BLAH. I've read one too many Raine x Lloyd fan fictions. It's an interesting pairing that could work, but the teacher/student barrier has to be broken first. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it. I proofread a few times. Shouldn't see any typos. If you do, tell me. And it DOES contain spoilers. But you knew that, right?
I softened Raine up a bit, but she shouldn't be OOC. Assume this is following the Raine ending (which I've never played through, LAWL). Only went outside with Zelos, Kratos, and Sheena in Flanoir. So, yeah.
Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Symphonia. If I did, Ruin Mode Raine would be a side-quest.
(Edit 6/17/2007: Dude O.o I see you guys like the story xD I woke up in the morning with about 20 email alerts from concerning this story. Just fixed some slight typos and I'll consider adding another chapter for the wedding.)
(Edit 8/15/2011: I went through once again and revised the story. For some reason, Fanfiction ruined my formatting. I'm taking this opportunity to also fix some problems and grammatical errors in the story, chapter by chapter.)
Once Raine and Genis returned to Iselia for good, the Professor was offered her teaching position again. The mayor admitted no one could replace her. The students backed up his statements, even going so far as to plan a party for her first new day. They missed the way she threw erases at a sleeping Lloyd Irving. They missed the way she'd beam when Colette got an answer correct. They missed the feeling of fatigue that took over the room after the class finished one of her surprise quizzes. She never did figure out how he managed to sleep standing.
After a bit of convincing, she accepted. Genis felt he'd have nothing to do as he was the second most intelligent person in the classroom. So, he located and dusted off his certificate for a full scholarship to the Palmacosta Academy. Raine reluctantly released her brother to expand his education. Despite being a mature adult, she was still his sister, and in more ways than one: his mother.
Raine quickly worked up a lesson plan for the new school year, wanting to begin it at the normally scheduled time. She had two weeks to do it, which was plenty of time for her. The criteria changed; no longer would she teach the lies of Cruxis, the Legend of the Goddess Martel, or the Journey of World Regeneration. The story of Mithos the Hero was in fact true, so that would still be taught in class and remained unchanged. It was merely a question of what to reveal, what the children could handle, and what they would believe. So many things had happened, conflicting the original lessons she gave before the Journey. The professor would now have to un-teach everything, undo all the lies and half-truths, and rebuild. She couldn't help feeling overwhelmed. The task of creating new textbooks, worksheets, and test had to be done single-handedly. But she was Professor Raine Sage: the staff wielding, grand healer, teacher, scholar, hero of the worlds. Nothing was impossible.
The day before class, Raine continued to prepare her studies and somehow found the classroom sheet. She skimmed over the names; not too many students were on the class roster as Iselia was a small town. But due to the unwanted popularity the town was receiving after their journey, the population was slowly increasing. Some of the names were familiar and she mentally prepared herself to deal with them.
Monica. The glamour girl.
Maxwell. Shouldn't he have graduated three years ago?
Darien? He must be new.
Colette. Ah, time to break out the first aid kit.
Remien. Hmm. A nice kid.
Then she spotted the name that caught her attention and didn't let go. Lloyd Irving... Teaching him for five years, she had to admit, she grew quite fond of him. Yes, he did sleep and, occasionally, the words that escaped his mouth could only be described as idiotic babble. He was in fact a talented fool. His intentions were pure and, in the end, he proved himself to be a hero worthy of endless honor. Something about his personality had grown on her – unfaltering determination that saved the world on so many occasions and even saved her.
She reminisced about that night in Flanoir. He was too clueless to realize her hints, but maybe that was his way of telling her he wasn't ready. Her staff could not heal a broken heart. Still, she left that night with a renewed sense of affection for him. Then, when she saw Lloyd running down the path to Derris Kharlan, as she fought ferociously to reclaim her body... She never told him, but his image gave her strength to fight on and free herself.
x x x x x x x x x x
It was the sounds of birds chirping that woke her up the next day, as morning slowly crept into Iselia. The candle that illuminated her work area during the night had long been doused. Dried wax bubbled down the side of what remained. Some remnants melted down and covered the table. Her desk was cluttered with books, some open, writing utensils, and papers all over the surface, arranged in no particular order.
