Runic: Between the time when Derris Kharlan descended to the planet, and the rise of the top reference, there was a time of unmatched dreams. And onto this, Lloyd Irving, destined to be savior of the world, the reviver of the Tree of Mana, the Tree of Kharlan. It is I, the chronicler of this world, who alone can tell thee of this saga. Let me tell of you of the days of Aurion!
GM: Sorry, Runic, but you need to understand, this is a short fan fiction for a fluffy Valentine's Day romance between Lloyd and Sheena.
Runic: …
GM: Don't worry, buddy, you can pull out some Conan quotes later.
Disclaimer: GreenMagicite does not own ToS, Namco, or Conan or the Merchant. This work is entirely fiction in nature and created for any reader's enjoyment. So please, enjoy!
Zelos had been religiously marking down his calendar, enduring day after day after day of rough adventuring. This involved getting up early, cooking his own meals from time to time, sleeping near other men, not using conditioner, no gambling, and being smacked around by a very voluptuous citizen of Mizuho. Of course, there was no going back to his previous life of luxury just yet, he had certain deals going on with this adventure, and he wasn't about to let them all shatter into pieces because of a little thing like sharing a room. He was tougher than that! But tomorrow was a very special day for him, one of his favorite days of the year. A day full of romance, lust, broken hearts, and sugary treats. He had a date with all the lovely ladies of Meltokio, and heaven help Lloyd or Regal if they get in his way.
As Chosen, Zelos had quite a bit of authority. Usually, when he spoke, people lined up to do his bidding, unfortunately not one person in this group felt the admiration or had the respect for him as more common folk did. Instead of demanding this slight reprieve from their quest, he had to be a bit more tactful about the affair.
Chuckling, he walked up to the un-appointed leader of the group, Lloyd Irving. Lloyd was a decent guy, much more moral than he was, at the least. But the best part about Lloyd was that he was gullible and naïve. No matter what, none of his good friends could ever have an ulterior motive.
"Lloyd, my good bud," He opened, grabbing his friend by the shoulder, "You know what we need? A nice little break, a day or two of leisure! We haven't been to an inn for days, camping out here, having night guards to watch for monsters…"
"That does sound like a good idea, Zelos. While there, we could stock up for supplies and-"
"Yeah, yeah, great. I'll go make sure the others agree! You can go pick up the supplies, sharpen your sword, whatever." Smiling, the Chosen left Lloyd midsentence. While Colette, Sheena, and Genis would be happy to follow Lloyd whatever his plan, Raine and Regal may have their own ideas. Raine was spending an abnormal time, trying to dissect the monsters (she claimed that while a magic lens was good, nothing beats good old fashion dissection!).
Slowing down to decrease his heart rate – Regal had become accustomed to observing his body language to spot for any misdeeds, must be a prison reflex – he approached the tired President, attempting to keep his image somber. "Regal. You know what tomorrow is?"
Regal nodded, looking up at the gleaming knight, "Yes, Chosen. The festival for the Angel Valentine; a day for lovers."
Zelos nodded, "Well, we were thinking about suspending the quest for a few days while we restock, have our weapons and armor refurbished – point is, if you want to take your Rheaird and visit Alicia in Altimara, the group won't have any problem with it."
Regal sat in silence, a single nod of thanks to Zelos, who left him in peace.
Zelos hurried over to Raine, unable to contain his excitement; his plan was almost perfect. Just his lovely half elf who couldn't get her hands off his chest (true, she was healing him from slash wounds of one monster or another, but that doesn't make it any less sensual!). The best approach to take for a dame like this; let her wander around the Summon Spirit research.
He found the silver haired woman over the corpse of one of their enemies, an assortment of tools in her hand as she took notes of its body. Stifling a gasp, Zelos composed himself.
"Hello my Gorgeous Beauty, how are you?" Zelos opened, turning on his old, never-fail charm.
"Have you finished helping Lloyd and Genis with their mathematics?" Raine, possibly due to her half-elfin genes, was unaffected by his never-fail charm. But because her species was resistant to it naturally, it was still never-fail. Because that is how charm is to be judged; when it works, not when it doesn't.
