A/N – Hey guys. I should start by apologizing for how long it's been since I last updated this. Basically, right after I wrote the last chapter, I broke up with my long-term boyfriend and anything to do with romance was painful to think about/watch/read/draw. I never forgot about this story but I couldn't bring myself to continue it.
Now it's 9 months later, I'm with someone new, and I'm so happy that with him it feels like I'm living a fanfiction every day. This story is about to get a bit unpleasant so I didn't want to think those kinds of thoughts XD
Anyway, I recently got a review that reminded me people are still following and waiting for the next chapter, and it felt wrong to leave Reimi and Lloyd miserable so I'm going to try again to lead them to their happy ending. Hope this was worth the wait. There's still a good chunk of story to go so I estimate at least another 5 or so chapters are needed. Also, once again, my friend SmotherFate helped me with this. She is my motivation! Gooooo~
(Also, I got a question from 'LeafeonLover' about my Lloyd Dating Sim. You can find the link to play it on my tumblr! lloydart . tumblr . com (without the spaces)
Oblivious to the whirling storm of emotions her housemates were feeling, Elsa was the only one who had a sleep-filled night. But, since the next day was Sunday and she worked weekends, she headed out, went to work, and came back with no particular worries about them.
Entering the flat that evening with a shopping bag full of energy drinks, she opened the door, not surprised to find Reimi and Lloyd in their usual positions playing Crystal Chronicles. Reimi turned around and beamed at her when she walked in.
"Welcome home, Elsa!"
Elsa nodded and tipped an invisible hat to Reimi.
"How was work?"
"Same old same old."
Elsa meandered her way round the mess of wires on the floor to the small kitchen area and started putting her drinks away, placing the majority in the fridge, but twisting one open to have now.
"Amy out?" Elsa queried, surprised to see Lloyd and Reimi were being allowed to play in peace; Amy would usually sit close by, even if she didn't want to join in.
"I don't know," Reimi spoke, pausing the game worriedly. Lloyd looked up at the screen confused for a second, and then seemed to focus on the conversation. Reimi continued; "She hasn't come out of her room all day or responded when I knocked. Maybe?"
Elsa felt a slight twinge of worry.
"Hm, I should check on her."
Settling her can down, Elsa made her way back across the mess to Amy's closed bedroom door. She knocked and called out but again, no answer. Bending her head to the floor to try and look under it, she noticed a faint light was on, possibly Amy's phone or bedside lamp.
"Ammyyyyyy" Elsa intoned through the crack. The light flickered slightly but still no verbal reply. After another moment Elsa decided to yield. She had a suspicion of what was wrong but thought it best to query when they were alone.
"Shall I try phoning her?" Lloyd asked.
Elsa shook her head and returned to the kitchen. Reimi joined her, becoming slightly timid. "Do you think she's still mad that we went home without her?"
Elsa paused, surprised, wondering if Reimi had read her thoughts. "Well… You're a grown woman, Reimi. You can leave whenever you want. And Lloyd too…" she hesitated, and decided to keep the peace. "Though he does need supervision sometimes… he gets lost very easily"
Lloyd looked affronted. "That was one time!"
"She'll have college tomorrow," Elsa turned back to Reimi, ignoring Lloyd. "Let's try and talk to her then. I don't think she wants company at the moment," Elsa reclined on the couch. Why was it that she was surrounded by people who dealt with their feelings so poorly?
The rest of the night passed pleasantly enough. Reimi tried Amy's door again at dinner but still no reply.
She waited til the next morning, after both Reimi and Lloyd had left for work, to confront Amy. Pouring water into the kettle to heat up for a coffee, she began walking to her door, contemplating what to say to her friend, when suddenly the door creaked open. Amy emerged.
There were deep shadows under her eyes and she looked as though she'd been crying all night, judging from the redness of them.
"I was starting to worry you had died." Elsa exhaled in relief, a hand on her hip. "Are you okay?"
"I guess". Amy responded in a very un-Amy like way.
"…This is about Lloyd and Reimi isn't it."
Amy looked like she was about to say something but bit it back instead.
"Amy, you should just talk to him frankly and ask him how he feels. Stop hiding behind your actions. He's a guy," she rolled her eyes, "He finds it hard to read them."
"But what if… he says he likes… someone else."
"Well then, you'll just have to accept that and move on. But at least it's better than whatever this is,"
"What what is?" Amy snapped irritably, shrugging on a cardigan as she gave Elsa a look.
