Snow Angels
Vyctori
A/N: I took a glance around and decided that what the world really needed was more Lloyd/Colette fluff. Heh. I don't think it's the best thing I've ever written, but it's cute, so hopefully you'll get some enjoyment out of it.
Three cheers for inside jokes. Heh heh heh.
Disclaimer: Don't own Tales of Symphonia.
Warnings: Het. And enough fluff to choke a camel.
O-O-O-O-O-O
"I see Flanoir!" Genis shouted, steering his Rheaird lower. "We're almost there!"
"The sooner the better." Sheena's complaint was somewhat difficult to make out through her chattering teeth. As always, it was snowing above the continent that housed Flanoir, and travelling through the air at extremely high speed did not help poor Sheena's temperature.
"It's too bad we didn't find the last Devil's Arm," Lloyd said as he slowed his Rheaird in preparation to touch down. "Oh well. Maybe tomorrow."
"But why do we have to stay at Flanoir?" Sheena asked as she landed her Rheaird in a snowbank. Stepping off it and returning it to its wing pack, she shook her head to dislodge the snowflakes that had landed in her hair and on her eyelashes. "It's too darn cold. And the snow keeps on getting in my eyes."
"I think it's pretty!" Colette smiled and stuck out her tongue to catch a flake.
"Flanoir was the closest town," Raine answered Sheena's question as they began the short walk to Flanoir's gates. "If we had to travel any further, we'd be doing so long after dark, and it isn't very safe. We could run into an airborne monster and not see it until the last moment."
"Yeah, I guess you're right." Sheena still didn't sound happy.
Arriving at Flanoir's gate, Lloyd watched Colette continue catching snowflakes. The falling snow perched delicately on her hair and the cold had brought a pink blush to her cheeks. She was smiling in pure delight at her game.
Colette sure is amazing, he thought. After all she's been through, she still can be happy like this. . . .
"There's the inn!" Genis pointed at the small building. With warm light shining through its windows, it looked the very definition of inviting.
"Yay!" Colette jogged for its shelter.
Turning in the door, she looked at Lloyd, who hadn't sped up at all. "Come on, Lloyd! Let's go find a room!"
The light from the lamps inside the inn surrounded Colette and made the snow sparkle in her hair. To Lloyd, it looked as though she was surrounded by a halo. Then, with a giggle, she turned around and walked inside to the desk.
Genis going on ahead of him, Lloyd slowly walked forward until he stopped at the doorway to watch Colette just a little longer.
She's beautiful, too, his dazed mind thought. And so sweet. And. . . .
He saw her turn around with a smile to face him again. Then, briefly, her expression changed to alarm.
"Lloyd, look ou—!"
With a loud wham, the door swung back and bashed Lloyd on the nose. Shocked, Lloyd stumbled back and clutched at the injured part.
"Augh, it's bleeding!" Lloyd bent over in pain; blood dripped out of his nose to make crimson splotches on the snow.
"Hey, bud, what's wrong?" Zelos asked, stopping behind him to see if Lloyd was all right.
"Are you hurt?" Presea, standing behind Zelos and unable to see Lloyd, still sounded as calm as ever.
"I'm sorry, Lloyd!" Genis opened the door and looked at his doubled-over friend. He sounded as though he was trying hard not to laugh. "I thought you would catch it."
"Lloyd, are you all right?" Colette, on the other hand, seemed extremely concerned as she stepped back outside.
"My nose is bleeding!" Lloyd's voice sounded stuffy as he pointed at the ground where the blood was rapidly pooling in the snow.
"Ah. . . ."
Lloyd looked up; Zelos' voice had sounded different than usual. He was just in time to see the Chosen of Tethe'alla brush by him with a strange look on his face. Lloyd saw his back disappear up the stairs before the door swung shut again.
He didn't have time to think about it, though, as Raine pushed past the others and commanded, "Lloyd, let me see that. You better not have broken your nose. That would be a lot of bother to heal."
"Augh!" Lloyd yelped as the Professor grabbed his nose in one hand and cast First Aid.
"Good. It's just fine." She sounded satisfied as she walked into the inn.
