A/N: My first one-shot! Yay! n.n ...This was suppose to be for the Sheelos bombardment, but I didn't quite make the deadline... -.-; But despite not meeting the deadline of March, I hope this helps to bring Sheelos back to the ToS section! Anyway, this one-shot goes out to my friends here at Rose-Wisteria, Artic Husky, Goob, and Phoenix Fervor (who are also two of my best buds online. You guys rock. Goob read this and helped to fix my errors, even though he's a Shelloyd fan. He took it well. :P) You all are such awsome writers, and a great source of inspiration. And also to all of the Sheelos fans out there. Thanks for pushing me to get this done. :)
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Gifts From an Angel
By White Rose
Two years after the journey of regeneration...
Nighttime, half-past eleven o'clock…
It was a brutally cold winter night in the bustling city of Meltokio, the capital city of the former world of Tethe'alla. White, fluffy snow blanketed the ground, covering everything in a frosty layer of frozen water, nearly four feet high. The brick and cobblestone streets that covered the ground of the upper class section of the city had all but completely iced over, quickly becoming far too dangerous to traverse upon. Beautiful, but deadly icicles had taken over the roofs and gutters of the many estates, and row-houses. And naturally in this highly pompous, caste based city, the dirt covered roads and alleyways of the middle and lower class hadn't even been touched. The money was there, but the castle, and the rich men and women who lived all around it had made it their duty in life to never to be associated with their less fortunate kin….
This is something that, over time, began to infuriate the former Chosen of Tethe'alla, Zelos Wilder. In fact, many things ate away at the soul of the redheaded hero of the Mithos-Conflict. Though the life he lived inside of Meltokio--the place of his birth, seemed to be one of absolute luxury and abundance, his money, his looks, and his status in the world never bought him the kind of happiness he had always longed for...
Carefully walking back to his home during yet another boring, obnoxious, and overbearing shindig inside of Meltokio's castle--something he just had to attend, for the sake of political matters--a heavily bundled Zelos balled his two hands together near his mouth and blew warm air onto them. He proceeded to tighten the green colored wool scarf that was wrapped around his neck, before rubbing his thinly gloved hands together to help further take the chill off of them. This kind of a storm in Meltokio was incredibly rare. Usually a few inches of snow would fall, stay around for a day or so, and be gone within half a week. Life would return to normal, and everything in the city would at least become somewhat sane again. It's not like the people of Meltokio had much to do besides mingle and party all day. But when even a little snow fell, it was like the world had come to an end. …At least that's what he came to believe, from the amount of complainers and gossipers around town, on his many return trips from the resort city of Altamira. Winter was never Zelos' friend… ever since that terrible night as a child…
Reaching the entrance of his estate about five minutes later, and thankfully, without any ice related incident, Zelos hesitated for a moment before taking the key from his pocket. As he held it in his hand, his eyes narrowed in pain… This was the fourth day since Sebastian--the Wilder family's long time butler, and close personal friend to Zelos--was laid to rest. And once more, the events of that entire terrible ordeal played in his mind like a broken record…
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Complications from a horrible flu of some kind, had unfortunately weakened the quiet, but energetic older man as he lie sick in his bedroom, inside of Zelos' home. The former chosen did everything he knew to do, to help save the man he had always considered a father to him. But despite everything… the various doctors the Zelos had paid an arm and a leg for, and the mana that flowed through his own veins, Sebastian just didn't have the strength left to fight… And he left the world that very night, in his sleep...
A small funeral followed two days later, on the grassy plains outside of his home--a tiny, quiet village located near Sybak--where the survivors of the butler's own family, could give him a proper burial. And Zelos' friends--Lloyd, Sheena, Colette, Regal, Presea, Genis and Raine--stood by, as the former chosen spoke about him. His voice threatened to crack half a dozen times during the small speech. …But, like always, Zelos forced himself to hold in his emotions and feelings… Something he trained himself to do from an early age.
