A/N: Uh…yeah, sorry for the randomness last chapter…I have no idea how that happened. It was late. I had semi-writer's block. Dangerous combination. Thanks to everyone who reviewed and convincing me I don't suck too much. You guys are amazing.

Anyhoo, next chapter. I'm not sure I like it as much as I do the others, and it's severely lacking in humor, but it is sort of necessary to advance the story. More humor next chapter, I promise! And...I still don't own Tales of Symphonia.

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"Lloyd earned the title of Mr. Oblivious!"

Chapter four: Contemplation Walk

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It was late, and Zelos was having one of his "Contemplation Walks."

The note had seemed more than a little…strange. It didn't seem like something Colette would have written. It seemed like something Yuan would have written. But that Raine had been backing the note up…

He narrowed his eyes. There were a few possibilities here. One was that both Raine and Yuan were lying, and they wanted him to admit he was gay. And that was not happening. Not anytime soon. If this was the case, it also showed that they had far too much time on their hands.

The other possibility was that Colette actually had kidnapped Lloyd. And the problem with the whole situation was that it was impossible to tell what the situation actually was. Either way, Yuan, Genis, and Raine would be standing by the assertion that Colette had kidnapped Lloyd. That meant that the only way to figure out what was actually going on would be to confront Colette.

He frowned. That wasn't something he looked forward to. And coming to that conclusion…it had made for a very short Contemplation Walk. It had been a long time since he'd had one, and he was determined to make this one worth as much as the last one had been.

The last one…it hadn't been too long ago. A year ago maybe? Just before Sheena had left on her assassination mission. Of course he'd been happy that Tethe'alla would be allowed to continue flourishing. He didn't want the beautiful world he'd lived in to become cold and tattered, like Sylvarant had been at the time. But nonetheless, he hadn't been able to stop worrying about Sheena. Of course not. She'd been about as close as someone like him could get to a friend. He'd decided then that he was in love with her. He'd hit on her at every opportunity, both before she left and during the trip. Of course, who could resist? Especially with a body like that.

The two of them had a history. It might be why by the time the journey with everyone else had come along, she had very little faith in him. She seemed to enjoy smacking him upside the head enough, though. Not that he could blame her. He had to admit he'd deserved it.

Even by the time the end of their journey came along, she hadn't trusted him too much. He'd been flattered to hear that she thought he had some good in him, but that she was so easy to fool about his betrayal…that had been a little painful.

But Lloyd…Zelos quickly dismissed that thought. It didn't matter anyways. He wasn't in love with Lloyd.

Right, so what's the problem of thinking about him? Are you afraid? The voice in his head was mocking.

Hmph. Of course not. He wasn't gay. In any way. He could appreciate Lloyd without loving him. Besides, thinking about it would prove to Genis—and himself—that he wasn't in love. And he hadn't been leering. Straight people didn't leer at people of their same sex.

Lloyd. The one person who'd actually trusted him, the one person who saw more than what Zelos had showed the world. One of those people with so much to themselves, it was amazing. One of those people that had an infinite number of flaws, but you couldn't help loving them despite it.

Zelos froze. Uh oh.

He repeated the thought slowly in his head, dreading it yet being unable to stop himself. One of those people that had an infinite number of flaws, but you couldn't help loving them despite it.

No…that's wrong. You don't love them despite it. You love them along with their flaws.

Groaning, he sank down on the bench, covering his face with his hands. That was not supposed to happen. He wasn't gay. He wasn't—

Okay, so I'm bi. I can live with that. It's just…shit.

His feelings for Sheena had faded, and he'd been so focused on them, he hadn't even noticed the stronger feelings for Lloyd that had been slowly sneaking up on him, pouncing when he hadn't been expecting it. But these feelings he felt for the idealist…they went above and beyond what he'd felt for Sheena.

Gahhhh, I'm going crazy! I can't believe this! Why do these things have to happen to me?

He could have seen himself someday winning Sheena's heart. Maybe. But Lloyd's? There was no way. First off, Lloyd was straight. Lloyd was probably going to get married to Colette. Not…

Colette. Had she really kidnapped Lloyd?

If she did, I have to rescue him. If she didn't, I have to kill Yuan, Genis, and Raine.

Either way, it was a win-win situation. For now, though…he had to come up with a brilliant plan to find Colette. And he figured he might as well come up with a brilliant plan to rescue Lloyd, while he was at it.

I can't think like this. He groaned and stood, walking towards his house.

You like Lloyd, you like Lloyd…the voice taunted him.

"Gahhh!" Zelos wailed, smacking his head repeatedly against a lamppost. "Why me?!"

"Chosen," the princess said, giving him a curious look. "Are you…well?"

"No! No, in fact, I'm not!"

"Do you want to talk about—"

"No," he said firmly. "No."

"Are you—"

Zelos had already stalked off. Angry with himself. Angry with the princess. Angry with everyone who'd made him go on this Contemplation Walk and face the fact that he—Zelos Wilder, former Chosen of Tethe'alla, world class gigolo and philanderer—was in love with a man.

A very good man, but nonetheless…

Nonetheless, before rescuing his now-favorite hunny, he'd have to get some rest.

Sighing, he continued his walk back to his mansion, continuing to pity himself.