Lavashipping Oneshots!!

Lost Control PT.2

Lloyd’s room was quiet.

He lay on his side, cradling his arm, eyes half-lidded but awake. Zane was still seated nearby, adjusting the bandage with gentle precision.

Kai stood in the doorway, hesitant.

Zane looked up. “He’s doing much better. I’ll leave you two alone.”

Kai crossed the room slowly and knelt beside the bed.

“Hey…” Lloyd murmured.

“Lloyd, I—I’m so sorry,” Kai began. “There’s no excuse. I lost control, and you got hurt because of me. I’d give anything to take it back.”

Lloyd blinked slowly. “You didn’t mean to.”

“I still did it.”

Lloyd slowly reached out his hand and laid it on Kai’s wrist.

“I’m not mad,” he said softly. “Scared, yeah. But not mad. I know you’d never hurt me on purpose.”

Kai felt tears sting his eyes. “You should be mad.”

Lloyd gave a weak smile. “You yelled. I yelled. Stuff happens. And… you’ve always been there for me. One burn doesn’t erase that.”

Kai bit his lip, then gently leaned in, and Lloyd wrapped his arms around him. Careful, warm, solid.

“I love you, Kai,” Lloyd mumbled into his shoulder. “I always will.”

Kai held him tightly, exhaling shakily. “I love you too, little brother. So much.”

They stayed that way for a long moment, until Lloyd started to nod off again.

Kai helped him lie back, tucking the blanket carefully over his shoulders. He sat a moment longer, brushing a hand gently over Lloyd’s bangs before standing and heading for the door.

When Kai stepped into the hall, he nearly collided with someone.

Nya.

She stood frozen in the hallway, eyes soft with guilt.

They looked at each other for a long moment.

“Kai…” she whispered. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said what I did. I was scared, and angry, but I didn’t mean those words. I don’t think you’re a monster. I never did.”

Kai’s throat tightened.

“I’m sorry too,” he said quietly. “For hurting him. For scaring all of you.”

Nya stepped forward and pulled him into a tight hug. “We’re okay. You and me. Always.”

Kai nodded against her shoulder. “Always Sis.”

Back at his bedroom. Kai changed into his pajamas slowly, the fabric feeling heavier than usual against his skin. His muscles ached from tension, and despite the exhaustion weighing on him, sleep refused to come. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Lloyd flinching, Nya’s face twisted in fury, the flame, the scream.

Minutes passed, maybe more. The monastery was quiet. Too quiet.

He threw the blanket off with a huff, padded silently to the door, and made his way barefoot down the hallway. The wooden floors were cool under his feet, the only sound the soft creak of age-old planks and the faint wind whispering against the temple walls.

He stopped at a familiar door and knocked once.

A beat later, Cole’s voice came, low and gentle: “It’s open.”

Kai slipped inside.

Cole was already in bed, propped up against the headboard with a book resting in one hand, his other arm under the blanket. The room was dim, bathed in the soft golden glow of a small lantern on the nightstand.

Kai stood there a second, awkward, unsure how to ask.

Cole looked up, already closing the book and setting it aside. He didn’t need to ask. He just lifted the blanket on one side silent invitation, soft smile.

Kai didn’t hesitate after that. He crossed the room in a few quiet steps and slid into the space beside him. The sheets were warm. Cole smelled like cedarwood and the faint trace of laundry soap.

Kai exhaled slowly and shifted until his head found its place just above Cole’s heart, his cheek pressed to the steady, familiar rhythm of it. His arm came to rest across Cole’s torso, fingers curling into the hem of his shirt like an anchor.

Cole’s arm settled around Kai’s back instantly, strong and careful. His hand rubbed slow, comforting circles between Kai’s shoulder blades, dipping now and then to press lightly at the small of his back grounding, soothing.

“You good?” Cole murmured into his hair.

Kai didn’t answer right away. His voice was raw when it came. “I didn’t think I’d be able to breathe again tonight. Not after all that.”

“But now?” Cole asked gently.

Kai shifted just a little, nuzzling into the crook of Cole’s neck. “Now I feel… not good. But safe.”

Cole’s lips brushed his temple. “Safe’s a start.”

They lay like that in silence. Cole’s fingers traced slow, absent lines across Kai’s spine, just enough to keep his mind tethered to the moment. Kai felt the weight in his chest start to loosen, like a knot gently being unwound. The warmth of Cole’s body, the softness of the bed, the dim light and steady breathing it all wrapped around him like armor and shelter at once.

“Thank you,” Kai whispered after a while.

“For what?”

“For this. For always making room. Even when I feel like I don’t deserve it.”

Cole pressed a kiss to the top of his head, lips lingering there for a second longer than necessary. “You always deserve it. Always.”

Kai let out a quiet breath, eyelids fluttering shut. The fingers on Cole’s shirt loosened slightly as sleep started to edge in.

And when he finally fell asleep curled against the chest that had carried his weight more times than he could count there were no flames. No screams. No guilt biting at the edge of his dreams.

Just Cole’s heartbeat, slow and steady, like a lighthouse in the dark.