Having not even spoken to the two about math for some time now, Zelos smoothly switched the subject, "You know, Lloyd is thinking of going to Meltokio tomorrow to heal up, restock supplies, and so on and so forth. So I was thinking, what would you, a vivacious woman like yourself do while waiting? And then, it hit me! The thought just came to me, it was amazing. Why don't you go and take a gander at the Summon Spirit Research Laboratory!" Zelos gleamed, teeth shining in a larger than life pose.
Raine, on the other hand, was shocked. "That sounds wonderful," she managed, looking up, "I believe I will do just that!"
Zelos began to whistle, walking away, leaving the half elf over the body, still in awe. You're one fine man, Mmmmhmmm. You sexy fiend, you sexy fiend you.
In the evening, the group sat down over a pile of Zelos' sandwiches to talk about what they would be doing tomorrow. Nice little breaks don't happen often, and they each had something they wanted to do. The entire plan was going to go on without a hitch; until Sheena, voluptuous as she is, decided to inform the rest of the group about the festival.
Colette's eyes widened, "Oh, Regal, so that's why you're going to visit Alicia!" The blonde-haired woman looked at the down crested man with sympathy, "May I come along? I'll pray with you." She smiled as Regal nodded, unable to say no to such a pure request from the angel.
While not a very religious man himself, Alicia always had faith in Martel, and Colette was a Chosen; a true Chosen, not like Zelos, who cares more for the world than her own life. Alicia would be happy with such an honor. "I would like that very much, Colette." He gave a rare smile for a moment, before fading back into his usual grimace. Taking a bite of his sandwich, he turned to his Chosen, "Zelos… did, – did you fail at making these sandwiches? The bread seems to be a bit damaged…"
Presea did not comment about Regal's visit. She wanted to see her sister, but from what she understood about the holiday, the visit really did belong to Regal. She would see her sister another time. Tilting her head to the side curiously, "How does one fail in making a sandwich…? It is simply two slices of bread atop one another with some sort of substance between the two."
"Well, while the sandwich looks intact, the bread seems to have been damaged; either from our battles or shoddy ingredients. It is very disappointing, all things considered. We haven't had any low quality ingredients before, so battle would be a more likely suspect."
Raine, disinterested in such talk about cooking, turned to Sheena, "Sheena, can you explain this holiday's origins? Sylvarant does not seem to have a corresponding day, suggesting it happened after the worlds were split in two."
Sheena, still wary about the healer who wanted her dead, answered, "Well, I can't say I know too much about it. According to legend, during one of the reigns of an emperor, the army was forbidden to marry. A Priest of Martel by the name of Valentine found this law to be a hindrance to love, and joined the army, secretly marrying the men whenever they wished to be, well, married. He was eventually caught by one of the superiors, and sentenced to death. Supposedly, an angel descended from the skies, striking down the officer and Valentine's jailers. The angel ascended into the sky, taking Valentine with him as an angel. Valentine became a symbol of love," Her eyes flickered to Lloyd, who had joined in the sandwich conversation, "And ever since people have celebrated the Priest as an Angel of Love, and use it as an excuse to do loving things," Sheena gave a light blush, invisible due to the current state of evening.
Raine adjusted her seat, "The story seems plausible; armies are best kept with unmarried men, less to worry about that way. But it does harm the population the longer it is in place, it would not be very beneficial to keep such an order in place for a long period of time. "
"…umm, sure. Well, the only other thing I know about it is that Corrine," she felt a small wave of sadness crash against her, "really enjoyed the holiday. He never said why, he just said it made him feel more alive".
After an absolutely wonderful night of sleep, Zelos was off. He had a planned schedule. Martinis, girls, kissing booths, Valentine candy, special Valentine candy, perhaps a kiss from the Princess; life looked good. The man had found the town, and he was going to paint it red.
Raine had also been up at the crack of dawn, joining the Research Team. People on, or just below, her intellectual level! There can be no greater gift than the gift of knowledge.
Genis had decided to explore the city with Presea. He had a plan of candy and watching the festival. She had been in an emotional statis for so long, he wanted her to have fun, – something not oft had while trying to save a world.
Lloyd, true to his word, was out shopping for supplies, with Sheena coming along to help. The two were walking all over town, going from one shop to another, having armor repaired, weapons mended, filling up on gels, and finding high quality bread as ordered by Regal.
It seemed that wherever Lloyd walked, the eyes of girls followed him, giggling, or blushing. Usually both. But when they saw Sheena, a scowl took to their faces, angry with the woman for taking their cute fantasy away. Needless to say, Lloyd found the situation rather odd, "Sheena, why do those girls keep looking at me?"
