Sheena was silent as she slid from her bed, fully clothed, her bare feet making a noise softer than a whisper as she made for the door. She paused halfway there however, turning her head to look at the bed on the opposite end of the room. With a weak smile, she turned around and tiptoed to the bed, kneeling down beside it.

He was fast asleep, his foot dangling off the edge of the bed, his body tangled in the sheets from his constant wriggling around. Sheena smiled to herself, crossing her arms and resting her chin on them, content to examine the sleeping swordsman before she left. He muttered something incoherent in his sleep, turning in his sleep to face her, his face oddly boyish. His white shirt that he wore to bed was rumpled all over the place, causing her to smile. He seemed so much younger than he really was when he was sleeping.

The ninja reached out to gently brush his hair back from his face, enjoying the way his nose wrinkled then settled back into place. His lips quirked in his sleep, and she found herself resisting the urge to brush her fingers across them. 'He looks so much more peaceful when he's sleeping... He's been so stressed out lately, he needs all the rest he can get...' He muttered something again, turning a little towards her, his hand closing on the sheets as though he was trying to grab something in his dream.

"Sleep well Lloyd..." She murmured inaudibly, letting her hand gently linger of his cheek before she got up to leave. She froze however when the bed creaked too loudly in the silent night, and holding her breath, she waited for the barrage of questions that would come with his awakening.

"Sheena..."

Sheena's heart caught in her throat, and she looked over her shoulder in complete surprise. His eyes were still closed and his chest moved with the same even rhythm that it had been before, he was definitely still asleep. She looked around nervously, as though worried someone invisible in the room would see her. Turning around, she let her eyes linger over his sleeping form before she leaned over him, letting her lips brush across his cheek for the second time that day. "Sweet dreams..."

Embarrassment fuelling her on, Sheena raced to the door and out as silently as she could, jumping the inn's stairs and bolting out the open window into the dark night. 'Jeez that was too close... What if he woke up!?' Luin was silent at this hour, the only sound that could be heard was the soft trickling of water from the fountain. It gave her an oddly calm feeling, and she felt her heart slowing in her chest as the redness began to fade from her face. The full moon overheard cast a silvery glow on the rebuilt city, giving it an ethereal kind of look. 'It's so beautiful... The people did so well rebuilding the city...'

A happy bark interrupted her tranquil thoughts, and as she turned she was knocked to the ground by the excited protozoan she had snuck out to see. He nuzzled happily against her stomach as she wound her arms around his thick neck, a happy rumbling echoing in his chest. When he finished with his greeting, Noishe promptly stuck his cold nose against her cheek, causing the ninja to laugh and playfully push him away. "Hey, hey, I'm here okay, stop it, that's ticklish!"

Noishe barked happily again, the rumbling increasing in volume as he flopped down beside her, resting his head in her lap. His tail was thumping hard against the ground as he expressed his happiness and he wiggled his head under her hand, encouraging her to pet him.

Sheena obliged with a soft giggle, ruffling his stiff fur affectionately, hugging Noishe again. She sat there mostly in silence, listening to the heavy breathing of the large creature with a smile. It had become nearly a ritual to sneak out of wherever she was staying in the city to visit the protozoan, she had seen how lonely he had gotten by himself outside of the cities. Gently scratching behind his large ear, she added to herself, "Besides... Being close to him makes me feel closer to Lloyd... and to Corrine..."

Noishe, as though sensing her thoughts, gently seized her hand in his mouth, his dark eyes boring holes into hers. She smiled wearily and he released her hand, whimpering softly as he rested his head on her knee. He sighed loudly, and her hand once again continued to scratch behind his ear.

"Okay, okay, no sad thoughts tonight, I'll be on my best behaviour." Sheena laughed at his glum expression, leaning down to kiss the protozoan's forehead. He made a muffled barking noise in assent, then he rolled over onto his back, giving her a clear view of his stomach. With a grin, Sheena reached over to ruffle the shorter fur on his belly, listening to the happy rumbling noise he made when she did. 'He's so much smarter than I thought at first... Some dog he turned out to be...'

"Good one Noishe!" Corrine laughed, his entire body quivering with amusement as he pat the ground in a very human gesture of amusement. The large protozoan gave a bark of laughter too, shaking his head as Corrine scampered around him.

