#mtap toby

It was a warm autumn day in Portia. It seemed like the summer wasn’t really ready to go just now and Elenya didn’t mind one bit.

It was her first autumn since she arrived in Portia and she really loved all the colours nature had to offer. While Barnarock was her home for a long time, Elenya definitely didn’t miss the hot, dry and harsh weather. Also for the first time since her arrival, she was taking a day off. Arlo practically forced her after she collided with him on the stairs to the Central Plaza yesterday and only avoided falling down the stairs thanks to his quick reflexes.

~~~ The evening before ~~~

Elenya was completely exhausted after pulling a few all-nighters to get the tree farm running again and finishing all her other open commissions. She was just coming down from the clinic, where she delivered a tea table to Dr. Xu, and decided to take the long way home, past the wishing tree and then up the main path to Peach Plaza. While that was her last point on her to-do list for today, her tired mind already wandered to all the things she had to do tomorrow. Engrossed in her thoughts, she didn't notice the figure coming towards her on the stairs and collided directly with its shoulder.

Startled, she lost her footing on the steps and already prepared herself to make closer acquaintance with the stairs. But in a flash, a hand closed around her upper arm and she was pulled against a strong chest. With a racing heart, she looked up to see who just saved her from breaking her neck and concerned blue eyes met her green ones.

Oh no, why did it have to be him?

“Elenya, are you okay? Did you hurt yourself?” Arlo’s deep voice sent a pleasant shiver down her spine and she could feel how her cheeks warmed from embarrassment.

Couldn't she have made a fool of herself in front of someone else?

She tried to regain her balance and take a step back from the warm presence in front of her, but her exhausted body wouldn’t have it. Her left leg buckled out from under her.

“Woah, hey! Careful!” Immediately, a second hand closed around her other arm and she was carefully guided down to sit on the stairs. “Elenya?” Arlo was now crouching in front of her and his concerned gaze was looking her up and down, probably searching for injuries, reminding her that she hadn't given him an answer yet.

“Don’t worry, Arlo, I’m fine. Nothing’s hurt.” She tried to give him a reassuring smile, but a huge yawn interrupted her. Arlos face furrowed and she could see how his gaze fixated on her bloodshot eyes. “You definitely don’t look fine. When was the last time you slept?”

Sheepishly, she tried to avoid his worried gaze, but a gloved hand on her cheek gently turned her head back to him. His blue eyes pierced through her, and with a sigh she gave in.

“I may have gotten about 2 hours of sleep in the last 3 days.” The furrow between his eyes deepened. "That's not good. Why would you do that? You need to take better care of yourself." An embarrassed blush covered Elenyas cheeks.

“There’s just so much work to do. The tree farm needed its watering system, the days are getting colder, so there are a lot of small repairs and… I just… can’t say no if someone needs my help.”

Understanding spread across Arlo’s face. “While I admire your work ethic and selflessness, you are no use to anyone if you work yourself to the bone.” Worried, his thumb softly caressed her cheek and she let herself lean into his touch.

“Please, take the day off tomorrow and sleep as long as you can. I don’t want to imagine what would have happened if I weren’t able to catch you.”

She didn’t want to, either.

“Okay, I will take a day off.” The next huge yawn escaped her.

“Good, now let’s get you home. Your bed is waiting for you.”

With Arlo’s help, Elenya was able to get home without any further incidents and as soon as her head hit her pillow, she was out like a light.

~~~~~~

Now she was here, on the southside of Portias’ wall, on her way to the Bassanio Falls after a good 9 hours of sleep and she begrudgingly had to admit that she felt a lot better already. 

