June

x x x

Altamira, the island resort bathed in sunlight, had long been a renowned vacationing spot for tourists hailing from every corner of Tethe'alla. Warm sand, pretty women, and plenty of vices to be enjoyed by those who were looking for a thrill. There was even an amusement park for couples unfortunate enough to be saddled with kids during their stay.

Ordinarily, the slightly introverted ninja avoided the place at all costs. It definitely hadn't been her idea to spend the afternoon there; in fact, she would have preferred to set up camp two feet away from the damn place than be forced to endure the gaudy, spoiled people that made up the majority of its visitors.

As it was, Sheena was indeed stuck in Altamira for the remainder of the day. The party was en route to Heimdall in search of more information on helping Lloyd to wield the Eternal Sword, and was only remaining here until the next morning. Initially the plan had been to make a beeline for the elven town, but at the urging of one considerably annoying Chosen, they had decided that a few hours of relaxation after the recent hectic events was well deserved.

But she wasn't having much fun right now. Having assisted a woman in finding her missing children, the group found themselves rewarded with new beach-ready swimsuits (much to the delight of Lloyd and Colette). The awkward summoner got the extremely short end of the stick and now sat by herself under an umbrella in the sand, hoping no one noticed that she looked like a centerfold, albeit a very grudging one.

Out on the shore, Lloyd and Colette were enjoying themselves with a small brown dog they had encountered, splashing and chasing each other around in the foamy waves. Genis had taken on the task of showing Presea how to build a sandcastle, and although the pink-haired girl likely wasn't interested, she was doing her best to humor him. Regal had disappeared, but Sheena supposed he might have gone to spend some time alone at Alicia's grave.

Having completely missed the point of spending a day at the beach, the professor had laid out her towel a few feet away and immediately pulled out a fat book to read. She caught Sheena glancing uncomfortably in her direction and smiled back, shaking her head slightly.

"No one's making you wear that, you know." Raine turned her gaze back to her reading, not noticing the darkening blush on the other woman's face.

"But it was a gift," the ninja protested weakly, folding her arms over her chest. "Turning down a gift is rude. Or at least, that's what I was taught."

"Suit yourself. You just look so mortified, I thought it was worth mentioning." She pushed her reading glasses up on her nose. "At least your biggest fan isn't around. It is nice to have some relaxing silence without all the bickering."

Sheena frowned. It wasn't easy to talk to Raine. Granted, she did try to reach out to the older woman sometimes out of a sense of camaraderie; on some level, she thought that Raine understood the difficulties of being an independent woman. But unlike her, Sheena was rather shy at times, and couldn't manage to be nearly as aloof.

"Well, that particular idiot went to make reservations at the hotel for us." A pause, and the dark-haired girl lowered her voice in annoyance. "Allegedly, that is. Probably went to hang out with those trampy bunny girls."

"Oh, that isn't fair now, is it sweetheart? I was only gone fifteen minutes."

Sheena shot a death glare as said idiot approached, pulling the towel up around her by instinct.

As unfazed by her anger as ever, Zelos continued his needling. "—but I would totally understand if you missed me. It does so pain me to be apart from you, dearest!"

She shook her head, looking down at the ground. She wasn't in the mood for this. Not that she ever was, but especially not now.

Fortunately or unfortunately, the annoying Chosen took note of it. "Aw. Were you sulking, Sheena? That's not really like you..."

"And I'd feel much better if you'd just leave me alone then," she snapped back. "I have a hard time believing you can't find something to keep you occupied here."

Zelos sported one of his saddest little pouts in response. "But…"

"Why don't you both go do something," Raine cut in roughly, glaring at the two over the top of her book. "Something quiet, preferably."

One face lit up, and the other fell.

"Hey, that's a great idea!" The redhead grabbed her arm and tugged her to her feet, earning a growl of protest and some resistance. "C'mon hunny, let's go for a walk on the beach. It'll be fun!"

