Stop Thinking

A/N: A bit of fluff, a bit of misery, but hopefully you guys will enjoy it and finish it feeling happy. It is set later in the game, but has no big spoilers. This will likely remain a one-shot, featuring Zelos and Sheena, so if you're not a Sheelos fan, turn back now. I will apologize in advance for any OOCness, especially since I'm inclined to be kind to Zelos, and if he doesn't get smacked at least once we know Sheena is definitely not feeling like herself. 3

points up at rating It's T, and you can probably guess why considering the characters involved.

Disclaimer: I don't own Tales of Symphonia, or the game's wonderful characters.

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Sheena stared blankly into the fire, her mind was tossing and turning this long evening. Most of their group had already retired to their rooms at the inn so they could get some rest. Their journey wasn't getting any easier, and it seemed like there was no time for anything but fighting, eating, sleeping, and mulling over old and painful memories in the middle of the night when you couldn't sleep.

The ninja sighed, her past wasn't getting any easier to think upon either. There was just too much stuff inside her head tonight. Stuff she could have done, should have done. Maybe things would have turned out right if she had tried harder.

A thump on the couch next to her jarred her from her miserable thoughts, and she barely saw the pink out of the corner of her eye before putting on a horrible scowl. Sometimes she could tolerate the idiot Chosen, and sometimes she even enjoyed their banter, but he was the last person she wanted to see at that moment.

"What do you want?" She asked Zelos, glaring at him. I'm in no mood to deal with your narcissistic idiocy, was what she really wanted to say.

"Guess." He replied, with that smirk clear on his face. Not just any smirk, that smirk, the one that meant his twisted, convoluted mind was thinking of something so perverted, she would have no choice but to run away screaming if she ever learned of it.

"I'm not playing your silly games, Zelos." Sheena grumped.

The swordsman shrugged. "You should, it would help you take your mind off things."

"I'm perfectly fine thinking about whatever it is I'm thinking." Sheena glared harder at him, hoping he would take the hint and shut up, or more preferably, leave.

He chuckled. "Your face looks like you've got some of Raine's cooking in your mouth and can't spit it out or swallow it. Denying that you are thinking of something unpleasant would be like denying how much you really want me." He wore a grin composed entirely of smug confidence, and he ran a hand through his hair in a cocky fashion.

Sheena was sorely tempted to slap him.

"Humor me for a bit, hunny, and see if a silly game or two doesn't help. You know, I've got the perfect game in mind for this occasion."

Turning to look at him, she saw that he had that look to him that said he wouldn't take no for an answer. And worse, if she tried to leave he'd probably follow until she agreed to play his ridiculous games or slapped him silly. There was something else, another emotion on his face, but she couldn't quite pin it down.

Sheena rolled her eyes and her shoulders slouched in defeat. Zelos must have taken that as a sign he had won, for the moment at least.

"Turn around," he said, and she shifted on the couch so her back was to him. She pulled her feet up and hugged her knees as she mentally ran through a list of excuses he would give her for being inappropriate.

"If you touch me, I'll beat you so hard..." She told him over her shoulder, leaving the threat hanging.

"But we can't play the game if I can't touch you!" He exclaimed, and she almost bolted off the couch for fear of his wandering hands. Sheena firmed her resolve and decided to give him the benefit of the doubt, and slap him afterwards. Zelos continued as though unaware of her nearly panicked reaction, "See, I'll draw a picture on your back, and then you have to guess what it is I drew."

Sheena shook her head, but allowed the idiot Chosen to begin the game. She had quick reflexes, and could easily give him a sound beating him the minute he decided to grope her.

But all she felt was one finger touch her back, and begin tracing something. It was rather circular, with lots of little rounded edges.

"Okay, guess what that was." Zelos said, and it sounded like he was grinning.

"Uhm... A cloud?" Sheena guessed, somewhat distracted by the idea that he wasn't acting like his usual perverted self. He was still impossible to take seriously-with the pink outfit, who could?- but he wasn't even being suggestive. Maybe he was trying to lull her into a false sense of security. Yeah.

"Nope, that was a flower. Try this one."

She felt him shift closer, so his legs touched her back. He traced something else, this one seemed rather symmetrical, and wide, with three points and a flat end. Sheena thought she rather liked having him near her in a non-perverted manner. Even if it was all just a part of his sinister plan to lure her to his bed or something.

"Eh, a rabbit?"

"No, but close. That one was a bird."

Sheena turned around so abruptly she nearly fell into his lap. Her suspicions regarding his motives were forgotten for the moment as a look of frustration crossed her face. "How can you expect me to guess those? This game is too hard. Here, let me draw on your back, then you'll see."

Zelos chuckled and turned around so he was facing away from her. Sheena narrowed her eyes in concentration and traced a tree on his broad back. "There, I bet you can't guess what that was," she said smugly.

