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Chapter Text

[Javier is watching you closely.]

Lloyd rolled his eyes. Wasn't the knight always doing that? Besides, he was just observing the area for a suitable building spot.

[Javier is watching you very closely.]

"Master Lloyd, what is this?"

"What's what?" Lloyd turned around, only to find Javier staring directly at the blue pop-up message. "Oh, that's the-"

Wait. What?

Javier shouldn't be able to see the system messages. No one should be able to except for himself, so what was this!?

His knight stared at him expectantly. There was no way Lloyd was going to be able to explain this after partially answering without thinking. Dammit, why couldn't he just stop and think before speaking just this once?

"That's, you know." Lloyd stared back. That's right, he'd done this before. Surely he'd be able to do it again and insist it was normal. 

[Javier is too used to your antics to be fooled.]

"What!? Weren't you supposed to be on my side!?" 

The knight looked down at the message and grinned. "Whatever this is, it's smart."

Everyone was turning against him today, it seemed.

----

"So it's a system that gives you messages and is also the reason for your summons. I see." Javier nodded. "I understand now why you act so crazy now."

Lloyd sighed and leaned back, falling onto the bed. He almost expected Javier to fall asleep with the explanation, but it was definitely a lot less boring than college textbook lectures. "See? There's a reason to everything I do."

"Everything? I don't know about that." There was a slight smile on Javier's face as he spoke. "You are still Master Lloyd, aren't you?"

This brat… Lloyd sat back up to retort. Good thing that Javier was in his pajamas, because the sun had long since set. Now was the time for his ace move; Lloyd needed to talk to the system privately anyways, and he was feeling a little too lazy to come up with proper comeback. "Well, how about this? The insulation within a house can be composed of different materials such as cellulose, glass wool, rock wool, polystyrene, wood fiber, and plant fiber to name a few. While each has its own rate of success, the purpose of insulation is to reduce…"

[What a dirty trick. Why don't you come up with an actual response?]

Javier nodded in agreement with the system as he succumbed to the lullaby spell, wondering what exactly this new development would bring.

Sighing, Lloyd leaned back again and looked up at the notifications plaguing his vision. "So, what is this all about, really?"

[It's an error.]

"An error, huh…? How does that happen?" As much as Lloyd depended on the system for things, he really didn't know all that much about it. Was it being run by someone, or was it just some kind of sentient overseer on its own? Though it seemed like this could be a good opportunity to learn about its inner workings, realistically he knew it would tell him nothing about itself.

[It just does. Unfortunately, we can't fix it now because you went and told the main character about it.]

"How is that my fault!? You basically told me that he wouldn't buy it if I tried to make something up!" 

[You should've made sure he didn't know you so well, then!] 

"Ugh, whatever." Glancing over at Javier, he realized how similar the system was to the sleeping knight. Both had become important parts of his life, and he depended on them quite a bit more than he had expected to. Hopefully that wouldn't become a problem if something were to happen later on. He turned over in his bed and pulled the sheets over himself. "I'm going to sleep now. Don't bother me."

No pop-ups appeared, but Lloyd got the sense that it would be rolling its eyes if it could.

----

Javier got along well with the system. A little too well, Lloyd thought. Soon it would start offering RP and skills and upgrades to him, and then Javier would become a lot more powerful than he originally should've been. 

That would be a nightmare to face. Good thing Lloyd managed to get on the knight's good side a long time ago, or else he would've been dead meat by now. 

Even now, he could see the two in the distance, Javier looking down at the blue rectangles popping up around him and snickering at whatever it was saying.

Lloyd dug his shovel further into the land. So what! They could become best friends for all he cared. Meanwhile, he would continue making use of his construction knowledge and make more money, which would mean everyone in the estate could live comfortable lives and he would be revered as a hero. And he would do that without the system's further help if he had to!

[How's it going, molerat?]

Molerat? "What?"

[Javier says you look like a molerat when you dig.]

"Nice to see you're using me to make new friends," Lloyd said flatly. "What next, are you going to start talking about how ugly I am? Is this highschool?"

[We can talk about your poor love life instead, if you want.]

What a great offer, he thought sarcastically. This damn system was definitely messing with him for the hell of it.

"That would require him to have a love life at all." Javier stepped next to Lloyd, reading the system message. 

Scowling, Lloyd flicked some dirt at his knight, who easily sidestepped it. "I can't believe you're betraying me right now. I thought you were supposed to help me!"

