Annoyance

Colette walked past the crowds gathering at the stands nearby, keeping her eyes peeled onto the scene. It was past midday as she made her way toward the train when she turned her head. Unfortunately, she accidentally bumped into someone. Stopping in her tracks, she bowed her head. "I'm very sorry." she said, closing her eyes.

"It is alright." the voice said. She smiled, knowing that she was forgiven. "However, I have been waiting for quite some time, Chosen."

Colette gasped suddenly, looking up. She smiled at the teen that was standing in front of her. "Lloyd!" she said, "I did not know I had run into you." she looked at him in full view, noting his apparel. "Those clothes look really nice!" she said with a giggle.

"Well, what was expected? This is my proper outfit, or rather, uniform." he said, a smirk on his face. His eyes were narrowed slightly. "The one I wore during the Regeneration Journey was a ploy, after all."

"I see!" she said, clasping her hands together. "I'm so glad you came – I knew you would." she said, closing her eyes.

Lloyd coughed abruptly, startling Colette. He then closed his eyes, a light blush on his face. "Correction. I said that I may come, not that I will come." he replied, placing his hand onto his forehead. "It all depended on what Lord Yggdrasil said when I asked him for a break. I was lucky I caught him in a good mood."

"Oh…" she said forlornly, lowering her head. Quickly, however, she brought her head back up. "Do they know why?" she asked, tilting her head to the side.

"No." the teen responded swiftly, a frown on his face. "If either of them found out I was with you, I don't know what would happen. Dad may let it slide, but I doubt Lord Yggdrasil will be pleased. That's unless I manage to word it carefully."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"I'd have to say that I was trying to gain your trust again, and that it would lead to your eventual capture." Lloyd said, turning his eyes away. "It's the only way to prevent any kind of problems, in event they know what's going on."

Colette smiled back at him. "I see. Well, as long as you don't get in trouble over it…" she said, concerned. Her eyes shook slightly, filled with worry.

Lloyd gasped lightly, averting his eyes away from the girl. Why did she always have to do that? "You don't have to worry about it. And if Dad finds out, he wouldn't be too mad, just concerned. Now then," he said, trying to change the topic, "where would you like to go in the city?"

Colette looked thoughtful. "When we were here earlier, that, um," she began, closing one eye, "fun place! Yes, that fun place that we went to using the train. We were here before when we were looking for the Professor."

Lloyd chuckled. "You mean the amusement park. Alright, that's manageable. Let's go." he said, opening the train door for Colette. She bowed her head and thanked him, entering the train car. Lloyd then entered the car, closing the train car door behind him. "This is the part I hate the most." he said with annoyance, resting his head onto his hand.

Colette turned her head, surprised. This was her favorite ride in the entire city. "Huh? Why? I really like it! Especially when the water is all wavy." she said, giggling happily.

Lloyd mentally smiled; she truly was that innocent. "Well, when it starts going it is not bad, it's just the wait. They try to make sure at least half of the train cars are filled before they depart. Hopefully it will not take twenty minutes like the last time I was here…" he said, trailing off into his thoughts.

"Huh? You mean you come here often?" Colette asked, tilting her head in surprise. "I didn't know that you liked the rides too!" she said, smiling happily. "When did you come?"

Lloyd now knew he should have kept his mouth shut. But since now it was already out in the open, there was no point in keeping it a secret. Next time, he would have to watch his words. "Dad and I come here once a year." he said, turning his head to the side, the sea in sight.

Colette giggled softly, a huge smile on her face. "That's really neat!" she said, placing her hands onto her lap. "I would like to have come here that many times. This is such a fun place!" she said happily.

Lloyd weakly smiled back. "Heh. I see." he said, turning silent. He had to focus on remaining stoic. He had not realized that the train began its route to the park.

(--The Amusement Park…--)

The train jolted to a halt, shaking Lloyd out of his thoughts. "Oh, we are here already?" he said, opening the door and getting out. He held his hand out for Colette, who gladly thanked him after hopping out. "So Chosen, where would you like to go first?" Lloyd asked, watching as Colette looked around happily. She turned her head left and right rapidly. He found himself smiling slightly, though he quickly realized and hid it. He had to keep composure at all times. No matter what; he did not want to appear weak.

