Disclaimer: Own this I do not. Dash my hopes the 'disclaimer' does.
A/N Hehehe… Fluff time!! Also, sorry about the long delay. Pitiful excuses can be found at the bottom. Please forgive me...
Convalesence
Zelos wasn't sure how long he'd been awake, but it didn't really matter. He'd been watching Lloyd sleep the entire time. So relaxed and peaceful, Lloyd's sleeping countenance was breathtaking in Zelos' eyes.
"Mmm…" Lloyd's chocolate brown eyes slowly flickered open. "Morning, Zelos…"
"Morning, Lloyd." Zelos brought his face forward and ghosted a kiss on Lloyd's lips.
"I'm still dreaming," Lloyd mumbled, burying his face against Zelos' shoulder. "I messed up… lost you. Don't know where to look…"
"Uh-uh. You found me," Zelos made Lloyd look up. "You found me. I'm right here; you're holding me."
More alert now, Lloyd began blinking and sat up, pulling Zelos with him. "I found you…" he repeated. "I don't ever want to lose you again. I couldn't sleep well; I'm already used to you being right here, it seems."
Zelos grinned wickedly. "I'll bet I know a few things about sleeping here with you that you'll never 'get used to.'" Before Lloyd could react, the redhead leaned over and kissed the pulse point on the shorter man's neck. Soft whimpers met Zelos' ears as he pulled away.
"Breakfast time, Lloyd. We wouldn't want Seles walking in on us again, now would we?"
Lloyd let out a soft growl of frustration. "Not really… can't we just lock the door?"
Zelos laughed and slid out of bed, tugging Lloyd along as they went. "I want to check in with Orochi; Sheena said that he'd have information for us today."
Lloyd immediately snapped into a serious expression. "Right. Hopefully they'll have figured out who was behind the kidnappings by now."
"I hope so too… but I doubt it. Those people at the facility had to be, if nothing else, fanatics. To be able to willingly…" Zelos trailed off as his mind recalled exactly what he'd been through in the past few days. It wasn't until Lloyd had him in a tight embrace and sat them both on the bed that it even registered that he'd begun trembling. "Oh goddess…" he mumbled. "They said we're evil because we're angels and… with the whole 'origins of the Exsphere and Cruxis Crystal' being what it is…"
"No! No you aren't evil, Zelos. You're sweet and kind with a rather perverted sense of humor, and you are definitely not evil." Lloyd's fingers combed through Zelos' long locks as he rocked them slowly.
The door squeaked open and Seles and Genis peeked in. "You two aren't doing anything indecent in here, are you?" Seles demanded, completely ignoring the bright-embarrassed flush that appeared on the half-elven boy's face. "'Cause, after the past few days, I guess this is the only time I can't get ticked off if you are."
"Hey!" Zelos turned his face so that he could see the door without having to move away from Lloyd. "What happened to you being embarrassed about walking in on us?"
"Well… I suppose if you two were actually doing anything indecent, I'd freak out and run around the Inn while screaming about never being scarred for life and how my mind will never be clean again… but you two are actually kind of cute together. So it doesn't bug me so much anymore. Besides, joking about you two makes Genis' face turn the same shade as a tomato."
"I knew that, deep down, you had the same wacky sense of humor as me!" Zelos crowed. "I just knew it!"
Reluctantly releasing Zelos, Lloyd stood up again and made a shooing motion. "Alright, alright. We'll meet you two in the common area for breakfast. Now, let us get dressed, won't you? I don't particularly want a group of angels and ninjas know what I wear to sleep in."
Laughing happily, Seles backed away, still ignoring Genis' mortified mumbles, and shut the door. Zelos, grinning like a loon, let out a happy giggle. "Seles really is trying for me, isn't she? Even with the past few days counted, this has got to be the best few weeks of my life. We're finally dating and Seles definitely doesn't hate me…"
"With any luck, it'll only get better from here," Lloyd agreed. "Though, I definitely could have done without the kidnapping. I've never felt so helpless… not even when we were on the journey to regenerate the world."
Zelos didn't know what to say to that, but he felt his heart lurch guiltily. Even knowing what happened wasn't his fault, he hurt at the thought of Lloyd hurting. Wrapping his arms around Lloyd, he kissed the shorter man as thoroughly as possible before dropping his arms to the side and backing away. "Let's get dressed, then."
