Firelight

The sixth in the series of Yuan x Lloyd oneshots, Lovelight

A/N: This is Part 2 of the beach series, out of 2. I'll try to make it actually take place on the beach this time. :) This might be rated Mature or Mature Young Adults due to sexual themes, language, and shonen-ai. I don't know if I want to make this chapter a lemon or not, but we'll just have to see, huh? And this will hopefully be more serious (sorta) than the last one. It may not seem like an important chapter, but they all add up. Congratulations, you've survived 5 of 8 chapters, so can you handle #6?

Disclaimer: I do not own Yuan, Lloyd, Sheena, Mithos, all the characters, Tales of Symphonia, or the beach on which this takes place. Altamira owns the beach. :( And Namco owns everything else...including the beach. I'm confused.

"Welcome to the Altamira café! Will there only be two of you dining this fine afternoon?" Sheena moved the circular tray in front of her aproned uniform and bowed politely. "Right this way please!"

The café had been a total success, and people were enjoying every bit of it. It was a cool place to shade from the sun, talk to friends, and meet new people, most commonly the employees. Not to mention getting a bite of seafood to eat. The place was a hit, and Lloyd was pleased with the money they made. At least, the profit they didn't send to the suppliers.

"Yuan, hurry up with that crab in there! And they wanted a salad with it, so pick up the pace!" Seles hollered in through the glass, bearing a smile of satisfaction with bossing people around.

Behind the glass, however, Yuan was working very hard. "Ugh, I need a break from all this. Order up!" Seles came by and gave him an evil grin that made him shake with hate. "I'll get you someday, you little b-"

"A break, huh?" Lloyd stuck his head in the window and looked around. "You do look like you could use one."

Yuan heaved a sigh and wiped his brow, looking at Lloyd with mild annoyance. "Can't you see I'm busy? You must have something you could be doing right now besides bothering me."

"As cheerful as always, I see," Lloyd murmured, rolling his eyes.

"Lloyd, what do you want?" Yuan asked with rising irritation. "I was kidding about the break."

"Really? That's too bad." The boy was about to leave, then changed his mind. "Because I was gonna go for a walk-"

"I'm there," Yuan said hastily, already removing his apron.

Outside on the beach, the bright damask sun had yet to set beneath the crashing waves and was illuminating the beach. The tawny sand seemed to be pushed back by the effulgent rays and the ocean's usually calm tide was ceaselessly splashing the shore. Sea wind brushed some of Yuan's aqua hair behind him as he stepped outside.

"Wow, this scenery is beautiful..." he marveled, forgetting that Lloyd was with him. "Er, I mean...for a beach."

"Hm, Yuan actually has a sensitive side? I never knew," Lloyd teased, taking his lover's hand.

"Are you calling me insensitive? I think the beach is pretty; does that make me weird?"

Lloyd laughed and leaned on the man's shoulder, sighing at the falling sun. "You're right, it is impressive. And you are a sensitive person, you just don't like to show it." He looked up and smiled, stepping off the wooden stoop. "Come on, let's walk."

The sand kissed their feet with subtle excitement and the breeze tickled them joyfully, carrying the sun's heat and humidity with it. The couple, still wearing their work uniforms, made their way south down the paradise beach.

"So, you like the job I got you?" Lloyd felt the need to ask it since he still felt guilty about not asking for permission.

Yuan wrapped an arm around the boy's waist and pulled him closer in security. "Only because I get to spend more time with my favorite person."

"Aww, you're so sweet sometimes, Yuan." The brunette beamed in delight and looked at the sand. "Even if you are a little stubborn with your emotions."

"I'm not that mean, am I?" The half-elf removed his arm from Lloyd and pushed him away. "Call me that again and you'll regret it."

"Yeah, well romantic or not, you can still be a jerk when you want," Lloyd continued, ignoring the man's threat. "I can always tell when your upset, which is pretty often."