"Ugh, no it won't! Not with you!" Despite her disagreement, Sheena followed along grudgingly, half-led and half-dragged by her friend. She shot Raine a look of pure animosity. You sold me up the river, you evil harpy!

The professor just smiled and waved in return, getting back to her book right away. Now she'd finally get some peace, and if those two just quit their stupid little game for a while, maybe they would enjoy themselves too.

x x x

Sheena found herself a bit baffled by the Chosen's unusually upbeat mood as they walked along the shoreline, listening to the sound of the seagulls flying over the waves. He typically had a somewhat feigned sense of cheerfulness about him, she thought, but this mood of his was vastly different. It wasn't as loud, but rather a quiet warmth of happiness exuding from him.

It was bugging her. She just had to know what this was all about.

"So, what's got you so happy?"

Zelos glanced over at her with an expression of vague surprise. "Hm?"

"You look pleased with something," she pointed out gingerly, kicking at a shell on the sand. "It's creeping me out."

He shrugged. "It's a beautiful day, and we're all alive. What's not to be happy about?"

"Hmph. Well, all I know is it's never a good sign when you look that happ—will you quit doing that!"

"Wha-aat?" Zelos mewed innocently, giving her a pathetic scolded dog look.

"You know damn well what!" she muttered, folding her arms over her chest again. "Staring like that!"

Sighing, he stuck out his bottom lip in a pout. "You're so unfair, Sheena. Does that really bug you so much? I'm not touching you…"

"Just give it a rest, idiot. I'm not in the mood to be gawked at, especially when I'm wearing this stupid thing." She paused, wanting to change the subject. "You're not wearing yours, so just shut it."

"Meh. Wasn't in the mood either, dear. Trying to play it a little low profile if you know what I mean." She raised an eyebrow at him, and he shrugged again. "Plus, I wasn't planning on getting wet anyway, so it doesn't really matter…"

The ninja didn't say anything, just looking out at the ocean in thought. Now that he mentioned it, he was a lot less hungry for attention lately. He'd been different since that debacle at the Tower of Salvation, a lot more quiet and surprisingly serious at times. Weird, to say the least.

But, true to form, Zelos couldn't keep his mouth shut for long.

"Did I disappoint you though, hun?" That awful smirk was back. Sheena cringed visibly. "If you wanted to see all of me, we could go back to the hotel, hm?"

Smack and splash. There was an unfortunate meeting of one very annoying Chosen with the waves. He looked up at the very displeased woman through a curtain of dripping hair, his face absolutely priceless with shock.

"I told you I wasn't in the mood," she stated calmly, a smirk of her own crossing her lips. She turned and kept walking, aware of the now-soaked redhead quickly coming back up next to her. A bigger grin took over her face as she noticed him wringing his hair out irritably.

"Real nice, dear. The salt water's gonna do a number on my hair now," he whined, shaking out slightly like a dog after a bath. "What a banshee temper…"

Sheena waved off his whining, still cheerful from her victory. "You're just lucky I didn't do a number on you. Quit propositioning me and maybe I'll be nicer?"

He stuck his tongue out at her childishly, receiving the same gesture in return. She was tempted to shove him into the water again, but he started heading off in the direction of a small rock formation a few yards from the waterline. Reluctantly, she followed after.

"Where're you going now?"

Zelos glanced back at her over his shoulder, smiling wryly. "To take off these wet clothes, if that's alright with Your Highness."

She gave him a skeptical glare as he sat down on one of the large rocks. "You're going to…what, get naked right here?"

He rolled his eyes, tugging his wet gloves off. "Oh, definitely. I'm gonna strip right here on the beach and go streaking. What do you think, dear?"

The summoner snorted, taking a seat on one of the rocks next to him. Her eyes wandered over him curiously as he pulled his black undershirt over his head, giving her a nice little view. She wasn't about to admit it, but he had a very appealing figure, lean but decidedly well-built.