-=-=-=
The Inn was filled with angels. Many had their wings out and a few were staring longingly out the windows at the darkened sky. It was going to rain soon and none wanted to be caught in the storm.
There was one, however, that was ignoring the bad whether. Dhaos was sitting at the couch with Seles on one side and Genis on the other. Both wore rapt expressions and were begging him for more stories.
"Hi again, Dhaos," Zelos said quietly, sitting on the armrest of a nearby chair while Lloyd settled into the chair.
"Well… if it isn't the brave little Chosen," Dhaos smirked as he looked between the two Regeneration heroes on the chair. "Hmmm… no wonder you were so certain that there'd be a rescue."
"Lloyd, this is Dhaos… Dhaos, this is my boyfriend, Lloyd."
"You're the one who contacted Kratos on Dherris Kharlan," Lloyd smiled. "Thank you."
"The Chosen opened my door, but they'd put him on the meds and he couldn't go any further. I went to the comm system and the Lords of Cruxis took it to you who saved us all: group effort."
Zelos had turned away at the mention of what he'd gone through to stare out the window like the other angels. Then, with a shake of his head, he brought his attention back to the others. "Where's Colette? I thought she'd come to this Inn, too."
"The little blonde Chosen of Sylvarant?" Dhaos clarified. "Uh… Damia mentioned her and a pink haired chick with a wicked looking ax leaving in the middle of the night. I think she mentioned a note… I'll go find her and bring her over." Dhaos rose gracefully to his feet and walked off.
"I like him," Seles said after a moment. "I like him a lot. He was telling us all these stories about how Tethe'alla was two-hundred years ago."
"Some were really funny," Genis agreed. "But others… I don't think he likes humans much."
"Not surprising, considering why most people joined Cruxis," Zelos stuck his hand into his pocket and drew out a green crystal. "They're going to ask to see our wings, Lloyd. They're going to want to go back to Dherris Kharlan, but they won't ask for help doing that unless they know we're angels too."
"Why won't they stay, Zelos?" Lloyd asked quietly.
"Because now they know what Kratos and Yuan already knew. This world isn't their home anymore. People are afraid of angels and frightened people are easily manipulated." Zelos wrinkled his nose; "ugh… and here I go being serious. This is just wrong…"
Lloyd laughed and tugged Zelos into his lap. "So, what happened to breakfast?"
Tucking his Cruxis Crystal back into his pocket, Zelos happily leaned against Lloyd's chest and then reached out with his left arm to snag his sister's hand with his own. "I think we missed it… and Colette, too."
"I wonder why they just left without seeing us?" Genis mumbled, his face falling.
"Colette seemed freaked out by something specific that happened at that place," Seles offered. "Maybe Presea thought it would be better to get Colette as far away from here as possible."
"Presea probably took her to Ozette. There are a lot of people there now; the reconstruction recently began," Genis offered. "I guess we'll have to visit with them later."
"So you've decided to come with us?" Lloyd asked; a grin lit up his face. "That's great!"
"Well, somebody has to keep Seles from being a holy terror and since you two are a bit wrapped up in each other right now…" Genis flushed and shrugged. "Besides, I miss getting to travel. Raine and I were going to do that, but we just stopped moving around after we reached Mizuho."
Dhaos walked back up, dragging a brunette angel behind him. "Damia, don't you have a letter for these ever so helpful people."
"I only help angels."
"And you told an angel you'd deliver her letter, so stop whining and hand over the note," Dhaos commanded, his eyes narrowing in irritation. "You aren't normally this whiny."
"I'm not whiny!" Damia snapped. "I refuse to hand this over to inferior beings, though."
"They defeated Lord Yggdrasill," Dhaos pointed out. "They aren't inferior. Just… magically handicapped."
"Someone forgot to tell her about the handicapped access ramps," Zelos quipped, once more pulling out his Cruxis Crystal. Regretfully pulling himself back onto the armrest, he swapped his Exsphere for the green crystal in his hand. Feathers and light swirled around him for a moment and then his orange wings shimmered into being before unfurling. "Don't be so quick to judge us, Damia," Zelos smirked at the surprised look on the angelic woman's face.
There was a faint pause and then, grudgingly, Damia pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket. Pausing, for dramatic effect, she finally handed the letter to Zelos and turned in order to huff off. She didn't get far, though.