Moaning, the professor lifted her head from the table and stretched, grunting in annoyance when she realized she fell asleep at her desk for yet another night. Tearing herself away from books seemed impossible on her own. Usually, Genis would poke her and call her to bed, but he was hours away in Palmacosta. She peeled away the papers that were sticking to her cheeks and set them down before standing to her feet. A glance at the clock alerted the half elf that she merely had a half hour to be dressed and prepared to teach in Iselia. Late on the first day? How unprofessional.
Frantically, Raine stacked her teaching materials in a pile and somehow found time to shower and dress in clean clothing. She stopped herself from running out the door; no, that wouldn't look teacher-like at all. Why was she so worked up about something she had been doing for years now? What was she so excited to see? Or rather, who?
Her heart was racing as she attempted to calmly approach the schoolhouse. She snapped her back straight and held her chin up, strolling like a war general commanding troops to attack an enemy fortress. Her small briefcase swayed along the side of her body in accordance with her confident stride. Raine was back in business doing what she loved best: teaching.
Nothing had changed, but the building had been repaired since the fires. She opened the door to the schoolhouse as she waved a good morning to her pupils. Once inside, she scanned the room in search of familiar faces. Seeing some gave her a bit of relief. She remembered how frightened she was back when she and her brother first arrived in Iselia. Having little choice, the prodigy took up the teaching position after convincing the mayor of her extraordinary talents. It still hurt that she had to lie about her bloodline just like it hurt being forced to take care of an infant, having no one else to rely on. All the new faces scared her, but she swallowed her fears and went up to the chalkboard that first day, ready to prove herself. And truly, she was proven.
She walked in, chuckling lightly upon spotting Colette's trademark: the infamous, human shaped 'door' in the wall. No one had bothered to fix it further as the same two pieces of long wood still laid in place.
Raine set her belongings down on her desk and turned to dust off the chair. A dust cloud attacked her and she sneezed three times in succession before taking a seat.
"Bless you, Professor Raine."
"Heh. Thank you," she replied without looking up and wiped her nose with a small tissue located in the top right drawer of her old, wooden desk. But something about the voice made her do a double take.
She looked up to where she concluded the source of the voice to be. There stood Lloyd Irving and, next to him, Colette Brunel. He carried in his hands two notebooks, a set of sharpened pencils, one quill and ink pot (Raine demanded that all essays be written in ink), his briefcase, and another small package, neatly wrapped with a ribbon and elegant tissue paper. Despite not wanting to seem over confident, she knew the package was intended for her.
Lloyd separated from Colette who was engaged in conversation with some of the students. He made his way to her desk and the professor glued her eyes to him, keeping the tissue to her nose. It was no longer running, but it did a good job of hiding her mouth which was currently wide open.
"Good morning, Professor," the swordsman greeted when he reached the desk.
Raine cleared her throat and removed the tissue, folding it neatly. "Good morning, Lloyd. I wasn't aware that you were on the class roll," she lied.
He rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Hehe. Guess you'll have to deal with me a little bit longer, huh?"
"Not at all. I enjoy teaching you, Lloyd. And, in all honesty, you've taught me many new lessons that could never be understood through textbooks."
Lloyd blushed. "Th-thanks, Professor. The mayor suggested I finish out this school year since my education got cut short from the World Regeneration's journey. It's only for one year, though."
The Professor nodded modestly. "Understandable. I would have suggested that myself. Glad you decided to join me for another year."
"Glad to be back, Professor," Lloyd said with a warm smile. "Oh, yes," he included after a moment of silence. Raine took a sigh of relief. Her cheeks were burning again. But why? "I have something for you." Shifting around the things in his hands, he set some belongings down on Raine's desk before holding the package in his hand.
