charm
. o .
Zelos called her the bravest girl he'd ever met. He wouldn't explain why (no-one would ever believe him) but he'd realized this when they were still on their journey.
. o .
It had happened on one of Regal's nights to cook, and steaks were already sizzling on a makeshift grill over the campfire when Zelos turned back towards camp. The ex-convict was sitting on an overturned log, scuffing his boot into the ashes, and Colette sat beside him, talking blithely but sending the occasional concerned look towards Regal, who responded in monosyllables and continued to stare into the fire.
Damn typical, Zelos snorted, the fool - you never get a girl that way. Stumbling under the weight of the firewood and cursing at the twigs that snarled into his long hair, Zelos froze as he watched the pair by the fireside.
Colette frowned slightly when her companion did not reply before poking at Regal's side as if he was Genis or Lloyd; more than just a fellow traveler but a friend.
To the surprise of both the blonde and the redhead, Regal didn't frown or edge away - he practically curled away and laughed.
Laughed.
Zelos didn't think the big guy could laugh.
Neither did Colette, it seemed. Her hand lingered for a half-second, her eyes mischievous: this was her thief's smile. Those were her thief's reflexes - they had to be, as she continued to evade Regal's defence. She was little more than a golden wisp framed by the smoke, but Regal seemed helpless in her wake, bound by chivalry and what had to be amusement mixed with honest muscle paralysis.
…That last bit was weird, because Zelos had seen Regal's midsection speared and punched and head-butted and covered in poison sap from a forest beast – often during the same fight – with Regal none the worse for any of it. And yet here he was, felled by a sixteen-year-old's mischief. Zelos had always suspected Colette was a little crazy, but now he knew it, looking at her as she tickled skin left uncovered by Regal's white half-shirt, her eyes curious and impish and utterly without worry.
Zelos sighed. He wasn't going to sit around if Regal was going to be brought to tears of laughter by a girl who was half his weight; guys had to stick together, after all. Colette was one of the nice ones (she didn't hit as hard as the Professor or Sheena did) but that didn't mean she could exploit his friend's weakness. However... Stepping into the clearing, Zelos returned Regal's look with one that oozed glee.
She couldn't exploit said weakness because that was his job.
"Lovely evening," the redhead quipped, waving to Sheena and Genis, who had just returned from training. "Hey, Shee, you'll never guess what I - mhhhurgh?"
Zelos was damned if he knew how Regal did it, but the older man had somehow kicked the grate so that one - and only one - of the steaks flew up and smacked Zelos on the cheek, effectively derailing the redhead's train of thought.
Ignoring Genis's snide comment and the girls' laughter, Zelos spun around. "Deal?" he asked, looking from Regal to Colette and back again.
"Deal," Regal replied as Colette blinked and hid her smile behind her hand. Raising his voice, Regal added, "dinner is served," with a pointed look to where the steak had fallen on Zelos' lap.
Regal's weakness remained (mostly) a secret, and Zelos skipped out of collecting firewood for a month, but as the redhead looked woefully at his twig-ripped and steak-stained vest – and at the blonde who had resumed her conversation with the ex-convict whose expression seemed unusually smug – Zelos still felt like he'd ended up with the short end of the stick.
. o .
(finis)
. o .
Sabe's Scribbles & Disclaiming: …inspired by Bloc Party's "On" and Silv, who asked for my thoughts on the Colette/Regal pairing. That said, this piece is honestly more gen than anything, unless you are like my sister and see a jealous Zelos herein. It's plausible. I am borrowing these characters from Namco, the summary line (hybridized) from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, and love feedback like I love chocolate (which is quite a lot.)