The wind was cool against her face, blowing loose strands of deep violet hair that had escaped her quickly made tail. The waves of the ocean lapping up on the shore was calming to her, almost lulling her back to sleep. Although she could hear them from her room on the top floor of the Altamira hotel, it just wasn't the same as being near the beach. It was dark outside, except for the stars dotting the sky and the waning crescent of the moon. Sunrise was still a few hours away, and yet she couldn't sleep.

There were still a few people walking around at this time of night, which surprised Sheena, but also kept her on her guard. Most of the people walking around were coming back from the casino, the drunken stagger evident in their step. They made Sheena nervous being outside by herself and made her wish she had clothed herself a little better. The hotel had supplied long, thin bathrobes made of silk for each individual, and that's all she was wearing. Underneath she wore underwear and a camisole, no bra. Though she didn't doubt she could handle some drunken idiot, it still didn't stop her from feeling nervous all the same…

Altamira was the first break they had in a long while. The group had originally come here for a reason, though that reason was kind of forgotten once they saw the resort. Lloyd, Collette, and Genis especially lobbied for them to at least take a few days in the sun. Zelos, upon seeing all the girls in bikinis, was all for spending a few days, if not the rest of his life, here. Raine and Regal voted against it, but they were clearly outnumbered and ended up enjoying themselves the first day. Presea… well, she just went along with whatever the group decided.

At first Sheena had been a little shy walking around in her bathing suit when she noticed she was getting looks from all the guys. Zelos even found time to tease her about her suit. It didn't stop her though from enjoying herself. She and Raine sat back in the shade of their parasol watching Lloyd try to drown Genis while Collette sat in the shallows, not sure if she should keel over laughing or try and save Genis. Sheena laughed more at Raine's conflicting expression than she was at the scene in front of her. Eventually Raine started laughing as well, which made Sheena relax a bit more. Genis' angry voice drew her attention back to the scene, amber eyes constantly resting on Lloyd.

"You're in love with Lloyd aren't you?"

The Professor's voice startled Sheena, making her sit up from her reclined position. She stammered incoherently and stopped, cheeks burning, when Raine laughed at her reaction. Pouting, she lay back down, eyes darting back and forth looking for anyone who might've heard.

"Relax," Raine stated calmly, "it was just a question."

"Kinda personal isn't it?" Her angry and embarrassed response spurred another laugh from Raine and made her cheeks burn more. "What do you care anyway?"

At this the older woman stayed silent. Her silence unnerved Sheena. Had she insulted Raine? Raine wore sunglasses, so Sheena couldn't see what her eyes were expressing. She had to break the silence.

"Raine I… that is… I-"

"Be careful Sheena."

That wasn't exactly what she was expecting. She must've had a very amusing look on her face because she could see a smile tugging on Raine's mouth. She looked away, eyes falling back on Lloyd. He had just come up from under water and was handing Collette what looked like a shell. Sheena couldn't help feel a pang of jealousy when she looked at Collette and Lloyd together. Raine was right, she did love Lloyd, and she hated the fact that she couldn't tell him. Sure she had been hinting to him, but he only seemed to be humoring her and not fully understanding what her goal was.

She looked back at Raine, a nervous smile showing on her face. The Professor's pearl blue eyes looked into hers from over the sunglasses, neither threatening nor friendly. They were those of a teacher; a teacher giving advice. Sheena laughed softly. Raine had always been untrusting of her, and yet here she was, giving her advice.

"Heh… I don't know whether to take that as a threat or not, but I'll take it. …Um… Thanks…"

Raine was smiling as she replaced her sunglasses. Both women then lapsed into a respectful silence, the sea breeze playing with their hair as they relaxed in the sun.

Sheena sighed into the darkness. She still didn't know how to take Raine's comment. Maybe that's what had woken her on her first night stay in Altamira… that in combination with something else. Reaching into the pocket of the bathrobe, she pulled out Corrine's bell. Every once in a while the pain of loosing her friend would surface full force, the sensation of loss just too much to bear, and she would go off for a while if not just to cry. This was one of those times. "Oh Corrine…" Her whispered voice cracked and tears streaked her visage as she clutched the bell to her forehead, mourning.

"…Sheena?"

Lloyd's voice came from behind her. She whirled around, startled, to face him. Just as quickly she turned away, cheeks aflame, roughly brushing at the tears. 'Shit! Why did he have to be here?'

"Sheena?" he repeated, worry clear in his voice now. She barely heard him step forward; meaning he probably wasn't wearing any shoes. She was still savagely brushing away at the tears that just seemed to intensify once he had showed up when she felt a hand on her shoulder. His touch was hesitant, but held her fast when she tried to turn away.

