Disclaimer: I do not own Disgaea.. if i did, you could bet that there would be SO much more romance.. siiiigh o.o;
Friend, this shouldn't be the way things end.
But then, a break is just around the bend.
And when you tell me as I leave
You're scared you'll never see my face again
Well, I'm not sure it's the truth
You don't think I can love you
You don't think I can love you
You don't think I can love you
But I can and I will and I do.
-Barenaked Ladies
Chapter 10
Flonne woke up the next morning completely lost. Despite the huge size of the bed, somehow the three friends were squished together. Flonne could not remember a good part of the night no matter how hard she tried. So, she decided to get up and stretch her limbs. Suddenly she realized what she was wearing; a see-through night gown. How humiliating! She had no idea how she got in that dress, or who had seen her. Her memory was completely fogged, but why?
"Good morning, Flonne! Got a headache, eh?" Etna crawled out of bed and gave Flonne a good morning hug. She really had missed Flonne so much that every chance she got she wanted to be with her. Their friendship was the best thing that ever happened to Etna.
Flonne laughed a little, "Yeah, how did you know?"
"Well, you and Rozalin were COMPLETELY wasted last night! It was soo funny!" Etna whispered, trying not to wake up the princess.
"What?!" Flonne froze. "You let me drink LIQUOR!? Oh, Etna how could you?! You know how I feel about it!"
"I didn't force you! You and Rozalin were already delirious from crying so hard. I can't believe you don't even remember your sober moments! Haha. But don't worry, even though Laharl is here, you didn't do anything stupid in front of him." Etna shrugged.
Flonne felt her stomach sink to her feet. "Lah-Laharl..is.. HERE?! Etna! Why didn't you tell me?! How did he see me?! Oh why do I even care?! He doesn't care, so why should I!? Oh, but he really came here to get me?!" Flonne looked at Etna hopefully.
"You bet he did. Him and Adell both. They walked in the pouring rain just to win back your hearts! Pretty sweet, eh? You've really turned Prince into a softy, ya know? He sure has changed for you, Flonne.." Etna shut her eyes, thinking back to the first time she met Laharl. He was just a little boy and he already hated the world. His mother was the only one who he really seemed to care about. When she died, Laharl didn't know what to do with himself, so he shut down. He wasn't a demon, he was the devil himself. Etna always had a crush on Laharl when they were kids, but when he turned into a cold-hearted brat, her feelings for him left. They still hadn't returned even to this day, and she was grateful for that. She would never dream of coming between Flonne and Laharl. After all, Flonne was the one who taught Laharl to love again; a task that Etna could never accomplish.
"Well," Flonne's voice broke Etna's thoughts, "where is he now? I better go to him, since he came all the way out here to see me."
"Uhm, go ask Tink! In case you forgot, you little drunk, the room that Tink is sleeping in is the one across the hall." Etna replied, "I'll stay here and make sure Rozalin doesn't wake up sick to her stomach or something."
Flonne nodded and walked out of the room. "I can't believe Laharl came all the way out here to see me! He must really care. I mean, I knew Adell loved Rozalin enough to come after her, but I would never expect this from Laharl." She thought to herself while making her way towards Tink's room.
When she arrived, Tink was already awake– and he was actually cleaning his room! "Can't you just hire someone to do that?" Flonne smiled.
Tink looked up from his work. "Good morning, beautiful! It'z quite early for you to be awake, no? Have you a little headache?" he laughed.
"Oh, just a little.. but I was wondering which room Laharl is staying in? Etna told me that he arrived last night and I figured that I should talk things out with him since he came all the way out here to see me." Flonne blushed.
"Ah, yes, I see. Well I put him in ze room down ze hall. It is ze sixth room on ze left. Oh, and I zeparated Adell and Laharl so you'll have zome alone time with ze Overlord, oh, ho ho ho, eh? Eh??" Tink winked and nudged Flonne.
"Uhm, thank you Tink… I–I have to go!" Flonne ran from Tink's room; her face as red as a tomato.
When Flonne opened Laharl's door, she wasn't surprised to see him still asleep. Flonne looked at him while he slept– he looked so peaceful. She suddenly found herself with an unbelievable amount confidence. So, she climbed into bed with Laharl. Once under the covers with him, she wrapped one of his arms around her waist, and she shut her eyes, knowing that she was going to fall asleep instantly.
