Flapping Wings
Written By Illuminet
Disclaimer: Characters in this story are property of the brilliant minded staff at Namco Ltd.
"..."-Indicate Speech
'...'-Indicate Thought
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#Outskirts of Iselia region, Dirk's House#
It was a calm night. Peaceful and pleasant. Lloyd Irving yawned loudly from where he sat watching the starlit black sky from the small balcony at the top of his small house. Lloyd felt his eyes beginning to droop, but before he allowed his eyes to completely shut, he would shake his head with immense fervor, trying to will the feelings of sleep from overtaking him.
'Something's going to happen tonight...my six sense tells me so...too bad it can't tell me exactly what that something is...'
He thought to himself. Maybe he was just being paranoid about something. He racked his mind to think of anything he may have missed during the past few days that would lead him to believe such a thing. Of course thinking was not Lloyd's strongest asset. Everyone he traveled with to reunite the worlds amended to that. Lloyd let out a sigh, having come back through the dive in his soul empty handed.
'Damn. I don't know how much longer I can stay up...getting sleepy...'
Lloyd's head began to drop, his eyes beginning to lower shut. He shook his head again, but the gesture didn't do much good to his fatigue, and before he knew it, he was drifting off to sleep without even realizing it.
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#Iselia Village, Brunel Residence#
Colette Brunel, former Chosen of what was originally Sylvarant, and one of the heroes who helped in reuniting the worlds Sylvarant and Tethe'alla, could just not go to sleep. No matter how sleepy she was, no amount of tossing and turning could make her go to sleep. She tried closing her eyes and counting sheep, but the age old sleeping trick did nothing for her.
'One thousand and one...one thousand and two...ah, forget it. I feel sleepy, so that's proof I'm not suffering from my Angel Toxicosis anymore. Of course I haven't been for a long time anyway, so it's just silly to think that I am now...'
She chided herself. Of course that was a pretty scary moment for her when she was undergoing the world regeneration process of removing the seals. Still, she couldn't sleep now and for what reason was unknown to her.
'Maybe I should go visit Lloyd...no, it's nighttime and he's most likely asleep anyway...but...'
She began to debate in her head on weather she should just continue to try and go to sleep or if she should go see if Lloyd was awake. The latter was feeling more appealing than the former, the problem was if he would be asleep already, and he most likely would be.
'Hm...well I was planning to fly on over anyway. If he's asleep then I can still make it back here very quickly anyway, so...'
Nodding to herself, Colette decided she'd pay a visit to Lloyd.
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#Outskirts of Iselia region, Dirk's House#
Colette hovered a few feet above the house. She would have gone down immediately to the balcony but the person she wanted to see was already out there, as if he had been waiting for her. Second thoughts and doubts were starting to plague her, but with a firm nod of her head, she steeled her nerves and descended to the balcony. She walked up towards Lloyd as quietly as she could. He was snoring lightly from his sitting position, and his innocent boyish features brought a warm smile to Colette's lips. Unfortunately for her, she was so wrapped up in staring at Lloyd's innocent visage, she failed to remember a small hole in the plank of wood she was stepping on. She had tripped on this hole once before when she and Lloyd were children. The situation would be no different, and to her surprise, Colette felt herself fall forward. Right on top of Lloyd. Now because Lloyd was usually a very deep sleeper, when Colette's body fell on top of his, he was taken completely off guard. He jolted awake almost instantly, and unfortunately for the both of them his motion made his forehead collide with her own.
"O...ow...that hurt..."
Lloyd seethed out as he vigorously rubbed his forehead with his hands. He finally opened one ochre colored eye to regard the person who had fallen on top of him.
"Colette! What are you doing here?!"
He said in surprise. The young woman was rubbing her own forehead from the collision.
"Um...I was just checking in on you...yeah that's it. Just checking in."
She said nervously. Lloyd looked up to the sky, checking the position of the moon.
"In the middle of the night?"