"That's it, Lloyd! You're dead!" Yuan's temper finally caught up with him and Lloyd got a one second head start before he chased him down the beach. "I'll show you insensitive!"

Lloyd wondered how serious Yuan was, but didn't look back and merely kept running down the long beach, away from the cafè. "If you hurt me, I'll hold it against you in the future!"

They laughed a good distance from civilization until Yuan tackled Lloyd to the ground, pinning him to the sand. "Take it back!"

"No!" Lloyd managed to say between his uncontrollable giggles.

"Yes!" Yuan tightened his grip on Lloyd's arms and forced him closer to the sand.

"Okay, okay." The boy calmed down and looked at Yuan with suggestive, captivating eyes. "You're a very kind, sensitive, romantic, and emotional person."

Yuan smiled with content and leaned down closer to the boy. "Especially when it comes to you," he whispered lovingly, running his fingers through his lover's mahogany hair, sprinkled with sand. He brought their lips together in a verdant kiss, letting the red sun begin its descent below the oceanic horizon.

The tables quickly turned though when Lloyd rolled over and got Yuan beneath him. He straddled the man, keeping Yuan from getting up with his astonishing strength. "Well now that we're down here, we might as well."

Yuan blinked in confusion. "What are you talking about?" An alluring look from Lloyd brought understanding though and the man shifted uncomfortably. "Here?"

"Why not?" Lloyd asked with puzzlement. He stroked a few loose wisps of Yuan's blue hair from his face and smiled. "It'll be interesting to try something different."

"Interesting? More like..." Lloyd shot him a glare that made him change direction. "Er, more like...positively sensuous!" That seemed to satisfy the boy and Yuan sighed in relief. "Are you sure we won't get caught? We're supposed to be back before sundown."

Lloyd started to undo his own shirt to let out the heat he was accumulating and looked around. "They aren't gonna catch us," he reassured Yuan. "We're on our break after all, we should be allowed to do whatever we want."

"Yeah, until it's time to go back and get to work," Yuan bit his lip in worry but before he could continue, Lloyd kissed him passionately in silence.

"Since when are you so reluctant about this type of thing? Just let things happen. If we get caught, we get caught." He began to unbutton Yuan's shirt and kissed him again to cease any further arguement. "After all, turning me down would be a pretty insensitive thing to do."

- Intermission - (plays elevator music with killer saxophone solo like on the weather channel)

The fiery sun was well below the ocean by the time they were done, and twilight was upon them, an eerie darkness prevailing the sky. The gentle wind from earlier had turned to a threatening cold, and the rolling waves had become more fierce. Snowy stars dotted the sky that the exhausted couple looked up at.

Panting heavily, Lloyd turned over to face the ocean. "You know...even if it's cold, I wanna go swimming right now."

Yuan sat up and pushed his disheveled hair back, breathing deeply. "Well...that's a...pretty ridiculous thing to want to do."

Still, Lloyd stood and offered a hand to Yuan. "Come on, it'll be refreshing! We need to rinse off the evidence anyway, and the sand's all sticking to my uniform." Yuan made a face at the scratchy substance that he'd been on and took Lloyd's hand.

The water was bitterly frigid and the blowing wind didn't do much to help it. "It's freezing cold!" Yuan complained. "Refreshing, yeah right..."

Lloyd looked across the midnight blue ocean and splashed the glacial water in his messy hair. "Yeah, it feels good," he said absently, still staring beyond the sea. Yuan approached him slowly and hugged him.

"What are you looking at?" he asked, trying to make something out in the blackness.

"Nothing, just...thinking. I space out all the time, sorry," the brunette replied with a simper. "Yuan...I really love you."

Slightly taken aback, Yuan released his hold on his partner. "Uh...I know. I love you too. ...Is something wrong?"

"No," Lloyd felt something in his chest and struggled to hold his tears back. A sound in Yuan's voice made him feel heavy inside and he could barely speak. "I just...I don't even know why I'm crying, but I...want you to know that I'll always love you." Despite the smile he held on the outside, he felt somewhat broken inside, something he couldn't describe.

