Imagine some time after Time has finished his quest. He's a child again, but he can't go back to the Forest (for whatever reason). He has nowhere safe to go. He has no home, no friend he can stay with. Hyrule Field is dangerous, especially at night, so he waits until nightfall and sneaks into Lon Lon Ranch. He doesn't go in far, just enough to be safe from Stalfos. He tucks himself into a corner and goes to sleep. The next morning he's found by Malon, but runs off before she can have a chance to ask him what he was doing there.
It's the same thing the next night. And the next.
Then Malon starts to leave a blanket for him, and a small basket with some food. She leaves a note saying to help himself, but he can't read. He eats the food and leaves some rupees and leaves before sunrise.
The next night, the rupees are in the basket with the food. He takes them back but feels bad not thanking her, so he decides to leave some pretty trinket or stone or smthn as a thank you. The next night it's gone, so he sees that to mean it's an acceptable form of payment for the food.
The next day, he starts to look for pretty things around Hyrule Field to give to her. He finds a pretty feather and a little red wild flower, so he leaves those for her. The next day it's a pretty stone he found while diving in Lake Hylia.
She doesn't approach at first bc he seems really skittish, but eventually she starts to poke her head out sometimes and wave at him while he's eating. (He almost ran off the first time, but eventually started to wave back).
She slowly coaxes him into letting her greet him, lets him acclimate, and then starts standing outside to wait for him to bring the basket. She doesn't talk a lot at first, letting him come to her.
And that's just how their relationship begins. Eventually winter comes and she lets him sleep in the barn, then invites him inside to drink something warm on an especially cold night. He starts helping Talon during the day as he gets older, in exchange for a small room in the house (Talon said it hadn't been used in a while, but in reality Malon had spent a LOT of time cleaning it and getting it ready for Link but she knew if she said that he might be less inclined to stay).
Link is basically just a feral stray cat that Malon coaxes into trusting her until he's laying belly up in her lap