"Strictly speaking, I've only been instructed to protect you." 

"Whatever. I have work to do, so go have fun with your new friend somewhere else. Then you can get in trouble after something happens to me, and you'll be kicked out of the county." Kicking the shovel out from its resting position, Lloyd went back to digging out the area and deliberately turned away from Javier. Was he being petty? Most certainly, but it was nothing the others weren't used to.

Javier stared for a moment before looking at the window that appeared behind Lloyd's head.

[No way… is he jealous?]

Now that was an interesting prospect. Normally, one would be glad if their friends were getting along, because otherwise it would just be awkward. Of course if they got along too well, it might make them feel excluded. 

Javier couldn't help it, though. It was just too easy to make fun of the young master, provoking that temper of his while knowing he wouldn't get violent. It was a far cry from the Lloyd he used to serve, who would find fault with everything and get himself into trouble. Now he would poke back at Javier, and the two would exchange remarks in the same way that friends were comfortable enough to.

Of course, this Lloyd still got himself into troublesome situations, but Javier found that he didn't mind bailing him out anymore. He knew that he wasn't the same Lloyd Frontera, and Lloyd knew that he knew, and at some point it had become a sort of open secret between them. As much as Javier had initially been conflicted about it, he had already started to trust the new young master too much to turn on him. The change made Count Arcos and Countess Marbella happy about it as well, even if they didn't know as much as he did, and that was enough reason for him to let him be.

In the end, he could only accept it and continue to serve Lloyd faithfully. 

Looking at him, though, Javier realized that even after the change, the young master did not make many friends. Was it possible, then, that Lloyd really was jealous? 

The knight laughed to himself. He already knew that Lloyd was jealous of him, with his endless flow of love letters and admirers. But that was all. What more was there to be envious of; this "system" talking to more than just Lloyd? It didn't offer him anything that it offered the young master. There were no summons or easily upgraded skills for Javier, there was only the dialogue it provided. It was still undeniably something that revolved around Lloyd.

But Lloyd was selfish, so he supposed it wasn't at all unlikely that he would get jealous about such stupid things.

"Don't be sad, Master Lloyd. You'll always have the system to back you up."

Chapter Text

[Lloyd wants to ask you something.]

"Do you need to do that everytime I try to do something?" Lloyd scowled and shook his head. "Nevermind. Anyways, I'm only asking you this because the system was bothering me about it, and then I got curious about it. Why didn't you stay in Namaran?"

What an odd question. "Isn't it obvious? I thought I told you already; I am a knight of the Fronteras. Why would I abandon my duties?"

[To get stronger, of course!]

"Yeah, what that says. I bet you'd be tons more powerful by now if you didn't come back here." Spreading his arms out for emphasis, Lloyd continued, unaware of Javier's irritation. "Besides, you wouldn't have to look after some guy who just makes you do construction work. And there was Siluria." Lloyd grinned. "I'm pretty sure I saw you getting along real well with her."

[Real well.]

The topic only made Javier feel annoyed, for reasons he wasn't sure of himself. Irrationally so, too. He could feel himself tensing up with anger and grit his teeth. "It seems Master Lloyd still hasn't gotten smarter. Tell me when your brain has stopped shrinking."

"Hey, rude!" Lloyd pouted as he watched Javier stomp off, and looked at the blank blue window. "What was that all about?"

[I don't know. He was supposed to want to stay with Siluria, but I guess not.]

Siluria, Javier's first and only love in the books, who he tragically lost. Now, instead of sad and gloomy, Javier was lively and even playful. Except for presently, because now he was off somewhere stewing in anger for some reason. Shouldn't he have jumped at the chance to stay with the girl he was destined to fall for? Maybe that was also an error, though Lloyd wondered if he had something to do with it. After all, though the world contained elements of The Knight of Blood and Iron, it was far from being the same story anymore. He couldn't consider the people he'd come to know as just characters in a book.

Still, Lloyd definitely remembered seeing Javier getting along well with Siluria. Staring at the window, he could almost feel it staring back, despite its lack of eyes. 

[...]

[Alright, I'll go ask him. But only because I want to know as well.]

"Thanks!"

----

Javier stood at the training grounds. He wasn't even doing anything but standing there, staring at the training dummies as though they'd wronged him.

Lloyd was right; he couldn't get stronger here. Though the estate was thriving, it lacked the sorts of establishments that he could utilize as a proper swordmaster. And Siluria… He admired her mastery over magic, and she was quite nice to simply converse with. Staying in Namaran really would have been the better choice, rationally.