"Oh, there are so many to choose from!" she giggled lightly, pointing to the tea cups in the distance. "Can we do that one first, please?" she asked, looking up at him.

"It does not matter to me." Lloyd said, trying to maintain his stoic scowl and keeping his eyes narrowed. It was a bit tough, but he managed to contain it.

"O-Oh, okay…" Colette said, trying to keep her voice sounding excited. A slight frown was hidden from sight and her eyes half-closed. Was he not happy to be with her after all? Walking further in unbearable silence, she soon spotted the tea cups a little further up. "Um, do you mind that we are getting on that tea cup ride?" she asked with a weak smile on her face, though her excitement was slowly breaking through again. Those tea cups looked so cute! How could she remain sad when the cups were spinning, of all things?

"You do not have to ask, Chosen. If you want to ride it, we shall." Lloyd said, unintentionally placing his hand onto Colette's shoulder and a smile breaking through, if only temporarily. "Let's go get tickets." he said, leading Colette to the stand. "Two tickets." he said simply, placing the gald onto the counter.

The Altamira bunny pulled the gald off the counter, ripping a pair of tickets off the reel. She then placed a few gald pieces alongside them. "There you go, sir."

Lloyd looked at her with confusion as he pocketed the gald. "Why am I getting gald back?" he asked, raising his eyebrow.

The Altamira bunny simply giggled. "Cute couples get a discount. Company policy." she did not see the twitch in Lloyd's left eye. "And since you two are riding together, you get a discount for it."

Lloyd scoffed softly to himself. "We may be riding together, but we are not a couple. We are…friends." he said, shifting his eyes onto the girl to see her reaction. Luckily for him, she simply smiled back and giggled softly. She rocked back and forth lightly as she grabbed her ticket from Lloyd. "That is it." he said as he walked off toward the ride, having grown tired of the bunny's accusations. "Honestly, where did that ridiculous idea come from?" he grumbled to himself as he handed the ride keeper his ticket.

"Where would you like to sit, Lloyd? If you don't mind, may we ride on this one?" Colette asked, catching up with him; he merely shrugged.

"That is fine with me, Chosen." he said simply, opening the tea cup. He helped Colette settle herself down in her seat, fixing her seatbelt. Lloyd then sat down across from her, adjusting his seatbelt.

Colette looked away, finding that watching Lloyd caused her to blush. "L-Lloyd?" she asked, turning her attention onto Lloyd.

"Yes, Chosen?" he replied as the ride began. They were spinning around gently as Colette spoke up.

"Just for today… could you call me 'Colette'? Please?" she said no louder than a whisper. Luckily for her, the spinning tea cups barely made noise. Lloyd gasped lightly before lowering his head. "It's just…" she fell silent. She simply could not finish her sentence, too embarrassed at her current position. "I-I'm sorry, it was a silly question…" she said, looking at a quick view of the ocean.

Lloyd remained quiet as the tea cup continued to spin in a circle. What was he to do? He could not call her by name – it was too… personal. He was already in a bad situation, having confessed his slight feelings to her. Lloyd sighed as softly as possible; it was just for today, he figured. He could handle that. He hoped. "Alright… Just for today." he said, a light blush appearing on his face. He watched as the roller coaster flew down the tracks. He sort of hoped that Colette would ask to ride the coaster. It was secretly his favorite.

Lloyd suddenly snapped to attention as he heard Colette gasp lightly before smiling happily. She closed her eyes calmly. "Thank you, Lloyd. That makes me so happy." she said, placing her hands together. They remained silent for the rest of the ride, not sure of what to say. Soon, the cups came to a stop. The controller signaled that it was safe to get off.

Lloyd raised himself out of his seat, walking over to Colette and unbuckling her. "There you go," he paused uncomfortably, "Colette." he said, looking away as he handed her his hand to help her up. Was this a bad idea after all? He was starting to wonder.

Colette blushed once more, trying her best to hide it. "Thank you, Lloyd." she said with a smile, walking out of the cup. Lloyd led her out of the fenced area, holding the gates open for her. "Thank you again, Lloyd." she said, looking around for another ride. "Is there a ride that you would like to ride?" she asked, looking up to his face for a hint of an answer.

