Title: Blossoming Friendships
Summary: Sometimes, it was nice spending peaceful moments with those who are like minded.
Pairings: Platonic/friendly Flavio/Lynus/Hrothgar fluff~
AN: This was supposed to be short. But somehow it kept growing XD These three honestly make such good friends~ Hope you feel the same way! Enjoy!
It was well after midnight, the sky a pitch black outside without the light of the moon, and Flavio found himself unable to settle and relax. Not that it was anything new for him. Staying up late and staring at the ceiling was quite the nightly occurrence. His mind was always reeling with preparation for what tomorrow would bring. He always did a mental checklist over the things he had and the things he needed for when they head into the labyrinth tomorrow.
But tonight he felt unquestionably restless.
And after turning over to his side for the umpteenth time, he decided that he wasn't going to be able to sleep in his current state. Instead Flavio threw off the blankets in an agitated fashion and sat up as he peered around at the darkness with a slight scowl on his face. He was agitated, but not all that surprised. There was a sound of thunder rumbling in the distance and the wind was starting to pick up. He had never been a very solid sleeper. And the sounds of nature outside were making him edgy. What survivalist didn't feel that way, right?
Uttering an annoyed huff, Flavio swung his legs over the side of the bed and proceeded to sleep on some of his outwear clothes and his boots. If he couldn't sleep, he should go for a walk or do something at least somewhat productive. Staying in his room and staring up at the ceiling wasn't an option. That would honestly only irritated him further.
As Flavio slipped on his jacket, he quietly opened the door of his room and peered out. The hallway was as dark as the sky outside and there didn't appear to be anyone else up and about. He couldn't see any lights shining from the bottom of his guildmates' rooms, so thankfully they appeared to be sleeping.
Stepping out into the hallway, Flavio silently closed the door behind him before he turned toward the direction of the front foyer. He figured he would loiter around there, perhaps help Hanna out if she had any late night guests. Or at least sit in the tearoom and just watch the flames in the fireplace. That was always calming.
The foyer was empty as Flavio passed through. He wrapped his arms around himself lightly when the sound of the wind intensified outside, and he shivered. Though not from the cold, but the sound of wind. He had never liked the sound of the high-pitched, shrieking wind. It made his skin crawl. Always had and it probably always will.
Deciding that he didn't want to be in the foyer in case the wind blew open the front doors, Flavio continued to move and decided to head to the tearoom as he could see the door was open and a soft, flicking light was being emitted from within. If nothing else, he could sprawl out on the large, plush couch that was usually situated in front of the fireplace. The couch was a rather large piece of furniture, designed for anyone to sleep on it if they wanted, a couple of people even. It was there for the winter months, or so he was told, as rooms with their own fireplaces were extremely popular during those times.
He was also told that fights often broke out for the best spot in front of the fireplace. And, funnily enough, the Guardians were said to always win.
As Flavio stepped inside the room, his gaze immediately trailed over to the couch and immediately noticed that it was occupied by two familiar individuals. One was a certain orange-haired medic who was sat in the middle of the couch, reading a book in one hand while the other idly raked through the hair of another, a familiar protector with red hair who appeared to be asleep with his head resting on Lynus' lap.
Flavio was…surprised by the sight.
"Lynus?" he found himself muttering in surprise.
Lynus glanced up from his book and smiled gently over at him, not at all perturbed by him. In fact, he simply placed his book down next to him, his hand still gently toying with Hrothgar's hair.
"Hm? Oh, hello Flavio," he said warmly. "You can come in if you want. Hrothgar is just resting. He tried to guide a rookie guild through the second floor, but their dark hunter was too energetic, I suppose you could say, and she foolishly pulled her guild into a battle against a raptor. And Hrothgar, being the staunch protector that he is, immediately placed himself on the front line. Not without consequence, though. He was thrown back into a tree and hit his head. Thankfully, though, there were no skull fractures and he managed to keep fighting, even with blurred vision."
"Oh," Flavio murmured in response before his brow furrowed with concern and he crossed the room to crouch in front of them so that he could get a better look at the redheaded protector. It was then that he noticed that he had fresh white bandages wrapped around his forehead. "How is he doing now?"
"He's thankfully sleeping now," Lynus answered with a slight hum. "The threat of concussion has passed. He's not in any pain or discomfort now. He's probably getting the best sleep he had in ages."