"That hurt, Professor!" Lloyd complained, following her.
After everyone else had entered, Sheena said, "Guys, I'm just going to go check on Zelos, okay?"
"Yeah, sure," Lloyd answered, distracted, but Sheena was already halfway up the stairs.
--------
When Sheena found his room, she saw Zelos sitting crosslegged on one of the two beds. His hands were resting on his knees and his arms were locked straight. He was staring at his feet; his wild red hair hid his face.
"Zelos?" Her voice was soft as she entered the room and shut the door after her. She walked over and sat on the bed next to him. "What's wrong?"
He was just a second too long in answering. When he did, he looked up at her with a wide grin on his face. "Why, I'm just upset that we took too long in getting here for me to visit all the beautiful hunnies in town!"
"Zelos!" Sheena shouted. She forced herself to calm down. "Be serious. I don't believe your excuses anymore. What's the real reason?"
Slowly, Zelos' smile faded, and his gaze dropped back to the bed. "It's . . . the blood. On the snow. Made me remember . . . didn't want to."
"O-oh." Sheena remembered hearing whispers about the incident. His mother had been murdered one winter in Meltokio, when he was a child. Right in front of his eyes.
"Do you . . . do you want me to leave you alone?" She started to stand up.
Zelos' hand shot out and grabbed her by the wrist. When she looked at him in surprise, she saw an expression on his face she had never expected—it looked as though he was pleading with her.
"Don't go." His voice was low. "Don't leave me alone, Sheena."
Slowly, she sat down again. "I won't, Zelos. I—I won't ever leave you alone."
He let go of her wrist and leaned forward; his hands dropped onto her shoulders. ". . . You're an angel. Not . . . not like Cruxis. They've corrupted the meaning. You're a real angel, Sheena."
"Zelos. . . ." Sheena blushed, but kept looking at him. And she, too, leaned forward.
---------
Lloyd dumped his knapsack in the middle of the floor with a loud thump. Previously, a maid had shown him to the small, yet cosy room he was going to share with Genis that night. At the moment, Genis was lying back on the bed and playing with his kendama—carefully, though, as it was a weapon.
Walking to the door, Lloyd turned and said, "Hey, Genis, I'm going to go see if Zelos is all right, okay?"
"Why bother? That lunkhead's probably just sulking for no good reason." Genis yawned and caught the kendama ball in one of its two depressions.
"I dunno . . . he seemed really upset for some reason." Lloyd fiddled with the doorknob.
"You're probably imagining things. But if it'll make you feel better, go right ahead." Another flick of his wrist, and the kendama ball jumped off its resting place and landed safely on the other side.
"Well, okay."
Lloyd entered the hall and looked up and down its length. He wasn't quite sure where Zelos was staying and he didn't want to walk in on another one of the guests.
Hearing familiar voices coming from a room down the hall, Lloyd wandered toward it. Through the wood of the door, he heard Zelos say, "You're an angel."
Hm, he thought. Is Sheena in there with him? Maybe I can help her cheer him up.
He heard Sheena speak Zelos' name, and then both were silent. Grabbing the door handle, he opened the door and walked in.
"Hey, Zelos, are you feeling all r—"
Then Lloyd's eyes registered the scene and took in the sight of a liplocked Zelos and Sheena. They didn't stay that way for long, however, as Sheena broke off and stared at him for a moment.
"G-get out!" she yelled, looking around for something to throw at him.
Lloyd fled.
"Man, bud, why do you always walk in on us?" he heard Zelos complain before the door slammed shut behind him.
Rattled, Lloyd didn't stop running until he was downstairs and most of the way to the kitchen. When he finally slowed, one hand on the wall, he let out a huge breath.
Man, Sheena sure is scary when she's angry, he thought as he started wandering aimlessly toward the warmth of the kitchen. She's almost as bad as the Professor!
Entering the kitchen, he saw Genis chopping up some vegetables at a counter as Presea washed them for him.
"Presea?" Lloyd heard Genis say as he entered. "Your pigtails are c-cute!"