"I-I'm fine. R-really."

She had very little control over her voice, which didn't help to convince Lloyd that she was fine. She was a terrible liar…

"You're a terrible liar Sheena," he said gently, slowly turning her to face him. She wouldn't meet his eyes, though she could feel him searching her face. His grip on her shoulders faltered slightly when his eyes took in her body, and Sheena felt suddenly so very vulnerable and weak. She wanted to pull away and run, run where she could be alone, but Lloyd held her fast. His hands were warm and comforting on her shoulders, and as much as she wanted to pull away, her body yearned for his touch; so she stayed still.

"Oh… I see…" He had opened her hand without her noticing and was now staring at Corrine's bell. Sheena stared numbly at the bell, tears welling up again in her eyes. "Sheena…" he started slowly. "You should say something if you're feeling this sad… It's so much easier if someone shares the load with you…"

She blinked, tears spilling onto her cheeks. His words were so touching; she didn't know how to react to them. No one ever spoke to her like he did… She couldn't take it anymore. She threw her arms around him and broke down, sobbing into his shoulder. It was uncharacteristic of her, she could tell by how his body froze. At first he didn't do anything, and this scared Sheena more than anything. Her heart hammered in her chest as she sobbed, thinking maybe she should pull away, that maybe she had gone too far…

But her fears were set aside when she felt his arms encircle her, a soft chuckle in her ear. "You dummy…" he whispered while placing one hand on her head just above her low tail, slowly stroking her silk hair. They stayed like that for a while, their forms silhouetted in the dim light given off by the moon. Eventually Sheena calmed down. Her breathing slowed to an even pace and she inhaled his scent. His smell seemed to clear her muddled mind enough so that she could think clearly. It was then she noticed Lloyd's chest and arms were warm against her, the heat soothing as well as comforting. She opened her eyes. Even in the dim light, she saw he was that he wasn't wearing any shirt.

'Oh… My… God!' Sheena had one true moment of panic. She had never been with a man before, let alone this close to a shirtless one. Her breath caught in her chest and her body stiffened. She had no idea what to do or how to act, for she never had time for true love back home. It had always been training, training, missions, and more training… Thoughts raced through her mind ranging from 'Run like hell!' to 'Just stay like this cause you'll probably never be able to be near him like this again…'

Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt a slight push on her shoulders and Lloyd's body pulling away from her a bit. Sheena slid her arms so that her palms were still on his shoulders; she wasn't ready to separate from him just yet. To her great relief, Lloyd held her shoulders as well.

"Sheena?" he whispered, and Sheena was sure she heard awkwardness in his voice. "Do you… want to take a little walk on the beach?"

She was sure that her whole face could be seen in the dark like a red beacon, but she hoped not because of the expression of disbelief on her face. However, she hesitated only a second before replying.

"I'd… I'd like that."

They both let each other go pretty much at the same time, and suddenly Sheena felt so cold and alone. Would she ever feel his warmth again? Breathe in his subtle smell of the forest? She resigned herself to the fact that she wouldn't, making it all that harder to walk with him without getting upset again. But she forced down the tears, put on a brave face, and fell into step beside him a little closer than she would normally be. Again to her relief, he didn't move away. 'Thank goodness for small miracles,' she thought.

Out of the corner of her eye she could see that he was wearing nothing but his shorts, setting her face on fire once again. His body showed the signs of a warrior; wider shoulders, slightly built chest, slight six-pack, and a scar here and there. Sheena wished against hope that those strong, lithe arms could hold her again, that she could feel his warm flesh against hers. She wailed inside her head, another loss she would just have to bear…

They walked in silence down the wooden stairs to the beach, which was on a lower level than where they were. The sand there was fine and soft against their bear feet, though still retained some warmth from the day, however little it was. They had switched sides so Sheena was walking closest to the ocean. Still they walked in silence.

Sheena couldn't take the silence anymore. She stopped walking along the beach and instead turned towards the ocean. She stood alone only for a few seconds before Lloyd joined her. Amber eyes stared out onto the ocean, looking at nothing in particular. She was just barely aware of the waves lapping over her feet, focusing more on Lloyd, who was standing very close to her.

"Hey Lloyd…" She turned to see he was facing her now. His eyes were surprisingly intense which startled Sheena, making her hesitate a bit. "Um… Thank you."

His soft smile was infectious, and soon found herself smiling shyly back at him. To her surprise, he took a step closer to her; as if he wasn't close enough already. He put both warm hands on her shoulders, the action causing a small blush to creep to the surface of her face.