Sheena, having been on night watch, turned to them in confusion. Noishe rolled over, playfully trying to place a paw over the tiny Summon Spirit. Corrine was too quick, dodging out from under him, the little bell he wore jingling merrily in the otherwise silent night. As confused as she was, she could see that Corrine was clearly enjoying himself, and with a smile, she settled back into her seat, staring into the embers of the fire.

Corrine, having seen her glancing towards them, pounced out of Noishe's reach and into the ninja's lap, grinning when she glanced at him curiously. He shook his head once, then announced cheerfully, "I have a new friend!"

"You mean Noishe?" Sheena asked with a tiny smile of her own, noticing the way the giant creature was staring longingly after Corrine. Her smile grew wider as she gently eased the Summon Spirit out of her lap and towards him instead. "He looks lonely without you playing with him."

"He is lonely, he hasn't had many friends besides Lloyd and the others." Corrine replied in such a serious tone that for a second, Sheena was taken aback. Corrine glanced meaningfully back at his new friend, continuing placidly, "Noishe is a lot smarter than the others think he is... He's ancient too, four thousand years old. He's Lloyd's keeper, not just his dog. You'd be surprised at how much he's told me, seeing as I can understand him unlike you guys. It's really interesting all the stories he's told me."

"Wow... I never would've guessed..." Sheena spoke mostly to herself, looking at the creature with new eyes. He seemed to be grinning at her, and she watched as his tail stood tall and proud, waving to and fro ecstatically. Looking into his eyes now, she could see the glimmer of intelligence she had never seen before. She spoke to him hesitantly for the first time, feeling odd,"So you... You can understand me?"

"Yeah, he can understand you. He knows exactly what we're doing and exactly who we are. He knows things I didn't know for crying out loud." Corrine remarked quite proudly, scampering from Sheena's lap and over to Noishe, laughing as Noishe's paw came down on top of him and pinned him to the ground. "He wants to be my friend."

'You gave Corrine what I couldn't... Another chance to be happy.' Sheena thought with a small smile, watching as Noishe rolled over on the stone before he got to his feet, tail wagging so hard his entire backside was jiggling with the motion. She got to her feet too, but Noishe took off down the street before she had a chance to understand what he was doing. Laughing at this, Sheena quickly proceeded to chase him. "Oi! That's no fair, you cheater!"

Noishe just barked over his shoulder, racing at a mild speed away from her. She caught up with him quickly, and he dodged out of her grasp, his chest rumbling in unmistakable laughter. They reached the other side of Luin before the chase ended, both companions flopping down into the grass beside the water, laughing together.

"Tag." Sheena giggled, reaching forward to gently poke Noishe in the nose. He whined a bit, but his tongue rolled out and he promptly kissed her cheek. Snorting with mirth, Sheena backed away as he advanced on her, trying her best to look serious. "Oh no, don't you dare come any closer!"

Noishe bared his teeth playfully, pretending to growl as he took a threatening step closer. She backed away more, her entire body shaking with laughter as she raised both her hands in self-defence. Ignoring that, Noishe continued his advance, still mock-growling at her, his tail upright and waving ecstatically at the play.

"I'm warning you, stay away from me!" Sheena commanded, trying her best to keep her voice serious but she broke at the end, dissolving into a silent fit of laughter. She couldn't keep a straight face expression in the face of Noishe's happiness. She kept backing away, but even her legs seemed to fail her, shivering as she giggled to herself.

Sensing victory, Noishe yipped cheerfully as he pounced on top of the summoner, knocking her clear onto the grass. She squealed in alarm and laughter, and he nuzzled against any place he could reach, earning more delighted peals of laughter that only made his tail wag harder.

A rustling in the bushes distracted the protozoan for one second, and he took in a deep breath to catch the scent of the intruder. If Noishe could have laughed out loud, he would've, but instead he merely ducked his head to continue to tickle his newfound ward. He knew that nothing was going to disturb this night, not even the suspicious boy hiding in the bushes.

