Work Text:
Alarm bells go off in Byakuya's head the second he hears the dramatic flop of his boyfriend's coat on the ground. Well, it's specifically less so the presence of the noise and more so the absence of anything else. No obnoxious 'Hi, gorgeous!', no rustle of shopping bags from an unnecessary impulse trip, no feet shuffling over to hug him so tight he can't breathe. Just a flop.
He glances up from the book in his hands and alarm bells turn into blaring sirens. Lloyd is absolutely wilting , lips drawn tight and eyebrows furrowed. He's off the couch and by the door in an instant, hovering by the man.
"How was work?" It's bland, it's simple, but the fastest way to get a read on the situation.
"Okay."
Jesus Christ. Who killed Lloyd and decided to walk in wearing his skin?
He frowns. "Clearly not. What happened? What's wrong?" Concern paints his voice, though perhaps it comes off as more forceful than he'd like.
Lloyd is surprised by his worry, finally meeting his eyes, but lips still pursed. "Nothing happened... I don't know." He fidgets with his bag before letting it fall. "It's just... Whatever."
No matter how much doubt is flashing through his mind right now, he doesn't let it show. He’ll figure it out later. His priority right now is wiping that damn frown off his boyfriend’s face. "Come here."
He wraps his arms around him, his arms looping his shoulders while Lloyd's find their place around his back without trouble. Lloyd's quick to turn into pudding in his arms, head falling onto his shoulder with far too much weight, nuzzling into his neck. The heaviness of his sigh shakes Byakuya to his core.
"Are you sure there's nothing you want to discuss?" he murmurs as softly as he can.
The reply is muffled, but clear as day to him. "Not right now. I'm just not feeling myself." And his flat tone is proof enough of that for sure.
"That's alright." He strokes Lloyd's back while he considers the situation. "I'll make you some dinner and you can change into more comfortable clothes. Then we can just relax."
"Yes, boss." And it's so relieving to hear that little bit of snark in Lloyd's voice that a bite back doesn't even come to mind.
He's gotten the bowl on the table in no time, along with one or two or three packs of pudding for good measure. And it’s not a moment too soon, as he hears the door of their bedroom open just then. Lloyd shuffles in, daily clothes replaced with a ratty sweatshirt from his university days and the most hideous yellow and purple spotted pajama pants known to man. But that's an argument for another day.
"Smells good,” he mumbles, scooting the chair out to take his place.
"Rice with a few scattered things from the fridge. I haven't gone grocery shopping yet."
It’s really nothing fancy, but Byakuya swears he can see him drooling like a puppy. "Thank you for cooking."
"It's my pleasure." He'd eaten much earlier, so his half of the table was empty, but he stays there sat across from Lloyd regardless, who starts to scarf down the food without a second thought. Neither of them make an attempt to fill the silence with anything other than the sound of Lloyd's chewing.
All he can do is stare at Lloyd, like that’s going to make any pieces of the puzzle fall in place. He wants to say he looks different, but… really he always has bags under his eyes, grease in his hair, a slouch to his back. Whether the man's feeling well or not, he simply does not take care of himself that well. Granted, Byakuya's forced him into relative shape. He's gotten three sleepless nights per week down to one, and he's sure a few years ago Lloyd would've opted just to eat the oversized serving of pudding and completely ignore the rice and vegetables in front of him. Though with that said, perhaps the tiredness in front of him resembles past Lloyd a lot more than modern Lloyd.
The bowl and the cups of pudding are empty before he knows it, and Byakuya stands to take the dishes to the kitchen before Lloyd can even think to bother. He’s just staring at the grain of their table when he walks back in, and frankly it’s the most pathetic thing he’s ever seen. Byakuya wishes so badly he could figure out what’s gotten Lloyd in such a state this instant so he could snuff it out with his own two hands. Patience is not one of his greatest virtues.
What he does have, however, is reasonably strong arms. He kicks Lloyd’s chair out just a bit, who looks up with alert and confusion.
“What are you-”, the sentence is cut off with a squeal. Lloyd grabs for his shoulders as Byakuya hoists an arm under his legs and wraps another around his torso to pick him up. “You could have just asked me to get up!”
Byakuya does not consider himself ‘buff’, in fact the idea is quite unappealing to him. But, it so happens that he’s never been a slacker when it comes to his athletic ability either, and that Lloyd is very, very light. Probably too light for his own good, especially in his current state. Anyone can do the math. “I’m sure you prefer this.”
“...Maybe,” he says in that tone that’s obviously a ‘yes’.
Lloyd clings to him as they walk over to the living room, Byakuya careful not to jostle him too much. The mildly amused surprise on Lloyd’s face is enough of a change of pace from the weary and monotonous look he had coming home that he can finally feel some of the worry unclench from his heart. When he sits them on the couch, Lloyd unceremoniously sprawls all over the thing and sits his head straight on Byakuya's lap. He rolls his eyes, but makes to attempt to avert otherwise, slipping a hand into the strands of his hair.