It was already past noon and the only thing she did was stocking up her furnaces with ore, so she would have enough bars for tomorrow, and tending to her crops. It felt strange, to not work after over half a year of constantly working on commissions and upgrading her workshop, that she didn’t even knew what to do with herself at first. But then she caught sight of the Bassanio Falls from behind her house and decided to grab a blanket, something to eat and a book to read comfortably by the water.

~~~~~~

The sun was already setting when Elenya made her way back to her workshop. She hadn’t felt that relaxed in a long time, even before coming to Portia, and she definitely had to thank Arlo for that.

Maybe I should invite him to dinner at the round table?

This thought triggered an image in her head that made her blush. Arlo sitting across the table from her, talking about his day or laughing at one of her bad jokes. Oh, how she loved his laugh. Just the thought of it triggered a warm feeling inside her and her lips automatically twisted into a smile. Oh boy, she was so screwed.

“Miss Elenya!”

A young, boyish voice snapped Elenya out of her daydreams, and confused, she looked to her right towards the eastern city gate. Beside it, she spotted Toby, who, waving wildly, motioned her to approach him.

“Hey Toby, what’s up?” Elenya smiled down at the adventurous boy after reaching him.

“I wanted to pick some apples, they look so delicious today, but unfortunately the lowest branch of the tree here broke off and now I can't get up. Can you help me?” Big, pleading eyes looked up at her, and while she knew that the boy was normally full of shit, she still couldn’t resist the puppy dog eyes. “Sure Toby, which one would you like?”

“Oh, thank you very much, Miss Elenya! Do you see the aroma apple directly above us? I’m sure my mother can bake something delicious with it.” Toby pointed above his head and there really was one big, red and shiny apple that looked heavenly.

“No need to thank me. Just make sure Martha leaves me some of her baked goods.” Laughing lightly, Elenya put her bag down, grabbed the branch closest to her and started hauling herself up. She hadn’t climbed a tree in forever, but it took her less than a minute to get to a suitable branch from which she could reach the apple. But just as she picked it, her eye caught another, almost larger one.

“Hey Toby, here's an even bigger apple. I'll throw the first one down so I can get that one for you, too.”

Elenya threw the apple to Toby, who shouted a thank you to her, and then thought about how best to pick the next apple. This one was just out of her reach and she cursed her small height. Then a branch slightly above her caught her attention and an idea sprang to her mind.

She held onto the branch with her left hand and was thus able to bend forward a little more. But just as she held the apple triumphantly in her hand and was about to lean back, the branch she was holding onto broke off and she lost her balance.

Startled, the apple fell out of her hand and a small cry escaped her. She tried to grab for the nearest branch, but that only caused her forearms and hands to be scraped open and before she knew it, she was sitting on the ground a little dumbfounded, her face and upper arms additionally scratched by small branches.

“Miss Elenya! What happened? Are you okay?” A frantic Toby ran to her and examined her anxiously. 

“Ouch, that hurt...” She winced, but tried to smile reassuringly up at him. “Don't worry, just a little roughed up.” “Are you sure? That must have been at least 2 metres.” He looked at her sceptically.

“Yeah, see? No harm d…” She tried to get up, but as soon as she put weight on her left ankle, pain shot up her leg and she crumbled back to the ground. “Ouch, or maybe not...”

“Oh no, what’s wrong? Is it your leg?” Toby’s eyes snapped to her left foot. “Yeah, I think I twisted my ankle…”

Elenya carefully rearranged her limbs, which wasn’t that easy with scraped hands, so that she leaned against the tree trunk and her legs were stretched in front of her. She tenderly prodded at her ankle, and yeah, that definitely hurt.

Oh man, and her day started so well…

“I’m so sorry, that is all my fault.” Toby hovered at her side anxiously, helpless and with actual tears in his eyes. She quickly tried to reassure him. “Hey, don’t worry, it’s okay. And it’s not your fault, just bad luck and my clumsiness. But could you go find someone from the civil corps? I will need some help getting to Dr. Xu…”

While she hated to admit that she needed help, she knew she couldn’t walk on her bad ankle and she wasn’t actually sure if it really was just twisted.The more her adrenalin faded, the more it started to hurt. Plus, the prospect of being able to do something seemed to put Toby at ease.

“Yes, I can do that. Stay here, I’ll be right back.” With that, he was already on his way, running as fast as his short legs would carry him.

Elenya smiled at the retreating form. While the boy loved to cause trouble, his heart was in the right place and he will make a good civil corps officer one day.