Yet, he just couldn't bring himself to leave Lloyd behind. Was it pity that drove him to stay? No, Lloyd had a manaheart as well. He was weaker than Javier, sure, but still much more powerful than your average person. If Javier did leave, he knew that he would learn to protect himself quickly.

[Hey, Javier.]

What was the system even talking about with Lloyd to make him ask that question in the first place? Javier glared at the floating rectangle.

[What did I do to you!?]

"Why did Master Lloyd suddenly ask me about Namaran?"

There was a pause before the window popped up again, and for a moment Javier thought it'd run away. 

[ That's why you're mad?]

[Why are you mad about that, of all things? It was a good question.]

He knew it was, and yet the question had upset him, so he came here to figure out why it did. So far, he didn't get any answers. "I… don't know."

[Tsk, tsk.]

[Well, fine. I'll tell you. We were talking about stuff like fate. Do you know what that is?]

Javier rolled his eyes and sat down on a nearby bench. "Don't talk down to me. I know what fate is."

[Lloyd asked why you didn't stay in Namaran.]

[But I'm asking you why you didn't follow your fate.]

"Was I supposed to stay there?" Javier narrowed his eyes. The idea that he was meant to stay there was as unpleasant as choosing to stay there. No, it definitely felt worse.

[That's what was expected. You were drawn to Siluria, weren't you? You could say that it was written for you to fall in love with her. But when Lloyd gave you the choice, you chose to follow him instead.]

"She was nice, yes." He did feel a sort of connection with her, and he mourned it quietly when he left. "But I did not know her for as long as I have known Lloyd. It wouldn't have made sense to stay there." 

That connection he felt just was not the same as those he'd already formed. It was new, and as weak as a single thread. The ones he already had were as strong as the steel bars Lloyd favored, perhaps even stronger.

[But love does not make sense.]

[And it does not make sense to defy what you are meant to do either.]

"Then the choice doesn't make sense at all. If I stayed with someone I don't know that well it wouldn't make sense to me, and returning here doesn't make sense to you." Javier huffed out a sigh. "It's not important either way. It's already happened."

[That's from your viewpoint. What happened was that you broke what was preordained for you in order to follow that money-grabbing hooligan, and now you'll never be with the love of your life.]

"He's not just out for money," spat Javier. "And it's not like I can never go back to Namaran."

[Right, of course he's not, even though he cites that as his reason for everything. Suuure.]

Javier's frown would've deepend even further if it could. "Everyone but himself seems to know it's not just the money. And you, I guess. Even Sir Bayern learned that before me."

[Sigh.]

[Yes, of course he's not. He actually does care about the people here, which is why he told you to stay and learn in Namaran. Even he knew better than you.]

"I'm leaving." The knight abruptly stood and started walking away again. Namaran this, Namaran that, why was it so difficult for this thing to accept that he would rather stay with the Fronteras? Now it was just getting on his nerves.

For a moment, Javier thought he'd escaped the annoying popups and its endless pestering.

[!!!]

[Oh, so that's how it is! I see now.]

"What is it this time, you- Whatever you are?" 

There was no response this time, but he could already tell that his future was going to have a lot more annoying occurrences than he'd like. He could already feel a headache coming on.

----

[Lloyd, have you read anything about the "Red String of Fate?"]

What an odd question. Lloyd, sitting in his room and drawing up some ideas while a certain knight slept peacefully, looked confusedly at the system window. "No, but I know about it. Isn't it just, 'Hey look, we have the same string so we're soulmates,' right?" He leaned back in his chair and asked, "What's this coming from?"

[I just think that there's something romantic about breaking your string to be with someone you choose.]

"...What? Do you read stories or something from wherever you are?" Lloyd pointed his pen accusingly at the window. "I don't want to hear about some sappy romance novel. Especially not if it has one of those awful covers on them."

[At least I have more memorized than construction lectures!]

"At least those lectures helped me learn to control mana. Remember that? Oh, and it gave me my original education from before." He grinned. "I bet your romance books don't teach you anything."

[If you read romance books, you would be far ahead by now.]

"What? Don't give me that crap, it's my face that's the issue here. Besides," Lloyd said, glancing over at the sleeping figure by the door. "I don't need anything else, as long as I'm safe."

[This is going to be a long, difficult process.]

"What are you talking about now? Hey, if you mean my blueprints, they're perfectly fine!"