She tried her best to explain, "Lloyd, it is the Festival of Valentine. You're cute, and—"wait, did she just say that Lloyd was cute?! "Aaah, they want you to be their Valentine and they d-don't like me because it looks like we're together…" She blushed, afraid that Lloyd would disagree with her or think she was forward or suggesting that they are a couple.
"Oh. Well, I think you're cuter than I am," Lloyd smiled, not noticing that Sheena's face was burning up for a moment. When he finally noticed that Sheena's face matched his attire, he stopped walking, taking her by the hand in case she should fall, "Are you alright, Sheena? Feeling sick or faint or that other word that Raine says, ah, fatigued?" He tried to imitate his teacher by trying to take her pulse, holding her hand instead of her wrist.
"Lloyd, I'm fine, it is just a bit hot out, really, I'm fine," As much as she hated to do so, she pulled her hand away from Lloyd, trying not to attract more attention as the girls who were scowling at her began to crowd behind the two heroes.
Without a thought, she pulled Lloyd into the nearby Antique & Olde Accessory Shoppe. She pulled a bit hard, pulling Lloyd against her as the two nearly crashed inside. In the privacy of this old shop, Sheena felt no need to try and deter attention. Accidental though it was, and though Lloyd was in a current state of confusion at what it meant to be so close to her, she secretly enjoyed the situation, and didn't want the moment to end, partly out of fear of the consequence of that one act.
"Strangah!" The old shop keep interrupted Sheena's part fantasy part reality moment. "No lovebirds in my shop. Hard enough to keep the place as it is with local teens runnin' around like that. I have no need of strangahs who aren't buyin' or sellin' using my shop as some sort of nest. No sir!" The storeowner had come out, wrapped in a sort of overcoat and scarf covering the majority of his face, as if to mask himself from the infection of love outside the building.
Lloyd recovered first from the sudden intrusion of the Merchant, pulling away from Sheena, his heart beating abnormally quickly for some reason or another, "I'm sorry, sir. It was an accident…." He looked around the walls, which were stocked with odd antiques. Possibly more than Koton had. "We'd love to look at your wares."
Lloyd approached the old man, and the two talked for a while in the back. Sheena's view was impeded, but dealing with merchants was more of Regal's tactics; the man had saved them thousands and thousands of Gald, after all. Eventually the volume of the Merchant raised, and he pointed Lloyd towards the door.
"Now, now, Strangah. I wasn't born yesterday. I know you two were trying to find some little shop to get away from the crowds and… I don't know what you wanted to do, but it certainly isn't to shop, and there are places like Inns for that behavior!"
Pulling Sheena towards the door, Lloyd apologized, "Alright sir, we're going, sorry to have caused you any trouble."
Looking at Sheena, who had recovered from her spell of fantasy, Lloyd was relieved to see that she was no longer under the affliction of heat. "Wow, Sheena, that guy had some serious problems."
"Yeah. And who calls anyone 'Strangah'? That's just out there." Sheena felt guilty for the thoughts she had in the merchant's shop.
"Tell me about it. And that outfit. The Desians all thought I was easily identified by wearing red, they should take a look at him." Lloyd smiled at the old memory of being identified multiple times by his outfit, and began to laugh. Sheena joined in, what a strange merchant that old man was.
As the two continued their merriment of laughter, one of the girls who were watching Sheena came by, with a large man on her arm. She and her escort walked up to the duo. For a moment, not a thing happened. Between laughs, Lloyd caught sight of the two. "May we help you?" he nodded to Sheena, who ceased her laughter and noticed the couple. Oh dear… this can only mean trouble.
"Well," the overly pompous, near screechy voice of the woman rang out, "I thought that the young swordsman here should have some warning." She turned to Lloyd, "You should know, sir, that the girl you spend company with is a licentious hussy. I heard she left the Chosen's manor just this morning! Already on the prowl for another man after a single night. Shameless!"
"What!? I didn't do anything with that pervert you no good busybody!" Sheena exploded at the woman, who backed up behind her meat shield of an escort.
"Yeah, I hear you're quite the pro-mis-qu-ous little lady!" The man laughed, "Probably some sort of exotic callgir—"
"Enough." Lloyd stopped the man midsentence, "Sheena isn't promisquasheeous or licecentulous or anything like that. Stop talking about her like that or I'll force you to stop."