"What could this be?" Raine asked curiously and received the gift. She ran her fingers over the tissue paper and played with the pink ribbon on top.
"I made you something last night," the boy confessed with a chuckle.
"Thank you, Lloyd. I appreciate your consideration."
"It was no problem at all."
"Just no sleeping in class, okay?" she joked and the boy laughed, reassuring her he would try his best to avoid dozing off. Raine set the package down on the edge of her desk. She figured opening a newly received gift in front of the class would seem unprofessional.
"You're not gonna open it?" Lloyd asked, slightly disappointed.
Her curiosity overtook her and she sighed. "Alright, I guess it wouldn't hurt." She retrieved the package and proceeded to remove the ribbon with care. Lloyd must have put a lot of effort into presentation; the tissue paper had no creases and was bound by a single strip of tape. The last time Lloyd wrapped a present for Genis, it was covered in tapes and glue.
"Do you like it?" the swordsman asked in anticipation after Raine removed the beautifully crafted necklace from its box. It was the same shade of orange as her trademark jacket and its dazzling jewels sparkled against the light coming from the windows. Dirk had trained the boy well in the art of handcrafted materials.
Raine was impressed and expressed her approval with a smile. "It's beautiful, Lloyd. Thank you."
"I, um, noticed you usually don't wear a lot of jewelry. So I decided to make you some. Glad you like it."
"I love it."
"Um." Lloyd took the necklace from her hands and move around the desk until he was behind her. "Lemme put it on you. The clasp is hard to see."
Her body was tense at first, but she forced herself to settle down and relax. His nimble hands guided the necklace around her neck. After a few moments of fumbling around, he released his grasp and let gravity take over. Raine ran over fingers over the piece lightly, still amazed at its beauty.
"Thank you again, Mr. Irving."
"No problem. Geez, please don't call me that. Makes me feel old."
The half elf laughed and looked at the clock. "Alright, it's time to begin class. You should take your seat."
Lloyd nodded, grabbing his belongings. "Okay," he replied obediently before returning to his seat, but no... he didn't go to his normal seat in the back of the class. He sat in the front of the classroom, right in front of Raine's desk.
The two made eye contact for a while, saying nothing. To break the awkward moment, the professor coughed, shook her hair, and stood to her feet, preparing to bring the children chattering into the learning environment. She rang the school's bell and all the students trickled inside the classroom, ready to learn something new.
It was time to teach, but her heart wouldn't listen.
x x x x x x x x x x
Raine began by acknowledging the new faces in the classroom. Each student, one by one, was asked to stand and introduce himself to the entire class as a form of ice breaker. She remembered the first time Colette did her introduction: the girl stood to her feet and turned around, tripping over her shoelace. That was the professor's first laugh of the day, thought she suppressed it. Laughing at students, even though for a valid reason, was not professional. Then Lloyd's first time came and he stood to his feet. She remembered the way Colette beamed at the boy and made a mental note that she was obviously infatuated with him. He looked around the classroom nervously and told them his name, explaining that he lived with his drawven father somewhere in the Iselia forest. Even back then, Raine could tell there was something special about the boy, but his constant acts of stupidity sometimes shielded his potential. Hence, the beginning of a loving relationship between Lloyd Irving, Water Buckets, and the Chalkboard Erasers.
She quickly learned the names of the new students. There weren't too many – this year's class was rather small with about fifteen pupils on the official roster. Raine felt she could do more with this group due to the size. The lessons started as usual: a review of English grammar, 'fun' with mathematics, and handwriting. She collected the papers and critiqued them. Then she sighed. Yup, they need one.
The class moaned when Raine ordered them to take out a clean sheet of paper and a writing utensil. It was time for a pop quiz, but she assured them it was merely an evaluation of their current knowledge. With so many new faces, everyone was on a different level of education. She didn't want to insult the intelligent students while critically confusing the not-so-bright pupils.