Chapter Text

Lloyd was lost in thought as he walked down a hallway, Javier behind him as they headed out to the front of the house. He didn't even notice the maids cleaning up the area, dusting and wiping it down.

What was he thinking about? His latest project, of course. He had to make sure the workers were staying safe, and the ground conditions were stable, and a lot of everything else. It was a good thing he already took care of leveling the area down so that there wouldn't be instabilities later on, but with everything else he couldn't help but worry. So he kept fretting over them as he walked, and-

[Boo!]

"Gah!" The window had shown up right in Lloyd's face, startling him so badly that he almost fell backwards.

The keyword being "almost." Luckily, Javier was there to catch him, as always. The knight pushed Lloyd back up and looked at the pop up, unamused. "Really?"

[Haha! You should've seen your face!]

Lloyd's pushback of choice was to grumble at the popup and keep going as though nothing had happened. Which, honestly, almost tripping backwards was insignificant enough to count as nothing to him. He brushed past the message and continued on his way, Javier right behind him.

[You're no fun.]

----

Unfortunately for the duo, the system was only getting warmed up. It was talking more and more, trying to lead them around to certain places that Lloyd knew were definitely not part of anything important. Whatever it was trying to do was undoubtedly a failure in most aspects.

…Except for the current moment. Lloyd had opened a closet door and tripped inside the dark room on behest of the system, which had also lured Javier in earlier.

"You damn system, you knew there was a broom to trip me there, didn't you!?"

There was no answer, but now he was crammed up against his knight and stuck waiting for someone to come along and open the door to free them. Neither of them could move well in this space, not when it was barely enough to fit a single person. They couldn't even move their arms in an attempt to open the door, either.

He could hear Javier inhale, right next to his ear, and whisper, "Master Lloyd, don't tell me you also fell for it."

"You're here too, so don't act like you're any better than me!" Lloyd hissed back at Javier, trying to adjust his arms in an unsuccessful attempt to push himself away from the knight. "Now we're both stuck here."

Javier made a sort of pained noise. "I can get us out, but in the dark…"

"You are not going to manablast the walls! Do you know how much property damage that would cause!?" Lloyd hissed out, and then he sighed. It was a long, drawn out and irritated sigh. "We're going to have to wait until someone needs something from this closet and lets us out."

"...As you wish, then." He could hear the strain in Javier's voice. Well, at least he wasn't the only one who was uncomfortable in this situation. 

It felt like forever. At least, it'd been long enough that Lloyd was starting to feel uncomfortably warm. Or maybe it was Javier who was warm? The sound of the other's breathing wasn't really helping either. For a moment, he wondered if they would run out of oxygen, before remembering that of course they wouldn't because the room wasn't sealed off.

The silence was making everything a lot more awkward than it had to be. "Hey, say something."

"What am I supposed to say, Master Lloyd?" Was Javier's voice always this loud, or was Lloyd starting to imagine things?

"I don't know, just something. Doesn't it feel weird to just stand here and not talk at all or anything?" Lloyd tried to twist himself around again, to gauge where the door might be. The only thing he got for his troubles was a muffled grunt from Javier.

"Stop moving, you'll step on my foot again," the knight complained, pushing back against Lloyd. 

"Now you're stepping on my foot, asshole!" He attempted to retaliate by kicking at Javier, but in the limited space it was really just him squirming around. 

This resulted in the two whisper-shouting at each other as they continued to try to shove each other until a familiar voice came from outside the door, accompanied by the sound of footsteps. 

"Ppodong!" 

Miraculously, the door opened, and the two tumbled out of the closet. It turned out that Lloyd's back was to the exit, and he fell out with Javier on top of him.

"Ow, ow, ow, get off!" He shoved his knight off and rolled over, pushing himself upright. It didn't hurt that badly, but the hilt of Javier's sword had jammed into his arm when he fell. Lloyd knew that when he checked that spot tomorrow, there would be a bruise.

He looked over at Javier, who had gotten up quicker than he did. Lucky him, who had a Lloyd to cushion his fall. He probably wouldn't have any bruises from the incident at all. Lloyd scowled at him, but there was no external reaction from the knight.

The maid who'd freed them looked very obviously like she had a question, fidgeting with her skirt. Ppodong did as well, looking up at them with his head tilted. "Ppodong?"

Lloyd sighed. "Ugh, just spit it out." 

The maid jumped and glanced between the two. "I just… Why were you in there in the first place? I mean, you don't have to answer, of course! I'm only a bit curious."