…Sheena could see his pain, no matter how hard he tried to hide it from her, and the rest of the world…
The raven-haired woman stared at her friend with great concern, and remorse. She tried many times to catch the eye of Zelos… to get him to smile at her like he'd usually do. But each time the two exchanged glances, he would slowly turn away from her…
In all the times that he had been there for her, whether in his usual carefree and flirtatious persona, or--in more rare cases--with complete and utter sincerity; Sheena wanted to be there for Zelos… She wanted to be the shoulder that he could cry on… The person who would genuinely listen to his words, and feel his pain… She owed him that much, in the very least.
As awkward as the friendship between the ninja and the former Chosen had always been, they both cared deeply for each other.
Despite Zelos' playful and flirtatious manner towards Sheena, the swordsman always meant well, even if he was absolutely terrible at expressing it. His mouth and his actions often earned him a smack across the face, or an elbow to the gut. And soon after, no matter how angry the summoner was at him, she would try, and fail most of the time, to stifle a fit of giggles. And Zelos would smile, knowing that he had accomplished his goal. He had made his favorite girl happy, which was more of a reward for him than anything in the world…
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Finally placing the key into the keyhole, and unlocking the door, the ex-chosen sighed before finally stepping into the house. He half expected Sebastian to appear and greet him like the man had done for years… but the reality of his death hit yet again, and the redhead balled his fists at his sides, gritting his teeth…
He looked around the large room that he stood in. The marble, checkered floors… kept absolutely spotless and shiny, were now probably covered in a thin layer of dust and dirt. Lights no longer lit up the lavish mansion like they once did... The smell of great food no longer filled the mansion with that warm sense of home Zelos had grown so accustomed to. And with each step he took to reach his upstairs bedroom, the floors squeaked every now and then, and the empty halls echoed, breaking the grim silence that had taken over the entire place...
Zelos reached the door of his room... And through each painful step, his emotions threatened to tear him apart... He wanted so desperately to break down and cry like normal people, but his body wouldn't let that happen... That wouldn't be like him, would it? Not the great Zelos. Not this carefree, wild mustang that the whole world knew as anyone but an emotional rollercoaster. This mustang had to be optimistic and positive, just like he was taught to be. After all, he was rich and powerful. Not to mention handsome, single, and a great hero of the Mithos-Conflict. The fangirls he had come to hate with a passion still flocked to his doorstep in droves. And the king still tried to use him, even though the institute of the Chosen was now abolished throughout the new world.
And of course, he had his friends. But what did they know about him? Lloyd knew some of his life story... Sheena knew a little as well, maybe more than the others. The rest... knew him mostly by name only. To them, Zelos was Zelos. The sarcastic, playful flirt. Skilled with a sword, proficient in novice magic by means of technology, and oh so smart. Sexy? But of course! After all, this was Zelos. Nothing more, nothing less.
Lies. Nothing but a bunch of damn lies...
Coming to the end of his lavish bed, Zelos stared around his room for a moment... His bed was unmade yet again, and his clothes of previous days were flung around across the floor, and furniture. His face hardened as it did every night since... Quickly removing most of his clothes save for his pants, he flopped down onto the soft sheets of his bed. Burying himself under the warmth of his down comforter, he sat awake... After about two hours of deep thought and staring at nothing but the darkness that surrounded him, was he finally able to fall asleep.
The next morning was cloudy, but the sun was at the highest point of the day--noon. Light from the outdoors cascaded through the curtains of the window in Zelos' room, growing thicker and thinner as the wind played around with the shadows of the tree behind his house. It eventually hit his face, and caused him to cover it with a groan. He turned to his side, placing a hand on head... It felt like hammers had beaten down on it all night long, and the throbbing just wouldn't stop. Maybe it was a hangover from last nights party... maybe it was merely his fragile state, at the moment. Zelos finally flung the comforter off of his body, and sat up, still holding his head. He rose to his feet rather wobbly, and walked a few paces away towards the mirror and basin sink across from his bed. He turned the water on, and splashed some on his face. Looking into the mirror, his eyes were bloodshot... Had he actually cried sometime during the night? It couldn't be. Not him. Anyway, that probably wasn't the case. Going to sleep at around three in the morning didn't help matters.
