"STUPID CHOSEN!"

Raine, in the midst of sucking in a breath of air to laugh while sipping her coffee, began to choke, coughing hard as she set aside her mug. She hastily began thumping her chest with a closed fist as she tried to breathe through the scalding liquid. Her younger brother looked up at her in concern, but she simply shook her head, bowing it as she continued to cough and laugh. She looked up quickly though, not really wanting to miss what she was sure was going to happen next, and she wasn't disappointed.

A redheaded figure was thrown over the railing from the top floor, issuing a very female scream before he landed face-down on the hard floor. Half a second later, a darker blur dropped down over the banister, landing neatly right between the Chosen's shoulder blades. Not wasting a moment, Sheena grabbed his arms and yanked them back, planting her bare feet neatly in the small of Zelos' back.

Presea shook her head once, having looked away from her game of chess for one moment to see what was causing the commotion. When she returned her gaze to the board, she raised one eyebrow and looked at her opponent with a sigh. "It appears to be too early for this sort of behaviour, yet Sheena has already thrown Zelos into a pin. Is there something I may have missed about today?"

Regal snorted at Presea's curious tone, shaking his head once as he turned his attention away from the whimpering Zelos and the furious Sheena. He idly pulled his knight back into close quarters with Presea's castle, commenting placidly, "It doesn't seem to be so special today. Zelos seems to just be more eager to get injured I believe."

"I think he's on the right path." Presea replied with a shake of her head, glancing back at the very annoyed summoner. She barely allowed herself a smile as she turned back to Regal, taking his castle with a flourish. Her pale blue eyes glinted with hidden amusement as she continued, "I don't believe I've ever seen Sheena without her battle kimono on, and here she is thoroughly punishing Zelos in her nightgown..."

"You're right." Regal chuckled his agreement, turning to examine the annoyed summoner. She was indeed wearing a loose-fitting pale purple nightgown, but she didn't seem to realize that her outfit was rather revealing, she was too busy kicking Zelos. He turned to the still coughing Raine and asked casually, "Are you sure you're alright? You haven't stopped coughing since Sheena yelled her insult."

Raine waved her hand in a vague gesture, a hint of red colouring her fair face from her coughing fit. Breathing gratefully as her airway cleared, she answered quite primly, "No, I'm quite well Regal, my thanks for your concern." She nodded towards the fallen Chosen, adding somewhat playfully, "It was his scream that really made it difficult for me to breathe, not the coffee."

Genis was just about to comment when Lloyd appeared at the stairs, his blades drawn and ready for battle, half-dressed and high on adrenalin. The young warlock couldn't contain himself, he burst out laughing, having to duck his head into his arms to save himself some dignity. "You idiot! Right on time too!"

Colette, who had been watching the scene unfold with growing worry, raced to Lloyd's side, her eyes wide in horror as she tugged on his bare arm. She didn't really notice that he was wearing no shirt or gloves, and hastily begged, "Lloyd, please do something! I think Sheena's going to kill him, it's horrible!"

Lloyd blinked, momentarily startled. He'd woken up to a massive crash followed by a very feminine scream, and his instincts had bolted him out of bed half-dressed with his swords in hand. His body relaxed when he realized it was Sheena and Zelos that had made the uproar, and his hands loosened on his blades as a hint of a smile tweaked his lips. 'I should have known...' He commented mostly to tease Zelos, "I don't know, it looks like it may very well be warranted..." Colette bit her lower lip in worry, and he forced himself to smother his laughter, and he called out calmly to Sheena, "What did he do this time Sheena?"

"This bastard–" Sheena raised one bare foot and brought it down hard on Zelos' shoulders for emphasis, "snuck into my room before I even had a chance to get dressed this morning!"

Lloyd raised his eyebrows as her words sunk in, and without really commanding himself to, his eyes drifted over the female ninja with curiosity. Her nightgown was a simple pale purple slipover that barely reached her knees, a small slit running up the right side to give him a perfect view of her long bare legs. Blushing self-consciously, Lloyd forced his eyes away from her naked skin and forced his voice to not quiver, "W-Well that certainly changes things..."

