| JOSH USED CONFIDENCE BOOST BIRTHDAY CAKE - CONFIDENCE/MOTIVATION BOOSTED!
He knew how much Maude loathed not being able to walk around properly. Hylia knows, he'd hate it too. They were alike in where they were workaholics, in their respective fields. Even if Josh's was more... Battle oriented, while Maude liked to stick at home, do some carpentry around the property and tend to the crops and all. She was the resident fixer, they had decided pretty much. While Josh was willing to put in the time, and the work, to do the job... Maude was just much more used to it. She could do it much faster then he could, and likely do a better job of it too. Not to say Josh didn't know how. Josh had grown up on the foundation of hard work, helping build and fix were things he'd learned to do. It was why he'd apparently picked up so easily on when he was helping Maude with her work back in their old town...
Honestly, looking back, he'd really only done it so he could spend time with her. The unconscious crush that he wasn't 100% aware of yet that spurred him to go out of his way to spend time with her as much as he could, even if that meant pretending he was using working alongside her as a way to catch potential criminals unawares. I mean... He DID catch a few, and he really was doing his job. But the reason he did it in the first place, he realized, was because he just wanted to be with Maude. He wanted to be close to her, he wanted to spend more time talking to her while they worked, even if that meant working two jobs at once.
When they started dating, he did it more often. That was, if he recalled, when he caught that worker of hers sneaking off on his shift to take an on-the-clock smoke break and almost burned down the construction. He wondered if that guy ever found work again... He doubted the guy ever forgave him for getting him fired. Especially considering what happened a week later...
That was a story he had never told Maude...
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It was a regular patrol in town, on what was a regular sleepy morning before the opening rush. The friendly neighbourhood Guard Captain was out on the patrols with them, taking a shift of his own since he wasn't on paperwork duty, or recruiting, or training. It was his schedule after all... Fluid, but also quite busy. If he wasn't leaving patrols entirely to his men while he did paperwork, or recruiting, or training... He was doing their work with them, and that was just how Josh liked it. He didn't like to be sitting around doing nothing. Sure, his muscles were sore from adventuring, but... He had a job to do, and Maude knew him for a workaholic. It had been a week before that he'd caused Maude to fire one of her unruly workers for repeatedly setting their works on fire with his smoke breaks, and for taking them on the clock. And he had to admit, he was still a little upset about it. Sure, he got why. But a man losing his livelihood, especially when you were partly the cause, was going to resonate with you. But he pushed it out of his mind.
He had to keep his own livelihood, after all. And to keep that, he had to work for it.
He separated from the pack and headed into the residential district. That had been the area with the most crimes reported lately, and Josh wanted to handle this himself. He didn't take any men with him, they were better off split into the other districts in case it spread out. Josh could handle himself. They knew that. He strode through, cloaked in his own, custom-smithed gold-colored plate armour, the red cape flowing down the back with the wind, and Dragelix in it's sheathe. This was Josh in his prime, in a way. Although one could argue that the 25, soon to be 26 year old Josh was much smarter and more resourceful then the 22 - 23 year old Josh that was here. But the Josh here... He was confident. He had fought beast after beast, and hadn't been on a break like his older self had. He was in the prime of his life, constantly in battle, he knew he was hard to match. He was in the best shape of his life, and a handful of criminals wouldn't be anything to him. It wasn't until later in life that he saw just how far he had to go, of course. But for now... He had every right to be confident.
It was the quieter hour of the morning, and Josh had been planning to catch any early morning attempts while people weren't around. This was the most common time, after all. But he hadn't found anything yet... Not at the moment, anyway. But a voice would catch his attention.
"Oi! Cappy! Ya big 'ol blowhard!"
Josh would turn to see a man standing a little ways from him, brandishing a club. He thought he knew him from somewhere... But where...
"Do... I know you?"
"Know me? Ya damn well cost me my job, you big oaf! What, just becuz you're dating the boss, and you think you're this big bad Captain, that you can do whatever the hell ya want?"
"Oh, it's you. Look, I'm sorry for that, but I was doing my job-"
"Yer job dun't involve mine, don't bullshit me!"
"Actually, your smoking in front of a wooden structure was a serious safety hazard and against the-"
"Dun't lecutre me on the laws, guard boy!"
"Lecutre? You... Mean lecture, right?"
He was trying. He really was. He was trying to be polite. Problem was... Josh was not a morning person. So in the morning, he had maybe half the patience he usually did, if even. Actually it'd normally be gone by now if he hadn't felt bad for the guy for him losing his job. But now, he was starting to lose that pity...
"Ya damn big-mouthed ninny, yer relationship and yer big mouth cost me my job! Why don't ya put that big mouth ta use somewhere else and get outta here? Nobody likes stuck-up tightwads like you, pretending you rule over us!"
Well, you can't say he hadn't tried.
"Actually, my big mouth has seen better use... Pleasuring your boss."
A devious grin crossed Josh's lips. That was a lie, of course. He didn't tell them often, but when he was joking around, and the situation merited it, it didn't really matter. At this point, he and Maude had been very... Limited on the contact. Or socially. Honestly sometimes it was like they weren't even together, since this was before their cave trip. Still, he did love her even then and very much so. And it was his trying so hard that probably kept them together until they were able to really bond in the way they ended up doing. At least, that's what he figured. It was hard to say... Maude really had a hard time communicating things back then.
