Two Hearts Beat

A Disgaea 2 Fanfic.

Adell x Rozalin.

Disclaimer: No. I do not own Disgaea 2 or any related stuff.

"Oh, TARDOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

"What?"

"You owe me a hundred bucks."

"For what?"

"For that bet, silly! Turns out, Adell and Rozalin DO like each other! So pay up!" Hanako held out her hand in front of Taro, who frowned at her. He rolled his eyes and hopped off the couch.

"Fine. But prove it, first."

"Fine."

Taro followed his younger sister until they came by Adell and Rozalin, who were sitting on the steps by the front door. It had only been a few days since the last battle and the big revelation, and a few days after they all turned into humans, but Rozalin was still quite weak and needed to stay in bed. Why she was sitting beside Adell (who was her sworn enemy) under the stars and the inky black sky made Taro consider the possibility of them actually liking each other. But, then again, Taro didn't want to give his sister the idea that he accepted his loss on the bet. At least, not yet. He crossed his arms and looked at Hanako. "What does this prove?"

"Sitting beside each other, looking at the stars, Rozy staying out of bed despite the fact that she needs to stay in bed. No wonder you don't have a girlfriend, Tardo. You're too insensitive and shallow to understand these things," Hanako said.

"It doesn't prove your claim one bit, Hanako. The princess might be up just because she needs some air, and Adell's here just in case she collapses or something."

"And yet, you don't see the love between them! You're so stupid!"

"Fine, then I won't give you the hundred bucks you're asking for."

Hanako stroked her chin, deep in thought. "Fine then. Let's cut the money in half. You give me fifty bucks and I'm good with that," Hanako decided, holding out her hand once again, expecting the stack of greens to appear in front of her very eyes.

"Fine, but you have to pay me back."

"That's unfair!"

"Then I won't give you the money."

"Sure. Then I'll call Etna."

"...Okay, okay, you win." Taro slumped back inside the house, followed by a fifty bucks richer Hanako.

"Adell, what am I supposed to do?" Rozalin leaned on Adell, the both of them sitting on the steps in front of his house. Rozalin, who discovered less than a week ago that she was actually the reincarnate of Overlord Zenon rather than his daughter, never felt easier in her whole life. Knowing that someone was there prepared to always protect her and watch her back no matter the cost was truly reassuring. Especially for someone like her, who lived a sheltered life and only learned how to fight recently. And to think that this person she loved was actually the one she called her sworn enemy the day they first met was something even she did not expect. But along with the shock of it all came the inevitable question - what is she to do now, knowing that she is the Overlord?

"Well, it's not easy to answer that question. Especially since the situation caught all of us off-guard. Who knew that power that you have is actually something special?"

"I did not wish for that power, Adell. It is too much for me to handle. I almost killed all of you because of it."

"You... weren't yourself. It's actually a miracle that I had you fight over the Zenon in you." Adell put his arms around her and held her close. He, too, was surprised by the turn of events. Not long ago, they were bickering, Tink trying to act as a mediator (until Etna arrived- then she just had to threaten the both of them with exploding penguins and they just shut up), and often, their travels delayed because one or the other refused to cooperate. Once or twice, Rozalin actually aimed her gun at Adell, but never dared to pull the trigger. But now, they knew how they felt for each other. And though it was still a blow to the both of them, it did feel great. Satisfying. As if a large void was filled.

"You told me to trust you." She sighed. "I'm scared of what I might do, Adell. The possibilities. My power. It's all a blur. I despise it, especially if I lose control of everything and succumb to Zenon's consciousness. I don't want to hurt anyone. Not you, not Hanako, not Taro."

Adell stroked her arm affectionately. He was confused, and wasn't good at planning. Or giving advice. Making blind promises and keeping them was his thing. His style. And it made him feel uncomfortable trying to comfort this girl and giving her some advice, and much more since she expected him (at least, he thought he did) to do so. "Rozalin, when I said that I'll protect you, I meant it. And if one way of protecting you is reminding you of who you really are and not some overpowered Overlord, then I'll gladly help you."

Silence enveloped the two figures. Although the night was deep (Adell's dad's snores could be heard ten miles away), neither of them felt sleepy. On the contrary, Rozalin felt very much anxious, nervous and afraid that she wasn't about to go to sleep anytime soon. But she felt weak.

"Please take me back to my room. I need to rest."

Adell helped her up and accompanied her to her room. Ever since they all arrived, Adell's parents took Rozalin in, not caring if she was a reincarnate of Zenon or if she could defeat another Netherworld's Overlord in one blow. "She's a fine young lady," Adell's father had said, and winked at him, although he didn't really know if the wink was something he could take seriously. That time, he didn't know what his father meant. Well, maybe he did know, but he wasn't sure.

They arrived at her room (which was bigger than everyone else's - Adell's mother refused to deprive her of the luxury of a large room, considering that she did live in a mansion three-hundred times larger than what Rozalin called Adell's "dog house"). Adell closed the door behind him and pulled back the curtains. A generous amount of moonlight streamed inside, lighting the rather dark room. Adell watched Rozalin sit on the bed and stare into space. In the moonlight, he saw Rozalin's eyes shine, then forming tears.

