Disclaimer: Don't own anything.

Author's Note: Got the idea while rereading the Noble Dead Saga and it's based on that series. If you get the chance to read it, please do. It's a great read.

Went to Aquatica yesterday and did a little shopping at JCPenny, one of my favorite stores. Got a few cool shirts, one with Dr. Seuss on it. :) Yes, I'm a total child sometimes. And, because my cousin hasn't seen Smallville, we're rewatching all eight seasons.

Headed to Miami for a mini vacation. It's hot down here, even for Florida, but at least there's an ocean breeze and nearby beaches down there.

Currently in that love/hate relationship with Arc Rise Fantasia right now. Can't beat this stupid plant boss that I should be able to beat, but unfortunately, it's one of those playthroughs that's determined to piss you off.

-/-/-/

Behind every successful woman is a substantial amount of coffee. ~Stephanie Piro

-/-/-/

The whispers turn into full-on mutters when they see him walk into the village's main square. The man made an impressive sight, his hair looking very bright in the light of the lanterns as it trailed behind him. The edges of a slightly tattered and worn sleeveless coat whipped around his knees.

"It's the Chosen One." They murmur to one another as they tap at each other's shoulders and tug on relatives' hands. "He's come at last."

The village leader strode up to him, leaning partially on his cane. "You don't know what an honor it is to have you here, Chosen One."

The Chosen's hand rests on the hilt of the sword at his left hip. "I heard that there were difficulties here with…evil spirits, was it?"

"Yes. They've been troubling us for near a week and—there! Right there! Did you see it?"

The Chosen follows the man's shaking finger and sees an odd creature. It as similar to a bird, but with elongated arms that ended in long claws and a long trail of feathers. Attached to its back was a wooden wheel, with symbols inscribed at each of eight points along the circle.

"I need you to stay inside." The Chosen told the village leader, drawing his sword.

The village leader didn't question him and half -limped inside one of the huts, his uneven gait marked by the cane thumping.

The Chosen's blade shot out, but it's deflected by the spirit's sharp claws. His sword style was all about thrusts and sharp jabs, not like some of the wide, graceful arcs he'd seen people use in the matches in the Coliseum.

He ducks and weaves out of the way of those talons and the beak, slipping his sword in during any openings. Some of the openings are obvious and he suppresses a smirk. During a particularly wide opening, his sword darted out to where the spirit's heart is. Or where it would be had the spirit still been there, but it had disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

There's a moment of silence before the villagers are running out of their huts, nearly tripping over themselves to congratulate him. And then there's his favorite line: "What can we ever do to repay you?"

"The Church is in need of donations." He tells them. "And I am in need of some supplies, for the road to the nearest town is a long one."

They're more than happy to give him their savings and their tax money. It isn't much for it is a small village and he knows that they'll suffer a hard year for it, but he can't bring himself to say no.

-/-/-/

"So, Zelos, how thrilled were they to meet the 'Oh so great Chosen One?"

Zelos looks at the woman poking at the firewood, urging the flames higher. They were a complete contrast, he and Sheena. Where he was pale-skinned, blue-eyed and red-haired with a Meltokio accent that sometimes returns to his words when he's at his most relaxed, Sheena was all ebony hair and lightly tanned skin with no accent to hint at where she started life.

Curled up beside her is small fox-like creature that Zelos is never quite sure what to call it. Sheena had said that Corrine was a Summon Spirit, a small one. But Corrine looked nothing like the fearsome Summon Spirits of the old tales that Zelos remembers memorizing as a child.

"Quite thrilled, actually. And they were ever so grateful to be rid of their 'evil spirit'." Zelos put their reward into their packs. They'd divide it into shares tomorrow morning. "And you couldn't have given me a better challenge, Ms. Summoner? That spirit was ridiculously easy to beat."

Sheena glanced over at him and she looked almost devious with the firelight creating exotic shadows across her face. "Well, when I do that, then you complain that I mess up your dashing good looks with a cut on the cheek, which, by the way, hasn't scarred like you said it would."

"That's because I'm good at healing magic."

"Liar. You know healing magic, but you're not good at it. What you know is basics."

"Like you could do any better?" Zelos shot back.

Sheena doesn't reply, but accepts the hard bread that Zelos hands her. She's gotten very good at not remembering times before she met Zelos Wilder three years ago, but every now and then, the memories creep their own way to the surface before she forcefully shoves them back into their little box.

She hadn't been trained to heal, after all.