Elsa threw her hands up in exasperation. "This goddamn tension. It's so thick I can barely breathe some times! The sooner things are out in the open the sooner we can all get on with our lives,"
Amy gave her a cold stare. "I don't like how things are either Elsa. But this is my life, and I'm just doing what I think will make me happy,"
"Well, maybe you should also think about if you're making the people around you happy," Elsa continued.
"Likewise," Amy frowned, grabbing some yoghurt from the fridge. "And for your information, I'm going to tell him today, right now." She went back into her room.
"Good! Do that!" Elsa groaned as Amy slammed the door shut.
One thing was for sure, the next few days were not gonna be easy…
Amy hurriedly got dressed into smarter attire and dumped the college stuff out of her bag. She wasn't going today, this was more important.
Lloyd got off for lunch at one and it was only eight. Way too early. In fact he had only just left for work, but now that Amy had found her resolve she felt the need to move and was out the door before Elsa's cup of coffee had cooled.
The first half of Lloyd's day proceeded as normal. Wake up, travel to London, work the first part of his shift, get off for lunch. His mind was so focused on his usual routine that he didn't notice Amy pacing outside Starbucks for almost an hour before she eventually entered, just as the clock struck one. She seemed… different than usual. She wasn't smiling and her face was deadly serious.
"A-amy?" he stuttered, a bit taken aback to see her. "Are you okay? What happened yesterday? Are you hurt?"
She turned her eyes away for a second, then drew them back to his sharply.
"Can we take a walk?"
Her voice was fierce.
"Er, sure? Give me a moment," He hung his work apron over a rack behind the staff door, grabbed the wallet from his coat pocket, then joined her at the entrance.
Amy barely waited for him to catch up, exiting the shop and stomping slightly ahead. Lloyd jogged to catch up.
"Where are we going? Can't we talk inside?" He asked, a bit annoyed at her demeanour.
Amy didn't reply, she continued on for another minute or so then down a quieter street where there was no one in sight. She abruptly stopped and turned to face him.
Lloyd raised his eyebrows questioningly and waited.
Amy stared him down, then uttered the words she had longed to say for months. The words that came easy with other boys, but for some reason were like toffee in her mouth with Lloyd.
"I like you,"
She watched his expression carefully.
It became slightly more serious but made no other movement. The seconds dragged by before he finally replied with "I'm sorry,".
Her heart sank. It was what she had expected but still, it hurt a lot.
Amy looked down again, feeling tears well up inside. She felt Lloyd start to turn away and a burst of anger overtook her.
"What's wrong with me?!" She almost screamed.
Lloyd stopped and turned around, his face blank of emotion. "My heart already belongs to someone,"
"Reimi," Amy spat out. Lloyd's expression flickered into surprise for a second, but set back into seriousness.
"It doesn't matter who. Amy, I like you as a friend. I'm so thankful for you and the others, taking me in and helping me while I've been in this world, but that's the extent of my feelings. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to lead you on and I've tried not to. I have to get back to work now,"
Lloyd's heart pumped faster and faster as his legs took him away from Amy, away from the Starbucks and even further out of sight.
So that explained her weird behaviour all this time. There were moments where he really liked Amy, but shortly after them she would always get over-excited and become annoying and clingy. This was probably why.
He wandered around London for a while, turning his phone off as he heard it chime with a text, and revelled in a brief moment of privacy.
Thinking back on the conversation with Amy, he wanted to run away. How would it be when he got home tonight?
He'd had girls approach him in the past and ask him on dates, mostly people who only knew him as the boy who had saved the world, but never someone he was already friends with. In his time travelling with Colette there were moments where he thought about them as a couple, but when they had briefly tried getting together, just after the world was regenerated, it felt so... wrong. Like kissing his sister. And the aftermath… The weeks and months after their breakup had been so hard, almost like starting their friendship from scratch. Eventually they returned to normal but Lloyd hadn't forgotten how difficult it could be. And Amy was so unpredictable and he lived with her. He couldn't go home just yet.
His thoughts turned to Reimi.
He supposed he hadn't exactly been subtle about his feelings. Amy had seen them, maybe Elsa too, but Reimi herself? It was hard to tell. He had only recently come to terms with them but he knew in his heart how he felt about her. It was like nothing he had experienced before.