By the time class was over, she had the majority of the test papers neatly stacked into a pile to be graded at home. The smell of test papers – so enchanting!
"Twelve...thirteen... fourteen..." There was a paper missing. Raine looked up to see Lloyd still at his desk, chewing nervously on the eraser of his pencil.
"Agh. Why can't I remember this?" The swordsman knocked his hand against his forehead, as if doing so would somehow spark his memories. "When the number is outside of the parenthesis, you're supposed to... add it?"
Although how humorous it was to watch him suffer with mathematics, she had to leave soon. Some things would never change. "Lloyd," Raine called.
He looked up from his paper and pulled the pencil from his cheek. "Um, is class over, Professor?" The room was silent as they were the only two people inside. Even Colette had trekked home, anxious to play with her new friends.
She nodded. "Yes, it is. Are you not done with your test?"
"No, I'm not, sorry," he replied with a sigh. "I guess math isn't my strong point."
"Not a problem, Lloyd. But I can not stay after school today. I've papers to grade." She picked up her briefcase and stuffed the papers inside.
"Aww," he moaned. "Can I finish it tomorrow?"
"Um," Raine thought. "I'd like to have all papers before tomorrow so we can start on some new material. It would have to be finished today."
Lloyd rubbed the back of his neck with his pencil. "There has to be some way I can finish it today... Can I stop by your house later then?"
"Ahh...I suppose," she caved in with little hesitation.
"Great! Thanks!" he smiled.
"Come by in a few hours then. Five o'clock should do."
"Thanks, Professor!" Lloyd grabbed his things and jumped up from his seat.
"Wait," Raine called before he darted out the door.
"Huh?"
"I need your test." She held her hand out.
"Umm," the boy stammered and scratched his head nervously.
Raine raised an eyebrow in suspicion and tried to read his face, waiting for her command to be obeyed. What was he hiding?
"Don't touch that paper, Lloyd Irving!" she instructed when he grabbed his pencil and attempted to erase something from the sheet.
He moaned. "... Damn." Reluctantly, the test paper was returned to the professor. She had to snatch it from his tight grasp before stuffing into a secret compartment of her bag.
"I'll see you later, Lloyd," she said, dismissing him with a 'nice try' smirk.
"Bye...," he replied with his head down, mumbling under his breath, though Raine didn't catch his words. With that, he left the schoolhouse to begin his trek through the Iselia forest. "Hope she doesn't look at that paper."
x x x x x x x x x x
And Raine didn't. The paper remained in her briefcase, even after she got home. Maybe she felt it would be an invasion of his privacy. Perhaps the swordsman made a silly mistake and would be embarrassed if she viewed it. But what could possibly be on there that she hadn't seen before or so repulsive she'd be forced to lash out at him? Think about it: Sage had been teaching the boy long enough to be well acquainted with his test taking mistakes. If it were the past, she probably would have already, circling errors and moaning about how Lloyd spelled "con-sin-trait" horribly beyond belief. Raine did that with all of her students, but for some reason, she was treating him differently... as if he were an equal.
She sat there, in an old wooden chair at her desk, carefully grading the other test well into the late afternoon. The sun began to set and gave off a soft orange glow, enlightening the room along with another candle. Episodically, the teacher issued a grunting noise upon finding simple errors. Two plus four is six, not twelve... Martel, what's wrong with these kids? Not all of the grades were that bad. When she found a good one, she'd take a deep sigh of relief and mark the top corner with a "Good Job!" If they were lucky, a sticker would magically appear.
Then five o'clock came, and with it, a deep blush. Any moment now, her pupil would come knocking at her door. But it was only to finish a test, right?