Colette made a muffled squeak of protest between her hands that had covered her mouth, her eyes wide with horror as she watched Sheena give Zelos another kick to the ribs. She grabbed Lloyd's arm tightly, giving it a shake that rattled the poor boy from head to toe without really meaning to. She couldn't form words to express her terror.

"Okay, okay!" Lloyd laughed, gently prying Colette's fingers from his arm, wondering if he was going to bruise later from her iron grip. Still unable to stop himself from chuckling, he called to Sheena, "Sheena, are you sure you want to commit murder in front of six witnesses? Regardless of what you've done, I don't think they'll let you get away with murdering the Chosen. There's only so much the Chief of Mizuho can do."

Sheena paused, then with a grumble of annoyance she hopped off of Zelos, sparing him one final kick before she ran her hand through her loose hair. She hadn't been able to dress or put up her hair before Zelos had barged into her room, but she hadn't really cared about that, too busy with punishing the Chosen. She froze where she stood, suddenly realizing that everyone, everyone, saw her now. Her cheeks reddened and with a strangled squeak she raced by Lloyd and the others, disappearing upstairs as the door to her room slammed shut half a second later.

"I don't think I have ever seen any human being move so fast in my entire life." Raine mused after she finished off her coffee with a long gulp, hiding her smile behind the rim of her cup as Genis burst into silent guffaws beside her. Even Regal and Presea gave a sign of their rare smiles at the comment, having to duck back into their game to mask their amusement.

Colette, finally calm, returned to her seat where she had been watching Regal and Presea play chess. Lloyd stood where he was for a long moment, trying to get control of his rapidly beating heart. Something had switched inside of his body at the sight of Sheena in such a revealing wardrobe, and he had to shake his head quite a few times before he got control of himself. Zelos was still on the floor, whimpering pathetically as he curled into the fetal position, bruised and battered everywhere.

With a low sigh, Lloyd knelt beside the injured Chosen, crossing his arms across his bare chest, speaking plainly, "You really ought to know better than to mess with Sheena, especially this early in the morning. What if she actually killed you this time?"

"You mean like how she normally always does when I try to prove my love?" Zelos asked with wide puppy-dog eyes, uncurling slowly from the ball, peeking up at Lloyd through the gap in his arms. The swordsman didn't look anywhere near the definition of the word 'convinced'. Sitting up with surprising speed for someone who had just been beaten within an inch of his life, the Chosen added cheerfully, "Besides, I couldn't resist. She was sleeping in my house, it was a chance I couldn't pass up!"

"You mean unlike all the other times you told us about...?" Lloyd questioned with some confusion, not understanding what Zelos was talking about. The Chosen loved to flaunt his relationship with Sheena to everyone, despite the fact that she never seemed to act like she cared anything about him. The many visits to his house was always one of his favourite stories. "I don't get it Zelos."

"That would be because there's nothing to get, Lloyd." Genis explained tiredly, shaking his head in exasperation as Zelos bounded to his feet and raced upstairs for another round of punishment. Lloyd got to his feet, still confused, and the young warlock explained wearily, "You idiot... Sheena and Zelos really don't have anything going on between them, he's just saying that because he's an idiot. Sheena can't stand him, why else would she beat him up so often?"

Lloyd only answered with a sheepish smile, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. A cool breeze from the open window painfully reminded him that he wasn't wearing a shirt, and with a blush he hurried back up to his room, ignoring the Chosen who was knocking repeatedly on Sheena's door. 'She's going to kill him one of these days, and I don't think I'll stop her when she goes for his throat... I'm actually getting sick of his antics, I don't understand why he just won't leave Sheena alone...'

Idly searching the large room for his clothes, his mind wandered to the reason why they were still in Meltokio. 'I feel kind of stupid staying here for the entire week, regardless of this party or whatever... I should be in Heimdall, getting ready to fight with Kratos...'

