Author's Note: Finally! Seriously, you people have no idea just how much I wanted to write something for these two. It feels good to have finally made the effort to finish a work for them! I don't think I have to give this warning, but this contains a romantic relationship between two girls, namely the amazing characters of Sheena Fujibayashi and Colette Brunel. They, as a pairing, need so much more love than they get. Feel free to enjoy!
"Wow! It really is beautiful from up here!"
Soft, blonde hair swayed at her back as gentle hands pressed against the window. She grinned, letting out a muffled giggle before she blew forward, creating a small, foggy spot on the glass. Her eyes crinkled in delight as her finger traced over the area to form a lopsided, goofy smiley face. Sheena glanced over at the tiny angel, chuckling at her fervent interest in the winter wonderland outside.
Ever since they had arrived at Flanoir, Colette had been nearly bursting with excitement, and it took Lloyd and Sheena's combined effort just to get her to come along and talk to the doctor. She seemed to really enjoy the sight of snow as well as the atmosphere around Flanoir, more so than any other place they had visited. It had been quite the scare when they realized she was missing from the group after seeing the doctor, and they had spent a good half hour searching for her only to find her browsing through a nearby shop.
Colette loved Flanoir, and from the looks of it, all of Flanoir loved Colette too. The cheerful girl had been involved in various conversations with people Sheena swore she had just met then, and not only that, but a couple of dogs had taken a strong liking to her and were determined to follow their idol throughout the town. Even now, the two canines were lounged comfortably in the lobby of the inn, waiting for Colette to return to them.
Sheena exhaled, unpacking her bag with a childish grin to match her roommate's. It was as if everyone who met the Sylvaranti Chosen couldn't help but be smitten with her: Colette had a kind way of finding the good in people and doing everything in her power to befriend them for that. She never judged, she never discriminated against anything. Colette greeted everyone with that same, warm smile, and held out a hand to pick them back up from the ground. If her targeted victim had been anyone but Colette…well, Sheena didn't want to think where she'd be.
Colette's smile had saved her- it had made her realize that life was truly worth living. For once, someone had actually wanted to get to know the real Sheena, despite the things she had done or the person she had been. Someone had actually wanted to be her friend.
Colette was special to Sheena in the way, and she would be damned if she let anyone try to hurt the girl anymore. She would protect Colette to the end to make up for the times when she had tried to assassinate her…at least, that was what she told herself.
The sight of her now, pushing against the window while poking at stuck snowflakes on the glass, sparked a fond feeling at the back of Sheena's mind, and she set down an unfolded shirt to join her companion.
"You really love the snow, huh?"
Colette took a minute to process Sheena behind her, then turned back to face the summoner. "Yeah! I mean, it's snowed in Iselia before, but here it all just looks so amazing! I wish it was like this all this time!"
Sheena laughed a bit, crossing her arms over her chest. "I can't say I'd want the same thing…but I admit, it is really pretty out there, even if it is freezing cold."
"I know, right?" Her sky blue eyes lit up, watching the snow flutter down to the streets. "I can actually tell that it's cold now! I'm so happy!"
A melancholic look flickered across Sheena's eyes and she peered at Colette with a frown. She had almost forgotten how painful it was for the Chosen during the angel transformation, and it hurt even Sheena just to remember it. Colette had lost everything: her gentle feelings, her sweet voice, and ultimately, her loving heart itself. The worst part about it was that she had done absolutely nothing to deserve it. To Cruxis, Colette was simply a number, a vessel to be easily thrown away after outliving its use. While she trudged on with the belief that she was saving the world, the so-called angels simply laughed in her face, feeding her lies and pushing her forward to her death.
Nothing angered Sheena more, and her fists clenched reflexively at the thought of the entire situation. She blinked as a tender hand clasped its way around her shaking one, and she brought her head back up to meet Colette's concerned stare.
"Sheena? Are you ok?"
Her hand still felt as if it were trembling under Colette's, despite the fact that it had stopped as soon as the angel's rested over her's. "I'm alright…just thinking."
Colette tilted her head as Sheena slipped her palm out from under her grasp, letting it fall to her side awkwardly. "What were you thinking about? You can talk to me if you want."
"No, it's ok. It was nothing." Sheena forced a smile, then focused on the wintry sky before them. "Say, Colette…wanna go outside with me?"
Her intention to change the subject and cheer Colette up had worked like charm, the blonde's expression turning ecstatic as she heard Sheena's request.
"Of course!"