"Hey, Zelos," Sheena began, a little hesitantly, "I've been thinking."

"A most dangerous past time." She half-glared at him and he put his hands up. "Alright, alright. What were these deep thoughts about?"

Sheena leaned back on her hands. "How long can we really keep this scam up? One of these days, we're going to head to a town that'll know that you're not the real Chosen and we'll get thrown in jail for years for impersonating such a high member of the Church."

Zelos didn't answer right away, but he crossed his long legs and clasped his hands loosely in his lap. "Where are you going with this?"

"I've been saving up gald for a while and I've finally got enough to buy this old coffee shop in Sybak. There's an apartment right above it that's part of the price. I thought we could…y'know…run it together."

Zelos stared at her. A coffee shop? It seemed so ordinary after three years of traveling together and running scams. And it was in Sybak, the second-largest city in Tethe'alla. It had been a long time since he'd lived in an actual city with normal people. As much as he might enjoy her company, there was no mistaking Sheena Fujibayashi as normal.

He's not sure if it's a good thing that he was at his most comfortable with a not-normal woman that he knew nothing about.

Well, not quite nothing. He knew that she was stubborn and independent; just a tad feminist and fiery-tempered. She was a summoner, something long thought extinct or hidden from the world. She didn't like the taste of alcoholic drinks. She hated soup and her favorite meal was some meat, rice and beans.

But he knew nothing about where she came from. She never spoke of her childhood, of the place where she grew up. She said nothing of her admittedly incredible fighting skills. But then, he didn't say anything to her about his past either, so he supposed it was fair.

"If you don't like the idea, just tell me." Sheena was avoiding his eyes now, like she always did when she was uncomfortable.

"You got a name for this coffee shop of yours?"

She looked back at him. "I thought I'd let you do that. You're the one who's better with words after all."

"I suppose I could come up with something, genius that I am." Zelos smirked over at her. "Besides, what would you do without me?"

"Probably have a lot fewer headaches." But there was a smile on her lips as she said it.

-/-/-/-

Zelos and Sheena glanced at each other as Sybak came into view. Sheena's hair was pulled back into its customary ponytail and she wore a faded pair of black breeches and a white muslin shirt that was a tad too big on her. Her few extra clothes, along with her share of the scam money—whatever was left of it as most of it had gone to the buying of this coffee shop—as well as their supplies from the road were in the pack on her back.

Zelos was wearing his loose, white breeches and a black shirt. His old sleeveless, pink coat was folded and hidden out of sight in his own pack. It was all well and good to wear it when they were running the scam—something so flamboyant was expected of the Chosen of Mana, after all—but in a university town like Sybak, it would be too noticeable. His sword was still at his hip and he had a dagger in each boot. A faded black scarf held back his hair rather than the usual headband. His hair would draw as much attention as the coat and though he couldn't hide it all because it was, after all, longer than Sheena's, much of recognizing a person came from first appearances.

"Where is this shop?"

"I was told that it was near Hemmel Ave."

"You have no idea where that is, do you?"

Sheena shook her head. "Not a clue."

"Wait here." Zelos strode over to a young woman reading on a bench. "Excuse me?" She looked up at him. "I'm sorry to bother you, but could you direct me to Hemmel Ave?"
"Yeah sure." She pointed to the many stalls that had been set up for market. Half of them were students trying to sell inventions or hand-made trinkets. "Just go down that way, take a left and then take the…fourth right? Yeah, the fourth one."

"Thanks, hunny."

Zelos caught Sheena's eye and jerked his head towards the stalls. When she'd caught up with him, she said, "Another one of your conquests?"

Sheena didn't know much about Zelos Wilder, but she did know that he was a bit of a womanizer.

He smiled innocently at her. "Would I do such a thing, darling?"

"I don't think discussing what you would or would not do is a safe topic right now." Sheena said darkly.

Zelos chuckled. The stalls' wares shimmered in the sunlight and woven bracelets caught their eyes. There were embroidered pillows and leather journals; paintings and charcoal sketches. There was one stall dedicated entirely to books that were well-thumbed with their pages yellowed. They were classics, from the titles on their spines and Zelos made a mental note of where it was since he might buy a few of those himself.

"Zelos."

He turned towards her, hearing the odd note in her voice. Following her gaze, he saw the building. "This is it? Kind of a fixer-upper, ain't it?" The walls were cracked, the windows a little dirty. The wood on the door was splintered and the small balcony upstairs that they could only assume belonged to the apartment had laundry drying on the banister.
"It's not nearly so bad."

