Title: Escort Mission {Guardians Guild x Halo Guild Crossover}
Summary: When Jhon is all but crash tackled by a blue-haired dark hunter, he agrees to escort him to the hospital to meet up with his guildmate. And as they walk, he can't help but muse about how different their guild's medics are. And how they didn't exactly start out as friends.
AN: Now, this is a oneshot with no-white-knight's characters Zedimir and Emery interacting with my characters Jhon and Lynus~ Be sure to read Ame's awesome books Halo and its sequel Historia to fully appreciate the adorableness of these characters. Now, please enjoy~
Jhon had just stepped out of the tearoom on his way to his room to retrieve something when a blur of light blue suddenly appeared before him. A second later he felt something hit him square in the chest and something latch itself tightly around his waist.
Greatly startled, he lifted his arms to bring them into a defensive formation, to push off whatever had latched himself onto him only to pause when he looked down to see a mop of light blue hair. He was startled, though not surprised as it has happened before, to find the dark hunter of Guild Halo latch himself around his waist and bury his face into his chest.
Zedimir had the…peculiar habit of hugging people for warmth. But only certain people. Jhon was, rather obviously, one of them. Lynus was another, as was Macerio, Lirit, and sometimes Axel and Magnus. He, of course, would readily hug members of his own guild, but he would gravitate toward the closest 'heat source' that was 'safe' and latch onto them.
Jhon had gotten somewhat used to it, and he had to admit that it was amusing hearing his guildmates utter a squeak of surprise whenever Zedimir hugged them without warning. He went on a hugging spree once, hugging anyone who stumbled into his path as he went on the hunt for the perfect warmth. He finally latched onto Chi-hung in front of the fire place and fell asleep.
He was honestly a cute kid.
But as Jhon looked down at the top of Zedimir's head, he felt a frown start to tug on his lips. The dark hunter was trembling ever so slightly. Did he get a fright? He wasn't sure how to question him about his worries as Zedimir wasn't much of a talker. Even less than Tobyn.
So instead of bombarding him with questions, Jhon wracked his brain for possible answers. He glanced around and realised that he appeared to be on his own. Usually he had the medic of his guild following him around.
Ah, that was right. His guildmate, Emery, was at the hospital working with Lynus. The glasses wearing, brown-haired medic was only ever allowed to work and volunteer at the hospital when Lynus was also working. Emery was…a rather unusual medic, to say the least.
Apparently Lynus was the only one to put up with him.
"Ah," Jhon murmured as he placed a hand gently atop of Zedimir's head. "Are you looking for Emery? I'm afraid he's at the hospital with Lynus and more likely than not will not return for a few more hours yet."
Jhon kept his hand on Zedimir's head as the dark hunter tilted his head back to look up at him through one eye, the ever present white bandages wrapped securely over his right eye. He blinked up at him before a small, childish pout appeared on his lips, his tight grip around Jhon's waist never faltering.
"But you've visited the hospital before in search for him, haven't you?" Jhon asked him with a smile as he patted his head.
He paused for a moment, however, and looked off to the side. Zedimir could easily just walk to the hospital and wander around until he find the one he was looking for, but he felt a sense of big brotherly protectiveness toward the frailer, younger boy. Zedimir could be rather skittish at times and was easily overwhelmed. He could get lost on his way or suffering an anxiety attack. That was a troubling thought.
"Would you like for me to walk you there?" Jhon quickly offered.
Zedimir blinked at him again before he nodded his head and finally unwound his arms from around Jhon's waist. He then quickly and somewhat surprisingly grasped Jhon's hand in his.
It was Jhon's turn to blink at the dark hunter, but he soon placed a polite and friendly smile on his lips and turned to escort Zedimir to the hospital. The blue haired boy clutched onto his arm nervously, but kept pace with him nonetheless. Jhon decided not to try to engage in conversation with him as he would be too busy inspecting their surroundings and ensuring a tight grip on Jhon's hand to prevent separation.
As they walked the direct path to the hospital, Jhon ignored the looks of confusion from passer-by's and instead found himself musing about the meek dark hunter grasping his hand and the medic he was so fond of.
Emery was, and still is, a very terse medic. He seemed to loath Lynus' very existence when he first arrived in Lagaard. He would either just glare at him or would literally turn his back on him whenever Lynus tried to interact with him and his guild. Lynus had noticed the distrust towards him and had initially thought that Emery was just wary and maybe even a little intimidated by his (embarrassing, in Lynus' opinion) nickname the Miracle Medic.
Lynus, bless him, had tried to befriend Emery as he was pleased to see a guild with a protective medic. Despite the terse words and loathsome glares, Lynus was just too soft-hearted and really wanted to be Emery's friend for reasons he wouldn't exactly clarify. But that changed drastically when Emery yelled at him without rhythm nor reason, and Lynus later admitted that he thought the other would physically strike out at him had Axel not stepped in.
