Summary:
Since the moment he'd been allowed to tag along with their group, Zelos had found himself inexplicably drawn to a certain best Bud of his. How could he just walk up and say that to him though without ruining the friendship they were still building together? It just didn't seem possible... at least not until a special pink liquid was discovered that supposedly granted the drinker's heart's true desire.

Will it end up helping him? Or making things... hairier than anyone would have ever anticipated?

I'm sorry, summaries are my weak point in writing. I promise it will get interesting though!

Notes:
Oh my god, it has been so long since I've written anything for the fanfiction community... I'M SORRY IF MY WRITING STYLE IS NO LONGER WORTHY FOR YOU GUYS, BUT I'D LIKE TO GET BACK INTO THIS IF YOU'LL ALLOW IT / I hope you all enjoy reading! I do promise that this will get more interesting VERY soon! Just bear with me if you can

Oh, as a side note, I kinda deleted my other stories on here-I MIGHT rewrite "The New Job", because I'm not at all happy with it at this point in my life, but I can't make any promises to those who followed me for that story just hope you'll enjoy what I'm contributing now.

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Chapter One - The Katz Secret Stash

"I've finally found it," Raine said, an almost mischievous sparkle reflecting in her eyes. "After all this time, I've finally found this amazing piece of history! It's all mine, at long last, I finally have it!"

The 'history' the half-elf was holding happened to be a small, glass vial that contained a glowing pink liquid. Excitement trembled through Raine's body as she felt a faint warmth coming from it, even through the thick, leather gloves she was wearing. Truly, this was the vial of legends, the contents of which, when consumed, would grant the drinker anything their heart desired, no matter how outrageous it might be. The thought alone had the woman dancing about ecstatically, holding the bottle above her head, praising Martel as she did so.

"Oh ho, ho, I can't wait to mix this into the special gel I've been saving all these years for it. They'll make books about me after all the research is done. I'll be recorded in history books for years to come," she chided, practically glowing from all the excitement she could barely contain. "I've got to make sure to use it on just the right thing. Can't waste it. And I definitely can't allow any of the others to get a hold of it… Genis especially. He would just use it without thinking."

That being said, Raine quickly pulled out a small sticker from her bag to label the vial in her hands. Perfect. No one would want to touch something marked as 'Raine's secret ingredient' after all. Though, now that the deed was done, she wondered exactly why it was no one enjoyed her food… but the thought was quickly shrugged off. She had mature tastes compared to her younger traveling companions, that was all.

Just as she'd finished labeling the tiny container, the sound of footsteps could be heard echoing through the cave she'd made her discovery in. She hastily stuffed her new treasure into her travel pouch and turned her attention to some unimportant carvings on the wall. The last thing she wanted was for whoever walked in to the suspect her to have found something they would have wanted, and knowing everyone in their group,they would definitely want it for their own various reasons. She needed whoever was coming in to check on her to think that she was not finding something that had the ability to change history as they all knew it.

The footsteps gradually grew louder, and louder until they were just a few feet behind the half-elf. She continued to pretend to be focused on the pointless scribbles on the wall, hoping the look on her face was convincing enough to whoever was with her.

"Hey, Professor?" It was Lloyd's voice. Good. It was unlikely that he would suspect her of anything, even if she did happen to accidentally messed up.

"What do you need, Llod?" she asked, trying not to sound too terribly interested. It might have just been Lloyd, but the boy had his moments if given the opportunity. "I'm trying to decipher these ancient carvings."

The brunet leaned closer to the walls to catch a glimpse of the carvings. It didn't take long for the boy scrunched his eyebrows together, confused, and obviously oblivious to the meaning, and turned back to Raine.

"It's just… well, you've been in here for a few hours now. Everyone was just wondering if you were okay. Can't have anything happening to our one and only Professor!" he said, grinning happily now that he knew Raine was doing just fine. "You… are okay, right?"

"You know very well that I can handle myself just fine if something were to happen. I always keep a large amount of gels on me just in case," Raine replied, peeling her eyes from the walls to look at Lloyd, having gotten bored of looking at the meaningless scratches. "I was actually about to head out in a few minutes, if you'd like to let the other's know that I'm all right."