As Zelos continued to look into the mirror, he saw his reflection looking back at him. He pulled his eyes away, sickened by the sight. They averted to the running water that was slowly filling the basin. Zelos grimaced as he saw his reflection rippling in the small bowl of water. He turned off the water, and pulled the plug on the basin--watching as the water drained out of it. Content just to lie down again, the swordsman headed back to his bed.
He stopped when a knock was heard at the front door. It was... hesitant, and a bit soft... Odd, but the former chosen figured it was merely one of his disgusting groupies. Waiting for a moment, he laid back down. Just about to pull the sheets over himself again, another knock was heard. A bit louder, but still relatively calm. Zelos shrugged it off. He really didn't care for visitors. As crappy as he felt, he'd just be a burden anyway. It's not like he wasn't a burden to begin with, but this would only add to it. Burying himself under the the covers once more, he shut his eyes.
Silence ensued for a minute or so... until a voice called his name. Zelos perked up, if only for a few seconds. That voice... a voice more soothing and beautiful than anything in the world. A woman with such grace, and elegance, and courage, and beauty... It was Sheena Fujibayashi...
Zelos' heart skipped a beat, and his eyes widened. What was she doing in Meltokio? Let alone in this crazy weather... The idea of it was nuts. She couldn't possibly care enough to come here just to see... No... It couldn't be. He wasn't worth it...
She called to him again... this time from right under his bedroom window. As Zelos poked his face out from the comforter, to look out through the window, he could see a light snow shower falling. Great... more of the white stuff. Zelos knew he just couldn't leave Sheena out there in the snow. He sighed in defeat, and gave up trying to go back to sleep. Putting on a shirt, the swordsman made his way to the window just a short distance away. Opening it some he stuck his head out and shivered. He looked down and spotted Sheena...
Wrapped up in a thick layer of black clothes, with a blue scarf tied around her neck, and her hair tied up in that familiar bun, Sheena stuck out like a sore thumb in the middle of all of the white that blanketed Meltokio. As he continued to stare at his favorite ninja, she began to shiver. For a moment, he thought he heard her teeth chattering. When she finally caught Zelos looking at her, the summoner gasped a little.
"Finally! ... I've only been freezing my ass off out here for the last fifteen minutes! Could you possibly open the door already? Or will I have to climb into your window?" Spoke the raven haired ninja, Sheena Fujibayashi, all at once. And almost immediately after that comment, she blushed, quickly looking at the ground. "...Don't you dare answer that." She said with embarrassment.
Zelos smirked at her and shook his head. It was too late. Various thoughts of his favorite hunny in his bedroom immediately began to fill his head. When Sheena gained the courage to look up at his face again, she glared at him. ...And any thought the redhead might've been having of her, was now gone. Zelos ushered her over to the door with his head. The ninja stared at her friend, confused for a moment. ...Not one remark. Not even one perverted word escaped his mouth. Sure, he was probably thinking of her as usual, but this silence was a first. Sheena didn't know if this humbled her, or made her worry, but the front door called, and she quickly walked to it.
The door opened, and Sheena opened her mouth for a moment and started to speak... about to greet the one who normally answered the door in Zelos' place. Upon seeing Zelos' face, she shut her mouth and looked away, shuffling her feet on the half plowed entryway. Zelos sighed, and stared at Sheena. He half smiled, and crossed his arms. "...It's alright, Sheena. I did the same thing yesterday night. Force of habit, y'know?" Sheena looked up at Zelos, and blinked her eyes a few times. No remarks this time either... and he called her by her name... Zelos tilted his head, studying the shivering ninja. "You coming in, or what?" Sheena blushed and nodded slightly. She stepped inside and shut the door.