Poor Lynus had a panic attack after Emery stormed out of the inn. While Lynus knew and understood that it was impossible to be liked by everyone, he had learnt from his years of torment that there was only pain and suffering whenever someone outright disliked him. It took Axel a couple of hours to calm him down and reassure him that Emery, that no one, would never lay a hand on him ever again.
Jhon and the others didn't know what had happened at the time, though. They were surprised and understandably concerned to find Lynus so skittish suddenly and Axel subtly more protective than usual. While Jhon wished he knew what happened, he also understood why Axel and Lynus hadn't told everyone; they wanted to keep the peace between the two guilds that were staying at the inn.
Even so, Jhon had immediately noticed that Lynus was actively avoiding Emery after that. Axel told him later that he thought that he would need to be a buffer between the two, but was honestly dismayed when it was Lynus who took the incentive to avoid Emery as much as possible; scurrying out of the room should he realise Emery was there, hiding behind someone to avoid Emery's line of sight, ducking his head and trying to make himself as small as possible. That sort of thing. The sort of thing, Lynus later confessed as well, he would do should he realised that one of Taksony's loyal henchmen had taken a disliking to him for whatever reason.
Usually, Axel would hunt down the person who had upset Lynus and put the fear of god into them. If Axel couldn't, for whatever reason, someone else would. But Emery was a member of Guild Halo, a guild they were actually friends with. Instead Axel met up with guild leader Dyria and spoke to him about what happened. Either Emery reigned in his supposed hatred of Lynus or Axel would not hesitate to throw him out of a window should he so much as looked at Lynus the wrong way.
That wasn't an idle threat. And had the other members of their guild known what had occurred, there would have been even more threats to add to Axel's. While they understood that Dyria and his guild would stand with Emery, they were still incredibly protective of their own precious medic.
Lynus had done absolutely nothing to warrant such hatred.
Jhon, along with everyone else, were rather surprised when Emery entered the tearoom a few days later to speak with Lynus, only to literally drop to his knees in front of the startled medic and beg for forgiveness. And for his help.
Lynus, of course, forgave him. And immediately promised to help him in any way he could.
While Lynus was quick to forgive, many members of their guild were still leery of Emery. Axel in particular wasn't very fond of him, no surprise, though he did and said nothing because he was immensely supportive of Lynus. Lynus, however, was adamant that there was a reason that Emery disliked medics in general, not just him.
However, it seemed that the catalyst for the sudden change in Emery's mood and character was the blue-haired dark hunter that Jhon was escorting to the hospital.
Jhon glanced over at Zedimir who was huddled by his side and glancing around skittishly as he constantly combed his fingers through his blue hair in an attempt to hide the stark white bandages around his head and eye.
Zedimir, or Zed as he would tell people to call him, was quite the enigma. He was short, though a little taller than Lynus, and had a seemingly frail body. But he was talented with a whip and seemed to hide an incredibly high pain tolerance in battle. He, however, was very fragile of health and his right eye, the one hidden behind the bandages, was cursed.
His blood was cursed.
To put it plainly, he was very ill.
Jhon didn't know all the details. Even if he did, he probably wouldn't truly understand everything. Curses and hexes were far beyond his expertise.
As they approached the hospital, Zedimir became a little less tense, though he was still studying their surroundings carefully, glancing over his shoulder every now and again as if watching someone. And as Jhon led Zedimir up the stairs and into the main building of the hospital, he couldn't help but notice a few medics glance in his direction before fondly rolling their eyes and shaking their heads.
"Break room!" someone unexpectedly, but helpfully called out.
"Thank you very much!" Jhon shouted back in the direction he perceived the directions came from and headed further into the hospital.
Though he had not walked these halls in search of anyone in particular as much as a certain redheaded landsknecht had, Jhon still had knowledge of where he was going. He had accompanied Axel a few times, after all.
The breakroom was just a couple of corners away now, and as they approached the room, Jhon watched as Lynus stepped out, looking unnervingly pale and somewhat exasperated. His hair from free from his usual bindings and he was shaking his head slightly as he rubbed his temples with his fingertips.
But before Jhon could call out to announce his and Zedimir's presence and perhaps ask him what was wrong, Zedimir' released his hold on Jhon's hand and scurried forward. And before Jhon could stop him or shout a warning, he barrelled straight into Lynus, his arms around his waist as he pressed his face against Lynus' shoulder.
Lynus uttered as noise of surprise as he took a step back, his arms immediately and instinctively wrapping around Zedimir in return. Lynus looked winded and alarmed with his eyes wide as he turned his head to look at the mop of blue-hair that was brushing against his cheek. He soon relaxed, however, and sighed as patted Zedimir's back in a reassuring and comforting manner.
"Hello, Zed," Lynus simply said.
"Sorry about that," Jhon said as he walked over to the two, Lynus looking surprised before immediately replacing that with relief as Zedimir nuzzled his face deeper into his shoulder. "I tried to utter a warning, but Zedimir was too quick for me."