Flavio felt his concern lift and he nodded his head as he gazed at Hrothgar for a moment. The protector was lying on his side, one leg on the couch while the other touched the floor. His hands were folded near his chest as his head rested comfortably on Lynus' thigh. His face was smooth, without any tension or pain. He honestly looked comfortable. But…
"Shouldn't he be in his room, though?" Flavio couldn't help but ask.
"I wanted to keep an eye on him for the next couple of hours," Lynus replied with a slight shrug of his shoulder. "The clinic is a little too cold at this time of night. I thought the tearoom, with the fireplace, would be better. At least Wulfgar seems to have settled."
Flavio blinked and immediately glanced over his shoulder toward the fireplace. There, lying in front of it was a certain dark furred wolf, who of which lifted his head from his folded paws when he seemed to realise that Flavio was looking at him. And he wasn't alone, either. He was lying next to a certain white-tiger who was at least twice the size of him.
"Oh, hey Wulfgar, didn't see you there." Flavio greeted with a smile, of which grew when the white tiger seemed to flick his tail irritably at him. "Yes, I can see you too, Chi-hung."
Lynus laughed warmly, which prompted Flavio to turn his attention back to him. And as he did so, Flavio saw a sense of tenderness in his violet eyes as Lynus gazed back down at Hrothgar.
"Also, I wanted him to have some company," Lynus said as an empathetic smile appeared on his lips. "He tries to do so much on his own. And I worry that each time he finds a reckless guild, he'll muse about the misfortune of his own.
Flavio's gaze also wandered down to the protector and his heart immediately went out to him. "Yeah, that's true. I'm glad he's not on his own now."
Lynus nodded his head idly before turning his back toward Flavio, and tilted his head to the side in curiosity. "What about you? Couldn't sleep?"
"Ah, yeah," Flavio answered as he rubbed the back of his neck and pushed himself to his feet. "Just feeling a little restless tonight."
"Hmm," Lynus hummed in thought for a moment before he suddenly said; "You have your hair out. This is the first time I've seen you with your hair out."
Flavio blinked at him for a second before he reached out to rake a hand through his hair to see that, he was right. His hair was out. He normally tied it back, no matter where he went or what he did. He must have been so agitated by the wind that he plain forgot. "Oh, yeah, I guess I forgot to tie it back," he simply muttered.
He was about to make a remark about Lynus having his own hair down when Hrothgar uttered a soft, low moan and he began to stir. But Lynus carefully carded his fingers through his hair to gently lull him back to restfulness. Even as Hrothgar's breathing eased out once more, Lynus kept running his fingers through his hair idly. As if it was something of a habit of his, now. As if…he had spent many a night sitting in front of the fireplace as he gently soothed and watch over another as they slept.
That…wouldn't surprise Flavio a bit.
"Could you do me a favour?" Lynus suddenly asked him.
"Yeah, of course," Flavio immediately replied.
Lynus gave him a grateful smile. "Could you duck into the clinic for me? In the cabinet right next to the door as you walk in are some medicine bottles. Could you grab a blue one and a green one for me?"
"Blue and green," Flavio repeated as he nodded his head. "Sure, I can do that."
"Thank you," Lynus said in earnest. "I would, but I don't want to wake Hrothgar now that he's sleeping soundly.
Flavio smiled back at him. "Hm, of course. I'll be right back."
He turned on his heel and quickly left the room. The clinic was thankfully only a few doors down and it was open as well. There was no one else inside as Flavio stepped. He had never been inside the clinic before, so he couldn't help but look around idly. There were several beds lined up with curtain partitions between them. There was a desk in the corner with a filing cabin. And there were bookcases and cabinets practically lining the walls, all of them either holding bottles of medicine or medical equipment.
Flavio didn't know the first thing about clinics or medical practices, but this place looked efficient. If anything untoward should happen here, they were still in good hands.
Turning his gaze from his surroundings, Flavio turn back toward the door and toward the cabin Lynus said was close by. He pulled open the door to find that, too, was filled with medicine bottles. They had labels written onto the shelves, but they appeared to be in medical jargon, so he hadn't a clue what they were. So he simply picked up the first blue and green bottle he saw and closed the cabinet.
As Flavio stepped back into the tearoom, he immediately noticed that Hrothgar was still asleep and Lynus was resting back against the couch, his book closed and resting on the small coffee table located half in front of the couch.
