I reached 100 reviews! Weee! Anyways, the thank you list as usual:
Lightning-Dono: Thank you! Yes I do agree, you learn a lot more from Zelos when he isn't all flirty.
Giggy : Yeah! I wish I had a speech prepared…:P
mercy-angel-09: Well I'm happy that update made you do a little happy dance. :) Stupid typos…you should hear me trying to figure out which 'to' to use. Not a pretty sight…
StrawberryEggs: I'm glad you do because I something get a bit upset when authors take too long to build up the romance in a romance fic, but oh well…and It might have been influenced by your penname…mmm strawberries!
Abombidal boo: Oh, that's like a story with a cliffy at the end! I must find out what it was:D
Jinxie: I'm gald to be called, 'Jawsome' :)
honeydew-slush: aww, that means a lot!
Eliannora: Go ahead and ask about the thing that had to do with Thanksgiving, I don't mind. 'Iffy' huh? Well it seems I'll have to start reading more sheelos stories…
Dutchygirl: Don't worry I will. Yes, I was waiting for the perfect moment to write that line.
TUF STUF II-Henrika foreva-II : I will ;)
Manue: well hello there and thanks.
Guess who: Plushies are cuddly, who cares about being a little girlie? ((huggs doggie bear)) did you know you reviewed like seven times this chapter and last?
Windwhisprer: That scares me…just what will my crazy wittle mind think of next?
lugiamania: A bit too hard…
P.S to all: I reached 100!
Disclaimer: I don't own TOS
The distance that connects us
She hadn't given him any answer, just a lame grunt and then she stalked away in a huff. What was he trying to imply? Of course she could take a compliment; she had after all done so in the past. Then again, when it came to Zelos she somehow managed to screw it up; she always did seem a bit touchy about anything he said but if he just knew how to frame his words properly maybe it wouldn't be so hard.
Laying on her somewhat firm mattress Sheena failed to fall asleep. She continued to think of how Zelos hadn't tried to stop her as usual when she walked away. Not one word came from him, just a lazy yawn after a couple of hours. Sheena looked up at the clock on the wall; 1:45, it read. She sighed and rolled on her side, the sniffles wouldn't let her sleep the night…morning away.
Though that was the point of that bitter concoction, not to keep you up but to bring out all the phlegm in the chest, and if hacking her way through the night was going to cure her than so be it. Yet Sheena wished she wouldn't cough so often, it hurt her poor scratchy throat.
Feeling her nose tickle she shot up and grabbed a tissue off the bedside table and sneezed rather loudly, "A-achoo!"
"Aye Sheena, do you have to do that?" Zelos had gotten up and was rubbing his eyes.
"Well--" she blew her nose and continued sarcastically, "Sorry for being sick."
"How about being a little more dignified and let prince charming over here get a little shut eye?" he teased from the bed beside her.
"'Dignified?' 'Prince charming?' Good Martel you're terrible even in the middle of the night." Sheena scoffed and threw away the tissue before grabbing another one.
"Actually my voluptuous hunny, it's now officially morning as the old clock suggests." Zelos pointed somewhere behind her head.
She ignored the name, mainly due to sleep and the fact that another sneeze was on its way, "Don't you get smart with me so early in the morning."
He grinned and nodded towards the almost empty tissue box, "You sure that's going to last?"
She turned her head and shrugged, "I don't know…there's one more on top of the fireplace…" then she had to sneeze once more…and it was quite loud.
"That was one hell of a sneeze my lovely lady." Zelos commented propping himself up on his elbows, "Yup, now that I'm awake I doubt I can fall asleep again."
"Sorry." She said a bit more sincerely, "I never thought I'd say this but at least I'd have some company…even if it's from you."
"Is that so?" the not-so-pink-right-now swordsman asked, "Why's that might I ask?"
"No reason." She answered abruptly.
"Oh I think there is, come on Sheena." he probed, "Don't tell me you're afraid of something. The Sheena I know and love is a tough chick! She'd kick any boogie man's butt and send him back under the bed he crawled out of."