~~~~~~

Less than 5 minutes later she could see a horse and 2 people hurrying towards her. Relief washed over her. Her ankle was really getting uncomfortable and she couldn’t wait to get some ice on it. But then she could make out the white fur of the horse and a mop of red hair.

Oh no, why couldn’t Toby have found Remington, or even Sam? After almost falling down the stairs yesterday, she now has to tell him she fell out of a tree. What must he think of her?

“Elenya! Are you okay? Toby told me you hurt your ankle, but what happened?” Arlo instantly kneeled down beside her feet as he reached her and looked at her with concerned eyes.

She had to make a pitiful sight. Scratched arms and face, leaves in her long black hair and an already swelling ankle.

A blush spread over her cheeks. “Hey Arlo, I ehm… may have fallen out of a tree…”

A look of pure confusion appeared on Arlo's face. If she wasn't so embarrassed, she probably would have laughed because she had never seen the captain so bewildered.

“You fell out of a tree? What were you doing up there?” “It was my fault,” piped Toby in. Surprised, Arlo looked at the boy. “I couldn’t reach this apple here and Miss Elenya offered to help me. But one of the branches broke and now she is hurt because of me.” While talking, he pointed at the big apple who lay forgotten on the ground and guilt coloured his face.

“Like I told you before, it wasn’t your fault, Toby. Just my bad luck striking again.” “She is right, Toby. It was an accident. You couldn’t have known that that would happen.” The reassurance of the both of them seemed to get through to the boy and relieved, he took a step back to give Arlo more space.

“Now, let me see your ankle.” Arlo carefully prodded at her already swollen ankle and she couldn’t contain a wince. “Sorry, but that definitely needs to be looked at by Dr. Xu. What about your hands? They seem to be bleeding slightly.” Surprised, Elenya looked at her hands. She was so distracted by her foot that she didn’t even notice the burning sensation of the scraps, but now that her attention was called to it, she couldn’t ignore it any more.

Hands clad in fingerless gloves cupped the back of her hands carefully and Arlo’s head was suddenly a lot closer to her face than before. Concerned blue eyes roamed firstly over her hands, then over the cuts on her face before landing on her own eyes.

“You sure did a number on yourself. Didn’t I tell you to take a day off?” A fond smile played on his lips and up this close, Elenya was even able to make out the faint laughing lines around his eyes. Her brain short circuited at the realisation of how close he was and before she could muster a response, he surprised her again by running one of his hands through her hair, effectively combing out the leaves and twigs in it.

She couldn’t help but close her eyes and lean into his touch. Her ankle hurt, her hands burned and with the setting sun she was getting cold. While the gesture was more of the practical manner, it was soothing and she was almost sure that Arlo kept the motion up for a little longer than necessary.

Satisfied with his work, he got back to his feet. “Come on, let’s get you up on Spacer and to Dr. Xu.” He extended a hand to her, but she had to decline the offer. “I don’t think I can stand up on my own and I won’t be able to hold onto something.” A frown appeared on Arlo’s forehead and he seemed to consider the options they had. “Hmm… I could carry you, if that’s alright with you?” Questioningly, he looked down at her and… was there a slight blush on his cheeks? No, she had to be imagining it.

“Oh, sure.” Elenya could feel how her own cheeks warmed again, the prospect of being even closer to Arlo making her heart race.

“Okay, here we go.” He slid one arm under her knees and the other behind her back. And while he tried to stand up as carefully as he could, it still jostled her foot and she couldn’t contain a small whimper.

Fuck, that hurt.