Almost immediately, Sheena had begun to regret the idea totally and completely. Perhaps it was something about the way the intense chill had hit her face as soon as she stepped out the door, or perhaps it was the way the icy wind had seemed to breeze right through her flowy clothes. Never had she ever despised the V-neck dip in her shirt more than now as she hugged her arms close around her torso in an attempt to keep warm.
Sheena hated the cold weather. A lot.
Colette managed to be the exact opposite though, as she twirled around in the snow covering the balcony, her boots crunching the ice underneath. It was like she was surrounded by an invisible blanket of warmth, her sunny grin never fading with each step. She leaned against the railing, scanning the city below them in bliss. Sheena propped herself nearby, shivering and following Colette's gaze across the buildings.
"Everyone's asleep, I guess." Her eyes glazed over with an emotion her friend couldn't read as she glimpsed back. "The world looks so peaceful when you stand here like this."
Colette nodded, letting her breath escape in a foggy mist from her lips. "I like it. It's so calm…it kind of makes you forget about all the trouble with Cruxis."
Sheena scoffed. "I wish I could just forget it forever. Everything they've put us through…everything they've done to you…it's crazy. I hate it."
"Everything Cruxis has done…it's horrible, right?" Hesitant lips pursed. "But still…I can't help but feel sorry for them. Half-elves are treated so badly, and all they've ever wanted was just to feel like everyone else. No one ever gives them a chance."
The older woman closed her eyes, appeared to mull over something before replying. "Mithos said he wanted to create an 'Age of Lifeless Beings'. Do you think discrimination would just go away if everyone became lifeless beings?"
"I want to say yes, but…" Colette sighed. "No. I don't think it would. And without a heart…life would be really sad."
"I agree." Sheena replied, her voice quiet as if she didn't want to be heard. "I'm human, but the people of Mizuho and the others of Tethe'alla have always had a gap separating them. Even inside Mizuho, I always stood out."
"Sheena…"
"I can make pacts with Summon Spirits." The former assassin let her lips curve into a small, self-ridiculing smile. "Apparently, only those of elven blood can call forth a Summon Spirit. The instant I made the pact with Corrine, people began to look at me differently. I thought to myself, this is what it must be like for half-elves all the time."
Colette grew shaken, her eyes glittered with distress. "That's terrible…there's nothing wrong with you, or any of the half elves! We're all people, aren't we? We all have feelings!" She clenched a hand at her own chest, glancing downward. "We're all fine just the way we are!"
Sheena avoided her companion's anguished gaze, tilting her head up to observe the falling snow. "I've lost count of all the times I wished I was different. I was the monster that caused the death of countless people inside my own village because of my abilities." She muttered a little louder than a whisper, her mind drifting from her words. "But you know…it's because of this power that I met Corrine…and you."
"If you didn't have your summoning powers…" The blonde paused, as if finally understanding something. "Someone else might've come to kill me instead."
"Exactly." She replied, her expression softening. "I'm glad I was able to meet you, Colette. I changed, and because of you…I…" Sheena inhaled sharply, as if stopping herself from a thought. "I've been able to become everything I am today. I'm not afraid anymore to step out and be myself."
Colette watched Sheena for a minute, eyes wide in wonder. An odd feeling rose up her spine as she glanced over the rare, vulnerable emotion on her teammate's face and she turned away, bringing her attention back to the sleeping city.
"I'm glad I met you too, Sheena."
Sheena smiled fondly, her face flushing from the winter along with Colette's. "If I think about it that way, everything a person possesses is important in some way. They're all needed. We're all needed, and that's why we're here. We…all need each other, too."
"You're right." The younger female matched her, beaming gratefully. "Without you and Lloyd and the others…I would still be heartless. I'd probably be one of those mindless angels right now up in Derris Kharlan."
Her arms rose upward and she cupped her hands, catching a few snowflakes in her grasp. She indulged in the chill as the frosty perspiration melted on her palm. "It's so good to finally feel the cold again! Well, all of the senses, really. I missed being able the feel the world around me."
The Summoner laughed a bit, reaching up to brush some snow out of her partner's hair. "It's even better to have you back, Colette."
Russet eyes met azure for a long, capturing moment until neither was exactly sure why they were staring anymore. Her pulse rising, Colette hurriedly reached down in her pocket to break the eye contact before pushing something against Sheena's chest and focusing downward at her shoes. Sheena blinked, moving her hand on top of Colette's to accept the gift.
When the flustered Chosen let go, she felt a small weight dependent on her grasp and studied the cool, round object in her hands. She rotated it to what seemed to be right side up, realizing that the little stone was supposed to be a rabbit, complete with glued on cloth for ears and little gems for the eyes and nose. Tape was messily wrapped around a section of the figure's head to keep the facial features in place and the ears looked to be hanging on miraculously by a thread.
