Warning: Spoilers about Zelos' family!! D:

Piercing blue eyes and a mouth set as a firm line returned Shihna's stare. The woman in the painting made Shihna nervous, but for some reason she couldn't look away. There was something about her that attracted Shihna. Strangely enough, she got the same feeling from someone else, and that someone else was...

"Why are you standing there all spaced out and stuff?"

Zelos.

"No reason...I just..."

Zelos' eyes travelled to what Shihna was looking at. "Looking at my mom, huh?"

Shihna nodded. "She's beautiful."

"She was beautiful," Zelos corrected her.

She looked at him from the corner of her eye. She could tell that he was trying hard not to look sad, but she could see it plainly, as if he had put on a mask made of glass. "Do you...miss her?" she asked cautiously.

For a few minutes, the only sound was silence. "Sometimes," he answered softly. It seemed like that was all he was going to say, but after a moment he continued. "She wasn't really loving or motherly to me most of the time, but I just wanted to please her so badly. I wanted to make her smile, but I just couldn't. If anything, I made her sad because I was the result of the life that she was forced to live. I wasn't really her son. I was just a burden that she was forced to carry, yet I still wish that she hadn't died. I wish that she was still here." He brushed a few strands of hair from his face. "That's weird, isn't it? Wanting her to come back even though I'd never be able to make her happy..."

"There's nothing wrong with it," Shihna said softly. "No matter what, she was your mother. It isn't wrong to want her to come back." She shuffled her feet nervously. "I'm not very good at talking about things like this, but...I think it's perfectly normal for you to want her to come back. I'd like to see my mom too...wherever she is."

"Thanks, Shihna," Zelos mumbled softly, his voice cracking on the last syllable. He started shuddering slightly. "Thanks..."

"Zelos, you can cry if you want to. I won't think less of you if you do," she reassured him gently. "I promise I won't tell anybody about this..."

She let out a small gasp of surprise as he suddenly moved forward and held her close to him. "Just for a little while," he said into her hair. "Please."

"Okay," she answered, her facial expression softening when she heard the sadness in his voice. She reached up and stroked his hair awkwardly. "Just let it all out," she cooed softly. "You'll feel better after." She was answered with Zelos' muffled sobs.

"It was all my fault," he murmured after a while. "She died because of me."

"It wasn't your fault, Zelos," Shihna answered, choking back tears. "Don't ever think that it was your fault."

"But if I didn't exist, she wouldn't have..."

"It's not your fault," she repeated. "You didn't do anything wrong." A tear streaked down her face. "And don't ever think that not existing would've solved everything. If you weren't here, my life would be so different. I could have..." I could have died.

"I didn't think that you'd be the type to spout off nonsense to make other people feel better," Zelos said, a hint of amusement in his voice.

"I-It's the truth!" she exclaimed. "You stupid Chosen! I was trying to cheer you up, and yet you still make fun of me!"

"I know," he whispered into her ear. "Thank you."

"You idiot. You don't need to thank me," Shihna mumbled. "Now get away from me. You said that you would only do this for a little while."

"Just a little longer?" Zelos mumbled.

"G-get off, you stupid Chosen."

"Oh, fine," he grumbled. He pulled away slowly. "Thanks again...for letting me do that."

"It was nothing," Shihna answered, feeling slightly embarassed. "It was a little surprising, though. I've never seen you like that before."

"I'm filled with surprises," he answered smugly. "And if you want, you can stay over tonight and I could show you some more of the-"

"Eugh! No way!" she retorted.

And then we return...to the way we were before, as if nothing had happened.


SakuMeiMei Says: Heylo! So much for "mass updating". XD;; Summer and all of my free time just...flew by. I hope that some day my wish of having a summer where I do almost nothing will be fulfilled. XD Then I would get to update...lots.

Anyways, I wanted to write something a little different. Zelos crying...huhuhuhu. It's a little strange seeing him like that, isn't it? But of course, despite his exterior he really is fragile inside. That's one of my favourite things about him. 83 And Shihna naturally gets confused when she sees hiim like that...XD