A request fic for Draen on ! Hope you like!

Maybe it was just the way he was built, or his stubborn streak extended to his body's defense system, but Lloyd almost never got sick. Sometimes he'd say he was, just to get out of going to school, or to escape Raine's scathing stare, but for nearly all his life, Lloyd never came down with a fever, or a cold, or anything of the sort. No one could ever beat Lloyd's school attendance record, as they couldn't beat his record of having the lowest grades in math either.

But he did break his leg one time.

The rock golems of the Tethe'allan fields were predictable, luckily. One swipe from their clawed arms was enough to break a full-grown tree in half. Lloyd may not have been book-smart, but he was observant enough to dodge well, as were everyone else.

So when one of those golems caught him by the shin, he didn't really have much of an excuse.

Lloyd fell down, hard, and the ensuing crack that occurred afterward was only audible to his ears. He didn't think much of it at first – it had probably just been a twig breaking from a small distance away. No worry to the fact that his battle stance was a little tilted, and that his foot seemed to be asleep.

"Lloyd, you alright?" Sheena called out to him, having just reduced one of the monsters to gravel. Her clothes were covered in rock dust, briefly bringing him back to that time when he had first seen her in the Ossa Trail. How long ago was that? A month? Two months? No, it was more than that...

"Yeah." His voice had been low, which he then reinforced with a little, "Yeah. Yeah! I'm fine." Another swipe from the enemy, which he sidestepped to the right to avoid. He put all his weight on his left foot, feeling that strange numbness suddenly shoot straight up to a much more burning sensation.

He stumbled, plunged one of his swords in the ground, finding himself panting.

"First Aid!" he heard from someplace far off, muddled and submerged in water. Raine's soothing magic tethered down his frayed nerves, but his leg still refused to stop feeling like lead coated in lava. He caught a quick flash of pink…really gaudy pink…from up ahead, pushing away a looming monster.

"Yo, bud! Look alive!"

Lloyd shook his head, sleepy and held down by the incredibly bright sunshine. "Lloyd?" someone called out to him, this voice closer and turned down to a near whisper.

"I- I'm fine, just… damn, can't really…" And then he fell, and he fell into that water, dimly remembering arms holding him back from the depths with all they could.

"…And that's how you got three fractures."

For a healer, Raine didn't exactly have the best bedside manner. She imparted to Lloyd the results of his reckless fight rather bluntly when he woke up, which led him to finally understand why he was stuck in a bed with a cast on his left leg.

"Sooo, can't you just… fix it?"

Raine frowned. "If I could just fix it, we wouldn't have bothered with the cast to begin with."

"Oh yeah…"

"At the very least, I can speed up the process. But you need to stay put. No ifs or buts about it."

Kind of hard to argue with your teacher while she's holding a staff she uses to bludgeon monsters with right over your head. Lloyd had to comply.

Altessa was very hospitable to them, letting Lloyd and his friends stay at his home until he was better. Raine had given him three weeks until he was ready to stand up again. Lloyd had complained that this would take too long! They had a journey to get back to! Raine had shot back that, under regular circumstances, it would have taken three months for him to recover, or maybe more.

"Just think of this as a vacation," Zelos had said to him at one occasion, going into his room uninvited. He was doing that a lot these days. "You've no idea how good you have it! Don't gotta work, you get to sleep in all day, not to mention getting waited on hand-and-foot by the lovely Tabatha. You could just lay back as she feeds you your lunch-"

"I can feed myself!" Lloyd yelled. "My arms still work!"

Zelos just shook his head. "Man, you just don't get it. You're living the dream here!"

Lloyd honestly couldn't see how barely being able to walk outside to use the bathroom was exactly 'living the dream.'

Actually, people kept coming into his room whenever they damn well pleased. Genis would go to him in the midst of cooking, telling him about certain spices he was using for their dinner and asking "So are dwarves allergic to turmeric? What about cardamom?"

"Uh, I dunno. Dad was the one who cooked, so I guess not?"