Lloyd simply shrugged. "It does not matter what ride we go on." he replied, turning his head toward the roller coaster. This was her day; he was not to interfere with it…

Colette shook her head. "Lloyd, it's okay. You don't have to worry about me not being happy." she frowned, placing her hands into his. "Please, if there is a ride that you would like to go on, let me know. I want you to be happy…" she said, her frown slowly lifting into a weak smile.

Lloyd sighed. He did not think that she would say that, but then again, maybe he did. He turned his attention onto the coaster, coughing weakly. He had to play it cool. "If you insist, Ch- Colette," he said, catching his slip-up, "if you do not mind, I would like to ride the roller coaster." he said monotonously, expecting to see Colette's face twist with nervousness.

Much to his shock, however, she simply smiled back. "Okay! Let's go!" she said. She led him to the counter. "Is this the counter for the roller coaster?" she asked the Altamira bunny, who giggled at the sight of the two teens.

"Yes, it is! Is it just the two of you?" she asked, who continued to giggle uncontrollably much to Lloyd's dismay. Lloyd merely rolled his eyes in annoyance, slamming the gald down onto the counter. "I take that as a 'yes.'" she said, shooting Colette a wink. "It's so nice to see young love. It just makes me squeal with joy!" she said, grabbing the gald.

Lloyd grumbled to himself. "Why must you assume that we are a couple simply because we are here together?" he asked, gritting his teeth and narrowing his eyes.

However, the bunny simply smiled. "Because you're holding hands, silly boy." she said, handing him two tickets and change for the ride. "There you go! Have fun riding the roller coaster!"

Lloyd took the items, his face in utter shock. They were holding hands? He looked down at his hands, spotting Colette's white-gloved hand in his hand. In shock, he released her hand from his own, a blush growing on his face. "L-Let's go, Colette." he said simply, pulling her to the train. He opened the door to the cart, allowing Colette to enter first before entering in himself. "I-I do not know if you would like this ride." he said, lowering his head to hide the slight guilt in his eyes. "Are you sure you do not mind riding it?"

Colette smiled weakly, still confused about the rush to the train. "It's okay. I don't want to be the only one to enjoy today, and I thought that-" she stopped as the train jolted and started to move up the track.

Lloyd turned his head toward Colette, trying to read her expressionless face; he saw her eyes and cringed. Why did he feel like he had done something wrong? He was just trying to keep himself from getting into further future complications. But what was the point if I told her how I felt? Am I trying to get myself in trouble? he asked himself, not paying attention to the coaster, which had reached the top of the first drop. He was shaken out of thoughts when the speed of the train increased dramatically.

Colette began to smile, seeing this was her first roller coaster ride. Wow, this is so much fun! she thought, closing her eyes. I wonder if Lloyd's enjoying the ride… she continued, turning her head toward him as the wind blew her hair around wildly. Fearing that she would be spotted staring at him, she quickly turned her head toward the sea. For some reason, I don't think he wants to be here with me after all… she told herself, thoughts turning somber. No, I can't let him know… I have to be strong for him…

What should I do? Lloyd thought as the train made a sharp turn to the right, giving them a quick view of the park. If I continue this, I could risk screwing up my duty to Cruxis… he continued, trying to find a solution. He mentally sighed; the only logical answer was to call off anymore engagements with Colette. Yet for some reason, that made him feel… sad. He sat quietly as the train made another turn before going back up the track. He was given a nice view of the ocean. "Colette, there is a view of the ocean. Enjoy it before we fly down the track again." he said, turning his head toward her. Something about her started to make him feel more at ease. What was it that made him feel that way?

Colette gasped lightly before looking at him, a smile on her face. "Oh, you're right!" she said enthusiastically, staring with awe at the scenery. "It's so beautiful." she said, her voice stretching the last syllable as the train flew down the track. The two remained quiet for the rest of the ride, until the train returned to the loading dock.

Lloyd opened the car door and lifted himself from his seat; he took Colette's hand and helped her off. "Thank you, Lloyd." she said, noticing that he appeared to be distracted. "Lloyd?"

Lloyd jumped slightly, having been lost in his thoughts. "Sorry, I was thinking." He had to figure out how to tell her that they need to stop meeting like this. "Is there anything else you wanted to ride?"

