Well, here I am, after being away from awhile. I'm now back, and I return with a wonderful new one-shot! Well, I wrote this in multiple sittings, so hopefully it's not too disjointed. Let me know if it is, alright?

Disclaimer: I don't own Tales of Symphonia.

Tragedies could envelop you relentlessly. They could suffocate you, morph you into something, which could be the complete opposite of what you were before. They could mold you into something ugly, yet perhaps beautiful at the same time. They could make you lose yourself, and question all other personal ties you have.

Nonetheless, there was hope. Even though they could burn you, you could be like a phoenix, and be reborn from the ashes. Tragedies could shape you, yes, but it never had to be in a negative way.

While she could never remember the exact version of the story, that meaning clung to Sheena Fujibayashi like damp hair to skin. She was no stranger to tragedy, though she tried not to dwell on it. It was all in the past, and that's where it would stay.

Even so, that did not change the fact that she was now awake in the middle of the nigh, violently thrown out of sleep by a nightmare. The day of the Volt incident would haunt her to the grave, even though her grandfather had recovered.

She had awoken silently, careful not to disturb her bed partner. Then again, she probably did not need to worry. The lecher could sleep through an earthquake.

Of course, she called him that affectionately, similar to how he continued to call her a demonic banshee. The nicknames had to bite to them, no true purpose, and yet they still flew out of their mouths. That habit was one that could not be broken; her and Zelos would always bicker and call each other names.

Attempting to push the remaining thoughts away, she closed her eyes, focusing on sleep. Sheena listened to Zelos's even breathes, affirming that he was still sleeping peacefully. She felt a pinprick of happiness flood through her. At least he could sleep through the night, instead of being tortured by a nightmare. While he never confided in her every time he had one, the dark circles under his eyes would tell a different story.

Now though, the roles had reversed. She was the one who could not return to sleep, while he never left it. She laid there for some time, probably an hour, before heaving a somber sigh. It was still dark out, and she predicted that the sun would not rise for a few hours. Despite that, she threw the blankets off her body, reached over for the ribbon that she used to tie her hair up, and silently stumbled around the dark room to find clothes. Although she was a full-fledged ninja, she had troubles with being half-asleep and trying to find something.

This late night—or early morning—she had arrived at Zelos's expansive mansion. While they had been a couple for awhile, they still lived separately, and she mostly had to travel to Meltokio to see him. It wasn't that Zelos refused to go to Mizuho, it was just that he was not… warmly welcomed.

It was less stressful, for the both of them, if she came to spend the night with him.

She muttered a curse as she stubbed her toe into the wall next to the door. Rubbing her eyes, she opened it and stepped into the long hallway. She treaded carefully past Sebastian's room. Even if the man was getting older, she had learned early on that he was a light sleeper. True, he'd never leave his room to find her, but he would ask her the following morning what she had gotten up for.

She could not fault him for being a light sleeper, though. He probably had to train himself to be one, for when Zelos had been younger.

Those thoughts made her feel more sullen than she already was. She knew just from now that today was going to be a long day. And she also knew that sleep would elude her. Sheena just wished she had someone to talk to, to make the night pass by.

Another reason why she, to her dismay, missed traveling with everyone. Colette, for the time when she couldn't sleep, would spend the night talking to her, comforting her without really knowing it. After that, she often talked to Lloyd, who was equally helpful in calming her fears and insecurities.

Those times had been awkward, at first. If asked directly, she would blatantly deny it, but she had, for a time, had a crush on Lloyd. In the end, it turned into admiration and not infatuation.

Zelos still enjoyed teasing her though.

Perhaps that was what made their relationship so atypical. They didn't suffer from the jealousy that sometimes ruined other relationships. Sheena never worried about him straying, even before he stopped flirting with women.

But how long would their relationship last? It was true that the ninja had never felt that way about the former Chosen, but she was not sure if she would call it love.

Would Zelos be happy with her months from now, let alone years? There was nothing particularly special about her personality. Most found her shrewish tendencies to be unbecoming, and yet he never thought of it as a negative quirk—or he just never voiced his dislike, if he felt any. She hoped not.

They had known each other forever, and their relationship had gone full circle. Strangers, friends, lovers, ending back at strangers. Then, somehow, it looped back to friends, and then returned to lovers once more. Now she could not keep the doubts at bay that they might complete the circle another time.

Now she knew that those were not thoughts she should be thinking right now. A morose atmosphere could suffocate her so early in the morning, and the ninja didn't want that.

Feeling tiredness seep into her suddenly, Sheena crossed over to the couch. It was plush, comfortable. Laying herself down, she fell into an uneasy sleep, praying to Corrine that he would be able to keep the nightmares away.

