March

x x x

For what had to be the millionth time, the Chosen repositioned himself on the uncomfortable bed roll. It had to be past midnight now, and he was making absolutely no progress falling asleep. Spoiled as he was, sleeping on the ground had not gotten easier no matter how long he spent doing it. Maybe it would be slightly more bearable with certain company…a curvaceous ninja came to mind.

And then they'd honeymoon on hell's frozen lake, riding sleds pulled by flying pigs. He sighed into his pillow.

On the other side of the small room, one of his companions shifted loudly. Ah, the joys of being stuck in a tiny country house. After the group had made a stop at Lloyd's residence in order to forge the ring of the pact, they had decided to stay the night and head out early the next morning. Rather predictably, the ladies (meaning in this case the professor and the lovely young banshee) had claimed the spacious spare room downstairs as theirs.

And so the four unfortunate males were stuck in Lloyd's room. If Iselia, Lloyd's former hometown, had not been ready to kill the poor boy on sight, they would have had their own warm beds and no noisy company. They hadn't been that lucky, as it was.

Right on cue, Regal audibly rolled over in his sleep a few feet away, causing Zelos to wince in contained irritation. The redhead would have expected a lofty duke to be a bit more accustomed to comfortable quarters; then again, prison dungeons likely weren't a five-star hotel either.

With an apparent lack of stealth, Lloyd slipped into the room. He hadn't yet come to turn in for the day, but that wasn't exactly a surprise. He usually chatted with Genis or Colette before calling it a night. In this case, being that the half-elf was already fast asleep, he was betting on the latter.

Seeing the wide-awake Chosen, the younger boy's eyes widened slightly. "Er, sorry Zelos. I didn't wake you, did I?"

"Nah, I was already awake. Not a problem." He shook his head, feeling out of sorts. Talking to the others after the recent betrayal was painful at times, especially when they still seemed to regard him with respect.

He didn't deserve it. Not even a little.

The minute this came to mind, he deflected it. There was one easy way to do that. "So, you putting the moves on Colette again? You make sure to tell me if you need help," he added with a generic sly smile, slipping into his persona with the ease of an actor. Guilt of a prior deceit was, he hoped, easily fixable with yet another deceit.

Lloyd blinked. "We were talking about after the worlds were reunited, actually. Colette's going to come with me to collect the remaining exspheres, so we can destroy them for good."

"Exspheres, hm? Good luck tracking those all down." Zelos rolled his eyes, unconsciously touching the crystal on his neck. "There's got to be millions of them in Sylvarant alone, with the ranches and all."

Solemn on the subject, the dual-wielding swordsman nodded in understanding. "I know. But I've got great friends to help me. If it wasn't for all of you, Colette might be dead, and the Chosen system would have killed a whole lot more people too."

The word made him tense slightly. That was right; he had breached the deal he made with Mithos. He was still a Chosen, and might remain one if this suicide mission didn't succeed. He tried to sound unfazed when he replied.

"Yep, our little Colette's come a long way for a Chosen of Regeneration. She might be the first in thousands of years to live through the unsealing process. That's a one in a million chance, right there," he finished somewhat sadly, not looking at Lloyd, who had busied himself with preparing his bed. It looked even less comfortable than the ground, which was really saying something.

"Well, I couldn't let her die or anything," the boy answered simply. "She's my friend. She's been my friend as long as I could remember."

Smiling mischieviously, the Chosen chuckled softly. "Lloyd, you're hopeless."

"…Huh? What do you mean?"

An expected response. Zelos laughed a bit more at the other's clear lack of appreciation for the obvious. "You follow that girl around like a lost puppy."

The redhead shut his mouth immediately after those words left his lips, the irony of the statement not lost on him. Who better to call the kettle black than the pot itself?

Still remaining unaffected, Lloyd simply shrugged. "Whatever you say, Zelos. But I think Sheena would probably say something like that about you too, y'know."

Touché. He wasn't quite expecting Lloyd to catch on to his hypocrisy as quickly as he had himself. Of course, he didn't let that show in his face. "Hm, maybe. But she's hot for you, bud, not me, in case you haven't noticed."

"Uh…well," the swordsman began, looking very clearly uncomfortable with the notion. "Sheena's nice, but I think we're just friends."