Remembering the reason for the visit, Raine pulled back the seat from her desk and located her briefcase. She picked it up and set it on top of her bed, unlocking the compartment with Lloyd's test and shifting through the papers. Soon she found it and returned to her desk. Sage could no longer retain herself. The paper lay face down on her desk; as if it would actually keep her from looking at it. Finally, she broke down and turned it right side up.
But something was wrong... or was it... right? She scanned the paper over for errors with a quizzical face, thinking she had missed something. Lloyd's test was...
"... Finished," Raine whispered to herself. All twenty questions were answered, and amazingly, in complete sentences. One worded responses, especially on test, was one of Raine's biggest pet-peeves (second only to essays not written in ink).
By far, she was amazed and confused. Raine skimmed the paper over and over again, and each time, she ended up at the same conclusion. But to make matters even more baffling, not only was the test done it was...
"... Completely correct!" she exclaimed in astonishment, in addition to laughing happily. The boy had made a perfect score on a test! Unbelievable! Dare she say: impossible? Maybe she made that review too easy, or maybe her lessons were finally getting through to him. Whatever the reason, hopefully it wouldn't stop. Saving the world, passing tests: there truly was hope for the boy! "But if this test is finished, then why is he?..."
Her train of thought was interrupted by three soft knocks at the door. She got up from her desk and strolled over to answer it. Sure enough, Lloyd Irving stood on the outside.
"Good evening, Professor Sage. Am I late?"
Raine shook her head. "No, you're right on time actually." She moved to the side of the door, allowing the boy enough room to enter. "Come on in."
He wiped his feet on the mat and stepped inside. "Sorry to bother you in the middle of the afternoon. It's a beautiful day outside too."
She shook her head and folded her arms. "Education is more important. I don't mind it at all. My days are well spent. You needn't worry."
Lloyd tried to imagine grading papers as a form of amusement, failing miserably. "I'll take your word for it," he laughed.
"Your paper is over there," she said, pointing to the desk. "Take as much time as you need but I can not answer any questions until after you hand it in to be graded. This is a test after all."
"Ah, alright." Lloyd walked over to her desk and sat down, pulling a sharpened pencil from behind his ear. He was ready.
The room was quiet for the most part with the exception of Raine walking around, moving chairs, pushing furniture into the wall, opening a book, only to close it moments later, and anything to occupy the idle time. She had nothing to do as the rest of the test papers were already graded. Her eyes periodically went over to the swordsman as she watched him work and fill in responses that were already there. Funny part was the boy didn't erase his paper once. Feeling she was disturbing his concentration with the constant noise, she picked a literature book by complete random and forced herself to sit down on her bed. She didn't bother looking at the title. All the books in her collection had already been read at least once, but throwing a book away was an act of sacrilege that could easily rival something like burning Spiritua's Statue to the scholar.
After a while, Raine began to feel drowsy. Maybe it was the feeling of her soft bed, the relaxation of a good book, and the sun setting into the distant horizon that triggered it, but she laid down on the top of her neatly arranged sheets and placed her head on the fluffed pillow. Her legs stretched over the side of the bed and her back faced the desk. She told herself not to fall asleep for Lloyd was not finished with his test. How much more time did he need?...
"Professor, are you feeling okay?" Lloyd's concerned voice called. Raine jumped from surprise and sat up to find him standing near the edge of her bed, paper in hand.
"I'm fine, Lloyd," she replied. "Thank you for your concern. Are you finished with everything?"
"Ah," he sang, "with the test? Yeah."
Raine didn't catch the meaning of his response, but took the test from his hand and set it down on her night stand without taking a peep. "I'll have it graded and returned by tomorrow."
"...O-okay."
"Lloyd?"
"Yes?" he replied, a little too ecstatically. The professor raised an eyebrow, though the shadows in the barely lit room covered her face. Lloyd blushed heavily and covered his cheeks with his hands.
"Your test was finished before you even came to my house."
Lloyd's eyes went wide with shock for a moment. He tried to suppress them, but failed miserably for his 'evil' scheme had been found out. I should have known she'd look at the paper. "I suppose it was," he said with a chuckle.