What everyone, except Zelos, had missed during the exchange was the look of irritation on Lloyd's face. "So, what are your plans now, Dhaos?"
"Well, most of us want to go back to Dherris Kharlan, but the transporter in the Tower wreck doesn't reach that far." Dhaos answered. He pointedly ignored Damia, who was drifting back over with a curious expression.
"I can help with that. Origin entrusted me with the Eternal Sword; I don't think he'd mind too much me using it to send a few dozen angels back to Dherris Kharlan." Lloyd was clearly waiting for something and, as Zelos saw the hesitation on Dhaos' face, it became apparent what the brunette was seeking.
"I would not mind your help," Dhaos finally admitted. "There are others who will not accept anything from a non-angel."
"I am an angel," Lloyd stood, the attention of every person in the Inn turning to him. Their superior hearing had allowed them to hear the declaration.
And then Lloyd's crystal began to glow and change. Normally it was red, like most Exspheres. But this crystal was different just like its owner. The color twisted and the red bled away to reveal a sky-blue. Feathers began to swirl around him as his gorgeous wings appeared, fully stretched out to reveal their long span.
Retracting his own wings, Zelos tilted his head and grinned as he stared at Lloyd. "I think you've stopped the crowd."
Dhaos snickered and glanced around the Inn. "Indeed. I don't think there will be any problems accepting your help, Lloyd Irving."
Lloyd's wing's blinked out of existence. "I'm more than happy to help," he agreed. "I'm going to go see if I can track down some breakfast."
"Then I'll find Orochi," Zelos sprang to his feet. "Meet you back here?"
"Mmhmm."
When the two men disappeared and the conversation in the room slowly started up again. Dhaos shook his head, amused. "Those two have no idea what kind of effect they have on people, do they?"
"Probably not, though Zelos might come close," Seles agreed with a smile. "They could take the world by storm, couldn't they?"
"I don't get it," Genis muttered.
"Don't worry about it, then. You'll see, one day." Seles scooted over and prodded the kid in the shoulder. "After all, you're pretty smart for a short guy."
"I'm not short!"
"Are too…"
-=-=-=
"Orochi!" Zelos flagged down the haggard looking ninja. "Geez, you look like you could use some sleep."
"I could. I've been up all night overseeing at the complex by the lake and only just arrived here at the Inn." Orochi yawned and leaned against the wall for a moment.
"How many people were there, running that place, anyway?"
"Around a twenty-five, though there are more involved than just those working on site. Drug suppliers and some sort of oversight committee, for starters. Some of the doctors were the genuine article, too."
"Then what happened to their Hippocratic Oath?" Zelos grumbled, reaching up to rub his shoulder absently.
"We're not sure; they're all raving fanatics from the look of it. Besides, I think these are the sort who took the 'Hypocritical Oath.'" Orochi yawned again. "Sorry… anyway, some of them may have been brainwashed."
"Have you found out any possible identities of the people responsible?"
"No yet. We're putting our best on the job, Zelos, so try not to worry too much, okay? There are also a few locals who used to be Renegades that are offering their help." Orochi started to yawn again and Zelos waved him towards the front counter.
"Go get some rest. Just promise to let me know if you find out anything new, alright?" Zelos smiled as Orochi made the promise and then walked off in search of Lloyd and the promised breakfast.
In a nearby corner, an angel sat with his arms around his knees, his feet pulled in as close as possible. The man was rocking slowly, muttering to himself. "This isn't real. This isn't real. I'm not an angel; I'm a person. The crystal on my hand is a tracking device… it doesn't give me wings. I've just worked it into the hallucination. This isn't real…"
A second angel, a woman with tears running down her face, was whispering quietly to the muttering man. She was trying so hard to break through to him.
Shuddering, Zelos suddenly understood the overpowering need to leave that Colette must have felt. He tore himself away from the broken sight and spotted Lloyd carrying two plates covered with pancakes. Genis and Seles walked behind him, each carrying a glass of milk.
"Breakfast is served," Lloyd chirped.
Brightening, Zelos took one of the plates and walked with the others back to the area where they'd been sitting earlier. "Orochi told me that they haven't found out who's in charge of what happened yet, but they're working on it. Some ex-Renegades have shown up to help, too, so we'll probably find out something new soon. Meanwhile, you should pin down a date to send the angels back to Dherris Kharlan."