Sheena didn't need protecting, she could most certainly handle the man, but to see Lloyd step up to protect her honor like that was certainly more feminine than what she had in mind. Something along the lines of disarming the man and tying the woman to a tree branch; or if she was in a hurry having Gnome tie them to the ground. Anything would have worked. "Lloyd…" She placed her hand on the swordsman's shoulder, pulling him back.
"No, Sheena. I might not know exactly what they mean, but they can't say things like that about you. It isn't right. How can we change the view of an entire race if we let little lies like this pass us by?"
She smiled, her heart fluttering. But the question remained; was Lloyd protecting her because he felt her honor was impugned or did he just dislike the spread of false rumor? Well, he doesn't know what licentious means, so I think he's defending me…
"Finally, the boyfriend speaks. " The man grinned, "Alright, let's give you a chance to defend your whore's honor. A duel!" He pointed to the back of his hand, "No exspheres. Wooden weapons. Just man vs. man in the arena. We'll see what sort of person you are after I give you a beating."
"Don't call her that!" Lloyd took a breath, calming himself, "Go ahead, I'll be right with you."
As the escort and his lady walked off towards the coliseum, Sheena confronted Lloyd, "Lloyd, you didn't need to do that! Now you have to get into a fight and what if you get hurt? You won't have your exsphere so we'll need a doctor. I could have handled all this by myself! I'm not some helpless damsel in distress who needs saving at every turn-"
"Sheena." Lloyd cut her off, "I did that because I wanted to, not because I thought you were helpless. I know you aren't helpless. You're strong. You can call forth Summon Spirits, use ninjitsu, disappear and reappear where you want to – Don't believe for a moment that I think you're weak. "
"I-I guess I know that. But you didn't need to do something like that!"
"Sheena, I know I didn't need to do that, but I wanted to. You mean a lot to me." Lloyd removed the result of the Angelus Project from his Key Crest. He handed it to her, "I need you to hold onto this while I fight. Be careful with it, it means a lot to me. Like you."
She took the gem, holding the soul of his mother, "Lloyd, you're so stubborn sometimes." Augh, Idiot! "But thank you." She started off to the coliseum, Lloyd in tail; actually, it was nice that he'd doing this. A duel over a lady's honor. Ugh, I'm beginning to sound like Hilda!
The crowd was full of the town in love, young gents who took their dates to see the action of the coliseum! Action and chariot games! At least until the festival, when the Poets would sing their sweet tunes, and the young lasses would swoon, their boyfriends jealous of the attention given to the (in their opinion) foolishly dressed man who sings like a girl.
Lloyd stood in the middle of the coliseum, twin wooden swords at his side, exsphere held by Sheena, cheering him on from the sideline. His opponent held a blunt wooden axe, facing him, grinning like a loon.
"Alright crowd! Here we have two men fighting over the honor of their women! No time for talk, it is time to settle this the old fashioned way – beating each other until one yields!" The announcer began to step back away from the two warriors, "AND LET THE BATTLE BEGIN!" The trumpets sounded, and he ran to the sides, staying far away from the fighters.
Lloyd circled the man, twin blades at the ready, waiting for the man to throw the first blow. He tried to think back to what Kratos said. Something about knowing more than swinging your sword. Knowing your enemy can help defeat him. So if Lloyd caught onto the man's fighting ability, than he should be fine.
The man laughed, "Are we dancing or are we fighting?" With a laugh, he brought his axe into the ground of the coliseum, the axe stuck in the ground, causing the earth to open up in a straight line from the axe's strike; right towards Lloyd.
Lloyd jumped to the side, surprised. This man was stronger than he looked, which was pretty strong to begin with; the man looks like Regal on steroids. "Well, I can't say I was ever good at dancing." Lloyd rushed forward, and struck the man's chest with his twin blades, taking advantage of the fact that the axe was stuck in the ground.
With a roar, the man kicked Lloyd in the chest, causing him to land a few meters away, giving the man time to draw his axe from the ground. "Don't seem to be that good at fightin' either." He began to slowly swagger towards Lloyd, almost growling.
Lloyd stood up unsure of how to proceed fighting this man. He was abnormally strong. He seemed stronger than Presea, which was saying quite a bit. Lloyd ran forward, one blade striking the man's arm while the other came around to his side. After each strike, Lloyd jumped back, using his superior speed to avoid getting in the axe's range.
