I've just wanted to write this one lately for some reason
Disclaimer: I own nothing
"Hold still-"
"Daddyyyy…." She whined, trying to struggle free from her father's hands.
"Pumpkin I'm just trying to make sure you look nice-"
"Noooooo," Arie whined, "Mommy!"
"Lloyd, I already put her hair up," Colette sighed a bit, walking up behind her husband, "She looks fine-"
"Well- all right, Arie do you have your notebook? Pencils? Your backpack-"
"Yes," the girl pouted, "I have all my school stuff Daddy; Mommy helped me."
"I- are you sure, what about tissues? In case you get the sniffles-"
"Daddddyyyyyy…" Arie pouted, sticking out her lower lip , her wide brown eyes looking up at him like a kicked puppy.
Lloyd flinched and scanned her a bit, frowning slightly. It was natural for him to be nervous for her first day of school, right? Right? He wasn't a worry-wart or clingy or anything, this was totally natural, right? Her brown hair had been pulled into pigtails on the sides of her head, a little white dress reminiscent of her mother's, red stockings and trim decking the gown, as well as several little birds Colette had sewn into the hem and sleeves. She looked so cute in her school clothes, holding her lunchbox, looking up at him so cute-
"Are we going now, Daddy?" Arie asked, tilting her head up at her father, "Auntie Raine said I shouldn't be late, because we're going to learn a lot."
"Of course," Colette smiled, "We're going to go and you're going to learn a lot, right sweetie?"
"Uh-huh!" she nodded, smiling brightly. "I'm so 'cited!"
"Excited, honey," Colette corrected with a smile of her own.
"…Are you sure she's got everything-?"
"Lloyd, don't worry, she's fine, now let's go on and walk her to school," his wife sighed, lifting him up by his arm, "She's ready."
"Uh-huh," their daughter nodded again, beaming, "Let's go!"
Lloyd hesitated just a moment but then allowed himself to relax, smiling gently down at Arie as she took Colette's hand.
The walk there wasn't anything eventful, and Lloyd was grateful for that, truthfully. He was surprised the church hadn't stuck their noses in and made some kind of event for this, or come up with some kind of ceremony or something else equally infuriating. Arie was a bundle of energy and anyone could see that she was excited, practically bouncing on her feet as they walked off.
"Well then, here's our new student," Raine smiled as they came up to the schoolhouse, waiting by the door as she saw her students in.
" Auntie Raine!" Arie grinned, practically jumping. "I'm going to school!"
"Yes you are, you're a big girl now," Raine chuckled, patting her head.
"Yup! I'm five! Mommy says I'm old enough to start going to school now so I'm going to school and I'm going to see other kids and play at recess and learn math and art and-"
"Honey, calm down," Colette scolded lightly, "Now, you be good for Raine, okay? Be a good girl and have fun."
Her head nodded up and down so quickly that her little pigtails became a blur of brown. She gave her mother a hug and then quickly in turn hugged Lloyd's leg, grinning up at him.
"See you later Daddy, love you!"
She turned and ran inside, leaving her parents staring after her in silence. Lloyd choked a bit until Colette's hand gently wrapped around his fingers.
"Wh-?" he blinked.
"Don't worry Lloyd, she'll be fine, and if anything happens I'll take care of it," Raine reassured them.
"I- ..yes, thanks..Raine," Lloyd said slowly, nodding, looking down at his teacher.
"Honestly, Lloyd, you're such a worrier," Raine shook her head, "Arie will be fine a few hours without you."
"I- I know that," he huffed a bit, glancing aside.
"We should go home now, Lloyd," Colette said, looking up at him, "You got a large order to fill yesterday didn't you? Someone wanted a bedframe made."
"Wh-? Oh yeah," he nodded, "Glad I'm getting carpentry orders…didn't want to take any business away from Dad with metalworks…"
"Dirk is fine, honey," Colette smiled, reaching up and kissing his cheek, "Besides you know he' d only be proud of you, he's just kidding when he says you're taking his business."
Lloyd grunted lightly and then cast one last glance into the schoolhouse, his fingers curling tensely at his side.
"Maybe I should go make sure-"
"Just go already, Lloyd," Raine sighed, shaking her head, "Besides, think of it as having some time with Colette."
The man blinked and glanced down at his wife, who smiled weakly, a faint flush on her cheeks.
"Uh-" he felt his own cheeks flush a bit in return.
"I swear, you two still act like kids on a first date," the half-elf smirked a little, shaking her head, "Get along, you two."
"Uh- uh- um…"
His tongue was tied up in knots; everytime he managed to form some idea of what to say it just wouldn't cooperate and his thoughts would scatter, leaving him to try to rope them all together again.
She sat across the table from him, her cheeks flushed pink and her hands folded in her lap, the gold barrette in her hair glinting in the sunlight. It was a simple meal, a simple wooden table behind her house, a simple little date.
Why then was this so complicated?
"So..uh…"
More silence.