He asked her. Colette's form stiffened. Good point. Now she had to think of a come back to save face. But none came.
"Uh...I was just, um...wondering...if you...wanted to go for a flight."
She said. It was lame, she knew, but hey, it was something to get her mind of the suggestive position she had fallen on him in. She didn't know how much longer she could keep her cheeks from getting too flushed at the warm feeling of being in his arms like this. As for Lloyd, he was still half asleep and didn't really take into account the compromising positions they were in.
"A flight...at midnight, huh? Well..."
He brought a hand to the side of his head, scratching at the side of his forehead in thought. Colette decided it was time to get off him, despite the fact she was rather enjoying herself in this moment of closeness with him.
"It's okay, Lloyd. It is pretty late anyway. I'll see you in the daytime, okay?"
She told him. She turned around, but was stopped when Lloyd's hand grabbed her's.
"Wait, Colette. It's okay. Let's go. It wouldn't be nice to refuse after you took the trouble of coming all the way over here, right?"
He said with a smile. He rose up from his position, stretching to get the sores out of his body from falling asleep in an awkward position.
"Let me just get into something warm, okay, Colette?"
He told her, stepping back into his house. His head came out again to regard her.
"You sure you want to be flying in those clothes, they don't look very warm."
He asked her. Colette now realized that it was, indeed, quite a chilly night to be flying. After a bit of thinking, she faced Lloyd.
"I guess I could just go back to my house and get some warmer clothes on."
She told him. Lloyd shook his head.
"No, you don't have to do that. I've got some spare clothing you could use. They might be a bit too big for you, though."
He told her. Colette nodded.
"That's okay. I don't mind."
She said to him. Lloyd nodded before fully entering his house again. He came back shortly, dressed in a thick wool red sweater, and a white scarf of the same material around his neck. He looked like he was almost dressed in the same clothing he wore when he had been reuniting the worlds. He handed her a similar red sweater, which she gladly accepted and pulled over her head. He then handed her a black scarf which she tied around her neck to keep warm.
"Ready?"
He asked her. Colette nodded. She willed her small, light pink colored transparent wings to come from her back. The small wings flapped a bit before they began carrying her a bit higher in the air. She was hovering about a foot from the house now. Although Colette could will her wings to come out instantly by now, Lloyd was a bit under learned in taking his wings out as quickly as she could. It was understandable, considering he rarely used his wings, plus she had hers for much longer than he did. He lowered his head slightly, closing his eyes as he, too, willed his wings to appear at his back. Unlike Colette's, Lloyd's wings were massive in comparison, and were almost three times longer than his own arms length. They radiated a gentle blue light from their transparent forms. The reason for the difference in wing type between Lloyd and Colette could only be guessed at. It was speculated mostly because of the effects of the Eternal Sword's power combined with the power within the special exsphere Lloyd had been equipped with. Lloyd soon took to the skies side by side with Colette.
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#Sky#
"Your good at those."
Lloyd admitted. Colette, having far more experience then Lloyd himself did, performed complex acrobatic maneuvers in the air. Lloyd clapped his hands in applause. Some of the things she pulled off he could do, but the majority of them would still need working on.
"Thank you, Lloyd. Don't worry. With a little more practice, you'll see how easy it is to do them."
Colette assured. Lloyd sighed.
"Yeah right. These wings of mine are too big to maneuver with as gracefully as you can. They're too bulky and ugly looking."
He said, lowering his head. Colette shook her head vigorously.
"Don't say those kind of things, Lloyd. Your wings are very beautiful. Much more prettier than mine. They're much more prettier than any of the other angels, too. Trust me, Lloyd, they are."
She assured him.
"Well, if you say so. I'll take your word for it then. Can I ask you something, though?"
He said to her. Colette nodded.
"Sure."
She told him.
"You didn't really come over just to ask me to fly with you, right?"