"Come on, Rozalin. You need to rest."

He sat on her bed, and looked at her long and hard. He wanted to think all of this through, but having no motivation or real purpose to think. Heck, he didn't even know what he wanted to think about. All he knew was that inside him sparked a fire that, although small and seemingly insignificant, was strong enough to give him the urge to stare and admire (and maybe do even more) at Rozalin. But she was weak, frail, fragile. And it was late at night, and certainly no time for them to open up and discover more. Not long after, Rozalin's features softened and relaxed, and Adell finally willed himself to stray away from his thoughts and desires that lingered around for so long. But he couldn't leave her side.

Adell kept watching her, repeating his 'foolish' promise to her, and every repeat gave him more reason to protect her, although he did think he sounded foolish. What good is a promise of protection if he was dead? He shook his head and, for the nth time that night, watched Rozalin. His subconscious pushed him to caress her, stroke her cheek, and finally pluck up the courage to plant a kiss, which was awkward despite the fact that they have already shared one.

Rozalin shifted, muttered something about fools and their promises and how she was royalty, then turned around, facing away from Adell. Fool indeed.

Once or twice, Adell checked the clock. The hands moved fast enough for him to realize that he, too, needed sleep. He didn't want to leave Rozalin just in case (but what harm can be done to an Overlord in the middle of the night?), and decided that, yes, he will sleep beside her. Just for the night. Just for the night.

Adell made himself comfortable, trying to sleep on the small space left on the bed.

Do you desire power?

"Y, yes... I want power... The power to save everyone..."

The voice laughed contemptously in her head. "Save everyone? Do not make me laugh, foolish girl. Look around you."

And she did. Carnage. Chaos. Death. Darkness. All wrapped up in a grayish haze of smoke. Rozalin's mouth hung open, as she watched the silent, lifeless scene before her. Thousands of bodies dead. Ruins toppled over. And in the middle was...

"No. No, I did not do such a thing!" She dropped to her knees. It was all hard to take in. How can she, Rozalin, do this? To kill many people without any real purpose, to destroy buildings for the satisfaction of it, and to spread chaos and bloodshed all over? She did not do this. But then, who else could have done? She was alone. Everyone was dead, save for her.

"You see. You have done good. As an Overlord. Your power did not go to waste. You used it wisely. Overlord Zenon."

Tears streamed down Rozalin's face. Tears fueled not by sadness, fear, or guilt, but by anger. Anger towards herself. Who else could have done such a heinous crime than Overlord Zenon's reincarnate? She refused to accept it, but it is much more likely than she not having to do with it, when the answer was there in front of her. But she wasn't Zenon. That was it. She wasn't Zenon. Just Zenon's incarnation. She was Rozalin. And she denied the obvious fact that she was Zenon, God of All Overlords who slaughtered ninety-nine others for a... 'prestigious' title.

Still, she cried.

I. Am not. Zenon.

"What's wrong? Why's she crying? Did you do something naughty to her?"

"What? No! Rozalin, Rozalin are you okay?"

"What did you do to Princess, Adell? Sexual harassment?"

"I told you already, I didn't do anything to her! I woke up and she was crying!"

"Crying in her sleep? Maybe you DID do something to Rozy!"

Rozalin opened her eyes, though it was hard with the tears that dried around her eyes and the tears that still fell. She rubbed her eyes and looked up. Surrounding her were Adell, Taro and Hanako, all fumbling around as if she had been in a fit and was about to be lost in coma. "Adell... I... It was a dream."

Adell wiped her eyes, Hanako giggling in the background and throwing glances at Taro that suggested he give her the other fifty he owed her. Adell hugged Rozalin, who continued to cry even after plunging back to reality. She returned Adell's embrace, closing her eyes and burying her face in her shoulder. Behind them, Hanako pumped her fist in the air and looked at Taro. Rozalin pulled back and stared into Adell's eyes.

"I did not kill innocent people, Adell. I did not kill innocent people, and never will I do such a thing. Don't let me Adell, please."

"Stop crying. Whatever you dreamed about, it was just a dream. You are Rozalin, and you sure as hell aren't an Overlord. Stop crying, please." Adell wiped her eyes and gave her a tighter embrace.

Hanako dragged Taro out of the room. "I demand fifty bucks." A grin spread on her face as she, once again and for the second time that week, became fifty bucks richer.

A/N: Second lame attempt. The title sucks and the story feels like it's plotless, seemingly just trying to hang on to a thread just to live up to the Adell/Rozalin pairing. I don't know, I think this is worse than my first Adell/Rozalin fic, but recently, my head's ran out of fresh ideas. I need to play the game more. Maybe I'll write some more Adell/Rozalin but I won't follow everything with a sequel. I suck at sequels. Anyway, comments?