"I'm not afraid of anything Zelos. And don't call me 'chick.'" She grumbled playing with her long fingers.
"Whatever you say." he replied in a sing-song voice, "Do you know what I know?"
The fatigued ninja let out an exasperated breath, "What do you know?"
He placed both arms behind his head in a proud manner, "I know what can send you diving for the covers."
She stopped playing with her fingers and let out a brisk laugh, "You?"
Taking it another way Zelos turned to her with a devilish smirk, "Oh, you just can't seem to stop thinking about me can you? I knew you always loved me!"
Sheena growled a bit flushed that he would even go that far, "Not like that you perverted fool." then again this was Zelos.
He shook he head and continued with his original topic, "I know what you hate the most."
She rolled her eyes getting over the earlier comment, "Once again, you?"
"Nope." he wagged his pointed index finger, "Guess again."
"There is nothing Zelos." she stated firmly.
He whistled for a while before saying in what seemed to be a poor impression of a ghost teller's voice, "Darkness my dear."
She hardly heard what he said. Sheena stared out the cold frosted glass window into the inky blackness of the Flanoir night. Being the small place isolated place it is shops lights and street lamps are shut off and stores close by 10:30 pm sharp. No children play outside and the elderly sit in the rickety old rocking chairs by the window, knitting slightly itchy woolen sweaters for their grandchildren, every stitch filled with so much love. Oh how she yearned for that right now…
"Ah ha!"
Zelos' piercing voice brought her back from her thoughts, "What now?"
"So I was right after all." he bobbed his head up and down.
"About…?" she said without thinking much of it.
"You and your little known fear…" Zelos yawned once more, "You know, it is pretty common these days, I think Raine's pretty creeped out about it too…she may deny it but it's a proven fact you see--"
The rest was all in jumbles for the sleepy summoner as she tried to remember what he had said before, "Zel—oh…no way—I told you I'm not scared of anything, especially not something as trivial as the dark."
He turned to face her; a bit upset she interrupted his ramblings about the professor, "Oh really now?"
"Yes." she responded in a firm voice.
"Is that why you let out that animal-like scream when we were in the Temple of Lightning?" Zelos lifted one perfectly plucked brow, "Now don't you try to lie to me my precious."
Pondering on that for a while and trying to relive that exact scene in her mind she replied with shocking calmness for her sort of temper, "The only reason I screamed—and it was not animal-like—was because you were gripping onto my arm so tightly I almost fell of the edge."
The man beside her stared at her for a while before finally saying, "Oh…heheheh…yeah…but that doesn't explain why you yelped later on, when we were down in that watery area."
"You'll stop at nothing won't you?" once again she paused to think, "I don't exactly—no—yes, I remember. Your foul hand had made its way to my rear end."
Zelos tapped his fingers on his chin mumbled something to himself, "I could have sworn that it was Raine…"
Catching that she seethed, "Zelos!"
He raised his hands in defense as if the woman would pounce on him this instant, "All right, all right."
Then it was quiet, after a few coughs Sheena settled down into her soft pillow, probably stuffed with penguinist quills. That reminded her of Corrine and the bell she was in pursuit of…the gloves would be done by tomorrow and the search would begin. Though her cold would only worsen if she went out that quickly…and Zelos' ankle too. Shaking her head to herself Sheena figured that he wouldn't even come if he was begged to; after all he had called Corrine's bell a 'toy'. That saddened her, to think he of all people wouldn't understand the value of a material possessions. She wished it would still be there, all shiny and bronze with that long red ribbon tied firmly around it. It was almost like a security blanket for her, she had to get it back…no she needed to get it back.
"Hey Sheena?" Zelos whispered unsure of whether or not she was asleep.
She flopped her head to face him, "Mmm'hmm?"
He grinned and went to look up at the plain ceiling, "You know…its okay to be frightened sometimes."
She frowned, "No, it's not. I'm a ninja…fear isn't usually tolerated. It makes you weak…a coward is more like it. It will only hold me back."