Lloyd wasn't entirely sure what had woken him, it could have been the door closing, or it could have been the feather light touch on his cheek before the door sighed shut. Regardless of what it had been, he was awake and alert before his feet even had a chance to hit the floor. His eyes automatically went to the small bed at the far corner of the room, where Sheena's sleeping form should have been. The bed was glaringly empty, and his heart leapt into his throat.

'Again! She's gone again!' Lloyd bolted from the bed, his hands already grabbing his blades and tying them around his waist, shrugging into his jacket as he ran to the door. He didn't even know where he was running to as he dashed down the stairs and out into the cool night, but his feet were moving on their own accord and he wasn't about to stop them. He felt it again, though this time with much more force, that same surge of dark fury that choked at his rationality. Then there was worry, a true concern that made his blood freeze in dread.

The emotions seemed as different as night and day to him, but they blended remarkably well together as he raced down the dark streets of Luin, his heart pounding angrily in his ears. His mind was a dizzy swirling mess of emotion and half put together thoughts, he didn't really know where he was going but he still hoped to get there fast. 'Where could she have gone now? She... She wanted to come to Luin so we could spend time together, didn't she...?'

It was like something hit him in the stomach then, knocking the breath out of him, leaving him stunned. He stood still in the silent night, breathing hard, slowly and fiercely going over his thoughts.

'She did it in Meltokio, and now she's doing it here...? Why? She wanted to be with me, didn't she...?' The anger was back as quickly as it had vanished, choking his heart and making it difficult to breathe and think coherently. 'Was she using me to go here to meet up with him...? What's going on here?! She wanted to be with me, that's why I came here with her! To make her happy! What the hell is going on!? Am I not good enough to spend the night with or something?! If she wanted to spend time with that stupid person, she could've done it without asking me to get involved too! Did she ever think maybe I wanted to spend time with her too?!'

The anger slowly began to fade, leaving him hallow and drained. He rubbed at his arms, an incredible wave of guilt and disgust washing over him. He grit his teeth, angrily yelling inside his own head at his stupidity. 'What the hell is wrong with me, Sheena isn't that kind of person. She'd never use anyone to reach her own goals. She's not selfish.' He was reminded of her gentle smile, of the kind words she was always ready to offer him when he needed it, and his self-loathing increased tenfold. 'It's impossible for someone like Sheena to be like that... B-But... Who...?'

Then he really felt it, the core of all the mess of emotions that had been demonizing him since her first departure in Meltokio. Despair. The agony seemed to rip him at his seams, and he realized with a jolt a loss he hadn't felt since he had been banished from his village. 'Why... Why does it feel like I've just lost a part of myself...? She's... She's not really gone, is she...?' An emptiness filled his entire body, freezing his blood and skin until he felt like he was made of ice. His hand absently touched his cheek, where she had kissed him only a few hours ago. His pulse quickened in his chest at the thought, sending some warmth to his fingers. He whispered aloud, willing someone, anyone, to give him an answer, "She... She wouldn't kiss me if she... If she didn't like me... Would she?"

"Oh no, don't you dare come any closer!"

He froze for almost half a second at the sound of her voice, and then his instincts kicked in. He ruthlessly shoved aside all of his emotion, his hands on his blades as he raced as fast as his legs would carry him towards where he'd heard her voice. Adrenalin pounded angrily in his veins, and he was absently aware of unsheathing his blades as a cold anger settled over him. He hissed to himself quietly, his hands tightening with every step he took, "Martel have mercy on whoever the hell is trying to hurt Sheena... I'll tear him to pieces!"

"I'm warning you, stay away from me!"

He never remembered ever moving that fast in his entire life, his feet barely made a sound as they raced across the stone. He heard a low growling, and somewhere in his fevered mind he recognized the sound. He made it to the edge of the town when he saw her, she stood with her back to him, facing off with Noishe, and her shoulders were quivering but not with fear, with amusement. His stomach dropped out of his body, and he watched in shock as the protozoan pounced on her, sending her to the ground in a fit of laughter.

'Sh-Sheena...?'

"That tickles, stop!" Sheena gasped, wriggling around underneath the happy protozoan, trying her best to get him off of her but he was content to stick his cold nose against her neck anyway. "C'mon, quit it!"

