A/N: Wow, the first chapter of the Zelette side-story, despite being very angsty, seemed to go over quite well. I'm surprised to say the least. Anyway, to anyone who doesn't like angst, don't worry. The worst is over now. Any angst from here on out will be relatively minimal. After all, this is a romance fic!

I think that, once it's all said and done, this story will be a mere four chapters. I'm not planning on sequels or anything, but if reviews are good… who knows?

As an additional note, I'd like to point out that the timeline of this story is such that it takes place in the space of weeks that Lloyd, Kratos, and Sheena look for the Devil Arms in "Unconditional Love".

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Chapter 2: The Road to Recovery

Zelos gently closed the door behind him as he walked out into the snowy twilight of Iselia. It was perhaps only five in the morning and light had not broken yet over the horizon. He looked upward at the stars as snow fell on his face. This was starting to become a ritual of sorts with him. Every morning, he'd wake up very early to go on a walk without Colette knowing. He'd always get home in time to make some excuse as to why he was up and about if Colette ever caught him. The last thing he wanted to do was make her worry about him.

He looked back down at the snowy roads of Iselia and sighed as he leaned on the walking stick he usually had hidden underneath his bed. He didn't exactly look forward to his walks. Not only were they very painful and tiring, but he also felt very lonely when going on one. The only reason he was even going on these walks was to keep his muscles active, thus preventing them from debilitating and turning into much. He had been doing these walks for about a week now in hopes that he would somehow get used to the constant pain he felt in his legs. So far, he had no such luck.

He straightened himself and took only a few steps forward before he heard the door behind him open. He turned around and was surprised at what he saw: Colette. She was standing there in her sky blue skirt and white wool sweater, along with earmuffs, mittens, and a scarf.

"Zelos, why didn't you tell me about these walks before?" asked Colette with a bit of concern in her voice.

If it wouldn't have been so cold, Zelos would've been sweating. "W-what? Walks? Me? Haha… ha. I just uh… came out for some fresh air." He turned around and took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. He turned back to Colette. "The air during the winter is best in the morning when the air is most crisp and cold, ya know?"

Colette put her hands behind her back, smiling playfully as she did so. "Oh I see. Why do you have a walking stick then?"

"Crap," he thought to himself. "Walking stick? Nah, this is just to… uh… help prop me up. Bad legs and all."

She closed her eyes and giggled. "Gotcha. But… if you're just getting a breath of fresh air, why are you so heavily bundled up?"

"Crap again," he thought to himself. Underneath his brown sweater and smoke-grey pants were another layer of under-clothes, meant to insulate his body. Over the sweater, he wore a heavy coat and scarf but wore nothing on his hands or head except for his stained headband. "Err… don't wanna catch a cold?"

She opened her eyes and smiled sweetly at him as she rocked back and forth on her heels. By just looking at her, Zelos knew she wasn't buying his story.

He sighed and threw up his right arm which held his stick. Even if she was buying his story, there's no way he could lie to a face with a smile like that. "Ah… alright. Yes, I have been going on walks every morning. Just trying to keep my muscles active, you know? I've been doing it in the morning so no one would find out. But… by the way you talked, it sounds like you've known about this for a while now. How?"

She stopped rocking on her heels. "Easy. I saw the stick under your bed when I was cleaning earlier this week."

Zelos expected an answer like that. Underneath the bed was the only place he could hide it within the house and it turned out to be a bad spot in the end. "Well then… if you knew, why didn't you stop me?"

Colette took a few steps towards him. "Well, as long as you weren't trying to purposely hurt yourself, I didn't really see the harm. I still wish you would have told me though."

Zelos felt a sharp jolt of pain coarse through his body as he tried to shift his legs to a more comfortable position. "I just… I just didn't want you to worry about me. That's all."

Colette took a few more steps toward him. "Well then… can I come with you this time? I'm sure it's lonely out there."

Zelos raised an eyebrow in surprise. He had expected to be scolded for taking walks that he shouldn't have been, but instead found that she would not only let him go on his walk, but also wanted to join him on said walk. "Uh… sure. I'd be happy to have you come with me."

Colette smiled warmly and walked over to him. "Thank you! Let's go! This should be fun!" She grabbed his paralyzed arm and, a mere moment later, dropped it again. "Oh my! I-I-I'm so s-sorry!"

On the inside, Zelos was a bit upset with what just happened. Being reminded of the condition of his arm never brought pleasant thoughts. Despite this, he gave her a warm smile and said, "Nah, it's ok. I should've reminded you. Don't worry about it. Ready to go?"

Nodding slowly, she walked over to his other side. "I'm ready."

Walking side-by-side, the two walked down the snowy road that lead to the forest just outside of Iselia.

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"Nice little path, isn't it?" Zelos asked Colette as they walked through the twilight-lit forest. The trees caught most of the snow that was coming down, leaving only small amounts of snow to be seen falling to the ground.

She nodded her head in approval. "Mmm. I don't ever think I've been down this path before. The light from the stars reflecting off the snow makes it even prettier." She looked over at Zelos as they slowly walked. "Thank you for letting me come with you."

He couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed. She was acting like this was a great privilege to be walking with him. On the contrary, he felt that he should be the one thanking her. "Ah, it's nothing. I should be thanking you," he said. "To tell you the truth, I get really lonely on these walks. It's nice to have someone to walk and talk with."

She blushed at this. "Th-thank you. I mean… you're welcome, err…"
Her face grew more red. She didn't know what to say.

