Archive of Our Own ^beta

One evening, the group’s healer was organizing some of his stuff. Mouse didn’t have much, but some items were pretty big. After pulling out small things like a candle, a fancy-looking key, and a wooden flute Cap had called a recorder, he drew a decently-sized raft from his small bag, catching the attention of half the camp. He blushed and set it aside. 

“I didn’t know you were carrying such a big item in your little bag,” Gen said with a raised eyebrow.

Mouse shrugged shyly and went back to sorting through his bag. “It’s come in handy before.”

“Oh, you have Pegasus Boots, too?” Forest commented as Mouse pulled out some winged boots.

Mouse shook his head. “No, they’re just boots.”

“So the wings are just decoration?”

“No, they let me walk over water.”

“They WHAT?” Wind cried out from the other side of the camp, interrupting his conversation with Ember.

Mouse shrugged again. 

“Why did you say they were just boots if they let you do something as cool as walking on water?” River asked curiously.

“They aren’t called Pegasus Boots or anything like that. They’re just boots.”

“They can’t just be boots!” Forest exclaimed.

“I can’t help what they’re called…”

Quartz leaned forward. “You mean these fancy boots that let you walk on water that I know more than one of us would be dying to have only go by the name of ‘boots’?”

“Yeah.”

Cap leaned back and crossed his legs. “We need to come up with a better name for these.”

“Yeah, calling ‘em ‘boots’ doesn’t differentiate them from yer normal boots that you always wear,” agreed Twilight.

“How about ‘Winged Boots’?” suggested Sky.

“A lot of us have winged boots that serve a completely different purpose,” Verdi replied quietly so as not to wake Mini, who was sleeping on his lap.

“Yeah, but those are called Pegasus Boots. It’s different.”

“It’s still confusing.”

Vet eyed the boots religiously. “I think we should call them Sacred Boots.”

“What makes them sacred?” 

“They’re holy enough to me,” he replied with yearning.

“What about Hover Boots?” Aspect proposed.

“That name is taken,” Mask vetoed.

“Water Boots?” Ember suggested.

Vet groaned. “That’s way too boring of a name for such good boots. Do you know how useful these are?”

The engineer looked unimpressed. “You have, like, five flippers.”

“I have three pairs.”

Wind perked up again. “Can I have a pair?”

“Sure.” He grabbed a pair and tossed them in the boy’s direction. The sailor caught them with a big grin. 

“I’m gonna be able to tread water forever.”

Vet opened his mouth to speak as he pulled out a second pair of flippers. Wild didn’t notice and spoke before him.

“I think they should be called ‘just boots,’” he said with a smile.

Vet glared at him. Echo laughed.

“No, we’re not calling them boots.”

“No, no, you’re missing the point!” Wind said excitedly. “He’s not saying we should just call them ‘boots,’ he’s saying we should call them ‘JUST boots.’”

Cap sighed. “We are not calling them that.”

Sky’s eyes sparkled mirthfully. “I don’t know, I think it’s pretty funny.”

“Just Boots,” Aspect said while swirling his index finger and tapping his arm. Echo watched his actions carefully.

“It started this whole…” the engineer gestured vaguely, “comedy show. It’s been very entertaining. ‘They’re just boots,’” he mimicked Mouse and laughed again. “Spectacular.”

“It reminds me of some jugglers I met,” Mask smiled. “They told the silliest jokes. ‘Did you hear about the kidnapping? The kid woke up!’ They always had a joke.”

And with that, the conversation moved away from the boots.

—

A few days later, the crew took a lunch break near a pristine lake.

“Hey!” Wind bounced over to Mouse. “Can I borrow the Just Boots? I really want to try them out!”

The group burst into laughter as Cap and Vet sighed.

“Guess it’s official,” Gen said. “They’re the Just Boots.”

“What are just boots?” Mini asked confusedly.

“Oh yeah, you were asleep.”

Gen explained the story to the small boy.

“What about Float Boots?” Mini suggested.

“Yes, how about Float Boots?” Cap seconded.

“Too late!” called Wind as he ran onto the water. “These Just Boots are amazing! Can I have them?”

“You just took my flippers. Why do you need these?” Vet called after him.

“I still need them. I don’t have any flippers,” Mouse replied to Wind.

“You can have my flippers in exchange for the boots. The Float Boots,” Vet suggested to Mouse.

“Just Boots!” Wind corrected. “And why do you need them if you have so many flippers?”

“You guys call me the collector for a reason, right? Come on, I’ll give you two pairs.”

“What am I gonna do with two pairs of flippers?”