Lynus immediately glanced over at him and his expression brightened in a grateful warmth. "Thank you," he said as Flavio wasted no time crossing the distance and presenting to Lynus the two medicine bottles. "The blue one is for when Hrothgar wakes up. And the green one is for you."
Flavio blinked at him in surprise as Lynus only took one of the bottles from him. "Me?
"The wind outside increases your anxiety, causing you to feel on edge, like you are in the labyrinth, right?" Lynus stated more so than asked.
"How did-?"
Lynus laughed lightly, though not at him but at his reaction. "Tobyn is just the same. He hates the sound of howling wind. Thankfully I gave him something to ease his nerves, or we would have two survivalists wandering around, complaining about the wind."
Oh, well, that made sense actually. Still…
"Are you sure it's ok for me to-?"
Lynus arched an eyebrow at him. "I wouldn't have asked you to retrieve it if it wasn't ok."
Oh…that made sense, too.
"Thank you," Flavio said sincerely.
Lynus' gaze softened. "Not at all," he said before he motioned to the couch next to him. "Sit."
And Flavio did just that without hesitation.
"Is there something else troubling you?" Lynus asked him gently as Flavio leaned back into the couch.
"I'm…honestly not sure," Flavio found himself answering honestly as he fidgeted with the bottle in his hands.
Lynus nodded his head in understanding and continued to look at him in a way that Flavio could only describe as a supportive, empathetic parent figure would. "Do you wish to talk about it? I'm not prying, but you are your guilds caretaker, yes?"
Flavio felt himself pout a little when his mind immediately started to recall all the times Fafnir called him as much. "Well, Fafnir seems to think so."
Again, Lynus simply nodded his head before he reached out to place his hand on top of Flavio's that were unconsciously fidgeting with the glass bottle. "Sometimes, when you're a caretaker, you tend to forget about yourself and think of everyone else. And, sometimes, it's hard to talk to your guildmates when something is troubling you as you don't want them to be worried or concerned."
Flavio glanced down at Lynus' hand that gently sat atop of his before he found himself biting the inside of his mouth. It…should be ok to talk to Lynus, right? He would understand.
"To be honest, I just have…this feeling that something terrible is going to happen," Flavio found himself confessing. "I don't mean like encountering a FOE in the labyrinth and coming out second best. As terrible as that would be, this is…different. I feel like…I'm going to lose Fafnir. For good."
And it…scared the hell out of him. He didn't…
"I understand that fear well," Lynus said as he squeezed his hand in a truly comforting manner. "If I were to lose Axel, I…honesty don't know what I would do."
Yeah…it was a scary thing to imagine.
"It's something I hope neither of you will ever experience."
"Oh, Horthgar," Flavio murmured before he winced guiltily as he and Lynus both turn to look over at Hrothgar who was pushing himself into a sitting position. "Sorry, did we wake you."
Hrothgar smiled politely at the two of them as he eased himself upright. "Well, yes and no."
"Don't move around so quickly," Lynus chided slightly as he removed his hand from Flavio's and casted an inspecting gaze over the protector.
"I'm fine," Hrothgar said in return before he smiled sheepishly. "I'm sorry for taking up your time."
Lynus made another softly chiding sound and shook his head. "Don't be silly. You are an honorary member of the Guardians, after all."
Hrothgar's polite expression faltered and a look of surprise mixed with guilt, relief and happiness appeared to take its place. "…Hm, you're right."
Lynus smiled warmly at him before he pressed the blue glass bottle against his chest. "Now, take this. How are you feeling? Headaches?"
"A minor one," Hrothgar answered honestly as he took the bottle and popped it open.
"That will fade shortly," Lynus returned as he motioned for him to drink his medicine, though he couldn't seem to stop himself from adding; "You need to take it easy for the next couple of days."
Hrothgar chuckled lightly as he sipped his medicine slowly. "Yes, I understand. How long was I asleep?"
Lynus gave a one shoulder shrug. "A couple of hours."
Hrothgar frowned and flushed at the same time. "I'm sorry; did you stay the entire time?"
"It was nothing, don't worry," Lynus immediately said as he gave a slightly dismissive wave of his hand. "I wanted to keep an eye on you."
Hrothgar nodded his head slowly before a smile spread across his lips. "I bet there were a lot of jealous people passing by."
Lynus tilted his head to the side. "Hm? What do you mean?"
Flavio felt a smile of amusement spread across his own lips. "Yeah, who wouldn't want to rest their head on Lynus' lap?"
