A/N: Well…I really didn't expect to find myself adding any more fics to this collection, but I guess you can't tell your muse what to do – regardless of how much coffee and biscuits you feed her. In defiance of a cold autumn, here's Lloyd and Presea enjoying a lazy spring day. Hope you enjoy!
Almost as soon as the last snow of winter had melted, spring exploded across the land; passing through veins under the earth and leaving blossoming life in its wake. The empty sky, bright blue with the sun's undivided attention, allowed a glorious warmth to descend with the afternoon, and the occasional gentle breeze was heavy with the sweet smell of pollen.
Presea gazed around her in wonder as she settled amongst the short grass near the river, putting down the basket full of the fruit she and Lloyd had spent the morning picking. It was a truly beautiful location; long columns of trees and bushes, rich with their first harvest of spring, decorated both
sides of the river, hugging its gentle curve, and the sounds of birds and other animals carried lazily across the air. Removing her boots, Presea shifted a little closer so her legs could hang over the bank into the warm, refreshing water, and plucked a knife and small piece of wood from the basket.
She turned the wood over in her hands for a few moments, admiring how the partly carved contours and natural grooves shimmered silver with the sunlight. Soon the it would be an Iselian Marsh Falcon. Ever since Lloyd had pointed one out to her near the town Presea had become fascinated by the bird and the legend surrounding it. They were quite rare and apparently, according to Iselian folklore, seeing one brought the witness a week of good luck, and Presea hoped that – by making a charm of one – some of that luck would be transferred to owner of the wooden replica. She had only started carving four days ago, but progress had been good and she guessed that it would only take a few more until it was complete.
A splash of water nearby indicated that Lloyd had resurfaced, and Presea looked up with a smile to watch the young man swim towards her location.
"Man, this is great," he laughed happily, and flicked a few beads of water at Presea. "You sure you don't wanna come in for a swim?"
"Negative." Presea inclined her head towards the wood sat in her lap. "I shall never complete this if you keep distracting me with such pleasant sounding offers."
Lloyd grinned and pulled himself onto the bank. "Ah well, you've always got tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow, or even the day after that if you wanted. There's no deadline with these sorts of things."
Presea laughed. "That is why the handmade gifts you make are always late," she pointed out, gazing across at Lloyd. Like the sun that shimmered silver on the wood, the droplets of water glistened beautifully on his toned body. As he sat down beside her, the young man realised he was being watched.
"What's up?" he asked.
Presea met his gaze and smiled demurely. "Nothing; I was admiring how attractive your body is."
Lloyd blushed visibly. "Hey, you can't go saying stuff like that without warning," he cried. "You'll make me embarrassed."
Presea laughed, happy that there were things she could now say without blushing, but which caused Lloyd to do so. "It was a compliment, please take it as such."
Lloyd was silent for a moment, and then he smiled. "Well, I'll have to return the compliment at some point," he replied, leaning across to kiss her. "Maybe later when we get back to – "
Presea slapped him gently on the arm, feeling her face glow. In the end, Lloyd always won when it came to making the other embarrassed. The young man laughed at her ashen expression and looked down at the wood.
"Hey cool, you still working on that? What's it gonna be?"
Presea looked across and flicked him gently on the nose. "Be patient love. You will find out when it's finished." She planned to give the charm to Lloyd once it was completed, so she didn't want to spoil it by telling him what it was.
Lloyd smiled at the rebuke. "All right, all right," he said, lying down and resting his head on Presea's lap. "Wish I had remembered to bring mine."
"Yes. I am looking forward to seeing it when it is completed. If it ever is," she added with a laugh.
Lloyd stuck his tongue out at her. "It'll be done soon ma'am," he replied. "Y'know, when you think about it, it's quite cool that we've got things like this in common – the carving and stuff."
Presea nodded as she shaved a thin sliver of wood away with her knife. She had often thought about that, and it warmed her to know that Lloyd did as well. "Affirmative," she replied, "It is like we are" –
she sought out the right words – "friends, as well as lovers."
"Yeah, that's a really cool way of putting it." Lloyd looked up at her and smiled. It was such a gentle and beautiful smile that Presea felt an incredible yearning to embrace the young man tightly and not let go. She put aside the knife for a moment so she could stroke his brow with her hand. The action was brief, but – like many of them – it's meaning was clear. I love you, it said.
Lloyd lay silently for a moment, looking up at the sky. "These days are the best," he said eventually. "We've done absolutely nothing today, but it feels like we've done everything."
Presea resumed her carving. "I know what you mean. The nature of spring has allowed us to spend so much time in this manner. This morning when I woke I actually had to remember what day it was."
Lloyd closed his eyes. "Yeah," he agreed sleepily. "Wasting time is much better when you're doing it with someone else. Especially when that someone's you," he added, nestling his head more comfortably into her lap.
Presea smiled at his words, and plucked a stray shaving of wood from his hair. "Days spent with you are never wasted," she replied contentedly.
A/N: Cheers for reading. Incidentally, I've a few more ficcies planned for this collection, so check back once in a while, 'k?