“Two pairs and ten rings. No, twenty rings. I’ll let you choose which ones. With some exceptions, of course. And a magical boomerang! Please?”

Mouse’s eyes widened like saucers. Verdi shook his head, remembering his temporary roommate.

“You are a terrible haggler. Word of advice: never let them know how desperate you are. Because now he knows he can ask you for ten more rings and a slingshot and you’d at least consider—”

“Deal!” Mouse shouted with a surprising amount of force.

Vet grinned wider than any of them had seen before. “Great! Let me get that ring box. Oh, you don’t have a ring box. What are we going to put these in? They lose their effectiveness if—”

“I just want the boomerang.” Mouse grabbed the collector’s hands and then let go as soon as he realized he’d done it. “Oh, and one pair of flippers. I will need a pair to replace the boots.”

“Just Boots,” Wild said softly from afar, gaining some giggles. 

“But—”

“You had me at ‘boomerang.’ I lost mine some years ago, and I really miss it. I think a bunch of rings are just in danger of being stolen, and I really don’t need two pairs of flippers. And won’t you still need a pair? The boots can’t be used everywhere.”

Vet bit his lip in consideration. “You don’t need to take anything you don’t want, but I did agree to a price. Are you sure you wouldn’t want to sell them or something?”

Mouse shook his head. “I don’t need them. And I know how important your things are to you.”

The veteran smiled softly and ruffled the shorter boy’s hair.

“But I do have one condition!” Mouse added. “Please let our pirate over there finish playing with the Just Boots?”

Vet scoffed. “Float Boots. I own them now, so I’ll name them whatever I want. And people can borrow the Float Boots whenever they want, as long as I don’t need to use them and they let me know first!” He shouted the last part loud enough for everyone to hear.

“We’ve got it! No outright thievery of your Just Boots!” Mask replied, cackling madly as the veteran tried to grab him into a headlock in revenge. 

He gave up quickly so he could dig out the promised boomerang and flippers to give to Mouse. Vet made sure it was the red magical boomerang rather than his favored blue one.

Mouse held up the boomerang reverently. “My boomerang was so useful on my first adventure. I was really sad when I lost it. It got stuck in a tree when I was 11, and I couldn’t do anything about it because I was being chased. I tried to go back for it later, but I couldn’t find it. I’ve missed having a boomerang so much.” He gave the boomerang an experimental throw and caught it on the return with a grin. “This is even better than my old one. It feels weird not having something to give you in return, since the sailor is still wearing the boots.”

Echo repeated the sign he’d seen Aspect use previously. “Just Boots.”

“Sheesh. It’s ‘Float Boots.’ Like this.” Vet made a water bobbing motion with both hands and then tapped his arm.

Echo swirled his index finger exaggeratedly before tapping his arm with a raised eyebrow and determined expression. “Just Boots.”

The veteran clicked his tongue and shook his head disappointedly. “Sweet little Mini came up with this wonderful name, and nobody appreciates it.”

“Sorry, Pinky. The name already stuck,” Twilight shrugged in a mock apology.

The collector sighed and turned back to Mouse. “It’s no problem. It’ll be nice to add a new thing to my collection. I didn’t need that many flippers. And I still have three more boomerangs.”

“Mask, you don’t need a boomerang,” Cap called out before the child could say anything. “I’ve seen what you can do with those fins, Mr. Zora Hero. And I don’t think our Skyloftian has a boomerang yet.”

Mask pouted. 

“W-well I do have my Beetle,” Sky said, caught off guard by suddenly being brought into the conversation. “I don’t really need…” He trailed off absentmindedly as he watched Mouse use the boomerang to carve swooping trails of cut grass and return with the occasional rupee. “Well, if the collector would allow it, maybe I could borrow one once in a while? I’m probably no good with it anyway.”

Vet smiled knowingly and grabbed a regular boomerang from his bag and held it up in preparation to throw in Sky’s direction. Sky readied himself to catch it. The boomerang sailed through the air in an easy glide, but changed directions right as Sky moved to catch it, returning to its owner.

“Hahaha, I’m sorry. I couldn’t help myself.” The pink-haired man caught the boomerang. He took a few steps closer to Sky. “You should be able to catch this one. Watch yourself. It is a weapon.”

He nodded. “I’ll have to catch it when I use it anyway.”

Sky was able to catch it on Vet’s second throw and held it above his head in triumph.

“Now you’ve got the boomerang.”

“And the veteran got the Just Boots.”

“Da na na naa~” Mouse sang under his breath with a small smile. That got a few chuckles from the group. 

The veteran smiled once more. It was a good day.