DIS: (grimace) I made a LOD twice before, both times I ended up deleting them. Frankly, I felt like a fool when I read them. The characters were so screwed up, it isn't even laughable. Now, I return to attempt another LOD fic. Let's see how I do, shall we?

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Title: Stupid, Foolish Girl

Rating: T

Genre: Romance

Summary: How could anyone know that Lloyd had someone escaped the after life to appear in the forest right outside Meru's dwelling? How could anyone know he would fall for such a silly girl? One shot.

Disclaimer: I own the game, which I STILL haven't beaten yet, but only because I got it for Christmas. Nope, I don't own The Legend of Dragoon.

Notes/Warnings: Lloyd/Meru; one shot; first attempt at LOD after first two failed attempts; let's pray for a good coming-out, shall we?

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Stupid, Foolish Girl

Pain.

It streaked through his body in waves, pulling him under invisible water like a fish on a hook. He had once been relatively powerful, with the idea of a more or less peaceful idea of a Utopia. He had once saved a mortal life more than once. He had once betrayed the legendary Dragoons and had gone to assist them in the same lifetime. He had once died, suffering for these Dragoons.

Nonetheless, a tiny part of his mind denied rationality.

He was supposed to be dead. He was supposed to have been obliterated to oblivion. He was supposed to have died a hero's death. Instead, this too-familiar pain in a too-familiar body suggested that no, he was not dead. He remembered very vaguely a voice saying something to him as he died – or what he thought had been him dying – and then...

Nothing.

Until now, there had been a black haze around his mind. He had felt nothing, sensed nothing as his body worked by itself, escaping from whatever horrid place he had been. His body seemed to have awoken again, firing up with unbearable pain. He had felt this kind of pain before, but not in the after life. Feeling things was not allowed in the after life. He was under that impression, in any case.

His dry lips parted and cool, fresh air slipped into his mouth as he inhaled oxygen deep into his lungs. He kept his eyes closed; he did not want to see where it was that he had landed himself this time. Was it so much to ask to die? His life, so exhausting and after being betrayed by Zieg, was nothing. His dreams of a Utopia were erased. He simply wanted to relax and let his mind settle. Soa refused even that small delicacy to him.

The sound of footsteps and a cheerful humming came to his ears. He hadn't been aware of any sound until then. A burst of noises exploded into his skull, rattling his mind. Animals seemed loud to him and the fluttering of a bird's wings brought him to realize that there was life wherever he may be. It was not the afterlife, wherever he was. The footsteps stopped, as well as the humming.

"...Oh..." The soft whisper of a female's voice forced him to open his eyes. His eyelids felt heavy and dry against his eyes. His gaze was met with overhanging forestry. The sunlight that peered through the leaves gleamed over his chest, keeping well out of his eyes. He turned his amber gaze to the side to see a looming mallet above him. It was golden with metallic blue spinning through it in complex designs.

The female that held it was glaring fiercely down at him. She looked so familiar, but he couldn't quite put a name to her delicately angled face. Her amber eyes were the same shade as his and her strangely blue-coloured hair was only a bit dark than his silvery violet strands. He suspected she was a Wingly, as her eyes marked her as such.

The mallet wavered and he wondered, impassively, whether she would be dropping it on his head. It dropped beside her and then she followed the action, instead going at his side. Her smooth, unblemished face wrinkled in confusion as she passed a hand over his chest and then over his shoulders. "Lloyd," her feminine, melodic voice spoke, "what are you doing here?" He had no reply to her, staring up at her face – so familiar! – and not knowing whether he could speak. His mouth parted again and he made to say something, but she interrupted, "I thought you were dead! After you gave Dart that dragoon spirit and everything..."

A flicker of a memory came and he could recall that moment vividly and this female just beyond them as a Dragoon. The Water Dragoon Spirit. Now he remembered. She had inherited the Dragoon spirit he had given that insufferable, disgusting woman whose name he truly could not remember. But this one, he thought, gazing up into eyes so like his. Why can't I remember this one's name? Warily, he wondered if she had been just as insufferable.

"I'll take care of you!" She piped up eagerly. He flinched at the sudden raise in her voice, but she didn't seem to notice. She bound to her feet, thrusting her fists in the air triumphantly, a determined expression coming onto her face. "I've taken care of people before and I can do it now. Albert helped me set up a very nice cottage here in the forest near my Wingly dwelling. I'll take you to the cottage and help you, easy peasy." She grabbed her mallet again and then bent over him, slipping his arm over her dainty, fair-skinned shoulders. "Up we go!" He groaned as she helped him to his feet. His limbs felt as if they had never been used, which he knew was ridiculous. He was a warrior! He shouldn't need help from some chit of a girl.