She buried her face in Arlo’s neck to hide from the pain and the smell that greeted her there actually helped her relax. He smelled like clean sweat, leather and something earthy that was just him . He smelled safe.

“I’m sorry, Elenya. And I’m afraid the next step will hurt again.” He really sounded sorry and comfortingly pressed his cheek against the top of her head. Then he made his way to Spacer, who was waiting patiently a few metres away, making sure to stand on his left side.

Elenya just wanted to ask how he planned to get her up on the horse, when he lifted her even higher until she was sitting sideways on the saddle. Stunned, Elenya looked down at him.

How fucking strong was that man?

“So, now we just have to slide your right leg to the other side and we are set to go.” He put his hand on her waist to stabilise her and behaved like lifting up people on horses was the most normal thing in the world. Still a little stunned by the casual display of muscles (and a little turned on, if she was honest), she followed his leading hands and clumsily managed to bring her leg on the other side of Spacer.

While that indeed hurt again, this time she managed to suppress the whimper.

Satisfied with her position, Arlo squeezed her thigh comfortingly and made his way back to the tree, where he picked up her forgotten bag. “Toby? Can you bring Elenya’s bag back to her workshop?” Toby, who had watched the whole scene with wide eyes and who she had almost forgotten, immediately straightened up and eagerly accepted the bag.

“Sir, yes, sir!”

“Oh, and one more thing,” Arlo said to the boy, who shrank under his stern glance, “stop roping unsuspecting builders in your shenanigans, okay?” Toby nodded eagerly. “Yes, I will. I’m really sorry Miss Elenya. I hope your ankle gets better soon.” With that, he clutched her bag against his chest and ran off towards her workshop.

“Great, now let’s get your injuries sorted out.” Arlo stepped up next to Spacer and with one fluid motion, he was sitting behind her in the saddle. Elenya could feel his warm chest against her back and her heart gave a little leap when his left arm wrapped protectively around her waist. His right was holding the reins and with a gentle nudge to Spacer, they were on their way toward the clinic.

With a soft sigh, Elenya closed her eyes and let herself melt against the warm presence behind her, her head coming to rest against Arlo’s shoulder. The exhaustion of the last few days caught up to her again and the constant pain in her ankle robbed her of her last strength. She just wanted to forget the pain for a moment and bask in the warm and safe feeling the civil corps captain always evoked in her.

The arm around her waist tightened. “Hey, are you okay? You didn’t hit your head, did you?” Arlo’s concerned gaze burned a hole in the side of her head and she quickly turned her head to give him a reassuring smile. “No, don’t worry. I’m just still tired and you are really warm.” To prove her point, a cold breeze over her bare arms let her shiver and she snuggled a little closer to him.

“Then I’m glad. A sprained ankle and scraped hands are enough for one day.” His soft chuckle warmed her from the inside and he somehow managed to shield her with his own body from the cold evening breeze for the rest of the way.

5 minutes later, they finally arrived outside the clinic and Arlo lifted her off Spacer just by grabbing her waist and carefully lowering her down until she could stand on her good leg. 

She was a, although not too tall, fully grown human. Where did he hide all those muscles? His leather jacket wasn’t that tight.

“Do you want me to carry you inside or want me to help you walk?” The question snapped her out of her short daydream about how his upper body would look without clothes. 