He suddenly wanted to see her, talk to her, just be with her and forget everything else, just for a little while. He wasn't happy about how things went with Amy but if the truths were all coming out, maybe he should be brave and face his feelings as well.
Turning his phone back on, he saw the text was a spam message. Slightly relieved it wasn't from Amy and checked the time, realizing he had to head back to work. He would see Reimi later and ask her then.
It was evening.
Lloyd pushed the door open to a large empty room in Reimi's work building, the lights low and dim. He eagerly looked around at the huge open space full of aisles and aisles of red velvet chairs, all facing towards a vast, grand stage and a familiar figure.
She was arched over the piano; her face shone with grace, though her eyes wore a hardened sadness as if frustrated with her fingers as they danced over the piano keys.
A sombre melody, Lloyd contemplated, with the feeling of strained hope.
A slightly chilling and ominous piece…it was played perfectly. Then, unexpectedly, she pressed a wrong key and the ambience was broken.
Promptly followed by a dramatic and deep out of tune, 'bam!' that echoed throughout the hall.
Reimi was still for a moment, then hunched further over the piano, her hair covering her face as she rested her forehead on the black glossy wood of the piano's edge, letting her eyelids gently slide close.
She remained like that for a short time before gradually sliding off the stool onto the polished wood of the stage, positioning herself under the piano, lying on her back, one knee bent up. She stared straight ahead, looking up at the instrument that she'd come to know, her hair moving off her face and gently to the floor to reveal her features once again.
Even though the beauty of the scene took his breath away, it was slightly frightening, such unfamiliar mannerisms from someone who had begun to feel like home. That's what Lloyd thought as he watched her.
He couldn't bring himself to disturb her, so he found himself taking a seat.
Reimi's eyes closed again and her head turned to the 'audience', her eyes drifting across the room.
They discovered Lloyd's. Her gaze stayed on him, with the same tired expression, before she snapped wide-awake with awareness. Pushing herself up quickly, her head collided with the piano with a loud 'bang!'
"Reimi, are you alright?!" Lloyd called out, running down towards the stage.
"Owww…yeahhh-wait, no! Why are you here?" She blunders, all the while holding her head with both hands, looking down at him with bewilderment from her place under the piano.
"Well, it's really late so…" he mumbled trailing off then suddenly asked, "Where are all the people?"
"Oh…it's a Monday, practice night so no shows are performed, I stayed a little longer," Reimi clarified.
"Oh, I see." Lloyd nodded in understanding. Reimi had texted him earlier saying she wouldn't be able to go home with him tonight, but he had stuck around, his determination to talk to her far surpassing his hunger and want to return to the flat.
Reimi nodded as well and they were silent for a moment.
A few moments later, he smiled.
"Reimi… Did something happen?"
Reimi's smile didn't disappear but an obvious strain pulled her mouth back harder and her eyes didn't light up the way they usually did.
"Um, no, not really…haha, just practicing," She replied trying to sound oblivious/casual.
Lloyd looked away for a moment and then his eyes returned to hers with a soft smile, "Reimi, I know I'm not the smartest of people and I can't promise I can fix what's wrong but I'll definitely try so...can't you rely on me more?"
For once, Reimi's was the one who was dumbfounded, "What? Of- of course I can,"
"Then why are you holding back?" He questioned, taking a step forward. Reimi, for a second, thought he might be angry.
She looked at him a little stunned, then waved her hands in front of her and repeated, "It's nothing, it's nothing…"
"Your face doesn't say so," He said matter-of-factly.
Reimi couldn't help but sigh at his persistence and a sad smile adorned her lips.
"Lloyd…do you…do you like…do you think I'm a good pianist?" she apprehensively asked.
"Yeah, I love your piano," he stated simply. If it were anyone else, Reimi would assume they were lying but Lloyd was too unconsciously sincere for her to ever think that of him.
And though he said he loves her piano, Reimi blushed. It was the closest thing to a confession for her and if anything it made her even happier.
"…Reimi, what is it? Tell me," he pleaded.
Reimi pushed herself back onto the stage so she sat with her legs dangling over the edge.
"Today, today was my chance to prove myself…a well-known composer came to see the musicians practice…he's a friend of the director's and was assessing the orchestra for the day. And though I was scared, I was able to catch him before he left and asked him to listen to one of my songs… and he did." Reimi paused, and looked down at her knees.
"He said…he said it was very good-"
"That's great! But…why is that bad?" Lloyd conjectured.