At the most, people came by to cheer him up, at least that's what Lloyd figured they were trying to do. But Presea and Regal were always so serious about everything that even when they wanted to show him this picture book about dogs that a traveling salesman had given them, it was almost ludicrous seeing Presea show her own brand of enthusiasm by going, "Wow. They even inserted cushion pads to give you the experience of their paws." And then she would poke said fake paw pad on a page, both voice and motion as robotic as ever.

Regal would nod along solemnly. "I agree. The effort into the making of this book is of high quality." And then he'd poke said paw pad as well.

Needless to say, this weirded Lloyd out plenty. "Guys, thanks, but I have a dog and know all about paws already." He regretted saying that immediately, knowing Noishe would get no rest with these two around now.

Sheena was a little better about cheering him up, especially when she didn't mean to. Such as opening his door, then afterwards knocking on it instead of the other way around, all flustered as she did so, which always made Lloyd laugh. "I got you some healing balm from back in Mizuho," she told him one time, placing a glass jar of it on a nightstand next to his bed. "It's an ancient herbal remedy – just spread it on the afflicted area and it should get you standing up in no time!"

"Wow, thanks! How come the Professor doesn't use this stuff?"

Sheena had brushed that aside. "Eh, says it's homeopathic nonsense, or whatever that means. It may not be magitechnology but it's a tried and true elixir!"

Yeah, Lloyd didn't know what homeopathic meant either, but the balm thing sounded really cool. "Ha, yeah, the only problem is it's kinda hard to lean over to rub it on my leg and stuff. And I'm not sure I'm supposed to take the cast off."

"Oh. Do- do you need help with it?"

Sheena was really nice sometimes! "Yeah! Maybe if you just lift it up a little, we can-"

"I- I'm not sure if-!" Sheena's face was red as she reached for the door. "Anyway, feel better!"

Well, Sheena was also really weird occasionally, so not even Lloyd was surprised by her random outburst.

However, Colette was the one who saw him the most, which he never minded.

"It doesn't hurt anymore, does it?" It was one of those times that everyone had left to go get supplies, and Colette had volunteered to stay behind. Not that she ever really needed to – both Tabatha and Altessa were there – but she liked doing so when she got the chance.

"Nah, but it is super boring." Lloyd laid back on his pillows, giving a long-suffering sigh. "And now I'm just holding everybody back…"

"Oh, that's not true, Lloyd! Everyone's still working hard!" Colette sat on the edge of his bed, hands folded neatly in her lap. "Sheena just got the summon spirit of shadow only yesterday!"

"You mean I missed all of that?!" Lloyd placed his hands over his face. "Arrgh, that's so lame!"

Colette was undeterred by her friend's despair. "Hmm, do you want me do describe what happened then?"

Lloyd sat up instantly. "Whoa, yeah, actually! Was it a super evil looking summon spirit? What's it called?"

"Well, it's called Shadow, and it has this whispering voice that's kinda creepy sounding… but its face looked really cute!"

"Everything looks cute to you…"

Oddly enough, he couldn't sleep some nights.

Because of his condition, Lloyd had a room all his own; which was really a walk-in closet that Tabatha had set up for him. It was able to fit in a bed, a nightstand, and not much else. It gave Lloyd a sense of suffocation that he never realized was an anxiety that he even had in the first place.

The feeling lessened when people visited him, but at night, when everyone slept, Lloyd was left to his thoughts and the sensation of too stale air.

There wasn't much for him to do. Raine had taken away his whittling tools, just so "You can stop hurting yourself for once." Alright, so that one time he had nearly sliced off his finger, but that was because he hadn't been paying attention! He wasn't going to repeat the same mistake twice, but Raine wouldn't hear any of it, leaving Lloyd both bored and stressed. If he could just go out to the main area of the house instead…

"Gaah," he groaned aloud. "I'm so bored!"

Either way, he needed to do something, and that's when he remembered the balm that Sheena had given him. What better time to try it out than now? That, and the idea that it could help heal him more! He didn't know why Raine had refused it in the first place.