As she assisted him through the forest, she chatted, telling him about what had happened after he "died" and what her companions were currently doing. She told him some interesting things, but still he did not know her name. He didn't want her help, but since she was insisting on it, he needed to know her name at the very least. Had he ever known her name? He couldn't remember, which was hardly a surprise as his memory was currently quite muddled.

They came to a clearing where a modest cottage was set up. She helped him inside, dropping her mallet outside on the porch and continuing to lead him, most of his weight leaning against her tiny frame. She seemed unbothered by it, as if she wasn't even aware of the fact. She came to a room and settled him on it after pulling the covers away. She straightened and flipping her long hair from her shoulder, grinning down at him. "I'll have you fixed up in no time, Lloyd!" She winked encouragingly at him and then skipped away, likely to get her mallet from outside.

When she returned, Lloyd was half-asleep, but still in deep pain. She had a bowl in her hands and set it on the vanity before disappearing and returning with a basin of water. Her brows were drawn down in concentration. She went behind the screen and poured the steaming water into the marble bathtub. Lloyd watched as she came to him, marching like a mercenary. "Let's see if you have any wounds," she brightly suggested. He struggled to sit up, able to do so only with her help. She stripped off his tunic and examined his back and chest. Satisfied, she pulled off his boots, sprawling over the floor after tugging at a particularly stubborn one.

A low growl erupted in Lloyd's throat when she started towards his pants. She blinked and then glared. "I have to see if you have any wounds."

"I don't," he snarled, his voice husky from disuse. She frowned and then shrugged. She twirled around like a dancer and sauntered out of the room. It made him aware that her outfit left little to the imagination. Her body was slender with the curves of a woman, although her bust was smaller than most women's. He suspected that she was allowed to get away with such dressing because of that fact. The door snapped behind her with a finality.

He struggled with his pants and was able to remove them and his black gauntlets. With shaky legs, he went to the bath and lowered himself in the warm water that had cooled over the past time. He soaked in it and then scrubbed himself with the soaps she had placed beside the tub. When he was finished, Lloyd realized there were no towels. He sat there as the water grew cool, not bothering to call for the girl – he didn't know her name.

Thankfully, she came in, looking a bit smug, seeing that he was still in the tub. She held a change of clothes and two fluffy towels. She set them on the bed and took her time collecting his other clothes and boots. She turned to him and smiled, saying, "Here's a towel and a change of clothes."

He watched her with a blank expression as she flounced off, shutting the door firmly behind her. He gritted his teeth and raised himself out of the water with some difficulty. Lloyd slowly moved to the bed and gasping at the pain in his muscles, he stopped before drying himself off. He dressed quickly and collapsed on the bed.

"Are you finished, Lloyd?" Came the girl's voice from the other side of the door. "Can I come in?" He was too breathless and tired to respond. Slowly the door edged open. She peeked quickly around the door and then flung it wide open. "Good!" He watched as she cleaned the floor and took the towel and tossed it in a hamper. After that, she drained the tub and returned to him with a sympathetic look on her face. "You look exhausted. Get some rest and we'll talk in the morning. Dart will probably be glad to see you. After all, you helped us out so much." She pulled the covers over him and a scent, that of the city where so many flowers bloomed filled his nostrils. Suddenly, her name appeared in his mind's eye.

"Meru." She gaze him a puzzled look.

"Yep?"

He didn't reply, turning his head and closing his eyes instead. After a pause, Meru shrugged and exited the room. He could hear the soft scuff of her leather shoes on the floor. The door was closed quietly and he fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

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Lloyd's footsteps were sluggish as his muscles were still cramped and it was painful for him to walk. He made it to the kitchen, but Meru was outside, twirling around, looking like an enchanted faerie. He watched the silly girl with a dry amusement that glimmered in his eyes. She sang an absurd song in her soprano song and she must have seen him watching her through the open door, because she called out, "When you are feeling better," she swung around and around, "you will have to do this, too!"

Not in any life time, little one, he thought, watching despite himself as she dropped her head back and spun in circles, her arms outstretched, seeming to embrace the wilderness around her. She stopped, breathless, and beamed at him. "Come inside and I'll tell you what I can," he told her tonelessly. With an energy that should have been nonexistent, Meru jogged into the house and settled in a chair at the table, looking to him with a smile.

"Go ahead!"

And start from where? He wondered. "...I...am alive." She nodded to reassure him that he was, indeed, alive. "I will be blunt with you, then. I have no idea how this came to be. When I "died," I remember very faintly a voice speaking to me. It must have been telling me how to escape the after life, because after that, I felt nothing, knew nothing." Lloyd paused, absorbed in his thoughts. Meru watched him, her eyes narrowed greedily, wanting to know more of his strange return to life.