Still, it didn't hurt to insinuate a few things to someone it didn't matter to say to... Just to get under their skin when they'd tested your patience a bit too much.
"What did ya just say?!"
"I said... My mouth has brought quite the pleasure to your boss. Or, well, I guess ex boss. Y'know, since she fired you for being a lazy shag on the clock. And safety hazards. Actually, I probably should have arrested you, but I felt bad-"
"AH DON'T NEED YOUR PITY, BOY! See, my boys and I... We're tired of you sorts interfering in our business. Causing us to lose our jobs, or throwin' us in jail for doin' things the way we like."
"Actually, that's literally my job-"
"Ah said shut up!"
Josh would shrug his shoulders casually. Again, you can't say he didn't try...
Several more men would walk up behind the former carpenter, wielding different weapons.
"If ya won't stay outta our business... We've decided to teach ya to mind 'yer own, and know that you don't rule over us, boy!"
Josh let out a sigh as he would brandish Dragelix, bringing it out of the sheathe. "Well... Guess I'm making that arrest after all. Let's see... Endangering others, assaulting a public servant, damaging property judging by your torching Maude's structures... Quick question, are you paying these thugs of yours? Are you paying them with your smoking-on-the-clock money? I don't think Maude would like that very much. Or, well, I doubt she cares now, since she fired your ass."
Yeah, he really didn't feel bad anymore.
As they advanced on him, a smirk crossed his lips as he would prepare to defend himself...
When the smoke cleared, his men had arrived to bring the whole lot of them in. As the carpenter was being locked in irons, Josh would lean down and shake his head toward him.
"Maybe when you get out, you'll try and make an honest effort in the next job you find. Maybe then you'll find some success, instead of getting yourself fired and ending up behind bars."
His day had gone off without a hitch after that. He'd never told Maude... He didn't think it was worth telling. He'd just kind of stopped mentioning feeling bad about the firing being partly from his part in it, one day. She probably figured he just forgot about it, having a million things to do, after all...
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Maybe he'd tell her one day. Or leave it as a story to tell their child one day, if they ever had one. His father probably withheld tons of stories until when he was born... He really enjoyed those. But for now, he was just happy to be with her... Back to the point at hand, Maude was the carpenter. Sure, she hated her old job, but she clearly enjoyed doing the work when it was on HER TIME and not when it was told to her, and having to command a group of idiots. Here, they were small projects, that she could do on her own and do them because she wanted to. So Josh had no reason to take that from her. Why would he? She clearly enjoyed it. Just like he enjoyed what he did. He'd hate to be in her shoes right now, unable to do it... It'd tear him apart. The physical therapy would be more agonizing mentally then it was physically. So he understood. Hell, he'd suffered a leg injury once too, while exploring Ikana. Before they'd met. He couldn't work either, and by Hylia did he hate every moment of it.
Huh, that was a story he'd never told her either... Maybe another time.
All he remembered was hating the physical therapy and not being able to walk much. He was able to make a full recovery, luckily, but it sucked seeing Maude have to deal with the same thing. So all he could do was support her. Support her like he should. So he really did hope that this trip was a relief to her, allowing her to walk more of a distance without fear since he was there to support her, physically or morally if needed.
But today, it was their third year anniversary. It had been this morning, 3 years ago, that they had their little talk, shortly after their kiss. They'd had plenty of real kisses after that... Well, once they got past the awkward stage of the relationship. Then it became the best part of his life and he couldn't imagine himself without it. Honestly, when he'd met Maude, he was on the start of a downward spiral himself... But he didn't tell people much. He kept it quiet, bottled it all in... It was just how he was. Not wanting to bother people with his problems until it got so bad that he couldn't keep it in anymore. Hell, when he was dying, even... He wanted to go to the cave alone to get his cure, even if he knew he'd die trying. He only turned to Maude when he knew that he had no choice but to put her in harm's way alongside him, or die. And she'd made it clear during that time, that if he died... Well... She wouldn't be much better off. That was why he'd made the decision. For the best for both of them.
Both their paths had been very rocky over the years... But now, he felt they had both found their happiness.
And he was grateful for it every single day.
He loved Maude. More then anything or anyone, and nothing would ever change that.
As they walked, he felt... He wasn't sure why... Confident? Almost like he was walking on air, like he could do anything! Of course, he had a reason for coming here today, but he wasn't sure if he could do it... For a moment, he finally felt like he could. He had to.
"Hmm..." He answered toward her question, scratching his head. "I think it depends on the temperatures in general. An average winter, for sure. One of those absurd blizzard nights? Probably not. But that's just by the times I've come here and tested the water temperature."
Thinking about it a moment, he turned to her. "You know... Maybe when your leg is better, we could stop by Kakariko? They have these amazing hot springs, if you're thinking about swimming or even just a dip. You look like you could use the relaxation and stress relief" He would tease, as he would lean in to give her a little peck on the lips, chuckling in turn.
"Why don't we get a bit closer to the waterfall? We can hop across the stones, and get a good close-up view" He would offer. "I'll help you along, I promise. If you feel like you're going to fall, just lean on me."
@maude
OOC:
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