Lynus released a soft laugh as he raked his fingers through Zedimir's hair. "It's fine."
It wasn't the first time Zedimir surprised him by nearly crash-tackling him without warning, after all.
"He's inside," Lynus said simply to Zedimir.
Zedimir nodded his head as he dropped his arms from around Lynus' waist and darted quickly through the doors of the breakroom. Not a second later there was another telling 'oof!' before the near shriek of Zedimir's name.
"Zed!" Emery was heard all but squawking in surprise and subtle concern. "Did you walk here by yourself again? How many times do I tell you not to do that? Idiot, you could have gotten lost or something and I would have to go out and find you. I told you I would be gone for a few hours today."
"Don't scold Zed, Em," Lynus stuck his head back into the room and chided. "Jhon walked him here. Be sure to say thank you later, ok?"
There was a very telling huff of annoyance, but finally a drawn out "fine" of acceptance.
Lynus sighed as he stepped back out into the hallway and turned his attention to Jhon. "Thank you for walking Zed here, Jhon," he said with a smile. "Em does also appreciate it. In his own way."
Jhon arched a sceptical eyebrow but choose not to comment.
It was, however, somewhat amusing how different Emery regarded Lynus now. Before he seemed barely able to stand the sight of him. But now he eagerly followed him around, listened to his instructions, went in search for him to get his advice, and on the few occasions Jhon had actually witness him watching Lynus from a distance with an expression of utter awe on his face.
Hmm…perhaps he hadn't held hatred toward Lynus in the first place. Perhaps he was just intimidated by him, by his skill and reputation, and didn't know how to respond.
Regardless of what he felt toward Lynus before, right now he seemed to hold him in relatively high regard. And yet there was something else Jhon had often seen in his eyes and expression. Remorse and guilt. Probably for his previous treatment of Lynus.
Emery was an odd man, but not a bad one.
"Are you two done arguing?" Lynus asked as Darrell stepped out of the room, followed by Emery with Zedimir clinging to his waist lagging behind him as he hid under his medical coat.
"I'm not arguing," Darrell said with a half-smile that looked rather…forced.
"Yeah, you know, I'm just trying to hold an informative discussion," Emery added with a half-smile that was oddly similar to Darrell's.
Jhon furrowed his brow when the two medics smiled reassuringly at Lynus. However, he could see the tension in their smiles, of which turned unbelievably terse when they glanced at each other.
"I'm a professional, after all," Darrell said in an abrupt and somewhat authoritative manner. "I know how to behave in a professional environment."
"While I am sure that I am lacking in professional experience," Emery said as his left eye gave an irritated twitch. "I, too, know how to hold myself in the presence of experts."
Darrell snorted loudly, seemingly from scepticism and mocking amusement while Emery's eye twitched again, his grin still in place, but decidedly more…maniacal? No, that didn't seem right. But it kinda did at the same time.
The two struggled to not outright glare at each other, something they both barely managed due entirely to Lynus' presence before Darrell snorted again and turned on his heel to walk away. He muttered something as he did so, and while Jhon wasn't entirely sure of everything he said, he did hear the words "patience of a saint" being murmured.
Emery's eyes narrowed in sheer annoyance before he seemed to mumble something under his breath, too, something along the lines of "haughty asshole" and "just jealous", and turn his attention to Zedimir who was still clinging onto him, oblivious to the animosity in the air.
Jhon looked over at Lynus after he heard him sigh and watched with a sense of concern as rubbed his forehead tiredly with his hand. "They honestly believe I can't sense their animosity toward each other."
Ah, that explained quite a bit.
"Considerate that they are trying to play nice in front of you?" Jhon suggested to the weary medic.
Lynus looked up at him and gave him a small smile. "Honestly, I think it would be better if they just bicker openly. All this insinuation and face pulling behind my back is a little childish."
Jhon chuckled and glanced over at Emery, watching as he managed to peel Zedimir from clinging to his back only for Zedimir to immediately press his face into the middle of Emery's chest with his arms around his waist. Emery had a slightly annoyed expression on his face, but it was obvious that it was just a mask. Especially since he made no attempt to push the dark hunter away from him.
Some people just weren't well adept at expressing themselves honestly. They would hide their insecurities and fears behind a confident or cold mask. It was to protect themselves, to prevent others from hurting them. It was all they knew how to do.
"Fine," Emery muttered as he pulled his glasses from his face and idly cleaned them with his coat. "But this is the last time, ok?"
"It won't be," Zedimir mumbled rather sleepily from Emery's chest.
Emery grimaced and tried to look defiant, no doubt because he knew Lynus and Jhon were still within earshot and could see everything. Jhon and Lynus, however, shared a look and smiled. They knew the truth. They could see the light dusting of red on Emery's face, and the fond smile on his lips. It was pretty obvious. Emery needed Zedimir just as much as Zedimir needed him.
They were good for each other.
