Title: Snow Angel

A/N: For the Red Saffron zine! Takes place shortly after the game! Sheena had the cutest crush on Lloyd and Collette throughout the game and it gave her the worst luck.

Summary: Collette was clumsy. Sheena had known this for a while now. Every place they'd ever visited had a Collette-shaped imprint. Yet, for some reason, she thought that teaching her how to skate was a good idea.

…

…

…

…`

Collette was clumsy. It was something Sheena had known for a while now, had known ever since the first time they'd met, but still the extent surprised her sometimes. Everywhere they visited, there was at least one Collette-shaped imprint. Celestia was no exception.

The snowdrift in front of her had seen better days. Still, there was something terribly endearing about the usual spread-eagle impression Collette had left in it. The better memories of their world-saving journey had always involved this shape.

Sheena crouched in front of it, peering into the darkness. "Collette?" she called out, rubbing her hands as she waited for her girlfriend's reply.

"H-here!" Collette squeaked as she poked her head out the other side of the snow pile. Snow covered her blonde hair and with her fluffy winter coat, she looked part polar bear.

She was cute.

Sheena jerked her head away before she could stare for too long. Clearing her throat, she asked, "How did you end up all the way over there?"

"L-luck?" Collette laughed sheepishly, a semi-proud smile on her face as she tried to wiggle her way out. "I can't believe," she struggled harder, "I did it again." After one last, furious shake, she flopped limply. "Sorry, could you help?"

"What were you so proud of?" Sheena laughed despite herself, standing up. Slowly, she picked her way to Collette; her skates were awkward and unwieldy on land. Still, she hadn't been a ninja for nothing. Holding Collette's hands firmly, she yanked her forward.

"Woah!" Collette shrieked as she tumbled out of the snow and onto Sheena.

They fell backwards. The snow wasn't nearly as soft as it looked, and Sheena winced as her back hit the hard ground. Collette's head bumped into her jaw like a battering ram. She was going to definitely feel this tomorrow. Winded, she groaned. "Ouch."

"Are you okay?" Collette lifted her head, eyes wide with worry. Her long hair tickled Sheena's neck. She was close. Far too close. Any closer and they could kiss.

Sheena flushed at the thought. Her skin burned as she tried to look anywhere else. If she could have, she'd run, but Collette's body pinned her in place. "Y-yeah."

"You sure?" Collette asked, leaning a little closer.

Was she doing this on purpose? Sheena wondered briefly just what lessons Zelos had been giving her on the side. He'd claimed it was to help her improve her magic, but was it really? After they went home, she was going to pay her old friend a visit. For now, though, she had to survive this situation. Or maybe this entire vacation, if things kept up like this.

Collette looked like she was about to lean forward. Sheena quickly stuttered, "P-perfectly fine! You?"

Collette narrowed her eyes, studying her, before beaming and nodding. "Yep. Thanks."

After a second, Collette finally rolled off. Somehow, that didn't make it any easier to breathe. Sheena inhaled deeply, recalling every calming exercise she'd learned. After everything they'd been through, she'd expected to get used to it, but somehow Collette threw her for a loop every time they talked.

Hell, they'd been travelling across the world on a vacation of sorts, just the two of them, and still Sheena didn't know how to react every time Collette grabbed her hand. She could almost hear Zelos' laughter. Yeah, definitely visiting the bastard after this.

"I can't get up," Collette admitted.

Sheena glanced beside her to find her girlfriend rocking like a turtle, trying and failing to turn over. Collette had never been athletic, even less so now that she was bundled up until she resembled a meat bun. Holding back a snicker, Sheena smoothly jumped to her feet and held out a hand. "Here, hold on."

Collette beamed, grabbing her immediately. "Thanks!"

It took little effort to yank her up. Sheena had been convinced for months now that it had something to do with her angelic blood, that perhaps her bones were as hollow as a bird's. The momentum was more than she expected. They bumped their foreheads before Sheena took a step back, stabilizing them.

"Ouch." Sheena winced as she rubbed her head. Despite how fragile Collette looked, her skull was as hard as a rock. Maybe it was self defense after her many, many accidents; her body had toughened up in order to survive. "You okay?"

"Yep!" Collette chirped as she bounced, as though she had forgotten just how they'd ended up in this mess. "All in one piece!"

"That's not…" What I meant. Even now, Collette had to be pushed to be a little selfish, to tell others when she was hurt. Sheena eyed her for a moment, making sure that she hadn't twisted her ankle or injured herself. Judging by the way she was jumping, she didn't even have a limp. "Well…that's good."

"Alright. Let's try again!" Without waiting for a reply, Collette made her way back to the ice.

"Are you sure you want to do this again?" Sheena asked softly, trailing after her. They'd been on the ice for an hour now; when Collette had said she was a slow learner, she hadn't been kidding. By now, the cold was starting to set in and Sheena's fingers and toes were numb.

"Of course!" Collette held out a hand, her expression determined. "I can do it this time."

"It's cold," Sheena warned fruitlessly. Out of all the places they visited, she hated the cold ones the most. The chill had a way of seeping into her bones and staying there, refusing to leave even after a hot shower.

"Oh." Collette frowned before tugging on her scarf. "Here—"

"No, no, I didn't mean it like that," Sheena interrupted immediately. She firmly pushed the scarf back down, tying it tight. Last thing she needed was for Collette to catch a cold herself. "I'm more worried about you."

Collette's hands were still curled over the woolen fabric. "You sure? I'm warm."

Sheena nodded furiously. "I'm wearing long sleeves today."

"Oh! I was wondering why." Collette giggled before reaching down and taking her hand. "So you were cold! Last time we came here, you kept wearing that tiny dress. Lloyd and I wondered how you did it."

"That had been…a mistake," Sheena admitted awkwardly as she pushed off the ice, pulling Collette along with her. "But I learned." She turned so she could grab Collette's other hand and skate backwards. "We don't want to get sick, so last try, okay?"

"Last try," Collette promised.

In all honesty, they'd gone through this conversation several times already, the 'last try' getting pushed back with each attempt. It was hard to mind though, as their fingers intertwined, as Collette bit her lip earnestly as she stared at her feet, as they slowly made their way across the ice.

"One, two," Sheena softly chanted. "One, two."

Collette leaned forward, rubbing their noses, and Sheena giggled. The cold was setting in but it was hard to feel anything but warm when Collette smiled at her.