title: reconciliation
rating/headsup/spoilers: pg / shonen-ai if you squint. (in any case there's more than one kind of love.) / yggdrasil's full identity
characters: genis, yggdrasil, zelos

summary: "...No," Genis murmurs, not sure if he means no or not now or not anymore, and wondering if it matters. (It's not love.)

. o .

reconciliation

. o .

He is still shaking.

From fury, from fear, from the crackle of dark magic still in the air that should have killed him. In this moment, everything is sideways; even the pipes in his hand have betrayed him. It's a cruel trick. It must be. He cannot reconcile the gentle friend whose trust and similar battles endeared him so quickly with the coldly graceful deity. Monster. Angel?

He's no longer sure which suits the man that saved his life, and knows it should worry him more than it does. Should concern him that Yggdrasil's words, his actions, moved him at all. But he is young and lost and scared, and he wants his friend back - Mithos cared, Mithos listened - and he knows that Lloyd means well and is as sensitive as a brick, but what kind of friend hardly checks twice when their friend's life was barely saved, and by an enemy at that?

He supposes he should be proud of their confidence.

He understands their concern for the Chosen. He is not blind. Colette's life is simply more valuable than his own.

But he wonders, anyway, what it means that the last person to look at him with desperate concern is the person they are trying to stop. And that he owes the boy that the man still might be his life.

So he thinks, as he finds his feet and glares at the other Chosen, whose gaze is both curious and calculating, that even if Yggdrasil is the reality, there must be at least a little of Mithos – a little light, a little hope – left in the angel. Genis slips the panpipes into a pocket with trembling fingers, and hopes with a quiet desperation that -

"Y'all right, brat?" Zelos.

"Fine," Genis retorts.

"You're shaking. But, whatev." Zelos tosses his hair. "Brat, I don't even wanna know why he saved you, but don't expect it to happen twice. You're not a stupid kid, but love - heh."

The redhead's eyes are on Genis' pocket, and Genis protests. Quietly. "It's not -"

Zelos arches an eyebrow. "Isn't it?" He saunters off to drape his arms around Colette's shoulders and tease the blonde, who blushes bright pink.

"No," Genis murmurs, not sure if he means no or not now or not anymore, and wondering if it matters.

He is still alone. He is still shaking.

. o .

( this is no modern romance )

. o .

. o .

sabe's scribbles: written for empatheia, who rocks, and keeps challenging me. & hearts, girl. Theme was "lovers in a dangerous time" by the Barenaked Ladies, which is an amazing song and if you don't know it already, what are you waiting for? Haha, sorry. Also inspirational was TV on the Radio's cover of "Modern Romance," which is where the epigraph is taken from. I hope that you enjoyed the moment above; thoughts are always appreciated!

disclaimer: ...of course, the characters and world continue to belong to NAMCO.