Twilight
The fourth in the series of Yuan x Lloyd oneshots, Lovelight
A/N: Okay, my ideas get a little better as we progress through the series, because I know the first three were a little lackluster. Still, don't expect any miracles further in. I think my good ones will be the ones with the content in them, but I may or may not put those up. We'll have to play it by ear. I also know these are super-cheesy, but it's the best I can do! If you don't like them, don't read them. I appreciate everyone's feedback though, but I think it's almost too good, because I think this series is a little...crappy. So...are ya faking it? Just kidding, but this will hopefully get better as we read on. And maybe not! Try to enjoy the halfway mark anyway. -- Changed the title btw, Twilight instead of Starlight. Twilight was just too cool not to use.
Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Symphonia. Namco does! Go Namco:)
It was early evening as Raine entered the living room of her house, with all her housemates lazily hanging around. "Everyone, I need to go to the grocery store. Is anyone interested?" There was the usual profound silence as everyone appeared not to hear her. She sighed and adjusted her glasses. "I guess I'll have to pick again." Everyone tensed up as her light blue eyes scanned the room.
"Sheena, Yuan, Lloyd. You're coming with me."
They all groaned and slammed down whatever they were doing. Raine left the house to wait while the other three got ready. "Seriously, who goes to the grocery store at 6 p.m?" Sheena mumbled, pulling her jacket on. Yuan shrugged and tied his hair back while Lloyd put his boots on. "Oh well," she sighed, twisting the doorknob. "Take care of the house while we're gone!" There was a faint "Ok" from Seles.
Outside, the air was chilly and a breeze was blowing, but the sky was clear and the sun had just set. Raine was staring at the sky and turned when she heard the door close and their reluctant footsteps approach. She smiled, though not sincerely. "Let's go."
The Meltokio market was as full of people as ever, and the four were browsing the new food store quietly. Raine viewed her list, then tore a piece off and handed it to Lloyd. "Go get these. We can meet up later." Lloyd's eyes widened at the list.
"But I've never been shopping, I don't know where anything is!"
Yuan took his arm and looked at him with a bored expression. "I'll show you." They walked off, leaving Sheena and Raine to the rest
The guys headed for a certain section of the store, then Yuan faced Lloyd, smiling. "Ready to go?"
Lloyd gasped. "We're leaving? What about the food?"
"They'll get it on their own. I'm outta here." Yuan left the store as quickly as he'd come in, and Lloyd paused a moment before following.
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Surprisingly, the sun and all its presence had disappeared and it was twilight. The wind blew Yuan's aqua bangs out of his face, warning a storm that the lack of clouds didn't. Lloyd stepped outside and looked behind him once to see if the girls noticed. "Are we going home or just waiting for them?"
Yuan blinked slowly, still not facing Lloyd, and crossed his arms. "Whatever you want to do."
"Well, I'm asking you," Lloyd persisted.
"And I'm asking you." Yuan turned to Lloyd. "But I think we should go home. They aren't going to worry about us."
Lloyd approached Yuan and rested his head on the taller man's shoulder. "Okay, let's go back."
They walked back quite a ways, until a change of scenery led them to think something. "Are we lost?" Lloyd asked nervously, gripping the hilt of one of his swords. "'Cause I don't remember coming this way."
"We aren't lost. I'm just...taking a shortcut," Yuan lied, cursing himself for such a cliché coverup. Lloyd saw through it.
"So...we're lost."
"It's no problem, we'll be outta here in no time." The half-elf looked around for familiar landmarks, but they were in the middle of nowhere. That is, until he saw a forest to the north. "Hey, if we just go through that forest, we'll end up close to the house if we come out the other side." Before Lloyd could object, Yuan raced ahead and disappeared into the trees. He followed, mumbling something.