The half elf looked him over with her icy blue eyes, folding her arms to give a look that said 'What's going on?' She wanted an explanation.
"I... wanted to look it over because I got an answer wrong."
"Lies," Raine shot back and lifted her index finger into the air. "Your paper was completely correct. Every last answer."
"I guess the secret's out." The boy wasn't nervous anymore and something in his voice frightened Raine. No- not frightened; he didn't scare her as she originally thought, for she had to reason to be afraid of him. It... soothed her.
"Why, Lloyd?" Even her voice lost its sharp tone.
The brown haired swordsman sat down next to her on the bed. Despite Raine being older, Lloyd could see over her head, but his seductive brown eyes met hers in an attractive lock. They stayed in that position, and that moment, Time stopped completely as the two waited for the other to speak first. Both stubborn, they said nothing, letting silence be the translator, but deep down, both wanted to say the same thing. This language was new and mysterious, and at the same time, invigorating and enchanting, like when fantasy met reality; anything was possible.
"I-..." His tongue betrayed him, but this betrayal was far too incompatible with those of Kratos and Zelos. Words he used every day, though not in the same order or to the same person, refused to escape his lips, in spite of the fact he practiced them the entire way to the Professor's small cottage. His throat went dry, feeling like the Triet Desert, and he swallowed loudly a few times to moisten it.
Raine didn't noticed her head was tilted to the side or that her cheeks were even a deeper shade of pink than his. Her ears perked up in anticipation of words. "Yes?"
The boy's heart was racing at the speed of sound; its rhythm pounding so vividly in his ear that he thought it had actually dislocated from his chest. He took in a deep breath, and then another, and another. "Raine," he blurted out and covered his lips with his hands. Never had he referred to his teacher by her first name.
But she didn't mind.
"I... love you, Raine." There. He had said the words that had been wringing his conscious for so long. He finally did it. Time once again started its steady, unchanging, monotone cycle, but he ignored it. A weight lifted from his chest, though he felt tense as he waited for a reply.
She gasped lightly, lifting her hand to her mouth as her eyes went teary. She wasn't surprised, for she felt the same way. "...I-"
Raine's comment was cut off by something blocking her mouth and she widened her eyes to see. It was Lloyd's lips, and he moved her hand away before softly caressing hers, pushing her hair back to view her beautiful face. He wrapped his arms around her waist as his body scooted closer. Raine leaned in and wrapped her arms around his neck, forbidding him to stop.
The hearts of two lovers became one and locked into place, defying all forces that wanted to separate them. A wall of fear had been knocked down by the forces of love, guided by determination. Passion was redefined, hope regained, and pure ecstacy born; it mixed in with years of hidden feelings, washing away the stubborn resolve that once blocked their hearts from confessing when they first realized it.
Suddenly, Raine broke the embrace, gasping for air. "Wait," she said, shaking her head.
"What's wrong?" Lloyd asked, curiously and tightened the grip of his arms around her petite waist.
"... Colette," she replied with her head down. Tears cascaded down her face, traveling down her cheek, and running off her chin, landing in random spots, including Lloyd's right arm. "I thought you loved Colette."
"I mean, Colette's cool and all, but we're just friends," Lloyd confessed, wiping some of the tears away from her serene icy blue eyes.
Yet for some reason, she still wanted to cry. They weren't tears of pain or agony. No, they were much warmer, like a midsummer's rain-shower. "...Lloyd.."
He covered her mouth with his hand. "Nu uh," he said with a playful laugh. "Call me Professor Irving for the rest of the night."
"I thought it made you sound old."
Lloyd released her waist and stood to his feet, towering over the Professor. He grabbed her arms at the elbows and tightened the grip they had around his neck before shifting her body back, making enough room for his knee to rest near the edge of the bed. Leaning in closer, he brushed her lips with his and paused for a moment. "Don't question the teacher, Raine," he commanded through a tongue-drenched kiss.