Those prayers, however, remained unanswered. She tossed and turned for the rest of the night, and stayed up after the sun rose. It was now after eight in the morning, and she was still sitting on the couch, waiting for Zelos to wake up. She had made small talk with Sebastian, and even though he had not said anything about it, she had a feeling he knew something was wrong.

Thankfully, Zelos descended the stairs minutes later, hair combed and fully dressed. Though he was not a morning person—not unlike herself—he seemed to be in an alright mood, giving her a smile, one that she never missed seeing.

"Morning, hunny."

Rolling her eyes at her "favorite" pet name, she responded, "Good morning. You're up earlier than normal. I mean, it's still morning."

"Speak for yourself. This is early for you, too." The gentle smile slipped away a little. "I woke up when I noticed you weren't there. Guess I'm used to sleeping with someone. So… what're you doing up?"

"Oh, just couldn't get back to sleep, that's all."

She did not want to worry him, especially since there was not a need for his concern. Nightmares happened to everyone, and he didn't need to worry about her for just having one.

Still, he looked hesitant, but eventually replied, "If you say so. Eat yet?"

"No, I'm not really hungry. You go though, I'm going to take a shower."

She watched as his mouth fell changed into a frown, but the summoner could not figure out why. Instead, she stood, and began climbing the stairs to go into the bathroom. She stopped as she heard Zelos say her name.

"Yeah?" She called back.

"Make sure to dress in more than you came down in, okay? Not that I don't mind, I liked it, but you never know about anyone else, right?"

It took Sheena a minute to realize what he meant by that statement. Slowly, she looked down, and noticed that in her haste to get out of the bedroom earlier that morning, she did not get dressed, meaning that she was still in her bra and a pair of shorts, for the summers in Meltokio was quite hot.

She was floored by embarrassment, and her cheeks turned red, most likely in such a deep shade that they would never return to their normal color. That meant… that she had been like this… in front of Sebastian!

Shaking her head, she still took a shower, the entire time resisting the urge to smack herself in the forehead.

A half hour later, she returned downstairs—wholly making sure that she was fully dressed—to find Zelos eating breakfast in the large kitchen, Sebastian out of sight.

"Stop worrying about it, hun. I really don't want to think about this, but I'm sure he's seen a woman dressed like you before."

"Yeah, I don't want to think about it either. Still, it's embarrassing."

"I'm sure he's seen worse in his years. Maybe you were a highlight of his life, you never know."

Not wishing to discuss this anymore, Sheena changed the subject. "Doing anything today? The king need you for something?"

With a shake of the head, he answered, "Not that I know of. Why? Want to get rid of me? Gotta go see your secret boyfriend?"

She smacked him, playfully, on the shoulder. Watching as he frowned, she answered, "Of course not."

Zelos smiled—a fake one, she observed—and said, "Wanna do anything today? I can prove that I'm better than your other lover."

"Not really, I'm really tired. Thanks though."

Sheena could see the worried look in his eyes, and was not that surprised when he questioned, "Are you sick or something?"

"No, just tired."

"You sure? You seem… off."

"Yeah, I'm good." Sheena did not consider that a lie. She was exhausted, and feeling, for some reason, almost paranoid, but she was fine.

"You could go back to sleep, you know. Most people would be sleeping now anyway."

"Should you be?"

"Why, can't sleep without me?" He asked with a grin.

She scoffed. "Something like that."

"I'm up though, so I probably won't get back to sleep. I think I'm just going to take a walk."

"Try not to get mobbed by your fan club," the ninja said sarcastically.

"It could happen. I still get tailed by them sometimes."

Those words left her hollow inside. While it could have been from how she had been feeling for the whole day—and it was not even noon yet—those words made the possibility, the possibility of Zelos leaving her, seem real. They had been together for awhile, but she still had not fully settled with the idea of him staying around, and she knew that he had the same doubts with her. If she had to speculate, she'd probably attribute it to her senses, senses she had trained to acquire, ones that detected that feelings, especially love, was fleeting, and most likely would not last.

They were the senses that had kept her alive in battle. They were the senses she wouldn't be able to banish.

"Sheena? Sheena!"

She blinked, and realized that Zelos was shaking her gently. Unable to help it, she gasped quietly in surprise.

"You sure you feel okay? You spaced out for awhile."

"I'm fine," she answered shortly, "just tired, that's all."

Again, he kept quiet, and that just made her stomach drop more. She knew, logically, that she could just ask him about it, knowing that he would confess anything to her. Even though she didn't seem like that type, Sheena could be charming, at least to Zelos.

She felt herself becoming numb, and could barely feel Zelos squeeze her hand. When he let go, a lingering warmth was left, but soon vanished, leaving her dismayed.