"No." he shook his head repeating her tone, "It makes you human."
"Look who's talking Mr.-I'm-not-afraid-of-anything." she mocked fairly annoyed that all of a sudden that he was getting serious on her, at a time it would seem rude to brush it off and tell him she needs to sleep.
"I never said that." he kept his airy voice, "We all fear something…it doesn't make us cowards, not if you deal with it the right way."
"Yeah? Who told you that?" Sheena questioned still a bit skeptical.
"What?" he pouted, "Can't I ever say something smart without taking it from a third party?" when only silence answered him he said in a much softer voice, "My…mother."
Her tense brow relaxed, she may have an unbreakable barrier when it comes to Zelos but the woman in her reached out to him and she said with matching gentleness, "And did she mention how to deal with it?"
"No." his reply was a tad to stern which lightened as he went on, "But I figured it out eventually."
"I bet your mother was proud of you." Sheena said trying to lighten the mood.
The corners of his thin lips twitched down deeply, "I don't know."
"Why not…you didn't tell her?" she asked confused.
He looked down in sad memory of his late mother, "No…didn't get the chance."
The Mizuho native knew by the whispery tone of his voice it couldn't have been pleasant, so even though curiosity was getting the better of her she bit her tongue from saying anything she may later regret. Although now would be the ideal time to ask since if Zelos did get angry and start chasing her like a crazed boar…how fast could he run with an injured ankle? Still she refrained from talking since as hard as it may have been to imagine, Zelos did have a heart and it would surely hurt if he spoke of his past.
Sheena looked out the window…she had been doing that a lot lately, mainly out of boredom. She noticed that the flurries had died down to a quiet trickle of white fluff. Now she really missed the bright Mizuho days with it's abundance of sunshine. It was cold and quiet here, not that the village wasn't but this place was different. People seemed as frozen as the ice sculptures that Lloyd had shot with the Sorcerers Ring. They seemed lonely and distanced while the villagers were unified. Perhaps they weren't lonely at all but it just seemed that way as they're standing still all bundled up…
"Hey?" it wasn't even half of what he'd meant to say but it needed to get her attention.
Sheena broke away from the sight outside, "Yeah?"
He smiled and looked away, "Nothing." it was only to check if she wasn't upset with his brief answer earlier.
"Zelos." she called softly.
"Hmm?"
"How did you deal with it? You know…being afraid?" Sheena questioned while staring at his head. The usually neat red locks were unruly but still thin, the fine lines his forehead creased in thought as he whistled to himself…it was a nice sound, the type you'd call a bird with.
"I lived with it. It's not something that you can easily throw away." he responded while combing one hand through his hair, "It never really leaves you."
"Then how can you overcome fear?" she wondered childishly.
"You can't." he answered simply.
"…Grandpa once told me something. That being…courageous isn't having no fear at all…but being scared to death but carrying on anyways…" the ninja mouthed the wise words of her sickly elder, "I think he's right…"
"For an old guy he sure knows what he's talking about." Zelos commented offhandedly, he seemed further than usual…
Sheena ignored it, in a normal situation where she wasn't half asleep she would have strangled the older man for being so disrespectful, "What did you mean by, 'it never really leaves you'?" she said.
When she got no answer she turned her head to look in his direction. He wasn't there, in his bed where he was only two seconds ago.
"It's late and you need to sleep."
She turned at the sound of his voice coming from near the window, "Zelos! How'd you-"
"Shh…" he walked over to her side and lifted her thick blanket, "Tomorrow's going to be a busy day, you need to sleep."
She smiled sheepishly and took the blanket from him and covered herself, "I know…goodnight."
Before leaving for his own side of the room Zelos brushed back her bangs, she still had a fever but it was slight, "Goodnight."
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There we go, finally done! I know that one took a bit of a while but I had a lot of homework and projects to get through every weekend so I was pretty busy. And I was on my quest for mini sharpies!...er…nevermind…
Anywho! Please be so kind as to review?