Disclaimer: All appearing characters and places belong to Namco unless otherwise specified.
The O-dai themes belong to the Zeroshii-Wa, at http/deburu98249.jog. but written correctly. If you visit, don't steal!
Setting: In-game, in between Flanoir and Heimdall.
Explanation: The Japanese have this concept that "pair look" is when two people dress to match the other, either in identical clothes or in matching costumes. I decided to go with that idea.
Warnings: OMFG this is Colloyd, not Zeroshii, how dares she! Explanation at the bottom. So, Colloyd, light Zeroshii, and Zelos being a perv teen, even though he's 22.
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Normal Version,
#8 – Pair-Look
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Colette smiled at particularly no one. Sure, they still had plenty of hardships ahead but at that very moment there was no reason not to smile.
Sitting next to the river at Dirk's house the young blonde sighed contently. From her position she could see what everyone was doing – the professor reading a book at the shade of the tree and looking peacefully content, Presea showing a very flustered Genis how to carve wood-figurines while Regal watched over them, an oddly fatherly smile on his lips as he looked at the young pink-haired girl.
At the veranda upstairs Zelos and Sheena were talking – she couldn't hear what they were saying but Sheena wasn't screaming and Zelos hadn't been flung off the terrace so she assumed they were talking about normal things, for once.
And inside the house...
She had always had a soft spot for Lloyd. But that wasn't such a big deal, really – she had a soft spot for Genis, too (he was like a younger brother) and for Sheena (she was like an older sister) and even for Zelos (she understood a little the way he felt) and, truth to be told, she had a soft spot for every single dog in the world.
But as their travels had continued she had realized that she liked Lloyd a whole lot more than she would ever like any dog, or any friend. The twin-bladed swordsman was different... people said he was naïve because he was unable to discriminate, that he was idealistic for believing that in both worlds peace could reign amongst the people.
She didn't see anything wrong with that. In fact what she didn't understand was how could people not hope for a world such as the one Lloyd desired.
But then again, people did tend to say that, because she believed that there's some good in every single being, she too was idealist and innocent to the point of naïveté, even stupidity.
That suited her just fine though. Let them think what they want - she knew better. 'Look at me now!' she felt like saying, 'Look at where my naïveté has brought me! Look at where his naïveté has brought us!' Lloyd's ideals were about to make the world better and there was no doubt about it: that much she was sure of.
And now Lloyd was inside the house, talking with Dirk. They were supposed to go to Heimdall as soon as possible – Kratos was waiting there for one last showdown, and it was because of this that Lloyd had asked the party to allow him to visit his foster father before.
No one had refused the swordsman's request – he had done too much for them to deny him such a simple thing. And, after Zelos had whined he had been too stressed lately (something no-one dared to doubt, after his show at the Tower of Salvation) it had been decided: one night at Iselia's peaceful forest wouldn't harm anyone.
Humming happily Colette got up from her place at the river-bank and brushed her legs off. It was about time someone started preparing supper, and everyone else looked so happily occupied right now that she figured she'd do it herself.
A gust of wind blew her hair back and as flock of birds left a nearby tree she twisted her head backwards to look at them flying past.
Bad idea.
"Ah... ah! Whooops!"
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Lloyd was talking with his foster father, explaining the dwarf everything that had happened. About Kratos, about Mithos Yggdrasil, about the Tower of Salvation and Zelos and what he needed to do now.
The dwarf hadn't said much: he kept his brow furrowed and nodded gravely every now and then. Lloyd was thankful for that – right now what he needed wasn't words, just understanding and acceptance. And in anything, Dirk was able to give him that – as their talk neared the end, without many words exchanged there was a mutual agreement; one which said that no matter what happened the link that existed between them wouldn't be ever erased.
And then he heard it.
"Whooops!"
Followed by the sound of much water splashing.
After a few instants of silence he got up and ran out of the house. Laughter was coming from the second floor balcony and then he could hear Sheena yelling.
