Lord Cynic: "Well, this was fun. A week off Fanfiction without me just being lazy. Ah well, I'm back. Yep, with yet another Tales of Symphonia. Muwahahahaha! ... Okay, I'm done."
Lord Cynic: "I don't own Tales of Symphonia. Also, the song Tomorrow never comes is by Ronan Keating."
If Tomorrow Never Comes
Just when everyone thought nothing worse could happen, Colette had been diagnosed with Chronic Angelus Crystallus Inofficium. It had begun on her arm at the Iselia Ranch, and now it was a race against time to find her a cure. Iselia had welcomed them back as if nothing was different (except for the mayor), but the group had departed quickly to search for Colette's treatment.
Lloyd was leading the group across an unchanged Sylvarant, with Colette at his side as always. Behind them were the half-elves, Raine and Genis, with Sheena and Zelos behind them (reluctantly in Sheena's case). Regal and Presea were the tail of the party, although Genis objected to this at first. Everyone, while their eyes appeared focused, had their mindsets on Colette's infection, and the possible effects of it. Even Zelos, the hunny-hunting, loudmouthed Chosen of Tethe'alla was subdued - although, that might have been because Sheena had threatened to burn off his pretty boy red hair with a card if he tried to make any jokes.
Eventually, the group had stumbled upon a House of Salvation. Lloyd glanced at Colette, who had her head down. Her hair shrouded her eyes, so he couldn't see what expression she was wearing. He didn't need to, however; her body language as her shoulders slumped and she swayed side-to-side, almost dazed, told him what he needed to know.
He turned to the rest of the group, and fought the contagiousness of their sullen expressions to speak.
"Guys, this looks like a good place to rest for the night," he told them. He received a few murmurs and general nods at first, but his next statement caught their attention. "If no one minds, I won't be joining you."
Expressions of incredulous greeted the declaration, but Lloyd remained determined in his decision.
"Don't worry, I'll be fine," he reassured them smilingly. "I'm going to sleep on the beach tonight. I need time to think."
Most heads hesitated then nodded understandingly, and one-by-one, Genis, Raine, Presea, Regal, Sheena and Zelos proceeded towards the House of Salvation. However, Colette stayed put. Lloyd hadn't noticed her reluctance; he had his back turned as he began to walk away. However, a tight hand on his arm halted him. He turned back around to meet a pleading look on Colette's face, one he hadn't seen for a long time. She was quivering, and Lloyd's instincts demanded him to tend to her.
"You're shaking," he said softly, grasping her tightening hand with his free one. He looked closely at her face. "What's wrong, you can tell me?"
Colette blushed as Lloyd's hand rested over her own, but the look of fear in her eyes remained. She gave him an answer, but it came out in barely anything but a soft whisper.
"D... Don't leave me."
Lloyd looked her over, as if trying to understand her fear. His intense gaze made Colette blush darker, but neither of their hands drew apart. Finally, Lloyd spoke to break the silence.
"I'm sorry, but I just need some time alone."
"No!" Colette cried suddenly. Lloyd positively started, and someone nearby perked up their ears. Colette continued, calmer this time. "Please, let me come with you."
"Well," Lloyd began, musing this over, "it's going to be dangerous on our own. I mean, it's already night-time and worse monsters appear than in the daytime. I can't risk you getting hurt because I was careless."
"Oh, so the mighty Lloyd Irving thinks he can't protect the Chosen," a mocking voice called. Heads turned to find Zelos standing behind them, hands on hips. "Well, you said it yourself. You don't think you can protect her."
"Sh... Shut up, Zelos," Lloyd said jerkily, unable to deny the truth. "I just don't want her to get hurt or killed because I... couldn't... protect her..."
"It's okay, Lloyd," Colette said softly, smiling for the first time that day. "I... I can go with the others. I'm sorry for troubling you."
Colette began to walk to the House of Salvation, but Lloyd's voice halted her.
"No, wait!" Colette turned around, and was relieved to see a smile on the young swordsman's face. "Don't go... I think it'd be nice if we went together."
"There you go," Zelos boomed. "Now, you two lovebirds go on to the beach. The seas won't wait all day for you."
Lloyd and Colette blushed at Zelos' implications, and then Colette looked at her childhood friend, whose face was straight-lipped and neutral. She became worried that she was being a burden to his privacy, and began to apologise.