But before she could fall asleep, she felt Laharl's head lift up, "Flonne? What are you doing in here?" He groaned.
"I just woke up and Etna told me that you came last night since I don't remember anything.. heh." Flonne blushed from embarrassment, "but I figured that since you're here, I might as well come see what you wanted…" Flonne nuzzled her head in his chest. Despite how cool and confident he acted, his heart was beating just as fast, if not faster, than Flonne's.
Laharl looked at his limp arm around her waist and he tightened his grip on her, pressing her body against his. His eyes then darted down to her attire. "Couldn't you have at least changed?" Laharl said, his eyes growing larger as they wandered her body.
Flonne looked down, completely embarrassed again. "Uhm I forgot that I was in this.. do you want me to change?"
Laharl's eyes searched her figure one last time before they met with her eyes. "Nah," he finally said. "You look comfortable as you are."
Flonne's smile almost broke her face in two. All she could think of is how badly she wanted her first kiss. The moment was perfect! But she didn't want to risk anything.. you never know with Laharl. Yet, she put all of her fears aside and wiggled her body up so that she was at eye-level with Laharl. His eyes were already shut; she knew she needed to hurry before he fell asleep. So, she took a deep breath and pressed her lips against his. Laharl's eyes flew open and his entire body stiffened. Flonne noticed this and began to panic, but her panic soon left her when she felt Laharl's hand reach up to her cheek and began to caress it with his thumb. The kiss grew deeper, and more passionate the longer they continued. Finally, the two snuggled closer together and fell asleep, their lips never parting.
A few hours after Flonne got up, Rozalin, too, woke up in a groggy daze. Etna was perched faithfully at Rozalin's feet.
"Etna? What are you doing?.. WHOA, WHAT AM I DOING?!" Rozalin blushed and threw her body under the covers, embarrassed of her scandalous outfit.
Etna's face stretched with her large smile. "Well, Flonne already discovered this, but basically the two of you were drunk last night and neither of you remember a thing. Andddd Adell and Laharl came over last night to make up with you girls, but you two were so out of it that they left forever!" Etna watched as Rozalin faces went pale. She then figured that she was being too mean. "No, I'm just kidding. They opted to stay here for the night until you girls sobered up. Adell's actually in the castle!" Etna crawled up the bed and sat next to Rozalin.
"He saw me?! Like this?!" Rozalin gasped.
"Oh, puh-leaseeee, Rozalin! He's seen you in less clothes.." Etna laughed before Rozalin smacked her upside the head. Rozalin then thought for a moment of how she should handle the situation as Etna continued talking, "It's funny.. Flonne left for Laharl's room about two hours and she STILL hasn't come back. Wonder what those two love birds are up to. It's definitely something worth investigating."
Rozalin ignored Etna's comment and finally decided to get up and change into her regular outfit. Etna, realizing that she wasn't going to get any attention from Rozalin, decided to go check up on Laharl and Flonne.
"I can't believe he's here" Etna heard Rozalin mumble as she walked out of the room. It was going to be an entertaining day for Etna.
Etna shut the door behind her and walked down the hall to where Laharl and Flonne were sleeping. "Heh.. I can't wait to catch these two.. Man, these couples need to learn to lock their doors!" Etna laughed out loud. When she arrived at Laharl's room, she felt that there was no need to knock, so she just walked right in. There she found Laharl and Flonne making out on his bed. Etna was overcome with both disgust and happiness. She was glad they were finally listening to their hearts, but did they have to be making out like horny teenagers? Apparently they did.. But Etna wasn't going to take this moment for granted; she whipped out her camera and snapped a few blackmail shots.
"GOOD GOD, YOU TWO! GET A ROOM! Oh, wait.. you HAVE a room. THEN, LOCK YOUR DOORS ONCE IN AWHILE!" Etna cackled evilly.
Laharl and Flonne immediately stopped kissing, and stared at Etna. "Oh my god, ETNA! What are you doing in here!!" Flonne squealed while throwing herself under the blankets.
"ETNA. GET OUT OF HERE NOW!" Laharl screamed while hitting Etna with a large ball of magic. Etna laughed even harder as she fell from Laharl's attack.