They both looked at the young woman with her hands on her hips. Her silver hair was short enough to just brush her shoulders and her cerulean eyes were steely.

"And you are…?" They asked.

"I'm the former owner of this establishment and it is not a fixer-upper. We've been having some problems with the weather lately, that's all." The woman held out a hand and Sheena and Zelos shook it. Her hand was calloused and ink-stained. "My name is Raine Sage, by the way."
"Sheena Fujibayashi." "Zelos Wilder." They replied at the same time.

"Come on in, then. When you said you'd be here soon, I didn't expect you within the week. It often takes people much longer than that to get here. The nearest town is Ozette, after all, and the forest is hard to travel through."
The inside was very inviting. The counter was long enough to span the length of the room and there was a case on the end of it that looked as though it was for pastries and the like. Small tables were scattered across the room and no two chairs were alike. There were two bookshelves right beside the entrance to the stairs, which was to the left of the counter, that sagged beneath the weight of their contents.

"It's cozy." Sheena commented as she looked around. "Why are you selling it?"

"I was only doing this for a job." Raine replied. "I needed to save enough gald so that we could afford to go to the local university here."
"'We'? Who else…?" Zelos began.

"My brother, Genis, also wants to attend the university." Raine frowned. "He should be home by now."

"I am home." Someone said, slightly affronted. Sheena and Zelos were both startled to see the boy coming down the stairs. His hair was a shade paler than Raine's and his eyes had a touch more gray, but there was no mistaking the relation. "I was making lunch." The boy looks at them. "Just a precaution, don't ever eat anything she gives you. You're likely to be poisoned."

Raine cuffed him hard over the head and Genis, for the boy was undoubtedly Raine's brother, winced even as he smiled at them.

"He's not your only brother, is he?" Sheena asked.

"Yes, he is. Why?"
"I dunno. Aren't you a bit young to be going for a university, Genis?" Sheena asked. She'd always hated conversations like this. They reminded her of her own erratic education. At least, the education that was taught from textbooks.

"He's advanced for his age."

"Apparently."

"Ah, I nearly forgot. I was curious if you would mind doing us a small favor." Zelos inclined his chin, curious, and Sheena tilted her head a little. "There are two bedrooms upstairs and it's difficult to find apartments at this time of year. If it isn't too much trouble for you, we'd like to stay. Just until we find an apartment, you understand. We'd still be willing to help out with the shop and we'd share a bedroom of course."

Zelos and Sheena look at each other and Zelos shrugs. He doesn't particularly care either way. He wouldn't deny that Raine was beautiful, but it was the beauty of a marble statue; cold and untouchable.

Sheena smiles and tells them that that's no problem at all. It wasn't as though she and Zelos hadn't shared the same campsite for the past three years anyway. They were accustomed to each other. Sheena's still not entirely sure about all this—she's never run her own business before, after all—but surely four intelligent people could do this.

-/-/-/

The next morning is their first official day of business. Sheena, a natural early riser, woke first and showered, dressed and made her bed before she prodded Zelos awake. The redhead flopped on his back and blinked blearily up at her. Sheena isn't surprised to find his eyes still a little bloodshot before they shut tight.

"Why's I' so bright in here?"

Sheena had only opened the curtains part of the way. After three years, she was accustomed to Zelos' drunkenness on many nights. She never asks him why—it's none of her business after all—and Zelos has the good grace to drink only once she's asleep or not around. Sheena's come up with plenty of theories in the past as to why he would get himself drunk so much if he knew what the consequences were—he certainly wasn't an addict because she's seen him live perfectly fine without the alcohol during some hard times—and the theory that makes the most sense to her is that he's doing it to forget. She wants to know what was so terrible that he would want to forget it, but then she remembers the things in her own past and understands it a little better.

"It's not too bright." Sheena is careful to keep her voice quiet because he hadn't annoyed her much yesterday and talking any louder would be a punishment. It's a natural thing, their relationship of nagging and teasing and insulting each other. Sometimes they step too far on the insults, but it's rapidly forgotten. "It's called morning and we have work to get done. C'mon."

"I hate you." He murmurs, a forearm over his eyes.

"I'll give you five minutes before I come back and toss you in the shower."

Zelos hadn't been on the receiving end of that particular threat before, but he knows that she can throw him and that she certainly wasn't afraid to do it, so he rolls out of bed immediately. Something else that he was curious about. After all, there weren't many women who could throw a fully-grown man that far. Even if Zelos wasn't a large man, it was still an impressive feat.