He asked her. Colette let out a small sigh. So he really hadn't believed her. Of course, considering she was stuttering rather badly when she made the offer, she probably wouldn't have believed herself if she was him, either.
"Your right, this wasn't my original intention. I just couldn't get to sleep tonight, and out of boredom, I decided to just check on you. I saw you sleeping on the balcony, and..."
Her cheeks reddened a bit at the embarrassing fall right on top of him.
"So that was all it was. You gave me quite a scare when you fell on me. I was completely taken by surprise. I'm glad you woke me up though. I'd probably catch a cold if I slept up there all night."
Lloyd told her. Now Colette had a question for him.
"What were you doing sleeping up there, anyway? I don't think I've ever seen you sleep up there before."
She told him.
"Well...while you were trying to go to sleep, I was trying to stay up. I got this weird feeling that something was going to happen tonight, but what it was I couldn't be sure of. I fell asleep though, so that's why I was out there."
He explained. Colette's blue eyes filled with worry.
"You don't think something bad is going to happen, do you?"
She asked him. Lloyd shook his head.
"I don't think so. I just had a feeling something was going to happen, but what it was, I don't think it would have been bad. At least I don't think so."
He said, reassuring her. Lloyd began to shiver slightly.
"Man, it's really cold out here. Colette, why don't we head back? It'll be daybreak in a couple of hours, I wager."
He said to her. Colette let out a sigh, but nodded in agreement. Once again, because of her greater experience as an angel, she could, for a lack of better words, turn on and off some of the angel abilities such as not getting hungry or not feeling anything within her body. Luckily for Lloyd, he became an angel without having to be burdened with the Angel Toxicosis like Colette. However, he also wasn't very good at controlling his angel functions.
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#Outskirts of Iselia region, Dirk's House#
The two companions were nearing Dirk's house, although they still had a little ways to go yet. Lloyd stopped, hovering in the air. Colette stopped with him. He turned to face her.
"Well Colette, it was fun. We should do it again some time. See you later."
He said with a smile. Colette nodded. Lloyd turned to head in the direction of Dirk's house, and Colette turned to head back to Iselia village. Before Lloyd could move, however, Colette called him.
"Lloyd, wait!"
She said. Lloyd turned back to face her, a puzzled look on his face.
"Something wrong, Colette?"
He asked. She looked a bit nervous.
"I just wanted to say...I...like you, Lloyd. I like you a lot."
She wanted to hit herself over the head with a Pow Hammer. For some reason, she couldn't say that other four letter L word she had wanted to say to him for a very long time now. And of course, in his typical naive nature, Lloyd would always interpret her meaning that she liked him as a friend and nothing more.
"Uh...well, I like you too, Colette. Were the best of friends after all, right?"
He told her. He was about ready to leave again, but Colette had to stop him.
"Wait Lloyd."
She said again as he had turned to leave. Once again he turned to face her again.
"Yeah?"
He asked with a concerned voice, thinking something might be wrong since she would stop him two times in a row. Colette took a deep breath, steeling her nerves again. She looked seriously into Lloyd's eyes. His ochre eyes read confusion all over them as she keep staring at them with concentrated blue eyes.
'Now or never...'
She told herself. This was it. Almost. Should her words still fail her, she had one final secret weapon up her sleeve to make him fully understand her feelings for him that he misinterpreted for so long now. If he still didn't understand even after she pulled out her final secret weapon, then she would have no choice but to declare Lloyd hopeless.
"What...I meant to say...was...that I...actually...I...love...you..."
There. It was said. She finally declared her love to him. She didn't want to see his reaction, so she had closed her eyes. All she could do was hope he understood and wouldn't reject her. Colette didn't know if she could handle that. Rejection. Before Lloyd came into her life, all she got was rejection. For having been the Chosen. The only love and understanding she had ever received was from her father and grandmother. But not even they could fill up the void in her heart that she needed to have filled the most. Friends. Until Lloyd and Genis befriended her, she was pretty much all alone for most of her childhood.
