Disclaimer: I don't own it.

Rating: K

A/N: So in a fit of discontentment with the progression of the Naruto manga, I've been looking for another manga to faithfully follow. I was first turned onto 'Tales of Symphonia' when I was asked to beta a story. Curious, I Youtube-watched the animation, then turned to reading the manga. I'm in love with these characters and the story line. So I got to thinking, and this fluffy oneshot was the result. This is indeed my first 'Tales of Symphonia' story. I hope you enjoy!

First Kiss

Lloyd's first kiss had been Colette.

He remembered it being the first day of school for seven- and six-years. The schoolhouse was dusty and still smelled faintly of the wood used to construct it. The teacher's perfume scented the air, too, and there was early morning sunlight slanting through the windows. Dust motes whirled around and Lloyd had been trying to count them, when a glimpse of yellow-not-light caught his attention.

Then it was his breath that caught. He hadn't known that angels could be so beautiful. That they could walk among the mortals on the earth. Her wide blue eyes, her blonde hair shining in the sun, her neatly pressed dress, made her seem like she'd taken a step off a page in the fairy tale books Dad read to him at bedtime.

He lost sight of her almost as suddenly as he'd noticed her, and it was like she'd been a figment of his imagination. He wanted badly to jump out of the window and chase after her, just to see if she'd been a daydream or if she was real. But the door to the schoolhouse creaked open. When he cast his distracted attention over his shoulder, his heart swelled in his chest at the sight of who stood in the doorway.

"Ah, Colette," cooed the teacher, Madame Smythe, "I'm so happy to see you've come!"

Colette? Lloyd liked the sound of her name. He stared at her as she smiled at Madame Smythe, a congenial blush touching her cheeks. Her hair looked wind-tossed, and she self-consciously smoothed it.

"Thank you, Madame."

Her voice was soft and sounded like the tinkling of a wind chime. Lloyd was enchanted; he couldn't stop looking at her.

The teacher adjusted her glasses and pointed to the empty seat next to Lloyd. "Your seat is there, beside Lloyd. You're our last student, so as soon as you're seated, we'll begin."

Colette nodded and walked timidly up the aisle. She sat next to Lloyd and pushed her hair behind her ears. She favored him with a smile; Lloyd continued to stare.

"Lloyd," Madame Smythe called, "attention to the front, please."

He complied, but by tilting his head on his hand, he could see Colette in the corner of his eye. She was the picture of goodness; she paid attention to the lesson, answered politely when called on, and knew the correct answer, too. He wanted her to acknowledge him, to pay attention to him. Each time he plotted to draw her attention, he discarded the idea as being stupid and ridiculous, and he didn't want her to think of him as either.

So he waited. He watched. Madame Smythe had given the class an assignment, but he'd tuned out her voice, and he didn't notice her strolling up and down the rows, checking each student's progress.

"That's excellent work, Colette. Please continue doing well." Colette nodded her thanks as Madame Smythe turned to Lloyd's desk. His paper was blank. "Lloyd? Why haven't you done any work?"

He'd been daydreaming. Her comment to him snapped him awake. "Hunh? Sorry, Madame, what was the question?"

She frowned. "Why haven't you started your assignment?"

Yes. Why hadn't he started his work, yet? He glanced over at Colette, and to his surprise, she was looking at him. A feeling like being punched in the chest shocked him. He swallowed, and then realizing that the teacher was waiting patiently for him to answer, scrambled for a satisfactory response.

"I, uh…I didn't…understand the assignment," he muttered.

"Speak up. I didn't hear you."

His cheeks and ears burned. "I didn't understand the assignment."

"Well, why didn't you say so? I'm sure Colette will be happy to help you. Is that okay, Colette?" Colette nodded eagerly, her eyes and nose scrunching from the happy smile. Madame Smythe patted Lloyd's shoulder. "Colette will help you."

His heart raced as Colette scooted her chair closer to his desk and leaned over. "Hello," she said. "My name is Colette."

Her sweet smile left him stupid. "I know."

"Oh." The smile faltered some. "Well, let's start the assignment."

"O-okay."

During her soft explanation, Lloyd berated himself for being an idiot. A moron. Brainless. Why didn't he say something back, like, 'Hi. I'm Lloyd'? But he hadn't. He'd said, 'I know.' What kind of dummie said that to a pretty girl?

Somehow he got the assignment done, though he didn't say anything more to Colette, and he hated that she thought he was a fool. During the rest of the lesson, Lloyd slunk down in his desk and kept his eyes fixed on a picture at the front of the classroom. At long last, the teacher dismissed them for lunch. Without looking at Colette- -he wanted to so much- -he grabbed his lunch and headed toward his favorite spot under a large shade tree in the middle of the schoolyard.

Other kids vacated the schoolhouse, running to home for their lunch; others remained scattered on the grass or on the steps of the schoolhouse to eat and talk. Lloyd didn't much like company from his classmates, so he was by himself. He looked up at the startling blue sky. Did Colette drop from the heavens?

"May I join you?"

He froze for a long moment. A flutter of white dress. Lloyd slowly brought his gaze to the voice. Of course. Colette. She must've been reading his mind for her to show up. His heart hammered in panic. What was he gonna do?

Her smile was bright. "May I join you, please?" she asked again.

Barely realizing it, Lloyd nodded, scared to death to open his mouth and say something stupid. He watched, mute, as she settled on the grass next to him, her legs tucked demurely under her dress. A breeze lifted and trailed through her hair. A long, awkward silence ensued as Colette arranged her lunch on a square, linen napkin in front of her.

"Are you an angel?" he blurted.

Her eyes met his, and she giggled. "No. But I will be when I'm old enough."

"Oh." Now that the ice was broken…"You're very pretty."

Colette blinked. Then she leaned over and gave him an innocent kiss on the mouth. It was like he'd spun around and around and around until he fell, he was that dizzy. Like millions of fireflies lit up inside him.

"Thank you," she said and looked at her lunch. "Today is so lovely! I wonder if…" but Lloyd wasn't paying attention to her words.

In his heart, he knew that wherever this girl went, he would go, too. Nothing would stop him from protecting her and her happiness.

A/N: Seriously, I wrote this in a few hours. There might be a few inconsistencies and errors that you notice, so if you would, point them out and I'll make the corrections as necessary. I figured that Raine and Genis haven't shown up yet at this time, so the school teacher was of my own creation. If you know otherwise, then be my guest and call me out on the carpet. =) Thanks for reading!