Disclaimer: I don't own Tales of Symphonia.
AN: So this story is a bit different from what I've written so far, I think. So I'm just going to cross my fingers and hope you guys like this.
Word Count: 1,425
Summary: Fate, Destiny, and the Universe could all go and die in a ditch for all he cared, they were all cruel and more than willing to throw his biggest mistake back in his face. Wasn't it enough that he'd regretted it for years on end?
Mistake
Lilac eyes flickered around the room with thinly veiled disinterest. People bustled around: talking, laughing, and enjoying themselves. It was sickening to him, through his long life he'd seen the same kind of people. Fakers the lot of them, putting on masks of polite intrigue, spouting words they didn't mean, and agreeing with hopeful smiles with anyone who had a higher standing then their own. It was disgusting, vile, and something he had come to he had come to expect over his thousands of years of life. "Mr. Wilder? Can I have this dance?"
A snarl of disdain was hastily covered by an apologetic smile. "I'm so sorry my Beauty, but, the night has stretched on for so long that I find myself weary and in need of rest."
A pout graced the woman's painted lips before a calculating look crossed baby blue eyes and a dainty smile stretched across pearly teeth, "Oh dear! Please, let me help you to your room."
Zelos stared at the young heiress for a moment, which couldn't be older then nineteen, astounded by her gale only to lower his eyelashes, tilt his head to the side, and smirk viciously in her face. "Oh dear, what do we have here? My youthful Beauty, you have no idea how out of your league I am. You should stay with your playmates and leave the adults to their own devices."
Shock shown through the previous triumph of the heiresses' eyes before baby blue depths misted over with rage and contempt. "Just you wait Wilder! I'll have Daddy ruin you! You'll beg me to take you on, even as a servant!" With a twirl of flowing skirts and a huff did the heiress turn on her heel and disappear.
The same lilac eyes that had previously shown disinterest came to life when the heiress left and silence came over the crowd. For someone had run into the furious woman, causing her to lose her balance and fall into the lavish table of rich food. She lied in the food, stunned for a moment before rising with the fury of a spoiled brat being slighted. "You! You- Who do you, think you are?"
Bored agate eyes traveled around the tense room before settling on bright and lively lilac eyes. Questions swirled in agate depths, questions that hurt the red-head, questions that in Zelos's opinion should never have to be asked.
The moment was shattered when a screeching voice echoed in the silent room. "Answer me you Cretin! Or, are you to scared? Did you finally realize just who I am?"
Once more bored eyes roved over the screaming woman before drawling words froze the banshees' howls, "Who are you?"
Gasps resounded about the room as the brunette stared at the blonde in annoyed inquiry. "Who am I? Who am I! How dare you! I'll have you know that my Daddy is a very important person who can have you bankrupt before you can even beg me for forgivene-"
"Daughter! You will silence yourself at once!" A pudgy man with a going hairline grasped the petite woman's shoulder harshly hoping to quickly stifle his obnoxious child.
"But, but Daddy!" The protest died on rouge colored lips in an instant when the hand that was restraining her previously tightened to an almost painful extent.
"Daughter, you will hold your tongue!" A warning glare was shot to reaffirm his dictation, "I'm sorry. Please excuse my Daughter. I fear that I have sheltered her far too much. She does not yet know her place and how to hold her silence. Daughter this man here is-"
"Lloyd Irving-Aurion." The Eternal Swordsman, Lloyd the Great, my best friend, past lover, the only one who believed in me, "Bud." All eyes turned to the red-head that dared to talk about the brunette in such a familiar way. It was known that Lloyd Irving-Aurion was a powerful figure. A person to be feared and respected, whose temper and kindness were both legendary.
"Zelos." Lloyd stared at the ex-Chosen in confusion, why was Zelos here? After all this time what gave him the right to show himself? "Why are you here?"
A chuckle escaped the red-head, a sad chuckle that some swore was a sob. "You invited me, remember? You told me that if I ever needed you I could come."
….What was he playing at? "You know that was before. When Raine and Genis were still alive." When I still had hope in us, when I still believed that we could make it work echoed back to Zelos without having to be said.
Everyone in the ballroom watched the exchange between the two with dazed wonderment. It was an unquestioned fact that Lloyd Irving-Aurion was a recluse, a hermit if you will. Pulling the strings behind the scenes; he was an enigma to many. He was a man with enough power and wealth to force his will upon anyone in the world and have what he wanted done. He ignored this power though and instead donated his money to charities. Running his empire away from human contact; so much so that this function had been the first time in five years that many had seen him, and everyone present –save for the red-head known as Zelos- was surprised that he hadn't aged a bit. So how did this newcomer, a person that none of them had ever met before three years ago know the powerful tycoon?
Zelos stared at his lost love in sadness, it was Lloyd. The one that had shown him the better, finer, more pleasant side of life; the one he had mistakenly let go of all those years ago. "Look Lloyd, I know I messed up. And I know this should have been said years ago. But, I'm saying it now, I'm sorr-"
"Zelos! You bastard! What the hell are you doing here!" The ex-Chosen froze mid sentence, who was yelling at him? And how by all that is holy did they know him? The only people that should know who he is –that are still alive or still on this planet- are Lloyd, Colette, and Yuan. Lloyd was staring at him and hadn't moved an inch, Colette had gone into a deep sleep two centuries ago not being able to handle what the world had become, and Yuan was too weak to do anything now with the Great Tree being forgotten by humanity. So, who was it? Who dared yell these accusations at him? Lilac eyes darted to the mystery person who had the nerve to bellow at him… To find a person with white hair with green flecked in odd places glaring daggers at him. "Who are…?"
"Noishe. That's enough. I got over it, I no longer care." Lloyd's eyes turned towards the newcomer….
Noishe? Noishe! As in that dog that had followed Lloyd around like a love sick puppy all those millenniums ago? Noishe was a human now? When did this happen and why was 'Noishe' staring at Lloyd like that? And why was Lloyd staring back? The red-head cringed when he realized what was in the pairs' eyes: love, devotion, caring.
Zelos moved foreword about to reach out to Lloyd, to make him understand, to make him see. But, he never made it to the hero for Noishe had moved faster and was now standing in front of Lloyd. Mine, his eyes said, he's mine now. You had your chance and you left him. Zelos took a shaky step back. Noishe was right, he was god damned right!
And as Zelos stood shocked Noishe grabbed the brunette angel and disappeared from whence they came, leaving Zelos standing in the ballroom with his greatest mistake echoing in his mind over and over.
"I love you, Zelos."
"…." The red-head couldn't speak, couldn't move, couldn't answer. Everyone he had loved in the past had left him and if he finally admitted to Lloyd how he felt would the hero in red leave him to?
After what seemed like forever Lloyd looked Zelos straight in the eye with sadness misting in his agate orbs. "….But you don't love me, do you?" Silence met the brunettes question and with a broken heart born from his loves' rejection did he turn away leaving the Chosen by himself. And with every step that the brunette took Zelos's world becaome darker.