"Sorry you two love birds, but I couldn't resist! I figured that you'd been away for too long so I wanted to make sure you were okay! Can you blame me for caring?" Etna laughed hysterically at her own sarcasm. Laharl started to rise from the bed to possibly kill Etna when Etna apologized, "Listen, guys.. I'm sorry! Haha.. I'll stop I promise. But listen, I do need your help."
"WHY WOULD WE WANT TO HELP YOU?!" Laharl hissed. Flonne, noticing how riled Laharl was, put her hand on his hand and laced her fingers through his. Of course, their hands were under the covers so Etna didn't get the pleasure of seeing this sweet spectacle. But Flonne's gesture managed to calm Laharl down so that he didn't murder Etna. "Okay.. what do you want?" Laharl sighed as Flonne smiled at him.
Etna bit her tongue so she wouldn't make a joke about how whipped Laharl had become. "I'm worried about Adell and Rozalin. I don't know if they're going to get back together this time, and, let's face it, they really are meant to be together. So we need to make sure that they STAY that way. I say we go listen in on their conversation since Rozalin is on her way to his room now. So, what do you say? Put your clothes on and come help?" Laharl growled at Etna's previous comment, but he put his anger aside as Flonne squeezed his hand.
"I'm in for sure!" Flonne triumphantly stated, "I won't let Adell and Rozalin's love to go waste! What about you, Laharl?"
Laharl now had a visible vein protruding from his head, "Yeah.. I guess I'm in. Just cause I have nothing better to do, okay?! Don't think that I'm doing this for THEIR sake." Laharl's words seemed forced, yet calm.
"Then it's settled! Get out of bed and I'll meet you guys in the hall!" Etna giggled.
When Etna was out of sight, Flonne whispered to Laharl "Thank you, Laharl.. this really does mean a lot to me.." She then kissed him on the cheek. But as she did, they noticed a flash from a camera go off– ETNA!
"ETNA!! SHUT THE DAMN DOOR!" Laharl demanded once he saw Etna peeping through the corner of the door. He threw a small magic ball her way as she slammed the door, cackling uncontrollably.
Once Laharl and Flonne were up and out of bed, the trio tip-toed down to Adell's room. Even though they were spying, the three friends were happy to be causing mischief together again.
Rozalin, however, was a mess. She knew that she wasn't ready to see Adell again, but she also knew that she couldn't just ignore him. So, she finally mustered up the courage to go to his room, for she knew exactly where Tink had placed him; next to the bathroom. Adell ALWAYS got up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, everyone knew that. So Rozalin headed down the long hall towards Adell's room. When she arrived at what she assumed was the room he was staying in, she hesitated, staring the door down. She had no idea that Etna, Flonne and Laharl trailed behind her. Finally, she walked right into his room.
"Hey! I'm trying to change here!" Adell jumped at the door's sudden movement. He was caught half dressed; his pants were on, but he had failed to put on a shirt just yet. But before he could see whoever was waltzing in, he smelled a very familiar smell. A rich, pure smell. He knew who was there– Rozalin.
His intuition was correct, as Rozalin stood in his room, locking the door behind her. Outside, the trio pushed their ears up to the door, as if to try and hear what the couple was saying.
"Adell, we have to talk." she had a serious expression planted on her face.
The serious look scared Adell, and his voice cracked a bit when he replied "Okay, I know. So, talk to me." he regained his composure and took a seat on the edge of his bed. Rozalin walked to the chair in his room and delicately sat down.
"Adell, when I'm around, people are going to get hurt. This time, it was you! Who is it going to be next time? Hanako? Taro? You're mom or dad? You are all only human, and humans cannot take that much damage! I am a target. People are going to try and kill me because I am still, technically, the overlord. You have to understand that I am not willing to put the lives of the people I love in jeopardy just because I want to have a romantic affair! It's not worth it!" she bit her tongue after that last sentence, realizing that she could have seriously hurt Adell's feelings. But he didn't even flinch; he just continued to look at her fiercely. His eyes never once left her eyes.
"Our relationship is more important to me than anything." He started, "Besides, if we ended our 'relationship' now, then what would we have? We already know that we love each other, so the only thing that would be missing is the stupid 'boyfriend/girlfriend' title! No matter what you say, I don't think we can escape our love...at least.. I won't let you go. Ever." Adell grabbed Rozalin's shoulders forcefully and pulled her into a rough kiss. Rozalin began to cry mid-kiss and Adell let go of her shoulders.