Inside the house, the summoner was greeted by dim lighting, and a cold draft. She shivered a little as the draft reached her face. She looked over at the unlit fire place. A stack of logs sitting next to it. "...Why don't you have a fire going? It's freezing in here..." Zelos remained silent for a moment, and then shrugged. "Just haven't gotten to it yet." He went to the door to lock it, and then headed toward the kitchen.
Sheena walked over to the curling staircase of the mansion. She placed a hand on the cold banister and peered up towards the second floor. The thought of that idiot ex-chosen came into her mind and her face softened... She tore her eyes away from the stairs, and and walked towards the fireplace--the cold winning over anything else she was doing or thinking at the moment. 'The day is half over... Ugh. That moron is so damned lazy sometimes.' She thought, completely irritated. Picking up some kindling that was sitting in a bucket next to the logs, the summoner layed a cluster of it in a loose pile, inside of the fire place. She then took out one of her Ofadu cards, and placed a fire seal on it. Throwing that into the fire, the ninja sighed with relief as a small wall of flame blazed up from the kindling. In a matter of a few minutes, a small fire had stared. Content with this, she took off her long coat, quickly added a few logs, and sat back smiling--watching as the fire began to grow bigger and bigger with each passing second.
"You cold, Sheena?" Zelos' voice echoed from behind. Sheena startled, and placed a hand on her heart. She got up and turned to face him. "Ugh... don't do that! You scared me! ...And of course I'm cold. Which is why I started a fire." She stated, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Zelos simply shrugged and walked over to Sheena, carrying two cups in his hands. "Here... this'll help take the chill off." The ninja stared into the contents of the steaming cup Zelos handed her, with a bit of confusion. It smelt pretty good, but... Zelos raised an eyebrow and looked at her. "It's hot cocoa." He smirked, deciding to play with her a little. "You mizuhoens are so out of the loop when it comes to trivial matters." He said sarcastically. Sheena closed her eyes and carefully took a sip of the hot and tasty beverage just before she elbowed Zelos on the arm. Some of the cocoa that Zelos was now drinking splashed on his tongue, causing him to yelp a little in pain and his stinging tongue to dangle from his mouth. She smirked at him. "Serves you right." Zelos shook his head, finally able to close his mouth. "Still the same, I see." Sheena turned to face him. "And what's that suppose to mean?" Zelos threw up his free hand in defense. "Absolutely nothing."
Sheena narrowed her eyes and stared Zelos down, as he was watching the fire dance around, inside of the fireplace... He was acting differently from his usual overly optimistic, and egotistical self... no dirty remarks... no perverted actions of any kind... In fact Sheena just realized that Zelos didn't even try to hug her when she walked in the door. The stupid idiot ex-chosen she knew would've jumped on that chance in a heartbeat...
"Is there something wrong?" Zelos said, noticing that Sheena was just standing and staring at him. Normally, he wouldn't mind this. Hell, he'd be thrilled. But he couldn't let her know... He couldn't let Sheena know how empty he'd become lately. And as much as he wanted too, he just had too much pride to break down in front of his favorite girl... He just couldn't...
Sheena blinked a few more times at him, trying desperately to come up with what she wanted to really say... but the words never came... "N-no.. Nothing." She sighed miserably on the inside. That was pathetic...
She walked over to the couch and sat down. Perhaps this would motivate him, like it usually did...
...And there she sat... The silence engulfing the room once again. She sighed, hoping to get the redhead's attention.
Nothing.
She coughed softly... and still nothing. He didn't even turn to face her.
'I can't believe he won't even face me...' Sheena thought, hanging her head in sadness. 'Zelos...'
As if he read her thoughts, Zelos shuddered... his free hand tightening into a fist at his side.
