So, I've gotten back into playing ToS this summer, and I decided to write a little Sheelos fic based on the Z-skit When This Journey Is Over... It's got to be my favourite serious skit in the game (maybe even my favourite skit, period). I changed some of the dialogue and context just so that I don't feel like I'm not writing anything of my own. XD Well, I'll be shutting up now... so enjoy!

Disclaimer: Tales of Symphonia? I don't own it.

XIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIX

When This Journey is Over...

"Whoa! Ouch!"

"Colette, are you okay?" Lloyd asked while walking over to the Chosen of Sylvarant, his voice holding a compassionate concern.

She picked herself up off of the ground and dusted off her clothes as she always did after tripping. "Yes. I'm fine," Colette answered, giving her friend a smile. He returned the expression while adding a light laugh.

Their younger half-elf companion was sitting next a weak campfire, its flame hardly visible in the late-day sun. His hand was tightly holding onto a frying pan that undoubtedly held some impressive new recipe. "You'd think that you'd get accustomed to Colette's tripping by now, Lloyd," he remarked, and then added with a blatantly teasing tone, "Or do you just care about Colette so much..."

"Shut it, Genis!" Lloyd snapped, turning his head away to conceal his red cheeks, "I was just worried 'cause... it's been a while since she's tripped like that, you know?"

Genis rolled his eyes indifferently, "Sure, if you ignore the majority of the times Colette falls when using item thief or rover..."

Colette clasped her hands together and shook her head in objection, "I... I don't steal!" Both Lloyd and Genis glanced to each other and found themselves unable to suppress the laughter building in their throats. Colette, too, could not held but giggle at her outburst after noticing how out-of-place it was. Even from some ways away, their other companions, Regal and Presea, were keeping themselves amused by watching the three good friends.

Tethe'alla's Chosen of Mana raised his head to can their outdoor resting place. He could not ignore that two laughs were absent from the crowd, setting aside his own. Raine, he knew, was engaged in reading, and thus heard nothing of the real world; Sheena, however, was always one of the people laughing at the Sylvarant kids' antics. Where was she now? Zelos pushed against the ground and rose to his feet. He walked over to the half-elf professor and pried the book out of her hand to ensure her full attention. "Hey, Raine..."

"Dare I ask what you want with me?" Raine questioned dully, mentally preparing herself for an unnecessary and unwanted compliment.

"Did you notice where Sheena wandered off to?"

"Huh?" Raine gaped uncharacteristically. She was not expecting anything sincere to escape his mouth. "Oh, um... I saw that she went into the forest some time ago... Why do you ask?"

Zelos gave no answer to her last question. "I'm gonna go and make sure that she's all right." Raine gave him an uncertain nod before he stepped into the woods. Thankfully for Zelos, it was not necessary to go too deep into the brush; Sheena was in the first small clearing that offered enough room for one to sit down and outstretch their legs. She was seated with her back against one of the overgrown trees, staring straight through the thick forest area in front of her. The redheaded man took a couple of steps towards Sheena before speaking, "Sheena, what are you doing alone out here?"

Before he even finished saying the first word, Sheena jolted in surprise. When she realized that it was only Zelos, she let her body loosen up and slid down along the tree's trunk slightly. Her breaths were quick and shallow, making up for the moment where her heart stopped beating altogether. "Go away," she demanded at last, "I can't think when you're around."

Ignoring her as he had a tendency of doing, Zelos helped himself to a seat next to the summoner. He locked his eyes onto her visage, although she took no notice to his gaze because she was in a daze once again. "Thinking about what you'll do when the journey is over?" Zelos asked suddenly.

Sheena's eyes widened slightly as she turned her head to face him, "How did you...?" She abruptly cut off her own sentence with a lack of words, however the point had already been made.

Zelos put on a smug expression as he shifted over slightly and propped his back against the same tree that Sheena rested on. "Just a hunch," he responded as though it were a given, although the answer was even less obvious to himself than it was to Sheena. "How can I guess stuff like that? How do I know what she's thinking all of the time? Maybe... it's because I was thinking of the same thing..." Zelos craned his head upwards; orange rays of a fading light were cascading through everyone inch of sky that leaves did not veil. He closed his eyes and let the setting sun pass him by. "So what are you going to do?"

"I..." Sheena closed her eyes in the same manner that Zelos had, "I image that I— that we, the people of Mizuho, are going have to have..." she hesitated, "...leave Tethe'alla."

"Because you disobeyed the King's orders," Zelos added the reasoning behind her answer. The successor of Mizuho slowly nodded her head, leaving it set when she was staring downwards. Zelos could not see her, but Sheena's desolate emotions almost seemed to leave her body and seep into his. "It isn't fair," he mused, "Hell, nothing's fair, but... this should be. I betrayed the King, too; and yet, I'll still have a place to stay in Tethe'alla while all of Mizuho gets kicked out of the country. It shouldn't be this way. It can't be..." Zelos looked discreetly towards Sheena; not so much that she would notice, but just enough so that he could see more than her silhouette. He reached over to the summoner and placed his hand over hers. "You don't have to go. I can find a place for you all to stay."

Sheena did not lift her head—she did not even glance towards her and Zelos' hands touching one another. "Why would you do that for me?" she asked, but then swiftly corrected herself as her face glowed red, "I mean, for Mizuho..."

"For Mizuho..." Zelos replied, "It's the least that I can do." He found himself holding tightly onto Sheena's hand; however the action frightened him into letting go and turning away completely. "Don't tell me I'm attached to this hot-headed idiot... Eww, yuck!" Immediately after uttering the words, Zelos tensed up—maybe 'hot-headed idiot' was a little too far. He heard the sounds of Sheena moving and instinctively flinched, expecting some form of pain to be inflicted: the physical pain of a whack to the head, or the emotional pain of her voice screaming at him.

"Do you... really mean that?"

"Huh?" No slaps, no shouts? She had not even taken notice to his unnecessary insult. He turned to face her, finding himself meeting her deep brown eyes staring up at him, shimmering with an innocence—a hope. She was too stunned by his sincerity to care about anything else that he had said. "Yeah..." Zelos said at last, "I don't care whether or not you're devout to the King." He offered one of his renowned grins, "As long as you continue to pledge your loyalty to the great Zelos, the Chosen, I'll have your back!"

Sheena inhaled deeply and let out the air in a gloomy, yet blissful, sigh. "You idiot..." she breathed, "Thank you."

Tethe'alla's Chosen rose to his feet. "Well," he stretched his arms above his head, "that was more solemn than it needed to be. What do you say to heading back to camp?" Zelos lowered one of his arms and reached it out to Sheena.

"I say it sounds like a plan," she stated while gripping onto his hand and allowing him to help her stand. Once on her feet, Sheena began to walk back towards the field, but she stopped suddenly. Turning her head, she smiled at Zelos, "Thanks again," and kept walking. Before getting too far, the Mizuho woman slowed down again and let out a sharp sigh as a thought crossed her mind. Without turning, she added, "And Zelos... Don't think that this makes me one of your hunnies."

Zelos blinked as he stared at her back. "Aww..." He took a few steps forwards so that he was visible to Sheena as he slumped his head in disappointment, "And here I though that I'd succeeded this time," he whined.

His companion smirked, "Too bad—you didn't." She lightly took a hold of his arm with both of her hands and leaned against his shoulder, "...Not yet."

XIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIX

Heehee... I like the way that I ended this! It's short, and there are some weak points, for sure... but I believe that this one-shot was a good way to let you all know that I'm still here, still writing Sheelos! Please review with any comments that you have, and hopefully I'll get to many more updates this summer vacation.