"They are intended to prevent obstruction of vision in battle. Their function is purely practical." Presea set a clean onion on the cutting board and reached for another.
"Um . . . okay." Genis blushed and ducked his head as he dumped some of the vegetables in a pot of water that was sitting on the nearby stove.
"Hey, Genis, what're you making?" Lloyd asked, walking over to lean on the counter next to his friend.
Genis jumped slightly. "L-Lloyd, what are you doing here? I thought you were cheering up Zelos!"
"Sheena chased me out of the room when I caught them—ah, well, he doesn't need it anymore, I guess." Even to him, Lloyd's voice sounded a little weak.
Genis snickered. "You walked in on them again, didn't you?"
"Shut up." Lloyd ducked his head, then looked in the pot on the stove to cover his embarrassment. "What are you making?"
"Just some quick soup," Genis answered. "I was hungry. And Presea's doing a terrific job helping me!"
"Thank you, Genis," Presea said without changing expression. " . . . Would you like some soup, Lloyd?"
"Nah, I'm not really that hungry right now. I'll get some later." Lloyd lifted his hand in a wave and headed out. "See ya."
Even though he actually was quite hungry, there was something Lloyd wanted to do before anything else. Walking back up the stairs, he made sure Sheena was nowhere in sight before entering the hall from which the guest chambers in the inn branched off.
Looking around at the various rooms and thinking he really should have asked who was staying where, Lloyd called out, "Colette?"
"Right here!" her muffled voice came from behind the second door on the right.
"Can I come in?" Lloyd asked, putting his hand on the doorknob.
"Sure!" Colette's voice sounded closer.
A moment later, the door opened and he was face to face with the smiling Chosen. Looking at her, all thoughts of what he wanted to say evaporated.
"Um, Lloyd?" Colette sounded unsure. "Is there something on my face? You're kind of looking at me funny."
Lloyd snapped back to reality. "Oh, uh, sorry, Colette! No, your face is . . . just fine."
"Okay!" Colette almost danced back to the single window at the far side of the room. "Look, Lloyd, isn't it pretty? I love snow!"
"Y-yeah, it sure is." Lloyd sat down on one of the two beds and tried to think about what he was going to say.
After seeing Zelos and Sheena so . . . interested in one another and watching Genis with Presea had reminded Lloyd that he had been putting off something for far too long. Now, he thought, was the best time to get it over with. But where to start . . . ?
"Colette. . . ." His voice almost squeaked.
"Uh-huh?" Colette turned from where she had been watching the snow fall out the frosty-paned window.
"I, er, uh. . . ." Why was this so hard?
"Yes?" Colette waited patiently.
"You're an angel!" he blurted. Well, it seemed to work for Zelos, he thought, feeling his cheeks redden.
"Of course I am, silly!" With a big smile, Colette let her wings appear. "See?"
"Uh, that's not what I meant," Lloyd said as Colette put her wings away. "I meant to say, um . . . your hair is really pretty!"
"Thanks, Lloyd!" Colette beamed.
"Argh, this isn't working at all!" Lloyd clenched his fists in frustration. "I just wanted to say—I-I love you, Colette!"
Colette's face grew serious as she walked over to sit next to him on the bed. "I love you, too, Lloyd. You're my best friend, and you always have been."
"No! I mean, I love you like—argh!" Totally humiliated, Lloyd grabbed Colette in a hug.
The Chosen squeaked in surprise. After a moment, though, she put her arms around Lloyd and gently squeezed him back.
"Oh . . . you mean . . . like Zelos and Sheena?" Colette asked, moving away from him slightly so her voice would be clear.
"Yeah, like Zelos and Sheena," Lloyd said in relief. "But that doesn't mean I don't love you like my best friend, too!"
"I'm—I'm glad, Lloyd." Colette smiled at him, shutting her eyes in pure happiness.
They held each other for a while. Then, Lloyd worked up his courage enough to ask, "Colette?"
"Mm-hmm?"
"Can I . . . can I kiss you?" Lloyd sounded extremely hesitant.
". . . I think I'd like that." Colette moved her face closer.
And Lloyd met her halfway.