Colette smiled weakly, closing her eyes to hide the pain. He was in a rush to leave after all. "For now, not really. Can we take a walk around the park for a bit?"

The thought sounded reasonable enough, Lloyd figured; then he could think a little better. "Alright. That sounds fine by me." he said, following her out of the exit.

Colette smiled weakly once more before turning her back to the teen, entering into her thoughts. Unknowingly to her, she accidentally let her emotions show on her face. She did not want him to worry for her; she kept walking down the lane, unknowingly moving further ahead from Lloyd.

Lloyd watched as Colette mindlessly walked faster; he had to break into a jog to catch up with her. He gritted his teeth and narrowed his eyes; what had he done now? Hurrying after her, he placed his hand onto her shoulder. Turning her around, he gasped at the frown on her face; she looked as if she was going to break into tears. "Did I do something…?" Lloyd asked, turning his head away. When Colette did not respond, he placed her arm on his shoulder and led her to a private bench away from people. There; that way they could talk a little more privately. "If I did do something," he said faintly, a soft blush exposed on his face, "I'm… sorry."

Colette looked up at him, shaking her head. "I'm sorry. It's just… I thought you didn't want to be here and that I was keeping you away from something…" she said, her eyes starting to water.

To his own shock, he immediately shook his head. "It's not that. It's just…" he paused, turning his head away; it was now or never. If he did not say it now, he never would. But should he really…? He sat next to her, unsure how to continue. "It's… me."

Colette looked up at Lloyd, her mouth slightly gaping. "I'm sorry. It's all my fault… I shouldn't have kept you from your…" she fell silent. She heard her voice vanish from her lips, opting instead to place her head in her hands.

Lloyd bit his lips; now he did it. He should have just punched himself several times in the chest. She did not deserve this – she was too pure; too innocent. That trait was what he loved the most–

Wait, loved? The word hung onto his thoughts, clawing at his mind with such intensity he unknowingly clutched his head. The internal pain became too much. There was no doubt in his mind now; he felt like such a fool. It took hurting her to make him realize what he was trying to ignore.

Slowly, he gently placed his hand onto Colette's hair, pulling her into his grasp. He leaned toward her ears. "I'm so sorry. You do not deserve any of the pain I've caused you." he said, looking down at her with saddened eyes. "I've been holding it in… I've… been enjoying the time we have been sharing." he said, resting his chin on her blonde hair.

Colette snuggled onto Lloyd's chest, wrapping her arms around his waist. She sniffled lightly. "Really?" she asked weakly as Lloyd lifted his head off of her head so she could look at his face.

Lloyd tried to shoot her a reassuring smile, albeit a weak one. "Yes. I just did not want to say anything. I did not want to show any emotions – I was raised on the basis that showing emotions made you weak." he said, slowly placing an arm around her waist. He felt weird, yet in a good way.

Colette continued to snuggle against Lloyd's chest. She looked up, confusion on her face. "Why would showing your feelings make you weak?" she asked, tilting her head.

Lloyd sighed. "Ch- Colette, you have to understand," he said, turning his head away briefly before looking at her again, "I'm with Cruxis. I cannot afford to reveal emotions. It was to prevent something like this, actually." he said, his cheeks turning red. "But I… did. And even more so, I did with you, a Chosen. That was why I did not know what to do."

"Do what?"

"Whether I should break our engagement, or continue it." Lloyd said, lowering his head to look straight into Colette's eyes. "And I've made my decision." he said, noticing Colette's face. "I think I'm finally doing something on my own. I'm going to continue."

Colette gasped lightly in shock before she smiled happily, hugging him. But then she thought about her involvement and frowned. "But what will happen to you? I don't want you to get in trouble because of me…"

Lloyd smiled weakly; not something he wanted to be reminded of… "Well, there are two things I know of. For one, there's Fate – not that I solely believe in it like Dad does. And plus these things have a way of working out in the end. I'm sure something will happen." he said, grabbing Colette's hand and putting it onto his. "Come on, I have time for another ride," he said, a smile on his face, "and I know one that I'm sure you would like."