"I will give you one week to prepare for the battle... I will be waiting for you at the seal. Do not disappoint me, Lloyd."

Still frowning darkly as he shrugged into his shirt and began to button it up, he glared down at his swords which lay innocently on the bed, inviting him to train. Even as he automatically reached out to handle them, the fierce looks on everyone's faces from his memory made him recoil with a sheepish grin. 'They all told me to relax this week, so I wouldn't be exhausted for the battle... But how can I rest with so much tension...?'

Even as he thought it, he sighed in defeat. It was the entire reason why they were staying in Meltokio, the busy atmosphere was meant to be distracting. They had only spent one night and already it seemed like Sheena was going to kill their host by the end of the second. 'Heh... Well, at least I won't die of boredom... I'll need to keep an eye on Sheena to make sure she doesn't do anything she might regret by the end of the day...'

"STUPID DAMN CHOSEN!"

'Well, legally regret anyway.' Lloyd corrected himself with a chuckle, slipping his feet into his boots before sliding his swords onto his waist. He left his room to see Sheena, now fully dressed, once again beating on the whimpering Zelos, this time with what looked like the poor man's own sheathed sword. Torn between standing back and watching the torture, or stopping it, Lloyd chuckled to himself as Zelos tried to drag himself away, but Sheena held him firm by grabbing his ankle and dragging him back. He called over in as casually a voice as he possibly could, "Honestly Zelos, if you stopped pestering her, she wouldn't have a reason to hit you like this." 'Though it's amusing to watch, so I'm not complaining... He deserves it.'

"I didn't do anything!" Zelos begged, rolling onto his back to protect his bruised tailbone, wrapping his arms around himself. Neither warrior looked convinced at his exclamation, but Lloyd grudgingly went to his rescue anyway. Taking the frustrated Sheena by the hand, he pulled her away gently from the downed Chosen and led her downstairs.

"I wanted to beat him dead this time..." Sheena grumbled under her breath as she reluctantly followed Lloyd down the stairs to the lounge room where the rest of their friends were sitting.

"You would've gotten arrested." Lloyd told her with a smile, ruffling her hair playfully as they rounded the stairs to enter the living room.

Raine had once again buried her nose into her book while Genis was miming the new spells he had learned over the past few months. Presea and Regal were playing their second round of chess now, both deep in thought despite the fact that only three pieces in total had been moved on the wooden board. Colette, upon seeing the two, hopped to her feet with a broad smile, running over to Sheena and taking the summoner by the hand. "Sheena, I heard about this really amazing place beside the Coliseum, and I was wondering if you wanted to come with me!"

"Eh... What?" Sheena asked, startled by the happiness in the Chosen's voice. She was still mildly annoyed with her Tethe'allan counterpart, and it was still too early for her to manage to put a smile on her face. Yet none of this seemed to bother Colette, she was already bouncing with energy. "B-But.."

Raine set her book aside after marking her place, removing her reading glasses as she settled against her hard-backed chair, "I think that's a wonderful idea, we came to Meltokio under the premise of enjoying ourselves and relaxing after all. Wandering around the city might be good for you, a time to bond perhaps."

"Please say yes Sheena, it'd be so fun for us girls to hang out for awhile! Presea can come too, and the Professor!" Colette was bouncing up and down with full force now, her eyes wide and excited as her wings threatened to burst from her back. She glanced hopefully at Raine, who had hung with her head with an exasperated sigh, but that didn't seem to faze the blond Chosen. "It'll be great! Please say you'll come!"

Sheena moaned inwardly at her luck, glancing hopelessly at Lloyd, who was chuckling quietly in the background with Genis about something. The moment Colette had begun talking to her, he'd slipped off to allow her some time with her female friends, wandering off to talk to his only real male counterpart his age. She glanced up at the ceiling with a look that begged for some outside help, but no lightning struck the ground. With very forced cheer, she answered the hyper blond, "Alright, I guess I can come if it means so much..."