"Don't laugh! You don't even know if she's alright!"
"She's fine, she's fine!" the redheaded answered in between laughs, rubbing his arm where he had probably been punched by the ninja.
Genis, Presea and Regal were behind him, walking hurriedly towards the river, where the professor was pulling a very, very wet Colette out of the water.
"Colette!" Lloyd called, rushing forward to help the half-elf, "Are you alright?"
The blonde smiled sheepishly, "Uh, yeah... I just tripped," she grinned, "Sorry..."
He sighed. "Don't apologize... ah, why am I not surprised?"
"What is surprising is she hadn't fallen before..." Genis muttered behind them, earning himself a glare from Raine, who turned her head to the people at the balcony.
"Sheena! Do me a favor and get Colette a clean set of clothes, please. Colette," the woman continued, looking at the angel (who was starting to shiver) "Get inside the house, we can't have you getting a cold now of all times."
"Y-yes, professor..." following Raine and next to Colette, Lloyd entered the house as well . They had barely set at the small living room when, from upstairs, Sheena and Zelos appeared at his bedroom's door. The redheaded Chosen threw down a towel which he caught and handed to the drenched girl who quickly wrapped it around herself.
"Eh, Raine..." Sheena started, "There are no clean clothes..."
The older Sage sibling raised an eyebrow. "What?"
"Yeah, it seems what she's wearing was her last set, and the others are either really dirty or completely creased up. We were thinking of using the afternoon to wash the... what are you doing with that, Zelos! That's mine!"
"Wha, this? I was just wondering how you can make it work with these many clasps – I mean, normal ones have only one or two, but four? And then I figured I'd get some practice at it..."
"Practice? Practice?-? I'll show you practice!-!"
Raine sighed while Zelos ran 'screaming' into the room, followed by Sheena. "While those two carry on their usual, we need to do something about Colette. Sheena could... no, her clothes wouldn't do. I guess I could lend you some of mine, but they'll fit you horribly."
"...in terms of size Lloyd's frame is the most similar," Presea's voice sounded steady as ever.
"But... but Colette can't really wear boy's clothes..." Genis started.
Regal shook his head. "Presea's right, however. The only one whose clothes might fit her correctly is Lloyd."
"Very well," Raine nodded, "Do you have a clean set, Lloyd?"
"Eh, yeah... this is my house, after all. And I really should get those two out of my room before they destroy it anyway..." he muttered, heading upstairs. Getting Zelos and Sheena out wasn't too hard (or at least easier than getting Sheena not to kill Zelos for snooping around her bags) and he quickly found a pair of old pants along with a red shirt like the one he always used. Still, they were too big... even with the suspenders he didn't think she could keep the pants up.
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She felt the fabric on her skin. It was a little rougher than what she was used to but it was a nice, sturdy feeling.
With Lloyd's big boots she felt a little boyish and even clumsier than before, as if even taking a step would be so different it'd made her fall down. But it was nice... the fabric smelled like wood and, she figured, if the darkness of being inside a closet for years had a smell, they would smell of that, too.
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Colette looked down at her feet, blushing a little. "How do I look?"
Zelos was, of course, the first to react. "...cute! Look at that, she made the bumpkin's clothes look nice!"
"Who – who's a bumpkin!" Lloyd quickly yelled back.
"He's right," Genis snickered, "She looks better than you, Lloyd."
"Er..." Lloyd wanted to yell something like 'shut up!' but given how Colette was looking at him that wasn't an option.
Besides, both Zelos and Genis were right – his clothes fit the girl in an oddly cute way. She had left the shirt un-tucked so it looked more like her old dress than a male's shirt, and the suspenders had been used as a belt instead, so they hung loose under the 'dress'.
"Thanks!" she smiled at the young half-elf. "They are very comfy, really..."
"They look warmer than your other attire, Chosen," commented Regal.
"Yes! Even the boots fit me well," she giggled and shifted her feet a little.
