Traditions: ZelosxLloyd fanfic

Disclaimer: The little girl in her room didn't create the Barbie dolls- she just likes to play with them. Same idea.
Spoilers:  None really.
Pairing: ZelosxLloyd
Note: Written for the Zelloyd Club's Holiday Contest on DeviantArt.

Traditions

"I could wait a thousand hours
Stay the same in sun and showers
Pick apart a hundred flowers
Just to be quiet."
-Lights, Quiet

"I gotta say," Lloyd commented, not bothering to keep his voice down as it was just the two of them in the Wilder library and it was not like they had come here to read, "that I'm starting to become suspicious of your so-called holiday traditions." His tone was light though and had he been truly suspicious, he probably wouldn't have lounged on his lover so comfortably. Probably.
Though such a position made it a bit difficult to open the bottle of champagne, Zelos couldn't think of any better way to recline upon this couch than with the brunette all but laying atop him. Their voices and the ticking of the old clock the only sounds he could hear. It was a relief after that loud and blustering party they had attended earlier in the evening. While the royal occasion hadn't been the snore fest it usually was with Lloyd there to talk to, this was a far better way to end the year.  "You wound me," the redhead teased back. "Suspicious is hardly a term to be used to describe one such as I." Anymore at any rate.
Lloyd tilted his head back to give an upside-down grin. "Oh, I don't know..." he laughed. "A week ago, it was that tradition with that sprig of... What was it? Misslefeet?"
"Mistletoe," Zelos corrected, taking a swallow straight from the bottle. "A perfectly normal tradition, if not an enjoyable one.  And you know a word like sprig?"
The brunette ignored the jibe, "I don't think you're supposed to pin the person to the doorway and then use your tongue to-"
"Oh like you were complaining," Zelos interrupted. He was earnestly grinning now, that particular memory rather fun to remember. "And it is tradition to kiss under the mistletoe. … Though I won't deny it had a particular, erm, Zelos Wilder twist..." A rather fun twist if he may reiterate.
"Anyway," Lloyd tried again, "about your suspicious nature-"
Zelos gave a snort of playful disbelief.
"-tonight isn't really helping your case."
"Oh?"
"A kiss at midnight?"
"It's tradition!"
"Uh huh."
The ex-Chosen made some offended noises, thinking of a good retort. "Well," he drawled, "if you'd rather not participate..."
"I never said that!" Lloyd insisted quickly, blushing slightly. "I am saying it's suspicious. You seem to have shady motives, Zelos."
The other laughed and shifted his lilac eyes in a display of obvious secrecy. "No, no," he cooed. "I'm completely honorable.... Want some more champagne?"
Even as he chuckled, Lloyd took the bottle and drank. The chances of him becoming so drunk so as to be at Zelos's mercy were slim.  Being raised on Dwarven culture had insured that he would never be a lightweight.
Minutes passed and the bottle and conversation passed between the two.  They spoke of serious issues, funny stories, and inconsequential subjects, voices rising and falling in the still library.  Tik tok, tik tok, tik tok- the old clock was an objective witness to it all. And so the last minutes of the last day of the year dwindled until only seconds were left.    
Zelos noticed first, gesturing to the impassive clock face. "Almost time," he commented.
"So how does this work?" Lloyd asked, amused.
"Hm, well, usually a countdown is involved," Zelos tried to explain. Most New Year's Eves had been spent in a bed with several party guests and no one had cared to give the passing year a lingering thought. "We start at ten and work down to zero-"
"Why?"
The redhead stretched his arms, "Hm... To make it more dramatic I suppose."
Lloyd shifted so as to better face him, agate eyes meeting lilac. "And then at zero we kiss?" he smiled.
With a twin smile, his lover replied, "If tradition demands it."  He got a playful swat at the nose for that remark.  His laugh faded into silence and they watched the clock's hand ebb away the final minute.   