"You seem in pain," she pointed out impatiently, "but you didn't have any wounds. Does your body just hurt or something?"

Mildly, he answered, "I woke up feeling as if I had been through a great battle with myself and an enemy. I wasn't aware of anything but pain in my muscles until you found me." Her face lit up. To deflate her ego, he added, "Your footsteps were a foreign sound compared to the rest of the forest." Her expression dimmed a bit, but she didn't seem totally put out.

"You'll be better in no time," she assured, just as she had yesterday.

"Mmm," was his noncommittal response. He hoped that he would be.

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Meru planted herself in front of the firewood and placed her hands on her hips, a determined gesture that, in the past two days, Lloyd had attributed to her. His legs still pained him since they were the stiffest region of his body. Meru had forced him into action so that the muscles would untighten, marching him around the cottage. He had nearly gotten into a heated argument with her yesterday about her insisting helping him dress and undress, but kept his calm and caved into her will. She was incredibly stubborn for such a young girl.

Now, as she grasped the ax and lifted it to her shoulder, he considered helping her. Reminding himself that her initial weapon was a heavy mallet, Lloyd withdrew that thought.

However, as he watched her slowly chop at the mood, seeming completely comfortable with the pace, he began to get irritated, knowing full well that he would be able to get it done in far less time. As he leaned against the cottage and watched the muscles in her slender arms work as she lifted the ax from the wood and kick the two pieces away, he let out a small sigh. He pushed off from the cottage. He was bored, anyway.

Meru set the ax down and then set another piece of wood on the chopping block. She reached blindly for the ax and frowned when her hand found cloth instead of rough wood. That couldn't possibly be right. She looked up to see Lloyd looming above her, his face controlled as usual, her only hint at his emotions being the dark tint to his eyes. "Watching you is sickening," he sneered. "You are going too slow."

Offended, she raised her pointed chin and glared up at him. "You think you can do better, is that it?" One of his light eyebrows rose cockily.

"Yes, actually, I do." She huffed as he moved towards her and she stumbled out of his way, crossing her arms moodily. She blinked, staring at the way his muscles rippled as he raised the ax as if it were no more than a toothpick. She stood and watched him chop the wood at an incredible pace, much faster than her own. When half of the wood was finished, she started collecting the pieces herself and putting a new log on for him. When he was finished, she folded her hands behind her head and swayed from side to side, staring up at the sky with a nervous smile on her face.

"Alright," she conceded, "you can chop faster, but only because you are a man." She dropped her hands and held one of her arms up, flexing it and patting her bicep. "For a girl, this is a pretty good muscle you're seeing, Lloyd!" He stared at her for a moment and then he turned away, a small snort erupting from his lips. She glared and then realized it was a laugh she had heard from him. Delighted that she had brought a laugh from such a sober character, she tucked her hands behind her head again.

"Let's make a bet, Lloyd. We have to put all this wood in the shed," Meru indicated the shed she was talking about as he turned to face her, "so let's bet which of us can do it fastest. We'll split it up evenly." She thrust a finger towards him, a haughty grin plastered on her lips. "You might have strong arms, but no one has legs like I do." She extended a leg onto the chopping block for him to see. He stared at it, the corners of his mouth tugging upward. She was such a stupid, foolish girl. Was she even aware of how attractive her body was or was she purposely trying to seduce him? He suspected the former; her mind seemed intent on the challenge she had just issued to him. He was finding himself rather enjoying her somewhat ridiculous company.

"Very well," he agreed.

"Perfect!" She sang, throwing her hands up in the air gleefully.

They separated the wood evenly and as Meru counted down from ten, Lloyd suspected this would be a good exercise for his legs to make it so they weren't as weak. He had every intention, however, of beating her at her own childish game. When Meru ended at one, the two of them burst into action, carrying wood and sprinting to the shed. They went back and forth and Lloyd was a bit stunned to find that Meru was faster. Her legs were long and strong like a horse's, able to swallow up a good distance between each stride. His own legs, although long, too, were currently a bit weak. In the end, he was just a few steps ahead of her at the last trip when she suddenly sped up and arrived at the shed. She let out a whoop of victory, jumping up, pumping her fists in the air.

She really is, he thought as he slowed to a halt in front of her, such a child. After he had settled his wood in the shed and shut the door to return to her, she sent him a smug smirk. "I admit," he said, knowing what she wanted to hear, "that you are a fast runner. Do not forget that I'm crippled at the present time. When my legs are feeling better, we shall see which of us is faster." Currently, his legs were cramping up again. When he is in a better condition, he could be so fast that an enemy couldn't see his attack. Meru might have chosen this time to make that challenge because of that reason.