"Lloyd, I..."
However, the teenage boy suddenly flashed his familiar friendly smile, which comforted Colette instantly and immensely. What he said next only served to light up her face with her trademark cheerful smile.
"Come on, Colette. Let's go together."
She beamed brightly, and Lloyd began to lead the way. However, before Colette followed him she mouthed a "Thank you" to Zelos. He grinned, flashed a thumbs-up and winked at her, causing her to blush embarrassedly and effectively sending her on her way.
Zelos watched his blonde, female Sylvarant counterpart scamper after Lloyd, the same grin plastered on his face. However, his face was tilted in an expression of satisfaction, rather than the usual cheeky perverted expression he wore when the group travelled. However, his cheeky face returned when he noticed a certain Mizuho ninja emerging from the House of Salvation. She had an impatient look on her face, which only served to increase Zelos' cheeky expression.
"What are you doing out here?" she demanded instantly, the moment she found him. "Everyone's looking for you! ..." The Mizuho ninja looked around and suddenly realised that now two of the party were missing. She glared at Zelos as if he'd done something dastardly. "Okay, where is she? What did you do? Have you said anything to make Colette cry and run off?"
Zelos was slightly offended at the accusations, and stared at his Tethe'alla comrade incredulously. It only lasted for a while, though; Sheena's inquiries sparked an uncharacteristically sensitive answer.
"Well, it depends on how you look at it," he said, contemplating his reply as he spoke. "She didn't run off, she more like scampered off. And if she was crying, they'd only be tears of joy."
Sheena furrowed her eyebrows, trying to comprehend Zelos' explanation. However, she was interrupted when the red-haired Chosen threw an arm around her. She glared at the boyish, confident grin that only Zelos could possess in his face artillery. However, he remained unaffected.
"Let's go, my voluptuous hunny. Let us bask in each other's company like Lloyd and Colette undoubtedly will in each others'," he said in his typical Casanova-wannabe voice. Unfortunately for him, the only basking he got was basking in pain when Sheena promptly clipped the back of his head. He watched as she returned to the House of Salvation and groaned, rubbing his sore spot. "Owww... why does true love have to hurt so much?..."
Lloyd and Colette walked side-by-side through the small forest of trees on an edge of the continent. Once or twice, they had to defend themselves against stray creatures, but their progress was more or less unhindered and silent. However, an occasional trip up by Colette raised an eyebrow, but ironically some gifts from monsters unfortunate to break her fall. As a result, they each had a collection of Beast Hides to die for.
Eventually they'd succeeded in reaching the shores. Lloyd began looking for wood to light a fire, but Colette's eyes were darting around. Lloyd noticed, and watched her stare from one spot to the next. Finally, her gaze rested on a cliff directly over the waters. She looked at Lloyd, indicating her newfound location, and he nodded in agreement. He heaved the wood into his arms, stumbling slightly and causing Colette to giggle in amusement. He blushed both at his mistake and Colette's giggle, but composed himself and followed her to the cliff.
Once they've arrived at the cliff, he plopped the wood gratefully onto the grass. He motioned Colette to stand back, withdrawing his twin swords from their sheaths. She watched with increasing interest as he proceeded to spark a fire by slicing his swords together. After a few attempts, a bright red fire crackled in the wood, and the teenagers settled in front of it. They watched the flames lick, their company keeping each other warm as well as the fire.
Finally, Colette spoke up to break the relative silence.
"Do... do you regret me coming along?" she asked tentatively. Lloyd looked at her for the first time since they'd arrived, and for a fleeting second, Colette thought she saw him contemplating his answer.
"Well, of course not," he said at last. "After all, we wouldn't have all these beast hides, and this view is something for the others to envy. Don't you agree?"
Colette's expression had plummeted upon hearing Lloyd's reply, but she jumped when he addressed her. She stuttered for a moment before answering somewhat coherently.
"Oh, um, yes, yes, I agree," she said. She stared down at the ground. 'So that's all this was, just a treasure hunt,' she thought, feeling rejection all of a sudden.
Lloyd hadn't noticed Colette's saddening expression, but instead was gazing out at the seas. His mouth curved into a confident smile as he watched the waves crash down on the sands like anvils. He almost thought he could hear the tremble of the impact, but he put that aside as he spoke, this time breaking the silence himself.