The man was getting tired of this cat and mouse game. While the swords weren't sharp, they bruised. A good thing that the little punk didn't have more muscle behind him, or he might be worried. "Run, run, run. What a bore." He stopped running after Lloyd, his knees bent, watching the boy, axe ready to strike if he came closer.
Lloyd realized that his old attempts were not working well, and were now useless. Now that the man was waiting for an attack, he couldn't run up and strike without possibly being struck by that wooden axe that was being used against him. For now, he continued circling, unable to decide upon a venue of attack.
Bored, the man began striking the earth again, faster this time, determined not to make the same mistake that he had made before in being too slow. Lloyd was dodging left and right as pieces of earth came flying at him. Damn! This guy is tough…
Sheena watched on from the sidelines, noticing the woman from the other side laughing at the spectacle. Lloyd was winning up until a few moments ago… "Lloyd! You can do it! I believe in you!" She shouted at her knight, trying to encourage him to continue on, regardless of the problem he was facing. Lloyd, you can do it. I know it.
Lloyd charged the man, one blade striking the handle of the axe, the blade being knocked from his hand as the man struck back in retort. The other came 'round, battering the man's hand. Lloyd, now at a disadvantage, kicked the man's feet out from under him, immediately picking up his second sword.
As the two backed away from each other again, it was clear to see that, underneath the heavy glove that the axe wielder used, was an exsphere and keycrest.
Destroy the exsphere destroy the enemy. Lloyd ran towards the man once again, one sword going underneath the man's arm, holding it horizontally while the other came down onto his revealed exsphere, destroying it, and causing the man to collapse from exhaustion.
The woman gazed in horror as her escort was dragged off the field of battle by two of the guards. Sheena ran out to Lloyd, who was panting heavily. She caught him in an embrace, "Don't you ever do anything stupid like that again." She whispered, beginning to nuzzle his chest, which was a bit sweaty. Lloyd hugged her back, hands around her waist.
As the crowd gave a simultaneous 'awww', and the announcer came back out, triumphant and gleaming, "And our hero Lloyd is the victor! Here we have him, wrapped in the arms of his beloved, triumphant in his fight over the honor of his pure and helpless lady!" He let the crowd go on for a minute or so, "And now, to award the couple for the fight, we have a nice pass to the Love Suite at Meltokio's finest!"
He handed Sheena the pass. The two hurried to the side of the coliseum in silence, avoiding the large crowd that had gathered to see the victor up close. Lloyd finally broke the silence, "Well, that was a bit odd." He looked at his clothes, covered in sweat and earth, "I think I need a shower…"
"I agree. You smell terrible." Her feelings were mixed about what had just happened. On one hand, Lloyd had fought for her, on the other; she could have taken the guy herself, maybe not in the same odds as Lloyd though. Exsphere vs. non-exsphere; Lloyd really was strong. Not just his exsphere. "Let's get you to the room."
The two walked to the Inn, showed the pass to the bell keep and were escorted to the special Valentine Suite. The room was decorated with hearts and small angels with bows painted on the walls. The bed was large, in the shape of a heart. Heart shaped table.
"They certainly went all out." Sheena pointed Lloyd towards the direction of the shower. She loved him, yes, but he was a bit dirty right now.
With Lloyd in the shower, she went downstairs, and requested some new clothes for Lloyd. The manager assured her that damaged clothes happens quite a bit at this hotel, and went into the back, looking for something in Lloyd's size. A few minutes passed, and he returned, holding some, shockingly, red clothes. Sheena thanked the man and took the clothes upstairs, leaving them on the bathroom door for Lloyd.
She lay down on the bed – a very comfortable bed – and thought about what had happened during the day. Lloyd had entrusted her with his exsphere, something she hadn't seen him without the entire Journey so far. He actually fought to defend her from some creep and his hussy girlfriend who may or may not have been stalking Zelos. He hugged her, but Lloyd hugged a lot of people. Genis and Colette for sure. She didn't doubt that he'd give Presea a hug if he thought she needed one. Well, maybe not a lot of people, but certainly anyone who needed one.
Lloyd eventually emerged from the shower, clothed in his new red attire, which looked quite a lot like his old attire, minus the suspenders, they were gone.