Grinning, Lloyd took the girl's shoulder. "They fit you just well, Colette!"
"Thanks! Um, I'll give them back as soon as my clothes dry out..."
"You can keep those... they don't even fit me that well anymore."
"Re-really?" the swordsman was a little surprised at how much her eyes lit up at the possibility, but he had always liked to see that special glimmer.
"Of course!"
"Ah, thanks so much, Lloyd!"
He grinned broadly at her. "We match now!"
Zelos half smiled at the exchange between turning to his side. "Heeeey, Sheena, let's do that too! Here, you can wear my vest!"
"Wh-why would I want to wear that!"
"C'mon! I bet I'd look hot in purple anyway!"
"Gah! It's smelly! Zelos, get that away from me!"
"Fine then, you can have my shirt then! It's low cut and black, you can't complain!"
"D-don't take your shirt off – I'm telling you to – aaaah, you pervert!"
"It's just a shirt! C'mon, I bet you'd look great in black!"
"Raine! Tell Zelos to put his shirt on!"
"Raine! Tell Sheena to put this shirt on!"
"Raine! Tell them to shut up already!"
Raine grimaced and pretended to be absorbed in a book she had on her lap, while Regal sighed and Presea smirked at the scene, in which Genis was already involved. Lloyd, too, sighed a little, half-smiling. "Sometimes those two make me wonder."
"They are like kids, aren't they?" the girl nodded.
"Yeah, and then Zelos calls me immature..."
"Lloyd... uhm..." she stopped. She had been wanting to ask him what would he do after their battles were over, but perhaps this wasn't the time.
"Yes?"
"Um, I was wondering if you'd help me prepare dinner...?"
His reaction was just as she expected – a honest, big smile and a hearty nod. Perhaps she could talk with him later, once they arrived at Heimdall. Right now she was just happy with his old clothes and the chance of having him near while she cooked.
Sheena looked at the couple as they went for the kitchen and half-sighed.
"They do look cute together," she muttered.
Zelos, in the process of getting re-dressed, smiled at her. "That they do. Like two gnomes."
"...gnomes?"
"And I still say we could beat them, you know," he continued, resting his arm over the sofa so it enveloped her without even making contact, "If you would only take my clothes."
She smirked. "Yeah right, to leave you running around in that awful speedo?"
"Well, we could do it backwards! I wouldn't mind you running around in a speedo."
The girl blushed crimson."...st-stop making suicidal comments and get dressed, idiot!"
Zelos laughed as she got up and left towards the stairs, following her almost immediately with his vest still off. Genis looked at Lloyd and Colette at the kitchen and then at the other two 'arguing' at the bedroom's door, and then wondered if adults would be easier to understand once he became one as well.
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Notes: OMG, so what was that supposed to be? Colloyd? Zeroshii? Nothing at all? Well, this is the Normal Version, so it doesn't have to be all mushy mushy stuff.
Some of you might have recognized the underlining original idea here – in the PS2 version of ToS you can get Colette a new title; "Kimi to Osoroi", which means "Matching You" or "I Match You". With that title equipped Colette dresses like Lloyd. Not having played the PS2 version I can't say much on how she gains it (I do know she falls into a river) but, since I had absolutely no ideas for this O-dai and the theme was so much Colloyd-esque, I decided to go with it.
Oh, in the game version Lloyd ends up in his underwear for a while. But I really didn't know how to play that into this, so it was left aside :P
Also, I had wanted to write some light Colloyd since a while ago. I think I'll do something like this again – when I have no good Zelos/Sheena ideas, I'll just do Lloyd/Colette and be done with it...
Thanks so much to all the reviewers, and sorry for not answering on this occasion. I promise to do it this time -.- As for why I took so long - well, my brain died during vacations (I swear I spent two weeks doing macrame because I was too tired for anything else) and then my fingers caught a flu. I hope I'll be able to keep it up now!
WDR
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#9 – Fight
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