Frustration flared in the older of the two friends, somewhat regretful that he had brought the subject up to begin with. "You can't get the hint, can you? She's obviously into you, and she's insanely hot to top it all off. The girl's got an amazing body, that's for damn sure. What's not to love?"

There was no response. Instead, a terse knock interrupted them. Lloyd stepped carefully over the sleeping body of Genis to reach the door, opening it on a dark-haired summoner with her anger very thinly concealed.

"We need an extra blanket for Presea, if you don't mind," she informed the surprised teenager, who did seem to have an unfortunate habit of getting caught between her and the Chosen's complete lack of discretion. The hot springs came to mind.

He scratched his head. "Um…no problem. One second, I'll get it from my closet."

The death glare that Sheena fixed upon the real culprit of her wrath was genuinely frightening. Zelos was not good at looking her in the eyes when this sort of thing happened. The puppy had torn up the flowerbeds one too many times. If only he could go hide in his doghouse now, he thought, mentally kicking himself and his loud mouth.

No, he could see that she wasn't just angry. He was too smart to be able to miss that. She was definitely hurt, and much more than usual given her inability to conceal it well. Their eyes only met for a fraction of a second, but it was clear in an instant that she had lost any shred of trust in him.

Lloyd gave her what she had come for, and with just a brief nod of thanks, she disappeared again. Neither of the two embarrassed males said anything afterward; like usual, Zelos had successfully said the wrong thing in the wrong place and at the wrong time. All in a day's work, really.

But when the Chosen laid his head down to finally sleep, he felt a persistent, unsettling sensation buried in his chest. The silent pain in her soft brown eyes had been unmistakable, no doubt about it. It was sharp, a desperate hatred for the constant teasing and belittling. She was not going to forgive him very easily, if at all. Definitely not after his recent violations of her trust.

It made him recall, with a sickening stab in his stomach, the way that he was so numbingly unable to meet her broken-hearted gaze when he led Colette away in the Tower of Salvation. That look that was her way of saying that he had failed her, as he had many times before.

He missed feeling her meet his ocean-colored eyes with warmth, something that had at one time been frequent. Lost now, it seemed, but remembered with such clarity. Without a doubt, love had been most distinct in her eyes during that final evening together in Tethe'alla, only sheer hours before she left into the unknown world.

At the thought, his mind raced with images of her still form in that late hour of the night, the enthralling curves of her voluptuous body draped in the cover of a streetlight. The two having carefully selected a place of meeting, there was no one to witness the momentous ferocity of a young couple in love being swiftly parted.

As could be expected, Sheena had been acting unusually that night; her brown gaze would not touch his…a fact he now was familiar with. Instead she stood motionless in his arms, almost defeated, before leaning up to press an uncertain farewell kiss to his wordless lips. In that instant he had held her tightly, bringing a hand to her face to return the gesture with a fervent passion, their slow movements savoring what they knew would probably be the last one in a long while. Her body relaxed slightly from its state of nervousness, pressing closer when his hands roamed down her sides to grip her waist.

The world was fast asleep at that hour, but after the few strained words of parting they shared, the Chosen returned home with no peace of mind. Even as he walked away from her that night, he could still feel the heat of her body against him, the scent of her skin lingering in his senses. It was powerful and intoxicating, like always.

A slight shiver ran down his spine at the thought of her warm lips on his neck, well aware of the way that stroking her hips through the soft fabric of her robes made him lose himself in desire. All of the bonds between them were stolen from him with such stunning momentum, it seemed. Just until recently, after all, he had been keeping himself busy in the business of playing an agent to several causes. He had made that decision knowing only that he would not let himself become a tool for the forces at work.

And then there was the act, the perverted idiot that no one would ever suspect to be clever. Executed to perfection, even still.

He did have to admit, though, that losing her had not been part of that plan. His attitude was very obviously unexpected and offensive to her, as it had been intended, but her pain was not exclusive either. He watched her gaze dreamily at Lloyd, and his heart sank lower with each smile she gave the young swordsman. The gravity Zelos remembered sharing with her had turned into a lopsided orbit, the two of them never quite meeting eye to eye. It did not take very much intuition to know that they had become skilled at hurting each other in this way.