"Well, I'm feeling better." Lloyd grinned, and sat down on the bed next to Sheena. She sat up, his exsphere in her hand.
She grabbed his hand, placing it back in his key crest. "Now you're complete, at least." Well, now is a good enough time as any. "Lloyd, we need to talk."
"About what?"
"Everything that happened today. What happened wasn't normal, you know?"
"Sheena, I told you, I wasn't going to let you be called a- well, whatever it was they were calling you. False, hateful words like that only spawn more hate."
"Was that your only reason?"
"Well no, I mean, you're my friend, I can't let you just deal with that on your own." Lloyd's face was blessed by a large smile, his eyes closed.
"Oh…" Stupid, stupid Sheena! Thinking this was anything other than more friendship. I'm just a 'great friend'. Great.
Lloyd hugged Sheena, "Hey, let's go get dinner. I'm sure the hotel has a dining place of some sort."
While Sheena sat down in a large booth, Lloyd spoke to the chef, wanting to see what was good today, what he was making, and if that oddly shaped heart statue was the Wonder Chef in disguise. Sadly, it was not, for he was off making Valentine Cupcakes with his wife, the Wonder Cook. But that is a story for another time.
The Berserker and the Guardian User both sat down and ordered the special.
"You know, Sheena, I'm really getting sick of all these hearts everywhere. Whoever is putting all these up is taking it a little bit too far." Lloyd began, looking at the almost sickening amount of hearts everywhere. Everywhere. On the napkins, the seats, the table….
She nodded, "Yeah, it is like this every year here. Zelos may have had something to do with it."
"How could he do that?"
"Well, this is a Church of Martel holiday, and he is the Chosen. Let's just say that if he was more like Colette, this holiday would be much less significant."
"I don't quite get it, but got it." Lloyd's gaze caught Sheena's eyes, "So, are you here often on this day or is it celebrated so much everywhere or…?"
"Sybak gets a large number of celebrators, as does Altimara, but everywhere else doesn't really care for it as much. " She looked at the table, "No, I actually try to avoid this place. Like you said, they just kill the holiday with energy."
"Well, I don't think it is too bad. It sounds like a good premise for a holiday, I guess it depends if you have a good friend to spend it with."
"Sure seems like it." Sheena didn't let the disappointment of 'friend' creep into her voice as it had in the past.
"Sheena, I'm really glad we got to spend time together today. It may have been a bit difficult now and then, but we got through it."
"Yeah."
As they babbled about the holiday, their meal finally came.
"Lloyd, try some of this." Sheena picked up a piece of meat with her fork.
"Eh, I think I'd prefer not to. It doesn't look cooked enough."
"Don't be such a coward."
"Raw meat is something to be afraid of!"
"Pff." Sheena, with the grace of a Guardian User dual-classing as a Ninja, snuck over to Lloyd's side of the table, pushing him down against the soft cushion, the fork still impaling the possibly undercooked piece of meat.
The two playfully wrestled for a time, Lloyd struggling beneath Sheena as he was threatened with the meat. With the fork down, Sheena began to tickle the swordsman, her fingers touching his sides through the soft silk-like quality of his new outfit. Faced with this new torture at the hands of an expert, Lloyd yielded to Sheena, a sheepish grin on his face as the two sat back down, now next to each other. He picked up the fork, and took a bite…
"Ah… That makes sense." Lloyd finally spoke, "It isn't raw, they just used some Red Bellebane as a seasoning." He smirked at Sheena, "Looks like you exerted yourself for nothing, assassin."
"Well I seem to remember a helpless Lloyd Irving beneath me, begging for me to stop." She laughed.
"And you managed to avoid falling into a pit this time." Lloyd gave a triumphant gleam, having won the small banter between them with the foolproof argument of Sheena's tendency to fall into a pit of some sort. Some sort of joke by fate.
The two finished the main menu, conversation popping up about a range of things; Sheena's idea to use pineapple in curry, if Raine's cooking could stop the Sword Dancer; Lloyd even tried to bring up whether or not the Red Bellebane seasoning had increased any of their stats. Sheena was a bit confused by that, so he dropped the subject.
Desert came, a large Valentine Cupcake with two little chef hats decorations in the center.
Needless to say, the cake was so delicious and moist.
When the two had finished eating, Lloyd took Sheena by the hand, "Hey. I have a present for you."