'She's... She's been leaving to see Noishe...?' Lloyd asked himself silently, glad suddenly for the fountain and the gaudy statue on top of it to hide him. He watched in shock as Noishe clambered off of her, sitting up and howling shortly to express his triumph. Sheena sat up too, wrapping her arms around the creature, nuzzling against his rough fur with a soft laugh that rung in the swordsman's ears. 'She's... She's happy...'

He saw Noishe looking over Sheena's shoulder, his eyes locked on Lloyd's hiding place. The swordsman froze, unsure of whether or not to bolt. 'Will he follow me? That'd give it away that I followed her out!' He was slightly amazed how everything seemed to slip away from him like a snake shedding its skin, the anger and despair fell away like they had never existed in his heart at all. He felt calm, whole, again. His confusion settled too, everything seemed to make sense again. 'Noishe got more protective of her because she's been spending time with him at night... I'm... I'm so stupid...'

"Noishe?" Sheena asked worriedly, noticing the creature's preoccupation with the fountain. She slowly got to her feet, glancing around the silent area in suspicion. He wasn't growling or backing away, letting the ninja know that whatever their visitor was, it wasn't a monster or anything dangerous. 'One of the townspeople maybe?' She gently ruffled Noishe's thick fur, asking gently, "What is it boy? Who's here?"

Noishe seemed to chuckle, getting to his feet and rubbing his face against her side. With a bark, he raised one paw and pointed towards the fountain, hearing the soft curse that was too quiet for Sheena's human ears. He nudged the ninja forward, his entire body rumbling with amusement as she glanced from him to the fountain, confused. He nudged her once more, whining cheerfully as she took a hesitant step towards the hidden boy.

"Alright, alright, I'll go look, scaredy-cat." Sheena sighed, grudgingly petting Noishe between the ears before she slowly approached the fountain. Glancing at it closely, she noticed the shadow from the streetlight was longer than normal, and thicker as well. Someone was definitely hiding behind it. With a frown, she craned her neck in an attempt to see the person, but she had no luck. With a sigh, she held out her hands and called in what she hoped was a pleasant voice, "Come out, we're not going to hurt you or anything."

"I know that."

Sheena froze in alarm, and she heard Noishe bark loudly behind her, as if he was laughing. She watched with a numbness as Lloyd stepped out from behind the fountain, wearing a tiny smile in his otherwise tight face. She swallowed noisily, feeling a rush of fear through her body. 'He must have... When I left... Damn! Th-This isn't good...'

"So this is where you've been sneaking off to..." Lloyd said quietly, gesturing at Noishe with a small smile. The protozoan yipped cheerfully, throwing himself onto the ground with a triumphant huff, his tail wagging so hard it formed a small cloud of dust. Lloyd's eyes were focussed on Sheena's shocked expression, and he explained quietly, "I realized you were going off somewhere in Meltokio... I got a little worried when you left here too... I didn't realize you were going off to see Noishe."

Sheena blinked, hearing an undercurrent in his tone, an emotion she couldn't name. There was a quiet bitterness in his voice, and a pain in his eyes that she didn't like to see. She took a step forward instinctively, not really knowing what to do with her hands but they reached out to take one of his on their own. She murmured softly, wanting to do whatever she could to ease his anxiety, "I'm sorry... I didn't know that I was worrying you. I would've told you if I'd known... Noishe was just so lonely, and... I could relate to that, y'know?"

"You don't still feel lonely, do you?" Lloyd asked worriedly, closing his hands around hers, momentarily distracted by the soft pain lingering in her words. Though she had never explicitly said so, he knew she had become terribly lonely after the death of Corrine and he had always tried to make her feel differently. The idea that all of his work was in vain was startling.

"N-No, I don't feel lonely anymore, that's not what I meant!" Sheena stammered, feeling the already familiar rush of heat to her face. She glanced at the ground, trying her best to calm her erratically beating heart and hide her blush, hating that he was able to invoke such passionate reactions in her body. 'I can't be anything with him around!' "I... I like being with you, and the others, I finally have friends. I'm not lonely anymore... But I understood how Noishe felt, so I wanted to keep him company, like you guys did for me..."