More feeling returned to her as he kissed her cheek and patted her shoulder. "Go back to sleep. I'm gonna get outta here and give you some space, alright? You might be getting sick, and with me out of your hair, you can rest."

Before she could protest, he flashed another false smile and left the room, leaving Sheena with nothing more than an echoing silence, and the sun beating through the window, lacking the warmth it was supposed to radiate.

Hours passed and the sun was setting. Sheena was in bed, fully clothed and yet freezing cold, and wondering where Zelos could have gone. The paranoia had not left her throughout the day; thoughts of Zelos off with some other woman ran through her mind faster than she could comprehend them. She knew that it was irrational, but she had learned from experience that people eventually turn on you, despite the promises that they have made you. That mindset had stuck with her for the whole day.

"Hey."

Flinching, Sheena sat up, coming face-to-face with Zelos. She could not decipher the look on his face. Instead of using his usual mask, choosing to hide behind a fake grin, he opted to use the one where he masked all emotion.

"Hi," she greeted back weakly. His behavior, to be honest, unnerved her.

"You're scaring me."

The bluntness of that statement made her want to flinch again, but he resisted. "What do you mean?"

"My mom, she… she acted just like you've been. She'd stay in bed for hours—which Sebastian, by the way, said you've done—and she'd sometimes act all spacey. Except she'd lash out sometimes, you've just been quieter."

"I…" She didn't know what to say to that. He rarely talked about his past, even though there were gaps in what she knew about it.

Zelos strode over to the bed and sat down, pleading, "Talk to me, Sheena. Please."

"It… it's nothing. I've just been out of it today."

The red head remained silent, indicating to her that he did not believe her. She did not know how else to describe it. She could delve into all the details, but what purpose would that solve? By tomorrow, the ninja would return to normal, all hesitations and fears pushed away to a place where they couldn't normally be reached.

So why did he have to pry?

"Can I… can I ask you something?"

The question seemed to make him off-balance, and Sheena couldn't blame him for that. The two of them had been quiet for nearly an hour, the only sound in the room their combined faint breaths.

"Anything," he whispered.

"W-what do you feel toward me?"

Since it had gotten dark, Sheena couldn't make out his face that well, but she pictured him quirking an eyebrow. She knew that the question warranted him to be surprised, because they had never truly had a discussion about their feelings for one another; how deep they ran or how strong they were.

She knew that when it was necessary, he could be articulate with his wording, so she was becoming increasingly worried at his prolonged silence. She imagined that he was merely thinking about his response.

So she could not help the inaudible gasp when he suddenly kissed her. Eventually, she recovered and began kissing him back, unable to decide if this was a good or bad reaction to her question.

"Sheena." He pulled away from her. "Why're you crying?"

She only realized she was when she felt him rub the tears away. She was just as confused about it as he was.

"I… I don't know."

She wasn't fully crying. Minus the occasional shuddering breath, she was acting calmly. The summoner was not sobbing, and was staying mostly quiet.

Even after the tears stopped flowing, Zelos's hands remained on her face. Sheena was only then aware that he had not given her a direct answer, and she had to wonder about what was going through his head. That was probably why she had been crying. The uncertainty was affecting her, and she wasn't sure how much of this she could take.

Perhaps it was selfish of her. She wanted an answer from him, and yet she was unsure herself. Maybe she needed him to know, before she could fully decide. She could not be independent in this situation, no matter how much of a hit that was to her pride.

"Sheena?"

"Do you, maybe… love me?"

It took a moment for the shock to recede. She could not believe she had voiced that.

"I… I really think I do."

She really could not believe what she had just heard. He… he loved her.

"Now… what the hell's been going through your mind, Sheena?"

She confessed everything, starting from the nightmare the night before. Sheena knew he would understand about those, but she was surprised at how calmly he reacted to every insecurity she admitted to having. Now he knew that she was not as strong as she pretended to be. Then again, that would okay. She knew he was not as mentally and emotionally strong as he boasted to be.

Even when she confided that she was afraid that she could not love him—a flaw of hers, not his, she made sure to clarify—he merely nodded, and she could tell that this conversation would be the turning point of their relationship. While it would always have its few bumps, the ups and downs would lower in number, and she knew that they would be okay.

"I love you too, Zelos."

And this was where the ride of insecurity and hesitation would end. It was for the better, because she knew that nothing could make her return to it. Zelos would be there for her forever, and he would not betray her like others had in her life.

With a helping hand, she exited the emotional ride, and she never looked back.

And there it is. I haven't written a Sheelos one-shot in forever. Hopefully I haven't lost my touch. Next chapter of Glimpse, to all those who read it, will hopefully be written soon, since I've had a writer's block with it.

Anyway, please review. As always, they're deeply appreciated.