Sheena had a puzzled expression; the two really didn't have any time shopping to pick out anything special or go off alone; they had spent the entire day together. Lloyd fumbled in his suit for a moment, finally bringing out two cards, "Happy Valentine's Day," he placed the two in her hands.
One card had a picture of a creature that looked similar to Corrine with a pink background, while the other had an older, larger fox like beast in a red background. "What are these?"
"Remember that old merchant? He just gave them to me after seeing us backed up against the wall like that. He was a pretty nice guy, not like Koton at all." Lloyd continued grinning, "I hope you like them, I noticed one of them looks a little bit like Corrine."
Sheena once again embraced the swordsman, "Thank you, Lloyd."
"I'm not quite sure, but I think this makes you my Valentine, right?"
"Yeah."
Eventually, the pair returned to their room, Sheena no longer finding the abundance of hearts as sickeningly tacky as she did before.
"Lloyd, how about we stay here tonight? It'll give more room for the others at Zelos' Manor." Sheena offered, and it was true. Zelos' house was going to be a little, we'll say packed for the night. Even though Raine was going to stay at the Laboratory all night, Zelos' had a bit of company planned, which could very well fill up a lot of rooms at the manor. Heaven help Genis and Presea.
"That's true. Good idea, Sheena." Lloyd was very happy about giving his friends more room to relax; the quarters could sometimes get tight on the road, and they didn't often get a chance to relax. But he soon noticed a problem, there was only one bed. As he was a gentleman, there was only one solution. "Sheena, you can have the bed, I'll take one of the chairs."
But Sheena would have none of that, "Lloyd, it's a big bed, and I'm your friend." Well that isn't unbelievably forward, Sheena. Stupid, stupid Sheena! What if he thinks I'm like Zelos now?!
Lloyd looked at the bed again, "Are you sure? I don't mind taking the floor."
"It isn't any problem." She smiled, relieve. Bless that Lloyd and his ability to be naïve and oblivious. It seemed to be both a blessing and a curse.
The two were fortunate that the hotel manager found it his duty to stock the bedroom with an assortment of different styles of night garments, from some of Zelos' reported favorites to modest. Blushing at some of the more extreme choices, Sheena picked out a more modest outfit, the color matching Lloyd's usual red, because heaven forbid another color exist on this most sacred of days. Lloyd's choice was close to his usual as well, long and loose pants and a long shirt.
The pair climbed into opposite sides of the bed, Lloyd switching the lights off.
"Goodnight, Sheena." Lloyd pulled the covers up around him, not used to the soft feeling of the sheets after such a long time on the road and away from any towns with as much emphasis on physical pleasure as Meltokio.
"Goodnight, Lloyd…" Sheena rested her head on the pillow, her eyes closed. She softly scooted over to Lloyd on the bed, making his chest her pillow, the thud of his heartbeat having a soothing effect as she passed into the realm of Somnus.
Lloyd was afraid to move, but the fear died down with each passing moment. He felt different with Sheena so close to him. A warm, happy feeling of completion. It wasn't like anything that he had felt before throughout the Journey or before it. He slid his arms loosely around Sheena, as not to wake the Summoner from her slumber.
You're so weird, Sheena. I couldn't sleep with my other friends like this. So that makes you more than a friend, but what is that? I don't know, but I really like this…
On a Journey for Regeneration, there isn't much time for the soft and tender feeling of young and unspoiled love. But that just makes those precious moments just so much sweeter
Runic: And so the tale of Lloyd and Sheena on the day of the Angel Valentine was finished. There would be other times of romance for the two, neither fully admitting what they were going through.
GM: I swear, one more Conan and I'm going to be forced to use the duct tape!
Runic: We realize that there are some little areas left unanswered, like what Genis and Presea were up to, how many Hunnies Zelos ended up with, whether or not Raine destroyed a large portion of the research area. But before the question comes up, we want to put this down; we did not intend any Regal/Colette ever. Regal only goes with Alicia. Or that girl at the Thoda Geyser dock. But only those two!
GM: Urby would disagree.
Runic: Okay, okay. Anyway, we hope everyone enjoyed the story. It had some rough parts, but it is superior to most of GM's old ToS fanfictions, which were just so freaking ran-- *anvil drops on his head, silencing him*
GM: Ahem. It has been a while; I hope you all liked this fluffy lil' Sheeloyd. Have a lovely Valentine's Day with that special someone.