"Lloyd…are you sure…you're not mad?" her face fell, wringing her hands in her lap where he couldn't see.
"Colette- I- I already told you, I'm- I'm okay with this, if you are- okay well I'm not 'okay' with it but- I'm okay with the part about marrying you- I mean-"
He choked up, feeling his face burn red again.
"So you…like me? I mean- I know you…ki- kissed me and stuff but…you had to so I understand that if you didn't like me that-"
"Colette, would you stop that?" he twitched, frowning a bit, "If I didn't want to kiss you I wouldn't have, okay? So- so-…"
"So you…like me?" she asked again, her voice barely above a whisper.
"I…I…" he sighed, rubbing the back of his neck, closing his eyes and mustering up his courage, "Yeah. Okay? I do like you, Colette, I really do…so- so stop feeling guilty about this, okay? I told you this isn't your fault, and I- I – I'm…fine…marrying you."
He finished with barely a whisper himself, glancing aside, sitting there across from her in silence. How long they sat like that he wasn't quite sure honestly, but eventually she was the one to break the silence.
"I promise you I'll be a good wife," she said quietly, her head down, "I'll make up for this-"
"Colette, I told you already!" he shook his head, glaring just a bit. "This isn't your fault, you have nothing to make up for in the first place!"
Colette swallowed and hung her head, wringing her hands again. Lloyd sighed and after a moment the girl muttered something. The boy blinked and looked up at her, having not heard what it was she said.
"Colette?"
"I-…" she took a deep breath, "Did they tell you?"
"Tell me what?" Lloyd frowned, not liking where this was going.
How could he? Everything he was hearing lately was bad news, first they made him do that little display, then they made him move into the village, what else could it be this time-?
"They're going to make us sleep in the same room from now on," she said quietly.
He froze. What? But- what? So soon? But- but they weren't even technically engaged yet-
"Father says we'll have our own beds," she continued quietly, her face fallen and sad, "But we have to sleep in the same room from now on…and…and once we're married we'll have to share a bed."
"What-? But-" Lloyd groaned, slumping back in his chair and rubbing his face.
"I'm sorry, I know so much is happening so fast…" she said, looking up at him sadly, "I should have been able to accept the Oracle like I should have- I'm sorry-"
"Colette, I swear, if you apologize one more time for something you didn't even do I'll-."
"I'm sorry."
Lloyd sighed again, rubbing his face.
"Why…do you think they chose me?" he asked after they had sat in silence, finding it was the only thing he could think of.
"Why-? I…I don't know," she said quietly, chancing to look up at him.
"Phaidra said I was found her because of Martel's will or whatever," Lloyd muttered, trying to keep the animosity out of his voice as much as possible so he wouldn't upset her.
"Well…it…it could be possible," she said quietly, "But then I just…thought that if that was Martel's plan from the beginning, why didn't they let us know sooner that I wouldn't be the Chosen to go on the journey…."
"That's it, it doesn't make sense," Lloyd huffed, crossing his arms over his chest, "It just sounds like they just changed their minds half-way through, so why would it be a plan? It's so dumb-"
He noticed the look on her face and gritted his teeth together, forcing himself to silence.
"I- look okay, still, why me?" he huffed, glancing away. "I- Don't start apologizing to me again, I told you, I don't – I'm not mad to be marrying you, I just don't understand why it would be me…"
"You…haven't heard the rumors yet, have you?" she said quietly.
"Rumors? What rumors?" he blinked, turning to her.
"Well…" she fidgeted, wringing her hands, "Some of the priests are saying…it doesn't matter. Because- because they say the Chosen's fathered by an angel, so that…"
"What?" he stared. "That- what? That doesn't make any sense- and even if it did, then why would you need someone to marry you? Because you'd have a baby with- an…angel, so-"
"The priests say that…" she fidgeted, her face falling, "That an angel…uses…the husband to…"
She cut off, her face bright red, both embarrassed and almost ashamed, looking away from him. Lloyd stared back at her, again feeling his face flush before shaking it off, frowning.
"Well…it still doesn't sound right to me," he muttered.
"That and…" her voice came softly, quiet, "They're saying that…"
She trailed off into more mumbles, but Lloyd wasn't about to let the subject pass by him. What were they saying? Didn't they say enough? He at least had a right to know about whatever crap was going on regarding him.
"What are they saying, Colette?" he asked finally, narrowing his eyes on her.
"They're…saying that if the Chosen's father is supposed to be an angel then…" she fidgeted, glancing up at him, hesitant, "Then if that's true and you are going to be the father and- and what grandmother said about you being found her because Martel wanted-"
"Wait," Lloyd shook his head, staring at her, "What? Do you mean- … Do you mean that they're actually saying-"
"They're saying that maybe…because you're an orphan and stuff that-" she hung her head again. "They're just rumors-"
"They're saying I'm an angel?" he stared at her, completely incredulous. "Are you- are you kidding-?"