Reaching out to the night stand was a bit difficult however. It stood off a couple feet away from his bed, and his gloves, along with the books that the Professor gave to him to read for homework ("How can I study when I have a broken leg?" "Well, you certainly don't study when you're in full health, do you?") were in the way. He leaned up on his elbow, trying to reach for the glass jar. His fingers brushed against the tip of it, willing his nails to grasp the lid. Instead, he sent the jar crashing to the floor.

This was a problem, because now there was shattered glass embedded in the wood which was covered in liquid stuff and oh crap it was everywhere. It was also covering the one part of the room where he could even get up out of the bed.

"Great…" he muttered, laying back down and neatly hitting his cranium against the headboard. "Ow!"

"Lloyd, are you okay?"

He hadn't expected her. Rubbing at the sore spot on his head, he looked up to see Colette opening the door, no longer wearing her usual overcoat, but an enveloping shirt along with loose-fitting pants. He held up his other hand to stop her. "Wait! Hold on, there's glass on the floor."

"Oh!" Colette stepped back carefully, seeing the shards sparkle out against the light of the dimming gas lamp. "Let me get something to clean it up!"

"You really don't-" But she had already ducked out, later coming back with a dust pan and a brush, instruments that Lloyd had seen Tabatha handle before. Kneeling carefully, Colette brushed the glass bits into the pan, making clinking sounds as they hit against each other. "Thanks, Colette," he finished lamely.

"You're welcome!" she answered back brightly. She reached out to get at the spare broken glass that was hidden away in a corner. "What happened anyway?"

"Ack, I was just being stupid and dropped Sheena's magic balm stuff."

"Oh yeah, Sheena told me about that. It's too bad… Maybe she has a spare one around?"

"I hope so." Though thankful, Lloyd was a little nervous having Colette handle that much broken glass. The pile in the dust pan was already getting kinda big… "Hey, you have that okay?"

"Uh huh! I just need to- ah!" Colette's left foot slipped on the liquid that still soaked the wooden floorboards. Lloyd held his breath while simultaneously reached out an arm to try in vain to catch her.

Immediately however, Colette regained her balance, her pink wings now shimmering from her back. She floated just an inch or so above the floor, the dust pan still level and carrying the glass safely. "Haha… I'm sorry!"

"Geez, you nearly gave me a heart attack…"

Luckily, Colette decided to lay the dust pan and brush to the side, though still staying afloat in the air. "Hm, I think I might need help cleaning up the rest."

"Forget it. You should probably go back to sleep. I can deal with it tomorrow."

"But, um, can you sleep though?" She had her hands behind her back as she spoke. "I'm not that tired… But I'm okay though!" she reassured quickly before Lloyd could suspect past afflictions sneaking up on Colette again. "Just, if you're not tired either, maybe we can hang out?"

"Um, yeah. That'd be fun!" He looked to the floor. "Just, uh, watch your step."

"Maybe we can go into the living room?" she suggested.

What he wouldn't give to just leave this room. "But, I can't really walk out-"

But Colette was really calling the shots today. She floated up over him, her wings flapping gently, with minimal movement. Carefully, she proceeded to help Lloyd off the bed, easy enough for her due to her angelic strength. Her arms slipped around his back, holding him close as she held him aloft gently. She was even able to avoid hitting his bound-up leg to anything in the process.

"Is this okay?"

Lloyd had to clear his throat. "Y-yeah! Totally."

"Good!" Colette floated him over the spillage, then out the door. She carefully deposited him on a couch, one of the newest additions that Tabatha had convinced the grumpy dwarf to get. It was fluffy enough to feel like a second bed. Colette made sure to keep Lloyd's leg elevated.

"You know, you didn't have to go to all this trouble…"

"It's okay." She sat on the couch next to him by his head, the couch also big enough for two to lay on. "I didn't want you feeling bored."

"Hey, how'd you know I was bored anyway?" he asked.

Colette looked aside nervously. "Well, I told you I wasn't all that tired, so um… I guess I heard you? And then when I heard something crash, I got worried."

Oh, right. Besides angelic strength, she still had some good hearing, which explained why no one else came running. "So what you're saying is that whenever I need you, I should just smash something to get your attention!"