This caused Zelos to laugh. He always thought Colette looked cute when she did that. It was then that he realized something. That had been the first time he had laughed in about a month. After all the hate he had felt towards himself during this month, the laugh felt marvelously good.

Seeing him laugh brought a great amount of warmth to Colette's heart. Not since Flanoir on the night before the battle at the Tower of Salvation had she seen him smile and laugh like that. In response, she giggled with him.

They were still laughing when they came to a side-path that lead up a hill. Zelos stopped laughing and looked upward. Colette took a few more steps before she noticed that Zelos had stopped. She turned to him.

"Hmm? Is something wrong, Zelos?" she asked sweetly.

Zelos was silent for a moment. He looked down at his legs and the walking stick he was holding. He had been able to bear the pain of walking so far and was beginning to wonder if he should take it up a notch.

"I… I think I wanna go up this hill. I bet we can see all of Iselia from up there," he said.

A look of concerned crossed Colette's features. "But Zelos, you can't-"

Zelos shook his head. "I know, but I want to try anyway." He began to walk up the hill but didn't get very far before he succumbed to his own pain and fell down. Walking on level ground was one thing. Walking on a not-well-traveled path uphill was completely different.

Colette rushed to his side and helped him back up. "Zelos, are you ok?" she asked, obviously worried.

He gritted his teeth together, frustrated with himself for not being able to do this. "Y-yeah, I'm fine. I've got to get up there though." He began to struggle upward again. "I'll never forgive myself if I don't." He then fell down again, face-first in the snow, and pounded the ground in frustration.

Colette came to his side again, helped him up, and picked up his stick. "Then we'll do it together."

Zelos didn't protest. "Alright, Colette. Thank you."

She closed her eyes and smiled sweetly at him as she giggled. "Let's go then! Nice and easy!" The two then began their relatively long ascent to the top of the hill.

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"Come on Zelos! We're almost there!" said Colette to Zelos as the two struggled to make the final steps back to level ground on the top of the hill.

Zelos was grunting in pain as cold beads of sweat dripped down his forehead. He was in an excruciating amount of pain, but he wanted to get to the top, no matter what.

Finally, those last steps came. Once they were at the top, Zelos let himself fall to the ground, not giving Colette a chance to catch him. "Whew… I… we did it." He began breathing very deeply as he lifted his face out of the snow.

Colette kneeled down next to him and waited until he was ready to move again. Once he was, she helped him up and helped him over to a large, relatively flat rock near the edge of the cliff overlooking the village. She sat him down and, once sure that he was comfortable, she sat down next to him. The first rays of sunlight began to peek over the horizon, creating a beautiful mix of blue and orange hues in the cold, morning sky.

"Wow Zelos, you were right!" said Colette excitedly. "It's beautiful up here! You can see the entire village from up here!"

Zelos smiled. "Heh… looks like I was right." He pointed towards a certain building in the village. "Look, there's our… your… house."

Zelos felt strangely awkward when he said that. Why shouldn't he? He felt that he was only a guest in her house, but wasn't sure whether to call it her house or their house. He looked down for a moment, trying to think of something to say.

Colette smiled and put her hand on top of his extended one. "Our house. You can stay for as long as you want. You're more than just a guest."

"Our house," he repeated to himself in his mind. He turned this over and over in his head, trying to digest it. It had a certain meaning to him that filled him with great warmth and happiness. "More than just a guest…" Hearing this made him feel like he was truly wanted. Sure, maybe no one else in the village cared for him… but at least Colette did. In the end, that was all that mattered to him.

He moved his hand and grasped hers gently and took a deep breath. "Colette, I want to thank you."

Colette turned to him, still smiling. "What for?"

That smile melted his heart. Whenever she smiled like that, he felt like he could tell her anything. "I wanted to thank you for taking me into your home."

Colette looked as if she was going to say something but Zelos quickly interrupted her. "I know no one else in the village likes me and I'm sure they think that your decision was wrong. But you took me in anyway. Can I ask why? I mean… after all the things I've said and done, I… I…" He then began to sob. "I… don't deserve this good of treatment! Please! Tell me why!"

Colette could feel her heart break when she saw Zelos break down. She didn't lose her smile even when she began to cry herself as well. She was happy that Zelos was finally able to open up to her. At the same time, however, she was upset with the way Zelos was thinking. She turned to him and said, "Don't say that Zelos! What happened at the tower… you were just… scared. That's all! Everyone gets scared Zelos. No one is perfect!" She wiped a few tears from her eyes. "And I forgive you for that Zelos. You still are and will always be my friend. That being said, I'm going to do everything in my power to help you!"

Zelos stopped sobbing and looked into her eyes. They looked hurt but appeared to be full of determination. Just by looking in her eyes, he could tell that she was one-hundred percent sincere if not more. Tears still in his eyes, he smiled again at her. "Thank you Colette. I-I'm sorry. You're so sweet to me."

She gave that sweet smile once more and looked back at the village, still holding Zelos' hand. "Let's enjoy the view. We can watch the sunrise."

Zelos nodded and looked out on the village. The sun finally began to break over the horizon, creating a dazzling array of orange hues in the slowly brightening sky. As the two looked on, Colette slowly leaned over and rested her head on Zelos' shoulder.

"Can we stay like this for a while?" she asked.

Without looking, Zelos replied, "As long as you want, Colette."

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Chapter 2 is done! Whew! Anyway, please leave me some reviews! I'll begin work on chapter 3 within a week. In the meantime, I need to write the next chapter of "Unconditional Love." Stay tuned!