Water, Greenery, and Blue Sky
Or the author couldn't stop thinking about Randy Orlando and Lloyd Bannings and decided to write something in a feverish haze before bed.
Short drabble which I may end up turning into three times Randy kissed Lloyd and the time Lloyd kissed him back, depending on where my brainrot takes me here.
It had been an innocuous enough comment at the time. Cecile had invited Lloyd over for tea at St Ursula's cafeteria, urging him to catch up with her at least over the weekend. They had shared a small meal and had emptied their cups twice as the conversation flowed with familiar ease, both reminiscing over a shared past. Lloyd had almost expected to be able to walk out of it with no mention of his (lack of a) love life, until...
"That Randy has such pretty eyes," Cecile had sighed wistfully, her gaze on the window which offered a glimpse of the lush forest surrounding the complex. "They're as deep as the lagoons around here, aren't they? So, Lloyd... are you sure you haven't been fishing in their depths?"
Lloyd had sputtered on the last of his tea, feeling his face grow hot at the sudden observation. After firmly placing his cup back on the table, he'd grumbled and looked her straight in the face. "How many times do I have to tell you, Cecile. It's not like that! With any of them!!"
But his sister had only chortled and patted his arm. "A girl can dream, can't she? I just don't want to see you grow lonely, living all by yourself like you do."
Lloyd had decided it was best to just drop the subject, biting back the observation that he didn't actually live alone; he lived in a dorm, after all, with the three people Cecile insisted he had to be dating. But he had a gnawing suspicion said observation would only lead to Cecile going right back to teasing him about any potential indicator of a budding romance, so he had steered the conversation to the latest case instead, until the two had had to part ways.
And that should have been that, so why...?
It had been two whole weeks since Lloyd had visited St Ursula's, and he had put that whole conversation to rest already, his mind busy with the many cases piling up on the SSS's plate. It felt like things would not settle down in the city for the forseeable future, but the team was slowly coming to find a routine to accomodate the mundanity amidst the chaos, at least.
Today, the girls were currently out, shopping for supplies for a planned investigation outside Crossbell, and Randy, who was supposed to be helping him file away past cases, had of course gone on a solo excursion across the bridge, only to return to the SSS headquarters with a bleeding wound.
"It's not as bad as it looks," was how he had barged in through the front door. Lloyd, who had been focused on their overdue paperwork, had immediately paled at the sight of blood. He'd stood up in a hurry, papers strewn about as he rushed over to check on his companion.
"Randy, what'd you do this time?" he asked, unable to keep the exasperation from his voice.
Randy puffed out air disappointedly, looking away dejected. "Ahh, and here I thought my comrade-in-arms would actually be concerned for my safety. If only mademois-Elie were here to cradle me in her gentle embrace, surely all my aches would be gone in an instant."
Lloyd rolled his eyes and pulled him by the jacket to lead him to the couch, where they kept a small first aid kit handy. "Of course I'm worried about you, but I would like to know we're not about to be rushed by the mafia here because you were off doing goddess knows what out there."
He gingerly lifted Randy's arm, where the wound seemed to be located, and he held it up for closer inspection. Just as Randy had suggested, it was not as bad as it looked.
"A bullet grazed me, is all," Randy grumbled, but to his credit, he didn't move to allow Lloyd to look at the wound.
"We're not bulletproof, you know?" Lloyd chided him as he started cleaning the area. "This is why I told you it was a bad idea to go alone."
Randy squirmed under his touch, partly because he wanted to protest that statement immediately. "You're one to talk! You're always rushing into danger."
"After I have assessed the situation and prepared accordingly," Lloyd countered sternly. He stared at his companion for a moment, trying to drive the point home. Randy sighed and sunk deeper into the couch, surrendering his arm to Lloyd with the expression of a suffering martyr - eyes closed, brows deeply furrowed.
"... you're a shit nurse," he grumbled, with no real bite in his words.
"It's a good thing I don't wear the uniform then," Lloyd retorted with a soft laugh.
Randy cracked one eye open and regarded Lloyd for a moment. "Nah, you wouldn't look half bad, actually. It's just your bedside manners that are plain atrocious."
Lloyd sputtered for a moment, feeling his ears grow hot. He focused on applying the pungent balm to the now clean cut before slapping some gauze onto it to cover it up. Randy flinched softly, and Lloyd turned to look at him, eyebrow twitching. "Is that really what you should be saying to someone who's got your injured arm in his grasp?"
"You big bully," Randy pouted, clearly more in the mood to tease than to complain despite everything. "And you wonder why I wanted mademois-Elie instead."
The two men stared at one another in silence, and Cecile's words came back to Lloyd in a flash. Pretty eyes, as deep as lagoons. Cool enough to take a plunge in. With Randy's arm still gingerly cradled against his chest, Lloyd leaned in, trying to gauge their depths.
"Oh? Are you suddenly so captivated by my beauty, oh great leader?"
Too close. Way too close. Goddess, what was he doing? Lloyd cleared his throat and immediately looked away, hiding a blush and busying himself with bandaging Randy's arm with more focused than would be plausibly required.
"I already told you," he stressed as he finished up and let go of his companion. "I don't swing that way."
He felt a warm hand lift his face, and soon Lloyd found himself under the scrutiny of those bright eyes again. He dared not move, lest some secret spilled out of him.
"Shame," Randy shook his head. "You don't look half bad. Even without the nurse's uniform."
Before Lloyd could think to protest again, Randy leaned in close and kissed him on the tip of the nose, pausing for a moment to consider something before moving back and leaving the couch.
"Thanks for patching me up, leader." With a wink and a smile, Randy left a stunned Lloyd thinking about fish, deep in the bottom of a lake.