere new, and start over again. With how people see you. I mean, if someone saw you shoplifting, with your reputation, it probably would've ruined you or something. If you went somewhere new, you won't have to deal with acting like someone you aren't."

Linebeck stared at him with startled shock in his eyes. He didn't look mad or irritated, just surprised. "…You're weird, kid," he finally muttered, turning away and walking down the dock. Link watched him go, then jogged after him.

Ciela followed Linebeck closely while he headed into the storage room. "That didn't take long." She fluttered over to Link as he set the basket of produce on the room's table, settling down on his shoulder. "You guys managed to get a bit more than I expected. Did you use all of your money even without getting potions?"

"Not quite," Linebeck sighed, setting his bag down and withdrawing the bought items. He lined up the sewing materials, repair parts, and medical supplies, then showed the fairies the five potions that he'd stolen. "I was able to haggle the price down on the other stuff, not to mention these ended up pretty cheap, so it turned out we could afford a few potions."

"Well, that's nice," Ciela mumbled. "So we should go to Goron Island now! No point wasting time, we need to save Link's friend!"

"Yeah, yeah," Linebeck sighed, waving her away. "Not like we need to put this stuff away or anything. We'll get going tomorrow." He gave Link a brief sidelong glance. "Once we get there, I don't think I'll bother talking to the locals or anything. I've got some stuff I need to do on my own, and I'm certain the kid will be slow on the draw with the cannon, so I'll have some repairs to attend to."

Link cringed, thinking of the many times when he was slow to react to maritime danger. "I'll pay more attention."

"You'd better." Linebeck not-so-gently shoved Link in the should as he passed by. "You've got the time to check out the Temple of the Ocean King if you'd like. Just be back before it gets too late." He gave a mocking smile over his shoulder. "If you have no luck in the temple, don't resort to stealing anything."

While Ciela gave an irritated huff, Link stifled his laughter and smiled.