Fifty seconds.
"So..." Zelos asked suddenly, a thought occurring to him. "If Dwarves don't kiss at midnight... what do they do?"  He set the empty bottle aside.
Lloyd laughed. "No, we don't really kiss," he agreed, not finding it odd at all that he still identified himself as a Dwarf.  "New Year's is a special time. Not really... Not really for parties, but for families to gather together."  He paused, not sure whether to continue.
Used to his lover's habit of not really talking about himself, Zelos prompted, "Yeah?"
Forty seconds.
The brunette was silent for several moments, but Zelos did not prompt again. He understood now that the other was simply trying to find the right words to explain. Sure enough, Lloyd began again, "We... hold a vigil of sorts.  From sunset until the sunrise. There's... a special meal and ceremonial stuff too, but..." Shrug. "The point is to wait in the darkness until light again comes into the world."
"Stay up all night, hm? Must be hard to stay awake."
"Sometimes.  We have methods though."
"I'm sure."
Thirty seconds.
Zelos wondered if Lloyd regretted not being with Dirk on this night. Family mattered a lot to the hero as did tradition.  Did he wish he were there instead of tipsy on a couch?
Lloyd wondered how his father was and if he were still going to be able to keep vigil all by himself.  He debated with himself whether to do so himself tonight, but decided not to. Next year maybe he and Zelos could try a Dwarven New Year. This night, however, he was going to enjoy being able to sleep without fear that someone would slug him awake.  
Twenty seconds.
As though he hadn't paused at all, Lloyd added, "After morning came, I would take a nap. Only a short one though because then I would have to go into town." To Zelos's inquiring look, he explained, "Colette would always participate in the New Year's rituals and she wanted Genis and I to be there." He frowned, remembering how Genis would always berate him for nodding off during the ceremonies.  Colette had always smiled and said that it was his presence that counted, but now it occurred to him that perhaps he should've tried to explain his behavior.
Ten seconds.
"Ugh," Zelos made a face of his own. "Don't remind me.  The very thought of doing those stupid rituals is enough to make me twitch."   
"... Rituals."
"Ack!"
"Rituals."
"Argh!"
"Rituals."
"No stop that!"
"Stop what?" Lloyd asked innocently.
Zelos rolled his eyes and glanced at the clock. "Oh no!" he sat up, nearly making Lloyd roll off. "We missed the countdown!" As the clock chimed the first note announcing the new hour, Zelos's face fell into an honest disappointment that Lloyd did not miss.  As the second note chimed, he shifted and raised himself to hover over Zelos.
"Eh?" Zelos blinked. "Lloyd-?"
Ding.
"Ten," Lloyd murmured, their noses rubbing together.
Ding.
"Nine," he breathed, brushes his lips to Zelos's ear, feeling the other shiver.
Ding.
Catching on, Zelos tilted his head up, caressing the strong line of his lover's chin, "Eight."
Ding.
"Seven," they whispered together. Lloyd's hands wrapped around the back of Zelos's neck as the other's hands framed his head.
Ding.
Lloyd gently kissed Zelos's forehead, "Six."
Ding.
The redhead nuzzled up his lover's neck, "Five."
Ding.
They shifted together, Zelos maneuvering to have that sexy brunette under him and Lloyd humored him. Somehow they managed to stay atop that small couch.
"Four."
Ding.
Their noses rubbed together and they chuckled in giddiness.
"Three."
Ding.
"Two," Lloyd murmured, watching, pleased, as the other's face came closer to his own. "This, by the way... Is a New Year's kiss with an Irving twist."
Ding.
Zelos laughed, "One."  As the last chime echoed, he eagerly claimed his prize. Two pairs of lips met familiarly in a sweet and slow kiss. After all, this was the first hour of the first day of the new year and they found that such a kiss emphasized that feeling of having all the time in the world.  And after one kiss came another and another...
Perhaps traditions were best when they had a little twist.
- Fin
Happy New Year!