"I- It's just what I've heard, Lloyd, please don't be mad, I just told you what I heard because I thought you wanted me to tell you-"
"Dammit Colette, for the last time I'm not mad at you, nothing that's making me mad lately is because of you!" he groaned, rubbing his face. "It's everyone else! With- with all this stupid- all these damn 'preparations' and now all these stupid rumors! Do- Do I look like an angel to you! What kind of stupid- I don't have wings! Why are people so dumb?"
"Lloyd, please," Colette fretted, fighting back stings in her eyes, "Don't call them stupid, everyone's just excited about- about…a marriage and- and everything, so- so they're going to talk a lot and gossip… They're just excited Lloyd, please don't be mad at everyone."
Lloyd went to shout again and instead ended up just looking at her. For the first time in his life that he could think of he realized she was near tears. She was scared, frustrated, confused…and..and there was something else too. He couldn't put his finger on it but somehow this was causing her even more pain and stress than it was for him…and here he was making it worse. Lloyd hesitated a bit and then frowned, closing his eyes and taking a few deep breathes.
"I'm sorry," he said finally, "I don't mean to yell at you."
She smiled weakly at him and he groaned, rubbing his face again.
"I mean….c'mon, Colette, do I look like an angel to you?" he huffed, looking at her out of the corner of his eyes.
She just smiled at him; he wasn't sure if he liked that or not.
It was later that night when Lloyd found himself walking into the room they would now share. Colette was already there, in her nightgown, sitting on the side of the bed set again the left wall. Another bed was on the opposite wall, a couple dressers and a mirror in the room, as well as a changing screen Lloyd was relieved to see in the corner.
It still was awkward beyond all hell.
"Well…" he said nervously, scanning the room and then looking at her, "It's…enough space, at least."
She said nothing, sitting on the side of the bed, her hands folded in her lap and her head hung down. He sighed, glancing aside to the changing screen, passing her silence off as embarrassment. He made his way behind the changing screen and changed into the nightclothes he'd been given, as him sleeping in boxers in the same room with her didn't seem to be kosher (though that was all right with him, he wouldn't have wanted to do it anyway).
"So uh…" he said as he came out, looking at her across the room.
She hadn't moved.
"Colette? …Are you all right? I mean, this is uh- …weird but-"
She mumbled something under her breath.
"What?" he blinked, frowning at her, "Colette?"
He took a step forward and realized she was shaking, her knuckles were white from how tightly she gripped her own hands, her skin was pale. Lloyd immediately tensed with concern, approaching her.
"Colette? Colette what is it-"
"They said," she said softly, barely an audible whisper, "I…"
She trailed off again into another mumble.
"Colette? Colette what-" he said, gently going to touch her shoulder.
Finally she looked up at him, and Lloyd choked,, seeing the tears brimming in her blue eyes, the expression on her face was one he couldn't quite describe, but if he had to pick he'd label it as terror.
"They said," she said again, reinforcing her voice despite how her body shook more, "I had to let you do anything you wanted with me."
His mind snapped. He could only manage to stare at her before she hung her head again, breaking into sobs, though she made no motion to move.
"Wh- what?" he blurted, stumbling back a bit. "Wh- why- "
He cut off and all he could manage to do was stare at her, stare at her while she cried. What happened then? Well he couldn't remember exactly, all he remembered was yelling a lot, cursing the priests, Cruxis, the town, anyone and everyone that he could think to blame for this. Colette only stared at him, stunned, when he finally tapered off from his shouts he was left there panting, trying to catch his breath. They looked at each other for a moment, the silence almost surreal after his shouts. Not knowing what else he could do or say, Lloyd grabbed her shoulders, locking eyes with her.
"I would never do that to you, Colette," he said flatly, though his face conveyed his sincerity. "Do you hear me? I would never do that to you, ever."
She shook, tears coming to her eyes again when she threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly as she pressed her face into his shoulder. He flinched but slowly hugged her back, gently patting her back in an attempt to counsel her.
"You're going to have to eventually," she said quietly.
Lloyd froze. He stared at the wall a moment, feeling the heat from his face rising up to the tips of his ears. He swallowed and closed his eyes shut, shaking his head, trying to ignore the redness on his face.
"I- But- …No," he said, "I won't. ..N..Not…unless you…wanted me to."
The burn on his face seemed to double in intensity, but he was met with only a sad little laugh from Colette as she hugged him tighter.
"Thank you, Lloyd," she said softly, sniffing, "Thank you."
He looked at the back of her head, the golden locks still somehow glowing with only the moonlight peering through the blinds to illuminate it. His arms were wrapped around her waist, holding her to him as she slept soundly, the blanket draped over them both. He smiled gently, putting his head on her shoulder and planting a gentle kiss on her cheek.
"Sweet dreams, Colette," he whispered, finally closing his own eyes and drifting into sleep, feeling her heartbeat pulse with his own.
Awwwwww I loves the Colloyyyyddddd…..not too much of Arie this chapter, but well…we'll be seeing a lot of her soon. Next chapter is when the crap hits the fan.
Hope you liked