Javier and Lloyd glanced at each other. They both knew that there was no explanation they could come up with that would make sense. It was once again, up to Lloyd to bluff them out of this one.

"Well, isn't it obvious?" he asked the maid.

"No…?"

"I mean, c'mon." Lloyd shrugged with his hands. "Just think about it."

"Oh, um…" She thought for a moment. "Oh, I see! I-I'll leave you alone now, then!" 

Javier watched the maid run off. "I can't believe that still works."

"If it works it works. We've got other things to do." Lloyd glanced around the area and called out. "Hey, you stupid system! Are you going to explain yourself?"

[Hey hey, I've got my reasons! I'll even give you a reward for surviving that… later.]

"Really?" Deciding it wasn't worth his time to continue yelling at it, Lloyd bent down to pick up Ppodong and rub his head, giving him praises for finding the closet, being so smart, and who was a good hamster?

Javier realized he had better things to do than to listen to that, and excused himself. "I will go and check on the workers now, Master Lloyd." 

"Yeah yeah, do what you need to." It was probably for the best. Lloyd had to keep himself from glancing over at his knight and remembering just how damn close they'd been to each other. It didn't exactly call up thoughts that he wanted to deal with.

----

The staff kept whispering about something. Neither Lloyd nor Javier knew what exactly it was they were whispering about with the way they would always clam up when either of them entered the room, but it had to be interesting.

Lloyd was outside, watching the night sky over the new construction site and making sure all of the workers were leaving to their homes. Tired workers meant a higher risk of accidents, after all. 

Most importantly, he was alone, and the system had never given him that reward it said it would. Maybe he could learn what the staff were all gossiping about. Surely it had to be something interesting.

"Hey, system. Remember when you said you'd give me a reward for surviving that closet you tricked me into? Why don't you tell me what everyone is talking about in the house, because they're sure not telling me."

[That's not the reward I was planning on giving you, but that could be a fun addition.]

[I'll show you after this.]

A window with familiar stats popped up. 

[Javier's approval rating: +▮▮▮]

[ERROR, VALUE EXCEEDS LIMITS]

"Huh?" Lloyd squinted at the blank rectangles that were replacing the numbers. 

[Ta da! There's your reward. I found what was causing the error!]

"I thought the highest number a computer could process was more than two billion. There's no way it's more than that."

[What are you talking about?]

[Anyways, I found where the numbers went. They're over here instead, and got reduced into a smaller number. It's still the same number, though, like one hundred is ten blocks of ten but one hundred blocks of one. And two blocks of fifty.]

"I know math, you don't need to explain that.

Another window popped up.

[Love rating: 28]

…

Love rating? What the hell was that? "What is this supposed to be?"

[You don't know what a crush is?]

[Oh, that's right. You've never gotten a love letter.]

[HAHA!]

Lloyd glared at the system before looking back at the rating. A crush? 28? There was no way that Javier, the main protagonist who looked about as perfect as a person could possibly be, would ever think of Lloyd like that.

And maybe Lloyd was guilty of having just a little, tiny hint of a crush, but that was probably just admiration. Javier was one of the most powerful people in this world now, how could someone not admire someone like that?

[Besides, don't you remember? Javier would die for you if he needed to.]

"That doesn't mean he likes me like that!" Javier wasn't supposed to fall for anyone else. Besides, Lloyd had a plain face. Why would Javier turn down all those women who crowded around him for that?

[Actually, it means just that.]

[And since I'm feeling nice, I'll show you what everyone is gossiping about as well!]

The next window that popped up had the traditional description of an event, without any of the recent personality of the system.

[Because you did not explain it properly, the maid who let you and Javier out of the closet could only find one explanation for the situation. Now, rumors that you are involved with Javier have swirled around the estate.]

"Are you kidding me!?"

That would definitely explain why everyone refused to tell him. 

It also meant that Lloyd was ruined, and his life was officially over.

Chapter Text

"The construction has held up, Master Lloyd."

"Uh huh. Alright, okay." 

Javier glared suspiciously at Lloyd's back as he hurried away. Lately, his master had been finding excuses to work; the knight had believed his reasons the first few times, but now it was becoming obvious that something was up. That, and the fact that Lloyd could barely even glance at him without getting nervous.

[Frustrating, isn't it?]

Even the system had been taunting him about it as of late. Yesterday, the day before, and the day before that. 