Hrothgar chuckled as Lynus turned to regard him. "Are you saying you want to?" he unexpectedly asked.
Before Flavio had the chance to respond, Lynus suddenly reached up and grasped the collar of his jacket, and with a surprisingly amount of strength, tugged him forward so that Flavio sprawled across his lap. As Flavio made a sound of surprise, he heard Hrothgar laugh a genuinely amused laugh, and despite the fact that Flavio himself had never, ever rested his head on someone's lap before, he found himself uttering a laugh too.
It wouldn't hurt to experience some of the infamous Mother-Hen treatment, would it?
Instead of pushing away, Flavio twisted around until he was on his back with his legs dangling over the side of the couch, his head still resting on Lynus' lap. "It must be hard being the caretaker of such a large guild," he commented idly as he got himself settled and folded his arms comfortably over his stomach.
"Hm? Oh, not really," Lynus replied in earnest as he nestled himself into the back of the couch. "I'm used to taking care of a lot of difficult people. My guild is a breeze compared to…other places, like the hospital, I mean."
Flavio noticed the slight pause in Lynus' words as quickly as he had noticed the softly pained look in his eyes. But both were fleeting and that soft, genuine smile soon appeared on his lips once more.
"A certain other guild, however," he continued with an amused glint in his eyes. "Can test my patience."
Flavio was about to ask who before he heard Hrothgar utter a sigh that was tinged with annoyance. "Cosmos…"
Cosmos…Wait, that was the name of the guild that Flavio had an encounter with! The one with two riding on the back of a giant moa with two more chasing them on foot.
"Don't tell me you encountered Cosmos riding on the back of a monster, too?" Flavio asked as he tilted his head back slightly to look up at the redheaded protector.
"Sadly, yes," Hrothgar answered with an exasperated huff and idly batted a strand of his hair from his eyes. "The first time I encountered them they were trying to tame a ragelope. Of course, you can imagine how well that went. No one believed me when I told them. They said no one would be that stupid. Thankfully, Lynus and the Guardians did. Or I would have questioned my own sanity."
Flavio couldn't help but laugh. He went through the same thing, after all, so it was nice to know that he wasn't the only one. "I saw them riding a giant moa and no one from my guild believed me."
Lynus laughed softly. "Simmons is becoming quite notorious now. Though his guildmates aren't much better. I have some stories about all of them, to be honest."
Flavio casually swung one of his legs back and forth, completely at ease. "Regulars at the hospital?"
"Indeed they are," Lynus readily answered before he shook his head slightly, a softly sympathetic look in his eyes as he stared over at the fireplace. "Poor Gerald, though. He tries so hard."
"I take it Gerald is the older gunner who is usually chasing around after him on foot?" Flavio questioned.
Again, Lynus laughed and nodded his head as his hand unconsciously reached out to toy with Flavio's hair, and Flavio made no attempt to stop him. "That's him," he said. "The trouble his guildmates put him through, honestly."
"Hm," Hrothgar made a sound of agreement. "In all honesty, I'm beginning to think that some of the novice guilds of today are trying to following in their footsteps."
Flavio felt a smile of amusement spread across his lips. "Go on, give us a bedtime story."
Both Lynus and Hrothgar laughed good-naturedly, quite contently really.
And Flavio soon forgot about the howling wind outside, too busy laughing at the stories that Lynus and Hrothgar were telling him in turn. Hrothgar about the strange events he had encountered in the labyrinth and the shocking stupidity of novice explorers, while Lynus told stories about his time at the hospital and humorous situations him and his guildmates had encountered both in and out of the labyrinth.
It was honestly nice spending time like this. Speaking with people Flavio felt understood him. They were both tireless caretakers and Flavio, though he may outwardly dispute it, was indeed the caretaker of his guild. And it was nice speaking with someone who didn't know about the Fafnir Knight Curse or what was happening at Ginnungagap.
At this very moment, he was…normal. Life was normal. Everything was fine. There was nothing to worry about.
It was…peaceful.
"Are you feeling tired?" Lynus suddenly asked and Flavio turned his head to the side to look up at him, only to immediately notice that Hrothgar had his head resting on Lynus' shoulder, appearing as if he was asleep. "Maybe you should retire to your room."
"Hm," Hrothgar murmured sleepily in reply though made no attempt to actually move. "But it's so comfortable here."
Yeah, Flavio thought to himself as his own eyes slipped close. It really was.