"A tree."

"Damnit... Eh, it was probably a lucky guess." She drew something else between his shoulders, absentmindedly wondering how it would feel to just run her hands down his back. Hell, when you ignored the pink and pretended he was some sort of decent person, he wasn't too bad to look at. "What's that?" She asked, leaning to one side so she could see the profile of his face.

"A cat. Or a dog with pointy ears."

Sheena growled, it wasn't even a particularly well drawn cat. She looked around the room to see if there were any mirrors or other ways the idiot could be getting his answers from, but she couldn't find anything obvious. Just some armchairs, pictures on the walls, some old-looking objects on the mantle which, although shiny, wouldn't provide a good reflection.

"Try this one." She muttered, a smug smile appearing on her face.

"Sheena, my hunny, you won't become an artist by practicing random scribbles."

She had been sure he would miss that one. How on earth did he get so good at a stupid game like that? She decided to change tactics.

"What is this, some kind of sleepover party? Let me guess, next you'll be asking me to braid your hair or something ridiculous like that." Sheena huffed irritably, sitting back on her feet and folding her arms in front of her.

"Well, I wasn't planning on asking, but if you are offering..." Zelos grinned and glanced at her over one shoulder. "I'd have to do it myself later anyway, if I don't braid it before bed it gets tangled."

Sheena stared wide-eyed at him for a minute, the idea of a man wanting her to braid his hair was a far cry from her own notions of men and their behavior. "Wh-what kind of man are you?" She exclaimed.

"An irresistibly sexy one," came Zelos' confident reply.

For the second time that evening, Sheena sighed. She was tired, and he was confusing, so there was really only one thing she could do in that situation. She was sure Zelos was surprised when he felt her fingers in his hair. He probably didn't even think I could braid, she thought to herself.

They sat in silence for awhile as she played with his long hair, braiding it down to it's ends, and then undoing it all and braiding it again. "It had some messy spots," was her excuse. She would be damned if she told him that the actions were soothing. His already inflated ego would swell up too much.

Absentmindedly she wondered what he did to make it so soft and shiny. Then she realized somewhere between the painfully pointless game and toying with his hair she had found the peace of mind she had been lacking before he wandered over to bother her.

After awhile he spoke up, "Feeling better now?"

"I was fine before, you know." Sheena replied, with none of the sting her tone had earlier.

"Mmmhmm. Okay." He muttered in an amused tone, but then became a bit more serious. "When your past gets painful, sometimes it helps to do something else and just stop thinking about it."

"It must -" Sheena paused. It must really hurt for you, since you shut your brain off completely, was what she had been about to say. It seemed like such a profound revelation that the words never got past her lips, and Goddess, if that was why he acted like such an ass... A wave of unexpected warmth, and almost love, for the idiot swept over her, and she surprised herself with her impulsiveness by throwing herself onto his back and wrapping her arms around his shoulders in a hug.

It felt like he froze for a couple seconds, not even breathing. She must be surprising the poor guy as badly as she was surprising herself tonight. She held onto him for a bit, reassuring him that she wasn't about to smack him or yell at him. Was she going to admit to herself that she liked the smell of him, or holding onto him? Hell no.

"Not one word of this to anyone, or I'll have to kill you," she muttered in his ear. If she let him run his mouth off about this evening, she was never going to live it down...

The swordsman chuckled, and reached up to place one hand over hers.

They sat like that for a time, each comforted by the closeness of the other. Sheena thought perhaps being with him was rather nice. Especially when he was all calm and quiet, instead of showing off the flamboyant arrogance he usually displayed. When he sat still like this, holding her captive between the warmth of his body and the warmth of the fire crackling in the hearth nearby, she could almost drift off to sleep...

"Zelos, I'm going to go to bed now." Sheena said somewhat abruptly, jerking her head from where it had fallen on the back of his shoulder. Although the swordsman was the source of her newfound sense of inner peace, she wasn't about to fall asleep on him and leave her fate in his inquisitive hands.

She let go of him and stood up to leave when Zelos caught her hand, and kissed it in a gallant manner. "Sleep well, then," was all he said. Sheena had expected something like 'Why don't you join me in my bed?' or 'I knew you couldn't resist me,' or even just that smirk lingering on his face, but there was none of that. Just a kind, friendly smile.

Sheena nodded and turned towards the inn rooms, mentally wishing him goodnight.

- - - - -

The next morning at breakfast she told Zelos in no uncertain terms that last night hadn't changed anything between them. He proceeded to loudly exclaim how much he had enjoyed her company, in a form and tone that had the younger and more innocent members of the group looking confused, and had the adults glaring daggers at them. The swordsman spent the rest of the morning muttering about violent women and rubbing at his offended cheek.