Disclaimer: I don't own TOS.
Black Winged Huntress: Thanks a bunch! Yes, Zelos will tell Sheena more of his past as time passes, with more flashbacks on their way as well.
Genismithos: it definitely does, ick, I can't wait for summer to come.
Bballstar42: Thank you.
jiri-chan: I know how you feel, I love it when a story I've been waiting for finally gets updated.
dutchygirl: Yes, slowly but surely. I basically know how I'm going to write the scene when Zelos tells her the truth about his past but putting it to words it more difficult than I thought it would be. Hmm, I transferred over the affection on my second play through and got Zelos easily. He was Lloyd's 'soul mate' in the first game but Sheena still ruled above all. It's funny how it didn't bother me in the game but if I see any Sheloyds in fanfiction I just can't stand it :P
Jinxie: Aw, thanks! The real Sheena is building up slowly as they get to know each other a little deeper.
Bluenight: yup, keep checking :P I usually update once a week unless I'm burdened with homework, which school is to blame for.
HealingWind: Will do:)
mercy-angel-09: Ah…yes, about the beta reader (I used to have one on my old account)…that is a complicated story. I don't know any friends that go on fanfiction, or rather I used to but I told them I don't write for it anymore and if told them now…well it'll be quite complicated. There are other reasons about past stories and if they find it. But I won't get into that and bore you to death. All I can do now is ask for random advice and do the best I can, but please, point out any errors you see, at least I'll know what to watch for :)
Sami: No problem, I get stuck too. I'm just glad you liked it.
lugiamania: eh…Sheena's too busy sneezing and holding grudges.
Hazumi Yoi: ((whispers)) a Zelos toy may be in for you if you review ((end whispers))
CopyCatShinobi: Oh, it all sounds new when I'm excited at getting reviews :D
StrawberryEggs: You know…you've gotten me addicted to labeling the TOS cast as pokemon it's like one of those flu's...er, oh it bites ya in the hinny when no ones looking. Say...when I think of Colette I think jigglypuff (can't remember how to spell it) But Lloyd as a Charmeleon? I can see it because they're both strong but that little critter always struck me as the smart type ((scratches head)) :D
--My special friend--
Sheena sat frozen to her spot, feeling slightly sick. Zelos was still in a deep sleep and there was no sign of Colette or Lloyd. She peered outside from her spot, the storm had died down several notches but not safe enough to be wandering through at this hour. Afternoon had passed and evening came, bringing darkness with it. With the fire gone and no bright source of light Sheena found herself jumping at every small sound, even at her own shadow. She was just so much more aware at how daunting everything seemed in the dark. Or maybe her fever was just making her delirious.
Sneaking a quick glance at Zelos she had the sudden urge to shake him awake, but then would need to give him an explanation on why she had disturbed him. What would she say, because she was afraid? No, it wouldn't do. Not after all the time she spent making it look as if she feared nothing but fear itself. No. How degrading would it seem if Zelos though of her as a coward, frightened of something as simple as darkness? Somehow it had a tremendous effect on her on what he thought of her as a person.
She hated how he makes her feel, nervous and on edge. She's never sure of what to say; perhaps that's why her comments are mainly thoughtless and offensive. She couldn't help it; it came naturally after so many years of pushing him away.
If she were to pick one thing that annoyed her most it would be his horrible habit of serenading every woman he came across. When he first tried that stunt on her, she had to admit she was flattered. But then she witnessed him professing his love for practically every woman that passed him, it nearly broke her heart. Being a little on the smart side she closed herself up to anything he said after that, not caring what his sentences contained.
Sheena glared at him, almost hating him for ever crossing paths with her. She then lowered her gaze, if he were to leave now, would it bother her?
The cold ninja shivered and went to lean on her side, feeling something hard she shot back up again emitting a small yelp. She quickly pushed her hand to the source of the problem; the pocket in the pink vest she had thrown over herself. Pulling back out her arm she produced a small gold locket, flickering in the dimly lit cave.
She fingered it lightly; it took the shape of a smooth-edged heart. Sheena longed to find out what was kept inside it. What could possibly mean so much to Zelos? She had the strange itch to open it. What would it hurt to take a quick peek and put it right back? Zelos would never find out. What he didn't know can't hurt him, right?
Sheena still had her doubts; Zelos was never the sentimental type around anyone, so she figured if he had something like this with him, he wouldn't want anyone to find it. But then why did he give her his vest if he knew what was in it? Could it be that he meant for it to be found? Or that he merely forgot about it?