"All right! We'll see you out there in a few! Genis was just about done with dinner, so if you want any food, be sure not to take too long," Lloyd smiled, giving the wall one last glance before scrunching his nose up, and making his way out of the cave at long last.

Once Raine was certain the swordsman was no longer within earshot, she very carefully pulled the bottle she had placed in her pouch to look at it one more time before she followed Lloyd out. The pinkish glow emanating from the small container was absolutely entrancing, and had her distracted for a moment. She eventually had to pull her eyes away, and put the vial away so that the other's wouldn't be suspicious of her.

"Oooh, I can hardly wait. Soon enough… I'll have everything I've ever dreamed of," the woman giggled as she took the last few steps from the cave into the fading sunlight.

"Whatcha doin', Lloyd?" Zelos's voice spoke up as he peered over the smaller brunet's shoulder, face glowing with a bright smile.

"Eating? Like everyone else here?" Lloyd replied, raising an eyebrow up at the older man. "Why don't you go get yourself your own plate of food before it's all gone?"

Zelos just continued smiling at the boy as he claimed a spot next to the other, taking a glance at what had exactly had been cooked up. His mouth started to water at the sight of curry and rice, starting to regret not having grabbed himself a serving before taking his seat. He may not have been exactly thrilled about having to travel with someone like Genis, but he had to admit, the could could cook.

"Hey, brat. Can you make me a plate?" the redhead asked as he grabbed a nearby stick that was meant to feed the fire to use it to poke at the young boy's cheek. "I forgot to grab myself a plate, and I don't want to give up my cushy, cozy spot."

"Don't be a lazy asshole. Go get your own plate," Genis grumbled, claiming the other free spot next to Lloyd so he could start eating. "Just because you're the Chosen doesn't mean I'm going to just do whatever you want for you."

"What?! But you got Bud a plate! How come I can't get any special treatment like him?" Zelos whined, reaching around Lloyd to firmly tug at a few silver strands of hair. "Such a stupid little brat."

Genis rolled his eyes as he shoved Zelos's hand away. "Well, maybe if you'd stop calling me that, poor, asshole Chosens would probably get food without having to get up from their 'cushy, cozy' spot," he continued to mumble. "And stop touching my hair!"

The teasing, and bickering went on for a while, resulting in a few bites of food Lloyd was trying to eat falling to the ground. The first few times was fine… aggravating, but fine. But when half of your food ended up on the ground, that was a completely different story.

"I'm going to go eat with Colette, and Sheena," Lloyd announced, promptly standing up with what was left of his food in hand. Shooting a glare at each of the people he'd previously been sitting next to. "Maybe I can eat the rest of my food without it falling on the ground over there."

"Wait, Bud! Don't leave me with him," Zelos said, still whining, and trying to grab at one of the white, trailing ribbons on his outfit. He just barely missed it, puffing his cheeks up in a pout as a result. "Buuuuud…"

But the whining fell on deaf ears as Lloyd walked off, sitting with the girls a little ways away. Genis snickered at Zelos, who countered with a venomous glare, followed by a few more yanks at the boy's hair.

"Hey, don't get mad at me. You made him drop his food too. You're just as much to blame as I am here," Genis snapped, once again slapping a hand at Zelos's as he scooted away from his attacker. "If you wanna go sit next to him, go get your damn plate already, and go over there. It's not like you to just sit, and pout."

Even though Genis was technically correct, it wasn't like Zelos was going to let him have that insignificant victory over him. So, he rolled his eyes as his response, and pushed himself off the ground, and made his way over to the campfire to fill up a plate of curry, and rice for himself. Once that was done, he stalked over to an empty spot a ways away from the campfire to sit by himself.

What was the point of trying to sit over by Lloyd with both Colette, and Sheena on the scene? Colette would just be her usual, ditzy self, while Sheena would just be suspicious of him, and either end up yelling at him about how much of a pervert he was, or just smack him til he left.

Why was it so difficult getting any alone time with his favorite Bud anymore? Everyone lately had seemed fixated on being around him, as often as possible, and it left him little chance for actual one-on-one time. Ever since everyone had found out about Kratos being his father… Tch! Selfish they were for not letting him have any time with Lloyd… every last one of them. He'd wanted to comfort him too…

"Ah, Professor, my favorite ruin fanatic!" he called out when he noticed the woman walk by him, intent on taking care of her dishes. "You find anything interesting in that cave you were so fascinated by? You were in there for quite some time. Little Bud was starting to worry some monsters had gotten the better of you."