"Adell, why do you make this so hard? I can't accomplish anything! I try to make things easier for you but you won't let me! And how do you expect em to resist you?!" Rozalin bawled.
"I don't expect you to resist me.. that's the point." Adell chuckled. Rozalin began to smile through her tears. "Rozy, I want to be with you forever.. I want to marry you! I want to have kids with you; grow old with you! I never want you to leave my side for a minute!"
Rozalin began to cry harder, but these tears were tears of joy. She threw herself onto Adell and kissed him passionately. After what seemed like seconds, Rozalin broke the kiss and said "Adell, I want to marry you, too!! Adell.. Let's get married! Let's do it, please!"
"Marriage?!" Outside the door, Flonne whispered to Laharl and Etna, "What are they talking about?! They're too young to get married! How old are they? 17?"
"Shut up and keep listening!" Etna hushed.
Adell jumped back in complete shock, "You want to get married? Now?! Rozalin, are you still drunk from last night? Do you realize what you're saying?"
"YES! Adell, I have never been so sure in my life! Let's go get married! I mean, we're already away from home, so all we have to do is sneak away from the castle and go elope! I want to be married to you, Adell!! I won't wait any longer!"
"Should we stop them?" Laharl mumbled. "I mean, seriously, are they really ready for marriage? Besides, don't humans have certain customs? I mean, if I ever get married, eloping will do the trick, but don't humans do it differently?"
"ANGLES do it the same as humans do, and when I get married, I'm sticking to the tradition!" Flonne scowled, her voice slowly rising.
"Well good for you! Good luck finding a demon in the Netherworld who will put on a traditional marriage ceremony for you!" Laharl began to yell.
"SHUT UP YOU TWO, THEY'RE GOING TO HEAR US!" Etna scolded, "Besides, Laharl.. didn't your mom and dad marry the traditional human way?"
"Etna, don't even compare him to his father. His father was obviously WAY above him!" Flonne yelled.
"WHO DO YOU THINK YOU'RE TALKING TO?!" Laharl roared, but before their conversation could go on, the door swung open, knocking the trio to the floor.
"I knew that you guys were following me!" Rozalin said accusingly. "What did you guys hear?!"
"Rozalin!" Flonne jumped to her feet, "Think about what you're going to do! You can't just run off and elope like a stupid demon!!" Flonne glared at Laharl, "You have to do this traditionally! And in a few years! Aren't you guys too young to get married? I mean, I'm no expert on human years but.. Shouldn't you wait until you're older?!"
Adell and Rozalin blushed feverishly. ( Yes we're 17, but who cares? Adell's parents married young! But then again, what would we tell his family? Hey guys, we're married, sorry you weren't invited! We do have to do this traditionally, don't we, Adell? But I can't wait...)
"What about you two?!" Adell pointed a finger at Laharl and Flonne, "You're probably planning on getting married soon, and you're only in your 1000's! Isn't that awfully young for demons to get married?!"
"WHAT!? One, I am not marrying her anytime soon! And two, 1316 isn't too young to get married, especially if you're the Overlord!" Laharl crossed his arms.
"Good to know how you really feel about me, Laharl! You are so HORRIBLE!" Flonne screamed and ran towards her room.
"Wait, Flonne..! Get back here!" Laharl stood up and chased her down the hall.
Etna stared at Rozalin and Adell for a moment. "If you guys really want to elope, then do it. But I think everyone would like it more if you went with the human customs." Etna stood up and brushed herself off. "Think about what you're doing before you do it. I'm gonna go get some lunch."
Etna walked away from the two, leaving them with their thoughts. What were they going to do now?
Dun dun duuuuun! Yeah.. kinda a crammed chapter, but whatever, i'm over it! so i've decided that there are for sure only two more chapters, and it kind of has an unexpected twist at the end. i think you'll enjoy it!
Laharl: Okay, Lina, shut up and keep writing!
Flonne: LAHARL, BE NICE!
Laharl: NO! Lina isn't getting enough reviews! I'm pissed!
...okay guys shut up. i've had these chapters up for like.. half a day. chill.
but the rumor is true.. reviews do make my life! bad or good, i take em all! XD!