The forest was dark, but the stars and moon lit just enough for them to see their surroundings. "Yuan, the only thing worse than being lost out there is being lost in here." A wolf howled a little ways off, but the guys were too good of fighters to be scared of it. "Let's just turn around, and find a way past all this." Lloyd cut through a shrub that seemed to be increasing in size. "Yuan, are you listening to me?"
The blue-haired angel stopped walking and put his hands on his hips. They'd reached a fork in the faint path they'd been following. His eyes shifted from one path to the other, then he whirled around to Lloyd. "Which way do you think we should go?" he asked, paying no mind to Lloyd's previous comments.
Lloyd stopped walking too and sighed harshly. "Which way do I think? I think we should go that way!" he yelled, pointing behind him down the way they'd come. "Didn't you hear what I said?"
Yuan bit his lip and looked at the clear sky. "...Left it is." Lloyd could've just killed him, but decided he couldn't let Yuan go alone and went with him.
The path got narrower, the trees grew closer together, and the area grew darker. It wasn't long before the path ended and they were forced to stop. A dead end. Lloyd kicked a nearby stone and cursed aloud. "I thought 4,000 years would've done your sense of direction some good."
"It's not a big deal, let's just turn back around." Yuan started back down the path, but was stopped.
"Why are you being so relaxed about everything?" Lloyd inquired. "Normally you'd be having a fit about getting lost and I'd be the one trying to reason with you." The wind picked up and the treetops blew, but they couldn't feel it from the ground.
"I guess..." Yuan hesitated before turning to Lloyd again with a small smile. "I guess it's because I don't mind being lost in a forest if it's with the person I love." Lloyd blinked and felt his face turn red as Yuan turned back and kept walking.
The brunette looked at the ground and covered his mouth with his hand. "You're so stupid..."
15 minutes later...
"We have been walking FOREVER!" Lloyd yawned and slowed the pace down a little. "I wouldn't be surprised if the others were done shopping already!"
"Lloyd, stop complaining. We're almost there, I can tell." Yuan felt the bark of a tree, which was peeling off and incredibly old. "We're probably about halfway through, the heart of the forest always has the oldest trees," he guessed.
"Halfway?" The younger boy was about to gripe even more, but tripped on a root and fell on his face. "Ouch!"
Yuan turned around and went to him. "Are you okay?" Lloyd nodded slowly. "You should be more careful, this forest is dangerous." He offered Lloyd his hand and helped him up to his knees, still staying low by his side. "You sure you're alright? You're bleeding."
"Ah, thanks. I'm fine really." Lloyd wiped the blood from his face and looked down at the sharp root that served as the cause. "You know, if this had happened two weeks ago, you would've just told me to watch where I was going and left me." He smiled lightly despite his pain and looked at Yuan.
"You're probably right," Yuan replied, turning away with guilt. "Sorry."
Lloyd reached up and stroked Yuan's soft hair. "It's okay...?" He looked past Yuan and gasped at what he saw. "Look out, behind you!"
Before anything else could happen, Yuan stood and his weapon appeared, impulsively slashing the monster. The manticore growled in pain and collapsed lifelessly on the ground. The fighter pulled Lloyd to his feet and moved him out of the way just before a large root slammed down in the spot that he had been. "This place..."
"Aah! Yuan, my foot." They both looked down at Lloyd's ankle, then Yuan knelt to examine it while Lloyd held him for balance.
"You sprained it," Yuan said flatly, and Lloyd's face fell. "Honestly, how much damage can you do just by tripping?"
"You have no idea." Lloyd tried not to put pressure on his injury and let go of Yuan, hoping he didn't appear as a burden. Unfortunatly, he lost his balance, using his hurt foot to break his fall reflexively. The pain shot through him like a bullet and he bit his lip. Yuan was busy trying to find the way they were going.
Okay, if I have something to lean on, I guess I can make it out of here. Lloyd looked around for a thick branch, and reached out for one he saw. But his balance failed him again and he nearly fell, but didn't feel himself hit the ground.
"Lloyd, you can't walk by yourself with that wound." Yuan tightened his grip around the confused boy and pulled him up. "Just let me carry you."