"The silence is nice..." He spoke softly, while walking over to a window and looking out at the snow. "So unlike Meltokio to be wrapped in it..." Sheena stared at the back of Zelos with slight confusion. "Just like this snow..." He finished, with some hesitation in his voice. Sheena placed her empty cup on the coffee table near the couch, and got up. Something was wrong with her friend. He just didn't act like this.
"Zelos... you know, if you want to talk about what happened--"
"The winter time is so quiet... and boring..."
"Zelos...--"
"...So cruel," Zelos hesitated for a moment. "unforgiving..."
Sheena walked over to Zelos' side.
"Zelos...?"
Zelos narrowed his eyes in both anger and sadness...
"...Don't worry about what I said. I'm just talking to myself..."
Sheena whipped around to face him.
"No, you're not. Don't forget, I'm standing right here." She said, throwing her hands out a little. Zelos just continued to look out the window.
"Hey! Would you speak to me?" Sheena said, watching his face. She could make out his saddened eyes... so full of pain... Why wouldn't he talk to her...?
Zelos turned his body slightly away from her, hiding his face from her view. Sheena huffed, and circled around to face him again. "Zelos! I came all the way, through this damned blizzard just to see you, and you won't even speak to me?!"
Sheena gasped, instantly freezing... her face turned a hundred shades of red in under a second. Zelos finally averted his eyes away from the window, and stared into her chocolate brown eyes... and eventually, she looked into his.
"...I was worried about you... I just couldn't... I..."
Zelos leaned towards Sheena... In a matter of a second or so, their lips were within centimeters of each other... Sheena felt Zelos' breath on her neck, and she just about melted... was he... would he...?
...Normally, that would be the case, but much to the utter suprise and shock of the raven haired ninja, Zelos hesitantly pulled away and sighed. The next thing he whispered was almost inaudible, but... it was a swear.
The familiar, awkward silence enveloped the room once again...
Suddenly, Zelos wrapped his arms around Sheena's waist, and pulled her close to him. His smile disappeared, replaced with his rare, serious persona... "Do you really want to know me?" Sheena gasped and arched her neck a little to look up at Zelos' face. Her mouth opened and closed several times to speak, but again, the words wouldn't come. Instead, she simply nodded with a small smile. He smiled back, but it quickly turned into a small frown.
"I've been empty for along time Sheena... Empty on the inside... Lonely and hurt. But out there," Zelos said, pointing towards the window. "Nobody gives a shit. I'm still just the Chosen to them. Even after risking my neck to help save the world just two years ago, I'm still nothing to these people. I just exist here, alone in this city..." Sheena stared intently at Zelos, not daring to interrupt his speech. He needed this, and she knew it...
"Heh... you must think I'm pretty lame right now, huh?" He asked, slightly ashamed at his outburst. The ninja smiled. "Not at all." He sighed. "Well anyway..." He paused for a second or so. "Did I ever tell you what happened to my mother?" Sheena shook her head. "Yeah... I didn't think so..." He lead Sheena over to the couch, where they sat down next to each other.
"I'll just get straight to the point..." He said, pausing again to scratch his head. He then folded his hands into his lap. "...My mother was murdered."
Sheena's eyes widened to the point where they almost fell out. "What?!" She asked, completely horrified. Zelos looked at her. "Yeah... I was about seven when it happened... It was just about three weeks from my eight birthday, and Meltokio had a rare snowstorm, just like it's having now." Zelos' eyes averted from Sheena, to the portrait of his mother, Mylene Wilder, hanging where it always hung... on a wall near the coffee table... Sheena's eyes followed his, and they both stared at the picture. "It was the first time I'd ever seen snow. I had heard about it from the other kids in Sybak, but I never knew what it all was... and my mother, for once in her life, actually took me into our garden outside..." Zelos' eye's were welling up with tears, and he looked down at his lap. Sheena tried to look at his face... "I don't know what was going on in her mind, because she was being nice to me for a change. Any other time, she just wasn't. And neither was my bastard of a father. Just Sebastian... He was the only person that ever gave a damn about me." Sheena frowned at that...