"Dhaos seems to have taken charge of the others. We can talk to him some more later." Lloyd produced some silverware from somewhere and handed over a knife and fork to Zelos.
"Sounds like a plan."
-=-=-=
"Zelos, can I see your wings again?" Seles asked.
Startled, Zelos shrugged. "Sure." Within moments his orange wings unfurled. The feathers glowed slightly in the dim light of the room he and Lloyd were sharing at the Inn.
"How… when…?" helpless, Seles trailed of and simply stared.
"I was approached by Yuan about a week before I met Lloyd. For some reason, I've never found out what, Yggdrasill wanted me to join Cruxis. Yuan, however, made a secondary offer: that I join the Renegades. He never specifically asked me to spy or anything… he just asked me to do my best with whatever situations came my way.
"Then I met Lloyd. He never asked anything of me at all. I pushed my way into the group, made a horrid first impression, and tried to turn them over to the Renegades the earliest chance I had. It was pretty obvious I set them up, but… they thought I was just being clumsy. They never suspected that…" Zelos trailed off. "I think that was when I started rooting for Lloyd to win."
"Lloyd's a cool person," Seles said hesitantly. "I'm still not sure I'm comfortable with the idea that you're in love with him, though. The more time I spend around you two, though, the more I get used to it. He really loves you; he was frantic when you disappeared. So… even though I'm not yet accustomed to the idea of the two of you being… well… the two of you… I'm glad it's him."
Seles stood uncertainly, her face faintly red, and she stared at her feet. Abruptly, she leaned over and hugged Zelos before racing from the room.
Lloyd walked in, mere seconds behind Seles' exit, and fixed his gaze on Zelos. "Something wrong?"
"No." A smile lit up Zelos' face. "She approves of us," he practically sang. "She was all embarrassed from sounding sort of sentimental and ran off."
"Are you going after her?"
"Nah. I think she needs some space."
Shutting the door, Lloyd nodded. "I missed you at lunch."
"Sheena put in an appearance; I got caught up talking with her and Orochi. They have a few leads on who might have been supplying the drugs. They've sent a Renegade/Ninja team to go check it out. I bet Yuan would like to know his people are still working hard even though the organization is gone."
"I'll tell him when I contact Kratos tomorrow. That's when we're leaving to send up the angels to Dherris Kharlan." Lloyd sat down and leaned against Zelos' shoulder. "Why does everything have to be so… difficult? The world is reunited, the Yggdrasill Tree is flourishing, Martel is happy… so where did all of this trouble come from?"
Absently Lloyd reached over and began running his fingers through Zelos' wings.
A thrill raced through Zelos. "Umm… that's really… relaxing…" his blue eyes flickered shut.
"Relaxing, hmm?" Lloyd smirked deviously and sat up. He grabbed Zelos' shoulders and repositioned the redhead so that he was sitting with his back turned to Lloyd. Playfully, Lloyd began weaving his fingers in and out of the gorgeous orange feathers, sometimes reaching all the way forward to massage Zelos' back.
Groaning, Zelos scooted back and leaned forward until he was laying down on the edge of the bed.
"Can I take that to mean you like this?" Lloyd teased.
"Mmmm… yesssss…."
"Good." Lloyd paused and got up. "Wait just a second…" flipping the lock on the door so that no one could get in, he went back to Zelos. "Now we don't need to worry about any distractions…"
"Does this mean I get to have my wicked way with you?" Zelos teased, looking up from where he lay.
Sitting back down on the bed, Lloyd pushed his Chosen into the center of the bed and then straddled Zelos' hips when the redhead rolled over to face up. "Nope. This means that I get to have my wicked way with you."
A/N Alrighty… the long awaited chapter is here. And by long awaited, I mean... I kind of forgot to post anything for a long time because of High School and then College. I'm still in college, but I'm gonna try to at least finish this story. My roommate, Emcey_Squared, is a authoress as well and she's been badgering me to get back to work for a while. Since this chapter was almost done, I dusted it off, finished it, and now I'm posting it.
The scenes with the angels feels a little stilted to me… but I can't quite figure out how to fix it. I like writing Dhaos and Damia. They'll be in the next chapter and maybe one other, later on when everything is being wrapped up.
Up next: sending the angels to Welgaia and the quartet of travelers head to Luin in order to continue gathering exspheres while they await news on who orchestrated the abductions of the angels.