She cast another glance at Zelos; he was shifting around but not showing any signs of getting up. Slowly she opened the locket, catching a glimpse of a young blond woman. But her fingers were so numb from cold that her grip faltered and the tiny object was sent flying to the floor with a sharp clang that echoed off the stone walls.
Hurriedly she grabbed the object and stuffed it back in the pocket.
Zelos got up at the sound of something falling, "Hey Sheena?"
"Nothing happened, go back to sleep!" she snapped, suddenly very angry.
He stared at her for a while, wondering why she was in such a foul mood, "…I just wanted to know what time it was, no need to bite my head offfor it."
The Mizuho woman blushed but remained unchanged, that sudden burst of fury severely drained her strength and it did no good to the headache that had started to show signs of becoming a problem, "Like I would know."
"It's just that Lloyd's sure taking his time to come get us." he leant back, spreading his legs in front of himself.
"Colette's also with him." she reminded.
"Yeah, but I'd much rather blame Lloyd." he said simply.
That made her question if that blonde girl in the picture was Colette.
"He's probably stalling with futile attempts to woo her." Zelos shifted around his headband, "I keep telling him to come to me for help but he's just too stubborn...must run in the family."
No, couldn't be her.
Sheena smiled feeling the familiar sense of relief, "He just wants to take it at his own pace. Colette's different; she's known Lloyd almost all her life. He wouldn't want to put that sort of relationship in danger."
Zelos blinked, surprised that no offhand comments made their way out her lips for once, "Uh, yeah…but the longer he waits the harder it'll get."
Sheena turned to him puzzled, "Why's that?"
"Simply because their friendship will only strengthen with time. What if he waits so long that when he finally tells her, she won't feel that way anymore? It happens a lot these days…people keep waiting until it's just too late. on the other hand, determining the right moment in which to speak is truly difficult." he explained in a soft tone, almost inaudible to the human ear.
Years of harsh training allowed her to pick up small sounds such as that and she was thoroughly amazed at how much he knew. however when it came to applying those skills he failed terribly, "Sometimes people are just afraid of what the other will say…no one wants to get hurt."
"Yet it's made a part of life. The irony of it all is that the people who are meant to love you unconditionally…end up hurting you the most."
Her sleepy russet eyes widened, there was incredible truth to that plainly put sentence. Could he possibly be speaking from experience? After all…that is the way we learn, though it isn't always the best way.
When only silence answered him, he kept on talking, "It just goes to show…there's no one you can really trust."
"Do you trust me?" Sheena asked slowly, hoping it would be an answer she wanted to hear.
Zelos stared up at her in perplexity; he wasn't prepared for a question such as that. What should he tell her? If he waited too long she'd only expect the worst, "Sheena…I, well that's kinda sudden…"
She slipped her head onto her knees, "It's a perfectly simple question. Yes…or no?"
"It's not that simple. If I were to ask you that, how would you respond? Would you answer right away?" as time passed he quickly piled on more and more ways to escape the dreaded question.
She remained stubborn, "Well you're not asking--"
"Do you trust me Sheena?"
"I—well…ah." she nearly choked when she heard it, "Well…of course I do!"
He quirked an eyebrow in disbelief, "Oh really now? Would you trust me with your life then?"
"Is-isn't it obvious that I trust you by now?" she stuttered uncontrollably.
Zelos twirled a strand of his crimson hair gently around his finger tips, "And yet you so bluntly stated that you could never trust me to make the right decisions just a mere couple hours ago."
She dropped her gaze, feeling about as low as a swatted fly, "Zelos…I…I didn't mean it…"
He narrowed his eyes, he hadn't meant to sound so harsh, "Well…what's done is done. You can't change the past."
Somehow when one is truly at fault the words just happened flow naturally, "I'm…sorry. I didn't know what I was talking about at the time…"
The swordsman shifted on his injured ankle to move closer to her, "It doesn't matter." bit by bit he let his arm fall loosely over her tense shoulders, "don't worry yourself about it…okay?"
When she lifted her head she began to feel dizzy, placing her head on Zelos' shoulder she closed her eyes half way, "I never doubted that you would fail to protect me if I was injured in a fight. It was hard to see it at first…but you're not a bad person when it comes down to it…"
He chuckled and brought her closer, "Nah…I couldn't let someone as pretty as you die so easily." laying his head on her forehead he noticed how warm it was, "Sheena, you're so hot!"
The summoner groaned in disappointment, "You always know how to ruin a mood…"
Zelos shook his head immediately, resting his hand on her forehead, "No I mean you're really burning up. Sheena I think you have a fever."