"That's better," he said when she smiled. "I was worried I'd lost you for a little there." At her confusion and slight embarrassment he smiled, ruffling her deep violet hair. Sheena's hands flew to her hair, deftly stepping out of the way of Lloyd's hand.

"Thanks a lot!" she said in mock anger. "My hair isn't messy enough so you feel the need to make it worse?" She grumbled something about Lloyd being unfair that made him laugh and again close the distance between them.

"Fine then," he said half apologetically, "I'll fix it." He reached out for the loosely tied ribbon that held her hair back and untied it. Her silk hair cascaded down her neck to rest just below her shoulder line. Slowly he began to gather it, running his fingers through it to take out some of the tangles. Sheena was scarlet, but her face was now hidden in the shadow of the moon.

Slowly, so slowly that she hoped that he didn't notice, she inched closer to him. She couldn't let him go now, not now that they were so close. Right now she wasn't thinking of repercussions. Hell, she wasn't even thinking of the next five minutes. She was thinking in the present, and she knew that if she didn't make a move on him now, there might not be another chance. Only noticing now that her hands were clenched together on her chest, an idea hit her. She took a nervous intake of breath, the smell of the forest mixing in with the salt of the sea, and placed her hands carefully on his shoulders and pulled herself even closer to him. The thin layers she was wearing couldn't hide the fact that the tips of her breasts were hard with the slight cold coming off the ocean; they were the first thing that touched his chest.

The second her body made contact with him, Lloyd's hands froze. He had almost finished gathering her hair; he dropped it and let it fall back to her shoulders. Sheena's heart sank and, panicked, tried to pull back from him but her body wouldn't move.

"Lloyd I-"

"Sheena…"

She was surprised when Lloyd cut her off, his voice calm, not exactly what she expected. He pulled back just enough to lift her chin so she would look at him. At first her eyes searched for something to look at besides him, but his face was so close to hers that it left her little choice. Their eyes locked. Sheena opened her mouth to say something, but Lloyd's finger on her lips stopped her. The moonlight lit the faint smile on his lips as he slowly traced hers with his index. Slowly their faces came together.

The spark ignited the flame.

How they made it up the beach, Sheena didn't know, so lost was she in Lloyd, but she was aware they had when her robe slipped off her shoulders. Both of them froze, Sheena again flushing red. The moon was now behind Lloyd, so she didn't see his expression, but she heard him give a small laugh. "Lay back on it," he suggested almost casually. Sheena obeyed.

She lowered herself on her knees, reaching behind her to grab the top of the robe. Her eyes darted up to see his head inclined down at her, and she smiled sheepishly. Her head was, after all, at the same level of his crotch. The moon was now behind him, but that didn't stop her from noticing the slight tenting of his boxers.

She sat at the bottom of her robe that was now spread out behind her, lying back a little. Lloyd gestured that she should lay back some more, spurring a look from Sheena to make him laugh again. But again, she complied; feeling completely exposed lying half naked like this. But she didn't have to feel like that for long.

Sheena gasped in surprise when Lloyd literally fell on top of her, landing in a push-up position, his head inches from hers. "Why you…" Her slightly angry voice trailed off when his lips found hers. She didn't resist, not that she wanted to anyway. Her hands went through his hair, then down his back, then to his chest in her exploration, testing and listening to his breathing. A sense of power washed over every time she heard him gasp or shiver at her touch, making her even more aroused than she thought she could be. She seemed to be a little bolder than he was, but that didn't bother her… she had him, they were together…

A gasp from the shore froze them both.

At the same time, their heads turned to see a petite girl with long blonde hair cascading down almost to her knees, her horrified expression, half covered by her hands, only enhanced by the moonlight.

"Collette…" Lloyd's soft affirmation brought Sheena's world crashing down.

'No!'

In a split second, he was off of her, but the small blonde was already running back towards the hotel. Without even a backward glance, Lloyd followed her, calling her name repeatedly.

Sheena watched until he disappeared, still dumbstruck from what happened. She sat up slowly, feeling grains of sand slide down her back from her hair as she did so. The air suddenly felt so cold….If she would have died a few minutes ago, she would have died happy, but now… now she felt so isolated, and so alone. For an instant, pure rage welled up inside her.

"How… How could I have been so stupid?" she spat. "How could…" Her voice all of a sudden choked and caught in her throat, the seething anger she had just been feeling disappearing as sadness flooded her. Suddenly she found tears rolling off her cheeks, landing with soft thuds on the robe beneath her. She clenched her teeth in an effort to keep down her sobbing, the emotions she was feeling rubbing her raw.

"How could I have thought… that he could be mine?"