The half-elf froze in her tracks, not having planned on being caught before sneaking off for some more time to further examine that special pink liquid of hers. If she ran off now, surely Zelos would be suspicious of her. He had a sharper mindset than Lloyd did, and she wasn't willing to risk having him sniff her little secret out.

So, what else could she do?

"Nothing more than a few strange writings on the walls I couldn't decipher. The Katz are a fascinating group of people, and it seems like we know so little about them," she rambled, hoping to bore the Chosen. Honestly though, she couldn't tell if it was doing the trick or not, since he seemed rather intent on stuffing his face as she spoke. "I'm hoping we can stay here another day, so I can work on deciphering everything properly."

"Hm, you want any help with that?" Zelos asked, unsure of what kind of response he would get out of her. At that point, he was more or less just saying stuff to keep the conversation from ending too soon. He wasn't really certain he would follow through on joining her into the cave. "I'm sure the great Zelos Wilder would be a perfect assistant to you, Professor~"

Raine sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose with her free hand, shaking her head. This was exactly what she wanted to avoid, even if the person she was talking to didn't really seem to be serious about their offer. If she had to risk spending just another minute looking at those pitiful feline scribbles again, she swore she was going to lose it. Was some alone time really that hard to achieve nowadays? Well, it probably didn't help that they traveled as a party of eight now...but that was besides the point.

"Don't worry about it, Zelos," she said, waving her hand dismissively at him. "I'm certain that I'm close to cracking it. I shouldn't be long on my own tomorrow. Besides, weren't you, and Lloyd going to explore the Katz village more tomorrow?"

Ah, that was right. He, and Lloyd had intended to take a look around the nearby village, see what kinds of stuff the had to sell, check out the food, get to know some of the Katz more. Of course, it was meant to just be the two of them, giving Zelos that one-on-one time with Lloyd he was so desperately craving to have, but the very instant Genis had caught wind of what was going on, those plans were thrown in the garbage. Who knew the kid, who seemed so serious about literally everything else, was such a big Katz fanatic?

"Oh yeah, almost forgot about that. I wonder if it's true that they eat nothing but catnip, and fish," he pondered aloud, tapping curiously at his chin with a few soft finger taps. "Eh, I probably wasn't going to be of much help to you anyways. You enjoy your ruins, my cool beauty, and I'll enjoy my time with Bud."

He ended his statement with his usual, flirty wink, to which Raine just shook her head, taking the opportunity to slip away while no one was the wiser. Once she was out of sight, Zelos took to playing with his food with his spoon, eyes turning back to watch Lloyd goofing off with the two girls he was sitting with, making them laugh, and blush as he usually did… though he was likely entirely unaware of why exactly either girl was blushing to begin with. Kid wasn't exactly the sharpest tool in the shed.

...Not that that was necessarily a bad thing. It kept him from noticing other things as well, like how Zelos was so desperate to find him alone, or how he'd been so insistent lately on sitting next to Lloyd every chance he got, or those longing stares that he himself was still trying to properly figure out why he was even giving the swordsman.

Ever since he was allowed to join the party, he'd been warming up to the red clad teenager… warming up much more than he, or anyone else could've ever anticipated. For one, he'd never been fond of men, and he'd made it a point to make that as clear as possible when they first met, but Lloyd… Lloyd. There was something mesmerizing about him. Something that was so comforting to Zelos that he'd never felt with anyone else before…

Coughing to interrupt his own thoughts from going too far, he imagined that even if Lloyd did happen to notice, he wasn't really the type of guy to hold it against him, or humiliate him by sharing it with the rest of their traveling companions. Lloyd just wasn't that kind of a guy. That kind of cruelty simply wasn't in his nature.

Sighing loudly, Zelos put his spoon down onto his half finished plate of food, wondering if Lloyd would accept it as a peace offering for his little mishap earlier. The girls were just going to have to put up with him forcing himself into whatever it was they were talking about. That decided, he got up, and walked over to to Lloyd and the others. As he stood behind them a moment, he cracked a cocky grin as he realized none of them knew he was there. IT seemed Lloyd was done with his food, so he was safe to just…

"Buuuuud, you wound me. Leaving your perfectly good spot over there to get swooned over here by the ladies. I didn't think you had it in you to abandon your best friend to try out your new pick-up lines," Zelos said as he dropped his arms loosely over the smaller boy's shoulders, placing his own unfinished plate tactfully over the empty one in Lloyd's hands. "You haven't even run them by me yet. Who knows if they ever work like they should?"