At least he could say he wasn't the only one getting different treatment. Lloyd was more irritated with the servants, although he was only ever annoyed with them and nothing else. At least he wasn't throwing things or cursing them out.

[Are you ever going to do something about this?]

It didn't even have a voice, but Javier could swear that the system sounded smug.  "This is your fault, isn't it?"

[I don't know what you're talking about.]

[You'll just have to ask him yourself.]

As much as Javier wanted the system to help, it continually refused to tell him anything useful. He really would have to do this himself, because no one else was.

----

Javier stared anxiously at the wooden chair as he held his pillow under an arm. Was this a bad idea? Lloyd would surely be tired now; it was the end of the day. He didn't want to disturb his master.

On the other hand, what other opportunity would he possibly get? Even if Lloyd had been avoiding him throughout the rest of the week, he never failed to put Javier to sleep at the same time and place every night. Javier reassured himself. No, it had to be now. 

He turned around and caught the person in question entering the room. "Master Lloyd." 

"What is it?" As expected, Lloyd refused to look closely at Javier. "Am I late or something? No, wait, you're early for some reason."

"Lloyd, what happened?"

"What do you mean? Nothing happened." Lloyd didn't sound very convincing this time, not even to himself.

Javier persisted. "Master Lloyd."

Lloyd sighed. He really did not want to talk about this; he would only end up making a fool of himself if he did. "Look, it's nothing you have to worry about."

The knight had to resist throwing his pillow at him."Then how long are you planning on staying like this?"

"Staying like what?"

Javier glares at him.

Lloyd groans and agonizes for a moment before giving up. "Okay, the system showed me something, but it's really, really none of your business."

"It is my business when you start avoiding me. And what about the staff? What did they do to you? It's their problem as well." For all that Lloyd's insistence could be endearing at times, Javier was only getting irritated now. "You've been acting like this for too long for people to not be concerned."

Lloyd was silent. He was obviously trying to think of a way out, or some kind of excuse, but he couldn't think of one and Javier clearly wasn't backing down either.

"Fine. It said that you… thought very… highly of me." He spoke slowly as he determined what the best way to word it was, or perhaps he was forcing himself to speak. "And also, the staff have been spreading false rumors." He spoke the second part much more confidently, though.

For Javier, it didn't clear up anything about himself. "So what if I 'think highly' of you? Everyone else does too, don't they?"

"Right, uh, but it was," Lloyd made a vague gesture with his hands. "More than that?"

"More than that?" 

Oh.

Was that what this was about?

Javier stepped closer to Lloyd. He was taller than his master, and though it wasn't by that much, it was still enough to lean over him a bit. He tilted his head closer until his was only a hand away from Lloyd's, and watched as his eyes darted away from Javier's.

"You mean like this? What's wrong with that?"

It took Lloyd a moment to process what was happening, but once he did he stumbled back and almost tripped over himself. "What do you mean- Isn't this- Wait, are you serious!?"

Amused by Lloyd's reaction, Javier couldn't stop himself from grinning as he stepped back. "What do you think?"

He watched as Lloyd's face flashed through many different emotions, his mouth open as though he wanted to say something but couldn't come up with anything. Eventually, he settled with, "What are you messing around for, huh?" 

"...Lloyd." Stripped of any titles, his name felt heavy on his tongue. Javier paused, pushing himself to continue. "I would not have done that if I did not feel that way. About you."

Silence. 

"I'm sorry. I overstepped."

"I- No! That's-" Lloyd groaned and scratched his neck. "I… also. You know."

Javier stared at Lloyd.

"You know!" Lloyd's entire face was flushed as he struggled to speak. "I thought the system was just making fun of me, but I kept thinking about it and I realized that I started hoping it wasn't a joke so-! I guess I do actually really, really… like you. A lot."

Seeing Lloyd like this, while satisfying, was also very tempting. Javier stepped forward again. "Then, may I?"

Lloyd nodded.

They pressed their lips together, and it felt as though everything fell into place. It was as though everything finally, finally made sense. What was supposed to be didn't matter, no, this was always how things were going to end. After everything they had been through, all of their adventures, there was no one else that could properly stand by each other's sides.

Needless to say, Javier did not sleep on the chair that night. 

[Finally! It's not like the narrative was on track, anyways.]

----

"So we were right! Master Lloyd and Sir Javier really are-! And that time in the closet, they were actually-"

"No, no, we weren't. Not then."

"How about now?"

"Javier!"

[Why not? Doesn't it seem fun, now?]

"Argh!"