His mind began to fall into sleep with these thoughts, quickly becoming much too exhausted to feel the sting of so many harsh truths. Maybe he was doomed to never have her trust in him restored, and maybe that was what he deserved…

But perhaps, with a little luck, he might prove to her otherwise.

x x x

It was no surprise to him, however, that luck was not on his side that next morning. As he had anticipated, the curvaceous ninja refused to speak to him then at breakfast. Per his usual response to the rejection, Zelos had to force himself not to shoot apologetic gazes at her throughout the entire meal.

Lloyd had cheerfully insisted that Genis make pancakes for everyone, which went over well with about half of the party. Raine was irritable from a bad night of sleep and did not join them. She instead insisted in a grumble that she would get her healing supplies packed before they left for Derris-Kharlan. With all of the Sylvarantians banished from Iselia, the professor had gruffly asked Regal to take Presea with him and pick up some apple gels and other supplies they were sure to need.

Breakfast went by painfully, but the unfortunate Chosen managed to survive it. He had turned down the offer of food, himself. Across the table, Lloyd shoveled his third helping into his mouth while Colette watched him with a fond smile. Genis rolled his eyes, clearly not impressed.

Most interesting to him, however, was Sheena's unwillingness to eat as well. She looked deep in thought, her rich coffee eyes staring into the wood pattern of the table. His breath caught in his throat when she peered in his direction just once. An empty glance laced with a lack of recognition, like two strangers catching each other's gaze on a lonely sidewalk.

Once Lloyd had said farewell to Dirk and his weary father Kratos, the group made the walk to the Rheairds waiting in a nearby field. The sun was only just peeking over the horizon, bathing the world in a red-orange glow. The air between everyone had grown grim with the thought of the obstacles ahead.

Without a word, Lloyd helped Colette onto their Rheaird, and the others soon followed suit. Genis offered the same gesture to Presea, who seemed confused but did not refuse. The ill-tempered professor claimed one for herself, which Regal bravely shared with her.

The ninja quickly found herself to be the only one still standing. She looked from pair to pair, trying in vain to figure out how she had been forced into this lovely catch-22. Alone on the final Rheaird, Zelos stared at her flatly. He had to wonder at the fact that she would rather walk to the Tower of Salvation than be anywhere near him. Even though she did at last settle herself behind him, it was with obvious distaste.

Time seemed to be stationary as they sped over the landscape, the checkered terrain almost motionless below. The red-haired Chosen almost jumped a mile when the woman at his back wrapped her arms around him, leaning sleepily against his body. A nervous peek over his shoulder revealed her to have her eyes shut tightly, face pale and cheeks pink. It didn't take a genius to figure out that she had gotten almost no sleep the night before.

That made two of them, then.

In the late afternoon, the group was within an hour's distance of their destination. This was the moment he chose to speak up on the exhausted summoner's behalf, mentioning only that it might be a good idea to land and let the group get a solid meal and a few hours of sleep. Raine, tired herself, was the first to affirm the idea as a good one. Zelos mentally thanked whatever gods may be that she was the one to agree with him; that basically sealed the deal.

They secured a nice site to camp out at with relative ease, a foresty area lush with trees and with plenty of cover from the elements. Everyone dispersed into their usual routine, Genis and Regal discussing what would be the meal of the evening while Lloyd prepared a fire.

"Need help with that?" Sheena's weary voice jerked the boy out of his task, and he quickly looked up in surprise.

"Ah, sure!" He smiled kindly, scratching his head as usual. "Could you maybe get some more firewood?"

She looked over at his meager pile of sticks and nodded. It was with very noticeable relief that she slipped out of the camp, her movements showing a sudden burst of stamina that she clearly did not have the energy to produce. Something wasn't quite right, even bearing in mind the situation.

Frowning, Zelos followed right after her. He couldn't imagine how she thought she was going to hold up against an ambush of monsters with sleep-starved inhibitions. She looked ready to protest when she saw his approach, but did not say a word.

They walked in silence for a few minutes, wandering toward a non-existent destination. He'd known before she did that this walk in the woods was because she wanted some time alone. And, with the utmost certainty, he knew his careless words the night before had pushed her past the point of holding composure any longer. He stopped in his tracks, reaching out to touch her arm.