"There's no one I'd rather share this view with than you, Colette," he said, almost subconsciously. "I mean, I could be here with anyone else, but you're the one who makes this really special."
Colette's head lifted instantly at Lloyd's words, and she came almost face-to-face with the same smile he wore when he'd realised Colette hadn't been hurt when Rodyle had kidnapped her. It was also the same smile that he wore when they were kids, when she would trip but he would always help her up again. It was the same boyish, flippant smile that he'd never grown out of, but she'd appreciated every time he'd worn it.
Colette noticed she'd been staring for a while now, and blushed quickly as she tilted her head to gaze at the grass again. Unfortunately for her, the fire simply illuminated the red tinge in her cheeks, and Lloyd chuckled amusedly. Lloyd's laugh caused Colette to blush brighter, and even if she tried, she couldn't stop the blood rushing to her cheeks. However, Lloyd didn't use her embarrassment against her, and instead spoke softly to ease the tension.
"When the journey of regeneration ends, maybe there'll be a time when we can settle down," he said. Colette's eyes widened in surprise, waiting for Lloyd to continue talking. "When all this is over, and you're not sacrificed to save the world, maybe we can finally have a life of peace."
Colette smiled at Lloyd's optimism, but her eyes started becoming heavy. She began to sway from side-to-side, and Lloyd noticed it immediately. He rushed over as Colette began to fall forward, and collected her in his arms. She recovered in time to notice the breaker of her fall, and both blushed this time.
"Th-Thank you," Colette squeaked. Lloyd chuckled again, darkening the blonde's complexion once more.
"You're very welcome," the young swordsman replied.
However, he didn't receive another answer, and a slight increase in the weight in his arms told him that Colette was asleep. Lloyd stared down at Colette's sleeping form, then smiled again and carefully placed her resting body on his lap. She squeaked again, this time a sound of complete comfort, and nestled further onto Lloyd's lap. He hesitated briefly, but then gingerly wrapped his semi-muscular arms around the slender blonde girl's figure. 'Raine would kill me if she saw us right now, this would be so wrong to her' he thought to himself. 'However, right here, right now, this is how Colette and I should always be.'
Colette began humming in her slumber, a tune very familiar to Lloyd. Then it struck him - it was a song that they used to know and, that he used to sing to her when they were younger. The true meanings of the song's words had eluded the pair of them for many years, when they spent practically every waking moment in each other's company. Now, however, the words stuck out in his mind like a sore thumb. At the times they were now in, when every minute with Colette was essential (and could be his last), Lloyd realised that the song meant much more than he initially thought, all those years ago.
When Colette's humming ended, Lloyd began singing the song in a soft, tender tone.
Sometimes late at night
I lie awake and watch her sleeping
She's lost in peaceful dreams
So I turn out the lights and lay there in the dark
And the thought crosses my mind
If I never wake up in the morning
Would she ever doubt the way I feel
About her in my heart
If tomorrow never comes
Will she know how much I loved her
Did I try in every way to show her every day
That she's my only one
And if my time on earth were through
And she must face this world without me
Is the love I gave her in the past
Gonna be enough to last
If tomorrow never comes
'Cause I've lost loved ones in my life
Who never knew how much I loved them
Now I live with the regret
That my true feelings for them never were revealed
So I made a promise to myself
To say each day how much she means to me
And avoid that circumstance
Where there's no second chance to tell her how I feel
If tomorrow never comes
Will she know how much I loved her
Did I try in every way to show her every day
That she's my only one
And if my time on earth were through
And she must face this world without me
Is the love I gave her in the past
Gonna be enough to last
If tomorrow never comes
So tell that someone that you love
Just what you're thinking of
If tomorrow never comes
Colette stirred, and Lloyd watched as her eyes fluttered open. She took a while to register where she was, but then blushed immediately. However, as she gazed into the chocolate-coloured eyes of the person holding her, she remembered what woke her up and smiled.
"I love that song," she whispered. Neither her nor Lloyd had moved, both preferring how they were now. "I remember the first time I heard it. It was when we first met each other. I listened to the song in the market, and when it finished, I was crying. I didn't have any friends there, so I guess I looked stupid crying by myself - until you came. I remember you coming out from a sweets shop, your cheeks bulging with boiled lollies. I saw you grinning from ear-to-ear, and despite my sadness, I started to giggle. It was so embarrassing."