"But I don't--" it always happened the wrong moment she suddenly felt the odd sensation of her nose being tickled, "I--" and before she knew it she had sneezed…a rather small sneeze since she was trying her best to control it.
He laughed lightly and coaxed her to lean on him again, "Hmm…you need to sleep it off. I don't have any medicine on me."
"Sleep? But I need to get Corrine's bell…" she muttered lazily.
He stroked her hair absentmindedly, "There'll be lots of time for that later, right now you need to rest."
"Mmmhmm…" she nodded and closed her eyes, subconsciously snuggling closer to the warmth that radiated from his body.
A small smile tugged at the corners of his lips, moments like this were rare to come. He tenderly rubbed her arms which were dotted with goose bumps wondering if it would last. He exchanged the weight on his injured leg the other one, waking up the woman in turn.
Sheena rubbed her eyes and looked up at him, "What's wrong?"
He gave a wide grin, "It's nothing, go back to sleep now."
"Zelos I--"
"Hey!" voices rang out from beyond the cave, "Hey are you two okay?"
Zelos sighed in relief; it couldn't have taken them longer, "What took you so long bud?"
Lloyd's partner answered for him, getting closer with each word, "I'm so sorry! But we were looking everywhere for you!"
"Colette?" Sheena mumbled mindlessly.
Lloyd's heavier footsteps followed close behind her, "I'm just glad you're sa-afee! Ah-!" he paused in his steps causing Colette to tumble straight into him.
"Lloyd? What's wrong?" she asked tugging on his arm.
"I-I didn't mean to interrupt…I-!" he babbled pointing at the couple huddled together on the floor, "W-what happened? No! I don't want to know!"
Zelos gave him a bored look, "Bumpkin, you get stranger everyday."
Colette beamed squeezing the arm she was holding, "I think it's positively cute!"
"Well…whatever. Can you two just help us up?" Zelos asked from his spot on the ground.
Lloyd started grumbling, "What? Forgot how to walk or something?"
"As you can see, we're both currently disabled. My ankle's gone and Sheena is way too sick to do anything on her own."
Lloyd's angelic friend immediately jumped in, "Lloyd, let's help them. They must be so cold!"
The one in red moved to get Sheena but Zelos blocked her with his free arm pretending he didn't notice Lloyd approaching, "Oh Colette dear, would you mind escorting Sheena to your Rheaird?" truth was, he didn't want him anywhere near her.
Lloyd froze, puzzled at his friend's strange behavior.
The chosen of the other world rushed past him and proceeded to help Sheena up, "Come on now, I'll get you straight to the doctor in Flanior…Lloyd, bring Zelos there too okay?"
"Sure."
Zelos casually stretched out an arm, "You just gonna stand there or what?"
Plain walls and a glowing fireplace greeted her when she awoke from a short, dreamless sleep. She peered around the room looking for something familiar but nothing came to mind. Sheena looked down on the bed she was lying on only to find that she wasn't in her original clothing. She fingered the silky rose dress that fell just short of her knees, pondering on how it got on her.
"Ah, I see you have awoken." a man in his middle years approached her, "No need to look so worried Sheena, you're in good hands. You're friends brought you to me to look after that cold of yours."
"And…Zelos?" she asked getting up, remembering his injured leg.
"He's fine, I bandaged him up well, he's just resting right now. Good, your fever's gone down." a warm palm made its way to her forehead, "Now, how is that Mizuho doing?"
"It's okay…" once again she looked around the room, "Where's everyone else?"
"It's nearing midnight; they had to get some rest too. They said they'd come get you two in the morning." the doctor smiled and moved to her side, "I'm sure you're wondering what happened to your outfit."
"Yes!" Sheena quieted down when he looked at her funny, "I mean…where is it and how did this get on me?"
"No need to fret, they're in the wash. And your friends helped you change into it…now who were they? There was a blonde one and a professor…anyhow; the one you should thank should be Zelos." the physician explained, "After all, he had that dress specially made for you."
"…specially made?" she repeated picking at the neat folds, "But why…?"
"Well, he's certainly not the type to be groping around for money. So why not?" he rubbed his head and sat down on the couch, "He said it was for a 'special friend'"
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I finished it in just a week, weehee!...only because all the teachers are going easy on us until we get a schedule's fixed…speaking of which, I still haven't got my appointment, stupid school, they're so slow.
Anyhoo! Please review, there's nothing I like better than knowing people like the stuff I try to pass as writing :)