"Oh no, you don't need to do that, Lloyd!"

"I was kidding, you dork.."

They devolved into aimless talk and conversations, their voices hushed as it was dark outside. Lloyd could hear Genis' obnoxious snores from the hallway, but not much else. What he was mostly focusing on was Colette's breathless laughter, at the way her crystal gleamed when the moonlight hit it so. It was just nice talking to her, when it seemed no one in the world was around, except for them.

"And then Regal and Presea showed me this book about paw pads…"

"Paw pads are cute though!"

"Yeah, but like it's Regal and Presea and it's really weird!"

They laughed again, Colette falling against him slightly, and Lloyd wrapping an arm around her shoulders. It wasn't the first time he'd been so affectionate with her, but the quiet of the night air and the scent of her hair made his heart beat a fraction faster than the norm. She didn't leave the comfort of his arms either, instead settling in next to him, both her hands curled near Lloyd's chest.

"Lloyd, is it okay if I admit something?"

Surprisingly, that sent his heart beating more, and he felt for sure that she would notice the way it batted at his ribs. But Colette made no mention of it, either not noticing or just being kind.

"Sure, what is it?"

"I was really scared when you got hurt."

He sighed, both relieved and disappointed. (Disappointed? Well, he'd think about that later). "Sorry. It was my fault in the first place that I was being dumb like that."

Colette shook her head, not looking at him, instead focusing on her curled-in fingers. "It's just, um… I haven't seen anyone go unconscious like that. And then you did, and I… I got really scared and kept trying to wake you up."

He froze a little at that.

"That's really stupid of me, isn't it? The Professor said you'd be fine and to leave you alone, but I didn't really listen…"

No, he understood what she meant completely.

Because those same feelings of panic and helplessness was what he felt when Colette had collapsed after unlocking one of the seals in the beginning of their journey. He had never seen Colette blackout before. He had never seen anyone blackout ever. It's the motion of the body suddenly going limp, the eyes open but gone, hazy and dark, accompanied with the complete lack of self-preservation. He had rushed over to her, gripping her tight, her body heavy and working against him as he frantically tried to get her seated, to get her to speak, to do anything, anything at all.

"Colette!" he had called to her, desperate, because there was nothing to fight here, nothing to physically rail against. She was limp and gone from him, no matter how much he called to her, no matter how much he wanted the reverse of this to happen, right now.

Raine had grown impatient with Lloyd's urgings, and had physically moved him away from Colette's form, slapping at his head. "Lloyd, stop this right now and please be useful!" She had pointed to Kratos then, who had already begun preparing a campfire and a bed for the ill-fated Chosen, who had been part of their small group instead of a traitor, secretly working for those who had ordained Colette to suffer so much.

He suddenly held her tight, both arms wrapping around her body. Colette made a small sound of surprise, but she didn't move. Instead, she sank further against him, her face now buried in his black shirt.

"You're not stupid, Colette," he said fiercely. "Not at all."

They stayed that way for a while, the wind blowing against the window shutters, bringing in scents from far-off fields, to remind him of the world outside that he wished to run across. But he didn't resent not being able to, for he had other things to worry about. Not his still broken leg, but the girl that he didn't want to let go of.

"I might be getting sleepy now," Colette told him, her voice muffled. He felt her breath on his neck, which only made him hug her tighter.

"Me too," he admitted. "Hey, before you go, can you uh…" Even with the rush of emotions he felt, embarrassment was still not very far behind. "Can you wait until I'm asleep?"

She raised her eyes to him, smiling wide. "Of course."

Snuggling up next to him, she half-laid on him, careful to keep her own legs clear from his broken one. Lloyd yawned, seeing the darkness of the night sky through the window, and the backdrop of trees, like shadows cutting into deeper shadows.

"You won't have to stay too long…" he said, already feeling his eyes grow heavy. "Promise…"

Waking up was always a struggle for Lloyd. It required him to climb up out of the woodwork of his mind, to try to make sense of whatever dreams he had the night before. Except this time, his sleep had been dreamless. Relaxing, too. He couldn't remember the last time he had such a good night's rest before.