Colette released Lloyd from her grasp, getting onto her feet. "Okay! But Lloyd," she began, turning somewhat serious, "you aren't weak just because you show your emotions. I won't ever think of you as weak if you show your emotions." she said, holding his hand in hers.

Lloyd rubbed the back of his head with his free hand, embarrassed. "Thanks, I knew you wouldn't. Now let us hurry to that ride." he said, leading her to the next ride. He found his hand slipping into hers again, locking the two together. Roughly five minutes later, the arrived at the Ferris wheel; Lloyd watched as Colette stared up in awe at the circular machine. It was like the tea cups in that it spun around in a circle! She was very excited about that.

"Two tickets." Lloyd simply said to the bunny girl, placing the gald onto the counter.

"Okay!" she said, taking the gald off the counter and taking two tickets off of the reel. "Here you go, sir! Enjoy the Ferris wheel!" she said, placing Lloyd's change on the counter. "You two make such a cute couple," she swooned lightly, placing her hands together, "I wish I was that lucky!"

Lloyd smirked. He knew it was coming, yet it still got tiring to hear all the time. "Heh. Let us get moving." he said, turning to Colette, who was eager to get on the giant wheel. Walking a few feet ahead, they arrived at the ride keeper's station and handed him the tickets. The ride keeper gave them a nod, heading for the lever.

Colette tilted her head in confusion. "Why aren't we getting on yet?" she asked, looking up at Lloyd.

He simply laughed lightly. "He has to get an empty cart down so we can get on." he said, as the wheel began to spin around. Within a half-a-minute, there was an empty cart waiting for them. "See?" He looked down at her; she appeared to be shocked, as her mouth was gaping. "What are you so shocked about?"

"Wow, that's amazing!" she said happily, clasping her hands together. "Can we get on now? This looks like fun!"

Lloyd could not contain his smile; her innocence was simply too much for him. "Of course." he said, walking over to the cart; he opened the door, allowing Colette to enter it. He proceeded to enter the cart himself, shutting the door behind him.

Silence was around them as the ride keeper pulled the lever, allowing the Ferris wheel to spin. Lloyd watched with a slight smile as Colette turned her head left and right as quickly as she could to catch all of the sights. "Do you remember what I was saying when I told you I come here once a year?"

Colette smiled back. "Of course! You come here with Kratos. Why?" she asked.

Lloyd looked away temporarily, trying to figure out a way to say it. "Well, Dad normally takes me here for… my birthday." he said, blushing in embarrassment. He could not really say why he felt the urge to tell her, but he did. He could already guess how she was going to respond…

"That's so sweet of him." she said happily, a smile on her face. "I hope today is as enjoyable as your last visits!" she said, snuggling up to him to get cozy. Lloyd gasped lightly in shock, not having expected her to get so close to him. He blushed as he slowly placed his hand on her shoulder, pulling her in closer. He heard Colette's soft sigh of content as she placed her head on his chest.

As they were rising and falling, Lloyd found himself gently resting his head on hers. He could not figure it out; why did it feel like he was doing the right thing? Maybe there was something more to this Fate theory after all. "I'm guessing you are enjoying the ride?" he asked, looking down into her eyes, her blue eyes, her innocent, sapphire eyes…

"Yeah. Watching the sea splash onto the beach, or watching the birds fly away in the sky… It's really nice!" she said, placing her hand onto his upper chest. She saw him smiling at her and smiled back. "I'm so glad you came today. I got to spend part of it as a normal person, not as a Chosen…"

Lloyd gasped slightly; a normal person. She could have done that with her friends, though. And yet, he kept thinking of himself. "What do you mean? Do your friends not treat you as a normal person?"

"Oh, they do! That's just not the only reason." she said, blushing. "It's just that, I wanted to be a normal person with you." Lloyd was speechless. "I'm sorry, that was really selfish of me, wasn't it? I guess I should have thought if it was okay with you before we did it. I'm sorry." she said, burying her face slightly into Lloyd's uniform.

Lloyd lifted Colette's chin with his hands, cupping them around her face. She looked so innocent and pure he was almost afraid his vile touch would scald her, burning away her innocence. "It is fine. You do not have to apologize." he said, a light smile exposed on his face. "You are selfless. You are not selfish. You do not…" Lloyd began, leaning in closer to Colette.