"Then I, my fair hunnies, shall be your escort!" Zelos burst in as if on some hidden cue, attempting to wrap his arms around both Colette and Sheena. The summoner was too quick, and she bounded out of range so the redheaded swordsman was left with one arm hanging empty while the other rested on Colette. He added cheerfully to the puzzled blond, recovering with impressive speed, "I couldn't dare let you beautiful ladies walk alone in this city without a proper escort!"

"Ughn, if he's coming I'm not going anywhere." Sheena grunted unhappily, throwing herself down onto the couch beside Raine, scowling at the floor. The half-elven professor laughed quietly to herself, but said nothing.

"Aww, Sheena–" Zelos began to whine, only to be cut off by the deadly glare she sent at him. Deciding that he wanted to live to see Seles' next birthday, he wisely shut his mouth and turned back to Colette. "O-Okay then, so where and what is this awesome place you were talking about?"

"I don't know really, I just heard some of your lady friends talking about it earlier, and I got really curious, so I asked. They told me where it was but they wouldn't explain what the shop sold..." The blond's face fell for half a second in disappointment, but all too quickly she perked back up, adding cheerfully, "So that's why I want to explore! I want to know what sort of store it is!"

Sheena was nearly beside herself with laughter as she realized what store Colette was talking about, her entire body shaking as she attempted to keep her giggles as silent as possible. 'Oh Martel, not that place! Of all the shops she had to pick to see, it had to be the one that Zelos put his name on!' Raine, as amused as she was, let her head fall into her hands, shaking it slowly from side to side. Regal, having overheard the entire thing, had closed his eyes in an effort to stop himself from laughing outright at the Chosen's naivete. 'She really doesn't understand... Does she...?'

Presea, confused by her older companions' laughter and Colette's confusion, piped up softly, "Regal... I'm afraid I don't understand what is so funny about this shop that Colette mentioned... Perhaps we all should go to examine it...?"

At this, Sheena's laughter turned into a howl of mirth, and even Raine couldn't keep a straight face on, leaning on the shivering summoner as she began to giggle uncontrollably. She couldn't help herself despite all of her composure, the girls' innocence was astounding as it was charming. 'Of course Zelos' girlfriends would be at a shop like that! Geez Colette, why are you so innocent?' Barely able to breathe through her giggles, Sheena attempted to explain, "Uh, Colette, Presea... The shop you're talking about may not be..." Unable to stop laughing, she hopelessly looked at Raine for aid, her entire body shaking with mirth.

Taking a few deep breaths to steady herself, Raine sat up tall, shaking her hair out of her eyes as she tried to ignore the still-laughing Sheena. Looking as seriously as she could possibly at the confused Colette, she explained wearily, "Um... Well, you see Colette... I don't believe that particular shop would be appropriate for you to shop at, the items they sell are..." She blushed self-consciously as she grasped for a word to describe what she no-doubtedly knew the certain store probably sold.

Much to her relief, Regal jumped in to save them, coughing once to capture both Colette's and Presea's attention. Zelos had wisely not said anything and joined in with Genis and Lloyd to avoid getting mixed up way over his head in such a sensitive topic. Regal explained in a placid voice, able to keep his face completely set much to the women's chagrin, "You see, that certain store that Zelos' lady friends spoke about wouldn't be appropriate for two young ladies to be shopping at. It's considered more of an 'adult' store than for children, or teenagers for that matter. For you to go and explore it would be quite awkward."

"Thank you Regal." Raine sighed in relief, elbowing Sheena who was still giggling fit to burst on the couch despite how red her face was. The summoner hurriedly tried to stifle her laughter, though her shoulders didn't seem to want to stop shivering. Colette and Presea both looked as though they were about to question Regal's explanation, so Raine hastily made to change the subject, "Well since the shop is out of the equation, uh, where else can we possibly go?"

