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"One of Javier and Lloyd must die."
"What if I leave for Seoul?"
"Still alive."
"What if-"
"No."
Lloyd is close to breaking, his frozen heart caught in his chest. Bargaining wasn't working. There must be something! There's always *something*! Lloyd doesn't want to die! He's too young to die again! There must be a way to save the estate and himself, surely! "Why can't there be two protagonists?" He shouts out, the desperation sounding worse than his singing.
"This is a storey. A s-t-o-r-e-y!" Lloyd is even more pissed off by the Jewel of Truth's inability to spell. Then again, this is a building, it's probably the only way it knows. Does not make him any less pissed off.
"Storeys don't have two main characters!"
"I'm sure there's some that do! Can't it be one of those?"
"Hang on, partner. There ain't no way this can be one of those. This is a tragic adventure or a villain isekai: pick one. Javier or Lloyd. This ain't no romcom."
Lloyd's hopeful feeling is pulling at him. "A romcom has two protagonists! Why can't this be a romcom?"
"Pfft. You two ain't falling in love. End of storey."
"And if we can?"
"Stabilisation."
"Then I swear to you I will make Javier fall in love with me! We will be wed! I promise you that!" He puts all his anger in the universe out in that statement. The Jewel of Truth fades away and he has a few seconds of nothingness left.
See, Lloyd has the mind of someone who can never be put to rest. And a mind such as this can zoom through the thoughts quickly regretted faster than Schumacker.
He just told the universe, him, a straight man, that he could make Javier, another straight man, fall in love with him. They're straight men.
And he's just condemned them both to being in a tragicomedy villain isekai boys love adventure story.
What Javier sees in front of him is a man who is in complete shock, on his knees, now collapsing from the weight of the horror called 'the truth'.
All he can gather is that whatever Suho saw... it must have been truly horrendous for him to lay in a ball crying.
Is there really no way to save the estate?
He'd wage a one man war against a hundred armies, he'd fight the king of hell himself, he'd slit his own throat before watching all that Suho built be destroyed.
And yet, whatever he saw, Suho now needed his protection more than ever, it seemed.
The system's been oddly quiet since the chat. Lloyd knows what impossible odds look like, and this is it. There's a faint sliver of hope in his conversation with the Jewel, but it does mean he needs to plan. He just needs to treat this as if it were a long-term construction project. The bridge he's building has a lock on it, that's all.
And to make a lock, he first needs to break a few chains. He doesn't know what the metaphor means, but it's serving his sanity as well as it can currently.
First of all, Javier requires sincerity in a partner. Lloyd hasn't had a sincere moment in his life, but he can at least make sure his own love is sincere.
This'll never work if the universe doesn't believe in their love, so Lloyd has to believe in it first.
He's currently acting bedridden, Javier stood outside the door to wave away uninvited guests.
This is the perfect way to enact the first part of his plan. By thinking of Javier turning away people at the door, he can start thinking of other things Javier has done for him. And, by thinking hard enough, there should be a growing... fondness of sorts. Logically speaking.
Actually, maybe he needs to be more psychological about it.
He pops his head out of the door. "Javier, get me some starberries." There. Javier's wordlessly executing the order with precision, to get a fruit which tastes absolutely amazing. Well, he says wordlessly, but wordlessness from Javier is an art form. He has stoic looks meaning everything from "I need a raise" to "you lazy asshole" and today it was "you're up to something, you damn villain". It was a nice contrast to his own face, which expressed even without a thought.
If he could make Javier indistinguishable from something that tastes good, he's sure to think of Javier being good too.
Javier comes back with a handful, reminding him that the fruit is out of season. The look he gives must be sour for Javier to "accidentally" close the door back on the 'invalid'.
Javier's lied for him.
Lick.
Javier's saved his life countless times.
Lick.
Javier is always there for him.
Lick.
Javier is a brilliant tool for engineering.
Lick lick.
...He's lost for other things to think. Wait a second!
Javier's handsome.
Lick. Why does the fruit taste more sour than normal?
...
...
Javier's been his hero long before he came here.
Lick. This ones bitter.
OK, maybe the strategy isn't foolproof. Time to check the results.
He opens the door once again.
"What would you have me do this time?" It's said with a hint of annoyance, the one that's lost whenever they're in the thick of a project. This is, Javier just doesn't know it. And he won't. Ever. Unless one of them's on their deathbed, hopefully in 60 years time.
He looks Javier up and down, without a hint of difference to his feelings for the man. Obviously, the tactic could not induce romantic attraction.
...He kinda wants to lick him though, that's new.
The strategy may not have worked for romantic affection, but sexual? He could definitely produce sexual thoughts for a man as good looking (ugh) as the protagonist (the word makes him wince, now).
"Could I get a banana this time?"
