1Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Symphonia, any of its characters, or any of its themes or rights. But I wish I did.

A/N: This is my very first fan fiction ever! It's a story of Lloyd's and Sheena's journey together after the end of ToS. It's a mixture of romance and humor, with some action in it. This is my very first fan fiction, so please R&R. I'm open to any praise or advice. Enjoy!

Chapter 1: Setting Out

It was a beautiful spring day in Iselia. The sun was out and the flowers were in full bloom. The sun shone through the trees and onto the small wooden village in the Iselia Forest. Dirk's Cabin. It had been one week since Mithos' defeat and peace had finally come to Symphonia.

Lloyd Irving, the hero who had defeated the Dark Angel, was outside paying his respects to his mother. Kratos had just left with Derris-Kharlan and Lloyd was preparing for his new journey. A new quest to bring peace to Symphonia and to destroy the remnants of the Exspheres. And he was going with his best friend, Sheena. Who had just snuck up behind him and scared the heck out of him.

"Oh, Sheena! You startled me," Lloyd stammered, heart still pounding from his fright. He hadn't seen or heard her come up. After knowing her for months already, he still got frightened when she did that.

"Sorry, Lloyd," Sheena said sympathetically. "I guess it's still just a Mizuho habit!". Lloyd and Sheena both laughed. "So, are you ready to go," she asked.

"Yeah, almost. I just need to go get some things from inside the house and say bye to Dad. Then we can leave," Lloyd answered.

"Oh...well," Sheena started. "I'm a little tired from my trip from Mizuho. Could we just spend the night," she asked hopefully. She wanted to spend as much time with Lloyd as possible.

"Sure," Lloyd answered enthusiastically. "We're having dinner soon. It's Dad's favorite stew!". Sheena replied, "WOW! Sounds good!". "Yeah, come on, I'll introduce you to Dad!"

Lloyd took her hand and led her into the cabin. Sheena blushed as he held her hand. The truth was, both of the heroes cared for each other more than they let on. Lloyd had been unable to think about anything other than Sheena for the past week and was excited now that she was here. Sheena, likewise, loved Lloyd with her own heart, but had trouble showing it. She had tried, though! Lloyd was just too oblivious to notice.

"Hey, Dad! DAAAAD," screamed Lloyd. Dirk wasn't on the first floor. Lloyd wanted to introduce him to Sheena. That, and he was hungry for dinner.

"Aye, I'm comin' lad. No need to shout," exclaimed Dirk as he entered the room from his workshop. Then he noticed the beautiful girl holding Lloyd's hand. "Aye, and who might this fair lass be," asked Dirk.

"Dad, this is Sheena. Remember? She's the one that's going on the trip with me," answered Lloyd.

Dirk smiled and replied, "Ah yes, I remember now. Lloyd has quite the crush on ya lass!". Dirk couldn't help but laugh.

"Really?" asked Sheena jokingly. Her smile grew wider and she punched Lloyd in the arm playfully to hide the fact she was blushing.

"Daaad...shut up about that," Lloyd whispered, not able to believe that his dad had just said that in front of Sheena. He, too, began to blush.

"Awright, awright, I'm sorry. Sit down, sit down! I have dinner ready," Dirk replied. He couldn't help but smile.

The three sat down to enjoy their meal. Disk's stew was famous throughout Iselia and both Sheena and Lloyd were looking forward to it. Dirk served three huge bowls of stew and they all chowed down. Finally, after all of the stew was gone and Lloyd was licking his bowl dry ("Pig," exclaimed Sheena with a smile), Dirk stood up.

"Well, I have some errands ta run before morning. You two think ya can spend the night together without tearin' the place apart," Dirk said jokingly.

"Sure, Dirk. I'll make sure Lloyd gets to bed on time," Sheena laughed.

"Mmey...," said Lloyd, his mouth still full of stew.

Dirk got his backpack and left out the front door. This left only the swordsman and the summoner together in the house. Sheena blushed at that thought. 'I'll bet Dirk did this on purpose so Lloyd and I could be alone,' Sheena thought. Just then, Sheena yawned.

"I guess I'll head to bed," Sheena said. Lloyd, too, yawned. "Okay, me too. I'm sleeping on the floor tonight so you can have my bed, Sheena," Lloyd said.

"Wow, thanks Lloyd. That's real sweet of you," Sheena replied blushing. "No problem!" Lloyd replied.

Later that night

Sheen woke with a start, sweating. She'd been having the nightmare again. The one with Volt. The one with Corrine's death. She woke up and, without realizing it, began to cry. She missed Corrine so much. He'd been her only friend before Lloyd. Sheena cried for what felt like hours (but was only minutes), until she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Lloyd...," Sheena whispered as she turned to face him. He was sitting on the bed with a caring look on his face.