"I don't know about you guys, but since I'm here, I might as well brush up on my solo skills." Sheena announced with a shrug, getting to her feet and calmly patting the pouch on her hip. "I've been fighting in a group for so long I think I've actually forgotten how to fight on my own. I'm heading to the Coliseum to practise."

The moment Lloyd heard the word 'practise', his head jerked up from his talk with Genis and he was on his feet in seconds. He pretty much teleported to Sheena's side, grinning so broadly his smile couldn't fit his boyish face. "Did you say practise? I'll come too, I could use some!"

Sheena rolled her eyes, ready to scold the twin swordsman but the words died in her throat as she realized what it would mean. 'I get to be alone with him for a few blissful hours, plus no Zelos. That's enough of an argument for me.' With a grin that nearly matched his, she took his hand and announced cheerfully, "Well then that's settled! See you guys later!" Ignoring the complaints from both Zelos and Raine, she practically dragged the startled swordsman out of the mansion and into the crowded Meltokio streets.

"Wow Sheena, you really wanted to get away from Zelos." Lloyd commented with a hearty laugh, walking calmly beside Sheena now that they had escaped from the others. She just shot him a brilliant smile that left him momentarily dazzled and speechless as they continued down the long street.

"That's pretty much the main reason why I was looking for any excuse to leave the house." Sheena told him with a laugh, shaking her head in amusement. They had now slowed now that they were a good distance away from the mansion, walking casually through the crowds, enjoying each other's company. Sheena looked thoughtful as she added slowly, "However, since I have to go back there tonight, I might need to put a few seals on my door so he doesn't sneak in..."

"Wouldn't you ruin his house if he opened the door only to get an explosion nailing him in the face?" Lloyd asked curiously, receiving another brilliant grin for a reply. Chuckling at her innocent expression, he entwined his hands behind his head and continued cheerfully, "Well... I guess I can't blame you, he has gotten worse since we got here..."

"You call that worse? I actually think he's mellowed down a little." Sheena admitted, though she didn't look pleased. Shaking her head at his confusion, she explained wearily, "He was a hardcore pervert when I met him, he'd do anything to get a good look at me, and I mean anything. He tried to peek on me in the shower, sneak into my room, try to hug me from behind, you name it, he'd do it... It looks like he's mellowed out, just a little."

"He's still sneaking into you room." Lloyd grinned, immediately casting out the idea of Zelos sneaking in on Sheena taking a shower. The images that brought on were anything but pleasant as he imagined what she would do to the poor Chosen. "I'm glad he wasn't with us early on, if it wasn't you beating on him, the Professor might have done it instead."

"That'd be funny to see." Sheena admit with a grin, stretching her arms above her head with a slight yawn. "Yeesh... I'm so tired. I hope I don't fall asleep in the middle of the round. I was really bored fighting those stupid rangers, they're not so good. Maybe I should try the advanced level. I'd get more of a challenge..."

"I'm sure you can wipe the floor with 'em." Lloyd teased, watching with an odd satisfaction as her cheeks turned red and she looked at the ground in embarrassment. Glancing up at the bright blue sky, he continued playfully, "I'll cheer for ya as long as you cheer for me."

"Of course!"

AN

Chapter one of the fic "Jealousy". I have finally settled on this name, so I won't change it no matter what happens... XD Yeah, at this moment, there hasn't been any (points to the story name) because I'm just getting into it. I know I asked a load of questions about the 'comedy' thing, lol, and truth be told I had a whole other slapstick thing in my head that I chickened out with... This kinda comedic thing (subtle hints and suggestive jokes XD) is kinda up my alley since I'm pretty much in short, a perverted teenager with a sugar addiction. Hehehe. I'm rating this story "M" for various reasons, adult content, violence, coarse language, (maybe drinking, lol), and for um, lmao, limish content... Maybe. Hehe.

Btw, I have no idea if "those" sort of shops actually exist in that universe, but hey, artistic/comedic licence. XD

Also... I give credit to my good friend C9 for inspiring the beginning scene, credit goes to where it's due, rule one of the unwritten code of authors! XD

Sky