Lloyd and Zelos' Arts and Crafts Corner

[presidentheartbeat]

When Kratos takes Sheena off to the side to talk, the first thing Zelos does is pretend he doesn't see it happen. He knows a plea for privacy when he sees one, and even if Zelos feels a small stab of anxiety at the prospect of those two talking one on one, if there's one thing the Aegis knows he has to start fucking doing for once in his life it's trusting the driver who bailed him out of captivity.

So instead of calling out to Sheena like he wants to, instead of making himself invisible to sulk and overthink as he'd originally planned to, despite all of the nerves in his core with how recent his last outburst still is, Zelos uses the time and energy to yawn loudly and stretch where he stands. Much like a cat that's dragging attention to himself, away from his driver, exaggerating the notions before he drops his hands to rest on his hips instead. "Wellp!" he says brightly, pushing some hair over his shoulder. "Fire's going, night's young, and I feel like checking the perimeter real quick. Who's up for a night walk with yours truly?"

It doesn't take long before Sheena and Kratos' signatures are far enough from camp that Zelos is pretty sure that they've got their privacy, but Zelos keeps himself as the beacon of attention anyway, just in case. Close to the fire, illuminated by the flames, Zelos maintains a low-effort smile on his face, anxiously awaiting an answer.

Comments

I can't believe this

[presidentheartbeat]

The comment about Malos earns Lloyd an amused yet slightly fond laugh out of Zelos. Honestly, that guy really is something else, all things considered. And if he's that easily worried by Lloyd then Zelos doesn't want to find out how bad things will get if he's worried about Lloyd and the Aegis being gone for a long time.

One look at Lloyd under the moonlight reveals that he's still blushing, and now Zelos is feeling bad on top of awkward for what he did, and. Architect, glow blushing is lame, so he's just gonna give him a smooth smile and walk onwards to camp. Confound this 'trying to be a good person after you've lashed out like ten times in two weeks' thing, it's confusing and weird and Zelos still can't quite get it right. Like, ugh. And they didn't even complete their perimeter check, either, so distracted with the carving and then everything else as they were.

Wait. The carving.

He'd put the carving in his jacket's pocket before he started feeling for Lloyd's ether signal earlier. Suddenly remembering its weight against his hip the Aegis goes fish it out and gently throws it up in the air, catching it with one hand as he walks. "Anyway," he turns his head and gives Lloyd a grin, then, waving the miniature sword around for him to see, "you still gotta drill a hole in this thing. I wanna hang it off my belt."

i can, they're absolute disasters

[risingfalcon]

Lloyd can't control his smile as he watches Zelos play with the carving, incredibly relieved that he not only likes it but also touched that he wants to keep it on him, like an accessory or something. Really, Lloyd had only expected a smart comment or two and then to never see it again, the carving shoved into Zelos' pack forever. But that's not what happened, and Lloyd's quietly pleased by it, even if the sheer realization of that is enough to make him mentally shove his face into his hands and groan. What happened? He had been doing alright with this crush for a bit, and then Zelos touched him and was all cute and left Lloyd's mind in disarray, thoughts about Zelos bumping and colliding in his head until he's all Lloyd can think of. This is so unfair.

"Okay!" Lloyd exclaims, with a desperate need to hide his face from Zelos. As the Aegis tosses the carving into the air once again, Lloyd lurches forward, grabbing it before it hits Zelos' hand, and takes off in a sprint. "Race you back to the campsite!" He yells out behind him, narrowly avoiding tripping on a tree root, giggling as he runs, finally allowing the dorky grin that he's been fighting back with a stick to settle on his face. By the time he makes it past the cover of trees and back into the campsite, he's red-faced and out of breath, clutching the carving to his chest as he skids to a stop, laughing aloud. Zelos hasn't caught up yet, but Lloyd's sure he'll be there soon, so he plops down on the ground and finally buries his face in his hands, beaming.