Lloyd tugged her close, winding his arms tightly around her. She managed a muffled squeak of surprise before that melted into a sigh, and her arms looped loosely around his waist as she pressed her face into his shoulder. Nuzzling tenderly into her neck, Lloyd tried to sort through his buzzing mind, momentarily overwhelmed with emotion. "I never want you to feel alone ever again. No matter what happens, I'll always be here for you. Always."

Sheena let herself sigh, closing her eyes and enjoying the feel of his strong arms looped tightly around her body. She couldn't detect any hint of a lie in his words, of course there never would be, but she couldn't stop the unease that had been building in her stomach for the past few months. She never could doubt him or his integrity, he was simply too pure for that, but her feelings, the ones that had begun to twist her mind as well as her body, were growing paranoid. 'Lloyd... I want to believe you... I do... But... Why do I get so scared...?' She sighed again, and for a moment she shoved away her insecurities, listening intently to Lloyd's quiet breathing and the feel of his heartbeat against her cheek. 'Is this what happens when you love someone? All of your doubts are amplified? Dammit... Why was it you, Lloyd...? Why was it you?'

Meltokio

Presea watched silently as Genis got up from Colette's bedside, his hand gently lingering on the blond's before he pulled that away too, walking out of the room with a saddened expression. The moment Genis vacated his seat, Zelos promptly retrieved it, something that mildly surprised the tiny axeman. He had been by her side since he'd raced into the house, carrying a feverish and coughing Colette in his arms. 'I do not think I have ever seen him look so... frightened...'

"Leave it to Colette to get sick when we're supposed to be on vacation..." Genis sighed quietly as he got to her side, running his hand over his face. He spared a glance over his shoulder at Zelos, watching the red-haired Chosen lean over the sleeping Colette, whispering something too soft for him to hear. He spoke mostly to himself, "I gotta admit, I'm surprised at how Zelos is acting, I don't think I've ever seen him like this."

"Myself as well... He may be feeling guilty." Presea suggested with a half-hearted shrug of her shoulders, though her lips pulled downwards into a frown. She knew all too well the choking vice of guilt, and her eyes scanned the floor beneath her feet as they walked down the stairs. "After all... They were walking together when Colette simply fainted."

"She was sick before that, she just refused to tell anybody." Genis grunted under his breath, mildly annoyed with his friend's behaviour. He knew better than to expect anything else but her selfless actions, but he still didn't like it. He looked over at Presea, frowning at the sight of her obvious displeasure. Embarrassed at his worry, he asked quietly, unable to stop himself from stammering, "P-Presea...? W-W-What's w-wrong...?"

Presea's frown deepened, and she glanced down at the floor once more before she allowed herself to fully look up at the young warlock. The poor half-elf turned a brilliant shade of crimson and nearly lost his footing on the stairs, saved only by her reaching out to grab his hand and pull him straight. He seemed as shocked as she did by her knee-jerk reaction to steady him, but she quickly released his hand, ignoring the searing heat in her palm from where she had touched him. Shaking off the strange pain, she asked him flatly, "May I ask you a question?"

"Y-Y-Yeah, you can ask me anything you w-want, Presea." Genis stammered, fumbling with his hands as the warmth spread up his arms and into his heart. His stomach knotted unhappily, but the young half-elf managed to somehow keep his footing until they were off the stairs and in the living room.

She waited until he was seated, mildly concerned that he would have another accident if she spoke to him. She spoke up quietly, not wanting her voice to carry to far up the stairs, "I am curious, Genis... You spent nearly a full ten minutes by Colette's side, yet you did not speak. I understand that speaking to the sleeping is not efficient. However, it is a calming reflex. Yet you did not indulge in that. Why?"

Genis smiled genuinely at her curious tone, forcing himself to not laugh outright at her confusion. He looked up at the ceiling, hoping to find words there that would help with the explanation he planned to give to her. He spoke slowly, attempting to make sure he got each and every word right, "W-Well... S-Sometimes... Sometimes words aren't needed when you're with a person. You can have a conversation without speech, you can imply your feelings and thoughts through gestures..." He grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck, unable to find his words to express what he wanted to say. He grinned suddenly, inspiration coming to him in a flash, and he merely continued to rub the back of his neck and appear embarrassed, hoping desperately that Presea would get his hint.