"Zelos..." She said, touching his shoulder. He shuddered a bit, and she drew her hand back...
Zelos bit his lip and then continued on. "Anyway..." He sighed, seemingly getting choked up at the mention of Sebastian. "...My father was the chosen at the time. But, he left the both of us, and went back to his lover soon after I was born. ...Then, he and this other woman ended up having Seles, who was sickly from the start of her life... And eventually, Seles' mother became jealous of me..."
Sheena watched as Zelos' body began to tremble... "It was when we had just about finished our first snowman outside... That I saw her mother, coming out from behind some trees... Her hands were glowing..." Zelos gritted his teeth and shut his eyes. "...And the next thing I knew, I saw a bright flash... and then the red snow--my mother's blood--started falling from the sky. Her body was hunched over near our broken snowman, and the ground was covered in a pool of her own blood..." Sheena gasped in horror, and grimaced. She knew, at this rate, Zelos' wall just would not hold up much longer... And Zelos paused to recompose himself, as best as possible, before going on. ...His pride was losing to his heart...
"...Seles' mother killed her, and I was right there to witness it."
Sheena's jaw dropped... she couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"That magic was meant for me. Seles' mother wanted me out of the way because I was the next chosen. She wanted Seles to take my place..."
He trembled again, narrowing his eyes in anger and staring at his lap. Sheena looked down as well...
"And afterwards, Seles' mother was executed, and Seles was placed under house arrest, inside of that damned abby." He closed his eyes. "I never wanted to be the Chosen. I hated everything about it... There were even times where I just felt like ending it all. I mean, I'd be so close sometimes, and then I'd just... "
Zelos looked at Sheena and laughed bitterly, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Dammit... This is so pathetic... You can't be enjoying this." Sheena smiled, trying hard to suppress her own tears. "No... it's okay. Really..."
"Well then, you're in for a treat. ...I'm not even at the best part, yet." Zelos leaned back, and stared into the fire. "...The last thing my mother ever told me... was that I should've never been born." He said, still trying to fight the urge to cry. Sheena watched as a few tears wrestled lose from his eyes, and ran down his cheeks. This side... this story of Zelos, was one that she had never seen nor heard in the entire time that she'd known him; and it broke her heart...
So much suffering... and all this time, he'd kept it bottled up inside...
Wiping some tears off of her own face, Sheena sat dumbfounded for a few moments, trying to sort every piece of information that Zelos had just fed her. It was just so much...
Finally able to compose herself a little, she scooted closer to Zelos, and leaned against him, placing her head on his chest, and her arms around his waist.
"...You idiot." Sheena said with a smile, snuggling closer to him. "...Don't you know by now that your mother was wrong?"
Zelos, finally putting two and two together, nearly fell off the couch in shock at the sight of Sheena leaning against him. This kind of thing just didn't happen... His raven haired ninja had always been too uncomfortable around him to ever get this close to him... Always afraid that he'd do something, or try something... And the Zelos of before probably would've...
But now, she was putting her complete trust into him... And he wasn't about to screw this up.
"Sheena..." He spoke, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.
"If you weren't born, Sebastian would've never had the chance to care for you like he did. Don't you think he took pride in that fact? That he could practically call you his own son?"
At that moment, Sheena felt Zelos' body heat up, and shake almost uncontrollably. As she looked at his face, the facade he was trying to hold was on the verge of shattering entirely.
"...I couldn't save him. I tried... and... I..."
Sheena hugged him even tighter... her tears soaking his shirt. "Don't... don't do that, Zelos. Don't blame yourself for this." She buried herself in his shirt. "Don't make the same mistake I did. Please..." She looked into his eyes. "Just don't... Promise me." Zelos turned away, and nodded ever so slightly. She reached up and wiped some tears from his face, smiling afterwards...