"It's a charm." Colette continued to stare down at her feet, a sheepish grin coupling with her blush. "A Flanoir snow bunny. They say it brings good luck."
Sheena kept her gaze on the trinket resting in her hands, gaping awkwardly for lack of anything coherent to say. The tiny angel became even more embarrassed, fidgeting and poking her fingers together.
"I'm sorry! I know it's a little broken! I was trying to make it look like the guy in the store said, but the ears kept falling off and whenever I glued an ear back on an eye came off so then I tried taping them all on together and-"
Any other of her adventures in creating the charm stopped dead in her throat as a pair of arms wrapped around her figure, pulling her close in a warm embrace. Colette felt frozen despite the heat rushing to her face, standing there blankly as Sheena's head beckoned over her shoulder.
"I love it, Colette…thank you so much."
Her heart raced and the rest of her body seemed to stop in time as Sheena kept her locked in the hug. 'What's wrong with me…?' She inwardly berated herself, slowly bringing her own arms to encircle around her capturer's torso. 'I've been hugged before, right?'
The Tethe'allan woman tensed as she felt Colette's own, small grasp wrap around her, sealing the embrace. She hadn't expected Colette to hug back, or to attach herself for this long, for that matter. The way the innocent girl had presented her with the handmade charm stirred something in her...and Sheena had no idea how to respond to such a kind, blatant show of affection. Before she knew it, she had rushed up to pull Colette close, her body taking action before her mind created the words to do so.
Sheena was never a 'touchy-feely' person, as she liked to put it. That was why the very action of hugging Colette came as a shock to even herself. If she really concentrated on it, she could honestly say that Colette threw off the entire routinely workings of her system without even trying. It was like a hidden talent of hers, and especially now, Sheena could admit that she was damn good at it.
After a while, her smaller companion relaxed in the embrace, nuzzling her head over Sheena's chest. Colette melted in the warmth that came with being close to Sheena and let her eyes close as she listened to her teammate's rhythmic breathing and heartbeat. Sheena was far off from complaining, relishing in the shared heat between them regardless of the frigid cold surrounding them.
'Who knew cold weather could actually be enjoyable for once?'
The steady flow of water to the shower floor beat as her hands twisted the knob, steam from the heat collecting in the air. Sheena drew in a breath, relaxing under the pounding of the water as her soaked hair collected at her shoulders.
It was somewhat past midnight, but Colette had conked out a few hours ago, peacefully snoozing away on her bed. The older of the two roommates was having a difficult time sleeping, and decided that taking a hot shower would probably put her mind at ease. Although they had returned from their outing on the balcony a long while back, Sheena couldn't help but continually direct her mind back to that one, little hug.
'What was even so special about it?' She mused, grabbing a bar of soap.
She'd had intimate moments with other people before and she figured that what had occurred with Colette wasn't all that significant at all. Just a friendly, 'thank you' hug.
Friends hugged all the time, right?
'…It was different though, the way I threw myself at her.' Sheena frowned with a blush, pulling her hair up and rinsing through it. 'Almost as if-'
A sudden scream pierced through the air and Sheena stumbled back in shock, desperately clutching against the sides of the shower to keep herself from slipping. She paled, her heart tightening in her chest as she rushed to turn off the water.
"Colette!" She shouted, quickly running out and yanking a towel down to wrap around herself.
Sheena burst through the door, clutching the fabric around her body as she wildly searched around in the dark. Her eyes ultimately rested on a small huddle of blankets, trembling on the bed as if bitten by the wind. The raven-haired woman's expression relaxed, if only slightly, to know that Colette was still there, but she frowned in concern as she padded over to sit by her side.
"Colette…?" She hesitantly placed a hand on the shaking lump, and grew troubled as the heap stiffened at her touch. "What happened?"
From inside the blankets, Colette choked out a sob, her voice as distressed as her mental state. "Don't die, Sheena! Sheena…Sheena…I'm sorry…"
Sheena felt a piercing, shot of pain course through her veins as the tormented Chosen continued to cry out her name, and hastily moved closer, ripping the blankets off her trembling figure. "I'm right here, Colette! It's ok! I'm not dead!"
Colette stared at her through tearful, bloodshot eyes while untamed locks of golden hair fell across her blanched, wet face. Pain attacked Sheena's heart now more than ever as she took in the disheveled, broken image of her friend next to her. Her mind screamed to hold the girl and never let go, but her body refused to move, too stricken by the raw misery on Colette's once unbreakable façade.