"Uh...didn't you just mean that with what you were saying, before, Colette? Well, if you need to hear it that way, it's fine by me. I really love you too Colette. And as good friends I ask that you don't tell anyone in the village I used that word, okay?"
She heard him say. Colette's eyes snapped open in surprise. She knew Lloyd was dense. But was he really this dense? Truthfully, in her nervousness, she bared her soul to him in not the best of ways. But still, that fact that he still didn't understand was becoming frustrating. She was starting to get angry. And Colette rarely got angry. She wished she could have had Presea's Pow Hammer DX in hand right now just to pound Lloyd's head in right about now.
"Lloyd...you..."
She practically hissed out. Lloyd backed away from Colette slightly, sensing a very unfamiliar aura of hostility emanating from the young woman. He had a feeling she was mad, but her head was lowered, and the long blonde bangs of hair was falling in front of her eyes, masking them from view. He wasn't even sure he wanted to see what her eyes looked like right now.
"Colette...did I say something wrong?"
Being both scared and confused at the same time were not making Lloyd feel very well.
'Wow...is this really Colette? The fact that she's angry is telling me she's still human but...why do I feel it's a good time to withdraw back to dad's house before I get seriously injured in some way...?'
He thought to himself. Colette was kind of glad that she was angry right now. It gave her the right amount of courage to carry out her final secret weapon without feeling nervous. She grabbed his shoulders firmly. Lloyd just smiled nervously.
"Uh...uh...sorry?"
He offered out. No reply. That couldn't be good.
"Lloyd..."
She hissed out again.
"Yea...?"
He opened his mouth to reply, but didn't get the chance to finish. The problem lay with the fact that Colette's mouth was over his own, while he was he just left wide eyed in surprise.
'Hm...I always thought it would be a yucky feeling to kiss a girl like this...but this is a rather nice feeling, huh? Whoa, wait a second here...I'm being kissed...by Colette?'
His mind was...boggled. Worst yet, he still didn't understand why she was doing this to him. He only realized when he remembered his dwarven father explaining to him about the different kinds of love out there in the world between people. Everything became clear to him now. Good thing for him, too. Because if he hadn't, he might have ended up going for a free fall with the ground, courtesy of one really pissed off Colette. Their lips finally broke contact.
"Please tell me you understood my meaning now."
Colette pleaded to him softly. Lloyd gave her a warm smile, wrapping his arms around her waist.
"When you put it that way, then yeah, I understand what you mean. I'm real sorry for not picking up on it earlier. I love you too, Colette. The same way you love me."
He said gently. Colette hugged him close to her, a big smile of happiness on her face. She felt tears of joy fall from her cheek. Lloyd got worried about this, though.
"Ah, did I do something wrong again unknowingly? Please don't cry Colette."
He told her. Colette shook her head, bringing a hand to her eye to wipe away the flow of tears.
"Don't worry about it, Lloyd. I'm crying because I'm glad I finally got those words out and that you feel the same way."
She told him. Lloyd nodded, reassured that he hadn't made her feel sad or anything like that. The chilly night air brought them back to reality that they were still airborne. The two slowly released from their embrace.
"We should get going. How about spending the night at my house since it's closer than the village?"
He offered, bringing forth his hand. Colette nodded.
"Sure!"
She agreed happily.
"You know, I wonder if the feeling I was getting was actually telling me to wait for you, Colette. What do you think?"
He asked her.
"Hm...I'm not sure, but I wouldn't doubt it."
She told him. He smiled.
"Neither would I."
He agreed. The two of them finally flew back to Dirk's house, hand in hand.
#END#
Note: Just a small one-shot I decided to do after playing the game extensively. It's not much, but hopefully readers will enjoy this small work anyway. It's also serving as a means of trying to get out of a writer's block with another story of mine. It didn't help much as of right now, but hopefully it will in the near future.