"You know something... if you weren't born, we would've never met. ...And I never would've realized how much I've always had in common with you..."
In that very moment, Zelos moved his arm down to Sheena's waist, and held the other one on her cheek. They stared into each others eyes, and he began to lean towards her face. In a matter of seconds, his lips were within inches of hers... and he gazed at Sheena for reassurance. She remained smiling, giving him the only sign that was ever needed.
Zelos lips met Sheena's in an almost experimental manner. The summoner gasped with surprise as the kiss deepened, and her eyes widened for a second, when she felt Zelos' tongue sneak it's way into her mouth. She moaned, and followed suit, closing her own eyes. Soon, the two were locked in a passionate kiss, as hot as the roaring fire next to them.
What were but a few minutes, seemed endless as the two stayed locked together in a tight embrace--leaving the world around them, behind. Sheena ran her fingers through Zelos' firey red hair, slowly working her way down his back, trying to trace every inch of his muscles through his shirt. And Zelos did the same, all the while leaving a trail of supple kisses along her neck and shoulders, causing the summoner to moan with absolute pleasure... He wanted so desperately to do more, but Sheena--still with some common sense left--instantly put a stop to it.
Pulling away and breathing hard, the two stared into each others eyes. Zelos took just a bit longer to calm himself... Finally catching his breath, and still rather teary-eyed, he took Sheena's hands into his.
"...I love you." He whispered softly, with a genuine, no nonsense smile.
Sheena blushed for the millionth time that afternoon, and smiled back at him. "I... I..." She stammered, unable, at least for the moment, to say those three, little, life changing words...
She stood up and crossed her arms, turning away from Zelos. "...I love you, too..." She whispered so softly, it was almost inaudible... seemingly forgetting that Zelos possessed some angelic abilities, such as the ability to hear the sound of a pin drop on top of a rock near a cascading waterfall, if he so desired...
The ex-chosen got up, and stood behind Sheena, holding her in his arms.
"...So? Does this mean we're...?" The swordsman asked with anticipation. Sheena laughed softly and nodded. And at that moment, Zelos' smile grew bigger than ever. He closed his eyes, resting his head on her shoulder... taking in every ounce of their moment together. The silence, for once in Zelos' life, just felt so very right...
...And suddenly, as if some other presence was in the room with them, a warm wind blew like a quiet breeze past the two intertwined souls...
In an instant, the snow outside ceased to fall from the sky any longer, and the sun peaked from behind the clouds, shining down into the room where they stood, wrapping the two in its light...
Sheena looked around in awe, and nudged Zelos. He smiled at her, and they looked up.
"See? He always wanted you to live..."
"...As do I."
The former chosen of Tethe'alla looked back at Sheena, and planted a kiss on her cheek. And the raven-haired ninja responded by turning to hug him. She truly and honestly loved him... And for the first time in his entire life, Zelos was happiest he'd ever been. It was a feeling so new and unexplored, that the barrier over Zelos came crashing down; and he lost it. ...And Sheena stood ready, openly offering Zelos her shoulder, like she'd always wished to do...
Zelos Wilder had finally found the lost part of himself. Winter suddenly didn't feel so horrible anymore, and best of all, his new future with his new girlfriend looked brighter than ever.
...All because of a humble and caring man named Sebastian... who, even after death, never gave up on his son.
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A/N: Whoops... I went to fix some errors here, and erased my author's notes... Anyway, about this oneshot of mine... I had alot of fun writing this once I finally started getting ideas back. I was cursed with writer's block for such so long... It's not even funny. -.-; This completely strayed from the path I had intended it to take... Which explains why this took so incredibly long to write. But now that I think about it, I'm glad it did. This idea is just more original. I have yet to read a Sheelos fic that included the death of Sebastian, lol. Thanks to all of you who read and review! It really helps with my confidence level. Which Lord knows, I need. n.n;