Chapter Text
Javier fell from the sky, wishing he were stronger. If he were, he would be able to completely stop this monster, save the citizens. He— “GOOD JOB, JAVIER!! I’LL TAKE IT FROM HERE!”
Javier’s eyes widened, as he watched in disbelief as the young master flew towards the monster’s core. As he flipped in the air, he turned towards Javier and flashed the biggest smile he could, before turned back towards the beast, shovel in hand. Javier allowed his eyes to close.
Right. As long as Lloyd was there, it would be alright.
If only he knew how wrong he was.
Javier awoke to worried voices calling for his name. He could, however, tell none of them were human. The squeaking and soft fur on his face alerted him of that much.
”…Ppodong? Bangeul? Hippo? What are you three doing? Is something wrong?”
He looked up at the huge red figure a little ways off. It appeared as though Lloyd fought it off, he thought, relieved. But the constant tugging of his coat caught his attention once more.
”What is wrong, Ppodong? And where is Lloyd?”
At the mention of Lloyd’s name, Ppodong teared up and pulled harder at his coat, with a, “Ppodong! PPODONG!”
Javier’s relief really was short-lived.
He got up and ran as fast as he could without further hurting himself, following the worrying animals until they reached a clearing.
A clearing with a shovel.
A clearing which looked like it got burned by the explosion.
A clearing with the body of a slightly petite man, hand 3 inches away from a shovel.
A clearing that held the body of Lloyd Fronterra.
Javier rushed to Lloyd’s side, pushing his head to Lloyd’s chest.
No.
This can’t be happening. He was supposed to be taking care of the young master! He’s let everyone down, and not to mention—
Wait.
What was that?
Javier pressed his ear to Lloyd’s chest once more, straining to hear the faint thump that ensued. Surely enough, a beat passed through Lloyd’s chest, making the man shiver ever so slightly.
Javier immediately jumped into action.
Within a few minutes, Lloyd was visibly breathing, even though he was still a bit spaced out.
Holding Lloyd to his chest, he motioned to the three to get help, and they scampered off in a frenzy. He, still in the makeshift clearing, brought the man into his lap, rubbing small circles into the man’s back. It was at that moment he saw the damage caused to Lloyd’s body.
The most noticeable wound was upon his head, where a huge stream of blood flowed and made his hair a sticky mess. It was clearly the blow that finished it.
Other wounds weren’t as visible, but were obvious to Javier as he carefully handled Lloyd’s body. The way he winced with almost every turn, every poke. He groaned specifically when Javier touched any part of his stomach, which was growing to be very concerning. Javier finally made the decision to take his shirt off and see the damage full on.
Was that a bad idea or what?
Removing Lloyd’s shirt was proving to be a difficult task, as Lloyd was of no help (not that Javier could blame him, I mean, could you imagine getting undressed by the person you hate? Even for medical purposes). Not only that, but there seemed to be no way to relieve Lloyd of the pain he felt.
Upon looking at Lloyd, Javier’s stomach lurched. Lloyd’s entire body seemed scorched, leaving a kind of cold the heat left behind as it escaped. Lloyd shivered violently, falling to the warm of Javier’s chest. Javier was glad that Lloyd was at least feeling some kind of sensation, even if it caused him pain. It was going to be alright, and he wasn’t going to let anything happen to Lloyd while he was still in charge of looking after him. A soft sound snapped him out of his thoughts.
Lloyd had snuggled into Javier’s chest, trying to get some of the warmth inside his coat. His body was definitely cold, after having gone through an explosion and sitting in the cold night without a shirt on. Javier shifted his position so that he covered Lloyd completely, providing a cocoon of warm and safety. Lloyd made a soft, happy sound, something rare which Javier tried to keep in the back of his mind. It will be useful for when I feel like cutting him down, he mused, trying to keep his mood light and hopes up.
He needed to, for Lloyd’s sake.
About an hour later, Ppodong, Bangeul, and Hippo came back, to no avail. Javier could believe no one would help them, though, he barely understood them half of the time, and he’d known them for months. However, Ppodong began to draw in the sand, so Javier turned to watch with interest. He felt Lloyd shift into him again.
Ppodong drew himself, with a stick figure he took to be Lloyd. Then, special effects which Javier couldn’t tell what it was. Next to that, there was a completely healed Lloyd and happy figures, which he took to be him and the Barony.
Shit.
He’d forgotten about the Barony! He was definitely going to get kicked out for letting the young master fight and hurt himself! He’s definitely failed as a knight!
A soft whimper of pain stopped that train thought.
(Why are all of my trains of thought getting stopped? Author, write a little better, would you?)
He looked down in a panic, realizing he had accidentally began to squeeze Lloyd, making the smaller man squirm. He immediately released his tense grip, and looked back to Ppodong’s drawing.
”Are you saying your fur has healing properties when enlarged?”
”Ppodong!”
”And if I lay us both onto your fur, we’ll both be healed?”
”Ppodong!”
”Alright. I’m counting on you, Ppodong. Bangeul, could you get the sunflower seeds out of Master Lloyd’s pocket? He always seems to have some in there.”
”Geul! Bangeul!”
As they scampered around, Javier looked down at Lloyd. As if on cue, he sighed happily and snuggled into Javier’s chest, smiling slightly.
It was the first time Javier had ever seen Lloyd smile like that.