"No, I don't want to be such a burden to you," Lloyd murmured, avoiding eye contact.
Yuan sighed. "This isn't the time to be tough, you just have to trust me." If Lloyd had been given another chance to rebel, he would've, but Yuan already had him in his strong arms and was walking. "You'd just slow me down anyway, and someone has to treat this before it gets any worse."
"Fine, you win." Lloyd folded his arms and leaned against Yuan's warm chest, listening to all the sounds around him seconds before falling asleep.
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When he woke up, he saw that he was in his room on his bed. His ankle felt much better, and it was apparent that Raine had healed it. The clock read 9:15 p.m. Lloyd sat up when he heard a noise to his right, then he relaxed at the sight of Yuan, who was removing his cape. "Yuan."
The man turned at the sound of Lloyd's voice. "Oh, you're finally awake." He placed his cape on the coat rack and sat on the bed next to the boy. "Feeling better?"
Lloyd nodded and asked, "How long have you been here?"
Yuan shrugged. "Just as long as you have," he said with a smile.
"You've been here...the whole time?" He felt himself blush when Yuan nodded. "Thank...you..."
"Lloyd, you always seem surprised that I care for you. You don't give me enough credit." Yuan leaned over and kissed the boy on the cheek. "It's nice outside. You want some fresh air?"
Once outside on the back porch, they sat down on the futon in the corner. The half-moon glowed down with a faint white light that illuminated the space gently and the stars twinkled shyly above, letting out a light of their own. Lloyd sat next to Yuan and stretched out across the length of the couch-like furniture, resting his head on his friend's lap.
"Did you talk to Raine?" Lloyd asked, closing his eyes.
"Yeah, but I guess she forgot that we ditched her at the market." Yuan petted Lloyd's soft hair and looked down at him. "And I'm glad we did."
"Why, so I could sprain my ankle?" Lloyd glared at Yuan, who laughed. "Or was it so we could get lost in the forest? You tell me."
Yuan grabbed Lloyd's shoulders and moved him. "Here, let me apologize for that if you're going to hold a grudge," he replied, still grinning. Lloyd sat up and locked his eyes with his partner's. "I'm sorry my 4,000 year old sense of direction got you hurt." Yuan held Lloyd's hands in his and pushed his lips against the other's defenseless ones.
Lloyd felt the man's slick tongue slide between his lips as the kiss deepened, and Yuan's hands released Lloyd's to move up to the back of his head. The brunette's hand found Yuan's waist, and the other was playing with the silky blue hair that had escaped the ponytail, now beside his lover's face. They shifted positions and soon were lying on the futon, with Lloyd lying on top of Yuan.
The couple stopped for air and gasped heavily. "Well...if there's one thing your age has done for you, it's experience in kissing." Lloyd's sepia eyes found Yuan's emerald green ones and stared at them lovingly.
"Want me to teach you how to kiss like that?" Yuan joked with a smile.
Lloyd smiled back and kissed the man's nose. "Yeah, but be sure to go slow. I'm not a very fast learner." Their lips met again and Yuan wrapped his arms around Lloyd's shoulders. He broke the kiss abruptly.
"I'll try to make my lesson nice and thorough for you."
The wind picked up, and the stars seemed to shift in the breeze as the current from twilight found them again.
Sorry it took me so long to update by the way. I hope this chapter gets some reviews from those of you who reviewed the rest. And if not, well at least I tried to bring it back! Right now I'm listening to some beautiful music that probably inspired a great deal of this chapter. It suits it well. And the outline I had for "Starlight" was like 100 different from this one, so this whole chapter was totally on the spot. That's...probably why it isn't as good. Actually, I think I did an okay job. Oh, I'll shut up. Review please!
Sheena: Yay! I was in this chapter! And I got lines! cheers
Nakoya: Yeah, sorry for all those who didn't get lines. Better luck next time.