And once again, the student became the teacher, passing the title on in a way she never expected. She loved every moment, as if she had just discovered a new ruin. Raine let "Professor Irving" take over for the night and concluded it had been one of the best decisions she ever made. With each kiss, he taught her how to love. With each touch, he taught her how to forgive and forget. The future was so much brighter than the past and he made himself willing and able to help her in any way he could, while informing her that he wanted to be a part of that future as brilliant as the morning sun that illuminated the sky and made nighttime into day. Sleep into awake, present into the left behind. And with each moan, she took mental notes, refusing to forget the lesson being taught to her.
x x x x x x x x x x
It was late, well into the middle of the night as the moon hovered above the world, giving off a soft, white glow, when mysterious knocking sounded at the door. Lloyd jumped out of his sleep upon hearing the sounds and looked around the unfamiliar room trying to locate himself. Then he smiled upon recognizing the Professor's soft silver hair inches from his face as she lay in bed next to him. She was still asleep, breathing lightly to indicate her sleep was peaceful. Even in slumber, she was so beautiful.
Two more bangs and he jumped out of the bed, fixing his shirt quickly. The room was dark. Hopefully the persons at the door would be unable to tell if it were inside-out or not. He literally ran to the door and opened it. His eyes coming in direct contact with two familiar, yet distraught, faces.
"Lloyd! I'm so glad you're safe!" Colette exclaimed with a large sigh, clasping her hands together.
Next to the ex-Chosen stood the swordsman's drawven father. "Where the heck have you been, boy? It's well past midnight."
"Whoa, really?" replied Lloyd, his eyes widening in shock.
"Yes, really!" Dirk growled, still upset with his son's lack of time management skills.
"You're okay, right?"
"I'm fine," Lloyd reassured and threw his hands into the air for emphasis.
"Good. Let's go home. Are you finished with your test?"
Lloyd looked back into the house. Raine was still asleep, though her position on the bed had moved. "I'm done. Let me get my stuff first." He closed the door slightly, tight enough to block their view into the house, and ran to the table to retrieve his test and pencil before putting his boots back on. Taking one last look at her, he stepped over to the bed, pulled the Professor's hair, and planted a soft kiss on her cheek. She moaned, rolling on her opposite side. "See you tomorrow, Professor."
"I was worried!" bellowed Dirk once Lloyd returned to them, ready to leave.
"We were both worried, Lloyd!" Colette nodded. "Dirk came to my house looking for you. I got so nervous when he said you didn't go home."
"You told me you were finishing a test with the Professor. I didn't expect it to take that long."
"Sorry," the boy replied. "I got caught up in some stuff. Sorta... sidetracked."
Dirk's bushy eyebrows rose. "Caught up in what?"
"... You know...stuff..."
Colette turned her head to the side and gasped, as if she had just made a new discovery. "I know!" At this point, Lloyd's eyes were glued to the girl in anticipation. Surely the blonde wouldn't be sharp enough to catch on to his events of the night. Her innocence was too thick. "Maybe Lloyd was doing some extra credit."
Lloyd laughed nervously, relieved Colette was still Colette – just as clueless as a doorknob. "Haha... yeah... extra credit. Let's go with that."
x x x x x x x x x x
Raine woke up the next morning with a mysterious smile on her face along with a refreshed feeling, like Iselia after a light rain shower. She lifted her head from the soft pillow and waved her legs under the covers to stretch them, then she stopped and opened her eyes. She moaned disappointed and frowned. He wasn't there. Of course not. Not like he could stay overnight.
She pulled herself into a sitting position and straightened her back against the head of the bed. Idling herself for a moment, the half elf reminisced about the previous night. Lloyd's hands had more talents than she expected. Not only could he craft intricate jewelry and artifacts known only to drawves, dual-wield swords as if it were second nature, and strike any enemy with ease, but he could massage away stress with his soft fingers. His skin was so soft against hers... she missed his warmth. But...