Javier has, it seems, been demoted from knight to manservant to match Suho's false illness. However, throughout the day it's clear that Suho might actually be telling the truth for once. He's not working towards the goal he says he now has (at least not obviously) and his face is growing progressively more flushed.
He's about to call for the doctor again, when Suho instead says that he knows the problem, asking for a bath. Why he wants more cold water than hot, he does not ask. He does not want to know what the devil's scheming unless he absolutely must.
He doesn't mind as much as his looks might suggest, he wants Suho back to being himself.
It's right before Javier's lullaby when Lloyd asks if he can stare at him for a minute. Javier's looking a little freaked out, at the intensity of his stare or the question itself.
Lloyd's looking for an imperfection, anywhere in his face, not finding a single one. His hair curls in a way that makes him want to run his hand through it and mess it up. He wants to pinch the perfect cheeks until they've reddened. He wants to open his mouth with his thumb and make his knight bite back in anger, making frown lines crinkle by his eyes. Even then, he'd still be beautiful.
Lloyd stops staring, finding that another failure. None of his thoughts are new.
He feels the sands of time slip between his fingertips.
"I need to stare at you, give me a minute." Javier's caught off guard, but finds his own gaze fixed to Suho. He's never been a fan of Lloyd Fonterra's face, but the bad memories associated with it disappeared with the man's soul.
Lloyd never was as expressive as Suho, and he loves that. For as duplicitous, capitalistic and scummy as Suho is in what he says, his face always expresses those words perfectly. His feelings are on his face, on his sleeve. Javier's seen this face morph and contort one thousand times over, and every one is catalogued in his mind.
Suho's body is also chiselled into a physique that Lloyd could never have made himself. It shows the dedication that Suho has, the discipline that Suho pretends he never managed.
He thinks back to Seoul, how his body is there. Handsome too, apparently.
He doesn't doubt it: any body that belongs to Kim Suho would be one with calloused hands and strong eyes.
Javier isn't sure what type of dream he'll have once his lullaby has been spoken. Will it be of rough hands around his waist or all he can imagine Suho's face to be when pleasured?
Eventually, the gaze droops and before Javier can even ask he's asleep.
Lloyd, lost in thought, realised that him and Javier hadn't really had a day of them as... friends. Equals, partners, master and servant, boss and employee and everything in between yes. But that's always on jobsites, and in dangerous situations, and when they're both under pressure.
They've never really had a holiday, have they?
Javier must be hearing Suho wrong. To hear that he wants his opinion on where they should go on holiday, right now, for a full month together, alone. He answers anyway, because if this is for a cover story, or if they're needing to enact a plan, Suho will redirect the conversation to what they need anyway. There's no reason to think that Suho's actually planning on a vacation.
"I think we're just fine here, but if I had to say... then Seoul."
Lloyd stares at him.
"Here, that's your answer?"
"Yes? But I did say at a push I would say Seoul."
"Why Seoul?" Lloyd's tone has dropped, he genuinely wants to know. He's not deflecting. Oh dear.
"...Because it's where you're from." He mutters. Suho still picks up on it, anyway. His face has shut down, a poor sign from the man. It's saying "Lloyd Fonterra can't come to the door right now, come back tomorrow!"
Javier leaves him be.
After the exchange with the knight, he knows the next step of the plan is... just to spend time with Javier on the estate. They couldn't really go back to Seoul, mostly because of their pending arrest warrants, but he's sure with enough effort they could get ones here. Ignore that he's the Count's son, please. It's a great bonding activity, actually.
The next month could easily be montaged, with Lloyd and Javier spending time with the Count and Countess, helping Greg with his hobby (Lloyd has to scrap his ideas for weapons worse than intercontinental missiles, and even then his capitalistic heart is screaming at him), and just... not doing much.
He's not as antsy as normal, but that may just be because he's still in work mode at the end of the day. He's doing what he can to protect those around him, and if that means having fun, he'll have all the fun he can create.
Javier's becoming antsy: Suho hasn't made a move yet. They also haven't worked on construction, almost died or both in the last month.
It's weird.
Less weird, in the grand scheme of things, is that Suho's drawing up plans for something called a "rollercoaster".
The spark in his eye is charming as he furiously sketches, balls up a failed design, tuts, tries again.
He'll be by his side the entire time, it's the most natural place for him in the world.
Lloyd has to distract himself from how horrifically his plan is going. Not a single thing has changed between him and Javier in the span of 2 months. Thankfully, there's the perfect method to do it. Construction is what he excels at, and with the engineering core's growing knowledge a rollercoaster would be rather simple to create in the grand scheme of things.
It requires little land in comparison to the architecture of the estate and it would promote tourism exceptionally. A small fee for its upkeep would be a small price to pay, hmm? He's rubbing his hands gleefully at the thought already.