"What's wrong, Sheena? Why are you crying," he asked softly. 'Oh Lloyd,' thought Sheena, 'Will you ever figure it out? Will I ever be able to tell you how I truly feel?'.

"Oh Lloyd...," whispered Sheena. "It's Corrine!". She then let out another sob and fell into his open arms. He hugged back caringly.

"Sheena...," started Lloyd, "I know it's hard, but please don't be sad. Remember what Verius said. He will always be alive in your heart!"

"I know, but...I just miss him so much," she said before letting out another sob. She hugged onto Lloyd even tighter than before.

"Sshhhhh...it's okay," said Lloyd, "I miss him, too."

"Thank you Lloyd," replied Sheena quietly, "Thank you..."

Lloyd felt her fall asleep in his arms. 'Poor Sheena,' Lloyd thought, 'She's lost so many people in her life. But I'll protect her no matter what!'. Not wanting to let her go, Lloyd laid Sheena down on the bed and kissed her forehead. He then settled in next to her until, he, too, fell asleep.

Early morning

Sheena woke up and saw Lloyd in her bed next to her. She remembered the previous night and smiled. "Thanks Lloyd." she said as she kissed him on the cheek. He whispered "Sheena...". She giggled. She then went downstairs to take a shower and get dressed. As she got out she went back upstairs and saw Lloyd on the balcony facing the rising sun. She approached him.

"Hey Lloyd," she said, being careful not to sneak up on him.

"Oh...hey, Sheena. It's good to see you," Lloyd said with a grin. "Um, are you feeling any better this morning?" asked Lloyd with concern.

Sheena grinned. "Yeah, I feel much better...thanks to you." She then hugged Lloyd and gave him a peck on the cheek.

"Uh...your welcome but, I didn't really do that much," stated Lloyd, a blush already forming on his face. "Well, it meant a lot to me," Sheena replied, also blushing. That was when Dirk yelled up, "BREAKFAST, COME AND GET IT!"

"Alright! Fooooooooooooooood," Lloyd yelled as he ran down the stairs. Sheena just smiled. "That Lloyd. Always hungry..."

After Breakfast

Finally, after breakfast, it was time to go. Sheena was just waiting for Lloyd to say bye to Dirk. Inside the cabin, Lloyd had a sad look on his face as he faced his father. "Well, Dad, I guess this is good-bye."

"Aye lad, don't sound so sad. It's not like I won't be seein' again. Besides, ya got more important things ta worry about," said Dirk as he pointed out the window at Sheena. She was leaning against Noishe and humming a catchy tune with her eyes closed.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Lloyd said with a new smile forming on his face. "As soon as I'm done with my journey I'll come right back home!"

"Aye, I know ya will lad, I know ya will," Dirk said chuckling. "Oh...and Lloyd, one more thing! I want ya to bring me back somethin'."

"Sure, Dad! What do you want," asked Lloyd.

"Grandchildren!" said Dirk, laughing.

"DAAAD! It's not like that." Lloyd said, blushing as he turned to make sure Sheena hadn't heard.

"Sure it isn't, Lloyd, sure it isn't...," said Dirk. "Just be careful, and take good care of Sheena, Lloyd. She likes ya more than she lets on."

"Yeah, I know..." Lloyd said quietly as he walked towards Sheena.

"Aye, lass! Take good care o' Lloyd now. He needs it!" Dirk yelled to Sheena.

"Sure thing Dirk! I'll bring him back in one piece!" Sheena answered. And with that, the couple left on Noishe, waving good-bye to Dirk.

The two laughed as they recounted stories from their past journey. Lloyd was busy explaining to Sheena about the time he was caught peeping at the hot springs.

"I'm telling you, it was Zelos! I chased him away!" Lloyd explained. He'd told her this a dozen times before, but she never believed him.

"Sure it was, Lloyd," She said disbelievingly. "You just wanted to see me naked, didn't you?" she joked.

"NO! I wouldn't do something like that!" Lloyd answered. They both laughed. A long silence followed.

"Um, Lloyd," said Sheena, breaking the silence, "I just wanted to thank you again for last night."

Sheena...," started Lloyd. "Sheena, I promise I'll protect you no matter what! Just like Corrine did!" He took a big breath and continued, "I...I would protect you to the death Sheena..."

"Oh, Lloyd...," Sheena suddenly jumped up and hugged Lloyd, kissing him on the cheek again. "Thank you..."

Alright then!" said Lloyd. "Let the journey begin! Onto Triet!"

A/N: So, what did you think? Please R&R. I'm open to any questions or comments. I want to know what you think! Peace out for now!