When Favors Fall Through

…

There were times when Link was happy for a bit of shore leave, especially when it was on Skyrider Port. He would wander around the office or pick out a book from the company library and read. Sometimes he would go to the docks and watch the vessels tie up load, unload, and sail out. As long as no one knew where he was, sometimes he would go out to the hidden tree on a hill outside of the port area. He never realized that people knew where that hill was, when he was there, and that he was sleeping the day away. They simply did not care. Sometimes, he would get involved with some elaborate prank that Line had set up, only to watch it end in complete failure with both of them in trouble.

Then there were times he was put to work.

As much as Link valued his off-time, he found it horribly difficult to say no whenever someone asked him for a favor. Admittedly, he would purposely use side-streets and alleys to avoid the shop owners who occasionally asked if he would sweep out their shop or move some furniture for a few rupees. He did not do these odd jobs for the money; he just had an impulse to say yes whenever people asked.

He did not believe that Leeta would catch him, though. Because he was seeking refuge at her tavern.

Sail Tavern was supposed to be a haven for Grand Sails airmen because of the good standings between Captain Alfonzo and Leeta, the owner. But the moment after Link stepped into the tavern, Leeta asked him if he would mind helping mend a few holes in the roof while she smothered him with her customary bear hug. Leeta had a wide, buxom body which used to hide most of Link's head in a hug when he was younger. Her round face framed by wavy, blond hair was usually a comfort; it meant she was done squeezing Link's meager guts out through his ears. She generally wore a wide array of silk shirts and trousers which she always managed to keep immaculate, and this occasion saw her wearing a pastel pink shirt tucked into multi-pocketed docker slacks. Her request bore a reward of free drinks and ten rupees for pocket change. Again, it was not the reward which persuaded Link to help.

He wished it was, though, once he saw who else she had suckered into patching the roof.

Line wiped his forehead with his sleeve. "I can see why she offered drinks for this job," he told Link. He stood up and crossed to the corner of the shallow roof where the roofing slats had been placed. "I thought taking off our tunics would help. We should've taken off our undersuits, too."

"It's not nearly that bad up here, Line," Link told him in an irritated tone. "We do more on the ship than this."

"If that's the case," Leeta called up to them from the street, "you should've been done with it sooner, right?"

"It's Link slowing us down," Line replied, pointing the head of his hammer. "He has to tap the nails in gently, like one bad hit's gonna bend it the wrong way."

"You're not doing any better!" Link accused, pointing his own hammer. "You're not even pounding the nails in all the way! You just smash them into the slats."

"Line!" Leeta called in a warning tone. "If any of those slats fall, I'm holding you responsible."

"Oh, they're fine!" Line called back. "Link's just being lame." He picked up another slat and dragged it to the hole he was covering. "Pick up the pace, will ya? I'm almost done with my half."

Link finished placing the slat he was working on and surveyed Line's side. "Line, none of those are parallel," he said. "It looks like a drunk fixed them with a bottle."

"I look at it this way, Link. If any town guard asks one of our airmen to walk a line, they can just come up here and do it. Besides, it's not like people will see it; we're going to be covering it with the anchor sheet and roof plates anyway."

"Can I expect those to be straight?" Leeta asked.

"There's a reason we don't do hulls," Line joked.

"Line!"

"Yes! Yes! They'll be straight!"

Link crossed to the corner to get another slat. "We're not getting anything if you're gonna make fun of her."

Tam. Tam. Line looked up from what he was doing. Tam. "Oh, who are you kidding? You're here because she asked."

Tam. "Yeah?" Link replied with a challenging tone.

Tam. "You are the m—" Thup! "Yeouch!" Line dropped his hammer to cradle his pounding thumb.

"What happened?" Leeta asked.

"Line's practicing for the next time he needs to get out of duty," Link said, flashing a pleased grin at her as he crossed back to the hole he was working on.

"Why?" she demanded.

"Because I just hit my thumb!" Line screamed. "You suck, Link!"

"Just shake it off," Leeta told him. "Are you an airman or a baby?"

"I'm in pain!" Link shook his head, trying not to laugh aloud. "Oh, you think that's funny?"

Link looked up. His voice had just a hint of laughter in it as he said, "Don't get mad at me just because you weren't paying attention."

"Okay, that's it," Line said as he stood up.

Link saw him stomping in his direction and immediately held up his hands. "Line, wait!"

Kurch! Ka-RAAAAASHH! The hole that Link was attempting to fix caved under Line's boots, taking some of the surrounding material with it. Both Link and Line fell through, shouting in surprise as they landed inside. To their fortune, they just happened to land on the bed in one of the empty rooms on the second floor.

Unfortunately, Leeta kept the boys the rest of the day to fix the new hole and cover the rest of the roof with metal paneling, which she had originally planned to ask a proper roofer to do. Her promise stood, but all they got was water at the end of the day, and she shooed them out after their second glass while stuffing the rupees she had offered into their hands. They spent the last couple hours of the night lying in their quarters after a long walk, bickering back and forth between groaning about the tremendous pain they felt.