Presea stared at him in confusion, completely bemused by his abrupt change of behaviour. Speech was always a barrier between them, he had trouble forming coherent words whenever they conversed, but she enjoyed their time together regardless. As she had one told him, and still believed, 'He's small... but wise. Is this perhaps... a lesson? Is he... trying to teach me something?' She watched him closely, pursing her lips in concentration as she tried to pick out the subtle hints he was projecting. 'Nothing...' She sighed in regret, murmuring softly, "I... I apologize Genis... I'm afraid I am not good at this."

"Y-You'll get better eventually Presea. It takes some time to learn how to pick up on cues." Genis told her gently, his face warming as he injected the kindness into his voice in an attempt to make her smile. She didn't react, and he continued weakly, "Lloyd still can't do it."

That seemed to do it, her lips twitched and soon a hesitant but a true smile stretched her pale lips. Shaking her head a little, the axeman commented softly, "That may very well be true... Though I will not lie, I have hope that perhaps he can pick up some of Sheena's subtle cues on their outing to Luin."

"Yeah, m-me too. Sheena really is head over heels for him, the idiot..." Genis shook his head with an indulgent smile, thinking affectionately of his best friend. Despite their many differences, he had never gotten along with anyone so well before. 'And he deserves all the happiness in the world... And I'm sure that she can give it to him if only he wasn't such an idiot...' He frowned though, directing his gaze to the ceiling and up to the corner, where he knew Colette was sleeping fitfully. 'But...' "I think someone should go to Luin and tell them that Colette's gotten sick... They'd feel really bad if they came back and found out, Lloyd would be impossible to deal with if he found out we hid it from him after everything that's happened."

"I agree, though I wish that we had another choice." Presea sighed, feeling sympathy. That was an emotion she had come to know very well since she had retained her heart, and it felt strangely warm to think sadly for her friends. She realized already that she valued their lives, they were all comrades, but beyond that, she cared for their emotions. "They barely had much time to spend together... They only left yesterday morning."

"Yeah, that's true..." Genis agreed with a sigh, though his thoughts were interrupted when he watched his sister climb down the stairs with a weary expression. He instantly was suspicious as he watched her run a hand through her hair, biting her lower lip as she glanced at the front door. He spoke up quickly, not liking where she may have been going, "Raine? What's up?"

"I think I am going to go to Luin to fetch Sheena and Lloyd... Someone has to do it, it may as well be me." Raine explained wearily, her entire body seemed to sag as she spoke the words. Shaking her head a little, the professor continued tiredly, "I hate to do it, but..." She sighed. "I'll be back within a few hours, don't leave the mansion without speaking with Regal. He'll be in charge while I'm gone."

"Yes sis." Genis agreed quickly, knowing that every moment he stalled her was another moment for her to feel worse about what she was doing. She vanished out the door with a barely hidden curse, and he turned to Presea with a little frown. "I guess this means our vacation is going down the tubes..."

"Such a pity." Presea murmured, keeping her eyes focussed on the door for a long moment. She had seen Raine's true disappointment, and she felt saddened as well. 'It seems nothing can go right...' Slowly getting to her feet, the axeman smoothed out a crease in her skirt before saying calmly, "I... I will go to check in on Colette, I am worried about her health."

Genis nodded once, watching her nearly fly up the stairs in her haste to see the Chosen. He smiled slightly to himself, he had seen the flash of worry in her eyes when Zelos carried Colette into the mansion. 'She probably won't admit it, but she's really getting back in touch with her heart... I'm glad. No one should be without emotion...'

A few minutes later, Zelos came trudging down the stairs, his face a mask of anxiety. He flopped down on the couch opposite of Genis, chewing his lower lip in a very out of character sign of worry. Genis fought with himself to taunt the Chosen, but when he saw the true concern in the young man's blue eyes, he couldn't bring himself to worsen his anxiety. He finally spoke up, his voice was quiet as he could make it, "It's not your fault, y'know... Colette must have gotten the bug somewhere back around the Fooji mountains and just never said anything about it. It's how she is, you know that."

"If you're trying to make me feel better, brat, you're not doing a good job." Zelos retorted icily, putting more venom then he thought possible into his words. Genis drew away in surprise, and the redhead grit his teeth angrily. He didn't understand the wild emotions that made it hard to think coherently, and it only made him annoyed. 'We were just out for a walk...' He flinched as his mind raced back to the moment she collapsed, feeling the fear as though he was reliving it.