Meru turned her gaze to his legs and then gestured to the house, still smiling. "Let's go inside." She clapped her hands. "I'll make us something to eat. I bet you're getting cramps again." He opened his mouth, already knowing what she was about to say, but she intercepted, "Nope, I won't hear any protests, Lloyd. Remember? I'm supposed to be taking care of you." She winked at him and he let a corner of his mouth tilt upward. Despite her absurd behavior and obviously childish ways, she was cute.

"Fine," was all he said. She grinned and pointed him towards the cottage, bouncing beside him.

Meru did just as she promised, making them a warm meal and serving it. After they ate, she ordered Lloyd to sit in the den and she sat next to him on the divan, pulling his legs on her lap. Humming vacantly to herself, as was her habit, she kneaded the tightness out of his legs, rocking her head back and forth, her silky hair swaying with the movement. He sighed softly and closed his eyes as the pain that had been gathering began to evaporate at her gentle massaging.

As he sat there, he realized that no one had actually cared so carefully for him as she had during the past four days. She had argued with him so that he would heal correctly, had been so diligent in helping him, and cheerfully keeping him company that he couldn't help but like her. He never would have associated with her before, but after awhile, her personality grew on him.

Her massaging was transferred to his other leg and he sat comfortably, twitching only one when she had to work out a particularly tight knot. "There!" She proclaimed. "I'm going to take a bath. I'm filthy. You can take one after me and that'll help any sore muscles you have." She flung herself to her feet in her normal, energetic way. Lloyd opened his eyes and took her wrist. Startled, she looked down at him.

"Meru." She met his amber gaze curiously. He pulled her down to him and unthinkingly kissed her. His own surprise at his actions mingled with hers, but after the initial shock, her mouth softened against his and her arm relaxed. Having never been in any relationship and especially disliking associating with his fellow Winglies, he was hesitant as he pulled her down into his lap, his hand moving from her wrist to drape around her small waist. Meru's hands slid on his shoulders as she parted her lips in a quiet moan. His tongue glided in, stroking the sweet crevices of her mouth. Her fingers tightened on his shoulders as she shivered instinctively.

Remembering just how much of an innocent she was, he withdrew and she blinked. Her cheeks were tinged with pink. She stared at him for a moment before she slipped off his lap and mumbled something. Lloyd watched her hurry away to prepare her bath and he lay on the divan to wait for her to finish. I shouldn't have done that, he realized belatedly. Somehow, though, he couldn't dredge up any guilt for kissing Meru. Nonetheless, he didn't like change and having her pick him out of the forest had hurtled what he had known as his life into change. Maybe I needed a change, he confessed to himself, but I didn't expect I would make the transition with someone beside me.

He dwelled over them and realized that the transition would have been more than a bit rough if Meru hadn't been there to help him. Her optimism towards everything had brightened his dark mood. He sighed through his nostrils, accepting that, albeit reluctantly. He wasn't like other people that got upset and was thrown into a violent rage. He was calm and accepted things with a rational mind. This, like every other problem that had occurred, would be treated in the same manner.

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The light that spilled onto Lloyd when he woke warmed his skin. He turned to his side, keeping his eyes closed. He heard singing from somewhere and suspected it was Meru either dancing outside or making breakfast. He let out a sigh and got out of bed, not bothering to get properly dressed. He would have to ask her some time.

He moved through the cottage to the kitchen and found her dancing around outside. A small smile edged his lips upward. She stopped at seeing him in the doorway, her chest heaving as she took in the fresh, morning air. "Meru," he greeted. She smiled at him, but there was a rise of colour to her cheeks. "I have something to ask you." She glanced quickly around, looking like a caged animal.

"Shoot, then!" She encouraged.

"I have nowhere I can go once my health is completely better." He paused. He wasn't good at explaining what he felt and he wasn't sure this would register in her mind since she had such a childlike mind. "...Can I stay here with you?" She gazed at him and she looked caught off guard, but not appalled at the idea. After a while, Meru's mouth curved into her familiar grin and he knew that she knew what he was so subtly telling her.

"That would be great, Lloyd."

Finis

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DIS: (nervous glance) Yes, that was rushed, but I thought I kept them in character more or less. They didn't screw each other like bunnies, either, so that's a good sign. (crosses fingers) Hopefully this isn't too bad for you readers out there. This is, after all, not the fandom I excel in. So, please leave a review on whether you liked it or not. Constructive criticism is always accepted, as it should be. Ciao!