Sheena clicked her tongue, probably muttering something about the 'stupid idiot Chosen' being a pervert again, and Colette just leaned her head to the side, confused by the meaning of 'pick-up lines'. Typical. It truly took very little effort to predict precisely how the situation would turn out once he'd arrived.

"What are you talking about? I left because you, and Genis wouldn't let me eat my food, remember?" he huffed, eyes catching sight of the dish sliding into his lap. "And what do you think you're doing? I'm not cleaning your dishes for you again."

"Aw, not even if I tell you it's my apology for making you waste so much food earlier? I figured you were still hungry, Bud. No hidden agenda here," Zelos said, innocently batting his eyelashes to try and push his point.

Sheena stared accusingly at him, not believing a single word coming from his mouth. Good thing she hadn't caught onto his true motives, still probably thinking she was his main target. Right. What was the point trying to hug someone without getting hit anymore? Unlike her, Lloyd was not one to do much retaliating once hugged, and usually accepted his fate. So much more pleasant to deal with compared to dealing with the violent banshee, even if Lloyd didn't have a pair of breasts to try and wiggle between.

"...Well, I wouldn't mind having a full serving now that you mention it," Lloyd said, sounding tempted. "But you better not stick me with double dish duty, okay?"

Happy to hear that answer, Zelos all too eagerly wedged himself between Lloyd, and Sheena, keeping an arm drooped lazily over the other's shoulder. As expected, the action pissed Sheena off to the point of leaving, not that Zelos really minded. One less person to have to deal with while trying to spend quality time with Lloyd.

"That's what I'm talking about, Bud! Eat up! Can't have you losing any weight now," he said, purposely choosing to not address the dish issue at hand. Lloyd may have his attention lately, but dishes just weren't his thing. Not now, not ever. "Hey, tomorrow you wanna check out the inn they've supposedly got in the village? I've heard they're really just giant cat beds made for people! Can't imagine sharing those with a girl would be too comfortable~"

"Oh?! You guys are going into the Katz village tomorrow?" Oh shit. Colette was still there. "Could I come along with you guys? I wanna see what it's like too!"

Well, he couldn't just deny her of all people, like he'd tried multiple times with Genis. That would deeply upset her, which would in turn, deeply upset Lloyd, and might even get him angry at Zelos for being insensitive, and he couldn't have that. At the very least, she wouldn't be as bothersome as Genis would be no doubt. Though, that gave him even less of a chance to have Lloyd to himself for just a few minutes.

...There was always another day… another time to try again.

"Of course you can come with use, my little angel! The more the merrier, right, Bud?" Zelos said, smiling as brightly as he could while he gave Lloyd's shoulder a gentle nudge with his own. Lloyd nodded eagerly, mouth already stuffed with food. "Ah, Bud. You have such a way with words. It's no wonder you have all of the ladies flocking to you."

The night continued on with more friendly banter, which eventually dissolved into Lloyd chasing Zelos around the camp to do his own damn dishes that he was responsible for. Nothing unusual, but nothing Zelos would trade for the world. This time they had to spend together, even if it wasn't just the two of them…

..He treasured it like he did nothing else in his entire life.

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Notes:
Thank you for making it this far! Don't be afraid to leave a comment or two if you find something that needs editing. I felt a little rusty getting this all put together, so I'm up for some constructive criticism where it is needed! ...Or you could just comment to be nice I love reading comments in general. They mean the world to me!

If you'd like to find me elsewhere, I have a deviantART, and am known as banANNUmon there as well!

PS::
There's a good chance this will be edited a few times-I've got a good friend reading over it and checking it out, but I'm an impatient little shitstain, so... HOPE YOU ENJOYED THE RAW MATERIAL WHILE YOU COULD.

Also, the characters depicted in this story do not in any way belong to me. Believe me... there'd be lots more hell for them to go through if they did...not to mention they gayness would be much more obvious.