The pancake known as Lloyd stays there for a long time, and Byakuya would think he'd well and gone to sleep if he couldn't see his open eyes. He's not looking at anything in particular, shifting idly from the window to the TV to the coffee table. And then at him.
Byakuya averts quickly, but of course Lloyd has noticed and shifted so all his attention is on him now. There's actually soft smile on his face, finally some contrast to his gloomy demeanor.
"You know, I haven't asked you how your day was."
"Ah. Average. Nothing of note, efficient as always."
Lloyd raises an eyebrow. "I'm sure there's more too it than that."
"I won't bore you with the details."
"Please bore me, I beg of you."
Byakuya laughs. "If you say so." He fills in all the intricacies of how business was conducted today, everything he got done and everything his employees didn't get done. Lloyd listens, quieter than usual but enraptured as always, nodding along.
They're both silent when he finishes, bright blue eyes staring up at him without wavering. His glasses are long discarded, Lloyd claiming they weren't helping his headache. That left no barrier between Byakuya and the cloudy sky of Lloyd's eyes.
He watches back accordingly, the way Lloyd's hair ruffles as he cards his fingers through it and the way his eyelashes flutter with every blink. "Would you like to divulge about your day now?"
Lloyd ponders it for a moment. Which is practically a 'no' in itself, and Byakuya is ready for that, but instead he gets an, "Only if you lay on me."
He rolls his eyes, but smiles. "You must move first for that, dear."
The head that's been using him as a pillow for the last hour reluctantly slides off and Byakuya moves to reposition himself. He lays back on the sofa and entangles himself with Lloyd, arms reaching and curling around each other. He rests his head on Lloyd's chest, his steady heartbeat resonating. It's easy, it always is.
"Work really was just okay." He can hear the reverberation of Lloyd's voice in his chest, weary and dry. "I didn't get a lot of time to do my own stuff, it was mostly boring meetings and some legal stuff and whatever."
He gives a sympathetic hum. He knows how much of a bother the endless interruptions can be when you just want to get your own projects done. “I'm sure they’ll leave you alone tomorrow. Your job is Knightmares, after all."
"Hopefully." Lloyd sighs. Not dramatically, just a deep, reassuring breath for himself. "I think... I'm kinda down 'cause I've been thinking about the future."
"Hm? How so?" A few months ago, what with the rise and death of a certain emperor, the future was flipped on it’s head for everyone. Well, most people. Some people. Really, it didn’t make that much of a difference to Byakuya. Lloyd, though, was directly implicated in the whole thing, in a way that he never even quite understood, but that he knows has been quite a source of stress.
"Knightmares are what I live for.” He says it without a hint of hyperbole. “But, with the fighting over and all the peace talks and whatnot... The demand for military weapons is definitely going to go down, if they don't decide to cease production altogether in the next couple years. I don't know where I'm going to end up."
Lloyd’s reasoning holds some weight. It’s been a passing worry for him before, but the world had been so hectic for a while that there'd been no sure way to predict how anything was or wasn’t going to end up. And still now, nothing is set in stone. "I'm sure they won't stop completely. Even if they claim to be creating world peace, there’s always going to be someone who wants to cause problems."
"Maybe, but… there's been rumors. And the Lancelot isn't the same shining symbol of pride as it was before, you know?" He grips Byakuya a bit harder with the statement. "It just sucks, in a way. Just for me. Like, no more war should be universally beneficial to everyone. But, I guess my interests kinda banked on people never getting bored of fighting..." His voice is uneasy. "Maybe I'm bad for that."
He intertwines his fingers with Lloyd's as he considers. It's a hard situation. Lloyd's interests have always been purely scientific, always trying to break through what's possible. He loves the way Lloyd changes when he talks about his projects, all smiles and straightened back and hands flailing as he just barely manages to avoid tripping over his own words in his excitement to get everything out there. True, unbridled passion.
But, it's impossible for that kind of passion to have any kind of fruitful success when there's no one left who wants its results. The future for a famous Knightmare engineer may be grim.
But, counterpoint: it's Lloyd.
"There's no clear answer,” he finally says. "Peace may not be as great for you as for others, but you'll find something. You're too much of a genius not to end up setting your sights on some grand idea and pulling supporters regardless of the state of the world." Lloyd scoffs at that, an amused noise. "And if you can't, I'll just privately fund Knightmare research for you forever."
He laughs, and how amazing of a sound is that to hear. "Hmmm, I suppose having the world's richest boyfriend does have some benefits."
"Don't say that like you're struggling, Earl."
"Hey, most of my estate is getting removed!"
"I'm so sorry, you'll only have tens of millions of dollars instead of hundreds of millions."
"You know better than anyone that there's a difference!" And they both laugh.
Byakuya grips at his boyfriend, leaves a gentle kiss wherever he can reach. “However you end up, I’m sure you’ll be alright.” And he really, really, genuinely hopes it’s true.