"It's not. Of course I was over the moon… he then asked what music school I went to… but I never went to any special kind of school specifically for music. Just in the curriculum of the school and college I went to… when I told him that… the look of disappointment on his face… the look of-" Reimi took a breath to calm herself down, "He said that there's no way I could become a profession concert pianist with the type of education I have now. But I don't imagine myself having that kind of money for… for years… probably longer than that…and I won't have time to work so I'll also have to save enough for a year's amount of rent or longer!"
"Reimi… I'm sorry…" Lloyd looked down, as dejected as Reimi.
Reimi shook her head slowly but deliberately, "It's okay….it's okay…" She tried to convince herself more than him.
Everything was quiet until Lloyd brought his head back up.
"Reimi….I truly believe your talent is amazing and I can't believe that there's not going to be a chance for you to show that. Someone's going to find you, and not care about your grades. You just have to keep searching." He told her, voice full of determination and conviction, "So please Reimi, don't give up."
She looked at his face for a long instant, "Thank you, Lloyd," and smiled, serene, "Just hearing you say that, I feel a lot better," she placed her hands beside her, gripping the edge of the stage, "And anyway I wouldn't be me without a piano by my side," she chimed happily, however Lloyd was sure he still saw something sad in her eyes.
His stare became piercing and constant, like he was trying to see through her.
Feeling uncomfortable, her cheeks warming, she quickly spoke, "I think it's about time we head back…"
Taking the steps down from the stage, too flushed to meet eye contact she made her way past Lloyd assuming he'd think nothing of it and follow.
On the contrary, he suddenly gripped her shoulder tightly and asked "Are you sure you're okay?"
Their faces were inches apart, if that.
"Y-yes," but he didn't release her arm, and even though it was Lloyd, she felt… uneasy about the situation, though it quickly turned to shame for implying he could cause her any type of harm.
His face didn't look the same either, it looked frustrated… it was a not-quite-angry face that kept appearing and she noticed it was always aimed at her… she'd never seen him like this with Elsa or Amy…
'Is it me?' Reimi wondered dreadfully, 'Am I doing something to upset him?'
'…He's still staring at me,' she realized nervously,' I don't know what to say,'
"Don't," Lloyd started, his grip tightening.
"Lloyd?" She asked worriedly, looking up at him.
He looked at Reimi, then at his hand, "Sorry!" He hurriedly removed his hand from her shoulder.
Reimi didn't quite know what to say and an awkward silence fell over them. They found themselves standing for a while, looking anywhere but at each other.
Unable to help it, Reimi discreetly sneaked a glance at him and saw how sad and uncomfortable he looked.
"Are you okay Lloyd?" Reimi asked, nervousness flooding away as she notices the pinkness in his cheeks. She put her hand on his head.
"Woah! What are you doing?" he exclaimed, turning an even darker shade of pink,
"Checking if you have a fever," She laughed.
"No, I'm fine," He turned away. His courage to confess had been sliding away for awhile, and seeing her so down.
'Did I bother him again?' Reimi thought to herself, he seemed torn by some internal struggle.
"Listen…" Lloyd began. "I know this is sudden but, let's go away somewhere, just you and me,"
Reimi's eyes widened. "Wh-wh-wh,"
Lloyd felt a tremor of fear and hurriedly stuttered, "J-just for a day! I er, I've been thinking I really want to see one of this world's beaches and how similar they are to my own. I already asked Amy and Elsa, they didn't want to come and you're free right?"
"I-I… well, I do have some holiday time I could ask to take off, but… I don't have any of my stuff with me. We should head home first, pick stuff up, maybe head out tomorrow or this weekend even,"
"No, it has to be tonight," Lloyd panicked.
Reimi felt concern rise in her. "Did something happen? Are you really okay, Lloyd?"
"I've just… had a bit of a bad day,"
Reimi smiled. "Okay. I know just the place. Let's go,"
Together they left, chatting happily as they've always done, walking in-between the pews and down the aisle.
A/N – I hope that was worth the wait! I made the chapter extra long to compensate for the time it took. I might not be super fast at updating this but I'll try and do at least a chapter every 2-3 weeks! Currently taking art commissions to support myself so most of my time goes there.
I also watched Frozen for the first time during this fic's hiatus and now when I hear the name 'Elsa', I don't see my Elsa anymore! It's confusing! Haha