Suppressing a blush, she briefly thought about the question. She probably could have hobbled in somehow with his help, but it had felt so good to be carried by him that she couldn't resist. “Could you carry me, please?” Sheepishly, Elenya looked up to him, but he only smiled at her and with a soft “Sure”, she was in his arms again.

~~~~~~

It seemed like Dr. Xu was just putting away his utensils for the day, Phyllis already gone, when Arlo carried her through the door. “Alro, Elenya! What happened?” He quickly approached them and directly noticed the various scrapes and grazes on Elenya's face and arms, before his professional eyes catched on her swollen ankle.

“I fell out of a tree and landed awkwardly on my left foot.” Elenya explained while Arlo carried her over to the bed closer to the door. There he carefully set her down, helped her lift her feet up on the bed and then took a step to the side to make room.

Concerned, Dr. Xu sat down on a chair by her feet and set about opening her shoe. “What were you doing up there?” “I wanted to he…” She couldn’t finish her sentence. The doctor had begun to remove her shoe and a pained whimper escaped her. Instinctively, she tried to clench her fists against the pain, but before that could happen, callused hands slid carefully into her own and prevented her from reopening the barely closed cuts in her palms.

When did he take off his gloves?

Surprised, she looked to her left and found Arlo sympathetically looking down at her. The gesture distracted her so much that she didn't even notice how Dr. Xu was able to remove the shoe, and gratefully she smiled up at him.

“Now, let’s see what we’ve got here.” Dr. Xu began to prod at her ankle, moved it in different directions and asked her what hurt and what didn’t. And fuck, everything he did hurt and she was so glad that Arlo never let go of her hands. It gave her something to focus on beside the pain.

“Okay, the good news is, nothing seems to be broken. But I’m afraid it’s a bad sprain and you have to completely stay off of it for at least a week and another week without much strain. Now we'll ice the ankle first and then bandage it. In the meantime, we'll clean your little cuts and take care of your hands. Would you like something for the pain?” 

Elenya escaped a sigh after Dr. Xu's calm explanation. 2 weeks without proper movement sounded like hell to her. How would she be able to work like that? She couldn't even easely go to the commerce guild to pick up a commission!

A soft squeeze to her hands got her out of her head and she remembered the question she was given. “Yes, that would be great, thank you, Dr. Xu.” With a gentle smile, he disappeared for a moment and came back with an ice pack, bandages, things to clean her cuts and a small vial of medicine. He firstly placed the ice pack on her ankle and then turned to Arlo. “Here Arlo, can you help her drink that? I will take care of her hands in the meantime.” “Sure.” Arlo let go of her hands to take the offered vial and she immediately missed the soft contact. She didn’t have to miss it long, though, because his right hand slid behind her back to help her sit up. The vial was softly pressed to her lips and she gratefully drank the strange tasting medicine.

~~~~~~

30 minutes after entering the clinic, she was sitting sideways on the bed, her ankle thoroughly cooled and bandaged, every small cut cleaned and her hands wrapped. The pain medication also did its job and she was finally pain free. Arlo had stayed at her side the whole time, rubbing her back comfortingly and she was really grateful for his presence.

"Okay, I think you are sorted out. Here, I will give you some pain medication for the next few days and some crutches. You shouldn’t use them for the next two to three days, unless it is absolutely necessary, okay? Your hands need some time to heal, too.” “Okay…” A pleasant drowsiness had taken her over, making her eyelids heavy and she had some problems following the instructions.

What was in that medicine?

A fond chuckle to her left made Elenya look up to Arlo. She could feel the vibration of it in her side, his right arm wrapped around her shoulders being the only thing holding her upright at the moment. “I think I will take these for her. I’ll also make sure she remembers your instructions tomorrow.” With a last soft squeeze to her shoulder, he let go of her and took the offered medication and crutches from a soft smiling Dr. Xu.

Fortunately, neither of them saw her almost topple off the bed before she could just barely catch herself. God, she was so tired.

“Elenya?” A warm hand cupped her cheek and startled, she opened her eyes.

When had she closed them?

“I’m just going to sort a few things out and then I will take you home, okay? I need 5 minutes at the most.” “Oh, okay.” She let her eyes close again. Arlo withdrew his hand and soon only the faint sounds of Dr. Xu cleaning up the clinic for the night could be heard.

Elenya let her tired mind wander aimlessly, not fixating on anything until the door to the clinic opened again.