But he wouldn't ask.

Because it was part of their unspoken code that they lived by. No questions, no lies. And her unflinching honesty was one of the things that Zelos most prized about Sheena.

True to her word, Sheena returned five minutes later. Zelos is dressed and toweling his hair dry and gives her a slightly annoyed good morning. He did enjoy his sleep after all. But any trace of annoyance leaves his mind as he sees the two mugs in Sheena's hands.

She hands him his coffee—black, just as he likes it—and the smell goes a long way to relieving his headache. "You're an angel, darling." He tells her. "Seriously, you've got wings."

Sheena rolls her eyes, but she lets the comment go. He only made the mistake of calling her 'hunny' once and he's only ever called her darling since. "You really think we're ready for this?"

"What, starting the coffee shop business?" Zelos leans a hip against the wall, taking a sip.

"Yeah. I've never run a business. I have no idea how to do this. Do you?"

"Not in the slightest. But that's the fun of it. Besides, Raine's been running the shop for a while. She'll show us the rest of the ropes."

"That cappuccino machine hates me." Sheena muttered and Zelos laughed.

"It wasn't that bad."
"No? It sprayed coffee all over me and I just turned it on!"

"That's because you're a demonic banshee, remember?" He grins as she kicks him lightly in the shin. It had been some of their original scams. They'd get flour and berries to paint her face and she'd sweep into town, pretending to be an omen of death.

Zelos holds up his mug. "To partners in coffee entrepreneurship."

Sheena smiled a little reluctantly and clinked her mug against his.

-/-/-/

Their first day is filled with much spilling of coffees and broken glasses. The cappuccino machine spits up all over Sheena again and they forget or mix up a lot of orders. Genis is baking the pastries that go in the case and Raine runs the register.

It seems as though there's never a lull and Raine explains that it's because the students were all getting off of classes at different times. It's only when the sun is dipping below the sunset that they finally close shop.

"I have a newfound appreciation for people in the service industry." Zelos said, leaning his forearms on the counter.

"Agreed."

Genis hops up onto a stool and grins lopsidedly at them. "It's always bad the first day. It gets easier the more you do it, trust me."

"Am I allowed to kill that machine?" Sheena asked darkly, passing everyone a mug of spiced tea. As fond as she was of coffee, she wasn't sure she wanted to see it again until tomorrow.

Zelos thanked her and drank deeply from the mug before saying, "No, darling. We need that."

"Damn."

They chuckled.

"Any luck on that name?" Sheena looked at him over the rim over mug.

"I've got a few choices. Romo's Coffee."

The other three give him confused looks. "Tell me this has some kind of meaning behind it."

"I was doing some research on it last night." Sheena can see it in her mind. Zelos curled up somewhere, wine in one hand, a book in the other. "And the Romo were the first people recorded to discover coffee. Their tradition was to plant a coffee tree over the grave of the most powerful of their deceased sorcerers and summoners. Their belief was that the first coffee bush sprang up from the tears that the Goddess shed over the body of the hero, Mithos.*"

Sheena shifted on her stool. "I like the way that sounds."

"Where did you find that information?" Raine asked, washing out her already empty mug.

"Headed to the library. It's open to the public, isn't it?"

"Not for very long after dark it isn't."

Zelos lifted and dropped his shoulders in a graceful shrug. "I may or may not have broken the lock a bit."

"Wonderful. I allowed a thief to buy the shop." Raine muttered.

"Hey, I didn't buy it." Zelos protested. "Sheena did."

"And he didn't actually break in." Sheena told them. "He was lying." Zelos doesn't like the fact that she can read him so easily. "He probably just flirted with the librarian and convinced her to let him in. It wouldn't be the first time he's used women to do something illegal."

"You sound so degrading."

"You're a womanizer. It's not exactly a well-looked upon habit."

Raine realized when they walked in that arguing and baiting each other was an integral part of Sheena and Zelos' relationship, whatever it was. Partners, certainly. Friends, most likely.

"We've gotten away from the actual point. Are we keeping the name?"

"I like it." Sheena voted.

"Same."

"Do I really need to state my opinion?" Zelos asked, spreading his hands. "I came up with it, after all."

"Then it appears we're keeping the name." Raine toasted with the rest of them. "To the opening of Romo's Coffee."

"Hear hear." The others chorused.

-/-/

*Got this from the beliefs of the Oromo people, an ethnic group from Ethiopia. Changed some of it around, obviously