"You don't look good my tiny angel, maybe we should head back to the mansion." Zelos suggested with a hint of true concern in his voice, leaning over his blond companion, studying her face closely. Her cheeks were a bright pink, and her eyes seemed oddly out of focus as she walked nearly robotically as his side.

"N-No, I'm okay Zelos, really." Colette stammered through a cough, shaking her head as she felt the heat spreading from her face to her chest. It was a struggle to take a deep breath, but she ignored it and tried to keep walking even as her vision blurred a little at the corners of her eyes. "I'm fine."

"No, you're not. Colette you look like you're about to pass out, let's head home and get you into a bed." Zelos instructed calmly, gently placing his hand on her arm. He was stunned to feel her body shivering like a leaf under his touch, and he stared in complete shock as she bowed her head, her tiny body overwhelmed by a fit of violent coughing. "Whoa! Colette–!"

"D-Don't worry... I-It'll pass..." Colette tried to soothe his worry, but her voice was incredibly raspy. Her chest hurt and she was absently aware of a slight ringing in her head, blocking out the mundane sounds her acute ears could always pick out. Her legs quivered and she felt herself leaning too far to the right, brushing against Zelos' outstretched hand. She tried again to calm him, sensing his mounting concern in his wide eyes, "I'm... fine..."

"Colette!" Zelos exclaimed in alarm as her eyes closed and she went limp. He fell to his knees, catching her swiftly before she had a chance to touch the ground. Scooping her up into his arms, he redoubled his grip as she began to twitch, coughing violently. For a moment, he just stood there, shocked into a frozen state. His heart was hammering in his ears, and his mind was blissfully blank. Everything seemed to sink into the background as his feet turned him around back towards the mansion, towards the others. "Colette!"

'All I wanted was for her to be okay... It was the most hostile thing I've ever felt in my entire life at that moment.' Zelos sighed to himself, burying his face in his hands as he tried to catch his breath. He was unable to summon his mask of cool indifference, too overwhelmed by his worry. She had only woken up once since he'd brought her back hours ago, and his heart physically ached as he remembered her gentle eyes focussing on his.

"I'm sorry for ruining your day Zelos..."

'She was serious, so fricken serious and honest, I wanted to...' Zelos hissed under his breath as the corners of his eyes began to sting, his heart moaning inside his chest in response to his emotion. He had his reasons to keeping it so securely under wraps, there was no point to let anyone see what he truly felt or thought. It was so easier to cover everything up with a laugh and witty remark.

But she saw straight through him. She'd smiled at him as she lay in the bed, her face flushed with fever and her voice incredibly weak and husky from her coughing. She'd touched his hand, and whispered an apology that made his entire body ache in guilt and anger.

'Why is it you that can see right through me?'

Genis grinned to himself as he saw the redheaded Chosen's internal struggle, he couldn't stop himself from feeling amused. As shocked as he was to see the obvious concern, he found himself oddly pleased. 'Colette won't be alone anymore... It's good... Though, Zelos... Who'd have ever thought it?' Getting to his feet, he decided to leave the redhead alone with his thoughts, knowing the poor man probably needed time to sort out his strange new feelings. 'I wonder if it's Meltokio doing this to us... Everybody wants to spend time with a certain someone suddenly... not that I'm complaining... It's good for all of us... Now let's go check in on Presea.'

AN

A messy chapter is messy, lol. It seemed all over the place. Blah. That's what I get for taking my day off and spending it all at the computer desk trying to finish my halfway point XD (I kid, there's so much more I wanna do with this before I finish it XD). It was really hard to capture Zelos, he's a pain in the ass to write when he's being serious. It's hard to see what's going on under that cool mask, I really commend anybody who can manage to get him properly, I can't do it at all, lmao.

Question, who thought it was Noishe? XD Was it surprising? :3

Oh, and reply to Brave Soul, (heehee). I meant I was bad for updating at school XD I didn't mean to worry/upset you if I did, lol. Gomen mon ami! (two languages, one apology, lol)

Sky