“So, one more thing and we are set to go. Can you lift your arms above your head for a moment?” “Huh?” Confused, she looked at Arlo, who was coming towards her with a grey bundle, but did what he asked her to do. Her world plunged into darkness for a moment before she was engulfed by warmth and a wonderful smell.

Bewildered, she inspected her now sweater clad hands.

Huh?

“It’s gotten real cold outside, so I brought you one of my sweaters. I don’t want you to get cold on top of everything.” Oh, so ‘Arlo’ was that pleasant smell. Happily, she snuggled herself more into the sweater and inhaled deeply.

“Thank you, Arlo.” She smiled up at him and the fond smile he gave her in return made a blush rise high on her cheeks. 

How could the normally stoic civil corps captain have such a sweet side? He was killing her here!

“You are welcome. How about we get you home now?” “That sounds great.” 

With a grateful smile, she turned one last time to Dr. Xu, who very pointendly was putting his things away, his back turned to them. “Thank you Dr. Xu, for patching me up at this late hour. I’m sorry I was keeping you.”

With a smile, the doctor turned around. “No need to thank me, that’s what I’m here for. Just try to stay out of trees for a while, okay?” “Will do!”

Elenya gave Arlo a nod and he lifted her into his arms again. She let her eyes close once more and leaned her head against his shoulder, her short bout of energy quickly leaving her again. With steady steps Arlo carried her out of the clinic, both not noticing the exasperated, albeit fond, look Dr. Xu gave their retreating backs.

Outside, Arlo managed to get her on Spacer again, on whom he had secured her crutches without them getting in the way. He quickly mounted up behind her, his arm securly wrapping around her waist. 

The way back to her workshop was slow going, taking them almost 15 minutes. She may even have dosed off for a moment, trusting Arlo to not let her fall off the horse. But once there, he carried her inside just as easily as before, carefully setting her down on her bed.

“Okay, let’s get you comfortable and then I leave you so you can rest, okay?” Before she could answer, he already left for the second room, bringing two pillows from the couch with him. These he placed at the end of the bed and carefully placed her injured foot on it. And while he was already at her feet, he also took off her remaining shoe, putting it beside the other one he somehow carried with him. Then he disappeared once more and returned with a full glass of water, placing it on her bedside table. There he also put down the vials of Dr. Xu's medicine, which he took out of his belt pouch.

“Oh, I almost forgot. Be right back.” Bewildered, Elenya could just watch Arlo scurrying around and before she knew it, she was tucked into her bed, Arlo’s sweater still warming her, her crutches and anything else she might need within reach.

He just wanted to walk away again, doing god knows what, when she snatched his wrist, ignoring the uncomfortable feeling in her hand. “Arlo.” She pulled lightly on his arm until he got her meaning and sat down on the edge of the bed. “What are you doing?” She raised an eyebrow questioningly.

With a sigh and a slight blush on his cheeks, he slumped over. Without looking at her, he confessed, “I don’t like to see you hurt, even if it’s just a twisted ankle. If making sure you are as comfortable as possible is the only thing I can do, I will do it.” The earnestly spoken words filled her heart with warmth. Maybe she wasn’t so screwed at all.

Clumsily she sat up, put her bandaged hand on his cheek and made sure he was looking at her. “Thank you, Arlo. I really appreciate what you have done today and every other day you were looking out for me. I always feel safe when you are around.” She pressed a soft kiss to his other cheek to emphasise her words. His blush deepened, clashing horribly with his red hair, but a happy smile spread across his face.

“I’m glad you think so.” He wanted to say more, but a deep yawn escaped her and his gaze softened. “But I think it’s time for you to sleep now. We can talk tomorrow, when you don’t fall asleep on me.” “Mmmh, okay.” Arlo helped her laying down, tucking the blanket up to her chin and started to card his fingers through her hair again. “I’ll make sure Emily brings you some breakfast tomorrow.”, were the last words she heard, followed by a soft kiss to her forehead and she fell asleep cocooned in warmth and safety.