Almost at once she turned on him, reacting like a time bomb; it had only been a matter of time before he would try to make this whole thing worse. "What do you want?"

The Chosen took a few steps forward to stand in front of her, his hands taking hers gently. "This…it needs to stop," he explained in a quiet voice. "I'm not letting…this go on any more."

Unconvinced, Sheena attempted to tug herself away, only to find that his grip simply tightened. Her eyes looked up at his fiercely, tears beginning to roll down her face. His concerned expression turned to frantic regret when he saw the conflict that lay in the brown depths of those eyes.

"No, don't you dare start crying over me, Sheena!" he implored her firmly. A short sob escaped her, causing his manner to soften at once. "You…just please listen to me, okay? Just one chance?"

She ripped one hand away from him, wiping her face in a quick motion. "One more chance? Haven't you had enough chances?"

"Yeah…I have. More than I deserve, too." The words came slowly from his lips, pausing to smooth a tear from her face. "But I can't go into that death match tomorrow with you and me so far apart. It's gone on way too long, and this is where it ends."

The ninja's eyebrows came together in indignation. "It's been your fault! All you've done lately is brag about what a hotshot you are, and lie to me and everyone else like it's not even a big deal! You're…shameless about all of it!"

Zelos bit his lip, looking down in embarrassment. "I've been selfish," he mumbled just above audibility. "I know I have. You have to believe me though, hunny…I never meant to cause you so much trouble. Never."

"I…don't know what you 'meant' to do, Zelos. I just thought you were a better man than this." She brushed the remaining tears from her eyes, averting her gaze from him. "I guess I was wrong about that." A pause, and she looked directly into his eyes, this time with renewed anger. "I…I should have never even cared for you to begin with!"

Intense rainy blue stared back at her, clouding over with thinning patience. Her words were a twisted déjà vu of his mother's last words; he never wanted to hear anything like that from her.

It was with much self-control that he forced himself not to simply walk away. "…Sweetheart, the only wrong I did you was to change your perception. I deceived you, but I never betrayed you."

She glanced up uncertainly. "Wait…what?"

The red-haired Chosen sighed, closing his eyes for a moment. This wasn't getting any easier. "Look…you were right. I'm not who you think I am. I'm just…me. I've said a lot of things I shouldn't have said, and I haven't been the greatest person to you lately…but you're wrong to think I'm a pervert and an idiot and all that. I just…say a lot of things. I don't mean to hurt you…"

He bit his lip nervously again, realizing that he had been unable to keep his eyes on her when he said all of that. It hurt his pride quite a bit to admit that; after all, he'd been pretending in front of all of Tethe'alla that he was heaven's gift to women everywhere.

Sheena blinked at him in bewilderment, just before her eyes showed a familiar amusement. She always looked at him that way when she caught him in some comical blunder of his. "What are you trying to say? Hm…you mean…you're a tease, aren't you?"

A slight red in his face, Zelos kept his eyes firmly off of her. He nodded in awkward affirmation, only enhancing her appreciation of the situation. She leaned in to touch his cheek softly before slipping a slender arm around his neck.

Smiling down at her sheepishly, he accepted her warmly into his arms. The sensation of the young ninja's shapely body against his was exactly like he recalled; and she didn't even get mad at him when he pressed a grateful kiss to her temple.

She was still smiling at him when they parted, her hands smoothing over his chest in an affectionate motion. It definitely was incredible to feel her touch again. A nervous sigh of delight escaped him, and in that moment, he wanted nothing more than to finally take her in his arms and experience what it was like to feel her soft, bare skin against his, their lips locked in passion…

His thoughts became shy once again as he nuzzled her neck, feeling her soft breathing on his neck. That could wait. As it was, he already was the luckiest man alive. He knew who he loved, and even better…

She loved him, too.


A/N: Ah, well my dears, that's that! Hope you liked, I did have fun writing this. And this one goes out to Moonlitinuko, my great Sheelos friend. I know she wanted a sorta dramatic Sheelos one this time if I remember right. But still fluffy! And a little sexy. ;P Also as always, the rest of my awesome Sheelos friends new and old, hope you enjoyed too! Anyone else...you are also free to review! I do love my reviewers!

Best spring wishes to you, and don't forget to review! (I'm a poet!)

-FP