As soon as his blue eyes met hers, she looked away, blushing furiously despite her best attempts not to. She expected him to make a comment about it, but he only smiled impishly at her.

"Hey—I've been meaning to show you something, sweetie…"

She raised an eyebrow. "Ugh, it won't scar me for life, will it?" she responded dryly.

Zelos sighed in exasperation. "You'll be pleasantly surprised, I think."

Turning his back to face her, he let his golden wings materialize, waiting happily for her reaction. As expected, her eyes widened a bit in surprise.

"You remember when we were kids? You used to go on about how cool it would be to have wings. And, I said if and when I got 'em, you'd get to see first." He paused for a moment, thinking. "But that was back in the Tower, when I so heroically saved you from certain death."

Her interest quickly took a turn towards irritability.

"Eh, but I thought you'd want a better look. Right?" An innocent smile. Sheena was torn squarely between hating him and loving him at that stupid expression.

With some hesitation, she scooted a bit closer. "Umm…" she trailed off. "Would it hurt if I touched them?"

He smirked, batting his wings playfully. "Dunno. Never tried it." For a brief moment he searched her eyes, his turning from playful to almost modest. "You could, if you want."

She suppressed the warmth rising to her cheeks and reached out ever so delicately, caressing the iridescent surface with fascination. Zelos was right, after all. She was interested in everything about it, how a human could become an angel and fly. And such beautiful wings…

They were soft to the touch, like a bird's feathers, but gave off a warmth that no normal creature possessed. Sheena glanced over into her friend's eyes to make sure she was clear to continue. It seemed to be the case, as he had closed his eyes in contentment.

She continued her examination quietly, running her hands along the soft plumage to where they met with his back. Absently, her fingers brushed over his skin. She felt his sharp intake of breath and backed off, blush returning in full force.

Zelos glanced back at her fondly, for once not seizing on every opportunity to tease her. "Satisfy your curiosity?"

She nodded shortly, folding her hands in her lap. "Mm…uh-huh. Um…thanks, I guess…"

Her face only turned redder when she felt him gently take her hand, and for a moment she was afraid to look up into those soft blue eyes of his. There was no telling what she'd find there.

Slowly, gradually, Sheena brought her eyes up. His eyes were affectionate on her, wistful even. But for once he kept his mouth shut, just smiling gently and giving her hand a little squeeze. They were leaning closer and closer together, noses almost touching, a matching pink shade flowing across his face.

"Hey! You guys! Lloyd wants to take Colette to the amusement park—" Genis was running toward them, waving them over, but quickly noticed the circumstances and halted in place. "Erm…you could just meet up with us later then, I s'pose…"

The pair glanced at the young half-elf before returning their gazes to each other, their embarrassment intensifying as they quickly withdrew. "It's fine, we'll be right there," Sheena spoke up, finding herself more smooth at handling the situation than the Chosen at her side. That was quite an event. "Don't go on without us, okay?"

Smiling, she got up to her feet, watching Genis quickly make his way back to his friends and away from the awkward situation. Zelos eyed the others in irritation, half embarrassed and half annoyed that such a rare moment of peace was interrupted.

"Um. Well. I'm heading back to the hotel to change. And get the smell of salt out of my hair," he added flatly, grabbing at his wet clothes and pulling his wings back in. "You guys could go on without me."

"Hell no!" Sheena put a hand on her hip flippantly. A small smile was still on her face. "As if I'd walk all over in this thing." She motioned to the skimpy suit. "We'll head back together…okay?"

She ignored his expression of disbelief, reaching forward to grab his arm this time. Knowing already that he was defeated, Zelos just let her drag him along, unable to resist letting a grin take over his face. This was definitely turning out to be a much better day than he could've ever hoped for.

A/N: So glad to have an update out! Hope you guys like, I do love and appreciate my readership. If you can, please leave a review, it really helps in getting readers believe it or not. Anyway, happy 4th of July to everyone! Be safe and enjoy the fireworks! ;)

Love much,
-FP