"Lloyd...it's okay. Whatever you're upset about, it's going to be okay. Now let's get going before you get hypothermia." Yuan led Lloyd out of the icy ocean and wiped his tears away. "Come on, cheer up. You cry too much, you know that?"

"I'm...sorry." The boy's voice quivered but he seemed to be over what he was sad about. "I just spend too much time thinking of depressing thoughts. Like being seperated from you."

"Why would that happen?" Yuan asked, feeling a dread about Lloyd's protection all of a sudden. "Is something going-"

"It's okay, we can talk about it later. Right now, we gotta get back to the café! They're probably worried about us." Lloyd started running, but Yuan dragged behind him slowly. "Hurry up, Yuan! I'll race you!"

"No...I'm tired," he complained, hanging his head. "Can't we walk?"

Lloyd smiled slyly and fell back a bit. "Aww, what. Did I wear the great Yuan out?" Something in Yuan seemed to snap, and Lloyd smiled wider.

"You...just earned yourself a race!" The two took off back toward the café just as they had left, only this time without the radiant sun and warm air. The fire in their hearts burned much brighter after such an incedent, but they weren't finished yet.

Back at the cafè, Raine and Kratos were waiting outside, and Zelos and Sheena were by the shoreline. The six of them met up at the entrance to the café building.

"Where have you two been for the past hour and a half? We were worried to death and-" Raine continued her rant, but Zelos and Kratos were taking a more observant view of the situation.

"What were you two doing?" Zelos asked curiously.

"Just going for a walk. I guess we went further down the beach than we intended and had to walk all the way back. The sun was down before we knew it." Lloyd shrugged and turned to Yuan.

"Yep, and the tide got to our clothes when we took them off to go swimming earlier." Yuan shook his head sympathetically. "Pity, really."

"You don't exactly look like you were walking the whole time," Kratos pointed out, implying their out of breath status and ruffled appearance.

"Oh, we raced back. I forgot. Didn't you see us coming?" Lloyd felt his heart rate increase in fear that they were about to be found out, since their relationship had been a secret from day one.

Yuan stepped in front of Lloyd protectively and looked Kratos in the eye. "It's really none of your business how far out we went or if we ran or walked back. Hell, we could've skipped back and it wouldn't make a difference. What's important is that we're back safely, and you can rest assured that Lloyd will be safe any time that he's with me." He went inside in a hurry and left Lloyd to face everyone on his own.

Thankfully, Raine, Sheena, and Kratos retreated back inside. Zelos, however, gave Lloyd a suspicious look before following them indoors. Lloyd let out the breath he was holding and after a while of recovering, entered the building.

--------

The brunette knocked lightly on Yuan's door and came in. "That was close, huh?" he said when he saw the man laying on his bed in exhaustion.

"Yeah, it'll be fine though. I told Kratos off, so he should leave us alone. If he knows what's good for him." Yuan leered at the wall as if it were the mercenary himself, then turned to Lloyd. "See you tomorrow?"

Lloyd smiled and looked down at the shoddy floor. "Yeah, good night." He gave Yuan a small peck on the cheek and headed for the door. "And Yuan? ...Um...I-"

"If you're going to tell me you love me, I already know," Yuan offered with an adoring smile. "Now get some sleep."

The boy nodded and finally tore himself from the room, walking slowly down the hall as if trying to stay as close to Yuan as possible. Sighing, he entered his own room and collapsed on his bed. "Yuan, if you would just listen to me, I would tell you something. Something you don't already know." He rolled over and closed his eyes.

"You...idiot."

He's always calling Yuan names isn't he? Well, that chapter was kinda pointless, save for the last part. Who thinks they know what Lloyd's going to tell Yuan?! And what was he crying about in the ocean? I used to do these question closures all the time in my last story. Anyway, please review, and only 2 chapters to go! And that wasn't very Mature rated was it? I skipped the carnage. :P

Nakoya