Even more importantly, it'll make for a great low-stakes way for him to associate a faster heartbeat (such as those in love) to Javier. Of course, his heartbeat his already slightly raised at all times when Javier is around, but that's thanks to the amount of danger they always find themselves in for no reason (other than Lloyd's own plans).
When the rollercoaster is complete, Suho sets up a booth next to it, not only selling tickets to the ride but also this fluffy pink concoction known as "cotton candy". It's dreadfully sweet, but for some reason he can't stop taking mouthfuls of it.
Suho tries to extort him for it and he is not letting him have his way. He stuffs some of the pink candy in the man's mouth, only to be met by a frown and a blush both. He's certain the moment would come across as romantic, if the previous victims of the roller coaster hadn't been throwing up this exact pink monstrosity into the bushes behind.
Suho tips Greg to make sure the last ride of the day belonged to him and Javier alone, for some reason. It's done so blatantly behind his back, but this is just another way in which Suho acts. The sunset was beginning to darken the sky when they get onto the contraption. They speed through the loops, neither of them all that phased. Honestly, riding a dragon took more to withstand than this metal ride.
The displeasure on Suho's face is apparent, his teeth breaking into the skin of his thumb.
Javier can protect the man's body much more easily than his emotions, but he will have to try tonight.
"Suho."
Lloyd smacks his hand over Javier's mouth. "I thought I made it clear you shouldn't be calling me that." His own name feels divorced from this world, really. He doesn't want to think about it.
"Lloyd." Javier looks concerned.
Well, guess he's gonna have to deflect. "Javier! Look, a threat to my safety!"
"Master, I think the only threat to your safety is yourself right now. Also, you know that blank face doesn't work on me." He sighs.
"Wait what? Me?" Suho gives an unconvincing laugh. "I think you're gravely mistaken, my dear Javier."
Suho squirms under his piercing stare, the desired result. Rather than wait for Suho to take more drastic measures, such as run away to the capital and cry to the Queen that Javier's being mean to him, Javier manhandles him into the Master's bedroom.
"You're panicking."
Lloyd should have known that Javier would notice his behaviour, eventually. Lying also wouldn't leave him in his knight's good books, which is the exact opposite of what he wants. His time is up and there isn't even a fire scorching the land.
"Well, Javier... I don't know how to say this but..."
"You're stalling."
"No I'm not! I'm just having difficulties saying what I want!"
"That really is concerning then, since you've never had that problem before."
"Not when I make a deal or play politician, Javier. This isn't a deal." And I know you're behind me rather than facing me when doing it, usually, he doesn't say.
"Phrase it like it is one, then."
That... isn't actually a bad idea. "Javier, in exchange for you spending your life with me, I'll provide you all the comfort and stability I can offer." There, a perfectly acceptable proposal. In the business sense.
"...That is all?" That's all? That's all!? He'd build Javier a palace in his name if only he asked, and that's what he says? His fury must show on his face, because Javier elaborates. "I mean, we are already together every waking moment. I can't sleep without you, and I wouldn't want to wake up in a world without you. You have already given everyone here lives we could only have dreamed of a decade ago. You haven't said a word about it since you asked the Jewel of Truth but I'm certain you're working on keeping this life we lead no matter the chances. You have given me everything and more already, Kim Suho." The smile on Javier's face has his heart flutter: *Heart of Winter, you're the cause, right?* and receives a cross-armed no in response.
Oh, is this what love feels like? He doesn't like the butterflies one bit. Then again, it's having something tell him no that makes him want to push onward anyway.
He does the first thing he thinks of, to act on the feelings that he's not yet questioned too deeply.
Javier feels like he might be baring his own soul, when asking for Suho's.
He feels like he misunderstood something, when the reaction has him feeling the wet streak of Suho's tongue along his neck and jaw. His uncharacteristic speech has turned to silence, his smile confused. If he moves slightly, their mouths will catch and become a kiss.
Javier has never been a coward. Their teeth clash together and Suho makes a shocked noise. Perhaps the noises he can pull from him will be as varied as his faces? His lips are dry and he's pushing Suho backwards a bit too forcefully. He reflexively clamps his hand to Suho's waist as Javier tries to come up for air. Instead, Suho pushes towards *him* a bit too forcefully. They're stumbling and pushing and pulling until they're somehow both on the bed still making out.
It's when they pull away for real this time, Suho's weight on Javier's, legs tangled, that Suho speaks with ragged breath.
"If it didn't get through to you the first time, let me try again. I want to spend my life with you, Javier."
Javier's own face is flushed he knows. But it probably cannot beat the trepidation on Suho's face. Their relationship has been one that builds upon the other, and he feels like this should be no different.
He drags Suho back down, biting his neck.
(Lloyd is still a little paranoid and asks for an Ending Spoiler.
He has to close his eyes and sing his heart out to block out all the sensations.
He doesn't want to experience his wedding, not until he can face his husband on the altar himself.)