Sheena barely processed it when Colette flung herself into her arms, sobbing and holding on for dear life as if the summoner would collapse over dead the moment she released her grip. Tears began to well up in Sheena's own eyes as she tightened her grip around Colette, pulling her close and stroking the back of her head in comfort.
"Don't worry…nothing's going to happen to me, alright? I'm not leaving you. Not ever."
Colette whimpered, burying her head into the towel slipping off Sheena's chest, ignoring the water that dripped onto her head from her partner's hair. "But you were killed, Sheena! You died and I couldn't save you! I tried…I tried so hard…"
"Shh…" Sheena whispered, nestling her head down to speak softly in the blonde's ear. "It was just a nightmare. I'm not going to die…I promise."
Colette pulled back, rubbing her eyes and sniffling as she looked back at Sheena. "Ok."
"There you go." She smiled encouragingly, tenderly reaching over to wipe a stray tear from her ally's cheek. "That's my Colette."
The girl blushed, then hid her face in her palms. "I'm sorry…I caused you trouble again…"
Sheena sighed, cupping Colette's face in her hands and lifting her head up gently to meet hers. "Look at me, Colette. I want you to stop thinking that you cause me trouble, ok?" She gazed at the smaller female fondly, grazing a thumb across her forehead affectionately. "You can only do the exact opposite."
Colette's eyes widened, the blood rushing to her head as she noticed the towel sliding off her friend's naked body. Sheena appeared oblivious to that small fact, lost in a flustered, sapphire stare. The angel glanced back at Sheena's eyes, moving in closer toward her own as she felt the woman's warm breath across her face. Her mind had little notion of what was going on, lost in the lustful haze seemingly thick around their thoughts.
Nothing made sense anymore as she felt Sheena's lips press against hers, and she didn't even recognize it when her own head tilted forward, accepting the gesture. She let her eyes close and lips part as Sheena pushed forward to deepen the kiss, tongue pressing softly against Colette's with a quiet hesitation. They relaxed in a gentle kiss for a moment, intensifying it only slightly during their pull closer.
One minute she was having nightmares about Sheena dying and the next kissing her senseless in reality. Nothing clicked in this turn of events, but Colette accepted it wholly, savoring the feeling of Sheena caressing her face, kissing her delicately. Nothing tasted sweeter, and nothing felt more perfect.
Colette couldn't help the slight disappointment when Sheena pulled away, staring down with guilty eyes. "I…I didn't meant to...uh…" She slowly cupped a hand over her mouth, turning bright red. "I'm sorry, Colette, for forcing you into that…"
The blonde quickly shook her head, leaning forward as she clenched her fists in her lap. "You didn't force me, Sheena! I…I liked that. A lot." She blushed, looking away. "If it's ok…could we…do that again sometime?"
Sheena suddenly laughed, her eyes glinted with amusement. "Of course. Just…" She brushed a strand of Colette's hair back, leaning over to press her lips tenderly against the girl's forehead. "Don't be so nervous about it, ok? I just can't believe you felt the same way."
Colette kept her eyes downward, focusing on the towel despite what was slipping out. "When two people kiss…it…usually means they love each other, right?"
"Yeah." Sheena pulled the Chosen close, a sheepish smile curling on her lips. "Only…the kiss usually comes after the confession, you know? Except…I kinda jumped into it and reversed the order because I wasn't sure what I was feeling."
She took a deep breath, tilting Colette's chin up to stare into her eyes. "I'm pretty sure now that I've fallen hopelessly in love with you."
Colette turned bright red, her eyes shimmering with unshed, emotion-filled tears as she grinned. "I think it's safe to say the same for me too, huh?"
Sheena relaxed, a childish bliss spreading across her face as she leaned forward once more, capturing the girl's lips in her own. The kiss quickly grew longer than the last, the two pushing against each other with an exploring desire as they fell back on the bed, nestled warmly in the blankets. Sheena, now realizing the loss of towel from her torso, did what she could to ignore it as Colette fell against her chest, cuddling with her happily as she closed her eyes and drifted off.
All of Sheena's life, she'd been shunned, considered a murderer and a killer by the eyes of all those that surrounded her. Each glare was cold and unfeeling like the winter, harsh with rejection.
Laying there with Colette, though, she realized, there was a pair of warm, summer eyes out there, and they belonged to the gentle, smiling face of the Sylvaranti Chosen that she had tried to kill. She beckoned her head downwards, planting a gentle kiss on the girl's forehead before beginning to fall asleep in her arms.
'Funny, how the one person I intended to kill could somehow become the one person I needed the most. Fate might hate me, but as long as I've got Colette…I say fate can screw me over all it wants.'