He felt warmth over his chest, felt fine strands of hair that tickled his chin. He looked down to see Colette still laying on the couch with him. Her hands were placed over his stomach, fingers slightly bunching up his shirt, as her face was pressed into his shoulder. He looked at her with no surprise or apprehension. He found himself smiling, and leaned over some more to better arrange his arms so he could hug her at the most comfortable position.

Then he heard snickering.

He turned his head forward, finding an array of faces standing just at the foot of his couch. Genis was laughing beneath his hands while Raine stood next to him, both her arms crossed, her look stern. Sheena was blushing furiously, and both Regal and Presea were standing there with no expressions whatsoever. Zelos, meanwhile, looked like he was having the time of his life.

Lloyd wanted to stop him before he could further ruin this. "Okay, look-"

"Told you that you were living the dream, bud!"

Those words were enough to get everyone else talking.

"Wow, Lloyd! For once you didn't get rejected!"

"Shut it, Genis!"

"Lloyd, since a broken leg was apparently not enough to stop you, I believe it is time that we had a long talk about-"

"Professor, we didn't do anything!"

"W-well, I guess that answers that… I mean, I'm glad for the both of you! Really!"

"Um, Sheena why are you all red again?"

"It seems that you and Colette have come to an understanding about each other. Please take good care of this newfound love you have, and let no precious second of it go to waste."

"…Uh, wow, thanks, Regal. But me and Colette were just-"

"For you and Colette, I have decided to give you both an equal set of these books for you two to enjoy together."

"Presea, did you really buy more than one copy of that paw pad book?"

From all the talking, Colette roused herself up. She yawned and rubbed her eyes, before meeting the same faces that had greeted Lloyd not too long ago. "Oh! Good morning, everyone!" she said, none the wiser for whatever their friends were thinking about the situation.

Zelos, ever the most considerate member of the group, gave them both a thumbs-up. "Next time you'll listen to me when I say things are going your way. Right, Lloyd?"

Even through the groan, Lloyd couldn't help but laugh.

"Hey, Professor?"

Raine was busy setting up her books, which she had so kindly retrieved from Lloyd's old room to read to him, saying she would pick up on the lessons he missed out on. Yes, so very kind of her. "What is it?"

"Can I just, um, stay out here instead?" He shrugged. "I mean, it'll be easier for me to stay put now when I'm with everyone one, you know?"

Raine, surprisingly, was receptive about the idea. "Well, I suppose there's no harm in that." She nodded. "It may dissuade you from any more late-night rendezvous with Colette."

He frowned. "Geez, Professor, I'm not Zelos."

"No, you're not, and I'd like to keep it that way."

It was much better like this. Now Lloyd could shout out an ingredient to Genis for him to use, and have witnesses to Zelos' obnoxious teasing of him, and have Sheena not act all that nervous anymore (thought he could never figure out just why she was in the first place). Even Regal and Presea acted more animatic this way, probably influenced by a happy Genis who just wanted to see the book Presea was holding, or an interested Raine as she and Regal talked about some boring adult things, which Lloyd was perfectly fine with.

And it was much better when Colette was with him, seated next to him as the home bustled about. Colette had even rescued some of the whittling tools from Raine to give to him, which he now thanked her by carving a little doggy figurine for her.

"Lloyd. Colette." Tabatha came over to him, her voice pausing after every word unnaturally. But the initial discomfort Lloyd had felt around her was no longer there. "Are you two at all uncomfortable?" She then directed her gaze to Lloyd. "Is your leg still in pain?"

With matching smiles, Lloyd and Colette shook their head.

"We're fine!" he answered. "I think my leg might be getting better also."

"Yeah. And if he ever needs to move somewhere, I can just carry him so that he doesn't need to use his leg!"

"Ah, Colette, you don't have to do that…"

Still, this was nice, and as Colette placed a hand over his as he handed her the finished statue, he only hoped that things would only get nicer. In a sense. Once they saved the world and all.

And when his leg was finally healed, too.