Her breath blew onto his face. He hesitated as if he needed consent; he found it in her bright eyes, her serene smile. A nod was helpful as well. He leaned in closer, pressing his lips onto hers. And for a brief moment, he swore he felt the contact of their lips. Soon after, they broke off, each wearing a gentle smile and a blush. I may be setting myself up for pain down the road, but it almost feels worth it. I think I know how Dad felt with Mom, and he knew what he was setting himself for… "Come on, we should be getting off. I do not want to be around when your friends come looking for you." he said.

"Okay." Colette said, wrapping her hands around his right hand. She then placed his hand onto her cheek; he ran his hand between her cheek and her hair. Pulling the lever in their cart, they alerted the ride keeper that they wanted to get off. When the Ferris wheel came to a stop, Lloyd opened the door, getting out. He threw out his hand for Colette; she grabbed it and jumped out, a smile on her face. "Thank you, Lloyd." she said, standing beside him. "I guess we should head back to the hotel so you can leave."

Lloyd nodded his head in compliance, grasping her hand into his. "That sounds reasonable. Let us go then." he said with a smile, taking the first step toward the train. The setting sun glowed vividly in the twilight hours.

"Well, I must say that this has been an interesting day." Lloyd said as they walked through the city back to the hotel and exit. "Though I guess it could have been worse…" he sighed, placing his free hand on his forehead and rubbing it softly. "One of your friends could have spotted us before I left." he said, when he heard a shocked gasp. Narrowing his eyes in annoyance, he stared at the young half-elf. "Well, well. Look who is wondering around by himself for once."

Genis grumbled to himself before staring up at Lloyd. "Well, what are you doing here?! Shouldn't you be planning our defeat or something and not hang around here with-!" he said, when the name registered into his mind. Colette?! Why was he here with Colette?! "Colette, what are you doing with him?! He's our enemy!"

Colette tried to speak, but before she could Lloyd lifted his hand. "Humph. You should not worry so much. We were here all afternoon – I could have taken her at any time." he said with a light smirk as he saw Genis' surprised reaction. "Though next time you see me, it will be as enemies." Lloyd said, raising his eyebrow and smirking. "I'm leaving now." he said, turning toward Colette. "Remember not to come close to me next time – I cannot guarantee anything. Catch you later, Colette." he said, planting a kiss on her cheek. "Later, twerp." he said unconsciously, not noticing Genis' surprised reaction.

"Bye Lloyd!" Colette said with a wave, watching as Lloyd absent-mindedly waved his hand back at them. "I'm glad that he doesn't hide his kindness anymore. Don't you, Genis?"

Genis stood there, frozen. It took him a few moments to register what had happened. "Did he…?" he said, eyes crossed. He slapped himself to snap him out of his daze. "Is there something wrong with him? He wasn't a jerk at all; he even said goodbye, to me even! What's going on?"

Colette giggled softly, closing her eyes. "That's the kind side I've been telling you about, Genis. I'm so happy to see him happy." she said with a smile. "Maybe someday we all will be friends."

"Maybe." Genis said. "I mean, I didn't sense any hostility in him at all. Maybe he is changing; and it's because of you, Colette."

"Really? Though I don't understand why we were bad hosts. We didn't invite him to dinner…" she said, looking at him with confusion.

"That's 'hospitable' Colette, not 'hostility.'" Genis sighed lightly; after all, he could not be too irritated at her innocence. "But there is some change in Lloyd's attitude." he said with a sigh; he would have to slap himself later for saying that. "Come on, Colette, if we're to cover this up, we need to hurry back into our rooms before the others get back."

Colette gasped lightly. "What? You mean you are not going to tell me anything else, like the others? They always say bad things about Lloyd when I know it's not true." she said, watching Genis nod his head.

"As much as I want to, I can't. Not after seeing what he did. You're affecting him in a good way, because he's not as much of a jerk as he was before. I can actually see a change in him now." Genis said, watching Colette smile weakly. "I'll side with you for now, but if he hurts you, I'll embarrass him as much as I can, alright?"

"Thanks, Genis." she said. They watched Lloyd as he walked to the exit. In the distance, they saw him unfurl his wings and take off, having walked far enough not to be seen by the average human. He flew off toward the setting sun.