"That's right," Lloyd said, nodding. "When I heard you, I noticed you sitting on a bench, all by yourself. I came over and asked why you were alone, and you said it was because you didn't have any friends. I nearly dropped my lolly bag in shock." Colette giggled upon hearing that. "It's true, I couldn't believe it. We started walking afterwards, but before he walked five steps you tripped and fell."
"I guess some things never change," Colette remarked, laughing nervously.
"I wouldn't have you any other way." Lloyd and Colette blushed at the unexpectedness of his reply, but Lloyd quickly composed himself to continue the nostalgia. "I literally threw my lollies into the air to check if you were okay, but strangely, you weren't even crying then. My surprise must've been obvious to you, because then you told me you'd heard a song that made you cry. Except they were happy sorts of tears.
"Then you laughed and called me a dork," Colette said, smiling.
"Heheh, yeah," Lloyd laughed, rubbing the back of his head. "I don't know why I did. Still, I'm glad that you didn't take it the wrong way and try to beat my head in."
"I was just lucky to have someone to talk to," Colette replied. "I'm really lucky to have met you, Lloyd."
"Same here," Lloyd said. "I'm sorry I woke you."
"You shouldn't be," Colette objected, smiling again. "I haven't heard our song in a long time." She paused as the word 'our' washed over them, then shakily continued. "I... I was expecting you to put me down when I'd told you all those years again, when I told you what the song was."
"How could I," Lloyd said, laughing again, "When I liked the song as well?" He hesitated. "It reminded me of my mom..."
Colette detected a depressed expression on Lloyd's face, and instantly became worried.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring it up," she apologised fretfully, starting to rise. However, Lloyd wrapped his arms around her waist and gently forced her back onto his lap. She stared at him, confusion filling her features. "Lloyd?"
He answered her, but not with words. Instead, his lips pressed against hers tenderly, silencing her in an instant. She took a while to realise the sensations as their lips made sweet contact like two blades blocking each other; however, she returned the gentle force with one just as passionate. He responded by swiftly lifting her body into his arms and intensifying the kiss. She half-squeaked, half-moaned as their kiss seemed to last an eternity.
Their lips eventually parted, and their faces immediately donned a coat of dark red hue. Lloyd and Colette were mortified; the former for his disgraceful, chauvinistic, Zelos-like actions, the latter for her responses. Each was shocked at what had just transpired - yet, if they were to go back through time, they'd do it again, and again.
In their frozen mortification, Colette leaped back onto solid ground. However, they couldn't pull their eyes off one another.
"I-I'm sorry," Lloyd stuttered. "I shouldn't have... it was uncalled for... what have I done... I've... I've destroyed our friendship, haven't I?"
Colette blushed, laughed and shook her head.
"Please, don't apologise." The red tinge present in her cheeks glowed brightly and spectacularly in the firelight. "I don't want you to be sorry for something you haven't done."
"It's... it's just..." Lloyd grasped for the right words to say. "All those times we listening to the song, I didn't understand that it meant. Now I do, but... but I'm frightened I won't be able to say what I need to."
"Well, I'm not going anywhere if I can be by your side," Colette said very obviously. "What do you need to say?"
"If... if tomorrow never comes..." Lloyd hesitated again, but finally blurted it out. "If tomorrow never comes, I want you to know how much I love you!"
Colette stared at him, mouth gaping. Lloyd suddenly felt dejected, and he bowed his head. However, a soft peck on his cheek caused him to lift his head and stare at a beaming Colette. It was the same smile as the one when they had first become friends, the same smile as when he'd rescued her the many times until now. It was the same smile that he'd fallen in love with.
"Then, if tomorrow never comes," Colette said softly, "I want you to know how much I love you too."
Lloyd couldn't smile one wider than the one he was smiling now, and he laughed as Colette leaped into his arms and planted a kiss on his lips. However, the moment was short-lived when they both fell backwards, off the cliff, and into the water. Neither was hurt, but both were extremely wet because of the incident. They looked at each other, and then burst out laughing.
"Raine won't be happy when she finds us still sopping wet in the morning," Lloyd gasped, wiping an eye.
"I don't think she'll mind that much," Colette said reasonably. "Just like she won't mind when we tell her we love each other, right?"
"..." was the only response.
THE END
Lord Cynic: "Blah, nothing wrong with fluffiness, right? It's not a great story, I know. At least... it's long... eh..."