"CRAP!" exclaimed the professor as she realized the time. Twenty minutes until class began and she hadn't even taken a shower. Peeling back the three layers of bed sheets, she hopped out of bed and ran around her room like a headless chicken, throwing some clothing onto her bed and heading directly for the shower while stripping off yesterday's attire.
Throughout her morning activities, her smile remained unaltered. She even blushed when she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror – she had been swaying as if ballroom dancing. Then she nodded, stiffened her back, and 'hmphed' to finish dressing. How could one night, no-, one man possibly alter her mood so much? Not like she didn't enjoy the sudden change. She loved it. It was like being reborn.
Raine was surprised to see Lloyd beat her to the schoolhouse. He sat in his chair with his pencils already sharpened and erasers ready to be chewed upon mercilessly. When she entered, he lifted his head up, cheeks a bit blushed, and smiled.
"Mo-morning, Professor." Lloyd stood to his feet and walked to her desk.
"Good morning, Lloyd." Her voice was neutral, though her face wasn't. She tried her hardest to keep her personal life out of school.
"Sorry about last night. Dirk and Colette came to the house and I had to leave, but you were asleep. Didn't want to wake you." Sorry? There was no need to apologize.
"It's not a problem. But I'm aware that you took your test home."
"Um..," he shuddered with a chuckle. "Yeah. I did."
Raine eyed him suspiciously. "I'll need it back, Mister Irving."
"Alright, alright." He nodded. "But not until lunch time."
She slammed her hand on the desk. "Lloyd!"
"Trust me," replied the swordsman with a smile as he nodded his head. "Just wait until recess. Okay?"
The Professor poked her lips out, folding her arms. "You'd better not change a thing on that test. Do you understand me, Lloyd Irving?" she commanded.
"Yes, Professor Sage."
During lessons, he gave no hints to his reasoning. She'd call on him, forcing the boy to answer questions, and sometimes to her surprise, he'd do so correctly. So when lunch time came, she made direct eye contact with Lloyd, reminding him of his promise. Sure enough, he kept to terms and pulled the test from his bag. He handed it to her upside down before running outside with his lunch box.
When she turned it right side up, she found out why. She almost wrote an "A" on the top but decided to double check in case he had in fact made some mistakes. A gasp escaped her lips and deep blush when she read the answer to the last problem; it was obvious that the previous answer had been erased:
I've finally come to terms with myself. I've fallen for you. You know I'm not good with words and stuff, but I don't know how else to explain it or how to tell you. I want to see you happy, Professor. I love you. But... Will you marry me, Raine?
Raine laughed to herself and tried to do something about the blushing. Slowly, she nodded her head and reached for a quill with red ink on the edge of her desk. She graded all papers with red, so no student would have an excuse for not seeing his grade, no matter how horrible it was.
On the side of the paper, she wrote:
And I have fallen for you, Mister Irving. Yes, I will marry you. But this answer is not correct and will be marked wrong.
With that, she marked the paper with a minus one, leaving the swordsman with a ninety percentile on his first test on the new school year.
Haha. Personally, I like the ending. Okay. I've relieved myself of my RainexLloyd urge. Hope you liked it. Constructive criticism is appreciated. Comments like "OMFG! THIS SUCKS!" will not help me expand my writing and only makes you look like a major jerk. If you don't like something about it, tell me and I'll do my best to improve. Otherwise, don't bother. Anyway, it's 10:40. Good night.
(Edit: 6/7/2007: Thanks to redneckgal for bringing it to my attention. If Lloyd only got one question wrong on a test with 20 questions and each was worth the same amount, he would indeed receive a ninety-five percentile. But if you reread, you'll see how many times she told him not to touch the paper, and he did anyway. So, Raine took off an extra 5 points for not obeying orders xD)