This was a plotbunny that wouldn't leave me alone, so I started writing it. The next chapter of In Between will be on its way shortly; I had it posted, but I took it down because I had written too much of it too late at night, and it needed some serious revision. That will hopefully happen soon, possibly today. In the meantime, enjoy the first chapter of this much shorter fic! (Probably about six or seven chapters.)
This first chapter is really just the prologue, explaining how the whole situation got set up, which is why it seems a bit rushed. The other chapters will be somewhat longer. Basically, the idea is that Zelos and Kratos end up on a journey with Lloyd and Colette, and have to learn to live with each other's presence. Fortunately, living in such close company with people is a good way to get to know what they're really like, and pretty soon these two will settle down and be civil to each other. Then, the fun begins. The focus of the story is on Kratos and Zelos; other pairings are mostly used to move those two closer, such as going off together in order to give Lloyd and Colette time alone, or Zelos walking in on a scene with Kratos and...er, but that's for later. Just a couple of hints as far as what you have to look forward to.
It was a sunny midsummer day in Iselia and the surrounding forest. The sun was climbing toward its zenith, birds were singing, and Lloyd Irving was eating breakfast. Tomorrow was the big day; he would be leaving on the next stage of his journey, to travel the world in search of Exspheres, alongside Kratos and Colette. He was a bit nervous, and a lot excited, to be going on a new adventure. Right now, however, he was mostly still waking up, despite the late hour.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the front door. Blinking a bit as it penetrated the sleep-haze around his mind, he rose to see who it was. He moved to the door and peered out the window; cornflower-blue eyes set in a pale face framed by flame-red hair grinned back at him. Surprised, he opened the door and stepped through. "Zelos, hi!" he greeted his friend, "What are you doing up and about so early?"
Zelos raised an eyebrow, although his grin didn't falter. "What do you mean, 'early', Lloyd? It's almost ten!" he replied cheerfully.
"I know! It's before noon, and you're already dressed and out of the house!" Both of them laughed.
"Not like you're one to talk, bud," Zelos teased, "I'll bet you're still eating breakfast."
Lloyd laughed sheepishly, "Actually, I am. You wanna come in and have some?"
"I ate before I left, but don't let that stop you, bud. Little boys need their strength to grow big and strong like me, after all!" Zelos struck a ridiculous pose. Lloyd punched him in the shoulder, and they headed inside, still laughing.
"So," Lloyd said as he sat back down to his breakfast, "what brings you here? I figure if this is just a visit, you'd have waited till later in the day, right?"
"Um, right, yeah. I wanted to talk to you about the new journey you're going on." Zelos looked just the tiniest bit apprehensive as he sat down across from Lloyd.
"Sure, yeah. What's up?"
"Could I, like, tag along with you?" Zelos was clearly trying to act more casual than he felt. He was a bit nervous about if Lloyd refused; Zelos didn't deal well with rejection. He needn't have worried, of course.
Lloyd grinned at him, a bit surprised, "Hey, that'd be great! But…aren't you needed in Meltokio?"
Zelos grinned back, relieved. "Naw," he said, "They actually told me to make myself scarce. Seems they don't want such a prominent symbol of the old Church to be in the public eye while they're doing all their reforms and stuff. There's gonna be a lot of upheaval, and they need to make sure the people will turn to the government and not the old Church for support; and with the Pope out of the way, it makes me the highest ranked Church symbol in Meltokio. So they need me to keep away for a while, and I can understand that, but I don't want to just sit around doing nothing while the world needs help rebuilding. So I figured I'd come along and help my bud out!"
Lloyd's smile got even wider, "That's a great idea! It'll be fun to have you along. Are you packed yet?"
Zelos' eyes widened, "Um, no…when are we leaving?"
"I'd planned to leave from New Palmacosta around two o'clock tomorrow. Will you be able to make that?"
The former Chosen's eyes got even larger. "If I start packing and getting things set up right now? I think so. But if that's the case, I really need to get going." He rose, "I'll see you tomorrow, then!" That said, Zelos headed for the door.
"Bye, Zelos!" Lloyd called after him, and a moment later, Zelos was on his Rheaird, headed back to Meltokio. He hummed a cheerful song as he flew; life was good.
As Lloyd finished his breakfast, he had a sudden thought. "He does know that Dad and Colette are coming with us…doesn't he?" he mused to himself. Then, shrugging, he turned back to his meal. There wasn't anything he could do about it now.
The next day at one, Zelos was standing on the New Palmacosta docks, watching the workers bustle about repairing the city. It had rebuilt even faster than Luin had, and everywhere Zelos looked, he could see the reason; the logo of the Lezareno company decorated over half of the supply boxes, and most of the workers' uniforms. Regal was putting all of Lezareno's vast resources to work in the revitalization effort; most of these people, Zelos knew, had once worked in the Exsphere mines, which had of course been shut down. Rebuilding gave them job security for quite a while, and was much safer than their old jobs; they were all so grateful and happy that they cheerfully worked extra hard.
As Zelos was musing on the business strategies of Lezareno, Lloyd arrived. "Hey, Zelos!" he called out, "What are you doing here so early?"
"Hey, bud. I wanted to come and get the ship prepped for you as thanks for letting me come along, so I got here early…but then, I realized I didn't know which one was yours." He grinned sheepishly.
Lloyd smiled at him, "Well, thanks for the nice thought, anyway. And you can still help me get it ready now."
Just then, Colette ran up behind Lloyd. "Oh, am I late? I'm sorry!" she said. Then, seeing Zelos, she cried, "Zelos, hi! Are you coming with us?"
"Oh, you're coming along, too, Colette? This is gonna be fun! I promise not to get in the way of you two lovebirds," Zelos told them with a wink, laughing at their twin blushes. "Well, then, Lloyd, lead the way!"
They got on the ship, and Lloyd assigned them all tasks to make the small ship ready to get under way. Zelos had finished his, and was looking for Lloyd to see if the others were done as well. "Yo, Lloyd!" he called out, "I'm done here!" Hearing no response, he looked around, "Where is he?"
Suddenly, a familiar deep voice came from behind Zelos. "What are you doing here?" it asked.
Oh, no. No, no, no. This is not happening. I'm having a nightmare. "I'm traveling with Lloyd and Colette," he replied, turning slowly to face Kratos, "And you?" Maybe he's just here to see his son off?
Kratos' eyes narrowed a bit, "…The same."
Just then, Lloyd arrived. "Oh, hi, Dad!" he said cheerfully, "Good, now that you're here, we can get going!"
Kratos and Zelos both turned to Lloyd. Two voices spoke in unison, one indignant, the other mildly irritated, saying, "You didn't tell me he was coming!"
"Well, Dad, Zelos only joined yesterday, there wasn't really time to say anything to you or Colette. And Zelos, you didn't ask if anyone else was coming with us; I thought you knew. Anyway, we're ready to set sail, so let's go! Dad, you can help me out, since Zelos did the setup stuff."
As the other two left, Zelos sighed and shook his head, with a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. Fate hates me. There's no other explanation.
Poor Zelos. Please review! Oh, and I realize that a couple of scenes here might be interpreted as kind of Zelos/Lloyd, but that's not the intention; Zelos just really cares what Lloyd thinks of him, because Lloyd was the first person to befriend him for himself instead of his title or reputation. It's more of a brotherly thing, although that's not quite the word either.